Résumé: Despite roots in überconservative Lubbock, Texas, Shelby Knox is leading a new generation of feminists, traveling the U.S. campaigning for comprehensive sex education. At 15, she was plucked from obscurity by filmmakers who’d seen her quoted discussing teen pregnancy in a newspaper. The resulting documentary, The Education of Shelby Knox — about her transformation from Baptist good girl to sex-ed activist — premiered at Sundance in 2005.
Background check: “In high school, a friend got pregnant because her boyfriend told her she couldn’t if it was her first time having sex. I would have believed that, too. That’s when I started fighting for better sex ed.”
Big break: “An activist I’d met arranged for me to take care of Gloria Steinem’s pets while she was away. Gloria eventually let me live with her in New York for a couple of years while I figured out how to make it as an activist. She treated me as an equal. Now I can walk into a room and talk to anyone with confidence.”
Oh-my-God moment: “At 20, I became the youngest person to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during the first-ever congressional hearing on abstinence-only sex education. I was even mentioned on The Daily Show — the first time my brother showed any enthusiasm about my work!”
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MorganBoecher / Comments Off on Ain’t I A Woman: Queer Women of Color Speak on Femme Identity
Queer Women of Color and Friends (QWOC+ Boston) has been invited to co-host Boston NOW’s October Feminism and Dessert discussion and we’d love for you to join us!
We’re inviting you to show up and jump into what promises to be a candid and informal conversation about FEMME IDENTITY and FEMINISM as experienced by WOMEN OF COLOR.
—————————- SPEAKERS*
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Opening up this conversation are three very different feminists and/or femmes:
– Spectra Speaks (Founder of QWOC+ Boston | Naija Afrofeminist | http://www.spectraspeaks.com/)
– Idalia Poetry (Organizer for QWOC+ Boston | Nationalista y Poeta de las Mujeres | http://idaliapoetry.tumblr.com/)
– Rayshauna Gray (Organizer for Young Boston Feminists | New Wave Feminist)
*Our speakers are sacrificial lambs / primers for good conversation, and they are only experts on their own experiences and identities. Everyone will be invited/encouraged to share their own experiences as well.
————————————————- SCOPE OF THE DISCUSSION:
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We’ll aim to explore the following questions:
— Who is a femme? What does she look like? What does she sound like? Are there cultural differences with this idea?
— What attributes of femininity are traditionally perceived as weak or strong, feminist or unfeminist? Are they cultural differences with this idea?
— Individual experiences with (or without “feminism”) as women of color and allies
——————————————————— JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON OUR BLOG!
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Leave a comment HERE — (especially if you will be unable to attend but would still like to participate!) about ANYTHING you have to say re: FEMME / FEMME IDENTITY.
A discussion is only as rich and encompassing of multi-perspectives as its participants and we’d like to get the conversation going.
——————————————————- DETAILS
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When: October 7th
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Where: Cambridge City Hall Annex *
344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Cambridge, MA
Accessible from Central Square T stop (red line) and the 68, 83, 91, and 64 buses.
Feminist and Dessert is FREE and wheelchair accessible.
If this doesn’t inspire you about the issue of Reproductive Justice, I don’t know what will. Sonya Renee’s poem is amazing because it demonstrates the complexities of abortion rights, how social and economic injustices are inextricably tied up in the issue. She reveals the hollowness of the anti-abortion movement’s rhetoric that to be pro-life is to somehow be pro-woman. Her language is powerful, in a hits-you-in-the-gut, sends-shivers-down-your-spine kind of way.
Sometimes, it is easy to reside in a bubble–for me, studying at a women’s college in Manhattan, a place where a support of abortion is assumed to be a given–and not fully realize the extent to which women’s reproductive rights are under siege around the country. In Colorado right now, for instance, there is an amendment that will shortly be voted on which seeks to legally define a fertilized egg as a person, with all the attendant rights (more on this topic shortly). What the Reproductive Justice movement reminds us is that while abortion is technically legal in the United States, not all women have equal access to reproductive health services, and any analysis of reproductive rights must be done with an eye to other existing economic and social inequalities.
