The Radical Act of "Writing Women into History"

Women's History Month presents an opportunity to us all to change a historical narrative that places women at the margins of society, and by doing so, change the world.

As the great feminist historian Gerda Lerner once wrote, "What we do about history matters. The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are 'the lessons of history'? The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process. There are no certainties to be found in the past." History cannot provide us with all the answers, but it can shape our understanding of both our past and present.

Women's History Month was created thanks to the activism and lobbying of the National Women's History Project (NWHP) and feminists around the country. In 1980, the year NWHP was formed, women made up just 3% of the content in history textbooks, and many children (and adults) assumed the absence of women in history meant that women just didn't do anything. Howard Zinn, the recently deceased historian and activist, wrote in A People's History of the United States that, "It is possible, reading standard histories, to forget half the population of the country. The explorers were men, the landholders and merchants men, the political leaders men, the military figures men. The very invisibility of women, the overlooking of women, is a sign of their submerged status."

Every year Women's History Month has an official theme, and the theme this year is "Writing Women Back into History," which could not be more appropriate. Women's History Month is not about fun facts or random lists of female trailblazers (though I enjoy learning about things like that). It is about changing the way Americans view their society and reshaping our historical narrative. As a kid I remember learning about Betsy Ross, Clara Barton, and Molly Pitcher, held up almost as exceptions to the rule, the women who actually did something. If we want to truly recognize the contributions of women, we need to totally subvert the way we study history. We need to consider not just the history of the rulers and military heroes, but that of the mothers, wives, laborers, slaves, rebels, and ordinary people whose lives were average but real. There is so much to learn from social history. That is not to say we should stop seeking out the stories of extraordinary women (my life has been made so much richer by learning about women like Ella Baker, Emma Goldman, Dolores Huerta, Eleanor Roosevelt, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Fannie Lou Hamer), but that to truly be radical feminist historians, we need to discover the stories of the forgotten and pushed aside.

Women's history is the people's history--learn it, share it, and use as a tool to change the world.

This article was featured in our March 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine.

Maintaining Momentum: Shaping Global Reproductive Health Campaigns Post V-Day Events

For the month of February, many feminist groups work hard to put together V-Day events and productions of the Vagina Monologues. These are examples of cultural feminism on campus that can really bring critical issues to light and open important feminist conversations on campus about the oppression women face and the damaging implications of patriarchy. They awaken people to those realities and get them fired up.

But now it's March, and following the V-Day events, we hear from numerous student groups that they run into difficulty capitalizing on the momentum that V-Day can generate. Here at FMF, we've found that a really great way to catapult your group's activism into the stratosphere is through transforming that energy toward a campaign with political ramifications.

An example of a simple way to do this is to plan an event or initiative on campus for global women's reproductive health in the next few weeks. We've got some great campaign materials, and an upcoming webinar, that can help you! Because V-Day has a global focus and often global philanthrophy, it can be nice to follow that up with similarly themed activities to propel your group forward.

The key with this type of campaign is to refine the conversation. With something like V-Day, you've expanded your audience into the community and sparked their interest.

For organizers, the task remains to shift from a presentation of how things ARE for women at home and around the world, to a discussion of a student's role in affecting change for those very women. Armed with both renewed passion and enthusiasm AND the tools to really make a difference, your feminist group will benefit from the arrival of a crop of fantastic feminist activists.

Here's a Step by Step:

1) Select a focus for your campaign - maternal mortality, CEDAW, and International Family Planning are all good examples of some broad-reaching political campaigns that can bring some weight to what you're doing on campus.

2) Gather resources - Contact your Campus Organizer, and we can help! We also have some resources we could send your way - fact sheets, DVDs, and toolkits that could help you get started.

3) Call in backup - the cast, crew, and supporters of your V-Day events obviously care about feminism, so bring them back out! Get them involved and give them responsibilities so that they're invested in your campaign, too.

4) Design an Action Component - in addition to raising awareness, you should provide a mechanism for students to take action. Involve decisionmakers as best you can; either through call-in days to the Hill or district offices, letter writing, petitions, or visits. You could think big, too, and plan rallies and demonstrations.

5) Get press or media coverage - To add another level of pressure, place op-eds or letters to the editor, or get feminist press members to cover what you're doing in both campus and community outlets.

6) Kick off your campaign! - Ready, Set, Go! Launch on campus with a bang. Advertise and get started. At every event, be SURE to include that action component - it's what will set your events apart and make students keep coming back.

These are some of the basics, but if you have any questions, definitely get in touch with your campus organizer or email us at campusteam@feminist.org and we'd be happy to help you plan a Global Reproductive Health and Rights or similar campaign on your campus.

This article was featured in our March 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine.

Feminists for Hire: Finding a Job After College

With the mid-point in the semester upon us many students are suddenly met with the daunting question: "What next?!" Whether you're considering a job after graduation or a summer internship to gain additional skills and experience, doing your homework is still a requirement to landing the opportunity you've been waiting for.

