politics

When the landscape changes, so must we

March 29, 2013
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When the landscape changes, so must we

I wasn’t going to read it. There has been so much in the news and on blogs and all over the internets about the Steubenville rape case that I was just not going to read another article that would A) raise my blood pressure to toxic levels again or B) make me physically sick to my stomach. Watching CNN’s Candy Crowley and Poppy Harlow report on the verdict in this case nearly did me in! A few days ago, I reacted to a tweet by a local news anchor who had just read Barbara Amiel’s Maclean’s article, the one I was NOT going to read. I had already seen excerpts from it in a few posts earlier this week and I really did not want to read more of it and get upset again. But I had to. I had to give context to the tweet I reacted to...

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An interview with Lesléa Newman: Feminism, diversity, freedom

March 24, 2013
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Last night, my husband and I watched the movie, Jeff, Who Lives at Home.  It is a poignant little film that explores the concept that everything happens for a reason, something that I have long believed in myself. A few weeks ago, I got an email inviting me to interview Lesléa Newman before her upcoming Visiting Lectureship in Human Rights at the University of Alberta. I’ll be honest, I did not know who she was before receiving this email. An extensive google search and a visit to the library changed all of that and then I got VERY excited about this opportunity! Lesléa Newman is a prolific writer, poet, and human rights activist. She is the author of over 60 books and edited collections including the groundbreaking children’s book Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children’s book to portray lesbian families in a positive way, and the award-winning short story A Letter to Harvey Milk....

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I love my twitter stream….

February 26, 2013
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Because I find hashtags like #MAKERSchat, that take me to the most inspiring, frustrating, idealistic, political and personal piece of television I have ever seen! I just spent the last 151 minutes watching Makers: Women who make America, and I highly recommend you watch it too. Download the video from iTunes, catch it again on PBS, find a friend who saved it on her PVR. Just watch it. It is our story, the story of women, the story that is not over… That my dears, is my silver lining for today (#16). Good night my sisters! Natasha~  

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this side of pro-choice

February 25, 2013
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***Trigger warning: The following post covers the topic of abortion. Please be aware of this while reading and sharing.*** ** It also comes with some book spoilers too.**  I am part of a book club. Really, who isn’t these days? We are a bunch of women from all walks of life that meet once every 6-8 weeks and drink wine and eat chocolate and cheese and yes, we even discuss books! This past week was Book Club Week and I was especially looking forward to it, because, 1) I really needed a night out and said wine and chocolate and 2) I actually finished this month’s book choice a whole week ahead of time. The book was Caitlin Moran’s half autobiography, half feminist manifesto, “How to be a Woman”. And if you haven’t read it already, then I highly recommend you get yourself in the queue for the e-book...

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When girls build the world.

November 15, 2012
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  What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice And everything nice, That’s what little girls are made of. I have been thinking about writing on the topic of little girls for a long time. What kind of world our daughters are growing up in and how we as modern women and feminists are shaping that world. The US Elections were fascinating for me to watch. Time and time again we heard about and saw the attack on women by various members of the GOP and their ridiculously ignorant statements made about girls and women with regards to contraception, rape, even about actually being allowed to vote!  As a woman I was outraged and shocked by some of the hatred and bigotry being spewed by this political party. As a Canadian, I was ever so thankful for the country that I live in. As far from perfect as it...

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Prince Charmings need not apply

August 31, 2012
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Prince Charmings need not apply

Last night I was up until 1:00 AM having a very interesting conversation with a few people on a friend’s Facebook wall. Kevin posted this status update to his page and his blog and then let the chips fall (and as you can see, they did indeed fall… 115 times). The conversation got off to a quick start when another commenter posted that he disagreed, did not love ‘bitches’ and then said this, And I think a lot of modern female culture is just an excuse for bad behaviour and out of control narcissism….. I couldn’t resist, at that point I HAD to say something. I asked him for clarification on what he thought “modern female culture” was and after some initial back and forth and outright and admitted ignoring of my question, he finally answered. Natasha – modern female culture: a couple of weeks ago I met with...

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#notbuyingit

August 19, 2012
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#notbuyingit

Okay. So I am usually not one to get all worked up about shit like this, but for some reason today, this is really, REALLY bothering me. I opened up my email this morning and the first thing that I saw was this. It’s the new Halloween Ad from Gymboree. And according to the fine folks at Gymboree, my girl’s choices for Halloween or dress up are Pixie, fairy, flower or bug and my boy, well, he gets to have an awesome job. Now, you’ve all seen my girly girl and you and I both know that she would gladly choose any of the above girl costumes. But what if the EMT or the Astronaut picture was of a girl model instead of a boy? Would she perhaps choose one of those instead? This kind of advertising is not just happening at Gymboree. Old Navy’s gender stereotyping for Halloween...

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Feeding the wolves

August 13, 2012
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A Cherokee Legend An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, “Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times.” He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest...

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Feminism.. you are doing it all wrong!

August 7, 2012
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Feminism.. you are doing it all wrong!

I am one confused woman… and mother… and, dare I say it… feminist. And I apologize ahead of time if this post goes a bit all over the place {see statement above} and if I am about three months late on this band wagon! . I have been trying for the past week or so to read Elizabeth Badinter’s book, The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women. And I just can’t do it anymore. It is hurting my head and my heart and my very soul reading her words. And it is doing so on so many levels. It hurts me because of her blatantly condescending attitude about pretty much everything that I value, hold dear and practice as an attachment parent mother. It hurts me because of her “look how wonderful WE the French women are at everything we do”. From having the highest birth...

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Nothing in life is ever really ‘FREE’

August 4, 2012
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Nothing in life is ever really ‘FREE’

I am confused. And I don’t want to add fuel to the fire of the ridiculous and never ending how you feed your baby Mommy Wars, but I am serious. I am really confused. New Your City has a new initiative called “Latch On NYC”. It is aimed at promoting breastfeeding in the city’s many hospitals. In order to do this, the plan is to limit access to “free” formula samples and any advertising and marketing materials from the formula companies that are distributed to new mothers and their babies in the first few hours and days after birth. And there is a lot of hulabaloo about it all over the interwebs this week. Especially because it is World Breastfeeding Week. A lot of people are quite upset about it and like in this article from Cafe Mom think that this is removing a woman’s choice in how she...

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