On Wednesday, there will be a day long conference called Critical Intersections: Reproductive and Economic Justice, which is organized by the New York Women’s Foundation and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. If you are interested in this event, click here for more information. It will be held at Barnard College in New York (117th and Broadway).
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MorganBoecher / Comments Off on Reproductive Justice Arts Extravaganza, September 25
The Reproductive Justice Arts Extravaganza will commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Women’s Medical Fund. We will showcase up to 25 submissions from our juried art competition at the AxD Gallery in Center City, Philadelphia and host live performances to celebrate the reproductive justice community.
The Women’s Medical Fund provides direct financial assistance and other support to low-income women and girls in Southeastern Pennsylvania who wish to terminate a pregnancy but cannot afford a safe, legal abortion. For more information, visit their website. To make a tax deductible contribution to the work of WMF, go to http://www.womensmedicalfund.org/.
PERFORMERS HAVE BEEN PICKED! We’ll be featuring:
– Pussies, Pens, and Politics
– Excerpts from the play The Waiting Room by Megan Smith
– Gigi Naglak and Meghann Williams of Chlamydia Dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque
– Dancer Charly Brownskin
Location: 265 S. 10th Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Performing artists, community organizers, theatre workers, educators, scholars, youth workers, students, social workers, psychotherapists, psychologists, medical doctors, health workers, and business executives are coming from 31 countries to discuss/perform that question and their responses to it.
Paradigm Shift Will Launch Our Signature Workshop
“Creating Intra and Interpersonal Paradigm Shifts”
Presented By: Meredith Villano, Co-Founder & Director; Laura Joy, Community Membership Coordinator; Shetal Shah, Digital Media Supervisor
Many people are drawn to activism or align themselves with a cause by first identifying with a community of those with shared experiences, then become empowered by voicing their personal narratives before taking action within their communities. This workshop will help attendees find their own path to activism in the form of their choice, and will provide community building, self-empowerment/motivational performance exercises, as well as action ideas.
Nearly 100 presentations, workshops and performances including:
Patch Adams – the Clown Laureate of Medicine, comes to Performing the World for the first time. He will share his work from around the world, bringing performance and hope to the sick and suffering.
A Day in the Life of the World – The Living Theatre
Performing Change
Reinventing Avant-Garde Theatre
Performance and Health
The Performance of Resiliency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Power of Performing Our Story
Clowning at Hospital Changes the World
Conference Sponsors
All Stars Project, Inc. & East Side Institute for Group & Short Term Psychotherapy
Location: All Stars Project, Inc., 543 West 42 Street (btwn 10th & 11th Aves)
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MorganBoecher / Comments Off on Woman in the Moon – a poem by Cristina Dominguez
white
round
dull
embossed
this is
the cost of contact
heavy
high
standing,
the night
mirroring,
the light
reflect off
something
distant
bright
burning
far
away
sinking vanquished
vanishing
into the
drunken darkness
dry
deprived
the dead alive
cold, clinical
removed
miracle
blurred
as a spec
a second
without self
destruction
a lap
a distraction
tasteless
odorless
bliss
watch woman
over a live
earth
golden
glowing
unknowing
unprepared
unshared
I can’t even let you reach me
my breath
is too a mere reflection
inflection of life
pale
waning
fading
someday so will the
rest of my all too
conscious unconscious
a peace
a sleep
so sweet
so secure
boundaries
certain
sure
but will my spirit
be splattered across the darkness of life
out of body
guiding
real
authentic
my own light
maybe
dividing is surviving
splintered better that than
wilting
withering away
pulling the tides in
or are they
pulling at me
under toe
sucking at
my
steady
slowing
heart beat
can you
crash into me
but like old oceans?
