This gallery contains 21 photos.
I spent two full days this weekend at Occupy Grand Junction, sharing childcare duties, facilitating meetings, and basking in the momentous dissent being voiced here in my small, conservative, western town. Here are a few images of the kiddos who … Continue reading
When I was taking to the streets on a regular basis from 2000-2004, there was no live feed streaming on the internet. Indymedia did a fantastic job of covering the mass mobilizations from the protesters’ perspectives, and once in a while got a semi-live audio feed up online, but nothing like Global Revolution’s 24 hour live streaming coverage of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations this week.
This recent unprecedented level of accessibility–the opportunity to actual watch police repression happen live on your screen–has transformed the role of popular uprising in our culture, and has transformed our potential to create change.
Tonight I noticed the link to Peaceful Women Maced During NYC Protest appearing everywhere–on the front page of AOL News, in my Facebook feed, and in personal emails. What was dramatically shocking about it wasn’t that these young sidewalk-standers were attacked with chemical weapons; that’s not a particularly unique event. What was shocking was that I was reading about it in places I never had before.
Back when I was attending mass mobilizations, most of the time folks just had to take our word that crazy acts of violence were perpetrated by the police on a regular basis. Or they could wait for video to eventually be posted to YouTube, or watch the mainstream media coverage that focused on the few acts of aggression by the protesters, rather than the mass volume of offensive & violent behavior by the cops. Nowadays, it’s all right here at your fingertips, instantly. And it looks like the media might even be paying attention at this point.
It’s 2am on a Friday night, so I’m not sure where I’m going with the analysis here. But I know that I’ve personally seen many, many, many incidents like the young women above who were attacked without provocation. This is not new, unique, or out of the ordinary. But it is FINALLY showing up on the computer screens of normal people, who aren’t seeking out this kind of information.
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I know this post is a bit removed from this blog’s focus on reproductive justice–but for me, these movements are all tied in together, and direct action organizing is a core part of my personal history and who I am. So please forgive the detour.
This photo looks a bit like an old Wild West kind of situation. Something along the lines of, “Let’s wrangle up some muscle & meet down at the corral at high noon.” Except the ‘muscle’ is a group of nursing mamas, babies & toddlers, and the corral is the ‘No Strings Attached’ resale shop in downtown Dekalb, Illinois.
After a 21 year old new mom was accosted by the shop’s owner for nursing her 11 month old babe in the store, she turned to Facebook to rally the troops–or, shall we say, the gun-slingin’ posse.
Photo by Jennifer Moore Photography
I realize that this event happened back on June 2nd, but it’s by no means old news. The issue of breastfeeding rights (have we coined that term yet?) is a hot topic, and it’s uber-relevant, as stories like this one pop up regularly from all over the U.S.
Hopefully, one day, a mom won’t have to get butterflies in her stomach every time she lifts her shirt to attach a baby, and we won’t need nurse-ins anymore. Until then, though, the Wild West analogy that this photo conjures up works perfectly for me.
Posted in Activism, Breastfeeding
Tagged breastfeeding rights, dekalb, illionois, john rapp, Nichole Eidsmoe, no strings attached resale shop, nurse-in
Moms in Pittsburgh are about to have a new tool in their arsenal for combatting those judgmental stares and unreasonable requests to cover-up-or-leave.
Jill Miller, artist/mom/breastfeeding advocate, has hatched a plan to transform an ice cream truck into a combination guerrilla theater performance and public service project.
Check out Jen’s video on Kickstarter for details about her plans for the Milk Truck to serve as a lounge-style nursing space, and plans to tour it around to community events and art exhibitions. Continue reading
Posted in Activism, Breastfeeding
Tagged jen miller artist, nursing in public, public breastfeeding, the milk truck
“Two families full of radical queer riot-folk fury” are sharing their acoustic & string Riot Folk music this week. So if you’re in Santa Barbara, LA, San Diego, Tijuana, or anywhere in between, check out Bonfire Madigan & Evan Greer on the family-friendly Tiny Fists Tour this week.
Two dynamic activist musicians are hitting the road this spring with their babies on board, toting an arsenal of stringed instruments and a whole bunch of reusable diapers, hellbent on making folk a threat again. Continue reading
Posted in Activism, Radical Parenting
My recent interview with reproductive anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd appears in the current issue of SQUAT Birth Journal, and in it Robbie addresses the intersections of abortion, midwifery and doula work.
