[feminist] Scott Walker recall election!

I'm excited and nervous for the historic recall election which will begin in a few hours... Wisconsin is voting again for governor-- to get conservative tea-bagger Scott Walker out of office and instate Tom Barrett, the former mayor of Milwaukee (both were opponents in the last election).

Scott Walker is in favor of both corporate and fetal Personhood.

He thinks it is acceptable for pharmacists to not fill birth control medications if it goes against their personal beliefs; as well as for insurance companies and employers to not cover contraceptives.

He has reduced access to women's basic health care for the poor and uninsured.

He has worked to change and restrict abortion laws.

Women in Wisconsin currently earn on average 78 cents for a man's dollar.

[fat] beer earrings!

update:
changing things up... send me an email at crankyfatfeminist@gmail.com to see the beer earrings right now!

My bottle cap earrings are on sale right now on Etsy--

everything in the shop has free domestic shipping right now, use the code CRANKY

[fat] WW, take 2

I restarted Weight Watchers a week ago. The end of last semester of school was absolutely overwhelming, and I enjoyed too much good beer and ice cream. I weighed in at 223 pounds, and somehow lost 4 pounds last week, to 219.
I can't wait to get down to 199, then I'm allowed to open up a big bag of clothes from Ghana, along with my shorts. (muffin top, anyone? haha)

[feminist advocacy] Letter to the Editior

Letter to the Editor of the Mount Gilead Ohio local paper. In response to a previously published letter in which the author clearly had his facts about Sandra Fluke, religion, Obama Care, and the Constitution confused. (to say the least)

Dear Editors,

I am a 21 year old college student, and I am on birth control. I am not ashamed that I am on birth control, because I have endometriosis and ovarian cysts. I was put on the pill at the age 15 so that my reproductive organs would remain viable for later in life when I chose to have children, and I would not have a high risk of an ectopic pregnancy. At the age of 19 I had a fast-growing cyst rupture after reaching the size of a tennis ball in just over one month. I could not go into work for three weeks, and laid in bed in excruciating pain when I was not at the doctor’s office. I was given a new birth control pill and told that if I stopped taking it, I might have to have my left ovary removed. Clearly, being on the birth control pill is a matter of my health, my quality of life, and my ability to be a productive member of society.

Sandra Fluke testified that as equal citizens in America, women should be able to access affordable birth control, meaning that insurance companies should be required to provide birth control coverage in their insurance policies. The birth control pill that I am on right now, which is the ONLY pill that I can be on for endometriosis and ovarian cysts without interfering with my hypothyroidism or pre-diabetes (the pre-diabetes was brought on after a 40 pound weight gain from my previous birth control pill trying to control the endometriosis), costs $30 a month because it is non-generic. It costs $120 a month without insurance. This means that, without required coverage for birth control, someone like myself might have to pay $120 x 12 months x 4 years = $5,760. Instead, after insurance I pay $1,440.

I am a Christian, I was raised a Southern Baptist. My NEED for birth control coverage has absolutely nothing to do with religion or sexual promiscuity or taking anything away from religious institutions. Put simply, I believe that birth control is part of my health care, and that if I have health insurance it should be covered. If a woman feels that it is against her religious beliefs to take birth control, then she has every right to never ever take or use any form of birth control. I do not think that an outsider, or any legislator, should decide my fate when they do not know me and my body.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story and opinion.

[cranky] UNITE WOMEN

 

click here to go to the Unite Women on Facebook page, find other advocates of women's rights around the country, and join the organizational page for the state you're from and/or the state you're living in to find the rally on April 28 that you can attend.

I've managed to become the state leader of one of these groups and an admin on another. I'm not sure how I did this to myself as a 21 year old college kid, but the apathy of the people the same age as me is disgusting in the face of the war on women. I'm so glad to be a part of this movement, this march for social justice, women's rights, reproductive health care, for raising awareness and giving voice to people so frequently tossed aside. No matter which of my two states I march in, I will be bringing a car full of college-age people and I will be proud of every single person standing with me that day. Clearly, obviously, there is a war on women in America. I'm not going to sit down and listen to a man tell me how my uterus works-- I'm going to stand up and make sure that everything women have fought for in the past remains solidly in place for myself, for my god children, and for all women in America.

