Celebrating the Right to Choose

Seeing Alice's recent post about a young lady's positive experience with abortion, I decided to post a website that I have been a fan of for awhile.

I'm not sorry.

It's a pro-choice website where users are free to post their experience with abortions.  There are many listed on there, and one for every situation you can imagine.

Happy reading! 

-Stef

Event: Intimate Conversations with Women of Action in Our Communities

(Copied from my email)

Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape

Political Think Tank

presents:

Feminist Activist Herstory Forum
Intimate Conversations with Women of Action in Our Communities

Rejoice with us as the women who have worked to make our voices heard,
our talents seen, and improve the lives of women everywhere share their stories.

This free interactive speakers series celebrates our lives, adventures, successes, and struggles in front-line and grassroots participation, in all its incarnations.

Taking place in and around the City wherever our energy is effected, the Forum

* recounts our stories
* remembers our purpose
* re-embraces the activist in all of us
* redefines Feminism, and
* rejuvenates our spirit for continued personal and political action

this week:

Cheryl Dobinson is a bisexual writer, researcher, and activist. In addition to working on various DIY projects such as the bi women's zine she founded in 2002, The Fence, Cheryl facilitates support groups, leads workshops and teaches courses on bisexuality. In 2003 she completed a project on bisexual health for the Ontario Public Health Association and was co-convenor of the first ever Bi Health Summit, held in San Diego. She is currently involved in research on bisexual mental health and emotional well-being as well as on sexual orientation and health disparities in Canada. Cheryl is very involved in her local bisexual community, lives in Toronto’s gay village, and wants to start wearing a t-shirt that says "This is what a bisexual feminist looks like."

Your input is invited: Bring your questions, ideas, thoughts, and energy.

Please join us

Sunday, August 9 at 2:00 pm
519 Community Centre (519 Church Street)

Refreshments. ASL by request. Accessible.

FREE. Everyone welcome.

Call TRCC/MWAR 416-597-1171 x230 for more information.

Stay updated on future events. Join our facebook group: Feminist Activist Herstory Forum

Why, God? Why?

Oh my god.  I really didn't want to ever have a ranting post but I have to... okay..

what the hell.. is up with TWILIGHT?!  I don't even know where to begin!  In normal circumstances, I read a book I don't like and move on.  But this shit keeps slapping me in the face everywhere I look!  Only cool people have Twilight STATIONARY?!  Obviously my curiosity got the better of me and I actually read Twilight.  All. Four. Books.

To briefly explain, Twilight is censored vampire erotica for pre-teens as told by a Mormon.  Not kidding.  She writes about as good as a preteen too.  And let me tell you, I have never read anything more blatantly sexist.. it even trumps books that are supposed to take place when women weren't allowed to vote.  It's about two lovebirds: Edward the 100 year old vampire virgin and Bella the 17 year old bane of my existence.  They have no interests, no hobbies, no friends.. they just love each other because he likes the smell of her blood and she is the most insecure woman to ever exist.  She validates her life by his presence.  She has no goals for herself other than to become a vampire so they can love each other for their entire immortal existence (!!!!!)

What pisses me off the most is that this is what most girls reading it (ages 13-18) think love is.  They traded in mutual respect, commitment, friendship and attraction for the less used model of OBSESSIVE CRAZY. 

The only thing Edward says (paraphrased, though sadly not by much) : "I love you.. I love you.. I'm so angry at myself for putting you in danger.. I must flee forever into the abyss to hide my shame.  You're better off without my chiseled features and controlling existence.  Allow me to protect you from afar, feeble minded female mortal."

The only thing Bella says:  "I love you so much it hurts my weak mind.  I feel dizzy and my woman legs can't carry me.  Lift me, oh strong protector of the night."
AND A DIRECT QUOTE: "Maybe my brain will never work right, at least I'm pretty now" -Bella, on becoming a vampire. I just don't understand this bizarro feminism with mormon undertones. She lets this vampire walk all over her and control her life, but then when he knocks her up and the baby will 99% KILL HER.. he respects her choice to have a risky pregnancy? WHAT?!