This time
don’t leave me
barren
broken
buried
in side
regolith
ice
water
knocking off of the bergs
black bird down on the ground
running
through
my brains
my veins
please
don’t
take from me
what little life
hope—by some chance love
remains
there is nothing
worth having
but the pull
is beyond will
the still now peaceful
intoxicating
let me rock
in your vision
deaf to my cries
what ifs
and whys
in the morning
light
will hide me
but I will
be the brightest patch
in the sky
and appear before
the dramatic colors
I used to know
as she enters an empirical scorching sleep
the demise where I rise
color blind
one day you can still
find me
mystery
synonymous
with misery
at times but
at others
inspiring
stirring
the ordinary
toward risk
But not
ready
ripe
for the responsibility
of wisdom
of woman in the moon
I, swallow, I am swollen
with loss
and lost in your light
but grounded rooted,
bold bulb,
new…
Earth
feel my pull
my will
that endures
even under
ordered sleep
months of weeping
quiet intensity
prevails
deep in the
perils
battle wounds
conquered and abandoned
wore torn
rubble
left of me
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meredith / Comments Off on Only 3 Spots Left! Women’s Sexuality Apprenticeship
Are you ready to own your sexuality, to reclaim it, heal it and celebrate it? If you are ready to explore and transform your sexuality, join sexuality educator Amy Jo Goddard and some of the former participants of the Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship program for a free introductory night. Amy Jo will help women to assess where they are currently in their own sexuality and lead them in a guided meditation and interactive discussion. There is no obligation to take the program, and you will definitely walk away with some clarity and action steps about your own sexuality.
“I know there is a deep need for safe spaces where women can study and grow their sexuality, so I’ve carefully constructed a framework where women can learn experientially and share with each other aspects of their sexual selves that have been in hiding. I want to see women be truly empowered sexually. I want to see women support each other. I want women to have the intimate relationships they dream of. I want to support women to take the risks required to become their most authentic, fulfilled sexual selves.”
For more info or to sign up, go to: www.amyjogoddard.com
This training is for you if you think you would benefit from opportunities to:
Explore and examine how sexual norms and sexual shame have affected or inhibited your sexuality
Step outside of cultural limitations for relationships, identity, and gender
Challenge and confront body image issues
Explore sexual identity and develop ideas based on feminist and progressive approaches
Educate yourself about your own sexual and reproductive health and well-being
Practice and learn about sexual pleasure and sexual energy
Deepen your ability to experience intimacy
Learn sexual skills including communicating sexual needs, desires and boundaries, safer sex practices and new ways of experiencing pleasure
Examine sexual patterns that may or may not serve you
Connect your sexuality to your spiritual practice
Express your sensual self in a safe and loving context
Experience a sexual archetype ritual that helps you to examine how your sexual self benefits or suffers because of the sexual archetypes you personally carry
Utilize ritual to invoke the sexual being you dream of and who is already there, waiting to be claimed
“I now stand more grounded in who I am as a sensual being, swing my hips with more awareness of my body, flirt with more confidence, speak to my lover with a deeper and more honest intention, pray with a bit more attention, make love more deeply/wildly/soft/without walls OR sometimes I retreat back to where I was before yet I’m more mindful about it. It is an everyday (sometimes extremely hard) journey no doubt. However, the tools and energetic fuel I have gained from the WSEA workshops keep me mindful and intentional and capable of saying yes everyday, no matter how quiet or LOUD! I seriously whole-heartedly recommend this journey to all women wanting to live a fulfilled life in every way and are willing to accept the challenge to do so.” –Kiki, Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship participant, 2010
The class will take place on 9 Tuesday nights and 3 full Saturdays with Saturday night events.
TUESDAYS from 6:30-10 pm September 21, 28
October 12, 19, 26
November 2, 16, 30
December 7
SATURDAYS 10 am-6 pm, then reconvene around 9 for evening events: September 25
October 23
December 4
BIO:
Amy Jo Goddard, M.A. is a sexuality educator & trainer, writer, performing artist and activist. She travels to colleges, universities, communities and conferences teaching workshops and speaking about sexuality and maintains a private sex coaching practice. She is co-author of Lesbian Sex Secrets for Men and is a contributing author of All About Sex: A Family Resource Guide on Sex and Sexuality. Her article about queer performance artists and activism was published in 2007 in the Social Justice Journal and she has been published in numerous other publications including LOFT and Bust Magazine. Amy Jo was host of cherrybomb.com’s web stream program “Fresh Advice,” developing, researching, writing and performing over 60 episodes on women’s sexuality. A professional trainer of sexuality professionals, medical students, college students and youth for fifteen years, she has taught courses relating to sexuality at the City University of New York and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Amy Jo has taught breast and pelvic exams to medical/nursing students for 8 years and she is director/producer of the forthcoming documentary, At Your Cervix, a film that depicts this unusual work. She facilitates the Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship in New York City.
