I am absolutely outraged with President Obama for supporting the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to enforce age restrictions on Plan-B One Step (emergency contraception) for individuals 17 years of age and younger.

Essentially President Obama is afraid that 10 and 12 year old girls will take/use Plan B (the morning-after pill) without supervision or guidance and get hurt. President Obama is afraid that young girls/women can go inside a drug store alongside bubble gum and batteries and buy a medication, which if not used properly could potentially have an adverse affect. President Obama says, "And I think most parents would feel the same way."

President Obama, I think you are wrong. I believe most parents would rather have their daughter have unrestricted access to PlanB than to find them pregnant. It is already difficult to have conversations about sexual activity with one’s parents. Plan B is most effective if used within 72 hours of unprotected sex. If a young person who is sexually active has had difficulty talking about sex for their entire upbringing, why would President Obama assume the young person would come up with the courage to have this conversation within recommended time frame?

So if the young woman cannot have this conversation with her parent/guardian so she can get Plan B, then where will she go? It only makes the situation more difficult, and I believe this will lead more young women to make more difficult decisions in the future.

Why are we punishing young women for engaging in sexual activity? I believe President Obama decided to oppose the FDA’s recommendation because he is worried political opponents will accuse him of "giving young girls permission to have sex." But his fears won’t stop young people from having sex – and it won’t stop them from needing Plan B. President Obama needs to understand that people are sexual beings and sex is an action that occurs, and young people engage in sexual activity. He is trying to not make Plan B be a panacea for young women who choose to have unprotected sex. I understand this, however, he needs to provide another option, and there is no other option on the table at this moment for young women 17 and under.

The fact is that he is hoping that young people will communicate with their parents regarding their sexual life is a difficult feat in itself, and could potentially lead to young women having to turn to abortion because the former option of preventing pregnancy through the option of Plan B has already been taken off of the table.

In a few short weeks, the Feminist Majority Foundation & the Boston University Center for Gender Sexuality and Activism will be co-hosting the New England Feminist Leadership Summit.

WHEN: Saturday November 12, 9:30a - 6:00p

WHERE: Boston University - 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA

WHAT: "Election Day 2012: One Year Out" - speakers & presentations to address what's at stake for women and feminist in the 2012 election, and a training on how to register, educate and mobilize voters on campus

Topics to be covered: * family planning services & funding * abortion access * global women's rights & reproductive health * violence against women * how to register voters * Get Out Her Vote * ballot initiatives * student voter suppression *
Art exhibit opening in the BU

Registration is NOW OPEN: feministcampus.org/leadership/newengland
$15/person at the door, $12/person pre-registration, $10/person pre-reg for groups of 4+ -- Lunch included!!

10/13/11
by Kathleen Adams

My comments are in response to people asking me why I am supporting “Occupy Wall Street”.

I am a 24-year-old woman, a college graduate, and graduate student at Fordham University.

I am protesting because I am sick and tired of being disrespected by big banks. I am sick and tired of being disrespected by corporate America.

Why now? Let me tell you.

Financial institutions were rescued because they were said to be too big to fail. They were rescued with our tax dollars. Everyone is talking smack about “socialism”, however technically socialism saved the big banks.

I had a conversation on the phone with my father last week regarding why I have joined the Occupy Wall Street Movement. I have joined the movement because collectively there is too wide of a gap between the haves and the have-nots. At the end of the day to function as an efficient society, people need to make a living wage to propel America back to its Golden State.

We are all responsible for the financial crisis that we are in, but it seems as if only the big banks are the ones being saved.

Let me spell it out for you.

1) Yes many Americans lived above their means by relying on credit
a. The cost of living increased, yet salaries did not rise at the same rate, so many people had to rely on credit just to survive
b. Access to credit was easily accessible and, yes I do recognize that many Americans lost track of their purchasing habits and overextended themselves by buying and solely relying on credit.

2) The “American Dream” of home ownership was not meant for everyone, however America was sold on achieving this dream. And our economy relied heavily on selling this dream to the American public. When Federal Reserve Chairman Allan Greenspan lowered interest rates to only 1 percent to keep the economy strong, Wall Street (big banks) took advantage of this leverage. Literally investors saw a way to profit by connecting to homeowners through mortgages. And we all know how the story ended…People and communities were preyed on! Homes that were out of people’s budgets were advertised and the bottom line was to make a profit, by tricking people into disastrous financial situations.

