"Playboy Mommy" ~Tori Amos

In my platforms I hit the floor
Fell face down, didn't help my brain out
Then the baby came before I found
The magic how to keep her happy
I never was the fantasy
Of what you wanted me to be

Don't judge me so harsh little girl
So you got a playboy mommy
But when you tell 'em my name
And you want to cross that
Bridge all on your own
Little girl they'll do you no harm
Because they know your playboy mommy
But when you tell 'em my name
From here to Birmingham, I got a few friends

I never was there
Was there when it counts
I get my way
You're so like me
You seemed ashamed
Ashamed that I was a good friend
Of American soldiers
I'll say it loud here by your grave
Those angels can't ever take my place

Somewhere where the orchids grow
I can't find those church bells
That played when you died
Played Gloria
Talkin' 'bout Hosanah

Don't judge me so harsh little girl
You got a playboy mommy
Come home
But when you tell them soldiers my name
And cross that bridge all on your own
Little girl they'll do you no harm
Because they know your playboy mommy

And I'll be home
To take you in my arms...


To all the Mommies who think they aren't good enough parents - because society told them so, because the government told them so, because their children told them so.  My Mommy is the best in the world.  And she did it all for me. 

Health Care Reform FINALLY Passes! Yay or Nay????

Because I'm so mindboggled by this whole health care reform situation, I decided to post a community conversation from Feministing.com to share my thoughts:

Health Care Open Thread - Feministing

Much of the comments in the open thread is how I feel about the change at the moment - it's a mixture of both yay and nay.  Yay because of change.  Nay because I'm not sure it's adequate change.  Is this truly a socialist move, aimed at redistributing power via access to health care more equally amongst all?  Or is this just another capitalist vendetta that will privilege some individuals and corporations over others and simply masquerading as equality?  I don't know.  I really don't.  It's hard to navigate at this point, and maybe that was the intention - maybe it was intended to filabuster forever and change a million times and for politicians to change their stances so that the average amerikkkan won't have a clue what we're all getting shoved into.  It's exciting to see this happen, but it's scary that we don't know what it means.  So I'm on the fence.  I'm on the fence because I have no idea what version passed because it changed so many times.  I'm on the fence because I have no idea exactly what is covered and how it will play out - because no one really explained that part in the process.  I'm on the fence because it looks like there is potential to funnel more money into private insurance and pharmaceutical companies.  I'm on the fence because it seems that women's sexual health has been severely compromised in the deal.  I'm on the fence because it's possible that this change won't do much to actually change the lives of the People it's intended to change. 

Moral of the story = someone up on capitol hill needs to explain this to me and every other average person in this country so that we all may understand what happened and how it will work from cover to cover! 

Then I can make my official yay or nay.  Or perhaps this isn't so black and white...

Discussing the Emotional and Mental Impact of STI's = Part of Comprehensive Sex Education

I appreciate the conversation that took place after this posting on Feministing.com.  I've honestly never discussed what happens when you catch an STI (possible because I'm personally unaware of anyone who has one - because no one talks about them), or how you feel about yourself and grow and move on.  This conversation was powerful to read and demonstrates how perhaps this is another part of comprehensive sex education that we should be learning and teaching.  It is certainly another part of sexuality that we should be actively discussing amongst each other. 

How Do I Feel Good After Catching a STI?

"Love Poem" ~Judy Grahn

At the place where her breasts
come together
two thumbs width a channel,
I ride my hands to anchor
my eyes to angle.

At the place where thighs
come together,
I said, "You smell like the ocean,"
and lay down my tongue
by the dark tooth edge of sleeping.
"Swim," she said.
And I did.
I did. 

- reprinted from the Iowa City Women's Press Collective's "Ain't I A Woman?", Iowa City, IA, 1971

My all-time favorite love poem!!!  I bonded over this poem with a woman who was part of the Iowa City Women's Press Collective when she recalled the line "two tumbs width a channel" and claimed it was the most beautiful love poem she had ever read.  She had forgotten the title but knew it was Judy Grahn's and printed in "Ain't I A Woman?".  I immediately remembered the poem, found it in my research materials, and read it aloud to her.  It is clearly unforgettable and powerful, truly bringing women together - even across generations...

"Woman's Song" ~anonymous

My body
is a weapon
It isn't soft
In many places
My hands
Are knives and hammers
For bashing in
The faces
Of men
Who won't allow me
My humanity.

My legs
Are locomotives
For getting out
of situations
For making distance
Separate me
From all
The provocations
of men
Who can't fogive me
My integrity.