And the movie was just close-ups of their faces for two hours in various intense expressions.

EFF MINUS! (F-)

Furiously yours,
Stef

July 25th: The Sacred Prostitute

Something interesting to check out this weekend!

The play by Santo Cervello and Grace Lebecka, "The Sacred Prostitute"
to explore exciting new possibilities for creating fresh models of femininity in the society.

Please join us on
July 25th at the Bloor Street United Church
300 Bloor St. West, Toronto
at 7:30pm

TICKETS: $25
Buy Now On Line or Call: 416 245-3871
info@sycamoretreeinternational.com
www.sycamoretreeinternational.com

Our intention is to bring the archetype of a Sacred Prostitute to a new level of appreciation for contemporary women and men.The play is inspired by Esther Harding "Women's Mysteries" and Nancy Qualls-Corbett "The Sacred Prostitute"

Santo Cervello is a member of the Theosophical Society in Toronto and a wayshower for the psychic program at the Edgar Cayce Institute in Virginia Beach. He has been working in theatre for 30 years. .

Grace Lebecka received a MA in Clinical Psychology in Poland, and a MA in Spiritual Psychology from The University of Santa Monica, California. She also received training through Jean Houston's Mystery School. Grace has dedicated herself to the Sacred Feminine for the past 12 years.

Wash Zine @ Toronto Women's Bookstore

WASH's, Things You Should Know Zine issue 1 is now available at the Toronto Women's Bookstore!! Located at 73 Harbord Street right near Spadina. Go check it out! TWB is also a great resource center. You won't want to leave!

Also, feel free to email us with feedback or ideas/issues you want to read more about.

-Evy

Abstinence is not the only option!

Being raised in a religious household, sexual education was never a topic of discussion at the dinner table. Turning to my teachers to inform me proved to be just as pointless. My public school decided that it would be a good idea to have a program called "Teen Talk." A supposed comprehensive sexual education program for girls only. The underlying implication was that young boys do not need to be concerned about these issues. Teen Talk turned out to be a smear campaign towards sex and definitely instilled fear into all girls involved. While we certainly learned about STIs and pregnancy, we did not learn how to prevent it.. should we decide that abstinence is not for us.

Abstinence is definitely a choice, but it is not the only choice. Kids and teens enrolled in school have the right to know all of their options when it comes to sex and reproductive health.

The supporters of abstinence argue that it is the best way to prevent young people from contracting a sexually transmitted infection or falling pregnant. However, statistics show that this is absolutely not the case. It is reported by the Guttmacher institute that over half of 17 year olds are sexually active in some form. In addition to this, a sexual active teenage girl having sex without contraception has a 90% chance of getting pregnant within the year. So, even if you want your daughter to abstain, statistics show she probably won't.. and if she is not informed about her choice than chances are good she will either fall pregant or contract an STI.

Parents.. your child's abstinence is not your choice!

Kids.. if you're not being informed about sexual health, inform yourself!

You can start by getting our brand new zine! The first issue is on birth control options. Available for reading at the zine library at Brunswick and Bloor (Toronto.) As well as Heartbeat 960 (960 Queen Street West)

Until our international "Give-A-Kid-A-Condom Day!" becomes a reality.. keep reading here! Yaaaay!

-Stef

Lyndon's Large Ladies

A couple weeks ago I had the great pleasure of meeting Lyndon Andrews, a Toronto based artist.

His current subject matter consists almost entirely of full bodied women. Lyndon's inspiration comes from his distaste towards the negative connotation associated with being overweight. In his own words, he finds it "very upsetting that an overweight woman cannot be perceived as both beautiful AND full bodied at the same time." His apartment has absolutely stunning paintings of intelligent and gorgeous women.

I'm sure all of you out there know healthy women who consider themself "fat" and thus ugly. It's definitely heartbreaking.

If you want to see more of Lyndon's work, comment on this entry with your e-mail and I will send you his info. His stuff is amazing, definitely worth seeing!

Start loving your body =)

-Stef