i have a blog with a lot of varying themes http://ladylamia.wordpress.com but i wanted something that was strictly for my activism and feminism, so here you are!
the views and opinions expressed in these blogs are my personal views and opinions, they are not the official positions of the national organization for women (NOW), planned parenthood, or any other organization that i am or have been affiliated with.
follow me on twitter @femmefeminist
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Send a message to your rep asking them to oppose HR3 →
You can send a pre-written message to your representative asking them to oppose HR3 through the National Network of Abortion Funds website. The message reads:
Dear Representative:
As your constituent, I am writing to ask that you say “NO” to H.R. 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” The bill, introduced by Representative Chris Smith on January 20th, would endanger women’s health and safety. It would make it more difficult than ever for a woman to obtain an abortion and force many women to use money they need for rent and food. It will push women to seek the cheapest possible abortion care, jeopardizing their lives. Our society should remove laws that stand in the way of critical reproductive health care, not increase obstacles. I urge you to oppose this and any other effort to make the Hyde Amendment permanent – and I urge you to oppose all restrictions on abortion care.
Thank you for supporting health and safety for every woman and family,
you are able to edit it and add things. it takes just a few seconds to send a message! do it now.
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#DearJohn: Resources for the digital activist →
tiger beatdown has some great talking points and info on HR3.
- HR3 makes permanent the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for a legal medical procedure. As it stands, Hyde must be renewed each year.
- HR3 will make it harder for rape victims to seek justice, by creating a hierarchy of rape that is based on the worst elements of rape culture. HR3 is based on the idea that “good” people are only raped by strangers and “good” people are the only ones deserving of medical care.
read the full article at tiger beatdown.
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"Clicktivism" is Ruining Leftist Activism →
sadly, i have seen this first-hand. when it comes to activism the solution to a problem is never to “make the website look better” unless the problem is the website looks crappy.
Digital activists hide behind gloried stories of viral campaigns and inflated figures of how many millions signed their petition in 24 hours. Masters of branding, their beautiful websites paint a dazzling self-portrait. But, it is largely a marketing deception. While these organisations are staffed by well-meaning individuals who sincerely believe they are doing good, a bit of self-criticism is sorely needed from their leaders.
The truth is that as the novelty of online activism wears off, millions of formerly socially engaged individuals who trusted digital organisations are coming away believing in the impotence of all forms of activism. Even leading Bay Area clicktivist organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to motivate their members to any action whatsoever. The insider truth is that the vast majority, between 80% to 90%, of so-called members rarely even open campaign emails. Clicktivists are to blame for alienating a generation of would-be activists with their ineffectual campaigns that resemble marketing.
Via Deirdra Harris Glover
Rift Widens Among Gay Rights Groups →
The gay-rights movement literally began to split at a March 18 rally… Choi then left the rally for Pennsylvania Avenue, where he chained himself to the fence in front of the White House in his camouflage uniform.
But the leadership of the Human Rights Campaign—the nation’s largest gay-rights group—did not follow Choi that day.
Photo reblogged from Slut Had It Coming with 263 notes
Trans Student attacked at CSULB speaks at rally
“I’ve been terrified to come back to campus… The person who attacked me knew my name… pushed me back into a stall and carved “it” into my chest.
For those of you that don’t know why “it” is such a derogatory term, it takes away a person’s humanity. It takes away their personhood and makes them less than human.
Know that what happened to me didn’t just happen to me – it happened to the entire community… Those of us that are visibly queer, those of us that are out about being queer, are scared.”
Via: sluthaditcoming: hopesichord: frenchkissmyfingerprint: hermajestyxx: ihatethismess: neutresex: fuckyeahftms:
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Mississippi (it’s like coming home)
i know when most people around the country think of mississippi, they don’t think of the same things - or the same people - that i think of. it’s true that the negative perceptions about mississippi and the people that live here are based on people that i encounter nearly every day. when i left mississippi, twenty-seven days after i turned 18, i swore that i would never come back.
although i wasn’t born here (i was born in virginia, just outside washington, DC) i grew up in vicksburg from the time that i was six years old until i moved away at 18. choosing to return “home” after eight years away was a difficult decision for me. i knew that i would never live in vicksburg again, but i had to deal with the fear that returning not only meant failure but also meant that i would not be able to live freely or openly. still, though i used being closer to family as an excuse, the truth is i really just had to have a change. coming back here brought me full circle, and enabled me to let go of so many negative things that i had held onto for way too long.
i’m barely a shadow of the woman that left ohio (northern kentucky, really in the end, but it was basically ohio.) that’s a wonderful, positive thing. what i found when i returned to mississippi was that there were many wonderful, positive things happening here. the people that populate this state are not all what i thought them to be when i left; we are not all what we are perceived to be if you read the stories that make the national news. leaving, i realized, was the easy way out. it takes much less courage to move than it does to stay here and try to change things, even in a small way. i spent the last two years of high school feeling like i was the only lgbt person in this state, but now i know so many! i know so many lgbtqia, feminists, progressive thinkers, liberals, activists; i will tell you that i never in eight years in ohio and northern kentucky met this many people that were willing to stand up and speak out for what they believe in.
whatever you think of when you think of mississippi, here is what i think of:
- trees as far as the eye can see; so many trees between meridian and jackson that you start to wonder if trees outnumber people.