My eyes
Are calculators
For planning out
the moves required
To get
From where I am
To where
I want to be.

My body
Is like my sisters'
And we make love
With each other.
My hands
often caress them
While we
create a new world
For women
who at least have
Our humanity!

I am a woman
For a new time
Ticking hours
In my sisters' minds.
I am an engine
For a new plan
Like a pistol
In my sister's hand.


- reprinted as seen in the Iowa City Women's Press Collective's "Ain't I A Woman?", Iowa City, IA, 1971

Smash!

The Embarassment of Dan Choi???? OR One Lazy Columnist Bitching About "Inappropriate" Activism Due to Amerikkkan Textbook History Lessons???

Lt. Dan Choi Chains Self to White House in Protest Against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and one particular gay rights columnist finds it distasteful...for stupid ass reasons!

• there doesn't need to be a MLK for EVERY equal rights movement - just people who actively make it happen.
• leaders can be both "militant" and "civil" - they don't have to be a cut and dry replica of either Malcom X or MLK's activist methodology. activist methodology can blend both professional public figure and outrageous activist performances - and is perhaps best when it does so!!!
• history textbooks lie!!!!!!!  though said history lessons make it look as though MLK was the only civil rights activist and further, that Malcom X was in opposition to MLK, the real story is that amerikkkan white men wrote the book with a bias towards MLK because they wanted to prevent the same kind of militant activism Malcom X fostered from happening again.  there are many reasons for this, but people in power wanted to make sure they could handle their opposition by creating the illusion that only "civil" opposition succeeds and that it is the proper way to make change.  what these books fail to acknowledge is that while Malcom X and MLK adopted opposing methodologies, the two methodologies worked together rather than in opposition for civil rights.
• quit comparing EVERYONE to MLK like he did it best. others have done it well also, and that was a completely different time - you can't compare what works in the 60s to what works today!  
• if are embarassed by what dan choi did yesterday, get off your ass and make something happen yourself!

What is Feminism? Because many seem to have forgotten...or simply ate the lies.

Feminism is the philosophy that systemic oppression - the intersecting of sexism, racism, heterosexism, classism because they all stem from the same power source - distributes power unequally amongst all people, not just between men and women, and that it must be re-distributed so that all people have equal power and equal access.

Words4Thought 2: Feminism v Human Rights

Most people would probably say that feminism is the belief in equality between men and women. I strongly disagree with that. Feminism is bigger. The recognition of systemic oppression – the realization that sexism, racism, heterosexism, classism stem from the same source and intersect in way that makes them inseparable – is key here. Feminism is the philosophy that systemic oppression distributes power unequally amongst all people, not just between men and women, and that it must be re-distributed so that all people have equal power and equal access. Equality is fundamental here – but it’s bigger than men and women. The power of feminism is bigger than recognizing that the personal is political and creating an equal distribution of power because it can mean so many things for different people. Feminism, in being a philosophy, can be more than an identity or social change for some people; it can be a life-style, a political ideology, a social ideology, a spirituality, maybe even a form of therapy.

Though some people would say that this definition of feminism lends itself to human rights and therefore, all people would be feminists, I would again have to disagree with that. First, not all people would be feminists because there are some people who benefit from this unequal distribution of power and therefore, they would not want power to be distributed equally among all people. Second, while feminism and human rights are similar and often overlap and compliment each other, they are different. Human rights has a global connotation – it’s an international movement. And in the U.S., global seems to mean everywhere but the U.S. So with human rights, there is a connotation of lifting all other societies to match the civilization and progress of the U.S. The U.S. has a lot of work to do, so it shouldn’t be the standard, but that is what has happened to the concept of human rights. Because of that, it seems that human rights has unintentionally developed its own unequal distribution of power, and that is anti-feminist in my book. This is not to say all human rights missions or activists are anti-feminist – far from it, in fact; this is just to say that the philosophies and sub-conscious motives are.

Moral of the story:  stop using Human Rights as a substitute for the F word; they are different and feminism isn't going any place.

Obama's Attack on Teacher Unions...For Failing to Meet Student Achievement Expectations

Obama's Attack on Teacher Unions - And The Teachers Fighting Back

"If a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability," Obama said in praise of the recent decision to fire all teachers at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island.

way to acknowledge the achievement gap, obama. you know, everyone thought having a black man as president would change our nation. but when you fail to recognize how the achievement gap negatively impacts, primarily, people of color and working-class individuals, how much are you really changing? i mean, education IS a social foundation for achieving power in this nation, is it not? you just think about that while you're sleeping in the white house tonight and mimicking MLK in your speeches tomorrow morning.