I'm baaaack. No, really, I am.

So, I won't lie.

I needed a break.

I needed a break from reality and feminism. I needed a chance to be... uninformed. It was nice while it lasted, but now it's time to get my ass in gear and to continue this wonderful blog, that, admittedly, I have been avoiding.

So, there really isn't a better way to pick up where I left off than to write about what mattered to me today in the news, blogs, internet world, etc.

Over at Huffington Post, they're doing a series of posts about women in technology, titled, "Women in Tech," and I'd consider it a very good find. It's nice to see women finally being acknowledged and celebrated in the technological world.

University of South Florida now has dorm options for transgendered students. Woo! Also, my very own St. Cloud State University has an LGBTA Pride Community, and according to the LGBT Resources website, "all-gender housing allows same gender roommates, opposite gender roommates or other gender-identity roommate pairings in University operated housing. This option is designed as an intentional living community affirming the cultural experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, gender-queer, gender-variant, questioning, any other resident who does not fit into the gender binary, and allies." I'm so proud, SCSU.  

For those interested in marketing and advertising, the all-know feminine hygiene brand, Always, was the first to to run an advertisement that showed blood. Crazy that it took this long, right? But, don't get too excited - this ad is only a print ad, meaning that it hasn't yet hit the big screen.

Some prisoner in Michigan is so upset that his jailing facility won't allow him to look at porn, that he's suing the State of Michigan and Governor Rick Snyder. Since when did porn become an entitlement?

As most of you may know, Femicide, or sometimes known as Gendercide, has been awful (the world awful isn't even close to how disgusting and cruel it is) in most under developed countries of the world, but parents are going to a new extreme now. Instead of killing their infant girls when they're born, they're paying surgeons to perform sexual reassignment surgery. 

Do you enjoy good movies? Do you enjoy feminist critiques on good movies? Then I have found the website for you! Check out Bitch Flicks. You won't be disappointed.

On a more local level, it's been settled that Minnesota will be closing six of their Planned Parenthoods due to budget cuts. According to the article, "the loss of family planning services for women in the affected communities could drive up state health care costs -- and the number of abortions, said Sarah Stoesz, executive director of Planned Parenthood's chapter for Minnesota and the Dakotas."

MN might be lucky enough to host our very own SlutWalk, although the dates are still tentative. Don't know what SlutWalk is? According to their website, "when we first heard about the Toronto Police officer labeling women and people most at risk of sexual assault as “sluts”, we thought about making noise and demanding for more than an apology. We have a constitutional right to a freedom of expression and a freedom of assembly so we’re using it. Putting that into action, we wanted to go right to Toronto Police Service’s front door at 40 College St. with impassioned numbers uniting against these damaging stereotypes. Thus SlutWalk was born and began with SlutWalk Toronto. We are taking our frustration to the streets – literally. Toronto’s Walk was the first and was incredibly successful with an estimated 3,000-4,000 people joining us on the street and many others supporting us from afar."

Interested in participating in SlutWalk Minneapolis? Be sure to search them on Facebook, read their amazing blog, and follow on Twitter!

"House bars Planned Parenthood from federal funding"

As most of you may have already heard, the House of Representatives has passed a measure that would strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding via the Title X program.

According to Feministe writer, Jill, "by law, federal funds haven’t paid for abortions since the 1970s, so the House hasn’t voted to cut abortion funding. They’re cutting funding for the entire Title X program — funding for contraception, cancer screening, STI tests, sex education, mammograms, HIV testing and diagnosis, and pregnancy screening and counseling. Title X is the only federal program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and preventive health services, particularly low-income families. Last year, 5 million people benefited from the services funded by Title X."

To read the entire article, click here.

How does this pertain to you?

For those that live in Minnesota, like me, 95% of counties here in MN have no abortion provider, according to Pro-Choice America. In Minnesota alone, there are 24 health centers that are operated by Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. Of those 24 health centers, only one of them, the St. Paul clinic of Highland Park, offers abortion services.

Now, on a more local level, the Planned Parenthood St. Cloud Clinic's "4NOW services are supported in part with funds provided by: Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Family Planning Program, and United States Department of Health and Human Services - Title X."

Without the funding of the Title X program, our St. Cloud Planned Parenthood clinic many lose funding for contraception, cancer screening, STI tests, sex education, mammograms, HIV testing and diagnosis, and pregnancy screening and counseling.

Stand with Planed Parenthood and send an open letter to the congress to protest against the Pence Amendment to H. R. 1.

You know it's the right thing to do.