This list is from Courtney Martin via Feministing - it's so kick-ass, I just had to post it:
Ten Things You Can Do Right Now to Love Your Body
1. Make the radical choice to commit to healing your relationship with your body.
2. Never diet. Never ever. It is a $31 billion industry that fails 95% of the time. That's just stupid.
3. Reconnect with your authentic hungers. When are you hungry? When are you full? What are you hungry for?
4. Move in ways (African dance, yoga, running, sex...) that make you feel happy instead of adhering to strict fitness regimens.
5. Add a compassionate voice to the chorus in your head.
6. Don't spend money on products made by companies that make you feel inadequate. Duh.
7. Stop hanging out with toxic people that make you feel bad about yourself.
8. Change conversations about weight to conversations about wellbeing.
9. Nominate someone for the REAL Hot 100.
10. Redefine your notion of success to include your own wellness - including joy, fulfillment, resilience, and self-love.
***
Ask any woman - we bond over how much we hate our bodies. Really, it's pretty fucked up. And I don't claim to be above all the crap that tries to keep us hating ourselves - it's something I struggle with, too (especially because I consider myself a feminist, and I feel like I should be past it all). But think about it: a group of women are talking about how much they've eaten this week, how much they hate their thighs, how wide they think their asses are - if there's a woman there who has nothing negative to say about her body, if she's totally comfortable in her own skin, then she's looked at differently. Cause, geez, how could she not have anything negative to say? Who does she think she is?
Why is it weird to be comfortable with our own bodies?? And why is it so fucking normal to hate yourself??
Check out Courtney's book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Birth control in middle school
King Middle School will now offer prescription birth control in the student health center, making them the first middle school in the state of Maine to offer a full range of contraception to students in 6th-8th grade.
Students who have parental permission to be treated at the school's health center are eligible to request birth control without notifying their parents.
Although only 2 out of 12 members of the Portland school board voted against offering contraceptives, feelings among parents are mixed. Check out some of the reader comments
following the story in The Portland Press Herald...
Students who have parental permission to be treated at the school's health center are eligible to request birth control without notifying their parents.
Although only 2 out of 12 members of the Portland school board voted against offering contraceptives, feelings among parents are mixed. Check out some of the reader comments
following the story in The Portland Press Herald...
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Cause college chicks really don't know what they want.
Apparently, that's what Austin Scott thinks.
The Penn State University football player was charged with raping a woman in his campus apartment on October 5.
Scott told police the two went back to his place after some drinks, and the woman said she was not going to have sex with him. Scott added, "Girls will say that they do not want to have sex with you, but then they get to your room."
Ok, let's clear a few things up here:
1.) If a woman meets you for drinks, that does not mean she wants you to have sex with her.
2.) If a woman gets a little tipsy, that does not mean she wants you to have sex with her.
3.) If a woman says she does not want to have sex with you, that does not mean she really wants to have sex with you.
4.) If a woman watches TV with you while sitting in bed, that does not mean she wants you to have sex with her.
5.) If a woman lets you "cop a feel," that still does not mean she also wants your dick in her.
Do I need to keep going???
The Penn State University football player was charged with raping a woman in his campus apartment on October 5.
Scott told police the two went back to his place after some drinks, and the woman said she was not going to have sex with him. Scott added, "Girls will say that they do not want to have sex with you, but then they get to your room."
Ok, let's clear a few things up here:
1.) If a woman meets you for drinks, that does not mean she wants you to have sex with her.
2.) If a woman gets a little tipsy, that does not mean she wants you to have sex with her.
3.) If a woman says she does not want to have sex with you, that does not mean she really wants to have sex with you.
4.) If a woman watches TV with you while sitting in bed, that does not mean she wants you to have sex with her.
5.) If a woman lets you "cop a feel," that still does not mean she also wants your dick in her.
Do I need to keep going???
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Spotlight on teen dating abuse
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I'd like to give a shout-out to loveisrespect.org, The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. It's a fantastic resource for teens experiencing intimate partner violence - not to mention their concerned parents, friends and anyone who'd like more information on the subject. Since the site launched last year, their 24-hour helpline has had over 6,118 phone and live chat contacts.
People hear "intimate partner violence" or "domestic violence," and they tend to think of it as an adult issue - but that's not the case. According to loveisrespect.org, 1 in 3 teenagers report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked or physically hurt by their partner.
And abuse isn't just physical; it can be mental and emotional - and just as debilitating.
So ladies, make sure your partner treats you well. And forget all the emo bullshit: no one intentionally hurts the one they love.
People hear "intimate partner violence" or "domestic violence," and they tend to think of it as an adult issue - but that's not the case. According to loveisrespect.org, 1 in 3 teenagers report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked or physically hurt by their partner.
