Courtney E. Martin

Tonight, in honor of National Women's History month, the Women's Center on campus, along with the Women's Studies department, showcased Courtney E. Martin as a keynote speaker. Courtney recently authored the book, "Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists," and was here to speak about it.I also had the pleasure of meeting her and having an actual conversation! She was so wonderfully down to earth and friendly. I was in complete shock when she didn't walk away right after our introduction and initiated our conversation.

 

If you haven't read the book, and to be honest, I haven't yet (although I was able to snag a copy and will be starting it tonight!), the main point of her book that she tries to convey is that activism is always ever changing. Activism is a complex project that can be rewarding, yet completely overwhelming at the same time. She goes on to explain that she wrote this book because it was something she needed to read - a resource she claims might in aid in the process of determining how effective one actually is in comparison to their activism.

Courtney made many interesting and thought provoking statements as she profiled eight different people, all of which are the core inspiration for this book she wrote.I won't go into much detail about the people she chose to write about, but I will list them for you.

They are as follows:

Rachel Corrie (International Solidarity Movement)
Maricela Guzman (Service Women's Action Network)
Emily Abt (Pureland Pictures)
Nia Martin Robinson (Environmental Justice Climate Coalition)
Raul Diaz (Homeboy Industries)
Rosario Dawson (Rotolatino/Lower Eastside Girls Club)
Tyrone Bouchan (Resource Generation/Aorta Collective)
Dena Simmons (Urban Society Science Academy)

Along with some general information about each activist, is the lessons in which Courtney has learned from them. Lessons such as:

- We take global suffering personally.
- Self interest is at the heart of some of the most inspired activism.
- The lines between those being served and those serving are being blurred

Not only was Courtney a huge inspiration, but when I was sitting there, I sort of lost myself in her presentation. I felt an odd sense of contentment, as if I knew this is where my soul was; where it's been the entire time - in activism. I left that presentation feeling completely re-energized and invigorated, knowing that I want to do something great with my life, and that every failure I may encounter along the way to greatness, will be a vital part of my success.

Courtney reminded me that, as an activist, I need to focus on what I can accomplish day to day, and that if I were to look at the "big picture," I would be right in feeling a sense of overwhelming helplessness, as one person cannot be responsible for "saving the world," as she put it.

Courtney re-ignited my passion, and in turn, made me realize all my accomplishments, and failures alike, up until this point in my life. I have so much to learn and so many more opportunities that I have to look forward to. Courtney left me in a state of happiness, she left me inspired; I left that auditorium knowing that I want to make sure I'm as effective as possible.

Courtney left me with a quote, "Don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive," and I can't help but think that it's my passion; my drive for feminism, my understanding of myself in regards to women's studies and gender issues that make me alive. Feminism, and all that it encompasses, is my drive for life - my light.

If you're at all interested in her book, "Do It Anyway: The Next Generation of Activists," I would recommend checking it out. I can assure you that you wouldn't be disappointed.

Wonderful Women of March: Carrie H.

Carrie was my 9th grade English teacher. She was wonderful in every way a high school teacher could be, but Carrie went the extra mile for her students.

She was inspiring and was a great motivator when it came to our class writing assignments. She never limited our creativity and never doubted any student's ability to write.

Aside from her basic teacher duties, Carrie made it a point to get to know her students on a more personal level; wanting to create trust and in turn, build some sort of support system.

Personally, Carrie helped me out of a very dark place at that point in my life, and for that I'm so grateful. She believed in me, in my writing, and was always eager to read my material. She encouraged me in ways that I didn't know was possible of a teacher. She made the "personal" aspects of life seem valid and important in such a setting where we were always taught to leave your feelings and emotions "at the door," or to never let them interfere with your education.

Carrie never belittled her students and created a warm and inviting environment to learn in. She has since moved out of the country, and her presence is greatly missed - her past students always speak so highly of her.

Before the end of my freshman year in high school, Carrie gave me a notebook in which she encouraged me to write - and I have. I've almost filled up the entire notebook with my writings and thoughts. She gave me the much needed confidence I was searching for that enabled me to write. I owe her so much more than a simple "thank you."

One of those "feel good" kind of things

This past week has been very difficult for me, as I am being reminded that, sometimes, the world is a horrible place and that many unexpected and tragic things happen for no apparent reason. Questions remain unanswered and, in turn, creates anger, sadness, and resentment.