Resume: I was once told by someone I had an informational interview with that only the President should have a resume more than one page. While some career centers differ with this advice, it's critical that you tailor your resume (whatever its length) to the job that you are applying for. Remember that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume and you should be sure to highlight your skills and experience that is relevant to the job/internship you are applying for.

Other tips: Consider developing an objective statement or one sentence sales pitch at the top of your resume. When listing your previous work experience don't forget to include your leadership with your feminist group on campus. Limit the number of bullet points (2-3) when listing your qualifications to include the most relevant skills and any quantifiable results.

Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your first introduction to your potential employer and is just as important (if not more) as your resume. Like the resume, tailor your cover letter for each job/internship you are applying for and always refer to the specific qualifications they are seeking and your experience that makes you such a qualified candidate.

Other tips: For some markets an out of town address can be a dead end for your application. If you are applying for a position in another location, particularly if it is a great distance away, consider asking any acquaintances in that area to use their local address on your resume. It may seem like a minor thing but given the competitive market and tightened budgets by many companies, factoring in moving costs could be a deal breaker.

Interviews: So you got the interview. Yes! Now the real work begins. Interviews are not only an opportunity for you to shine as a qualified candidate but also a chance to interview the organization to be sure it is the job/internship for you.

Before the interview: Do your research. Be familiar with not only the responsibilities of the position you are applying for but also the current projects and issues of the overall organization. Be sure to pack multiple hard copies of all requested materials (cover letter, resume, writing sample, etc.), develop a list of questions you want to ask the interviewer and a notebook to take notes during your interview. Dress the part. Business attire is normally your best bet. Remember: dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Plan for traffic, elevator outages, wrong turns (i.e. the things that always happen when you need to be somewhere important) and arrive 15 minutes early.

During the interview: Smile, make eye contact throughout the interview, and speak calmly and confidently. Sit up straight and pay attention to your body language throughout the interview. Potential questions the interviewer may ask include: why are you interested in this position, what are your strengths and weaknesses, what is your work style, why would you be an asset to this organization, or what was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it? Don't feel pressured to answer each question right away and know that you can always ask for clarification. Think through your answers and always try to reference the skills and responsibilities of the position and your relevant experience.

End of the interview: Always have questions prepared for the interviewer. Potential questions include: describe my day-to-day responsibilities, do you offer any opportunities for professional development, what other staff will I work with most often, or how will my performance be evaluated? Be sure to ask about the next stage of the interview process and thank the interviewer for their time and consideration.

After the interview: Within the next 24 hours write a thank you e-mail to each person who interviewed you. Thank them for their time, express your interest in the position, and briefly reiterate your qualifications. Also attach any documents they may need to this e-mail, including your resume, writing samples, and references. Contact your references to re-confirm and alert them that they may be contacted by your interviewers. Make sure your references know the description position you have interviewed for, what makes you interested in the position, and any particular qualifications they should emphasize if contacted.

Other tips: Never underestimate the power of informational interviews! They will give you great advice, contacts and prepare you for the real deal. Find people whose jobs you want to have and send them an email. Ask for a 15 minute meeting (maybe over coffee?) to talk about their career. People love to talk about themselves and, in turn, you get loads of advice and (hopefully) connections! Also, visit your career center to practice a mock interview to fine tune your answers and develop your interview skills.

Networking: In such a competitive job market, making the right connections can make all the difference. Tap into your area alumni network and connect with networks for young professionals. Groups like the Women's Information Network (WIN) connect and support pro-choice women in the DC area and are replicated in other cities across the country. Bring your resume to the National Young Feminist Leadership Conference and talk to leaders of organizations that you want to work for. Network online by creating a LinkedIn profile. Upload your resume, get recommendations from past employers, connect with your contacts and get "introduced" to people online.

My last piece of advice for feminist job hunters is simple: tell everyone you know you are looking for a job! Take every opportunity to learn about what people are doing and sell yourself. Not in a cheesy way but in a, "oh, that's so interesting. I've actually done a lot of research about misogynist textbooks in grade schools, too" kind of way. The more people know you are looking for a job the greater the chance they will know someone who is hiring!

Finally, remember we need feminists in all sectors. If you're applying to law school, want to be a teacher or start your own business you can and MUST bring your feminist consciousness with you. Good luck feminists! Go forth and shake up the workforce!

This article was featured in our March 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine.

40 days for life is back at it again

Hello feminist activists,

As an FMF intern and Cal State LA FMLA member, I’m back blogging about a crucial issue that is near and dear to my heart. Anti-choice organizers are at it again – as its kick-off campaign for 2010, 40daysfor(so-called) life fanatics are harassing women out in front of local comprehensive women’s health and Planned Parenthood clinics from February 16 – March 28th. And these anti-abortion zealots are targeting womyn’s health care providers in 167 cities across the country. For a complete list of the clinics they are harassing with protest, you may visit their anti-abortion website here: http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm. (Please note: this is an anti-choice website.)

