ywtf-nyc2

Posts Written by

By ywtf-nyc2 • 14 years ago

MURDER is Murder

Cross posted at the Younger Women’s Task Force blog.

I am sure that I am not the only one who is still saddened and angry about the murder of Dr. Tiller . . As a feminist, I feel morally obligated to support the men and women who are in the position of risking their lives to provide women with safe, legal medical procedures.

Sue Wicklund, who wrote This Common Secret about her experiences as an abortion provider, is one of the few doctors providing abortions in western states (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho). Over the many years of her practice, she has been harassed and threatened. When she looked into adding more security precautions to her clinic last month, she realized it would take her six months to raise the needed funds. You can shorten that period of time if you donate here .

I am sure there are other clinics that we can support–Sue is one of my heroes, but if you have another one who needs our help, please list them in the comments.

When the religious fanatics don’t have one of their own in office, they will go to extreme lengths to "protect the rights" of a fetus. When I was a teenager in the Clinton 90s, I wanted to volunteer at the local abortion clinic and my mom supported me–until she heard the words "bulletproof vest." With pro-choice supporters in top levels ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

Sexing up Children’s Movies

I just came back from watching Bedtime Stories . While I thought the movie was okay overall, it really annoyed me that the female character Adam Sandler attempts to save in all of his fantasy stories was a Barbie-doll type blonde heiress who looks young enough to be his daughter. Her sole purpose seemed to be to appear in every scene in an extremely sexy outfit in slow motion for male satisfaction. This might not have struck me as surprising if it weren’t for the fact that this was a children’s movie and they could have still kept her character virtually the same (pretty, princess type) without the overt sexualization. It’s as if the men taking their children/nieces/nephews to ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

Doubt and Gender

Doubt is an excellent film that portrays complex characters handeling a crisis during a time of change in one of the most male-dominated, sexist institutions in history–the Catholic Church. This film takes place during the 1960s when liberal Catholics were making progress by creating a Church that was modnern in its outlook. The film portrays the different ways men and women use their power in the Church and how a conflict between a man and woman is resolved with the imbalance of power.

The priest, Father Flynn, is the character who thinks the Church needs to be more open and welcoming. The priest is the one who tries to make the sermons relevant to modern life and it is he who ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Let’s begin with some statistics and facts:

• After implementing changes in their sexual education programs (removing abstinence and supporting contraception), Sweden managed to significantly reduce their teenage birthrate. (They now have half the teen abortion rate that that of the United States) (80-81).

• The Netherlands reduced their teenage birthrate by 72% using similar methods to Sweden. They also maintain the lowest teenage abortion rates in the industrialized world (80).

• In a 2001 survey conducted by UNICEF, the United States had the highest number of teenage pregnancy compared to the rest of the industrialized world (60% ...

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Let’s begin with some statistics and facts:

• After implementing changes in their sexual education ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Book Club Event

Purity balls. Abstinence-only sex education. The global gag rule. In a political environment in which sex and the prevention of pregnancy and STIs are dirty topics of discussion, younger women are faced with extreme challenges as they seek credible facts about sexuality and sexual health. Christina Page’s How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics , and the War on Sex reveals that the anti-abortion, anti-sex crusaders are damaging not only our access to family planning tools and health information, but preventing our access to the basic American rights of independence, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.

Join YWTF-NYC as we discuss the book with the author, Christina Page. Bring your questions and concerns to the ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

YWTF-NYC Book Club: When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

I’m always proud to display the books I’m reading on the subway, particularly when they have provocative titles or covers. When God was a Woman was certainly no different; I imagined some people might be intrigued by this title. One day, I was standing in a crowded subway, holding on to the overhead bar. There was a woman sitting directly in front of me, and the cover of the book was practically in her face. I could see her eyeing the book and reading the blurb on the back. I immediately felt a rush of excitement – here’s ...

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

I’m always proud to display the books I’m reading on the subway, particularly when they ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

Vote or Die: Your Money and Your Life: The High Stakes for Women Voters in ’08 and Beyond by Martha Burk

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Martha Burk’s book, Your Money and Your Life: The High Stakes for Women Voters in ’08 and Beyond , is more of a good skim than a good read. And that fact is actually more of a service to its purpose: to provide women with an overview of the 2008 election issues, the facts, and the questions we should ask. Rather than discussing the book as a book, or my own reactions to it (as YWTF-NYC’s earlier book club posts have done ), I will share a few points that I found interesting and encourage you ...

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Martha Burk’s book, Your Money and Your Life: The High Stakes for Women Voters in ...

By ywtf-nyc2 • 15 years ago

Jane Sexes It Up: Real Live Nude Feminists

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Many people see a contradiction between feminism and sexual desire. Even feminists sometime have trouble harmonizing their personal sexuality with their political values. The authors of Jane Sexes It Up are smack in the middle of this contradiction, trying to sort out what it means to be a woman, a feminist, an academic, and a sexual being. However, the debate about feminism, sex work, and public sexuality has changed drastically in the past few years.
We are now living in what Ariel Levy calls “raunch culture,” in which feminist sexual desire is rarely represented. Women ...

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Many people see a contradiction between feminism and sexual desire. Even feminists sometime have trouble harmonizing ...