So, I decided that it was time for a "feel good" post. Feel good posts, to me, are those in which kind of make the world seem like it's not really as bad as you're making it out to be; this is basically the rainbow after the rainstorm. I'm attempting to be a rainbow. Just go with it.

This feel good post goes out to Jewel Woods, who is "an author and gender analyst whose views on men and boys in American society have been featured on TV, national news, and radio talk programs." He's the author of the book, "Don't Blame It On Rio: The Real Deal Behind Why Men Go to Brazil for Sex," which is a response to an article written in Essence Magazine that originally brought this issue to light.

On his website,through Jewel's blog, I found an entry titled "10 Things Men and Boys Can Do to Stop Human Trafficking," which I found very straightforward, and honestly, hopeful. Hopeful meaning that it's about time men address other men on how to prevent issues that are relevant to the overall quality of life regarding all women around the world.

Woods, in his entry, goes on to explain that "human trafficking is modern day slavery," and offers ten recommendations that men and boys can do to aid in the end of trafficking around the world:

1. Challenge the glamorization of pimps in our society
2. Confront the belief that prostitution is a "victimless crime"
3. Stop patronizing strip clubs
4. Don't consume pornography
5. Tackle male chauvinism and sexism online
6. End sex tourism
7. Talk to men and boys about men's issues in male spaces
8. Support anti-human-trafficking policies
9. Support creation of "John Schools"
10. Raise sons and mentor boys to challenge oppression

To read the detailed version, which I highly suggest, please click here. Woods is definitely working in the right direction in educating men and boys about issues that actually matter. I hope this made you all warm and hopeful, like it did me.

Wonderful Women of March: My Mother, Alison

My mother. Yup. Isn't she cute?

This woman is the most influential woman in my life; thus, why I'm making her my first Wonderful Woman of March. Not only is she my mother, but she's also my close friend and confidant. Sweet and corny, right? I know.

In high school, my mother and I were usually on good terms, but we weren't as close as we are now. Which, some might say is typical because of college; basically, I've matured.

Anyway, these are the reasons why my mother, Alison, is my first Wonderful Woman of March:

1. On the topic of body image, my mother never, ever pushed cultural/societal beauty norms or standards in my face. Ever. She was, and still is, always so supportive about how I look, according to her, I'm never too fat, too gross, too anything. I, specifically, remember a time in middle school when I was trying on clothes before the first day of school and I told her I looked fat, and she told me that I wasn't fat, I was beautiful. I'm always beautiful to my mother, and as she is to me. I can't express how lucky I am to have a mother who doesn't pester me about my weight, diets, and excessive exercising.
2. My mother is educated. She studied law at the University of North Dakota and graduated with her Juris Doctor. Aside from her law degree, she is a brilliant woman all around.
3. My mother is passionate. My mother told me that she really didn't have a desire to be a laywer when she was working her way through school; all she really wanted to do was be a mom. She had four children with my father and she was the mom she always wanted to be. She's passionate about being a mother and seeing that her children do well in life, supporting us in the best way she knows, and letting us figure things out for ourselves, as we grow older. 
4. My mother is compassionate. She has a very big, loving heart. She's one of the biggest animal lovers I know, and enjoys taking care of all of the animals on the "small hobby farm" she lives on. She bottle-fed and raised three domesticated white-tail deer, and likes watching them enjoy the life she's created for them out at our family farm. 
5. My mother and father are a unit. They're so in love with each other, it sometimes makes me sick, but I also know how rare it is to have a mom and dad that are still married and living together, that still want to spend time with each other, and rarely fight. My parents have been through some hard times in recent years, and yet they still stay strong and committed to each other and everything eventually works itself out. 

I have so many more reasons than just the ones listed above, but I wouldn't want to keep you reading forever. My mother is wonderful, and I'm so lucky to have her in my life.

I also know that if my dad were to read this, he'd be all, "What about meeee?"

And to that, I'd say, "Dad - you're pretty rockin', too."

Free Support Network for Birth Control

About Bedsider:

"Babies are great…when you’re ready for them. We think in the meantime women should have the right to a healthy, happy sex life without having to worry about unplanned pregnancy. For that to happen, women need to take an active role in their own reproductive health. We want to help with that.


Bedsider.org (Bedsider) is a free support network for birth control operated by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Launched in beta form in 2010, our goal is to help women find the method of birth control that’s right for them and learn how to use it consistently and effectively.


