Tag Archive for "Children"

Posts Tagged Children

Wednesday Weigh-In: How do you talk to kids about reproductive choice?

Last Wednesday, while many of us were celebrating the 41st anniversary of the historic Roe v Wade decision, the DC streets, buses, and metros were swarming with abortion opponents who gathered here for their annual March for Life. Whenever im unlucky enough to be surrounded by a bunch of anti-choicers, a few things always stand out. Last week was no different. The first thing i noticed was that I didn’t see a single person of color who was an identifiable attendee. No surprise there that white folks have decided to place judgement and condemnation on a procedure that poor communities of color are more likely to need. The second thing was that there were so many ...

Last Wednesday, while many of us were celebrating the 41st anniversary of the historic Roe v Wade decision, the DC streets, buses, and metros were swarming with abortion opponents who gathered ...

By Sesali B. • 10 years ago

Case of 11 year old girl shows we shouldn’t use BMI testing in schools to shame kids

An 11 year old girl in Florida was given a health assessment at school by the Collier County Health Department. The assessment included a BMI (Body Mass Index) test and the results came back that she was overweight. She was sent home with a letter that included the dangers of being overweight and stated she was at risk for being fat all of her life if no one intervened. Her mother was rightfully concerned about how harmful this practice could be to girls’ self esteem.

I, on the other hand, have some issues with how the story is being reported. Clips from the aired news story include Lily Grassow playing volleyball and being active in her average-sized body. Other shots follow ...

By Lori Adelman • 10 years ago

Don’t miss Melissa Harris Perry slam the ‘unacceptability’ theory of black hair

Remember Tianna Parker, the 7 year old girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma who was sent home from school because of school policy considering “dreadlocks, afros, mohawks, and other faddish styles” to be “unacceptable”? Melissa Harris-Perry brings some much-needed perspective to the issue:

“For the record, Tiana, your hair is not distracting, unacceptable, a fad or wrong. Tiana, your hair is wonderful. You come from a people with a beautiful array of styles and textures that range from short to big afros that come in colors from gray to black, curly naturals that spiral every which way just because they can.”

This is not the first time that Harris-Perry has touched on the issue; last summer, she aired a segment exploring the current cultural ...

By Sesali B. • 10 years ago

Summer camp reunites kids with incarcerated fathers

Summer is just about over. And for some kids, that means that their time at camp has come to an end as well. Some of them could have been at band camp, dance camps, day camps, or even fat camp (which I have some serious issues with. But I digress…). But for some kids, camp was a week long trip that allowed them to spend time with their fathers behind bars.

House Hope is a DC based organization that offers multiple programs to not only strengthen the relationships among families in which the father is a DC prisoner, but attempts to build community among the mother and children left behind. According to their site:

“It has been said ...

Summer is just about over. And for some kids, that means that their time at camp has come to an end as well. Some of them could have been at band camp, dance camps, day camps, or ...

By Sesali B. • 10 years ago

Who do we trust to name their own child?

Yesterday we included a link in our Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet about a Tennessee judge who imposed her own religious views and changed the name of a baby against his parents’ wishes. But as rapper Meek Millz said, “it’s levels to this shit” and this is more than an issue of violating the separation between church and state. The racial and family dynamics in this story are important and deserve some unpacking.

Jaleesa Martin and the father of her son, of New Port Tennessee, could not agree on their baby’s last name and were going to child support court to resolve the issue. They did, however, agree on the first name, which was Messiah. Judge Lu Ann Ballew came ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 10 years ago

Quick Hit: On raising feminist sons

I really like this piece by Shannon Brugh over at Rattle & Pen on the challenges of raising sons in a culture that forces kids into gender boxes and, though it claims to be equal, is still decidedly not.

Raising boys in a society that claims to be equal is not easy. It’s supposed to be equal, but of course, it’s not. As much as many of us would like to believe that it is, it’s not even close. James Brown was right. It is a man’s world. So, how do I keep my boys from perpetuating this problem?

This is where I have to get creative. Parenting requires a certain amount of creativity as it is. But teaching boys who already live in a world ...

Raising ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 10 years ago

9-year-old future president calls for Chicago’s public schools to stay open

At a rally to protest Chicago’s plan to close 53 public schools, 9-year-old Asean Johnson had some words for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Transcript here.

Black students make up about 40 percent of the Chicago public school population but 88 percent of the students who will be affected by the closures. Unfortunately, it looks like only five schools will be spared.

One silver lining is that Asean Johnson’s 2043 presidential campaign is off to a great start. And Emanuel better watch out–this kid is clearly gunning for him and I’d put money on Johnson winning just as soon as he’s old enough to run.

At a rally to protest Chicago’s plan to close 53 public schools, 9-year-old Asean Johnson had some words for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Transcript here.

Black students make up about 40 percent of the Chicago public school population but 88 ...

By Amy S. Choi • 11 years ago

Women are perpetrators of gun violence, too

*Trigger warning*

Much has been written in the wake of the Newtown tragedy about the connection between the culture of masculinity and the culture of gun violence. In the past 30 years, all but one of the past 62 mass murderers in the country who have used guns have been men.Gun makers equate gun ownership with manliness. The speculation as to why is rampant. Men are dangerously threatened due to the rise of minorities and women. Men are more sensitive to slights than women. Growing up to be a man is hard.

It’s important to consider the gendered context under which these shooting crimes are committed, and particularly how many of these murderers choose their victims. The rubric of gun ...

*Trigger warning*

Much has been written in the wake of the Newtown tragedy about the connection between the culture of masculinity and the culture of gun violence. In the past 30 years, all but one of the past ...