As you can see, I havenrsquo;t blogged here in several weeks now. The reason for that is because I am putting this blog on hiatus. This means that it is dead for now and wonrsquo;t be posted in.

However, This doesnrsquo;t mean that you canrsquo;t stop reading this blog. You can still read old entries and comment on blog posts. The blog will remain online, but there will be NO new posts on this blog. If you really like this blog, please feel free to leave comments because in the future I MIGHT revive this blog.

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I was driving to school to pick up the kids, listening to conservative talk radio. The subject was, of course, Sarah Palin, and the villains were, of course, liberals. Not just any liberals, but feminist journalist turncoats who preach gender equality until Republicans practice it.

I was, it turns out, among them.

Irsquo;m not telling this story to brag of my notoriety mdash; I was far down the list mdash; or to boast about being the Good Mommy. As my kids would be delighted to tell you, Irsquo;ve been anything but recently, as the national conventions collided with the start of school.

But the moment captured the topsy-turvy nature of the Palin debate: The loudest voices in the usual stay-at-home chorus cheer Palinrsquo;s careerism, while many working moms wince at the thought of a vice presidential mother of five.

Like a Picasso portrait with body parts askew, nothing in this political set piece is in its accustomed place.

My colleague Sally Quinn put it most provocatively. ldquo;Is she prepared for the all-consuming nature of the job?rdquo; Quinn wondered. ldquo;When the phone rings at three in the morning and one of her children is really sick, what choice will she make?rdquo;

Quinn was skewered, but shersquo;s hardly alone in her conflicted response. I watched a focus group of undecided married women convened in Las Vegas by a Democratic-leaning organization (Womenrsquo;s Voices Women Vote) react to Palinrsquo;s speech. It took just a few minutes for the mommy debate to erupt, unbidden but fierce.

ldquo;She felt like she was one of us,rdquo; said one woman, an office manager mother of four. ldquo;She has family, she works, she has earned what shersquo;s gotten instead of marrying into it. . . . I know therersquo;s some controversy . . . but a lot of us work and have babies and all that.rdquo;

ldquo;But can you be president with a tiny baby and a big family and give both what they deserve?rdquo; interjected an accountant who works from home.

ldquo;Well, what if it was a man? . . . Thatrsquo;s where itrsquo;s a double standard,rdquo; the office manager said.

ldquo;Irsquo;ve heard there are plenty of high executive women mdash; the job is first, the children have the nanny, the dad helps out, and they survive,rdquo; offered another woman, a grandmother. ldquo;I think she can do it.rdquo;

ldquo;Not if shersquo;s really committed to her family,rdquo; said a recent retiree. ldquo;I think shersquo;s bitten off more than she can chew.rdquo;

This is part of the never-ending conversation among mothers, working and stay-at-home, full-time and flex. Is there a mother around who heard Palinrsquo;s story and didnrsquo;t reflect on her own choices?

I donrsquo;t question whether Palin can pull off the most impressive juggling act in the history of working moms, balancing, as she told People magazine, BlackBerry and breast pump. But I do wonder mdash; somewhat to my astonishment mdash; why shersquo;d choose to, and I suspect many mothers feel the same.

Looking over my female friends mdash; educated and accomplished mdash; it is hard to think of one who has not trimmed her career sails to accommodate family life. Amazingly, I know more women who have opted out than who work full-steam ahead.

This is not what I expected. Fourteen years ago, pregnant with my first child, I listened to two female friends, then high-powered Capitol Hill lawyers, discuss their dream part-time schedules.

ldquo;Not me, ladies,rdquo; I thought, smugly certain. Eight months later, maternity leave up, I was in my editorrsquo;s office, announcing that I wanted to scale back to four days a week. In a few years, I was down to three mdash; and my friends had left their Hill jobs. Now I work full time, but not without ample agonizing and only because of a flexible boss.

My husband is a terrific dad, but the stark truth is that he does not feel the same homeward tug. He did a great job managing during the conventions, except for the unfortunate incident with the wrong doctor form for school, but when Julia needed to make lemon squares right away, I gave long-distance instruction from St. Paul mdash; on deadline, naturally.

I would not, in truth, have it any other way. Wondering about Palinrsquo;s choice does not make me less of a feminist mdash; just a realistic one. When I got home, I took the day off to clean the kidsrsquo; closets and get some meals in the freezer. Like Sarah Palin ditching the executive chef, I felt much better.

Source: Wasington Post, September 10, 2008; A15

For the more than 200,000 women serving on active duty in the U.S. military, sexual assault and harassment are issues not to be ignored – and now that the armed forces are taking steps to correct the problem, some wonder if it is doing enough.

In the fiscal year lsquo;07, ending Oct. 1, military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan reported 131 cases of rape and assault. The Department of Defense recorded 2,688 cases of sexual assault last year; 60 percent were allegations of rape.

Some women claim the military does not respond adequately to allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Carolyn Schapper, 35, told the Associated Press an Army National Guard soldier repeatedly stormed into her room while she was dressing in Iraq. She began changing in her shower stall to ensure she had privacy. Schapper said she wouldnrsquo;t think of reporting the incident, because she believed administrative action would be taken against her instead of the other soldier.

Missing pregnant Marine Maria Lauterbachrsquo;s body was found burned in a shallow fire pit located in Cpl.Cesar Armando Laurenrsquo;s backyard earlier this year. She had accused Lauren of sexually assaulting her and planned to testify against him before she vanished.

Lauterbachrsquo;s mother, Mary, blamed the military for being slow to act, denying her daughterrsquo;s request for transfer and not properly dealing with the sexual assault complaint – even after her daughter was punched in the face.

ldquo;I believe Maria would be alive today if the Marine system had been different,rdquo; she told a panel of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee July 31.

A woman named Ingrid Torres worked with American Red Cross at a U.S. base in Korea. Torres took Ambien before bed, and an Air Force flight director raped her while she slept.