Right now, about half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. That sounds like a lot to us. We hope that Bedsider will be a useful tool for women to learn about their birth control options, better manage their birth control, and in the process avoid getting pregnant until they’re ready."

Bedsider offers many different resources when it comes to birth control and the different methods that can be used. Each available method the website talks about has the details about the specific method you chose to use, possible costs, how to use it, side effects, and any problems (effectiveness) that you may face when using a certain type of birth control.

Also, Bedsider has videos from real women about their personal stories regarding birth control. My favorite part, by far, is the fact that at Bedsider, you have the ability to set up text messaging/email reminders for health center appointments and a reminders to take your birth control pill according to the method you use. Neat, huh?

Be sure to check it out and take advantage of all it has to offer.

Spoiler Alert: "Hall Pass," and why it's a terrible movie

So, this is literally another spoiler alert. If you had planned on seeing the movie "Hall Pass," then don't read this - well, unless you want to. Ha.

Just a few minutes ago, I got home from the theater and I'm mad. If you haven't yet heard of this movie, or seen any TV commercials about it, here's the trailer:

Aside from the obvious humor, this movie, in my opinion, had an underlying message: marriage isn't anything to be taken seriously. Women's hopes and dreams are getting married and having children. They live out their dreams all the time. Ohhh, but men on the other hand, they don't get to live out their dreams. They don't get to "bone" any woman they want, whenever they want... because that's the ultimate man's dream, isn't it? Most poor men never get to live out that dream though, do they? They're overbearing, "neurotic" wives wouldn't ever allow that, right? Wrong.

Then "Hall Pass" was made. Every man's dream is to have a week hall pass in life, right? To have the right; the privilege to do whatever they want for one week... whatever they want. Imagine what that would do to a marriage?

According to the movie, a supposed "hall pass" could save a marriage. This movie made marriage seem like a chore. Men eventually lose interest in their wives, resent having children, and can't "control" their "manly" urges to look at other women while with their wives. Sex is a chore to the women and they'd rather pretend they were sleeping that actually have sex with their husbands.

This movie made me mad.

I understand that this movie was making fun and playing off of every stereotype that was ever created about marriage, and I also understand that there are situations, such as those shown in the movie, but there's a much larger issue here.

These men in the movie weren't satisfied with the women they had. No. They wanted young, sexy, easy women. Of course. I lost count of the shots of women's asses, breasts, stomachs, legs, etc. There was actually a point during the movie that I was taking notes. Yeah, I'm the kind of person that takes notes during a movie, but that aside, men are being told that this type of behavior is all right, and acceptable!

The husbands in that movie were seen as incompetent, irresponsible, and child-like. The first thing I thought of was Sarah Haskins and the skit she did titled, "Doofy Husbands." Sarah basically goes on to explain that the media portrays married men as "husbands that can't do stuff.... he was so cool and then he got married, and now he's slightly dumber than a dog."

These men in the movie, "Hall Pass," reminisce about their pre-married lives;  how much fun they had before they were tied down, all the chicks they slept with, and how hot and manly their bodies were. According to this movie, marriage ruins not only relationships, but can really "demasculinize" a man. Oh, dear.

The entire movie was riddled with stereotypes that made it so predictable. The ending was as expected - the wives took the husbands back after their "hall passes," and everything was fine. Everyone was happy and all that jazz... typical. Just to add, as well, one of the wives had sex with a complete stranger, as well as her husband sleeping with a women he barely knew. And the only reason I'm saying that is because I would hate for anyone to read this and think I'm sexist or leaving any part of the movie out. Believe me, I've taken every part of that movie into consideration when writing this post, and yes, you're right - most of this was written entirely out of anger.

Usually I would be mad at feminism for "ruining" this movie for me. Sometimes I wish that I could just be dumb and not understand social stereotypes, gender roles, or feminism in general. Just for one night. I mean, can you blame me?

I realize that I shouldn't be so upset over such a silly movie, but stuff like this needs to be talked about. So, if you're an avid feminist, I highly suggest not going to see this movie, or better yet, if you wish to add to my critique, please, I insist that you go see it.

March is National Women's History (Herstory) Month!

I bet you already knew that, though, didn't you?

This year's theme, according to The National Women's History Project, is "Our History Is Our Strength":

"Knowing the challenges these women faced, grappled with and overcame can be an enormous source of strength to all of us. During today's difficult times, Our History is Our Strength can serve as an important reminder to our nation that adversity can be overcome."

