Anatomy of a coat hanger abortion

With SCOTUS hearing Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius today, remembering what access to birth control means is key. This is not about religious freedom, this is about a systemic punishment of women and their sexuality. When birth control and abortion are made illegal, unintended pregnancies and abortion do not cease to exist; rather, the continue with back alley abortion and unnecessary death of women. SCOTUS must stand up for women’s rights to access medical care, regardless of her employers personal religious convictions.

Dr. Jen Gunter

The coat hanger isn’t sterile. It isn’t even clean.

If the woman, or girl, is alone she thrusts it blindly upwards into the vagina. She’s hoping it will get into her uterus and do something. She may or may not know that to get into the uterus the coat hanger has to navigate the small opening in the cervix called the os.

A coat hanger is technically narrow enough to get through a pregnant cervical os, but the end is sharp not tapered so it can lacerate and perforate. Getting any instrument through the cervix safely also requires visualization and knowledge of the correct amount of force.

If she’s lucky enough to get the coat hanger through her cervix it could easily sail right through the back or side walls of the uterus. The uterine wall is soft and easily perforated with the wrong instrument or unskilled hands. If…

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The Feminist Vaccine

This is a wonderful post by a friend on a topic we are both very passionate about. Please, take a few minutes and consider this article.

The Feminist Menagerie

Before we get started, this is going to be a LONG post, and I mean really long.  I don’t want to leave any stone unturned on this topic and I want to be as thorough (and sourced) as possible.

We – feminists, women, men, mothers and fathers, people – need to put a lid on the anti-vaccine craze.  “Wait, why is this a feminist issue?”  We’ll get there.  In under five thousand words, hopefully.

My goal in this entry is not to mock or fear-monger.  There are legitimate points brought up by the anti-vaccine side, which I will gladly include and address as they come up.  My point in all of this is to educate and persuade.  If my thoroughness comes off as condescending, please understand that is not my intention.  I don’t think anti-vaccine people are stupid – I think that raising kids is scary and every parent wants…

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Negative Body Talk: 97% of Young Women Are Victims. Daily.

According to a recent study by Glamour, young women will have 13 negative thoughts about their bodies per day. This study of 300 women of varying sizes and shapes asked participants to record all thoughts about their body over the course of one day. The results were shocking to Glamour, but not to me. 97% of the participants had at least one negative comment within the day. Of the respondents, 63% said they weren’t shocked by their number of negative comments/thoughts. 

At first, I was really not sure if I wanted to read this study I saw mentioned in my Facebook news feed. You see, I am the 97 percent. In December 2008, I gave up my monthly readership of Glamour and Cosmo.  It has been 62 months since I’ve so much as held an issue. I’m so thankful for the decision I made, and the faith in it to never go back. However, I clicked, promising to close the window at the first red flag. What I found was pretty interesting, yet hypocritical. Throughout they offer a rally cry, reworded, but always saying the thing, “Come on, girls, we’re better than this. Love yourself!” Yet, the pages of their publication are full of computer altered images for women to view as perfect and desirable. Their article suggests young women should be more accepting of their bodies, yet when you put this in context, the entire article is dripping with disdain. 

But back to the big picture. This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which is why this article was particularly hard for me to ignore. The average woman says 13 negative things about their bodies a day? Well, today, in honor of the many women I know who have suffered through their eating disorders, and struggled daily through the hardest days of recovery, I fight back. Here are 13 things I love about my body. 

1. If looks could kill, my eyes would be wanted by the United Nations and INTERPOL. 

2. My hair is actually pretty great. It’s thick and curly, so I can do almost anything with it — with enough time and patience. 

3. I have great balance. 

4. I’m very flexible, and have been at a variety of sizes. 

5. Sure, they are a sign of skin damage, but I really like my freckles. 

6. My body can produce another human being, if I want to. That’s insane! 

7. This body is mine and only mine. I am the only person with control over it. No bully, boyfriend, or politician can take my bodily autonomy from me. Not now, not ever. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

Well, I couldn’t do it. But, I think this is still a great starting point. It took me over an hour to come up with seven. Maybe this time next year I’ll be able to have all thirteen. The important thing is that I made this list, instead of compiling a tally of the negative things. I hope everyone reading this is able to come up with 13 positive things about themselves. Hey, if you can’t, that’s okay! I couldn’t, and I bet many of us can’t. All we can do is try. Let me know if you can, and what you think about this study in the comments. I’d be very interested to hear. 