3) The bailout by the United States government to the big banks that were instrumental to this financial meltdown, have been extremely stingy and have not held true to their promise. The bailout was to help stimulate the economy, and nothing has been stimulated! The only thing that has been stimulated is American public’s frustration with how corporate American operates! The banks are holding tight to the money and not allowing any of it to trickle down to Main Street! Salaries in the financial industry have risen, as well as bonuses. While massive layoffs have occurred throughout the country, and salaries for Main Street have remained stagnant or have lowered. I’ve been told by many people that the bonuses were necessary to keep the best talent with the companies. How about using this logic to keep and attract our best teaching talent so we can have a better educated population and end failing schools! Who in their right mind would want to go to college, taken on student-loans, and then get paid crap to teach long hours and have to come out of pocket (and not get reimbursed) for much needed supplies.

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 Hey everyone!

I wanted to alert you all to a conference that is coming up in New Jersey.

NJWAN (New Jersey Women and AIDS Network) is very excited to be hosting the Confronting the Crisis 2011: Women & HIV Conference on November 3rd and 4th, 2011 at Rutgers University!

This is a two day conference jam packed with great speakers and activities! (I presented at it last year!!) So far there are over 35 workships to be presented, and fabulous venders! The conference is a great opportunity to meet new friends and to network!

Confronting the Crisis 2011: Women & HIV Conference

When: November 3rd and 4th, 2011
Where: Rutgers University Student Center, 126 College Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey

For more information, please call 800-747-1108
or visit NJWAN online by clicking on this link!

Hey! I'm having so much fun at the New Media Session at the Urban Retreat!

As a woman in the field of architecture I know how low the numbers are for women, especially women of color in the field of architecture. Currently statistics show that only 17 percent of American architects are female! Mattel, the creators of Barbie feel that Barbie can help change the numbers.

Mattel says, "Barbie inspires girls to try on different careers, encouraging them to play out their dreams and explore the world and all of its possibilities without ever having to leave home,". They go further on to say, "We believe role-playing with Barbie leads to real life opportunities, and are very proud to introduce I Can Be...Architect Barbie as our 2011 career of the year."

Growing up I loved Barbie, and her career choices in the past did inspire me and show me that I could do anything that I wanted, be that if I wanted to be a doctor or the president of the United States. However during my childhood years I felt I could do anything, and Barbie’s career of choice of the year did not really influence my decision.

I would like to continue you my architecture career, however, the system is not built to accommodate the needs of female architects. It takes about 10 years to become a licensed architect, and during these years you are working crazy long slave hours for basically no pay (meaning $40,000 salary area). Other career fields such as being a doctor or lawyer, you must endure a period of intense training, but you finish your training in less than 10 years and your salary level rewards you on a substantial level.

If a woman wants to have children, it is very difficult to maintain the grueling hours while pregnant, and support a child with such a low salary level even though it is a professional field. Yes the hours are grueling in other professional fields, but at least there is a generous salary.

Tell me what you think about Architect Barbie.

Check out this blog post by Architizer to learn more!

For those in the DC area I wanted to let you know about the “35 Years of Feminist Scholarship” Conference sponsored by Feminist Studies. The conference honors Claire G. Moses on her retirement as Editorial Director of Feminist Studies and Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland.

The conference is free and open to the public. Box lunches are available, but you must pre-register online.

35 Years of Feminist Scholarship
Friday, April 15, 2011

Special Events Room of McKeldin Library, Room 6137
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

(Conference is free and open to the public. Lunch must be ordered in advance. Out-of-Town guests may stay at the Marriott Inn & Conference Center. See Travel Information for directions to the hotel and to the conference site on campus.)


For more information, please click on this link.

As an African American woman in America, I feel that my body is constantly being attacked and blamed for issues surrounding and related to abortions.

Just because I am Black and have had an abortion does not mean I have been brainwashed.