Testifying before the committee, Torres said, ldquo;He still comes after me in my dreams.rdquo;

After the hearing was dismissed, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said there is an ldquo;epidemic of assault and rape against women in our military.rdquo;

ldquo;Women serving in the military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than be killed by enemy fire in Iraq,rdquo; she said.

According to a Government Accountability Office report released July 31, incidents of rape and sexual assault in the military are under-reported by nearly half. Many soldiers fail to report assaults because they worry ldquo;that nothing will be done; fear of ostracism, harassment, or ridicule; and concern that peers would gossip.rdquo;

Some victims argue that the military chain of command would punish or move them if they complained, rather than discipline the person responsible for the assault.

A Department of Defense 2006 Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Members shows 34 percent of all female service member respondents were sexually harassed, and 6.8 percent indicated experiencing unwanted sexual contact including rape, nonconsensual sodomy or indecent assault.

While evidence that war worsens the problem of sexual assault is lacking, women serving in the Army were most likely to be sexually harassed and/or assaulted than any other branch. Low-ranking, enlisted females were more likely than their commissioned or higher-ranking counterparts to be raped. Seventy-five percent of victims reported assaults occurring at a military installation.

A full 50 percent of female respondents experienced incidents of rape or attempted rape, 38 percent reported unwanted sexual touching and 12 percent did not specify. Most women did not report the incidents because they felt uncomfortable, thought they would be labeled a troublemaker, didnrsquo;t want anyone to know, did not think anything would be done or feared retaliation.

Under fire for its method of handling sexual harassment and assault cases, the military introduced a Care for Victims of Sexual Assault Task Force. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld charged the task force with investigating sexual assault in the military in 2004. The U.S. Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response confidential reporting system was established in 2005 – though reports still show half of female victims do not report the crimes. The military also conducts required classes on sexual assault and harassment.

The Pentagon has teamed up with Men Can Stop Rape, a non-profit organization that seeks ldquo;to mobilize men to use their strength for creating cultures free from violence, especially menrsquo;s violence against women,rdquo; to teach soldiers how to recognize signs of sexual assault.

The Department of Veteranrsquo;s Affairs added a 16th inpatient ward for military victims of sexual trauma, the Associated Press reported. VA hospitals are also providing keyless locks on its doors so female patients can feel more secure.

Source: WorldNetDaily, August 21, 2008

BEIJING, Aug. 20 mdash; Two elderly women could face a year of ldquo;reeducation through laborrdquo; because they applied for permits to demonstrate during the Olympics, according to one of the would-be protesters.

Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, went to Chinese police five times between Aug. 5 and 18 to seek approval to protest against officials who evicted them from their homes in 2001.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau did not approve or deny their applications during the first three visits. On the fourth visit, the women were told that they had been ordered to serve time for ldquo;disturbing the public orderrdquo; until July 29, 2009.

According to a written order they received, they would not have to immediately go to a reeducation labor camp, but their movements would be restricted. If they violated various provisions or regulations, however, they could be sent to a labor camp.

Wu and Wang tried to return a fifth time to inquire again about their protest application, but they were told that their right to apply had been stripped.

ldquo;When I first heard about the possibility of being allowed to protest, I was very happy. My issue could be resolved. But it turned out all to be cheating. . . . I feel stuck in my heart,rdquo; Wu said in a telephone interview.

Wursquo;s son, Li Xuehui, 48, said his mother and her friend are outraged.

Usually labor reeducation is reserved for ldquo;prostitutes and thieves,rdquo; Li said. ldquo;What the two old ladies did is nowhere near that.rdquo; He pointed out that Wang is blind in one eye and can barely see out of the other.

ldquo;We are a communist society, with the people the leaders and owners, but basic citizensrsquo; rights cannot even be realized today. How sad it is. The way things are is the opposite of the lsquo;people-orientedrsquo; ideology of the country when it was founded,rdquo; Li said.

In response to international pressure, China said it would allow protests in three parks during the Olympic Games Aug. 8-24. Earlier this week, the official New China News Agency reported that police had received 77 applications, but none has been approved.

ldquo;Punishing Wu and Wang after they applied for protest permits and actively petitioned the government demonstrates that the official statements touting the new Olympics lsquo;protest zones,rsquo; as well as the permit application process, were no more than a show,rdquo; the executive director of Human Rights in China, Sharon Hom, said in a statement.

Wang Wei, executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, cast the empty protest zones in a positive light, telling reporters Wednesday that the disputes brought by would-be protesters had been resolved.

The International Olympic Committee, which has been criticized for not taking a harder line against China for failing to fulfill promises it made related to human rights, has referred questions about the protest zones to the Beijing government.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies recently said, however, that ldquo;to date, what had been announced publicly doesnrsquo;t appear in reality to be happening, and a number of questions are being asked.

ldquo;The IOC is keen to see those questions answered by the relevant authorities,rdquo; she added.

Source: Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, August 21, 2008; Page A10

According to an article in the Parenting section of The Wall Street Journal, a personal finance journalist commented that

ldquo;At the end of the day, I say parents should pay for their kidsrsquo; education mdash; but only after saving for their own future. After all, when you stop working one day, therersquo;s no one waiting to hand you a scholarship or grant to retire.rdquo;

To me, this comment is in line with Ron Paulrsquo;s belief that parents should educate their own children instead of leaving it up to the dastarly public school system. Does he forget the millions of single-parent homes? What about all of the families trying to scrape by that are right on the poverty line? I love how its so easy for a guy with a cushy job to make recommendations with the typical familial structure in mind. I think if this guy was a single mom with 2 kids hersquo;d be singing another tune.

The draft regulation, prepared by the Bush Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and currently circulating among anti-women officials, redefines abortion as, ldquo;any of the various procedures mdash; including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action mdash; that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.rdquo; Taking a page from the extremist right, they are deliberately blurring the lines between contraception and abortion, providing an extraordinarily broad definition of abortion that could be interpreted to cover various forms of birth control, including oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices (IUDrsquo;s), and emergency contraception.