A President’s Day Look at the Most Influential First Ladies

It is said that behind every great man is a great woman. In the case of our nation’s history, sometimes there is an even greater woman behind the scenes. Today is President’s Day, a day in which Americans flock to department stores and online retailers for big discounts celebrate all the American Presidents, past and present. While I do not even want to think about the sporadic amount of presidential history that is actually taught in American public schools today, I know there is little to no focus on first ladies. So, we here  at Feminism & Football (and by that I mean me), want to celebrate four exemplary First Ladies of the United States.

1. Eleanor Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945), wife to Franklin D. Roosevelt, was our longest serving first lady. While that may seem like an advantage in accomplishing things, America faced her darkest years. The Great Depression. World War II. Eleanor Roosevelt was quite controversial, but well behaved women rarely make history, and history she made. Outspoken on many issues, from civil rights for African Americans and Asian Americans, the rights of World War II refugees, and expanded workplace opportunities for women, many feared Roosevelt would lead women astray. Moreover, some saw her advocacy as detrimental to the war effort. She knew otherwise, and was the first FLOTUS to hold her own press conference. She maintained a syndicated newspaper column, and spoke at national conventions. What stands out to me as a feminist and historian is her public rejection of several of her husband’s policies. On the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, she advised Americans against any, “great hysteria against minority groups.” She was also openly critical of her husband and others who were opposed to allowing refugees of Nazism into the United States. These are just some of her many accomplishments in the White House. For more on Eleanor Roosevelt, consider this monograph.

2. Betty Ford (August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977), wife to Gerald Ford, became FLOTUS suddenly, after the resignation of Nixon. Dubbed “No Lady” by many conservatives, Ford was outspoken on many hot button issues, including drugs, sex, the ERA, equal pay, and abortion. In an interview with McCall’s Ford recalled she was asked everything except for how often she and President Ford had sex. Famously she continued, “And if they’d asked me that I would have told them,” she said, adding that her response would be, “As often as possible.” The mother of four, she openly spoke about the benefits of psychiatric treatment, marijuana use, and premarital sex. Ford strongly supported the Equal Rights Amendment, and went as far as personally lobbying state legislatures to ratify the amendment. Similarly, she was vocal about women’s abortion rights. Just weeks after becoming the FLOTUS, Ford underwent a mastectomy. Unsurprisingly, she was very open about her diagnosis and treatment, stating “There had been so much cover-up during Watergate that we wanted to be sure there would be no cover-up in the Ford administration.” Her unwavering strength and openness raised the visibility of breast cancer nationally. Ford told Time, “When other women have this same operation, it doesn’t make any headlines.But the fact that I was the wife of the President put it in headlines and brought before the public this particular experience I was going through. It made a lot of women realize that it could happen to them. I’m sure I’ve saved at least one person — maybe more.”  Her openness only continued after her time in the White House, as she sought treatment for alcohol and prescription addiction. Later, she opened the Betty Ford Center for the treatment of chemical dependency to continue to help others.

3. Lady Bird Johnson (November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969), wife of (my favorite president of the second half of the twentieth century} Lyndon Baines Johnson, rose to become FLOTUS after the assassination of President Kennedy, and her husband’s assumption of the presidency. She was the first to have her own press secretary, chief of staff, and a congressional liaison. During the 1964 presidential campaign, Lady Bird traveled throughout the South, giving 45 speeches in 4 days, promoting the Civil Rights Act. This marked the first solo campaign trip for any first lady. She was a proud supporter of the Head Start Program, and served as an honorary chairperson for the National Head Start Program. Above all else, Lady Bird was an environmentalist. From her vast Society for a More Beautiful Capital, that planted trees and flowers throughout Washington, D.C., to her active lobbying for the passage of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, she sought to make the United States a more beautiful place. As she put it, “where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

4. Dolley Madison (March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817) was our nation’s fourth FLOTUS, wife of James Madison. As a historian, I really appreciate Madison’s decision to pack and preserve many White House furnishings as Washington, D.C. was attacked during the War of 1812. Now, granted, this wouldn’t have happened if her husband were better at his job. Yet, her foresight in making sure some of these American treasures survived earns her a spot in my heart. Moreover, she served as a ceremonial First Lady for Thomas Jefferson, whose wife, Martha, had died prior to his term. A warm, welcoming hostess, and saver of timeless White House decor (including a classic portrait of George Washington), Dolley Madison may not have been as politically outspoken as the three previous first ladies, but for her time she was involved in two administrations and helped saved invaluable artifacts which always earns an A in my book.

This is EVERYTHING I have to say about Michael Sam

This is a video of Dale Hansen, a Dallas sportscaster. In just over two minutes, he explains why there are no excuses for homophobia in the NFL (or in the world). And he ends with a quote from Audre Lorde. This is everything I thought it could be and more.

