…so if you’re hurtin’ for cash, win a copy of Girldrive from M.I.S.S. All you have to do to enter is comment under the review about what feminism means to you. Oh, and stay tuned for an upcoming video interview I did for them–it treads on some unfamiliar ground.

Speaking of San Francisco media, Girldrive was featured in the San Fran Chronicle today! Yay!

Note: Maya is a feminist blogger who caught my attention when she wrote a smart-ass response to all the hookup culture hubbub of the other week. Here, she defends 27-year-old feminist Twitter-activist Angie Jackson, who live-tweeted her abortion a few weeks ago to demystify and deshame the procedure (check out one of Angie’s YouTube videos below). Cross-posted at Maya’s (L)inklings.

Ms. Sorrentino,

Your article criticizing Angie Jackson’s choice to speak publicly about having an abortion on Twitter, YouTube, and her blog was one of the more infuriating things I’ve read all week. And that’s saying something. You conclude your piece by saying that Jackson’s decision is “at its worst…self-serving, exhibitionist and selfish. At best, it has ‘bad judgment’ written all over it.” But after re-reading your argument many times, I’m with Amanda and Jos: I can’t for the life of me figure out how you got there without some seriously anti-choice, anti-feminist thinking.

The first strike against Jackson in your book seems to be that she was irresponsible for getting pregnant…because she didn’t get sterilized. “If her decision about ending her child-bearing is solid and responsible, one has to wonder why she didn’t just have a tubal ligation.” Really? One does? I don’t. I don’t think it’s any of my business what type of birth control method Jackson uses and why she chose it. But as long as we’re on the subject, she says she was using an IUD when she unexpectedly got pregnant. Coincidentally, I also use an IUD! And while I have no idea why Jackson chose hers, I know one of the things I was attracted to was the 99.9% effectiveness rate. The idea that you would question a woman’s “commitment” to preventing pregnancies because she opted for a long-term 99.9% effective method that, let me tell you, can be extremely painful to have inserted over a permanent 99.9% effective method that requires invasive surgery is just ridiculous.

But, more importantly, since when is the pro-choice movement in the business of prescribing contraceptive methods and deciding which women’s abortions are acceptable and which ones aren’t? She was using a goddamn IUD. But even if she was using a hope and a prayer, she gets to be supported in her decision to have an abortion by us. That’s the deal. Because all contraceptive methods can—and do—fail, and because it’s patronizing to assume you know more about a woman’s life and reproductive system than she does. Sure, we’d like all women to use the most effective form of birth control that works for them, but let’s leave paternalistic judgments and public shaming to the other side—they’ve really got it down at this point. [Read more →]

Starting today, the documentary “Very Young Girls” will be airing on Showtime until 4/17. From the GEMS website (an amazing organization in NYC serving girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking):

“Very Young Girls” is an expose of human trafficking that follows thirteen and fourteen year old American girls as they are seduced, abused, and sold on New York’s streets by pimps, and treated as adult criminals by police. The film follows the barely-adolescent girls in real time, using vérité and intimate interviews with them as they are first lured on to the streets and the dire events which follow. The film also uses startling footage shot by the brazen pimps themselves giving a rare glimpse into how the cycle of street life begins for many women.

Check out the trailer below. Thanks to Sadye’s Twitter feed for the tip.

The Sexist’s Amanda Hess went around and asked (what looks like) twentysomething DC dudes about birth control, and the results are hilarious/terrifying: they often don’t know shit.

My favorite is when a guy gets asked about the birth control pill and he says this: “I guess that’s the one I have most indirect experience with, and I guess that it would be my favorite.” I bet it is, buddy. (To be fair, some guys knew what they were talking about. The guy with the hat is pretty smart.)

But on a serious note: can I reiterate that sexual health knowledge is not just a woman’s realm? That men should know about birth control, the statistics on date rape, abortion access and other such essential life info? Cause I’m tired of being the only one who gets lectured on sex and how to protect myself. Throw us a bone, guys. (No pun intended.) It’s not cute when you don’t know anything about our lady parts.

That said, I’m wondering how women would fare with the same kind of experiment. Something tells me that a lot of us women don’t know what goes on with our bodies, either. What do you think?

Note: This is guest blogger Lachrista’s second guest post. Have a great idea for a guest series? Email me at nona@girl-drive.com.

I didn’t realize I was intelligent until college; even then, however, I still had my doubts.

In third grade I was diagnosed with a learning disability. According to LD Online, “Fifteen percent of the U.S. population, or one in seven Americans, has some type of learning disability.” It was absolutely horrifying to my third-grade-curly-haired-self. From the way it was presented to me, I knew it was something negative; something no one wanted. Some of you may not know what exactly a learning disability is.