[feminist] video: virginia 3 march

Virginia state house, 3 March 2012. A peaceful protest against the state government's attempts to require ultrasounds before abortions. Walking, chanting, holding signs, and sitting (but not blocking) on the stairs of the state house received this response.

Full riot gear. SWAT armed with automatic weapons. In the 21st century apparently everyone in the world requires a response like this when they disagree with the government and want to have their voices heard. At what point will these police officers say "wait, my sister had an abortion 10 years ago. It was unbelievably expensive then, and now we're trying to increase costs with additional requirements? I'm NOT going to break this up, I'm going to sit this one out, even if I get in trouble." Wait until there are Personhood marches-- will someone say "but my girlfriend used Plan B last year, I'm so glad that was an option because we aren't ready for kids yet!"?

Why is the government, the police force, so quick to quell any dissent? Are we supposed to simply sit at home on our laptops using social media to bring down misogynist pricks like Rush Limbaugh and meanwhile never take to the streets as a physical, visible entity to say "this is fucked up, and you have to hear me say it. you're impeding on my rights as a citizen, as a woman, and as a human being, and I'm not going to sit by, apathetic, while you throw me into the dirt and spit on me because you're too egotistical to see beyond your own needs and wants and to understand that the world is not okay!"

[feminist] why I need birth control

This video should be watched by every voter in America. The idea that all women should have access to affordable birth control shouldn't be shocking, and it shouldn't be up for debate. What a person does with their body is their own business, and the way that they take care of their body is their own business, not the government's.

congressional birth control hearing-- the woman on the panel gets to speak

I was put on the pill when I was 15 because the doctor was afraid I had endometriosis, just like my mother. (Who had a terrible painful and extra complicated hysterectomy eventually because of this). I was told if I'm not on some form of birth control, its quite possible that my fallopian tubes will become blocked by endometrium growth-- meaning that I could be sterile, and also that I would have an increased risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

At 19 my pill had to be switched-- I'm over the weight limit for the low dose pill I was taking and I was still ovulating. (period control-- not birth control!, which was what I needed) I had terrible pain in my hip, and an MRI showed a golf ball size cyst on my left ovary. Less than a month later after other tests (before the MRI results came back) I had another test which showed that the cyst had grown to the size of a tennis ball. Also, I didn't get that test result back before I was walking across my apartment one evening and collapsed onto the floor in excruciating pain. The cyst had ruptured, and its contents coated my insides. It took about a month before that pain went away. I was told that if I had another, it could mean the end of that ovary through a necessary surgery. My bc pill now keeps me from ovulating. With insurance its $30 a month. When I had to have the annual beg-and-plead with the insurance company to reauthorize it, I had to go without for a month because it was $120.

The thought of not having insurance truly scares me. The idea of having insurance one day that doesn't cover all of my medical needs is disgusting and even scarier. Access to contraceptives is not just about unwanted pregnancy through promiscuous sex, its about basic healthcare for the well being of all women.

We have to stand together, call the men and women representing us in Washington, call the people representing us in our state capitals, and let them know that this is absolutely ridiculous and that their time is better spent on other things. Then, come November, we have to show all of America that we have the power to get rid of the idiots who are sponsoring these bills against women's health. Standing by and doing nothing is just a form of siding with the oppressors. I refused to be oppressed in the land of the free.

