“ National Survivors of Suicide Day http://bit.ly/686Poe
BitchMedia
Trinkets
May My Curls Make a Comeback
It’s Miss Jessie’s Grow Out Challenge, and I’m taking it! Actually, it’s been a while in the making, but what a great way to chronicle the journey.
In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
As October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, comes to an end, here are some great tips for prevention for youngsters like me (and anyone else under 40) from the Younger Women’s Task Force.
By (soon to be) Dr. Alicia Huff
1. Monthly self-breast exams!
2. Quit smoking or never start.
3. Increase your fiber intake to 30g per day.
4. Obesity increases risk for breast cancer, so choose a low-fat diet.
5. Exercise daily—at least 30 min/day.
6. Annual mammograms for women over 40 years old.
7. If breast cancer runs in your family, get checked sooner.
8. If you find a lump always have it checked by a physician.
9. Menopausal women use caution when using hormone replacement therapy.
10. You’re never too young or too old for breast cancer.
A Barbie That Represents Black Women (via Feministing)
The author of this Feministing blog entry is right: the creator of the doll pictured should be a consultant for Mattel the next time they try to make a more realistic black Barbie yet still wind up falling short. *sigh*
Is No Sex Still Sex Positive? (via Bitch Media)
Yes, it is, when it’s informed, when it’s sourced by agency of one’s own sensuality and sexuality. This is not the same thing as abstinence only “education” or ignorance of informed sex decisions. Rather this is conscious celibacy, which I believe has a place in the sex-positive feminist framework. As someone who waited until age 21 to have sex, I was not afraid to have sexual experiences when I wanted, nor did I feel the need to have sex just because “that’s what people do.” I was very in tune with my body and what I desired, and I decided it was worth waiting for. Also, as someone who grew up in a conservative environment, I am grateful that I made the effort to educate myself about sex and have sexual experiences, even if they were few, rather than buy into the notion that I was required to wait until marriage to share sexual intimacy with another person. While most people would have definitely labeled me a prude for my lack of sexual activity, others labeled me a slut for being willing to talk about sex so openly. That prude/slut complex is not too far from the virgin/whore complex we all know in our patriarchal society, but as a feminist, I was unphased. I’d rather be mislabeled and educated and informed and in charge of my own desire fulfillment than ignorant, unsatisfied or having mediocre sex.
Sex-positive doesn’t mean always having to have hot sex, and being a lady does not mean always abstaining. There are several reasons for a mixture of both in individual’s lives, and as a feminist, I encourage choice and knowledge above all other pressures to “be” something.
And the Black Stereotypes Keep On Coming
Oh yeah, CostCo. As a little girl searching for a pretty Black doll, I would have loved to have stumbled upon a little Black doll name Li’l Monkey, positioned on the shelf right next to her White counterpart nicely name Pretty Panda. Really? And when you apologize for promoting the product you admit that you had no idea that the offensive meaning was not in your realm of thinking?!
One can’t proactively wade through racism toward anti-racism without knowing one’s own privilege. What a pet peeve. If you don’t know by now that little girls of color can face years of fighting damaged self esteem and systemic racism and and stereotypes surrounding beauty and worth, compounded with a long-standing derogatory stereotype such as the old Blacks-as-monkeys bit, you are ignorant.
The Black Fetish finds its way in German Political Campaigns
This is so tired. and this tagline is actually dumb - really, really dumb. Even without the tagline, using the picture in a political campaign for Germany’s Green Party (as opposed to CDU party, to which they refer as Black) is absurd.
Does anyone else also find it oxymoronic that they’re okay with putting two women on this poster but they couldn’t avoid going with the whole “Blacks are only good for sex” route? Gag me.
