Community Cupboard Needs More Food

If you didn't see the article in the Planet:

"Anyone who wishes to donate to the Cupboard can stop with food donations during their hours of operation, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, on the north side of the Browse-n-Buy parking lot, downstairs in St. Johns Episcopal Church. People who can’t make it during those hours may drop off the food outside the Cupboard’s door and someone will bring it inside.

Expired food cannot be accepted, and wild game meat must have been processed by a licensed game processor. The items most needed are those most taken: stew and canned meat, canned soups, cereal, peanut butter, jelly and anything that can be easily prepared. Donations need not be limited to these items, however, as any food will be greatly appreciated."

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Affordable Housing is a Women's Issue

As Teton County considers a moratorium on new development south of town, I'd like to urge county commissioners and town planners to consider women in shaping the comprehensive plan for the county.

You know, women. Women, fifty+ percent of the population, who in Wyoming earn only 66 cents to a man's dollar for the same work (the worst gender-based wage gap in the nation). Women who, in Wyoming, occupy only 30 % of managerial positions.

While we don't have the stats specific to Teton County, based on state averages it is safe to assume that women comprise a majority of service industry workers, teachers, nurses, and other employees that essentially make Jackson Hole run. These women deserve to live here in the town they love, the town they make function every day.

It is incumbent upon town and county officials to create housing here in the valley that a Wyoming woman, who makes on average $25K/year, can afford. And it is essential for women as a class to join together to demand that housing that fits our economic reality.

For more stats and info on women's status in Wyoming go to: http://www.iwpr.org/States2004/WY.htm.


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Hill Climb Hellions!

A posse of eco-minded lasses shook things up at the Hill Climb yesterday. Thanks to our friends at JH Underground for this great post!

Breast Fest '08!

Support local breast cancer survivors and celebrate women at BREAST FEST 2008!
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Where: Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, 130 S. Jackson.

Fundraiser for breast cancer research with music, food, auction, raffle. $5 suggested donation.

Ida-hooey

When I lived in San Francisco, organic farming pretty much went hand-in-hand with progressive values. An organic strawberry was proud to wave its fruity banner all over town.

Not so in our Rocky Mountain states. Just over the hill and across the way in Letha, Idaho, an organic strawberry farmer running for Larry Craig's (aka Closeted Fruit) seat has legally enhanced his name to be "Marvin Pro-Life Richardson."

I kid you not.

I'm just not sure what to make of this twisted logic. Jessica on Feministing had a great comeback: "I think I'm going to change my middle name to Profuckingchoice, just for funsies."

Me, I think I'll go with "Fruitlovinfeminist."

TODAY: Girls Actively Participating!

Tonight, the Girls Actively Participating! (GAP!) art and writing show will be unveiled at Hard Drive Cafe. GAP! is an after-school program for middle school girls that builds skills and self-esteem. It's awesome and so is Amy Manhart, who runs it.

Join the girls in celebrating "WHO WE ARE: An exhibit of self-portraits by the GAP! girls" on Tuesday, March 25, 5-6:30 PM at Hard Drive Cafe.

For more info about GAP! go to: http://gapjh.org.

Blame the Whore

I was alerted to this CNN article in the commentary on the Feministe interview I recommended in my last post. As it's apparently an accepted fact that the modern American parent is a total moron, CNN provides a helpful article on how to discuss the Spitzer scandal and, more specifically, prostitution with your children.

"Parents should be ready if children ask what a prostitute is, said Judy Kuriansky, a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College.

"If they ask," she said, "You say, 'Sadly there are some women who feel that when they have an intimate experience with someone they need to get paid for it. This is something that is not healthy and I don't accept it or condone it."'"

That's what we should teach our children - that prostitution was created by greedy, immoral women preying on men who otherwise would never offer money for sex. This brings slut-bashing to a whole new low.

Sex Work and Feminism

There's been lots of discussion of prostitution lately given the Spitzer scandal in New York. I highly recommend reading Feministe's interview with the Sex Workers Project. It highlights the philosophical struggle in feminism regarding sex work. Leaving human trafficking and forced prostitution out of the issue, it may be true that women would not choose to be sex workers if they had access to better education and job opportunities. Then again, if there are fewer sex workers wouldn't the law of supply and demand state that johns would pay more to obtain sex thus making sex work more attractive? Men have been paying for sex for thousands of years. Are we kidding ourselves to think eliminating the supply will eliminate the demand? Is all sex work dehumanizing? If the worker sets the price, establishes the boundaries, and controls the situation, is having sex for money still somehow inherently different from other kinds of labor? If you are unable to obtain sex through more "traditional" methods is it so wrong that there is someone out there willing to fulfill your need for a price? Many feminists deny that prostitution is ever a victim-less crime and deny that any woman would freely choose to be a prostitute. The Sex Workers Project at least listens to actual sex workers to get their input.