However, it seems as if pro-lifers are now trying to target Black women into being anti-choice with a new campaign that has just been launched in New York City. Racist billboards went up in the SoHo section of New York City attacking Black women and our human rights by claiming, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb”.

To my recollection this is the first time that I have seen such a blatant attack come into such a liberal and progressive city such at New York City. However Black women’s bodies all around the country are being attacked! These are the same attacks we are seeing in Georgia to outlaw “race-based” abortion. Where Georgia Right to Life and the Radiance Foundation have collaborated to buy billboard space throughout Atlanta, Georgia and calling Black children, “an endangered species”, while advocating laws to limit the reproductive choices of women of color, as well as pushing for laws to ban abortion based on “the race of the child”. This is the same campaign being waged in St. Louis, Austin, and many other cities around the country!

Pro-life advertising organization, Life Always, has just launched a new campaign “in honor” of Black History Month. I think this is absolutely nasty and completely degrading! DO NOT USE BLACK HISTORY MONTH AS AN EXCUSE TO ASSAULT WOMEN’S RIGHTS! Do not use us Black women as pawns as it is white people who are actually erecting such billboards.

Not only has Life Always created the billboards in SoHo but they have continued to communicate their message through the launch of a campaign website www.ThatsAbortion.com where they state, “There is a battle being waged in the United States that has taken more lives than any foreign war or act of terrorism. The enemy is abortion”. I’m sorry Life Always, but DO NOT compare abortion to terrorism. I think it is completely insensitive to also refer abortion to a “Genocidal Plot”.

Historically Black women have struggled to control when and how we have children for centuries. Access to birth control and abortion services are vital to our ability to have lives with dignity. I believe that every Black woman who utilizes her full range of health care options, INCLUDING abortion services, does so based on her private circumstances and must always be able to do so with dignity and safety. Black women need to be trusted—and I recognize that each woman who chooses abortion does so, not because she is ill informed or a dupe, but because she is making the best decision for herself and her family.

For the young activists in the NYC area I wanted to pass on the following information about an opportunity that might interest you!

Hollaback! is looking for young activists to takeover HollabackNYC!

Let me tell you a little about Hollaback!

I love the way I look and feel, and when I leave my apartment and move around NYC I walk with an air of confidence. However, my confidence gets chipped away at with the constant catcalls on the street when I'm walking an on public transportation. Well Hollaback! is a movement dedicated to ending street harassment using mobile technology. Street harassment is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence and one of the least legislated against. Comments from “You’d look good on me” to groping, flashing and assault are a daily, global reality for women and LGBTQ individuals. But it is rarely reported, and it’s culturally accepted as ‘the price you pay’ for being a woman or for being gay. At Hollaback!, they don’t buy it.

Hollaback! believes that everyone has a right to feel safe and confident without being objectified. Sexual harassment is a gateway crime that creates a cultural environment that makes gender-based violence OK. There exists a clear legal framework to reproach sexual harassment and abuse in the home and at work, but when it comes to the streets—all bets are off. This gap isn’t because street harassment hurts any less, it’s because there hasn’t been a solution. Until now. The explosion of mobile technology has given us an unprecedented opportunity to end street harassment—and with it, the opportunity to take on one of the final new frontiers for women’s rights around the word.

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Having your period monthly takes a toll on all of us physically and mentally, but now women at a company in Norway have to announce to everyone that they are on their period.

Female employees at an unnamed company in Norway have been instructed to wear red bracelets when they are menstruating—this is so their bosses can be aware of why they need to frequent the bathroom more frequently.

Times are tough, and every minute of a worker’s day is extremely valuable in relation to bringing in profits for companies. Managers at one company in Norway are keeping tabs on its employee’s bathroom breaks.

One study shows that 66% of managers monitor the breaks of their employees—some force employees to request an electric key for the bathroom. The study also shows that one third of companies have the bathroom door on video surveillance and some also make employees sign in a book to report their visits to the bathroom.We as women know, that when we are on our period, we are more likely to frequent the bathroom, due to the nature of menstruation. I think this is absolutely crazy that women are being monitored for their bathroom use! I cannot believe some of our sisters in Norway are given the scarlet letter literally when there are riding the crimson tides!

What do you think!