Gardasil Mandatory for Citizenship

A little fact that I just discovered:

Since 2008 Gardasil has been a mandatory vaccination for WOMEN ages 11 to 26 who are applying for permanent residency or women who are applying for refugee status in the United States.

Recently, a 17 year old woman who was attempting to establish citizenship in the U.S. was denied citizenship because she refused to get the Gardasil shot. This woman refused to get it on moral grounds. For many women seeking citizenship, getting the Gardasil shot is a huge financial burden in a process that is already very expensive.

Obviously the Gardasil vaccine is a great way to reduce cervical cancer in women, but I find it disturbing that we are imposing this vaccine on immigrant and refugee women...

ABDC

Now, I don't know about you guys, but I have this little, not-so-very secret obsession...

DANCE SHOWS!!!

And while I loooooove pretty much any show where people get their groove on, the one I love most of all is America's Best Dance Crew, for a multitude of reasons... and this season has been particularly great.

Not only has the show featured two amazing all-female crews, as well as my personal fav, an awesome vogueing crew (Vogue Evolution, comprised of four gay men and a transgendered woman), the top two crews competing this Sunday night in the finale show are We Are Heroes, an all-women pop and lock group, and Afroborike, a salsa troupe with three guys and three strong and sexy women. Also, in a surprising turn of events, these different factors have been treated rather tactfully (with the minor exception of Lil' Mama's weird comment about transgendered Leiomy) and in a non-exploitative manner(hey, it's MTV... you never know with them).

Hip-hop is generally a male-dominated dance form (particularly on ABDC... the two pervious winners of the show have been all-male break dancing crews), so I think it is fantastic to see two different groups of women DOING WORK!!! Tune in Sunday night to see not only some awesome dancing, but also women taking this title for the first time, regardless of which group wins.

The Dalai Lama is a Feminist, you guys!!!

“I call myself a feminist,” said the Dalai Lama. “Isn’t that what you call someone who fights for women’s rights?”

How awesome is this? If only more people realized that feminism is not anti-men, or just for women!

Healthcare Humor

Anyone a fan of Mad Men, Will Ferrell, Scrubs, Heroes, or House? Click here!!

Just a little welcomed humor about the ongoing healthcare debate... :)

Anything that points out how ridiculous of anti-healthcare reformers are makes my day. Especially since healthcare reform could greatly improve the lives of all Americans especially women! who are disproportionately left out of the current system.

Also, remember Senator "You lie!" Joe Wilson?

As he crusades to defeat healthcare reform, it turns out his home state of South Carolina has some of the worst Women!'s healthcare and reproductive health services in the country. Check out Rachel Maddow's "Magic Map Trick" segment that maps out HPV vaccination rates, teenage pregnancy, and infant mortality in the Senator's home state.

Week of Women!

"What is Feminism" Campaign is this week: For those of you who were able to make it to our meeting you will recall that this week we will be conducting a short and simple campaign called "What is Feminism" to send a positive message about our organization, our goals, and the feminist initiative as a whole.
This will entail...

• A "quilt" in the cooler: it is basically a space on the wall that will be filled with pieces of paper which have the collected definitions of feminism from people on our campus.
• Monday - Friday: Tabling in the Quad during lunch collecting definitions of feminism from the student body for the "quilt"
• FRIDAY at lunchtime = all female-artists DJ set in collaboration with KOXY!!!! Send your favorite all female (or at least female front-woman) songs as an attachment by Thursday afternoon. Empowered songs only.
• If you would like to participate we still need volunteers for this upcoming week!! Email: tdarcangelew@oxy.edu to sign up for shifts of (12-1:30 MWF and 11:30-1:30 Tues and Thurs)
• You will be provided with sheets of paper for their definitions, markers, a "questions to consider" sheet to help participants with their answer, a sign up sheet in case anyone is SO interested they want to join our group, and an instruction sheet...so it is really easy!! All you have to do is be there for your shift!
• Women! also needs volunteer to help in the afternoon hanging up the responses.

Thank you so much for all who made the meeting last week! We cannot wait to see you all again this week at lunch. Come show your support and fill out your portion of "The Quilt" any time this week.

Women! Tonight

Come see what Women! is all about tonight at 6:30 in the Center for Gender Equity. We will talk about the upcoming semester and get input from all of you! Yummy snacks to be served.