For every front office, every GM, saying, “Well, I won’t draft him, because I just don’t know about the locker room,” is not only homophobic, but doesn’t trust that his players are adults. This is an elite sports league, the locker room should reflect professionalism. Michael Sam’s sexual orientation does not matter. His ability to excel in this sport matters, and his future is greater than any of the hate and negativity any front office can offer.

Someone End This Nightmare: Super Bowl XLVIII Part II

You know that uneasy feeling when you’re watching an awkward exchange, on tv or in real life? It’s just so terrible you can’t look? That’s how I felt throughout the second half of this game. After having the best season of any quarterback in the history of the NFL, Peyton Manning and the Broncos absolutely face-planted. As I mentioned in Part I, I knew coming into tonight it was going to be a showdown between the best offense (Denver) and the best defense (Seattle). Unfortunately for the hundreds of millions of people watching, only Seattle showed up to win. Never in my life as a football fan have I ever seen Peyton Manning so stunted. His arm is mechanical, and tonight he had to try too hard.

I don’t know if the season’s best team won, but the only team that showed up to win certainly did. Seattle, congratulations on your organization’s first title. Seattle’s offense and defense were just superior. I hope that the win is not downplayed because of Denver’s level of play. 

2014 Season, see  you soon!

Super Bowl XLVIII, Part I

Coming into tonight, I thought this would be a game of a very strong offense (Denver) vs. a very strong defense (Seattle) and whichever was stronger would win the game. Tonight, the world has only seen one offense and defense, and its both been Seattle. I have to be honest: today I wanted nothing more than to see Peyton not win. Here’s another truth: I didn’t want it to happen like this. I was born into the mess that is New England sports fandom. Since the rise of the Manning/Brady rivalry, a Manning loss was a Brady win. But that first quarter was not what I wanted. I wanted to see a game with two teams that wanted to win, not one so stunted it could barely perform. The Seahawks absolutely steamrolled Manning and the Broncos. I have hope for the second half, however. Of all the quarterbacks in the league right now, the two that can absolutely come back and win, facing a 25+ deficit, are Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. I think this second half, if they get their heads square on their shoulders, can make up for abysmal first half. That way, they can be down by a few, Manning can throw a hail Mary to Welker twice, and he can drop both throws, ruining it for the Broncos, too. 

Nope. I’m not still bitter. 

LIVE! President Obama’s Fifth State of the Union Address (Updating!)

And, we’re done. Now for the four GOP responses. My preview, “Great speech. Except he didn’t quote the Communist Manifesto, so minus points.”

__________________________________________________________________

10:20 PM :: Cory is strong, and so is America. And we can continue to be amazing. Let’s go.

10:15 PM :: This kid. 10 tours. Jesus, America.

10:12 PM :: USA! USA! USA!

10:08 PM :: Iran is sort of under control. You’re welcome.

10:06 PM :: Yes. We need to close Guantanamo, because (Tea Party) if the Constitution matters, we should follow it. #shutitdown

10:04 PM :: I am strong. I am invincible. I am the Commander in Chief, and I’ve got nuclear launch codes. I’ll fight when we have to, not because Congress is bored.

10:03 PM :: I KILLED OSAMA BIN LADEN. I DID. NOT YOU. ME.

10:00 PM :: No one is left in Iraq, which is nice. Afghanistan is almost done, maybe. Karzia, you’re on fucking notice.

10:00 PM :: Citizenship demands that you give up some shit in order to be safe. So get a goddamned background check before you buy your fucking gun.

9:58 PM :: Voting is important. People fought and died for that right. Do it. But also, you should always have it, even if your governor things you’re not going to vote for them/their party. Cut the shit.

9:57 PM :: GOP logic: The Affordable Care Act is like the Gardasil shot. If you have it, won’t it make you WANT to get sick???!!!

9:57 PM :: Seriously, Kentucky. Gold-effing-star.

9:56 PM :: Put up or shut up. You’re not repealing it. Stop voting against it. If you’ve got something better, let’s see it. Until then, stfu.

9:55 PM :: Kathleen Sebelius, you silver fox. Thanks for Plan B, OTC.

9:53 PM :: Pre-existing conditions prior to the Affordable Care Act: being a woman, being a victim of domestic violence, giving birth. After: NONE.

9:50 PM :: The stock market is rockin’, because I’m a great socialist/communist, but if you’re working to barely meet your needs month-to-month, you’re shit out of luck. But you freeloading losers only care about the people with the cash to fund your re-elections, you filthy animals. You can do this. You can be better people. You can help a generation find financial security.

9:50 PM :: $10.10, it’s easy to remember. Even you fools can remember that.