This campaign of fear and intimidation makes it all the more important for us as students to develop meaningful relationships with comprehensive womyn’s health care providers in our communities. If you haven’t yet, now is the time to find out who your providers are and to reach out to help them and offer to help.

Because many anti-abortion protesters like to demean and harass every and any person looking to enter a womyn’s health center, a positive, safe, pro-choice presence outside targeted clinics can help support patients and clinic employees. I have seen these people in action firsthand as a pro-choice advocate, activist and clinic defender. Their actions against womyn’s clinics and the patients they serve are outrageous. This is why we as students need to step up and out to protect and support our local clinics. And this is why the FMF’s Choices Campus Leadership Program is launching its new Adopt-A- Clinic Program.

It is equally important to work with your clinic in the ways they want your help – whether they need help with clinic escorting, legal observing, or if they simply need more clinic volunteers.
I hope all you this month will take it upon yourselves to each out to your local womyn’s health clinics and offer to help where it is needed. Especially since March 10th is National Abortion Providers Appreciation Day! Help stop anti-abortion harassment and defend our right to choose. We should always remember to trust womyn and their bodies!

Frank Perez, FMF CHOICES intern

Cal State Sacramento Warms Up for March 4th Walk Out and Rally

If you're a student at one of the 9 University of California or 23 California State University campuses, then you are WELL AWARE that tuition is up. Way up. And it's not stopping any time soon. Tuition in the California public education system has or is about to increase 32% over last quarter or semester.

And despite California students paying more, they're getting less. Hundreds of classes on each campus have been entirely canceled, faculty and lecturers have been laid off, class sizes have increased, academic departments, resource centers and programs are being eliminated (with women's and multicultural programs taking the worst cuts), faculty are being furloughed, and you'll spend longer than any class before you trying to complete your degree requirements.

March 4th is the Nationwide Walkout and Rally Day to Defend Public Education. Students at all 32 public universities in California are walking out of class and joining in protests, rallies, marches and demonstrations to demand affordable and accessible public education. Students across the nation are standing in solidarity - over 100 events are planned in at least 28 states.

Today, my co-Campus Organizer, Jacqueline Sun, and I are at Cal State Sacramento where we are meeting with the newly formed Women's Studies Student Association (WSSA), who will be taking action to expose fake clinics near campus!

Upon arriving this morning, we were happily surprised to find that the broad coalition of students working to demand affordable education and oppose the fee hikes and furloughs had organized a pre-March 4th rally on campus today, since Cal State Sacramento students will be protesting along with hundreds, if not thousands, of other students at the state Capitol on Thursday.

Today's rally and march had several hundred students in attendance, including the WSSA members (picture at right). Students chanted "Our Future! Our Nation! We must defend our education!", and "Hey hey! Ho ho! Budget cuts have got to go!", as they marched through campus.

The rally featured students' stories about how fee hikes, cut classes and furloughs have affected their lives personally. For many students in the CSU system, they may be the first in their family to go to college, and while they may be close to finishing their degree, the enormous fee hikes will prevent them from being able to continue. A student also spoke to the experiences of undocumented students, who are often unable to work in order to pay for college and can not apply for financial aid. Fee hikes are literally denying low-income students and a disproportionate number of students of color of their right to an education.


The rally and march all ended with a "Three little pigs and the big bad Chancellor" skit (the houses that the Chancellor blew down were "Affordability", "Access" and "Quality"), and then students were invited to smash the FEE HIKE pinatas!

This is a pivotal moment. The changes that are taking place right now are undoing decades of improvements to the California public education system and it will take decades to get back to the not-so-great place we are at today. These changes will affect you, right now; they'll affect your younger brothers and sisters in years to come; and they'll affect the ability of your future children and grandchildren to access a quality education!

Students across the entire nation will be taking action this Thursday, March 4th, to demand affordable, accessible, and quality public education. Join the efforts on your campus and wear red to stand in solidarity with UC and CSU students.

Two Teenagers After My Own Heart

I can't remember the last time I heard teenagers speaking out about anything beyond how much school sucks, classes are "sooo boring" and how their parents are ruining their lives.

So I was delighted to find this article on Cleveland.com. It seems myself and the other interns here at FMF aren't the only ones who believe abstinence-only education is along the lines of sex un-education.

Here, we've got two actual teenager students, Daniel Sparks, 17, and Jelena Loncar, 16, who voiced their dissatisfaction with the abstinence-only education program at Parma High School. The two presented their views to the 150 adults who attended the school board meeting on the night of February 22.

Some of my favorite parts:

Jelena quoted the district's abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education program, Operation Keepsake:

"I personally don't view men as predators or protectors. And I certainly don't view myself as a treasure or a target. I found it insulting and undermining that Operation Keepsake reduced me to a social stereotype."