Here’s a definition:

A learning disability is a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability results from a difference in the way a person’s brain is “wired.” Children with learning disabilities are as smart or smarter than their peers, but they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information (LD Online).

I was diagnosed as having two types of learning disabilities, both of which are mild for the most part. One, which is quite common, is called Dyscalculia. This is a “mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.” The second one I have is called Language Processing, which basically means I have trouble recalling information or retrieving words to express something. I fought with these disabilities long and hard when I was younger.

Immediately after this diagnosis, I was enrolled in special ed class. It was horrible. Us “special” kids would have to leave in the middle of regular class to go to “special” class and it was always so embarrassing. All of the students knew where we were going–they knew we were “dumb.” All through elementary school, I felt different and extremely stupid. In fact, I had many teachers who actually told me things like, “You’re not going to be able to do things like other kids”, or “We don’t expect you to do this that well, because you’re not as smart as the others.” Literally. Or, teachers would say, “Oh, that’s just a crutch.” No, it’s not a crutch–though, if I want to use it as a crutch, that’s my damn right.

[Read more →]

Today is International Women’s Day, a holiday started in 1911 largely by Clara Zetkin, who pushed for it after a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen.

In my daily existence, I deal on a strictly local basis. My job as a reporter confines me to five towns in the Chicago suburbs. Even most of my freelance work and blogging intensely focuses on the uniquely American experience.

So I’m thankful for this day to jolt me out of my tunnel vision, especially since it’s easy to miss the dwindling amount of international coverage the media provides nowadays. And even though Girldrive is a truly American story, some women we talked to explicitly told me and Emma that feminism needs to get out of its Western bubble.

Here are some IWD events going on across the country. Also see Gender Across Borders’ International Women’s Day blog directory–many many feminist blogs are jumping on the bandwagon today and blogging about global issues.

The ladies from Seal Press and I took to the Berkeley streets last week, asking people to say the first word that came to their mind when they heard: “choice” “movement” “man” “woman” and, finally, “feminist.” The idea was to distill the concept of “Girldrive” down to one word, and also get some guys’ opinions while we were at it. We got some, um…interesting answers, especially with the last word. (One dude said “fucking ridiculous!” Another said “opposite of woman.” Ouch.)

Check it out…it’s pretty amusing:

Any good blogger might have done this yesterday, but better late than never. I’ll be doing two readings in the Bay Area today and tomorrow–stop by if you’re around!

Berkeley reading:

When: TONIGHT, March 4th, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley
What: I will be signing copies and reading from Girldrive, including profiles of some Bay Area ladies.

San Fran reading:

When: Friday, March 5th, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia Ave., San Francisco
What: I, along with Girldrive interviewees Rebecca Rosenfelt and Bea Sullivan, will be reading from Girldrive. Famed ecofeminist Starhawk might make a guest appearance, too!

After I found this gem today, I decided to give a little blog love to a complex 15-year-old we all knew and loved: Angela Chase.

Anyone who knows me is probably surprised that this blog post hasn’t shown up earlier. I am lightweight obsessed with My So-Called Life, I’ll be the first to admit it. But it’s only because that show was the shit and so was its heroine. Angela was great because she was incredibly, discomfitingly real.

I loved how she was dorky and awkward and wore brown overalls with a black shirt–yet was still so inexplicably cool that every teenage girl in America wanted to be her. I loved how she was insecure and stumbly and passive-aggressive, yet still stuck to her guns (remember when she went to that teacher’s house and demanded why he abandoned his family? Remember when she told Jordan she wasn’t going to lose her V-card in some skeezy abandoned house?). I love that she was unconventional-looking and had zits and compared her small breasts to the huge ones in the locker room, yet was also beautiful and confident at random times and had that awesome shiny red hair. I loved how all her statements were questions (“When you call someone’s name? Like, kind of loud? And they don’t hear you? It makes you feel really lonely.”) I loved how she was completely insightful and utterly oblivious all at once. I just love her and always will.

Girldrive interviewee Ula kindly pointed me to this simply amazing video of Angela’s greatest hits from FourFour. Enjoy:

I got to hang out with Those Darlins the other day for a story in the upcoming VenusZine (a great Chicago-based feminist pop culture mag, recently resurrected!). The band–consisting of, from left, Nikki, Kelley, and Jessi Darlin, all in their 20s–are from Murfreesborough, TN, and their music has a versatile, poppy, countryish, rock vibe. I’m currently addicted to their self-titled album, and I’m not just saying that because I had a blast chilling with them.

Anyway, since clearly I have a one-track mind, we started shootin the shit about feminism, and damn did these ladies have something to say:

[Read more →]