9:49 PM :: Follow Costco. Buy all the things, hoard them. The zombies are coming.

9:48 PM :: I asked you freeloaders to raise the minimum wage in 2013, and you didn’t. Now five states have done it without you. You’re useless, over paid, and ugly. Get out of here.

9:47 PM :: “I believe that when women succeed, America succeeds”  — GOP take note. Saying things like that help. Talking about being whores and sluts … does not.

9:46 PM :: WOMEN DESERVE EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK!

9:45 PM :: Student loan debt. Ugh. I just can’t even.

9:44 PM :: Cory Booker is super into this.

9:43 PM :: MY NEIGHBOR REPRESENTATIVE LOIS FRANKEL!!

9:43 PM :: Yes. We need higher standards in curricula, less focus on standardized test scores, and we need parents to get involved! This starts at birth, not when your kid brings home his first D.

9:41 PM :: Oh, God, all the feels for this kid. I hope he does amazing things and loves college.

9:40 PM :: Education. Have you seen the shit they teach in these public schools?

9:38 PM :: GOP: Did it make you feel warm and fuzzy to end long-term unemployment benefits?

9:37 PM :: Jobs training, technical colleges, lets get our kids ready to have actual jobs. If Congress wants to get involved, then that’s great, but again, you’re just there and I’m in control.

9:36 PM :: Immigration Reform – one of the only ways the GOP can win back the White House in 2016. WHAT DID ERIC CANTOR JUST MUTTER? It looked like “shit” to me.

9:34 PM :: We need to work on our carbon footprint, because climate change is for real and this shit is going to be Day After Tomorrow scary if we don’t stop with the hummers getting 2 mpgs.

9:33 PM :: Solar energy! Future’s so bright, gotta wear shades.

9:31 PM :: America is super close to being totally energy independent, which is super inconvenient if we’re using oil for starting wars.

9:30 PM :: VACCINES ARE GOOD, USE THEM. THEY PREVENT THINGS.

9:29 PM :: If we get more technologically based, I’m screwed. I can barely use my smart phone.

9:28 PM :: Lucy, my Dachshund, is sleeping/passing gas/snoring loudly.

9:26 PM :: Jobs here at home! Like, in my bedroom? I’ll apply for that one. But no, really, jobs. I’ve got a MA and I’m super smart and hilarious.

9:25 PM :: How did I not know that Boehner’s father owned a bar? Also, President Obama’s mother was the ruin of America. Because the GOP said single moms kill … nations?

9:24 PM :: No? No claps for marriage equality? You’re all assholes.

9:23 PM :: Michele Obama is making all of the fat kids less fat, which is great. Except it was probably the skinny, white, affluent kids.

9:23 PM :: President Obama: I’m more powerful than you, I don’t need you. I’ll destroy all of you.

9:22 PM :: CLAP FOR WORKING POOR, YOU LAZY TAKERS. Seriously, who are these people?

9:20 PM :: New Jobs > New Crises

9:20 PM :: SHUTDOWN. Can only think of Miley Cyrus SNL parody.

9:19 PM :: The GOP didn’t clap for a sick kid. Classy.

9:18 PM :: Seriously, America is great. Look at all these amazing things we, every day Americans, did with our own two hands. USA! USA! USA! Suck it, China!

9:17 PM :: Afghanistan, and so soon. Oh, Sec. Kerry, don’t look so sad.

9:15 PM ::  Minute 1: Americans are hard working and are doing their best. Seriously.

9:14 PM ::  Was that introduction a little sassy?

9:13 PM ::   How long until the first audible boo?       

9:10 PM ::  FINALLY! PRESIDENT OBAMA! Let’s get this party State of the Union started.

9:06 PM :: I don’t know what it is, but listening to Chris Matthews speak right now is making want to punch the teevee. But, alas, Kathleen Sebelius is there, and she sorta loves women and access to safe and legal abortion, so yay!

9:04 PM :: If I were on the aisle, I’d be in hot pink. Like, flamingo meets neon. Just FYI.

9:02 PM :: Michelle and Dr. Jill look fabulous. Emerald is such a great color, and I love the rich purple on Dr. J. 

8:59 PM :: Ruth Bader Ginsberg, I love you. That’s an epic outfit. You go, girl.

8:55 PM :: Is that a planet I see so brightly shining on my screen? Nope. That’s John Boehner, who got a fresh can of orange today.

8:52 PM :: I wonder if the Duck Dynasty guy, what’s his face with the hair, will say something terrible. Who, BTW, is wearing a headband. Or is that a bandanna? In my Jewish culture, we call it a shmata. Jesus.  I wonder if Secret Service had to comb through his face pubes before letting him through.

