Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
Mansplaining: from Suffragettes to the Tampon Tax
I don’t surf the internet looking for articles that make me angry. I really don’t. Most of the time I don’t even give into the temptation of an obvious click-bait article, but seeing a non-Onion article regarding a meninist and the tampon tax, I gave in and let myself see what was happening in the new viral outrage. There is a full list of the things I expected from the article, but what stood out was what I didn’t expect. Seeing a man my own age make comments about how women on their period should simply hold in their uterine lining until they make it to a restroom, making the tampon tax in London completely irrelevant as a topic, baffled me to the point of wondering whether or not it… Read more »
Not Just Water: Standing Rock & Tribal Sovereignty
Shailene Woodley, also known as Shailene Would she be talking about this if it didn’t make her trend on Facebook? Was arrested last Monday for criminal trespassing at the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests. While the conflict over the pipeline has surfaced relatively recently, it has been opposed by the The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe along with 100 other tribes in the U.S and Canada since its initial proposal in 2014. The pipeline, intending to more cheaply accommodate the transport costs associated with moving crude oil from Illinois poses severe problems for the reservation’s 8,000 occupants, threatening public health and welfare, water supply and cultural resources. Less than a half mile from the reservation’s border, the pipeline threatens the reservation’s source of clean drinking water, provided mainly by the Cannon Ball… Read more »
Trust Me, We’ve Got This: Women and Birth Control Edition
I didn’t need birth control until I was almost eighteen. A few months away from college, not sexually active, and not facing any difficulties with my period; I had no real use for it until it became another thing to cross off my ‘become an adult’ bucket-list. When I finally got to the doctor’s office, I had enough internet research under my belt to know exactly what I was going to ask for. The main stipulation I had as I walked into the clean, tiled hallway was something that did not have to be taken daily, knowing my own habits for forgetting to take antibiotics and other medicines taken orally. When I walked out, I had a prescription for daily hormone pills and a defeated sense of self. After talking with… Read more »
In Favor of a Full Bush: Why I Want Healthcare Education to include Pubes
This past week, as a part of my first official semester in nursing school, I learned how to insert a urinary catheter. A urinary catheter is a tube that is inserted into the bladder via the urethra when the bladder does not empty pee as normal. My nursing class learned how to insert catheters into urethras that were located above adult vaginas. The whole process of learning how to insert a catheter began with reading about it, then watching a video on how to do it, and finally practicing on a mannequin that is supposed to simulate a real life adult human person. While I watched the catheter-insertion video and then later in lab while I readied my mannequin’s vagina for practice, I was perplexed. Why? Because both the mannequin… Read more »
Artist We Love: Stephanie Feldman
Content Note: The videos in the Be Heard Project contain detailed descriptions of sexual assault and rape. Art and the creators behind some of our favorite work have changed as digital media maintains its hold on audiences the world over. Instagram has become the world’s museum, and finding and appreciating art has become easier than ever. This summer, we want to take a minute to appreciate some of our favorite artists who create work that inspires and excites us as reproductive justice advocates, intersectional feminists, and culture agitators. Artist Name: Stephanie Feldman What encouraged you to become an artist? I’ve always gravitated towards creative outlets. For a long time I thought music was what I would be pursuing for the rest of my life. When I found myself questioning that… Read more »
The Supreme Court Decision That Will Keep Police Violence The Norm
To date, 123 people of color have been killed by police in 2016. After the formation of the Black Lives Matter Movement and unprecedented political engagement from presidential candidates on conversations surrounding racial justice and criminal justice reform, the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in such steady succession cuts to the quick. Our nation has become too comfortable witnessing state brutality against non-violent black people through the grainy footage of cell phone and soundless police dashboard cameras. We know the names of the 123 people who have lost their lives. We know what their families’ suffering sounds like. What we may not know is that, this past June, the Supreme Court made it much easier for these acts of violence to continue without legal consequences. With such landmark cases on… Read more »
Artists We Love: Megan Smith
Art and the creators behind some of our favorite work have changed as digital media maintains its hold on audiences the world over. Instagram has become the world’s museum, and finding and appreciating art has become easier than ever. This summer, we want to take a minute to appreciate some of our favorite artists who create work that inspires and excites us as reproductive justice advocates, intersectional feminists, and culture agitators. Click here to see more from the Artists We Love series. Artist Name: Megan Smith What encouraged you to become an artist? I come from a creative family. My grandmother is a painter and so from an early age I was around someone who not only was creating work but who also was teaching me about color, perspective, and, less-overtly, about… Read more »
Why You Shouldn’t Let Self-Doubt Keep You From Celebrating Your Success
In my first year of college, I applied to join my university’s honors program. Even though I was already attending my “reach” school, I had done well during my first year of college, so I applied. Much to everyone’s surprise, I got in. As soon as my first honors program class started, I knew I was in over my head. All of the students around me were talking about their favorite philosophers and unbelievable internships. They tossed around words like “vociferous “ casually, and leaned back in their fancy leather chairs as if they were born to be in the honors program. You know the type. This was my first philosophy class ever. The readings were dense and difficult. The paper prompts were daunting. The oral presentations were intimidating. While… Read more »
My journey as a Catholic Reproductive Justice activist
I’m what you would call a cradle Catholic. I was baptized as a baby and I have been Catholic since. I go to Mass, read my Bible and say the rosary. I went to Catholic school from the time I was three years old until I was 14. I am also a reproductive justice activist. It is no secret the Catholic Church has always been very openly against abortion and, in a lot of cases, contraception. I don’t really know if there was ever a time where I decided and openly said that was incorrect and I was going to go against the teachings of the Church, I think it has always been a part of me. Deep down, I always knew it was wrong to deny abortion and birth… Read more »
Psssst. Straight Passing Privilege is a Fantasy
The first time I heard Jenny Lewis, she was singing about some pretty heavy stuff. I was 16 and at that point in my life, I could count the number of rebellious things I’d done on one hand. A Man/Then Me/Then Jim for someone like me (who stressed if she was even a few minutes late to class) was edgy in a really romantic way. I clearly remember thinking how cool Jenny Lewis was for writing a song about someone who had really complex romantic relationships with both men and women. Clearly, I could not read a song title. I know now that the song traces the lives of three different speakers, only one of which is actually Jenny. Regardless of Jenny’ actual intention, though, for me it has always… Read more »