And the brave Daniel told his audience, "Operation Keepsake has made me question education as a whole, for while they scared us into understanding what could go wrong, they afforded us no information on how things could go right."

He then asked how he, as a homosexual, is supposed to uphold the abstinence until marriage standard if his home state does not even grant him the right to marry. A bit risky, and bringing up a whole different issue. But still bold and beautiful, I say.

Superintendent Sarah Zatik, along with several parents in attendance, congratulated the students after their presentation. Ms. Zatik announced she would be resigning in July, but not before she forms a committee to "start the conversation" for comprehensive sex education.

These teens are truly ahead of the curve. Time to get the rest of their generation on board.

photo credit: msugovdocs at flickr

More racism at the UCs

From former FMF intern and blogger Kat

When I received an email from the UC regents and president Yudolf declaring that the racist events happening on UCSD campus were deplorable, I have to admit I was somewhat surprised. There is some controversy regarding the way he is running the UCs according to a business model rather than as an educational institution and the effect this has both quality of student education and the recent fee hikes. My skepticism came from wondering if this expression of outrage was true, or if it had more to do with concern that if the statement was not made, there would be a yet another backlash against administrators. I was also skeptical about whether or not speaking out against the acts via email would correspond to REAL action.

Several events have occurred since that have highlighted the importance of speaking out against racism and homophobia (and every other ism out there, though what has happened in this last week refers specifically to those isms.)

Friday, February 26th: the LGBTQ resource center at UC Davis was vandalized, with derogatory language written all over the door (full article available HERE)

Monday, March 1: A drawing of a noose was found in one of the UC Santa Cruz bathrooms on the door, with the words "San Diego" and "lynch" on either side of the door (full article available HERE)

Monday March 1: A pillowcase fashioned like a KKK hood was found on a statue on top of the school library (full article available HERE)

The campus situation is very tense. In conversations I've had with other students, I hear people express that they are afraid; and with lynch symbols, KKK symbols, and in some cases death threats posted on doors of individual students--they are absolutely justified in feeling this fear.

If we do not rebuke the racist acts, racists feel more empowered, more emboldened to commit more racist acts; this is something that we've already seen occur, as a "ghetto" party, already racist in nature, has somehow escalated to a KKK hat and outright death threats. It is our duty to use our freedom of speech to contradict the racism, to not allow it to stand unopposed in the public sphere.

Enacting policies to counter these acts is absolutely necessary--but so is the public denouncement of these acts as racist so as to dissuade others from pursuing the same racist forms of action.

This Thursday March 4 is the UC-wide day of action to protest the fee hikes--you can bet we'll be protesting the recent hateful actions as well.

photo credit: * Michael * at flickr.com

Cross Post: "Sex Really" Really Misses the Mark

The following post is crossposted from our friend and colleague Shelby Knox, who attended the SexTech conference this past weekend. The original can be found over at This Is Misogyny. Thanks for tipping us off, Shelby!



There are some organizations in the progressive community that regularly use casual misogyny for gain without caring what values it undermines. See: PETA.

But when Sex Really, a project of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, showed this video, meant to engage 20 somethings, to the sex education community at Sex:Tech this weekend, many of us were open mouthed with shock. If you teach sex education on the ground for any amount of time you know one of the biggest challenges is getting young people to unlearn gender stereotypes around sex.

If you don’t know the ones I’m talking about, Sex Really has done a pretty good job of laying them out as fact: men are pigs with raging hormones that can only process sex on a Neanderthal level. They sit around and demean women because they lack the emotional capacity to have substantive relationships. And women are too stupid, or so focused on “catching a man,” that they don’t even notice their dude’s a d-bag.

What’s the point of this triggering, heteronormative train wreck? It seems to be that you better use protection because the person you’re sleeping with is such a jerk you wouldn’t wanna have their babies.

It’s worth mentioning that Sex Really is headed by Laura Sessions Stepp, rape apologist and virginity crusader extraordinaire. Her work has riled up the feminist community before over her hysteria-inducing case study passed off as research on the “hookup culture” and the ridiculous idea of “gray rape.” Therefore this video isn’t a total shock — and her hiring might be yet another sign it’s time for the sex education community to take a big step away from the increasingly conservative National Campaign — but it’s still unacceptable.

This is video 1 in a 12 part series. Young people really can’t deal with 11 more slaps in the face like this one. Go to the video and comment - tell Sex Really to ask actual youth what they need and want. You can also shoot Ms. Stepp an email: laura.stepp@sexreally.com

What we can learn from UCSD

This is a great post from Kat.

The events that have taken place at UC San Diego have been atrocious. Kat’s first hand account of what has happened is a real privilege for us to read. It is important as feminists that we continue to understand why these events happen, and what we can do to prevent them. This is not just an isolated incident, but evidence of oppression still common to women and people of color today.

In the words of our UCSD's VOX & Choices affiliate leaders:
"This is flat-out intimidation and HATE at work.