This draft regulation requires entities and individuals that receive family planning funding to certify that they will not discriminate against people who object to abortion or to dispensing birth control on the basis of ldquo;religious beliefs or moral convictions.rdquo; Under the guise of passing anti-discrimination laws to protect health care providers participating in federal programs, the proposed regulation would effectively undermine a health care providerrsquo;s ability to offer the very services for which they are funded, as well as a patientrsquo;s ability to access those services. All health care providers must be able to appropriately screen and hire individuals capable and willing to perform the core services that they provide.

The regulation puts laws and policies that protect womenrsquo;s access to birth control in serious jeopardy, including state laws that require hospitals to provide sexual-assault survivors with access to emergency contraception. The draft rule limiting Title X funding will create a direct conflict between Title X (Americarsquo;s Family Planning Program) and the Maternal Child Health and Medicaid programs, which requires that grantees provide a broad range of contraceptive services and supplies to their patients.

Currently, there are ldquo;crisis pregnancy centersrdquo; in communities across the country that look like health care centers, but deliver woefully incomplete care and only provide the reproductive health care options that fit their agenda: NO birth control, NO abortion mdash; and NO choice for women and families who need it! If Bushrsquo;s proposed regulation takes effect, these ldquo;crisis pregnancy centersrdquo; are likely to receive a massive influx of our tax dollars.

At a time when 17 million women are in need of publicly-supported reproductive health care services, this regulation disparately impacts the low-income, uninsured and under-insured women who rely on these programs for their health information and services!

Source: NOW - HHS Needs a News Flash: Birth Control is NOT Abortion

[Please visit the above link to let Secretary Mike Leavitt of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services know that you do not aprove of this legislation by commenting his blog and signing the petition!]

Luckily, the students at my college are open-minded. When I considered participating in the school’s annual Drag Ball, no one laughed at the thought, no one questioned my orientation. Even though it is more acceptable for a female to dress within the male image, it was not even stigmatized for guys to dress like girls at the event. Upon learning that my fellow students were so tolerant, accepting and lax, I knew I had to join in on the fun.

I spent most of the time prior to the big evening passing out feminine beauty tips like free mini-sausage samples in a grocery store to very hungry men who needed pointers on corresponding tops to bottoms, purses to shoes and eyeliners to mascaras. Since most of my friends are guys I was not surprised in the slightest that I instantaneously became the style expert, being the token chick and all. It was nice to be asked for my genuine opinion as well as trusted with my answers. I enjoyed taking time to help out my friends with something that they had absolutely no prior experience with. Unfortunately for them, I already knew damn well what I was in for.

My partner Chris and I decided to dress as one another in order to add a role-reversal aspect to the experience. While he donned fishnet stockings, a leopard print skirt and bright purple eyeshadow, I played down my female characteristics by wearing oversized Carhardt slacks, a black t-shirt (free boobin’, mind you) and a scrawled-on brown marker beard. I also stuffed my hair under one of his old ratty hats to ensure my pink and black Chelsea wouldn’t give me away. “Unisex” band t-shirts constitute most of my wardrobe so I still felt in my physical element but at the same time I had never dressed so typically masculine before. And I really didn’t like it.

For the guys, wearing feminine getup was fun. It allowed them to participate in good old-fashioned dress up time that they had always been denied. It opened their eyes to what females regularly go through in order to get prepared for going out. They were lavished with compliments all night long and felt the pressure to look better than one another. The contest at the end of the night to determine the ball’s ‘Drag Queen’ was seriously about who made the prettiest girl. My friends were all vying for the title and picked their own favorites for who should walk away with the tiara and flowers. They had a great time and recounted the experience for weeks past.

I cannot say the same for myself. It took me a whole 3 minutes to put on the clothes and another 2 to scribble on my “beard”. There was nothing glorified about the process, no one offering to help me with any aspect of my attire. The title of ‘Drag King’ was given to a girl clad in a plaid shirt, aviator sunglasses, a furry snow hat and a fake moustache. In real life, is that an ideal image? Not exactly. For us girls, it was more about who could look the most ridiculous and get more laughs. In the end, more attention was paid to the guys. I didn’t realize it at the time but it actually really bugged me.

As a female, I am used to constant attention and the immense pressure to look beautiful to some degree. In theory this irks me. I feel that women should not have such rigid and elevated standards to conform to and more emphasis should be placed on inner beauty. Being out of the limelight was a very eye-opening experience for me; I felt downright ugly. I felt pangs of strange jealousy towards my friends because they were obtaining such copious amounts of praise and focus. I felt practically invisible.

In retrospect, I suppose I disliked this experience because it made me deal with the fact that I have come to accept my place as a visual object to be contrasted against American beauty ideals. I never realized it until afterwards but I enjoy the feeling of people paying attention to my physical being. Even though I am very far from the decimated, white, blonde, plastic look that seems to permeate every aspect of the media, I still have to factor this in when preening in the morning and I am okay with that. I love being a woman even with all its ups and downs and I would not change it for anything. It allows me to be especially creative with my style and toughens my skin against the harsh reality that I do not fit a cookie cutter mold (what a drag!). I think the guys realized this fact as well as obtained a higher appreciation of what females go through to become visually appealing. I think they would relive the experience again, but all the time? I’m sure they’d reply: too much work!

8/19/2008- A legal challenge of the proposed anti-affirmative action ballot initiative in Arizona was filed Monday. The challenge was filed by Protect Arizonarsquo;s Freedom, a coalition of community leaders, organizations, and volunteers. The lawsuit questions ldquo;the validity of over 100,000 signatures based on evidence of 13 categories of fraudulent and illegal signature-gathering tactics.rdquo; If the lawsuit is successful, the measure will be removed from the November ballot.

