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This is the American Civil Liberties Union webpage for Maine. They offer summer internships, information on current legislation, a varied selection of current event articles, and some perspective on insitionalized systems of inequality. the ACLU stands up for all of us. Join, donate, or just educate yourself about the frontlines of the war on aggressive oppression.
http://www.aclumaine.org/
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This website is the Maine Women's Lobby Blog and if you want to know about current legislation and activism that you can participate in to end the war on women and stop backhanded political legislation, this is the place to get started. There's so much going on right now in Maine!
http://www.mainewomen.org/blogs/
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There are three service providers in Maine where a woman can get an abortion. Women have the right to the sanctity of their bodies, and sometimes a pregnancy can be problematic for the mother or the child. Most women who get abortions report that they reasoned that the child's welfare was at stake and it would be more egregious to bring a child into the world under those conditions. Less cited by women is the common stereotype of a woman getting an abortion: It's not convenient for me. 99% of the time, women are concerned for their children when they abort. Here some relevant links:
http://www.mabelwadsworth.org/
http://www.mainefamilyplanning.org/health-topics/abortion-care
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This website details your rights around abortion and what the laws are around it. This informative site details some pro-choice laws and some anti-choice laws, so if you need to get informed about abortion in Maine, this is the place to go.
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/government-and-you/state-governments/state-profiles/maine.html
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This is an interesting article on gender non-conformity, about a little girl named Mich who was more comfortable wearing pants and playing with trucks and cutting her hair short than conforming to societies ideas of a woman. Because she challenges gender roles with her choices, life is not always easy.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/20/health/child-gender-nonconformity/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10
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This site is dedicated to increasing women's agency in the area of reproduction. Your options as a mother are emphasized, from prenatal care to raising your child, women have options!
http://www.choicesinchildbirth.org/
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Bell Hooks is one of today's active feminists, she has a unique standpoint and social location, and offers thoughts on racism, sexism, and oppression in today's society on her facebook page: share your thoughts with her!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bell-Hooks/22762902634?sk=wall
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The Ms. Magazine blog covers feminism and today's issues in society. Want to keep up to date on the front wave of feminism? This site is for you with categorized posts for ease of surfing.
http://msmagazine.com/blog/
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Motherhood.com is a facebook site with great info for new mothers, working mothers, and all mothers! They have live chat, forum, articles and support for women with children.
http://www.motherhood.com/
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Kelly's website is for greiving moms. If you lost a child or have been affected by loss, please share your story on her website. The object is to increase community support for women. The link follows:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/GrievingMoms
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Danielle's website is a hub for women in Waldo, County maine to find support and recieve help from local institutions. Her website:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Womens-Wellness-Resource-Hub/379640655391147
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This website is a New York Times Sex Trafficking blog of Nicholas D. Kristoff. The article one the coverpage when I visited was one girl with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome's story of sexual abuse from her father and eventual prostitution. It's heartbreaking and it scares the hell out of me. We all live in each other's hearts. Let your heart be broken by these heartbreaking stories. Maybe when it mends, it will be stronger, more feminist, than before.
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/americas-sex-trafficking-victims/
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This news article details the current struggle for women in Afghanistan, over 400 women are already imprisoned. I quote: "Imagine this. A woman gets beaten, sexually-abused, tortured and forced into prostitution by her husband. When she cannot take it anymore, she runs away and informs the police about the brutality. The police, far from trying to help her, put her behind bars. Her crime? That she ran away from home."
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/321632/20120330/afghanistan-prisons-afghan-women-human-rights-watch.htm
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Ladies Against Feminism:
This website for christian women is full of fear - fear of god, and fear of feminism. Have we lost modesty, is there no value in virginity? This website covers feminist issues from a christian perspective. I would say that virginity is only as valuable as the woman who decides it is important for her. In christianity, a woman's virginity or lack of sluttyness is valued because it represents innocense or lack of sin. Unfortunately, peer pressure is huge in christianity to veiw even casual sexual thoughts as sinful. In this sort of environment of unrealistic ideals and incredible guilt, how can a woman flourish? Many women do, as is attested by the hits and comments on this site. Chickens wont try to fly once you've cut their flight feathers off. The feathers grow back each time, but the chickens forget they can fly. Have women forgotten they can fly? Feminism, like flying, is scary. But equality is natural to all of us, even if we have forgotten what freedom feels like and are comfortable in a cage. Here's the link:
http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/
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This is a short article from the NY Times that makes it sound very easy for raped women in argentina to now get abortions. The women must merely show a doctor a personal declaration that they were raped to get the abortion. I wonder though, if that's really any of the doctor's business, and how the women who have to make these declarations feel about it. Is it really any easier to get an abortion if you have to write an essay about it?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/world/americas/argentina-court-allows-abortion-for-rape-victims.html?_r=1&ref=abortion
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Founded in September 1994, Women of Africa lobbies for the creation of the African Women's Commision. The website covers many issues, from genital mutilation to the illegal trafficking of women. They started African Women's Week. Overall the website is informative on issues relating to women in africa, and mainly nigeria and the congo. It's good to see African's (or any women for that matter) interested in forming coalitions and working against corruption and violence. The link follows:
http://www.womenofafrika.org/
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I don't know if any of you are Betty White fans (I think she's the shit, the bomb). Here's a great image and quote, although I don't know if it's a real one. She's a fiesty lady, I wouldn't doubt if she actually said what is suggested by the following image. I hope my readers find this empowering and not insulting - I like to see women telling us how it really is! You tell 'em, Betty! Next time someone calls me a pussy, I'll just say, "thanks for the compliment, you dick."
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Here's an interesting news story I came across. Evidently this woman was compared to a prostitute by her pastor for breastfeeding in church. I'd just like to say I think Jesus married a prostitute to make a point - humans have inherent value. So to devalue a person who's breastfeeding and compare them to the woman who married your god-and-savior, as if that's a bad thing? Pretty ridiculous. The story link is below.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Breastfeeding-backlash-starts-movement/9DKa8ocO2kWRz-E48UmIKQ.cspx
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Here's another interesting story in the press. Apparently Beaver County has been illegally taking children away from their parents among other civil rights violations, and on top of that there is improper court and lawyer behavior, where lawyers are advising parents to give up custody to foster familys (which they shouldn't be doing, essentially). Thank goodness for the ACLU, standing up for all of our rights, and fighting beaurocracy in Beaver County. Here's the link:
http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/aclu-pa-sues-beaver-county-child-welfare-agency-over-wrongful-seizure-newborns
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