Cranky Fat Feminist Speaks

liberal feminist from the south who ran away to college in the mid-west, and quickly retreated back after my four years were up. trying to save the world one picture book at a time; attempting to live healthier to lose weight, but without giving up beer. challenging the idea that “big is beautiful” as well as what I’ve learned and experienced about women, gender, and feminism from my time in college as well as my time in West Africa. pissed about the apathy of the world, ready to create change one mind at a time.

I'd love any comments you'd like to share! And as always, I'd love for you to click on an ad when you're done reading, it's a simple free way for you to give money towards my student loans!


Saturday, October 20, 2012

[Fat] my four legged kids

Some of you had asked for pictures of my old lady retired racer, and my child "chainsaw" the pit bull. She's 9 and he's not yet 2 and was dropped off harry potter style by my sister... the picture of him with a half eaten ball is what I wake up to every morning, and what's always sitting next to me at the computer. They're chillin on the porch, my old lady's bedroom.




Wednesday, October 17, 2012

[cranky] the letter you need to share: Explain That to your Daughter

 "An Open Letter to my 40-something white, male friend on Facebook"

Explain That to your Daughter

This is the letter that you've all be wanting to post on Facebook-- calm, well-written, and absolutely slamming the GOP and their misinformed supporters. How can someone vote against their daughter's future? How can someone vote against their own future? Does the general public have an attention and memory span the same length as my dogs? How much back tracking and mind changing does a person have to do before you realize that they're just full of shit? Have any of them taken the time to read the Republican party platform or the Democratic party platform? Does anyone know what the term "bipartisan" truly means, and does anyone comprehend what an ass John Boehner and his friends are? How many misinformed, uninformed, racist, sexist, ignorant people does it take to throw a country a hundred years backwards in terms of rights for half of the population?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

[super cranky feminist] my theory on Paul Ryan's jobs plan

Reflecting on the religion/abortion question from the VP debate, Ryan said that (flip flop alert!) he WOULD allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother. Note that he said life of the mother, not health of the mother, which are two different things-- if the fetus isn't definitely going to kill the woman, there's a chance she won't get the abortion she still needs, or wants. We also can't forget that Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" fiasco goes hand in hand with Paul Ryan, they've attempted to "redefine" rape together-- further limiting a woman's choices. "Redefined" rape would mean that marital rape, ex-partner/spouse rape, date rape, etc would likely no longer be considered rape. Only violent "stranger" rape would be considered rape (if we haven't by then totally abolished the idea of rape...).

And how much work would a woman have to do to "prove" that she was raped? (Definitely not saying men are not raped, because I have male friends that are rape victims. I'm only talking about women right now because only women can get pregnant.) Already women usually pay out of pocket for a painful and humiliating rape kit that quite often is never analyzed; she would likely be required to press charges against her rapist(s) in order to secure an abortion (remember the rate of conviction is estimated at less than 3%); and she would have to face the public humiliation and stigma associated with publicly admitting to being a rape victim in today's society.

So then, if we've lowered rates of rape by redefinition, then why do Rape Crisis Centers need funding?
If we're going to teach and preach abstinence-only sex ed, why do we need to offer birth control? Why do we need to ensure that insurance companies cover birth control in health insurance plans? (just a reminder-- no one is asking for FREE birth control, we're asking for our health insurance to cover our birth control in the same way it covers other medications like pain killers and ED treatments) Should all sex be purely for procreating?

Reminder-- Romney has promised to de-fund Planned Parenthood (which just like PBS, can't run on donations alone).

Will my birth control pill, used primarily for controlling ovarian cysts and endometriosis, suddenly cost $120 a month instead of $30 a month because my insurance company (or my mother's employer offering insurance) suddenly has a "moral objection" to birth control?

Oh, and that Plan B you can get from the pharmacist? Forget that right now-- with fetal personhood lighting Ryan's toes on fire it will be outlawed. "Life begins at conception." Did you learn in your health/sex ed class that its quite common for eggs to be fertilized but simply fail to implant in the lining of the woman's uterus? So then is the woman a murderer for failing to have the perfect uterus for that particular egg to implant in? Plan B works to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, and Paul Ryan wants to make sure that not only is Plan B off the market (it would help to "kill" a 2-cell "innocent life"), but that it's not available to any rape victim that asks for it. This implantation-prevention form of birth control would become illegal, and it includes IUDs as well as other forms of birth control. It also, in theory, makes IVF illegal (unless of course your last name is Romney)-- all of the eggs that are harvested and fertilized must be implanted, and if you chose not to implant some and have them frozen, you honestly have to include the frozen test tube fertilized eggs in your will (and you can't dump them as medical waste, either). You can't make this shit up.

And just for good measure, lets not forget that when you've got kids at home to take care of you often can't work. Day care isn't an option for everyone, especially when you've got several kids. This could mean that 50% of the sexually-active working-age population would be at home, and out of the formal economy. I guess that means that there are more jobs for men and the women that aren't yet mothers... but that sure sounds like a shitty jobs plan to me.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

[Fat] progress?

Progress is a long long journey. I feel that I've been making progress in terms of both my mental health (depression, anxiety) and my personal acceptance of my body ever since I came back from Ghana. Mental health has had two big hurdles/setbacks in the last year, but I've honesty never felt better about my body than I do these days. However, this week has been incedibly hard. My sister has been struggling for the last two weeks, she took it out on my father, and he took it out on me.
So I'm taking it out on the blog.
Have you ever written a hate-note to yourself? For years I used to just write "fat ugly stupid" and leave it in my underwear drawer or the corner of my desk so that my parents or roommate could never find it. I haven't written one in ages, but I did a few days ago... its almost funny, almost, that this time I wrote "too fat."
I know this is all part of being human. But it hurts so much. And waking up in the morning to find my note the next day just threw me back down again. I have to remember that we are all human, and I am not alone in this. And that if you have ever been here, you are not alone either. It takes time to make progress. And we're here together to make that journey.