The signature campaign to place the measure on the ballot was initiated and largely funded by Ward Connerly, a Republican businessman from California. The American Civil Rights Institute, an organization founded by Connerly and Dusty Rhodes, has been involved in disassembling affirmative action across the nation through ballot initiatives like these for more than a decade and has provided significant financial and organizing assistance to the campaigns.

Krysten Sinema, Chair of Protect Arizonarsquo;s Freedom, stated in a press release: ldquo;Once Arizonans understood the consequences and the terrible tactics brought into our state by Connerlyrsquo;s out of state team, hundreds – in fact, just under 1,000 – stepped up to volunteer to find the evidence needed to derail Connerly.rdquo;

If approved, the measure would ban affirmative action and threaten equal opportunity programs including, Sinema said, ldquo;Arizona State Universityrsquo;s Women in Science amp; Engineering Program, the Governor’s Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women, the City of Phoenixrsquo; Teen Parents Program, the Summer Bridge Program helping Native American students prepare for academic challenges and a host of others.rdquo;

Similar measures, also initiated by Connerly, will be on the ballot in Colorado and Nebraska. Anti-affirmative action measures were proposed but will not be on the ballot in Oklahoma and Missouri.

Media Resources: Statement of Krysten Sinema, 8/18/08; Protect Arizonarsquo;s Freedom Press Release 8/18/08; Feminist Daily Newswire, 7/30/08; Ms. Magazine, Winter 2008

8/18/2008- Presumptive Presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama outlined their positions on abortion Saturday night in nationally televised back-to-back appearances. Reverand Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California posed questions to each candidate about a range of issues, including abortion and gay rights.

When asked at what point is a baby entitled to human rights, McCain quickly replied ldquo;at the moment of conception.rdquo; He went on to say ldquo;I have a 25 year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United States I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies.rdquo;

In response to the same question, Obama chose to speak on abortion more generally. Among other comments, he stated: ldquo;I am pro-choice, I believe in Roe v. Wade and come to that conclusion not because I am pro-abortion, but because ultimately I donrsquo;t think women make these decisions casually. I think they wrestle with these things in profound ways…and so for me, the goal right now should be…how do we reduce the number of abortions? Because the fact is that although wersquo;ve had a president who is opposed to abortion over the past eight years, abortions have not gone down.rdquo;

In relation to gay rights, the candidates were asked to both define marriage and comment on the possibility of amending the Constitution to define marriage. McCain defined marriage as ldquo;a union between man and woman, between one man and one womanrdquo; and said that he would favor a constitutional amendment ldquo;if a federal court decided that my state of Arizona had to observe what the state of Massachusetts decided.rdquo;

Obama said that he does not support a constitutional amendment to define marriage ldquo;because historically we have not defined marriage in our constitution. Itrsquo;s been a matter of state law.rdquo; He proceeded to comment that he is ldquo;not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage but [that he does] believe in civil unions.rdquo;

Media Resources: Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency Transcript 8/16/08; LA Times 8/18/08

June 1st, 2006

Grrrl by Jennifer Whiteford

Grrrl, yoursquo;ll be a womyn soon

Sylvie Hill

Whitefordrsquo;s channels her own rock star dreams through the novelrsquo;s riot grrrl

Play. Stop. Rewind. Jennifer Whitefordrsquo;s distinctive debut novel, Grrrl, is like a killer mixtape from the early 1990s that you want to play over and over again.

Grrrl chronicles teenaged Marliersquo;s rock star dreams and curious crushes that lead her into an underground world of punk rock, riot grrrls, and a dangerous relationship with an older indie rocker. Itrsquo;s all channelled into Marliersquo;s ever-present diary entries that are put together seamlessly to create a jolting coming-of-age tale that is positively addictive. After you race through the 252 pages and swoon from the bookrsquo;s closing lines, yoursquo;ll crave more Grrrl, itrsquo;s that grrreat.

The novel grew out of Whitefordrsquo;s own high school journal and was based on characters shersquo;s fictionalized from the years spent writing to musicians. ldquo;When I got really obsessed with an album, Irsquo;d write them [the band] a letter,rdquo; Whiteford tells XPress. ldquo;What I really wanted was someone to pay attention to me as a teenager and respond.rdquo;

Whitefordrsquo;s rock star mentorship program worked wonderfully: It plugged her into the Toronto downtown music scene, whereas teenage life in the suburbs made her feel disconnected.

Many passages, including the bookrsquo;s opening lines - ldquo;My stereo ate my favourite Pretenders tape todayrdquo; - come from the formulaic teenager world of young adult fiction with its self-absorbed and inconsequential observations. But soon it becomes evident that wersquo;ve landed in a literary universe far more sophisticated than a pissed-off

teenager pining for Chrissie Hynde.

Marliersquo;s complaint conceals the universal dissatisfaction with life at the end of summer before starting grade 10: ldquo;I canrsquo;t think of anything else I want to listen to,rdquo; Marlie writes. ldquo;Irsquo;m feeling really indecisive lately about everything, not just music. I donrsquo;t know how I want to dress, how to cut my hair, which music to listen to and who to hang out with.rdquo; Whiteford frames the problem and develops the resolution cleverly through superb character development and nail-biting episodes.

Marliersquo;s Uncle Ben, who works at the downtown Sam the Record Man and his girl-band role model girlfriend Sheena, help Marlie on her journey of self-discovery by taking her to Seattle. There, she discovers the riot grrrl movement that ignites her transformation.

Wikipedia defines ldquo;riot grrrlrdquo; as ldquo;a movement encompassing zines, festivals and hardcore punk rock music groups, known for its feminist stance.rdquo; The genre first appeared in the early 1990s as a response to punk machismo.

While at a riot grrrl event, Marlie thinks maybe shersquo;s a lesbian, but also learns how to make maxi-pads at a MoonGrrrls workshop. She freaks out: ldquo;Irsquo;m totally connected to the moon! Everyone is!rdquo; This infectious glee at newfound knowledge endears us to the Marlie character in precious interior moments.

