Jan Brewer v. Roe v. Wade

Is there anyone whose rights I still need to trample?

Sadly, we have another Stepford wife perpetuating the war on women.  Our Jan Brewer(R. Arizona) who suffers from internalized misogyny, has signed a bill that in many ways challenges Roe v. Wade and sends the message that women are not able to govern their own bodies.   The absurd law states that:

…gestational age as beginning on the first day of a woman’s last period, rather than at fertilization. In practice, that means the state has banned abortions after about 18 weeks.

The absurdly named Women’s Health and Safety Act moves the cutoff threshold for abortions so early that it prevents most medical testing that would inform a woman about the health and viability of a fetus. This is bad enough, but the bill also effectively ends another common, medically sound practice.

Medication abortions, which are nonsurgical and usually performed within the first nine weeks of pregnancy, and account for between 17 and 20 percent of all abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-rights advocacy group. While women often take the pills at clinics and in their homes, the bill now mandates that a medical provider must have hospital privileges within 30 miles of where the procedure takes place. Many times clinics or homes are not within 30 miles of hospitals, and the distance prevents providers from other cities or even states from caring for women, says Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute. Another factor that could contribute to what Nash called a “shutdown” of medication abortions is that the law requires abortion pills to be administered using outdated protocols, confusing providers and obscuring proper use of the drugs.

This bill continues the alarming trend of right-wing legislatures (Arizona’s is one of the most draconian) and tea-soaked governors doing everything they can to thwart the established law of the land regarding abortions. Since taking office, Jan Brewer has proved hostile to every vulnerable population she comes across. How sad that this latest action provides more cover for the Republican obfuscationsists to say “how can it be a war on women when a woman supported it?” Bigots and villains have no better allies than the self-loathing, and Jan Brewer clearly loathes everyone.  We tried to reach Gov. Brewer for comment, but she was busy directing her minions to build a wall around Arizona to keep out Latinos.

Georgia Declares War on Women…

Yesterday was a very dark day for the history of Georgia, as the Senate approved a bill called the “fetal pain bill” by Republicans.  This bill now criminalizes abortion after 20 weeks, thus chipping away at Roe v. Wade.  Yes, Georgia has declared war on women. Former criminal Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign the bill which does not contain rape or incest exemptions.

This type of blatant misogyny proves that Georgia — like many other states — is on the wrong side of history. The right wing Republicans (mostly male) are doing everything in their power to undermine Roe v. Wade and are sending the message that women are not to be trusted with their own bodies.  I wonder what it would be like if men had to experience this type of hate and patriarchy–if men were policed at all times and told that we are not to be trusted with our genitalia.  What would it be like if men were to be considered criminals for using their penises for something other than procreation?

The bill that Georgia has passed is not only misogynistic, but it is also racist and classist.  Women of means will be able to travel to a safe state to have an abortion, while poorer women and women of color will continue to be held hostage by white wealthy men.  Shame on Georgia!

Women’s History Month 2012: Wendie Malick

Today we honor and celebrate actress and activist Wendie Malick. Born in 1950 in Buffalo, NY, Malick graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and began a career in modelling. She did some political volunteering and then began to focus on her acting career. Understanding the value of her public persona, Malick has focused on the power of bringing light to people’s lives.

I think people underestimate the benefits of laughter.  It’s one of the reasons I’ve come to be very proud of the work I do, because I know how much I value the people who make me laugh before I go to sleep at night, and I know that without Jon Stewart, the world would be a far more difficult place to live in.

She is also a vigorous advocate for many causes. She has spent most of her adult life on Planned Parenthood’s Board of Advocates. She is also concerned with body image and self esteem issues for women. Speaking about those issues and how they play out on her smash sitcom,Hot In Cleveland, she observes:

But what I do think we’ve lost in our culture, and it’s the complete opposite of what our characters do, is embracing this stage in our lives and owning our experience. I think it’s funny because when we first did this show, [show creator] Suzanne [Martin] kept talking about how we’re the late 40-something women.  But I said, ‘Let me play my age. Let me turn 60.’ It’s important to remind women out there that you don’t have to crawl under a rock  at any given age. Also, obesity, which we are dealing with. Now the ways we deal with these issues are as quasi idiots. These are serious problems that we tackle in a comedic way.

Malick is also very involved with PETA and the Humane Society of the United States, passions she shares with co-star Betty White. She has testified before Congress about animal cruelty. Wendie Malick is a woman who is happy being herself and finds pleasure in bringing joy to others. How nice to see a star who is so engaged in social justice!

Women’s History Month 2012: Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy

They say you can judge a person’s character by the company she keeps. If that’s true, it says wonderful things about today’s dual celebration. Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy are more than just famous friends, they are comedians, feminists, activists, and humanitarians and I must confess I absolutely love them!

Mo Gaffney was born in 1958 in San Diego. She started a career in comedy young and has appeared in numerous television shows. She is particularly well known for her appearances on Absolutely Fabulous (where she steals many an episode) and That 70s Show. She has also hosted a TV chat show, Women Aloud, on Comedy Central.