While this situation targets black students, it is NOT just a black issue. The undercurrents of violence are ones that can be felt by ALL PEOPLE.

Ending one oppression means ending ALL oppressions. The battles against sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, ableism, and so on, cannot be fought individually. They are all intrinsically connected, all a part of the same struggle."

In 1997, civil rights and women's rights leaders lost the battle to save affirmative action in California and Proposition 209 was passed. Since then the state's public university system has become more and more intolerant and hostile towards people of color and women.
Racism still persists. The hateful actions taken by students at UCSD highlight the structural racism in the UC system. On top of harvesting an environment where these events can happen, the campus also lacks a diverse student population. According to the Examiner, San Diego enrolled the fewest number black freshmen last fall and black students make up about 1.6% of the student body, which is comprised of about 23,000 students. These numbers are what need to change in order for these events to stop happening.

Losing Affirmative Action was devastating to California and its future, our future. We need to hold public institutions accountable for creating equal opportunity and ensuring a diverse, safe, vibrant campus communities. If UCSD -- and all UC's -- made serious commitments to creating rich diverse learning environments, these events could have been avoided.

Students at UCSD, women's rights and civil rights student groups and a broad coalition of other student groups, have engineered walk-outs, sit-ins, and other actions to condemn these actions and demand real systemic change to create long-term diversity plans and guarantee an end to the hostile environment at UCSD and campuses across the state.

Student leaders statewide are taking solidarity actions -- walk-outs and demonstrations -- with our sisters and brothers at UCSD to demand a statewide inventory of campus diversity -- or more importantly, a lack thereof in student, staff, and faculty populations and policies.

As a student not to far from UCSD this behavior worries me…I will continue to follow what is happening and stay in contact with Kat and affiliates.

You can read UCSD’s black student unions statement and list of demands here.

RE:Statement of UC President Mark G. Yudof, the Chancellors of the ten UC campuses, and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Universitywide Academic Senate

As a UCLA graduate student (current FMF intern), I received this in my inbox today, Friday, 2/26/10 at 5:15 pm.

After reading it, all I'm left with is questions.

1. What took them so long?
   
2. Is this all the response the despicable events at UCSD merit?
   
3. Is it good enough to counter "bad speech" with "good speech"?
   
4. Are there structural issues that are not being addressed?
   
5. Are the "principles and values" that the UC system stand for unbiased, and therefore good enough to be put forth to "confront behavior that violates them"?
   

The statement:

UCLA Office of the Chancellor

---

To the Campus Community:

Today I joined UC President Mark Yudof and all the other UC chancellors in signing the following statement:

---

Statement of UC President Mark G. Yudof, the Chancellors of the ten UC campuses, and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Universitywide Academic Senate
February 26, 2010

As leaders of the University of California, we are deeply disturbed by recent events at a few of our campuses. We condemn all acts of racism, intolerance and incivility. Regardless of how such offenses are rationalized, or what free speech rights they purport to express, the acts we have witnessed are unacceptable. The actions of these individuals reflect neither our principles nor our values, nor the sentiments of the University of California community. We will not allow the actions of a few to speak for this University. We denounce them.

Each of our campuses is committed to promoting and defending a learning environment that values and supports each student, faculty and staff member in an atmosphere that is open, civil, fair, caring and respectful. These values are enshrined in the "Principles of Community" each campus adheres to and that clearly outline our expectations for behavior on our campuses. We expect that all members of our university community, including our visitors, will be respectful of differing views, opinions, experiences, and background.

When violations occur, it is incumbent on us, as leaders and as stewards of free speech on our campuses, to push back. We have a responsibility to speak out against activities that promote intolerance or undermine civil dialogue. As always, the remedy for bad speech is good speech. For that reason, we call on all members of the UC community – students, faculty and staff – to affirm and defend the values of the University of California. We are speaking out and ask that you do the same whenever, wherever and however you confront behavior that violates the principles and values of this University.

Mark G. Yudof President University of California	Henry Powell Chair UC Academic Senate	Daniel Simmons Vice Chair UC Academic Senate
Robert J. Birgeneau Chancellor UC Berkeley	Linda P.B. Katehi Chancellor UC Davis	Michael V. Drake, M.D. Chancellor UC Irvine
Gene Block Chancellor UC Los Angeles	Steve Kang Chancellor UC Merced	Timothy P. White Chancellor UC Riverside
Marye Anne Fox Chancellor UC San Diego	Susan Desmond-Hellmann Chancellor UC San Francisco	Henry T. Yang Chancellor UC Santa Barbara
George Blumenthal Chancellor UC Santa Cruz

Report From the Field: Fighting for Non-Toxic Products

The following post has been submitted by guest blogger, Mia Davis, National Grassroots Coordinator for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

It seems that every week brings a new story of common chemicals linked to harm. Carcinogens in bubble bath? Reproductive toxicants in water bottles? What is going on?