- all the faces, young and old, black and white, gay and straight and anything in between that marched around the capitol in protest of prop 8. more people than i could’ve imagined would have turned up for that; my mother holding an “equal marriage NOW” round.
- two swings near the front of laurel street park, and a revolving group of lesbians “flying” toward the sky; laughter and the sound of an acoustic guitar. free & happy just blocks from an anti-gay conservative christian university.
- a young woman crying to a group of rain-soaked protesters outside her father’s business; telling us that she supports gay marriage because her father - the founder of the american family association - would disown her for marrying the man she loves because he is of another race and religion. the protesters crowded around her, at first she was afraid, but she relaxed when she saw we meant her no harm, and took a photo with us.
- the fierce, unmeasured bravery of each and every young person that i have had the great honor of getting to know in my time here. young people who stand up and say that they’re lgbt and it’s ok. young people who are straight but support their lgbt friends. young people who unlike me at their age, aren’t looking to leave but are looking to change mississippi into a place that reflects their values. not every young person like that makes the national news.
- shaking the hand of veronica rodriguez, mother of ceara sturgis the student who dared to want to wear a tuxedo in her senior photograph. meeting ceara and musing at how that larger-than-life photograph that we all saw in the media didn’t begin to capture the slight young woman with the infectious smile.
- all the talks with all the activists who seek to make mississippi a better place. i can’t name names because i will accidentally leave someone out, but i will tell you that the people i have met here put their hearts, their souls, their lives, their money, their careers, their free time, their relationships, they put everything into their work to make mississippi a place that we can be proud of. they form nonprofit organizations, they write grant proposals, they work full-time jobs to support themselves and do activism in their “free” time. they are both from mississippi and come to mississippi from elsewhere. they inspire me, they give me hope, and i am lucky enough to call many of them my friends. they are unafraid to make enemies, to rock the boat, to stand up for what is right, and they do so at great personal expense sometimes.
these are just a small sampling of the stories and experiences that i could share with you about the people who make this state great. that i am counted among them, for whatever tiny part i am able to contribute, is an honor to me. so whatever you think of when you hear the stories about mississippi, when you see the news reports about constance and ceara, when you read all the negative comments on blogs and newspaper websites - remember that you’re seeing only a portion of our state. for the first time in my life, i am proud to call mississippi my home, and it’s because of the bravery and the work that so many people are doing here. we aren’t all rednecks, conservatives, bigots, racists, misogynists, and homophobes. we aren’t sitting back and letting all those people shape our state anymore either. we work hard, we put everything we have into what we believe in, and even if you never see our names in the media, we will continue to work - in fact, those that are working the hardest are probably those that you will never know or hear of.
so, i add my rant to the many that have been written lately about how not everyone in mississippi is so bad. :) change begins at home, and i am no longer ashamed to call this state my home.
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Released today! This is Third Wave’s Reproductive Justice Network, the core of our work in strengthening networks of youth activists working for gender and racial justice.
Via feminaction: melissa:
someone should send this to newsweek!!!!
Source: melissa
Link reblogged from Material World with 10 notes
Community Activist Harry Wieder Killed By Taxi →
Harry Wieder, an LGBT rights, transportation, and disabilities advocate, was run down and killed by a taxi last night in the LES. Weider, 57, described himself on his Facebook page as a “disabled, gay, Jewish, leftist, middle aged dwarf who ambulates with crutches.”
Wieder first came to prominence in the 1980s with the activist group Act-Up. He was profiled in Betty Adelsen’s 2005 book, The Lives of Dwarfs: Their Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation, and also written about by Jimmy Breslin for Newsday, who captured his “combative, roguish nature and his penchant for truth.”
Despite having difficulty walking, and living in a home for the deaf, he was an active fixture at community board meetings, rallies and events, and became well known to local politicians.
Via (materialworld): (abbyjean):
Source: abbyjean
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Activists discuss the future of abortion rights →
this is a great conversation!
Meg Massey, blogger at Feminism 2.0: On the whole, millennials are probably more comfortable working through online grassroots channels than more “official” capacities, such as a letter to a congressperson (although younger women do engage in these activities, too, and they’re not mutually exclusive. A “retweeted” message may ask pro-choicers to call congressperson X about a bill, for instance). Blogging, tweeting, posting articles on Facebook—this is the ideas marketplace for millennials, and that’s going to shift how younger people get involved in politics overall.
Quote reblogged from Material World with 29 notes
In my opinion, I think we need both types of activists. We need all types of people to fight in whatever way they think is best. And really, that’s the most honest way to do it. We aren’t all the same person, why should we fight all the same? There’s definitely something to be said for strategizing and fully utilizing our collective power. But I don’t think anyone should be telling other people how to fight their battles. As long as we’re all trying to move forward, that’s what counts in my book.
Source: creatrixtiara