[feminist] video: women "raped too much"

liz trotta: misogynist 

The link will take you to HuffPost's video of a Fox news interview with a well-respected journalist Liz Trotta. She tells her viewers that Feminists are the reason there is so much rape in the military, and that they are also the reason that there are so many useless jobs such as advocates for sexual victims, and counselors. She believes that women can should only expect to encounter more violent sexual attacks as they move closer and closer to attaining equality with men in the military. Except she doesn't use the word equality, of course. She also claims that women "are now being raped too much"-- too much? This leads me to believe that your statement also says that "being raped a little is okay." Did you really mean that? Do you honestly mean that women who choose to serve their country and aim to be the best soldiers they can expect to "be raped a little"? Whats the difference between a little and too much? Clearly your privileged bubble needs to be burst, and soon, before you contaminate any more minds and bring women back in time from all of their accomplishments.

[feminist] birth control is a right in america

from Naral Pro-Choice America Facebook page

Suddenly Republicans care about the separation of church and state-- because Catholic women don't deserve access to birth control because it's against the beliefs of the celibate priests. We should have prayer in school and we should teach creationism and evolution in public schools. But we shouldn't allow all women the same access to birth control, because THAT would be church and state hopping in the same hay wagon to go ride around for a spin. Make a choice, and stick to it-- if you want kids to pray in public schools then you better allow every single woman in America get the birth control she needs for her body, if she so chooses, at a price she can afford. Today, a lot of people don't work at their ideal job. They work at a job which pays the bills. If it so happens to be a Catholic-run institution, then who is to say that Protestants, or atheists, or Muslims couldn't work there? And who is the government or the church from denying these people birth control? The church can preach all it wants about "sex is only for procreation"-- but the reality is that all women don't want to have ten children after marriage. Birth control is common sense. If the people making laws had uterus's, they might be more inclined to promote equal rights for all citizens of the United States. In this day and age, access to birth control is a right in America. It should not be a privilege. Until it becomes widely popular that men are willing to undergo some mild pain and discomfort themselves as a form of birth control, we as human beings need to stand up for the rights of women and not let us progress back into the dark ages of fear and unwanted pregnancies.

[cranky] mitt wasting money... lots of money

I've been seeing Mitt Romney ads EVERYWHERE, and the Newt ads have been popping up too. Just now, "what is a one term Obama presidency worth to you?" popped up as the ad next to my blog.

I'm from South Carolina (and I'm not so proud of it, cough Nikki Haley cough) and one night right after the primary I was laying in my dorm room bed and I suddenly had this silly epiphany, and I laid awake staring at the protein shake stain on my wall and ceiling. (the protein shake story is for another day) This 2am epiphany was "what if Romney hadn't spent $1.9 million in SC for crappy attack ads during Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy? what if Romney had bought a pencil (with his name on it of course) for each and every elementary school student in SC, to use and keep and bring home and share with their parents?" From there it became Romney-nalgenes and Newt-lunchboxes, and ending pollution until I finally fell asleep.

Why can't the candidates spend money on something worthwhile instead of throwing it at the television, and at websites and blogs which clearly are liberal? Honestly, every time I see a Romney ad on addictinginfo.com I click on it so that Romney has to pay out his pennies for my click. It takes me straight to "how much do you want to donate today?" "will this be a recurring donation? how about monthly auto-deduct?"

Hey, Romney. How about, you don't speak for the people! You speak for the people scared shitless that Newt might win the nomination. And the more shit you manage to talk about each other, the more you tarnish each others reputation, the more you just open your mouths and sound comes out, the more people realize that they're going to vote to keep Obama right where he is. No president is perfect, no man is perfect, no presidency with its millions of tasks to accomplish can be perfect. But the more talking y'all do, the more we realize that he's a hell of a lot more perfect than either of you could ever be.

And now, go Google "Santorum" if you haven't already. Enjoy!

[fat] good news!

Shouldn't have been so hard on myself last night-- I weighed myself, finally, and after 7 tries I was confident that I had lost 3.5 pounds. Honestly, that's the most weight I've lost in one week since I had Typhoid Fever last May.

Last week's goal of walking 10,000 steps a day totally failed. I got to like 7,000ish a day... at least its a start, right? I'm really trying to hold onto the 8 glasses of water a day from the first week. Naturally it means chugging water in the evening after drinking coffee all day... but I'm hydrated. Don't burst my bubble.