There are more than 85,000 chemicals in the marketplace, only a fraction of which have been assessed for possible impacts on human health or the environment. And chemicals linked to cancer, developmental disabilities, and infertility are still allowed in cosmetics, water bottles, electronics and other products. We know that these toxins are entering our bodies –without our permission- and that they migrate and sometimes persist in the environment. At the same time, serious health issues are on the rise and increased diagnosis alone cannot account for the uptick.

People usually think of environmental pollution as coming from smokestacks or leaching from factories into rivers, and unfortunately, that’s still commonplace and a serious threat to the ecosystem and human health. But for most of us, toxins in the “environment” have gotten even closer to home—specifically, in our homes.

Take personal care products. Did you know that most people use about 10 cosmetics every day? Yep- we apply an average of 126 unique ingredients directly to our skin before we even leave the house in the morning. Industrial chemicals are basic ingredients in personal care products, and no publicly accountable body has made sure that those chemicals are safe for long term use, or safe for the ecosystem. And some ingredients (like fragrance components and contaminants) aren’t even on the ingredient labels.

In the U.S., the law that governs the cosmetics industry has not been updated in 70 years—a very long time when one considers the market changes since World War II—and it doesn’t give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients before they hit the market. Instead, the cosmetics industry itself ensures the safety of their products.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a national coalition of women’s and environmental and public health organizations that works with companies that manufacture safer cosmetics products, and applies pressure to companies and agencies that need a push. We sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson asking the company to reformulate their products to remove hazardous chemicals. We’ve targeted Estee Lauder for using carcinogens and hormone disruptors in their “pink ribbon” cosmetics, L’Oreal for putting lead in U.S. lipstick even though it is banned from lipstick in France (where L’Oreal is headquartered), and Wal-Mart for selling so many antibacterial soaps made with toxic triclosan.

The Campaign is at a point of great momentum. We have a strong collective voice calling for both market and regulatory change, and we’re empowering people to advocate for protections at the individual, community and national levels.

We know the move away from toxic chemicals toward safer alternatives will help to build an economic system that values health and sees real growth potential in sustainability. We need to make this transition as soon as we possibly can- So please get involved!

"Post-Racial" America and "ghetto" parties

Guest post from former intern and blogger Kat

This morning I received an email saying that on the 7th floor of Geisel Library--the school library for UCSD--a noose was found with the intent to terrorize African-American students.

The story does not begin here; this is only the latest development in a series of blatantly racist speech acts committed against the African American student body on campus.

Back to the beginning.

Last Friday, February 19th, my morning started with a text message calling for action that read, "EMERGENCY!!! Everyone meet at Library walk at 9am! Wear BLACK! ENOUGH is ENOUGH! WAKE UP AND GO! WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! Spread this now!! Details later."

I'm a super-senior at UCSD. Because of the recent anti-UC fee hikes protests I thought this probably had something to do with that. (The University of California recently increased tuition 32% essentially forcing students from low-income families to withdraw from school.) But because of university-wide emails I'd gotten recently about a "Compton cookout" party that asked people to come dressed in stereotypical “black attire”-- I wasn’t entirely sure. Compton is a low income largely (minority---African American or Latino might be a better word choice but I’m not familiar with the city or area in San Diego, I had thought that the students were imitating the city of Compton in south central Los Angeles) neighborhood of San Diego.

The protest was not about fee hikes. According to NBC News, the invitation encouraged women to come dressed as “ghetto chicks,” which the invite explained, “Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes." All students were asked to dress "ghetto"

(I found out later that day that the party invitation also said something to the effect that it was "being held in honor of black history month." “In honor of black history month” Are you kidding me??)

There is so much wrong with that party it's hard to know where to start--but its pretty easy to start with IT IS RACIST. It's racist because it reifies a homogenized, stereotypical image of African Americans as poor and "gangster". It’s racist because it blatantly mocks the communal, historical struggle against racism as well as the lives that were lost and destroyed in the efforts to overcome this struggle. It refuses to acknowledge individual personalities; the dreams that each individual has for their future and for the future of their children to be treated as equals in US society. The party was SEXIST because it (explain reason here, something similar to how you explained why its racist in your opinion) The event was CLASSIST because it makes fun of poverty without taking into account how people actually struggle. (It feeds into that "protestant work ethic" ideology that people are poor because they don't work when poor people REALLY DO work so hard to get by, much harder than members of the privileged classes.)

I wish I had taken notes or at least pictures--but more importantly, as I'm looking through the news coverage of the event, I'm becoming angry because much of what the news is saying is JUST. PLAIN. WRONG. Luckily someone posted a series of youtube videos that document what happpened.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived on campus was that the group of students gathered together on Library Walk were mostly African American or Chican@/Latin@. The reason why this stuck out is because the UCSD student body is mostly White or Asian--less than 2% of the student body is African American, while approximately 10% of the student body is Chican@/Latin@ (according to the statistics I found for 2002--couldn't find anything more recent.) Due to this population imbalance, the campus most of the time seems like one big white place--thus, seeing so many people of color together was very much out of the norm. (It really shouldn't be. At the same time, it was really depressing that there weren't more White or Asian people there--injustice to some is an injustice to all.)