For pro-choice doulas and doulas doing abortion support work, hearing these words of encouragement from such a prominent figure in the birth world is validating in a way that is so needed.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
One of the features of the radical midwifery and doula movements is a tendency toward supporting the full spectrum of women’s choices in pregnancy, including abortion. Do you think there’s a possibility that midwifery care will ever be able to encompass this full spectrum of choice?
The full spectrum of choice that I believe midwives should support ranges from home birth, to birth centers, to humanistic/holistic hospital birth, even to assisting at cesareans to provide continuity of care for the mother. And I believe that abortion is a woman’s right. It would probably be better for women if midwives were their abortion providers, but I have no information about whether or not midwives are willing to take on that task.
What are your thoughts on the growing segment of the doula community that is applying the doula model of care to the abortion experience? Do you think the skill set of the doula can naturally transfer over to the abortion context in a useful way?
I think it’s marvelous! Every woman should have a doula at her birth, and at her abortion if that’s what she chooses. Abortions can be very traumatic for women—they would benefit tremendously by having a supportive doula at their sides. They need both physical support—touch, caring, massage—and emotional support, which doulas are well-trained to provide.
I’m embarrassed. By my country, my government, my fellow human folks. I’ve sat here quietly while all this de-fund-Planned-Parenthood nonsense has gone on, hoping it was just one more instance of those crazy right-wingers unsuccessfully trying to make the world a worse place, and instead successfully just making themselves look ridiculous–again.
But that’s not what’s going on. This is serious business. When the House voted last week to revoke all federal funding of Planned Parenthood, they placed the health care and reproductive choices of millions of women in peril. 
AND THESE ARE NOT JUST WOMEN LOOKING FOR ABORTIONS. They are grandmothers looking for breast cancer screenings; trans folks looking for respectful pap smears; teen girls looking for ways to not get pregnant; expectant couples suffering stillbirth and miscarriage. They are you, your mom, your sister, your cousin.
It’s time to not be quiet anymore. Rolling our eyes at the anti-choicers won’t cut it this time. Sign the I Stand for Planned Parenthood Petition and tell the Congress not to destroy 3 million women’s access to quality, affordable health care.
Posted in Abortion, Activism, Oppression, Reproductive Health
Tagged planned parenthood petition
Yesterday California representative Jackie Speier stood up in front of a (very large, very powerful) room full of (primarily upper-class, white, male) political leaders and television cameras, and passionately shared her abortion experience. She went on to defend Planned Parenthood and its right to exist, visibly shaken and very clearly meaning every word she spoke.
Thank you, Jackie Speier.
Can you imagine the fury she must have been feeling? The courage it took for her to scrap her prepared remarks and speak from somewhere deep inside her, somewhere deep inside so many of us?
I think I’m going to write her a thank you note. The old fashioned kind, written by hand in cursive on nice stationary.
Posted in Abortion, Activism, Reproductive Health
Featuring over 70 pages of stories, experiences and tips on how to support families in your movement or community, including:* Experiencing Critical Resistance 10 through the Children’s Program
* Organizing from within an Anarcha-Feminist Childrearing Collective
* Mothers Among Us: The Prison Birth Project
* A Mother’s Day of action with Young Women United and Mamas of Color Rising
* On Fear & Commitments: A father’s reflects on his own childhood in England, Baghdad and the U.S. and the challenges of raising a biracial child in the anti-Muslim and xenophobic climate of the United States today.
* Call to Destiny: how even an early morning wake-up call can support students with special needs
* Radical childrearing with a queer and sex-positive angle
* Tips on supporting pregnant friends
* Tips on supporting parents who have lost a newborn infant
* Radical Childcare Weather Report: a centerfold from the “Building an Intergenerational Movement for Collective Liberation” workshop at the 2010 US Social Forum
* and much, much more
Posted in Activism, Radical Parenting
While I’ve had my eyes glued to Al Jazeera English over the past few weeks, Mai’a Williams of Guerrilla Mama Medicine–a resident of Cairo–has been living the Egyptian revolution live and in person. Below are some of her photos, specifically of children, from Tahrir Square over the past few weeks.
Mai'a Williams and her daughter Aza dancing in Tahrir Square during the million Man March 02/09/11
I’m not going to spout a bunch of rhetoric here about the value of giving your children the experience of engaging in full scale social revolution, or the turmoil of decisions around safety…I’m just going to post these photos. Photos of families and children whose presence in Tahrir Square this month has made the world a different place. Thank you to Mai’a and everyone in these photos.