When Marlie returns home, shersquo;s frustrated: ldquo;I want to be living in THE CITY not the suburbs!rdquo; she sneers. ldquo;I want to dye my hair crazy colours and play in a band and go to concerts and have other girls around me who want to do the same things!rdquo; So she starts an all-girl band with her friends.

Part of Whitefordrsquo;s own point here is that finding yourself ldquo;comes from finding your place in a scene, this idea that yoursquo;re becoming an expert in something.

ldquo;Marliersquo;s not listening to the Sex Pistols or The Clash,rdquo; Whiteford adds. ldquo;The thing that really takes her in is the band that shersquo;s a part of. She doesnrsquo;t worry about punk cred. Marlie is driven by her riot grrrl politics.rdquo;

This speaks to Whitefordrsquo;s experience as a female writer living in Ottawa. ldquo;I know about riot grrrl. I know about this scene,rdquo; she says authoritatively. ldquo;Irsquo;m going to be unapologetic.rdquo; Fierce but fair words for a city where the music scene, often dubbed a boysrsquo; club, would crumble just because of a loud-mouthed girl.

Moving to Ottawa six years ago got her interested in Ladyfest, and in 2000, Whiteford travelled to Olympia for the first Ladyfest. ldquo;I saw all the bands I ever wanted to see,rdquo; she says, ldquo;learned to skateboard and did lots of cool stuff and came back and said, lsquo;Irsquo;m going to write a book now.rsquo;rdquo;

Grrrl is a valuable contribution to Canadian literature because it tenderly expresses the struggle of girls who adore music and are desperately seeking a way in.

For guys who love books about music, therersquo;s Nick Hornby. For the girls, itrsquo;s Jennifer Whiteford.

This article was taken from Associated Content.

The Riot Grrrl community first surfaced in Washington D.C. in 1991. Its cause was to maintain a female positive environment in the punk scene when misogyny ran rampant. Kathleen Hanna, the poster child for riot grrrl and front woman of numerous bands, did not know what she was creating when she came up with the motto ldquo;Revolution Girl-Style Now!rdquo;

Firstly, Riot Grrrl is misspelled on purpose. It includes the passive-by-society ldquo;girlrdquo; and combines it with a growl of aggressiveness. It embraces the motivation and rulebook that the riot grrrlrsquo;s live by-we can be feminine but we can still fight and scream for our rights that society has never given us.

A lot of musicians, fans and reporters have said that while riot grrrl got its fame in the nineties it was around a lot longer than that. Janis Joplin, Yoko Ono, and Grace Slick are among hundreds of famous female rock stars in the sixties. The eighties also had a huge resurgence of female singers which probably made it a pathway for the nineties riot grrrl.

The third wave of feminism really took off in the nineties thanks to riot grrrl. Women started expressing by spoken word, playing in a band, and making zines (homemade magazines). Charters were set-up across the world and the internet helped make feminists organized and friendly (compared to present day feminism which has lost its organization despite the internet).

Once organization was done they started having Ladyfests, zine fairs, and carnivals against racism, sexism and fascist beauty standards. They also funded workshops for and about zine production, rape, racism, self-defense, and eating disorders (which dramatically increased in the nineties among young female adults). Riot grrrlrsquo;s were very community orientated and they had a positive message to send to the young women of society-even though some did not take it to well. Parents thought that the riot grrrls were far too radical to be telling their daughters to become equal but they never considered that maybe being radical is what it takes in a patriarchal society.

This article was taken from Associated Content.

Forget the stereotypes, being a feminist isn’t about having short hair, or refusing to wear dresses. It’s not about trash-talking, bashing or otherwise hating men. Feminism isn’t based on any kinds of strict, crazy principles like refusing to use a razor blade or protesting pornography. Anyone can deem herself a feminist without giving up her love of makeup, her super long locks or throwing out her favorite pair of stilettos.

Love Yourself. First things first, a feminist believes that all people, male or female, should be treated equally. This includes you, you savvy college miss! It’s easy to believe that women as a whole need fair treatment, but that starts with each of you individually. So take a look in the mirror. Embrace your womanly curves, your precious derr’iere, your overabundance of freckles, your pale skin—whatever! Forget about making fitting into that brand new pair of skinny jeans your top priority. Learn to love yourself, regardless of your flaws, because it’s those little things that make you unique as a woman.

Love Your Sisters. Women are all in the fight for equality together, from your too-smart-for-her-own-good English professor to that girl you love to hate in your Sociology class. It’s easy to let nasty words (think “slut”, “whore”, etc.) slip into your daily conversations when speaking about other women. If women talk about their own gender this way, what progress is really being made? Make an effort to stop gabbing and tearing down other women with unnecessary gossip.

If you want to chat about riot grrrl, feminism, riot boy, or just want to chat with other riot grrrls/boys, stop by the riot grrrl chat. The chat is located here.

This article was taken from LA Times.

From Riot Grrrl to alt-mom

By Erika Schickel

February 12, 2007 in print edition E-14

SHE was there for the postfeminist revolution, marching down Fifth Avenue topless with “slut” painted on her belly. She was hanging out in clubs, interviewing Kristin Hersh and Patti Smith, rocking with the Riot Grrrls, staring down yuppies in the East Village, publishing a ‘zine, getting hitched in a gorilla mask. Her alt credentials are flawless. “Mamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids, amp; Rock ‘n’ Roll” is Evelyn McDonnell’s account of a life lived on the cultural and then maternal cutting edge.

McDonnell started out a Midwestern pop-music addict (crushing on the cartoon version of Michael Jackson in the 1970s, while her older brother swooned over Speed Racer’s limpid eyes.) She knew who she was from the get-go – “Some people are born musicians. I was born a listener” – and began her rock ‘n’ roll apprenticeship at an early age, following bands and deejaying in clubs.