There were also camera teams; everyone in the group was dressed in black; they chanted "Real Pain! Real Action!" Some were holding each other, hugging while tears streamed down their faces.

The Chancellor and Vice Chancellor stood in front of the crowd, faces somber. With news cameras in their faces, they began speaking with many of us in the back wondering what was being said because they were so quiet. Quietly addressing the news cameras rather than directing their comments to the student present made me wonder about the power dimensions shown in this instance. Not only were the voices "legitimated" by news cameras recording the voices of white, upper class women who represented the official USCD stance, but because we couldn't hear what they were saying, we couldn't shout out disapproval or approval. It reminded me of anthropological erasure: sometimes (in classical anthropology especially) ethnographers don't pay attention to certain voices within a society, and in writing up an account of events, they eventually produce a skewed articulation of what happened.

What happened at this time was that African-American students told the chancellor about a video that appeared the previous night around 11pm on SRTV--UCSD's Student-Run Television station--in which members of the Koala (a student-run "newspaper" on campus) defended the Compton cookout. SRTV doesn't keep tapes of live shows--so there is, as of yet, no video that shows what happened but students who were watching SRTV Thursday night saw students say "you N*** should be grateful, this party was held in your honor." (I found out later that day that the party invitation also said something to the effect that it was "being held in honor of black history month." “In honor of black history month” are you kidding me??)

The Associated Students president pulled the plug on the show, and a note was found in the station that read, "Compton Lynching." That is not only really racist, but it’s a death threat. Students expressed to the Chancellor concern about their safety and a desire to find a copy of the video so as to identify the perpetrators to take punitive actions against them. Students also rightly expressed frustration that their student fees were helping fund and support the Koala, a student-run organization.

The Chancellor hedged on getting a room to show the video--so students chanted, "multipurpose room!"

While the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor ran off to supply a room, an African-American freshman woman took up the bullhorn and told the crowd how in the few months that she'd been at UCSD, she'd already had her car broken into, racist statements made against her--and if this was what happened on campus in just a few months, how could she encourage her little brother to go to college?

After about 20 minutes of waiting, we (were marched by the Chancellor?) marched across library walk, some people with drums and a conch shell to attract attention--we seemed to be led to a secluded area of campus that most students don’t know about. It seemed as though the direction was intentional to keep the grievances quiet so that other people wouldn't find out about what had happened.

We moved again, this time to the fourth floor of the Main food area on campus--Price Center. It was surprising that the room could fit everyone; but at the same time depressing that not more students had come to speak out against the racism that happened.

The Black Student Union presented a list of demands for the University, including: the suspension of the students involved in the racist acts; a permanent task force dedicated to hiring African American faculty and engaging in more outreach efforts to help African-American students in the community; that the University make efforts to increase the amount of African American undergraduate and graduate students as well as PhD candidates; return of the Kumeyaay tribe's burial lands; that the University staff the currently vacant position of coordinator of the African-American studies program; that starting 2011, freshman applications be regarded holistically rather than comprehensively--among other demands.

There was also an awkward moment when the Vice Chancellor tried to rally the students to cheer with her; but it seemed fake and paternalistic. All morning the Vice Chancellor had made statements opposing student’s views.

After all the demands had been read and summarily checked off (by who?) (some were checked off as, "yes," others, "maybe,") time was set aside so that students could gather together as a community, support each other, and talk about what had happened,

To see the events for yourself, check out the YouTube playlist (Unfortunately I don't know who took the videos and can't give them credit).

Developments:

• Someone tried having a "compton cookout part deux", to justify the racism using the argument that if, as a society, people are racist against everyone, one racist party shouldn't matter. (Obviously this is a problematic argument.)
• On the Black Student Union (BSU) facebook group asking that students support the BSU's demands, many students express outrage that black students DARE make such demands. In regards to the "safe spaces" demand, one person wrote something akin to "They should have safe spaces, that way we know where they are; that's what they told us in training" (i.e. If they have a safe space, they could all be gathered together and it would be easier to kill them all.)
• Wednesday, February 24th: a teach-in/teach out, which many students who attended said was very successful, apart from one teacher's speech that called for everyone to "support their brothers" (Really, was it that hard to add the words, "and sisters"?)
  
• Today, Friday February 26, all UCSD students received an email saying that there was a noose found hanging on the 7th floor of the school library. This is a state of emergency.
  

photo credit: Claudio.Núñez on flickr.com

Miscarriage is Murder in Utah

We have all heard of the numerous personhood initiatives that have been popping up all over the country; the argument that fetus' deserve full constitutional rights, the same as all Americans. I never thought I would see the day when something more radical, ridiculous and offensive (and to be honest...laughable) than the personhood initiatives...yet here we are.