8:47 PM :: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are en route, and I’ve got a fresh box of Girl Scout cookies. Get excited.

Racist Reactionaries: Richard Sherman and the Interview Heard Around the World

A week ago, Richard Sherman, a corner for the Seattle Seahawks, gave what is now an infamous post-game interview. After blocking a pass intended for the 49er’s Michael Crabtree, the game ended and with the Seahawks going to the Super Bowl. Moments later, Sherman said:

I’m the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that is the result you are going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me. […] Crabtree. Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or I’m going to shut it for you really quick.

In the history of group sports, neither a player nor fan has ever, ever, spoken out in celebration while simultaneously jabbing their opponent. Except we all understand that the above statement is untrue. So why is Richard Sherman’s statement different?

In American society, we have allocated two acceptable roles for men of color: celebrity or criminal. As a nation we applaud Tiger Woods as an athlete; Tyler Perry for his movie empire; Jay-Z for his music and recording empire, entrepreneurship, and investment. We, as a nation, do not know of, or care for, the stories of the CEO’s of American Express, TIAA-CREF, Darden Restaurants, and McDonald’s, all of whom are men of color. Rather, we continue to embrace and further the dichotomy of good/bad black male. Richard Sherman brought this to fore, and it’s time America deal with it.

Immediately after the on-air interview, the internet was ablaze. Sherman was a “thug.” News outlets were enthralled with this unacceptble behavior. In fact, on Monday, January 20, 2014, the word “thug” was used 625 times. More than any other day in the past three years. More than the time Secretary of State John Kerry called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a “thug.”  What did all of these people mean? Simply, they meant that Richard Sherman was an angry black man speaking out of turn.

When asked about it, Sherman said:

To those who would call me a thug or worse because I show passion on a football field—don’t judge a person’s character by what they do between the lines. Judge a man by what he does off the field, what he does for his community, what he does for his family.

Sherman is correct, but our society doesn’t have a space for that. The mold that was once made for men of color has not changes, but rather shifted to fit modern society. The celebrity/criminal dichotomy leaves no room for the millions of men that are neither, or for men like Sherman, who is a Stanford University graduate and world class athlete. Worse, the dichotomy is embraced at all levels of society. On the upcoming Super Bowl, Senator John McCain said, “I think Denver [will win]. You know, everybody is such a [Peyton] Manning fan and that loudmouth from Seattle sort of epitomizes the Seattle team to me, but I’m sure I’m going to get in trouble for that one, too.” (Emphasis mine). You betcha, Senator McCain! Which furthers my point. You knew what you were saying was racist and inappropriate, yet you said it. Because in America, that is accepted.

Not by me. Not by millions of people. I hope that Seattle goes on to win the Super Bowl, not because I am a Patriots fan, but because America needs to see and accept an educated man of color stand up for himself and his team. America needs to see and accept men of color as more than celebrity/athletes or criminals. I hope that Richard Sherman’s interview and Super Bowl appearance will create a space for Americans to think through the racist, knee-jerk reactions by so many. The sad truth is that had it been Tom Brady acting poorly, this “controversy” would never exist. Let’s come together and learn something from this. Let’s pave a different path for our future and the future of America.

State of the Union BINGO

For those of us that are politically inclined, the annual State of the Union is basically the Nerd Olympics. This year it is like a dry run for the actual Olympics which start the following week. It should be little surprise to hear that I am a tried and true Democrat. True Blue. And I’ve got high expectations for the State of the Union.

I want to hear a plan to combat Military sexual assault and end the prevalence of gun violence in America. I want to know that women will continue to have access to safe and legal abortion.  Of course we know that the best way to cut the number of unintended pregnancies is through age appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive sex education in all schools. Will that happen? As a fairly well-educated person that cannot find full-time employment, I’d like to hear about the economy. Will we let Wall Street decide how many families in America go without food and medicines, or will we work towards income equality? While I truly think through pursuing a Ph.D., I want to know that the students coming to college have the educational background to do the assigned work. No Child Left Behind is an abomination, perhaps a new plan will be announced. What about the unconstitutional bans on marriage equality?

The list truly goes on for a while. It’s going to be a big night for me, and I’m excited. However, there are many who watch it because, let’s be honest, it is on all the networks and you were just going to watch American Idol. That’s cool. Since you’re basically stuck if you don’t have cable, consider a game of State of the Union BINGO! I’ve made these super-fun BINGO cards. Just print them out. There are five different cards for group play. After, let me know how you fared. Even better, send a picture and send them to me on Twitter! (@RachelElise86)

To download the Bingo boards, click there –> SOTUBingoCards