And abuse isn't just physical; it can be mental and emotional - and just as debilitating.
So ladies, make sure your partner treats you well. And forget all the emo bullshit: no one intentionally hurts the one they love.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Did you remember your gender today?
Khadijah Farmer never expected to be bullied and humiliated at a New York City restaurant.
She, her girlfriend and another friend went out to the Caliente Cab Company after New York's Gay Pride Parade last June. When Farmer left her party to use the women's restroom, a bouncer followed her in, banged on her stall door and demanded she leave. Farmer, who opts for men's suits rather than makeup, attempted to show the bouncer her ID - to prove she was "woman enough" to use the women's room. The employee refused to listen to Farmer, and proceeded to throw her and her friends out.
It's no surprise many people are uncomfortable with ambiguous ways of exhibiting gender, but honestly, I can't see how Farmer was hurting anyone or creating a dangerous atmosphere by being herself. In short: who fucking cares?! Who cares what people wear or how they define themselves, as long as they are comfortable with who they are?
Michael Silverman, staff attorney from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund of New York City, said it best this morning on the Today show:
"In this case, we believe the fundamental issue is, who gets to decide whether someone’s gender expression is appropriate? Is it Khadijah, or is it every bouncer in a restaurant? Is it every employer or manager who says, ‘Well, would you try a strand of pearls? Maybe that would make you look more feminine. Maybe we’d like you more in the workplace’?"
There's some food for thought.
She, her girlfriend and another friend went out to the Caliente Cab Company after New York's Gay Pride Parade last June. When Farmer left her party to use the women's restroom, a bouncer followed her in, banged on her stall door and demanded she leave. Farmer, who opts for men's suits rather than makeup, attempted to show the bouncer her ID - to prove she was "woman enough" to use the women's room. The employee refused to listen to Farmer, and proceeded to throw her and her friends out.
It's no surprise many people are uncomfortable with ambiguous ways of exhibiting gender, but honestly, I can't see how Farmer was hurting anyone or creating a dangerous atmosphere by being herself. In short: who fucking cares?! Who cares what people wear or how they define themselves, as long as they are comfortable with who they are?
Michael Silverman, staff attorney from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund of New York City, said it best this morning on the Today show:
"In this case, we believe the fundamental issue is, who gets to decide whether someone’s gender expression is appropriate? Is it Khadijah, or is it every bouncer in a restaurant? Is it every employer or manager who says, ‘Well, would you try a strand of pearls? Maybe that would make you look more feminine. Maybe we’d like you more in the workplace’?"
There's some food for thought.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Guys, please be responsible and pop some pills.
It takes two to tango, if ya know what I mean (wink, wink). Now, medical researchers are finally applying that old cliche to birth control options. That's right fellas - you will soon have more contraceptive choices than the good old love glove.
Hang on to your pill packs, ladies - the male birth control pill is a-comin'! The manly version of the oral contraceptive could be out on the market within five to seven years. And don't worry dudes, there's no estrogen here - the hormones in the male pill are strictly testosterone and progestin, which apparently lower sperm count when used together.
And pills are only the beginning - implants could be approved even sooner! For those who aren't familiar with implants, I'm not talkin' saline. The women's version, Norplant (which is now off the market and being replaced with Implanon), consists of six little hormone-filled plastic rods about the size of matchsticks. A health care professional inserts them in her upper arm and they're effective for five years. Implanon is one rod, instead of Norplant's six, and stays effective for up to three years.
Ah yes, the joys of pregnancy prevention can now be shared by the men in our life - right on :)
Hang on to your pill packs, ladies - the male birth control pill is a-comin'! The manly version of the oral contraceptive could be out on the market within five to seven years. And don't worry dudes, there's no estrogen here - the hormones in the male pill are strictly testosterone and progestin, which apparently lower sperm count when used together.
And pills are only the beginning - implants could be approved even sooner! For those who aren't familiar with implants, I'm not talkin' saline. The women's version, Norplant (which is now off the market and being replaced with Implanon), consists of six little hormone-filled plastic rods about the size of matchsticks. A health care professional inserts them in her upper arm and they're effective for five years. Implanon is one rod, instead of Norplant's six, and stays effective for up to three years.
Ah yes, the joys of pregnancy prevention can now be shared by the men in our life - right on :)
Finally!!
After much - uh, bullshit - the city of Aurora, Illinois allowed Planned Parenthood of the Chicago Area to open the doors of its new health center on October 1st! For a little more background on the controversy, check out this little beauty from the archives.
Take that, anti-choice weirdos!
Take that, anti-choice weirdos!
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