(The Center for Gender Equity is located on the bottom floor of Stewie Hall. You must enter on the side that faces away from Stewie Beach and toward Bell Young)

Women-Friendly Horror Films (Yes, they actually exist)

Ok, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t watch many of the horror movies that come out today (especially what people are calling torture porn) . I’m just not that interested in watching people (mostly young pretty people) die in sick and twisted ways. To me these movies just further sexualize extreme violence, especially against young women. So here are some alternatives to “Sorority Row” and “Saw 8 (or whatever number they are up to)”:

1) Teeth. Go out and rent it. It tackles issues that are important to many women, such as: female sexuality, the dangers of abstinence only education, and there is even some environmentalism thrown in there, just for kicks. The main character is sweet, naïve, and for the most part a victim of a patriarchal system that is trying to repress her sexuality. Until, she bites back (dun dun duuuun). Ok, I will say no more, and simply warn you that most men will probably find this a painful movie to watch. So get your women-friends together and watch it now!!

2) Ginger Snaps. Its original, funny, scary, and… the female characters have (GASP) personalities!! Seriously though, this movie is AMAZING. There are too many good lines to count and it is full of interesting social commentary (sexual standards are flipped). Lots of blood and gore, of course. Also, there is a really interesting blog about the film over at Tiger Beatdown which does a better job of explaining why this movie is so good.

3) Jennifer's Body. I haven't actually seen this yet but it looks pretty funny and scary. Plus its written by Diablo Cody, an openly feminist screenwriter, which is always promising. The only thing that makes me a little nervous about this film is how much it seems to be catering to the male gaze (OMG hot girl kiss!!!). Sure, Megan Fox is killing boys, but judging from the previews she is EXTREMELY sexualized in the movie (sex sells, especially to horny teenage boys). Then again all the sex in the previews could just be a way of getting teenage boys into the seats and then hitting them with some serious feminist messages (which I approve of btw)... I guess I will have to wait to see how it all plays out.

This is by no means an exhaustive list (There must be more than 3 women-friendly horror movies out there)... so if you would like to add a few to the list then comment away!!!

Equal Pay Victory for Women!

The issue of pay equality has long been a topic of discussion and activism among women and our allies. Today women make approximately 77 cents to the male dollar(an average that increases or decreases when race, education, class are included). This gap has persisted with women gaining about half a cent per year since the 1963 Equal Pay Act.

With the recent pass of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which increased the ability of women employees to sue for wage discrimination, we are gaining ground in our fight for equality in the workplace!

Last Friday, September 11th, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Mary Lou Mikula's Title VII pay discrimination claim. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, was relied on heavily in the recent court decision.

Mikula filed her claim when she realized she was paid approximately $7,000 less than a male colleague.

Marcia D. Greenberger of the National Women's Law Center, said in a press release, "Today's decision is a victory for Ms. Mikula and for all those who have been denied equal pay. The decision implements the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as congress intended, restoring the ability of victims of wage discrimination to challenge this practice in court."

Go women!

Caster Semenya: Friday's Woman! Who Rocks

For those of you who haven't heard of her, Caster Semenya is the South African track phenomenon who shattered the world record for the 800-meter race in the World Championships back in July. Because of this, her competitors got all huffy and puffy, and threw her under the bus, accusing her of actually being... wait for it...A MAN!

According to her detractors, Caster "looks like a man", and apparently if you "look" male, you ARE male. So, the International Association of Athletics Federations allowed themselves to be bullied into ordering genetic tests for Caster to "determine" her biological sex and by association, the validity of her win. All this despite the fact that Caster, her family, and her entire village continue to contest that she is indeed a woman. 

Well, the test results were leaked today, and according to them, Caster has both male and female organs. This would technically make Caster ambiguously-gendered.

Here's what I have to say about that:

BFD, you guys. It is very simple: She identifies as a woman, therefore, she IS a woman. So, let her continue to race, and absolutely let her keep her medal, because, hello, she earned it. The people that called for these tests are embarrassing themselves with their bigotry and extremely petty, not to mention totally rude, behavior.

In what world would it be fair to prevent her (and she IS a her) from participating in the thing that she not only KICKS BUTT in, but also loves? If Caster identifies as a woman, she should absolutely be allowed to race as a woman. End of story.  

Caster Semenya: YOU ROCK!!

Glee!

So I realize Women! (The Blog) is just getting started but I wanted to start with something fun, amazing, and MUSICAL.

GLEE! is the newest TV sensation from Fox that tramples on the formulaic teen dramas of late and embraces heartily sarcastic dialogue and, best of all, musical renditions of Kanye, Journey, and Rihanna by a high school glee club.