“Punk rock saved my bored, zit-faced teenage life

McDonnell spent her 20s and 30s in the mosh pit of alt-pop culture, meeting her icons and helping to forge a new kind of feminism for her generation.

“It was the early ’90s, when direct activism, identity politics, hip-hop, and grunge were driving forces of the dawn of the Clinton era. We were a new breed of woman whom pundits, including some in our own ranks, struggled to name: postfeminists, womanists, Riot Grrrls, pro-sex feminists, do-me feminists (a name obviously thought up by a men’s magazine), third-wave feminists, lipstick lesbians, bitches with attitudes.”

For someone who grew up in New York and is McDonnell’s virtual contemporary, “Mamarama” is frequently a fun trip down memory lane. She captures the excitement of the East Village and the post-punk music scene in loving detail. But her rebellion, as reported here, grows to be somewhat formulaic. We know what’s coming next, and her story gets bogged down in its chronology as she tells it beat by beat, from beginning to end.

“Mamarama” sometimes reads like an incredibly long Village Voice profile. McDonnell is not without agenda and presents the facts of her life with hefty editorializing. While that often leads to insight, her prose can sometimes be as rhythmic and predictable as a fist pump – one wishes she would unclench that fist and massage the material a little more. Inject some humor and poetry, mix up the chronology, make her life story more of a mix tape than an LP.

After 179 pages of “rama,” we finally get to the “mama,” with the birth of her son, Cole. By this time, McDonnell is living in Miami (where she is currently an award-winning culture critic for the Miami Herald) with her husband and his two teenage daughters. Her son’s birth shifts her out of reminiscence and into the more immediate (and interesting) present-tense concerns of the book – reconciling a liberal, liberated lifestyle with the more conventional and traditional responsibilities and routines of parenthood.

This article was taken from the New York Times.

POP VIEW;Riot Grrrl Returns, With a Slightly Softer Roar

By EVELYN MCDONNELL

Published: June 2, 1996

AT THE HEART OF FEMINISM lies the belief in self-determination: women should define their own identities. One recent expression of that tenet can be found on ldquo;Call the Doctor,rdquo; the new album by Sleater-Kinney, a band of three college-age women from the Pacific Northwest. ldquo;Itrsquo;s fine/ When itrsquo;s all mine/ Itrsquo;s on my wall itrsquo;s in my head/ Memorize it till Irsquo;m dead,rdquo; Corin Tucker, a guitarist and vocalist, sings with an air of calm assurance on the song ldquo;I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone.rdquo;

That calm is quickly disrupted. ldquo;Itrsquo;s yours/ Now Irsquo;m so bored,rdquo; Ms. Tucker sings, then breaks into a series of spine-tapping ldquo;yeah, yordquo; rsquo;s mdash; part hiccup, part howl mdash; that punctuate the chorus: ldquo;I wanna be your Joey Ramone/ Pictures of me on your bedroom door/ Invite you back after the show/ Irsquo;m the queen of rock-and-roll.rdquo;

Judging from the rapt attention paid by teen-age girls at Sleater-Kinneyrsquo;s recent New York shows, Ms. Tucker and her bandmates are already becoming their generationrsquo;s Ramones. Providing more female role models was one of the objectives of the feminist rock movement called Riot Grrrl, according to manifestoes from the fanzines that circulated in punk circles in the early 90rsquo;s. When the mainstream press discovered those fanzines about a year later, Riot Grrrl (a term coined by young punks in Washington and Olympia, Wash.) became big news for media outlets from The L.A. Weekly to ldquo;Nightline.rdquo; Unprepared for the attention, and disturbed that their effort to define themselves was being undermined, Riot Grrrls called for a news media ban.

This story was taken from here.

Wendy O. Williams-Rockrsquo;s First Riot Grrrl

Mar 4, 2004

The Plasmatics championed rock lsquo;n roll chaos, gore and violence after Kiss and Alice Cooper but before Gwar and Marilyn Manson . However, they added another element to the fray. Their frontwoman, Wendy O. Williams, was a part-time porn actress with an outrageous Mohawk who wore nothing more than shaving cream or electrical tape onstage ,crashed cars, smashed TV sets and whatever stage prop was slated for demolition that evening.

The brainchild of porn producer Rod Swenson, the band consisted of sledgehammer wielding vocalist Wendy O Williams (WOW for short), guitarists Richie Stotts and Wes Beech and bassist Jean Beauvoir. The group initially played chaotic live gigs at notorious New York punk haunts like CBGBs in the late rsquo;70s. It wasnrsquo;t long before the Plasmatics recorded their first album ldquo;New Hope For The Wretched.rdquo; In 1980 Hard to believe the quasi-metal noise of ldquo;Butcher Babyrdquo; and ldquo;Tight Black Pantsrdquo; was produced by Jimmy Miller, who previously helmed albums by the Stones and Traffic. A more successful effort ldquo;Beyond The Valley of 1984Prime; was released the next year. Featuring ldquo;Sex Junkierdquo; and ldquo;A Pig Is A Pigrdquo;, ldquo;1984Prime; is definitely a very heavy metal album, and the bandrsquo;s best release. Even the futuristic Mad Max in the desert cover photograph and the accompanying video (Wendy crashing a car through a wall of TV sets) are shock-rock classics.