Kathy Najimy was also born in San Diego, in 1957. Her best-known television roles are on Veronica’s Closet and King of the Hill. She has appeared in many movies, lending them her quirky charm, with her breakout role coming in 1992′s Sister Act. She was chosen as woman of the year by Ms.magazine in 2005.

Both women are outspoken activists and advocates. They participate in activities supporting women’s rights, LGBT equality, reproductive choice, positive body image, fighting racism, and opposing pointless wars. Close friends, they have performed three shows together: Parallel Lives, The Dark Side, and Afterbirth. The first two both won Obie awards. A broadcast of The Dark Side won two Cable Ace awards.  If you want to see true activism that is brilliantly executed with extraordinary wit, I strongly encourage you to rent or buy the dvd, The Kathy and Mo Show Parallel Lives/ The Dark Side. I saw this years ago with my husband and just fell in love with both women.  Here is a lovely clip of the Kathy and Mo Show and how they do a marvelous job with humor addressing the intersections of oppression.  Mo and Kathy, it is an honor to celebrate you during Women’s History Month!

Women’s History Month 2012: Jessica Yee

Today we honor and celebrate a self-described “Two Spirit youth multiracial Indigenous hip-hop feminist reproductive justice freedom fighter!” Jessica Yee was born in Ontario in 1985 (I am elated to see strong young activists) and has spent more than half of her life dedicated to issues of social justice and sexual health. Fully embracing the whole spectrum of her identity, she writes and speaks eloquently about racial and ethnic identity,

Being mixed First Nations and being raised in the urban centre of Toronto, I’m often faced with the question of “Am I Indian enough?” Do I attend ceremony here? Can I really understand what it’s like to be Native not living on the reservation now? How am I going to learn my traditions?

Being also Indigenous from Taiwan and continuing to live in Toronto makes me ask myself other questions: Should I even partake in the prevalent Chinese culture here? Aren’t those the colonizers? Where are my people?

Yee is the founder and Executive Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, the first and only organization of its kind in North America by and for Indigenous youth working within the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health throughout the continent. Embracing the entirety of sexual health, she is an outspoken advocate for reproductive choice.

maternal health without abortion, to me, means death. It’s not even only about choice. Even before choice, it’s about life. Childbirth in many countries can equal a death sentence because it is a very dangerous process. Without hospitals, without services, without midwives, without resources in the community to deliver babies safely, and resources in the community to help you care for those babies once they’re born, it often means death for mother and child.

Yee is a strong believer in the power of the youth voice and a great model for the rising generation of activists across the full spectrum of intersections of oppression. As this interview demonstrates, she is not only articulate, but she knows her history and understands how we must take care not to repeat the mistakes of the past. She also works to ensure that others have their voice, most recently as the editor of the anthology Feminism for Real: Deconstructing the Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism. In everything she does, Jessica Yee is a beacon of hope for activism moving forward in the 21st Century.  Could anyone be more in love with Yee?

Bigot of the Week Award: March 16, Mitt Romney

Bigot of the Week Award

As the gruesome clown car pileup that is the GOP Presidential Primary season grinds on, it would be sadly easy to give the BWA to any given candidate any given week. Mitt Romney manages to sink below the pack sufficiently this week to make it a lock. Pandering ever-farther to the right as he tries to fire up the base that horrifically prefers even Rick Santorum, the Mitt-bot has staked out some pretty loathsome positions over the past few months, including his support of so-called “personhood” and his signing of a virulently anti-gay pledge. Most of these actions — which Romney characterizes as emblematic of his “severe conservatism” — are direct contradictions of positions he staked out as Governor of Massachusetts or during his failed run to unseat Senator Ted Kennedy.

His dangerous and desperate flip-flopping has him so coated in Santorum that he’s adopting the most far-right talking points as his campaign positions, no matter how illogical or unpopular. The terrifying example that wins him this week’s award is a single sentence from a campaign stop, bizarrely included in a discussion of budget cuts: “Planned Parenthood, we’re going to get rid of that.” REALLY? Let’s set aside for a moment that this is an independent organization, not a Federal program, so any attempt to “get rid” of it is anti-business (ironic much?). Far more terrifying is that the putative front-runner for President in one of our two major parties has officially endorsed the war on women. The Romneyborg wants us ignore the fact that the vast majority of the services Planned Parenthood provides are critical women’s health care to poor and rural women. He has become so extreme in his eagerness to clinch the nomination that he’s endorsing the radical anti-contraception position that the vast majority of Americans (including Catholics and all Republicans other than the Tea Party) oppose. This candidate’s dizzying spin might provide a great alternative energy source; in every other respect it just induces nausea–yes, I will have to spit up after publishing this.

A huge dishonorable mention goes to the Arizona legislature for even entertaining the idea of allowing women to be fired from their jobs if they use birth control.

War on Women Continues…

Jeers to Gov. Bob McDonnell, of Virginia, for signing into law the ultrasound bill, which exploits women at a very vulnerable moment to discourage them from having an abortion–yet another chip away at Roe v. Wade by Right Wing KKKristians. Thus, the war on women continues, as we police women’s bodies in an attempt for our government to own every vagina in the country. My hope is this article will wake people up and show how close we are to completely objectifying women, as we send the message that we don’t trust women to exercise control over their own bodies.