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Becca / Comments Off on THE WOODHULL INSTITUTE presents – Women’s Ethical Leadership Retreat!
The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership
is offering a highly selective Women’s Ethical Leadership Retreat! October 22-24 2010 Ancramdale, NY
Tuition: $395 Room & Board: $200 (2 nights) Very flexible payment plans, group discounts, and scholarships available!
Mention Paradigm Shift and get $100 Discount! Learn the SKILLS & get the CONNECTIONS you NEED to SUCCEED
With Woodhull You Can:
*Build self-awareness*
*Built networks with women leaders among many professions*
*Increase skill levels in negotiation, financial literacy, and public speaking*
*Increase your tolerance for risk taking*
*Deepen your understanding of ethics and leadership*
**EMPLOYERS!**
Show your appreciation and dedication to the professional and personal development of your employees! We accept 1-3 nominations from organizations. Our practical skill set workshops will strengthen the performance of your women leaders! Woodhull’s program is especially effective for non profits & educational institutions.
“Music & Dance speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul”
World Heritage Cultural Center is creating a common ground where any Culture in the world can come and celebrate their way of Life through the Arts & Food.
“As long as humans have walked the earth, down to each continent, to each country, to each region people have their own faith, communication, celebrations, and laws of life. The only thing that can bring us all on a common ground is “Music & Dance that speaks what cannot be expressed.”
In this great colorful patchwork we call America, there is so much unnoticed beauty around us. World Of Colors is an Annual Dance & Music Festival celebrating and bringing more than 20+ cultures on one stage; breaking barriers among nations through the Arts as a diverse audience becomes one family through the magic of Music & Dance.
Cultures on stage are of African, Indian, Dominican, Tahitian, Polynesian, Brazilian, Caribbean, Scandinavian, Irish, American(Modern & HipHop), Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Persian, Bolivian, Polish, Puerto Rican, Egyptian, and the list keeps growing.
Attend the pre-event Red Carpet Cocktail Hour from 5pm to 6pm at the Symphony Space Theater Lounge with your ticket as pass to get in. Each attendee will receive a gift bag filled with prizes. Limited seating! After you purchase your ticket to the World of Colors event, simply send us an email at info@mywhcc.com and let us know your ticket number and we’ll add you to the list to attend the Red Carpet Cocktail Hour.
After Party with Bollywood Celebrities including Monica Dogra (Shair & Func)
at
Vermilion
480 Lexington Ave
New York, NY
Tickets for the After Party – $25
Special Price for Travel & Adventure Show Guests – $20
For Red Carpet attendees – $15
KTU 103.5 and Power 105.1 are among the marketing partners who did interviews with the founders of WHCC and the hosts of the World Of Colors Concert. Interviews will be aired in September 2010.
For more supporters and sponsors, please CLICK HERE
World Heritage Cultural Center supports many charities and instead of re-inventing the wheel, we work with organizations such as Alex Lemonade Stand (pediatric cancer), American Cancer Society, Dancing at the Cross Roads (HIV) and HomeAThon (homeless). Speakers from the Alex Lemonade Stand, American Cancer Society and HomeAThon will be present on stage to announce the partnership with World Heritage Cultural Center.
World Heritage Cultural Center acknowledges those that make a positive impact through their work. We are proud to announce that Five Global Appreciation World Of Colors Awards will be handed out to five outstanding citizens of the world.