[fat] and sad

Its the end of my second week on weight watchers, and I'm afraid to weigh myself. I haven't exceeded my points for the week, and I haven't really eaten the last two days. I've bizarrely not been interested in food at all. If only I could keep this up during the week and not just my lazy weekends.

I feel like my weight will have increased, for absolutely no reason. It seems like that's always the way my body works. Tonight I've been dwelling on Ghana, and last May when I was 50 pounds less than I am now. (Granted, I did have typhoid fever at the time, but it was 50 pounds less than today)

Maybe if I get on the scale it will have gone up. Could I blame it on my wet hair? Was I standing on the scale differently? Maybe my weight has gone down. I almost want to laugh at myself, I feel like this diet is just a trick for maintaining my weight because I will never drop any weight. I swear I'd throw myself a party at 20 pounds lost, I'd have my ass below 200.

Video: occupy dc and excessive police force

It seems like the Occupy movement had gone into hibernation for winter, but apparently they're still camped out. Personally, I wouldn't move into a pseudo-tent city to make a political point, but we all get to make our own call on that. Either way, I think this video shows a complete lack of understanding and respect for other human beings in this country. Don't the police have something legitimate to be doing with their time rather than harassing non-violent people? Go break up a drug ring, answer a domestic dispute, hunt for online predators, something?

Stop harassing people and causing them physical pain when they have done nothing to provoke this kind of reaction. My boyfriend works for our state's Department of Corrections-- and as apolitical as he is (which astounds me sometimes), he gets so angry at these scenes because he knows how strong tasers are and how painful pepper spray is. That also means that these cops KNOW what they're doing when they tase someone. Beyond the argument for not arresting and not evicting, how about lets not cause physical pain to other citizens of the United States for standing up for a movement which calls on our government to NOT treat us like useable, meaningless shit. Rallies don't just include young unemployed people-- they include the employed, the middle aged, the elderly, the college students. I want to go to a rally. I don't want to be pepper sprayed or tased, or knocked onto the ground with my hands zip-tied behind me when I did nothing violent, and nothing to provoke the police.

Who is truly at the top of the chain of command in making these decisions? Are we really just to follow along, follow our superiors, when we know they're calling bad shots? These police are just another example of everything that is wrong with this country, and why the occupy movement has taken hold of the country and the world.

[feminist] Miss Representation Film

I just got back from watching "Miss Representation" which was absolutely incredible. Sometimes it takes being slapped in the face before we realize what we're absorbing into our minds, both consciously and subconsciously. I've attached the Trailer.

"Miss Representation brings together some of America's most influential women in politics, news and entertainment, including Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem to give audiences an inside look at the media's message and depiction of women. The film explores women's under-representation in positions of power by challenging their limited and often disparaging portrayals in the media. Miss Representation takes the stand that the media is portraying women's primary values as their youth, beauty and sexuality - rather than their capacity as leaders."

When was the last time you watched a movie where the star was a woman?
And she wasn't hunting down a man to marry?
Or Laura Croft, taking charge of the world as a badass go-get-um woman wearing not enough clothes?
You're not sure, are you?

Video: Time in Lahore

Time in Lahore

This 2 minute video is beautiful! The photos are from Lahore, Pakistan, and show the beauty of the people and the city that we don't usually hear or see in the news. Definitely worth watching!

[feminist] 60 seconds of advocacy: congo's coltan is killing civilians for our phones

Amnesty International USA, Take Action! SEC: Companies Must Disclose Conflict Minerals in Their Products
I'm active in the Amnesty International USA group on my university campus, and I'm always looking for ways to be involved on a global level, without forking over money that I don't have. This link will take you to the Amnesty page which has information about emailing the SEC to be accountable for human rights around the world.