This show is pointedly not politically correct (so many stereotypes I can't even begin to write them) and after accepting that, it is hilarious and culturally relevant. The last episode spoke frankly about female sexuality, and expectations of celibacy in young people.

Rachel, the misfit lead, who constantly has slurpies thrown in her face for reasons I still cannot explain, braves a Celibacy Club meeting in the hopes of gaining the affections of one of her fellow glee club members. While she gives it her all, Rachel eventually breaks and gives an amazing speech on the unrealistic expectations of the Celibacy Club and female sexuality.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/94447/glee-showmance

Skip to 21:47 to watch the scene! Or watch the whole thing... I will warn you, its pretty hard to stop once you start.

While other teen dramas (I'm looking at you 90210 and Gossip Girl) are completely based on teen sex and relationships, they never fully address contemporary issues like abstinence only education, contraception, or female sexual double standards.

I was very excited to see that Glee! was willing to talk frankly about current feminist issues and I hope the writers continue to indulge my love for socially and musically relevant television.

Go Glee!

Women! Begins

Tomorrow (Thursday September 10th) is Involvement Fair! We will be getting the word out about Women! and gaining a lot of enthusiasm for this coming semester.

If you are interested in being involved come to the quad between 11:30 and 1:30 and sign up! TREATS WILL BE SERVED!

There will be applications for leadership positions as well for all of you who want to devote a big part of your Oxy life this year to Women!

Our first scheduled meeting will be 6:30 TUESDAY SEPTEMEBER 15 in the CGE (Center for Gender Equity located in the bottom of Stewie Hall).

All students of Occidental are invited to attend the meeting and come find us at Involvement Fair!

Crisis Pregnancy Centers target college WOMEN!

As Planned Parenthood was widely accepted in my neighborhood growing up, I have usually felt fairly secure about my access to reproductive services and the authenticity of women's health clinics in my area.

I recently received a rude awakening. About a year ago I was informed about a scheme by anti-choice groups to infiltrate the women's health services. Anti-Choicers have created their own fake women's health clinics, referred to as "Crisis Pregnancy Centers".

CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS are everywhere. There are currently 2 fake clinics for every 1 comprehensive clinic in the United States. 


Posing as comprehensive health centers, CPCs do not offer contraception, abortion services, or referrals for these services. They are often staffed by volunteers who are not licensed medical professionals and are not qualified to give medical advice. CPCs have been known to blatantly state misinformation like abortion has been linked to breast cancer or condoms do not prevent against HIV or STIs.

These clinics are also targeting COLLEGE STUDENTS.

As college students, these organizations see us as a vulnerable and easily mislead group. There has been a recent surge in facebook advertising for these clinics and many campus health centers advertise these clinics in their offices. Next time you are facebook stalking (it happens to the best of us!), check the advertisement bar for "PREGNANT? SCARED?" followed by a website. It is probably a link to a "Crisis Pregnancy Center".

If you are as disturbed as I was by this information watch this new video on CPCs by RH Reality Check: 
Crisis Pregnancy Centers: A Special Report for more information.

Or read the new article from  The Nation  about the creepy adoption component of these centers.
Don't get tricked by fake clinics! If you need health care find a Planned Parenthood or research the center you are considering before you go.

Latest Target of Anti Healthcare Groups - WOMEN!

The Independent Women's Forum has developed the next tactic for the right wing campaign against health care reform!

Scaring women with breast cancer.

Using data from an extremely partisan source, (The "Lewin Group" is wholly owned by the UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers), The Independent Women's Forum has created a new ad that claims health care reform in America will mean one thing for women... DEATH.

It is deceptive, inaccurate, and appalling.

The IWF makes grand claims about the highly superior quality of health care in the United States while ignoring fact that the current health care system is failing a huge portion of American women.

Does the IWF not know that in America women are more likely to live below the poverty line and be unable to afford health care, women of child baring age spend 68% more on out of pocket health care cost than men, and 16.7 million American women are currently uninsured?

With statistics like these there can be no question that the current system is not working for American women.

Even further disproving the irrational claims of the IWF, the National Breast Cancer Coalition has made it clear that health care reform is essential to increasing preventative care for all women and decreasing the rates of breast cancer in America.

The breast cancer rate in America is one of the highest in the world! We need comprehensive care not scare tactics.

This ridiculous ad will play in 8 battleground states, including Colorado, Indiana, and Nevada. If you know anyone in these areas make sure they know about the outrageous deception this ad contains and make sure they understand the facts about health care reform and not the misinformation perpetuated by The IWF.