First Annual Global Appreciation World Of Colors Awards honorees are: Zolaykha Sherzad is founder of the School of Hope. Times Magazine calls her the only woman in luxury to make a difference in the lives of women in the Middle East. Meera Gandhi ~ Mrs. Gandhi is a well known international community leader, committed humanitarian and philanthropist dedicated to solutions to human suffering and deprivation around the globe. Nnimmo Bassey ~ ” Heroes of the Environment” Times Magazine Olivia Bouler~ An 11 year old talented artist uses art to raise more than $170,000 for the Gulf oil spill.
To see full details on honorees, please CLICK HERE. Fifth honoree to be announced shortly.
World Heritage Cultural Center donated 30 tickets to the Mt. Sinai Hospital Pediatric Center for children and their families to attend the show.
Join a noble cause in making a positive impact through Knowledge & Charity as World Heritage Cultural Center with some of the most amazing talents in the United States comes together to put on a spectacular show on September 25, 2010 to raise funds to open our first Center in New York.
For videos from our past events, such at the Multicultural stage in Times Square, please go to YOUTUBE
For any questions or concerns, please call 914.498.8347 or email at info@mywhcc.com
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MorganBoecher / Comments Off on EVENT: Three DC Male Students to be Awarded for Commitment to Ending Dating and Sexual Violence
Washington, DC – On September 22, three male students from the District will be recognized for their commitment to healthy dating relationships and nonviolence at the 12th annual Men of Strength Awards. The fundraiser will take place at the National Press Club from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and is hosted by Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR), a national D.C.-based nonprofit that mobilizes young men to prevent sexual and domestic violence through outreach and educational programs.
Terrill Wise, Jonathan Wade, and Anwar Muhammad Nur are all participants or graduates of the organization’s Men of Strength Club. Also known as MOST Club, the school-based 22-week curriculum teaches male teens ages 11-18 healthy dating relationship skills and encourages them to show their “strength” in positive ways among their peers. Terrill, Jonathan, and Anwar have all demonstrated an outstanding commitment to being a “man of strength,” serving their communities through volunteer activities, and speaking out about the importance of men’s involvement in stopping violence against women.
Over the past 11 years, the Men of Strength Award has been given to celebrities, legislators, business professionals, athletes, and activists who use their “strength” in positive and various ways. Past honorees have included Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI); former NFL star Joe Ehrmann; former Liz Claiborne, Inc. CEO Paul Charron; and The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler.
This year the Awards will focus more on Men Can Stop Rape’s growing and targeted outreach to young men in middle school, high school, and college. The organization will debut its new anti-bullying and harassment poster awareness campaign for middle school boys entitled “YMOST: Young Men of Strength.” MCSR will also premiere its new educational film “Use Your Strength” which follows students growth and progress through MOST Club and Men Creating Change, MCSR’s new college program. Departing from the traditional celebrity-hosted event, the evening will be emceed by Rafael Suarez and William Harris, two college students and graduates of MOST Club. Over 250 supporters will enjoy heavy appetizers, cocktails, live musical entertainment, and a live program auction.
Tickets are $100 per person and $150 for couples and can purchased in advance at www.mencanstoprape.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $125 per person and $175 for couples. Proceeds will go towards the Men of Strength Club program which has sites at every public middle school and high school in the District. For more information, visit www.mencanstoprape.org, email awards@ mencanstoprape.org or call (202) 265-6530.
The 2010 Men of Strength Student Honorees:
· Mr. Terrill Wise
Student at Johnson Middle School and a Men of Strength Club member
· Mr. Jonathan Wade
Student at Benjamin Banneker High School and Men of Strength Club member
· Mr. Anwar Muhammad Nur
Graduate of School Without Walls High School and now a senior at Temple University
About Men Can Stop Rape:
Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) is a national Washington, DC based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize men to use their strength for creating cultures free from violence, especially men’s violence against women. Vital Voices (cofounded by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton) recognized us as “one of the most innovative prevention programs in the United States.” MCSR has reached over 2 million youth and professionals with our award-winning youth program the Men of Strength Club, our college program Campus Strength, and our “My Strength” awareness campaign. Learn more about us at www.mencanstoprape.org.