Now, in honor of National Women's History month, St. Cloud State University's Women's Center will be bringing author/activist Courtney E. Martin to speak to the campus about her new book, Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists. So, if you're in the St. Cloud area on March 29th, be sure to stop by campus and check it out.

I will be doing a series of posts, titled "Wonderful Women of March." This will be my way of commemorating National Women's History month. I will be writing about the strong, independent women in my life that have helped shaped me into the person I am today. So, be on the lookout for that!

"Training Bras" and the Sexualization of Young Girls

Oh, yes.

Have you stopped into your local Target or Wal-Mart lately? I have.

While there, I was walking through the children's section, particularly the "little girl's" section, and noticed something disturbing.

I was standing in the bra aisle of the "little girl's" section, and I found this. (Due to copyright issues I was unable to have the picture inserted into my blog. Please follow the link.)

Since when do padded bras become a right-of-passage for young girls who are just beginning to develop their breasts? Even more disturbing were the "training bras" that actually had under wire in them. I mean, really?

I don't ever remember even having the option to purchase a padded, under wire bra, and that wasn't THAT long ago. My first bra, aka "training bra," was just a rectangular piece of cloth that went completely around my chest with two flimsy straps. Just as simple as that. No cute little designs, no under wire, no little clasp in the back to fasten it together, and definitely no such padded material to "enhance" my blooming breasts.

To, partially, satisfy my curiosity, I opened Google and typed in "training bra," and the first website that shows up is titled, "My First Bra - Training Bra Basics." Now, before I clicked on the link to the web page, I read the description, which is, "My First Bra: A helpful guide for preteen, teens, and parents concerning training bras, and issues surrounding puberty & breast development, in young girls..."

Now, that sounds somewhat legit, right? You would click on that if you were a parent, right? Or even a young girl? I thought so. So, I decided to click on it and explore the website. I wanted to see the type of information was out there.

Would you like to know what I found?

The website was misleading. Entirely.

I clicked on the tab labeled, "buying guide" and the site offered different types of bras. Of course, they started out with the "training bra," which didn't surprise me, and looked like an actual bra I would approve of, and then they had sports bras, and what really disturbed me is that the list didn't stop there.

They had a soft-cup bra, which the site said was used to keep the natural shape of the girl's breasts, but it was entirely made of lace. The next option was the padded bra, which basically "adds a cup size," says the website. And last, was the strapless bra, which is a "bra specially designed to make your breasts look larger and fuller," the website says, oh, but don't worry - they also said that the strapless bra may lack proper support. Um. Duh.

Firstly, if I was a parent, which I am not, the last thing I would want my pubescent daughter looking at is lacy, padded, or strapless bras.

Isn't it enough that young girls in our society have to be faced with puberty at such an awkward age? The age where developing your breasts and getting your period isn't convenient, nor is it something that most young girls and their parents actually talk about.

Why on earth would this website promote padded and under wire bras for girls who barely have any breasts to support?

For Target and Wal-Mart to be selling such bras is appalling, and the fact that both companies are solely driven by money doesn't exactly justify anything - it shouldn't. Target and Wal-Mart are just aiding society in the sexualization of young girls in our Western society. Young girls' clothing is getting smaller, tighter, and more revealing.

The first thing I thought of when I saw those "training" bras in Target, was the November GQ issue with three Glee cast members on the cover. The media's portrayal of high school students, mainly the young "girls," were shown definitely over-sexualized. If you view all the photos from the photo shoot, there is one in particular that really is disturbing to me. Actress, Lea Michele (aka Rachel from Glee), is shown as "peering" into her locker, "sucking" on what appears to be an over-sized lollipop. Oh, and let's not forget she's not wearing pants. Because that would actually happen in a real life setting.

I realize my input isn't as thorough as I want it to be, but I'm not really an expert on puberty or sexualization of young girls, so I found a really good analysis of this issue with GQ at a really cool feminist-friend website.

Anita Sarkeesian, writer and founder/feminist cultural critic of this article, stated that, "the latest issue of GQ includes some highly sexualized photos of select members of the Glee cast.  Namely, the white, straight ones.  I’d say they have created a new public controversy but it’s really just the same old argument about whether images of sexually objectifying women are acceptable.  The reason this photo shoot is different from the thousands of half naked women that grace the pages of men’s magazines is that this one is crossing the line into simulating pornographic pedophilia."

For more information on Anita's critique, please watch her video below. Don't forget to check out her website, as well!