There are still 450 other bills on birth control and abortion in state legislatures across the country. With a far-right faction of the GOP holding a majority in many of them, it’s unclear how many we can stop. But let me just say this: It is time we STOP right wing Republicans from holding the US hostage, unless Republican men are willing to have their sperm policed in the exact same ways we police women’s eggs.

Currently, New Hampshire, Florida, Arizona (home of Jan Brewer), Ohio (Home of John Boehner), and many other states are considering similar legislation.  The Texas legislature is in the midst of a bitter fight to eliminate state support for a wide range of women’s health services. They’ve already eliminated two-thirds of their funding for women’s health, closing more than half of the state’s Planned Parenthood and other clinics. And now they’re voting to reject aid for the Medicaid Women’s Health Program. They claim they’re doing this to fight abortion, but what they’re actually doing is denying hundreds of thousands of women access to basic health care.  This is called fascism and we have to stop it by how we vote!

Why I Have Decided to Vote Republican…

I don't ever have to think again.

I have clearly been misguided for far too long!  This video has proven in every way why I need to vote Republican as a gay feminist working to eradicate racism, misogyny, homophobia, and classism.  Click here to watch the video!

Sonny and Cher and Ronald Reagan: Now Tie These Together…

Late last night my husband and I watched an old Sonny and Cher show — a great piece of nostalgia.  We got to see a very young and cherubic Steve Martin and a baby-faced Teri Garr.  What started as a lark turned out to be a very interesting conversation and reflection of just how far backwards we have gone as a country.

In the early 1970′s, America was on a progressive trajectory.  We witnessed the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the second wave of the Women’s Rights Movement, and Roe v. Wade.  We witnessed desegregation finally being implemented in the South. We also saw a nation angry and protesting the war in Vietnam and it was safe to be anti-war / pro-peace and still be considered patriotic.  All of these values are reflected in a witty and fun-loving way on the Sonny and Cher Show.

The particular episode we saw included a skit that both mocked and celebrated CBS’s All in the Family.  The skit was exceedingly well crafted and addressed racism, misogyny, homophobia (Steve Martin plays the gay character), and hypocrisy.  It was this particular skit that gave both my husband and me pause to reflect, “what the hell happened to this progressive trajectory our country was on at that time?”

We had no further to look than 1980 and what I will call the American Reign of Terror for 12 years: the Reagan/Bush Years.  While the GOP have canonized St. Ronnie (and today he would be considered a socialist by Republican standards), Reagan set into motion the undoing of the United States.  Reagan gave voice to religion in a qualitatively different way that set a course for the co-opting of religion to its current incarnation of a cult of unadulterated hate; by no means am I lumping together all religions, but certainly the loud and powerful christians.

Reagan can also take credit for expanding government and for his signature “Trickle Down Economics.”  We have now had over 30 years empirical data to prove how ineffective and damaging Trickle Down Economics is, unless you are part of the top 1% of Americans. Is it any surprise that we have the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, with Republicans categorically refusing to create jobs and raise taxes on the wealthiest of Americans?  Talk about obstructionist!

While watching one of my favorite skits, The Vamp, I experienced both being tickled by Cher as Nefertiti and saddened as I thought about where we are today as a nation. When I think about the Tea Party (the party of hate and blatant racism, homophobia and misogyny) and I think about the current crap (oops, I mean crop) of GOP presidential candidates, I’m horrifically shocked at the downhill slope our country has taken.

I hope the OWS movement will pave the way for thinking Americans to take back our country from being held hostage by white heterosexual christian terrorists. I hope Americans will learn from people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who refers to Rousseau’s Social Contract. I hope we, as a nation, can stop the greed and talk again about peace and civil rights for all.

And the beat goes on…

Women’s History Moment: Elizabeth Bagshaw

Pioneer in Women's Health

Happy Birthday,  Elizabeth Bagshaw.  Bagshaw was a pioneer for women’s rights and health in Canada. Bagshaw was the Director of the very first birth control clinic in Canada.  She ran the clinic from 1932-1966. Yes, much of that time it was illegal for women in the United States to use many different forms of birth control and it was illegal to have an abortion.  This disparity in health care between the Unites States and Canada points not only to our care for women, but specifically the issue of class.  In the U.S., women with resources could purchase birth control or have a safe abortion in Canada, whereas women with few or no resources had no access to birth control and no access to safe abortions.

Fortunately, at least for today, women have the legal right to an abortion and to birth control–I know this vexes many men that cannot control the reproductive organs of women, as well as right wing women who have internalized deep rooted misogyny. It is also very fortunate that Canada maintains the Elizabeth Bagshaw Women’s Clinic:

The Elizabeth Bagshaw Women’s Clinic is a registered non-profit, accredited medical facility committed to providing reproductive and abortion services with full counseling, in a safe and confidential atmosphere.

We have much to learn from our neighbors to the north regarding standard of health, human dignity, and gender parity in health care.