"family at tahrir sq protests last week""woman standing with two children, one of whom holds the egyptian flag"
"woman standing with two children, one of whom holds the egyptian flag"
"mother carrying child during protests on friday--day of rage"
"boy teaching girl how to throw rocks in front of a mosque in tahrir sq.""mother carrying child during protests on friday--day of rage"
Do you have a penchant for queer erotica? Or maybe databases? Maybe you really love sending mail, or doing research on obscure reproductive health issues.
If so, we need you.
This little project has been growing, and growing and growing and growing, and it’s time to get some fresh hands & eyes & ears & minds into the mix.
If you’re an empowered folk with more ideas than you know what to do with–and a bit of spare time and energy–let me know. We’re creating editorial and support positions to help the CUNTastic print zine keep moving forward in its own cuntastic way.
Email laurel@cuntastic.org with a bit about yourself, your experience, and what you might be interested in working on–from distribution to promotion to proofreading to writing a regular column, or whatever else grabs your eye.
How the fuck do you smile at Fred Phelps?
Scotty Weaver was an 18 year old gay Alabaman who liked to dress in drag. He was brutally tortured & murdered by 3 teenagers in 2004. Fred Phelps is glad he's dead.
I’m watching the documentary Small Town Gay Bar, and there’s this loooong interview with the infamous Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church. He’s smiling and happy and cheerful as he describes the wrath that God is bringing down on us all for our acceptance of “fags.”
And the kicker is, you can hear the (liberal, LGBTQ friendly) filmmakers chuckling along with him as he spews his hate to their camera with a huge grin on his face.
I get that they did what they had to do to get the interview. I can identify with having to compromise yourself for a moment in order to accomplish a larger goal.
But imagining myself sitting across a table from Fred Phelps, smiling and chuckling along with him–EVEN just for a few minutes, for a fantastic purpose–makes my skin crawl. My head is spinning at the thought of it.
End rant.
The momentum over at Mamas of Color Rising makes me tired just reading about them!
They host a monthly potluck & clothing swap, they fundraise like crazy–I’ve heard their homemade empanadas are worth every penny–and it seems they know how to throw a mean benefit party.
But their most exciting endeavor? The Sister Doula Training, wherein they’ll train 20 women of color to become certified doulas.
This is one part of our current campaign around access to equality in birthing and prenatal care for women of color. This training will be a first step in implementing a women of color doula and birth support project here in Austin, TX.
Sending Mamas of Color Rising some solidarity and love from the Rocky Mountains!
Posted in Activism, Birth Activism, Midwifery, Oppression
Tagged austin, doula training for women of color, mamas of color rising, tx
This post originally appeared today at the Full Spectrum Doula Network, so the language is directed toward that particular community. But the message applies to the larger reproductive health community as well–and is a key element to the work we have to do to create an inclusive movement that fully represents the vibrance and diversity of this world. 
One of the core goals of this community is to create a safe space for the full spectrum of doulas and other reproductive health workers. For transgender or genderqueer folks working in the reproductive health world, part of feeling safe is not being asked to constantly, on a minute-to-minute basis, identify within the conventional gender binary of male and female–and not constantly, on a minute-to-minute basis, having your gender assumed as female because of your work as a doula or midwife.
This post is just a gentle nudge to remind folks here that your language matters. To remind folks that part of creating a safe space lies in challenging ourselves to change our behaviors that might be alienating or denigrating to folks we really don’t mean to oppress.
Here, in this safe space, you don’t have to be a ‘lady’ or a ‘she’ or a ‘woman’ (or even a ‘womyn’ for that matter) to be a doula or a midwife or an advocate.
Many of us have talked about how Continue reading
Posted in Activism, Doula, Feminism, Gender, Oppression, Queer & Transgender Activism
Tagged doula, genderqueer, midwife, oppressive language, pronouns, transgender
The annual conference ‘From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom’ is the closest thing to a major radical reproductive rights conference out there. I suspect that a good number of you have already been to it before, and I’ll be there in April 2011. Come!
Every year 1,000+ reproductive health advocates gather for an Abortion Speakout, plus workshops on incredible topics like:
These workshops are from last year, but this year’s schedule promises to be even more ridiculously great–it’s the conference’s 30th anniversary. It’s hosted by the Civil Liberties & Public Policy program at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.
The real kicker is that this amazing event is free. Yeah, I said free. So, no cost for the conference, plus a bunch of meals are included, plus free transportation around the area, means this is probably one of the most accessible (as well as the most fly) conferences around.
So join me! Come and share and learn and grow and network! Who’s in?