The state legislature in Utah has actually passed a bill attempting to outlaw miscarriages. Let me rephrase. If you experience a miscarriage, which happens to be the result of 18-20% of all pregnancies, you can be charged with murder. The law, proposed by Sen. Margaret Dayton (a woman, i know, my heart bleeds) makes it possible for a woman to be charged with homicide and sentenced with up to life in prison if the miscarriage was determined to be the result of an "intentional, knowing, or reckless act" to end the pregnancy; every miscarriage is a potential homicide. (Jezebel)

The intent of this legislation is to hold accountable women who attempt or succeed at an "illegal abortion;" illegal abortion meaning the forced termination of a pregnancy by, for example, intentionally subjecting oneself to physical or bodily harm in attempt to force a miscarriage. While, yes, there have been cases similar to the one described, and no, that is not acceptable or appropriate behavior, the language of the law does not clearly explain its intent or limitations and creates a dangerous potential for abuse by anti-choicers.

For example, the term "reckless" has broad and potentially devastating implications, as if this law couldn't be described that way already. The term was added in a reaction to a case in which a woman hired a man to beat her to force a miscarriage, a case in which she could not be held accountable. Although not its intention, the use of this term opens up this law to apply to pregnant victims of domestic violence; if a pregnant woman chooses to stay in a relationship with a violent partner, and her pregnancy is prematurely terminated as the result of repeated abuse, she can be legally charged with homicide and serve up to life in prison (The Salt Lake Tribune). This is right on par with considering domestic violence a pre-existing condition.

The implications of this legislation moves far beyond the inclusion of the term "reckless," but this stands as one example of how the intentions of this law only skim the surface of its potential.

Although I disagree strongly with the anti-choice movement, I can at the very least respect their opinion (or at least their right to have one,);abortion and choice are controversial issues and there will always be those who disagree with me. However, this law takes anti-choice to a new level.

To assert that a miscarriage is not only a forced abortion, but is considered murder, is ludicrous and an opinion that does not only deserve respect but does not even deserve to be heard, let alone legitimized through state legislation.

The Anti-choice movement claims that their message and their goals keep women in mind and are 'empowering' for women of all ages (*cough* Sarah Palin). But jailing women for having a miscarriage is not only dis-empowering, but it is a clear and direct attack on women.

The law now goes to Governor Gary Herbert for final action

photocredit: debaird on Flickr

NYFLC update: Preliminary Schedule Released!

The Feminist Majority Foundation's National Young Feminist Leadership Conference is taking place March 20-22 in Washington, DC, which means we have less than a month to go!

Those of you that have ever done large-scale event planning know that this means that your friendly feminist campus team has added things like speaker invitations, workshop presentations, and extra coffee runs to our normal to-do list of battling patriarchy, spring semester travels, and researching new campaigns. Amid all of this, I wanted to give you all a quick conference-related update!

Today we released an updated preliminary schedule so you can see what we are planning! As you can see, there's something for everyone - whether you're a seasoned activist or just learning the ropes, you don't want to miss out! Sessions will range from global to domestic in nature and will cover a range of topics including the economy, reproductive rights, sexual assault, climate change, human trafficking, campus organizing, and more. The conference is a great opportunity to meet amazing people, get fired up, and learn how to take your activism to the next level.

Several hundred activists are already registered, and we want YOU to join their ranks! Click here to register online - the current registration rate is $25 per person, or $20 per person for groups of 5 or more.

If you need help registering a group or have any questions, give us a call at 703-522-2214 or email nyflc@feminist.org. Please note, online registration ENDS March 17, 2010, so don't forget to register soon!

A Gentleman That Doesn't Have To Be Gentle

I find this new trend in men talking about masculinity really interesting. It seems that everywhere you look there is a new example of how men are trying to prove their still men. Like this post via feministing.

Details magazine had an article this week that defined a new masculinity. It instructs men to get their balls back, find something they want, and go for it.

The goal is to move away from:

"The average 21st-century guy is a quilted man, tucked under a fluffy coverlet and surrounded by throw pillows. His world is one of comfort and frippery. His idea of agony is getting his chest waxed—which, to be fair, is said to be agonizing—and his idea of frustration is trying to unclog the john while his wife makes fun of him."

Our new man is:

"a man of words and action. A refined badass. He's a gentleman, absolutely, but that doesn't mean he always has to be gentle."

He should do things like love poetry and be okay with playing a gay men in movies but still should be able to kick ass. Basically Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes meets James Franco.

My question is does this new masculinity include being respectful of women? Or is it just like all the other masculinities of the past that don't take into account what women think or feel? And why does this new man still have to be violent? Can't he be strong willed and still get what he wants without having to beat people up?

This isn't necessarily the new masculinity we had hoped for. But maybe it's a step in the right direction??