The band played live shows at small hole in the wall clubs where they could get away with their XXX antics. Although audiences were appreciative (one Plasmatics fans seems thrilled to have an antenna from a smashed TV set rip his hand, according to a message board posting), police in the Midwest werenrsquo;t impressed. At a show in Milwaukee, police arrested Wendy on ldquo;public indecencyrdquo; charges and severely beat her and manager Swenson. 1982rsquo;s ldquo;Coup Drsquo;Etatrdquo; signaled the Plasmatics last gasp as a media-fueled metal-punk spectacle. Plasmatics material continues to be released and re-released to this day. Proving that the group had a sensitive side, the Plasmatics website released an album of the bandrsquo;s collected ldquo;loverdquo; songs in 2002 ldquo;Love Songs For The Apocalypserdquo; contained titles such as ldquo;Fuck That Booty,rdquo; ldquo;Jailbait,rdquo; and ldquo;I Love Sex.rdquo; Perfect background music for an evening at Mistress Wendyrsquo;s House of Domination. Williams released two solo albums-the Gene Simmons produced ldquo;WOWrdquo; released in 1984 and 1986rsquo;s ldquo;Kommander of Kaos.rdquo; She also recorded ldquo;No Classrdquo; and ldquo;Stand By Your Manrdquo; with Motorheadrsquo;s Lemmy. As the 1980s ended, so did Williamsrsquo; career as a punk/metal priestess and she appeared in a few films and television shows. She also promoted her interest in macrobiotic and vegetarian food, teaching a class in macrobiotic cooking at NYCrsquo;s Learning Annex in the early rsquo;90s.

This news story was taken from katu.com.

PORTLAND, Ore. - A mother who sent her 8-year-old daughter to a Portland rock music-themed camp for girls says she is shocked by what she thinks is age-inappropriate material distributed to the young attendees.

The mother, who did not want to be identified, said her daughter returned home with music that contained graphic violent imagery and lyrics that were both sexually charged and racist.

The woman said the items were part of a welcome packet for girls attending the camp and that she checked them out before her daughter could listen to the music.

She said shersquo;s worried that other camp attendees might be exposed to the materials and music if their parents donrsquo;t get to it first.

One CD featured packaging that depicted a murder scene with a dead body and a killing in progress.

Also among the items was a tape by the band Bikini Kill that the concerned mom said had sexual content so explicit she was too embarrassed to repeat it. She said the music also had racially offensive content.

She said that if her daughter had heard the music and asked her what some of the words meant, it would have been ldquo;very difficult to explain to her.rdquo;

While officials with Rock and Roll Camp for Girls declined to be interviewed by KATU News, they did say they were going to look into the issue. On their Web site, the non-profit organization says the camp is designed to ldquo;build girls self-esteem through music creation and performance.rdquo;

The organization says it is for girls ages 8 to 18 years old.

The girlrsquo;s mother said she canrsquo;t understand how the materials could have been given to an 8-year-old without some sort of screening by camp operators.

ldquo;I trusted these adults to give her appropriate material,rdquo; she said.

The next session of the camp begins on Monday.

Afghan girls continue to be sexually exploited, reported the Afghan Interior Ministry Thursday. The Ministry told Reuters that the number of sexual assaults on children has significantly increased. The Afghanistan Human Rights Organization (AHRO) has reported that in January a 10 year-old girl was raped in Jowzjan province and that groups of men raped a 12 year-old girl in June in Sar-I-Pol province and a 3 year-old girl in July in Jowzjan province. Cases like these abound.

A 12 year-old girl who was raped at gunpoint by five men has publicly spoken about the gang rape. A video of the girl and her family was posted online by the Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan. The girl pleads for help from Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Since the video became public, the family has met with Karzai, who has reportedly fired the police chief where the attack occurred, according to CNN.

Relatedly, an Islamic cleric was detained for allegedly presiding over a marriage of a 7 year-old girl to a 17 or 18 year-old man. Legally, girls under 16 and boys under 18 can not marry in Afghanistan. However, according to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women 57% of Afghan girls are married before age 16, frequently to settle their family’s debts or other disputes.

Media Resources: Reuters 8/7/08; Australian Broadcasting Corporation 8/7/08; United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women 2/16/07; CNN 8/7/08

I want feedback about this blog, so please answer the following questions in a reply to this post.

1.) What do YOU want to see on this blog? (as in posts)

2.) Are there any changes I should make to this blog?

3.) What do YOU think about this blog?

4.) Any other suggestions for this blog?

5.) Are there certain topics that I should post about more often? If so, What topics should I post about more often?

6.) Are there any posts/topics that YOU would like to see me write about? (Irsquo;m not talking about the news posts that I make on this blog. Irsquo;m talking about personal opinions, experiences, thoughts, etc.)

I know I already post about alot of different things, but Irsquo;m wanting opinions and suggestions. As a blogger and for you, as a reader, itrsquo;s important to know your thoughts about this blog, so I can improve this blog.

This is an update from one of my previous entries located here.

My cyst is on my left ovary. It is small and I had an ultrasound done last month and the cyst has not grown any. Since July 10th, and this week, even right now, The cyst has been bothering me. It was so bad last week, I had to stay in bed quite often for 2 days: Thursday and Friday..July 10th and July 11th. Last Saturday, July 12th, I went to the doctor. He prescribed me some Ibprofren (spelling?) 800mg to help the pain. I also found out I had a UTI again. (urinary tract infection) Last Sunday through right now, It is still bothering me, but the pain isnrsquo;t as bad as it was,. Also, I started my period 4 days ago and the cyst is still bothering me. Today-Saturday, It is still bothering me. I still feel bloated, full, heavy, have dull pains, and at timeshellip;sharp pains. It was worse than that last week. Irsquo;m hoping that it quits bothering me soon. I have to sit alot, but on something softhellip;any hard chair makes the pain worse. I can stand and work some, even though it still hurts when I do so.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Is there anything I can do to get rid of the pain? Please share your advice with me.