Thanks to wikipedia for its infinite wealth of random information (this is my condensed version):

• Columbite-tantalite (or coltan, the colloquial African term) is the metal ore from which the element tantalum is extracted. [which is used in products ranging] from hearing aids and pacemakers, to airbags, GPS, ignition systems and anti-lock braking systems in automobiles, through to laptop computers, mobile phones, video game consoles, video cameras and digital cameras. As a result, it is used in jet engine/turbine blades, drill bits, end mills and other tools.
• Cassiterite is chief ore needed to produce tin, essential for the production of tin cans and solder on the circuit boards of electronic equipment. Tin is also commonly a component of biocides, fungicides and as tetrabutyl tin/tetraoctyl tin, an intermediate in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high performance paint manufacturing.
• Wolframite is an important source of the element tungsten. Tungsten is a very dense metal and is frequently used for this property, such as in fishing weights, dart tips and golf club heads. [Also] in metalworking tools, drill bits and milling. Minimal amounts are used in electronic devices, including the vibration function of cell phones and Blackberries.
• Gold 

Don't you want to know if your laptop or phone helped to promote armed conflict against civilians? How about the golf clubs you're going to buy your husband for his birthday, the video game console your kid wants for Christmas, or the new GPS you want. If all companies had to label their products as to where they got their parts, wouldn't you choose the product that didn't fund the mass murder and rape of civilian populations?

[feminist] (Crazy) Santorum explains hard line on abortion

A father can tell his daughters what he believes, and encourage them to make the "right decision" based on family values, and how they were raised. However, a father should never dictate to another man's daughter what she should do with her uterus, and her body. It is a personal, private decision not to be praised or criticized by the government. Separation of church and state? How about separation of my uterus and the state!

YENKO NKOAA, by Eduwoji

 

This is my absolute favorite song from studying abroad in Ghana. I spent the month of April 2011 doing dance research in a small village near where this was filmed, Klikor-Agbozume. (You have to drive through Sogakope where this was filmed to get to Agbozume.) I spent the evenings of my research time drinking Star, a local beer, and dancing in the village "spot" (bar) whenever we had electricity for music. Yenko Nkoaa was on every night that we had electricity, usually several times during the night. I always wore handmade bright new dresses with African prints to go dancing with my translator, and never once wore a bra-- just like every other woman in the village. Klikor will always remain in my heart, and shape the way that I feel about my body.

[cranky] why is twiggy the ultimate (midwest) american beauty?

My midwest university is obsessed with the double zero, zero, and size 2. It seems as if the only way to be attractive to men and even other women is to be skin-and-bone skinny to the point where we might be afraid you'll pass out at any moment. Entering campus freshman year as a solid size 8 (Marilyn's size, right?) I already felt out of place, and too large to fit in.

Since when did men find it so appealing to fantasize and sleep with twiggy? Why are plump breasts and real hips going out of style faster than disposable water bottles? I feel like if I were a man I would be afraid to sleep with a woman as skinny as Nicole or Kirsten, I might accidentally break them in half. But I guess if you can watch a seemingly anorexic girl in a porno, then why can't you have that in your own life, right?

And I bet that seemingly anorexic girl in the porno doesn't have just a neatly trimmed bikini, she's got it completely shaven bald. So she already looks like she has the body of a pre-pubescent middle schooler, but now she has the vagina to match. Secretly, unbeknownst to men, are they all carrying around pedophile tendencies if they're only attracted to women with bodies of ten year old girls?

[fat] a new diet begins

I've joined weight watchers this week. The online food diary from last semester helped me figure out what I should and shouldn't eat, but somehow weight watchers feels more legitimate?

I have metabolic syndrome, meaning that I have elevated cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, a slow metabolism, elevated blood pressure, and a knack for not ever being able to lose weight. The carrots and hummus diet did nothing. The protein water diet did nothing. So now I'm on to the most legitimate thing I can find online. I weighed in this week at a whopping 220.5 pounds. Standing at just 5 feet and 6 inches tall when I bother to stand straight, my BMI tells me that I'm obese, and that my ideal weight is 125-155. That's 65.5 pounds to lose. And according to my doctor if I don't lose it, I'll be diabetic just like my grandmother. I inherited the huge boobs and bad blood, way to go.