the joys of activism

Tonight, I'm going to a letter writing party put on by C of C's chapter of NOW and our new local Planned Parenthood. We're writing letters to SC legislators in protest of the Mandatory 24-Hour Bill that is currently being debated (Bill H.3245). It would make it required that there be a 24 hour delay if a woman receives an ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy. And, obviously, is completely ridiculous. It's medically unnecessary, forces women to make yet another dreaded trip to the clinic they wouldn't have to otherwise, and, like every other abortion restriction on the books, assumes women don't know how to make their own decisions regarding their bodies. So, if you live in South Carolina, protest this bullshit!

And speaking of activism, we found out the numbers for the Vagina Monologues and I'm not going to say anything yet, but we are making a VERY large donation to this year's beneficiary, PAR. So, that's super exciting, and we're going out tonight to celebrate! Nothing like some well-earned drinks for some successful fundraising. Yay vaginas!

obama baked goods

After reading this story on NPR.com, I starting thinking about the charm of one's face being put on baked goods--especially beyond the typical face-cake. Way better than Sasha and Malia beanie babies, if you ask me. Not to mention a great way to get a sap-free Valentine's Day sugar rush. I hope one day my face is worthy enough to be reproduced entirely of cupcakes. Or at least on a cookie. We Americans are just so creative when it comes to food!

            

back to regular life

Now that the Vagina Monologues are over--after months of planning, a week of events, three mornings of tabling, a true test of my ability to handle stress in the pre-show preparations, and two wildly successful shows performed this weekend, if I do say so myself--I feel like I can finally get back to everything that was put on the back burner in favor of V-Day business. For the past few weeks, pretty much everything I normally do/could be doing was conveniently replaced with a myriad of activities (ordering T-shirts or chocolate vagina lollipops, hanging posters, designing programs, organizing volunteers, etc., etc.--the list could seriously go on so far you would get ridiculously bored). So now I can:

---get caught up on quite a bit of schoolwork that wasn't ignored per say, just put on reserve in the back of my mind.

---start planning for SEWSA, which Kaylee and I got a paper accepted into called, "Heather has Two Mommies and Other Children's Books: Queer(y)ing the Natural Family Unit." This will be my first time presenting at an academic conference, and I'm really excited to say the least. A couple of other major pluses: the conference is being held at Appalachian State in Boone, NC, this year's theme is "Ecology of Feminism and Feminism of Ecology," which among other things means delicious gourmet all-natural food, and our good friend Taylor will be there!

---plan our spring break trip! Some friends and I decided to venture to Boston (never been) and New York City (can't wait to go back) over the break, and really, there's nothing better than a good road trip, even if it is up north in the first week of March (chilly).  

---get into some actual work on determining my Bachelor's Essay topic. Some (very general) ideas I'm exploring are: intersectionality in various forms of women's writing, feminist blogging/some sort of exploration of feminism on the internet, violence & sexuality (a la Jane Sexes it Up), or postfeminism in some form. Clearly I have a lot of narrowing to do, but I finally feel ready to dig in. 

---get ready for my mom's visit to Charleston this weekend! I don't often get to play tour guide to Charleston visitors, but I really like doing it. I'm looking forward to taking my mom to some of my favorite spots here, and maybe even trying out a few I've been waiting for an occasion for. 

And I hope everyone managed to have a lovely Valentine's Day weekend! Kaylee and I had brunch Saturday at The Glass Onion in West Ashley, and I would highly recommend it--they use all local and organic ingredients to put a new spin on southern comfort food with oh-my-goodness, really incredible results. Definitely going back there.

Here's my favorite thing right now. Three cheers for the return of Lily Allen--finally!!