My story below might not sound like something for this blog, but the health issues: diabetes and kidney failure DO affect women. (men too)

My mom had a blood test a few weeks ago and it revealed that her kidneys were weak. They took it again last week and her kidneys were a little weaker. My mom went to her doctor this past Monday morning. He told her she needs to see a doctor that specializes in kidneys. Today, My mom went to see the kidney specialist and he told her that her kidneys were functioning just 28%. Oddly, My mom goes to the doctor quite often and they are just now finding this. (after all the blood tests she has had throughout the years) They told her it was kidney failure and that it was in stage 4. (out of 5 stages) They told her that she wouldnrsquo;t have to start dialysis until her kidneys are functioning at 15%. Either way, Kidney failure is still bad news and deadly. My mom is only 60 years oldhellip;She just turned 60 on July 15th. My momrsquo;s sister, also my aunt, died a couple of years ago and she had kidney failure too and took dialysis. (Thatrsquo;s not what my aunt died of though and she was in her late 50rsquo;s.) My mom hasnrsquo;t been in good health for about 3 years now because she can barely walk. Her legs and feet bother her/hurt her and turn color. When she goes out, She has to go out in a wheelchair because she cannot walk, unless it is a short distance. My mom has been diabetic since 1993 and she has type 2 diabetes. (not sure if that is the right year, but she has had diabetes since the early 90rsquo;s I know) I have been so sad ever since hearing the news. I just break down and cry at times as well. (so does my mom) I was hoping it wasnrsquo;t kidney failure. Itrsquo;s the thought of knowing she has kidney failure that makes me sad. I know my mom could live a long time or not, but it makes me sad knowing that she has kidney failure.

My story below might not relate to this blog, but the health issues DO relate to women and men, so I thought I would share it.

I had blood taken on July 16th and my doctor made me an appointment to let me know about the results of the blood test for today. My thyroid seems to be better, in fact, it is currently overactive due to the medicine I take for an underactive thyroid. The doctor decreased my thyroid medicine from 50mg to 25mg. However, There are some not so good results to my blood test. It turns out that my triglycerides (I think that is the word or something like it) are high, but my cholesterol is good. He said that I might be fixing to be diabetic, but he said I wasnrsquo;t yet because my glucose was fine according to my blood work. He said to watch the fatty foods that I eat. Also, He told me that my liver enzymes are elevated. He checked my last blood test from April or May and my liver enzymes were not elevated. (neither were the triglycerides) I already have a fatty liver, so I am worried. (I found out I had a fatty liver when I had an ultrasound done on my stomach a few months ago.) He wanted me to take blood again, so he sent me to the blood lab. This blood test should reveal if I have certain liver diseases, an iron problem, and find out more specifically about my liver and how it is functioning. He scheduled me for an ultrasound on my gallbladder for tomorrow, just in case the elevated liver enzymes are caused by a gallstone. I wonrsquo;t know the results to the ultrasound or the blood test until August 8th, that is when I see my doctor again. Until then, I am nervous and worried.

The following news story was taken from here

Two Afghan ldquo;Prostitutesrdquo; Allegedly Murdered by Taliban

Two Afghan women were killed last weekend outside Ghazni City for allegedly running a prostitution ring for US military personnel and foreign contractors. The women were allegedly killed by the Taliban. A spokesperson for the Ghazni governor described the women as ldquo;innocent local peoplerdquo; who were killed in an ldquo;undescribable and cruel way.rdquo; Nathan Perry, a US Military spokesperson, said that he was unaware of allegations of a prostitution ring or ldquo;anything close to that naturerdquo; BBC News reports.

The Taliban purportedly released photos on the Internet of the womenrsquo;s decapitated bodies. According to Times Now, the Associated Press had a camera crew and began filming the shooting as soon as they heard gunshots. There has been speculation that the execution was meant to be a warning to women of the community.

Media Resources: BBC News, 7/13/08; Adnkronos International 7/15/08; Times Now 7/14/08

Feminists Express Outrage over New Yorker

7/15/2008 - Feminist groups immediately expressed outrage over the New Yorker’s cover for the July 21 issue that depicts a caricature of Michelle and Senator Barack Obama. Editor David Remnick Claims the Caricature is Satirical.

The cover features Michelle and Barack Obama in what appears to be the oval office, with a portrait of Osama bin Laden over the fireplace and a U.S. flag burning in it. The Michelle caricature has an afro, is wearing camouflage, and carries a machine gun while the Barack caricature’s attire mirrors that of bin Laden. The two caricatures are doing a fist bump that Fox News has previously described as a terrorist fist jab.

Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Dr. E. Faye Williamsrsquo; response was that ldquo;the New Yorker cover is not satire; itrsquo;s racism and sexism at its worst! Never again, will I purchase a New Yorker. Some people understand nothing less than the lsquo;power of the pursersquo;.rdquo;

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is encouraging its membership to e-mail letters to the New Yorker urging that the cover be removed.

The Feminist Majority (FM) has also sent out an action alert. FM President Eleanor Smeal remarks that ldquo;Of course some will say that feminists have no sense of humor, but there is absolutely nothing satirical or funny about it. This is a vicious attack masquerading as satire.rdquo;

The blogosphere has also lit up. Michelle Obama Watch calls the cover “reprehensible” and calls for its ldquo;immediate removalrdquo;. Feministing calls the cover ldquo;a perfect visual summary of what Fox News spews and what right-wing emails allege every dayrdquo;. The Diary of an Anxious Black Woman asks ldquo;are we, as a nation, truly sophisticated enough to make these kinds of jokes?.

Media Resources: National Organization for Women 7/14/08; Feminist Majority Foundation 7/14/08; Women’s Media Center 7/13/08; Feministing; Diary of an Anxious Black Woman 7/13/08; Michelle Obama Watch 7/14/08; YouTube

Cynthia McKinney will be Green Party Presidential Candidate

7/14/2008 - Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was nominated by the Green Party to be its presidential candidate at the partyrsquo;s convention in Chicago on Saturday. McKinney represented Dekalb County, Georgiarsquo;s 4th district, for six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat.

Journalist, activist and community organizer Rosa Clemente will be McKinneyrsquo;s running mate. Clemente has remarked that ldquo;Cynthia McKinney is a hero to me and many others across this country and around the world for her courage in standing up to George Bush while the Democratic Party establishment caved.rdquo; McKinney is known for initiating legislation to impeach Bush during her last days in Congress.

Media Resources: rosaclemente.com; runcynthiarun.org; greensforgreens.org; Associated Press 12/8/06