Race is a feminist issue

The feminist community is understandably divided in their support for Democratic presidential candidates Obama and Clinton. I respect the many perspectives and passionate reasons behind support for each candidate.

Myself, I’m an Obama fan. This was confirmed for me again listening to his speech about race in America yesterday in Philadelphia. As Nation writer John Nichols notes, Obama took the more difficult and ultimately high road of using controversy over Obama’s pastor’s inflammatory remarks as a “teachable moment.”

Because Obama challenges us to come together – men and women of all races and ages – to discuss who we are as Americans and how we are knit together, because of this he is my feminist candidate. Because ultimately, feminism shares the same mission, holds high the same goals: to bring about justice and peace in our country and in the world.

Barack Obama recognizes that true justice, true peace, will come ONLY if we engage in dialogue, a dialogue that requires us to listen deeply to one another and not get caught up in reactionary bias. What I hear consistently in Obama’s speeches is the message that ending injustice is a journey. Similarly feminism is a journey, not a static doctrine nor a fixed identity. Unlearning racism is also a journey, and that is where hope lies. Because we can learn from speeches like Obama’s Philadelphia, because, as he says, “we have seen that America can change,” we too can join the journey of becoming better, more just, more fully realized human beings.

If that’s not a feminist goal, I don’t know what is.

From the Teton County Library Events schedule:

"Thursday, March 20 200812:00pm -
1:30pm
What’s News? Discussing the Papers with the Editors
Guest speaker
Mary Sheridan-Rabideau, a University of Wyoming professor who studies popular
and media culture, joins this monthly brown-bag luncheon. Presented by the
Wyoming Humanities Council, Teton County Library, Jackson Hole News & Guide
and Planet Jackson Hole. Coffee provided; no preparation necessary. Cost: Free.
Location: Conference Room. Contact: Adult Program Coordinator, 733-2164 ext.
135."

Mary Sheridan-Rabideau is the author of Girls, Feminism, and Grassroot Literacies: Activism the Girlzone (SUNY Series in Feminist Criticism andTheory) and a co-editor of Feminism and Composition: A Critical Sourcebook.

Equality Initiatives Kick-Off April 25

SAVE THE DATE!

Equality Initiatives is excited to announce its campaign kick-off to raise awareness about issues affecting Wyoming's women and Wyoming's communities. Film premiere: DON'T FENCE ME IN - Celebrating Wyoming Women & Girls.

Where: Rialto Theater and Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming

The evening is co-sponsored by The Equipoise Fund, and the exciting evening will get started with the documentary film premiere, produced by The Equipoise Fund, celebrating Wyoming Women. Following the premiere at the Rialto Theater, will be a reception and annual presentation of Atta Girl Awards to be held at the Nicolaysen Art Museum. The evening will end with the unveiling of Equality Initiative's public awareness campaign.

More info at EQUALITY INITIATIVES.

Fun Facts: Wyoming Women's History

From the State of Wyoming's own website:

"Wyoming is also known as the 'Equality State' because of the rights women have traditionally enjoyed here. Wyoming women were the first in the nation to vote, serve on juries and hold public office.

In 1869, Wyoming's territorial legislature became the first government in the world to grant 'female suffrage' by enacting a bill granting Wyoming women the right to vote. The act was signed into law on December 10 of that year by Governor A.J. Campbell.

Less than three months after the signing of that act, on February 17, 1870, the 'Mother of Women Suffrage in Wyoming'-Ester Hobart Morris of South Pass City-became the first woman ever to be appointed a justice of the peace. Laramie was also the site for the first equal suffrage vote cast in the nation by a woman-Mrs. Louisa Swain on September 6, 1870."

Sheroes Author Coming to Town!

We just got word from the Teton County Library that young-adult fantasy author Tamora Pierce will be here March 14. For those unfamiliar with Pierce, you’re in for a treat! She fashions female heroes of the kind she wished she could read about in her favorite books as a kid. With encouragement from her father, she started writing when she was in 6th grade. Now she has 25 novels under her belt and is one of the genres most beloved authors.

Here are a few more details from the library about Tamora Pierce: “Often set in the fantasy realm of Tortall, the stories boast strong, courageous girls who, according to School Library Journal, meet ‘success through perseverance, hard work, and skill.’

Pierce's own success as a fantasy novelist for teens has landed her numerous awards including multiple ALA Best Book for Young Adults honors, as well as #1 book debuts on the New York Times bestseller list. She cofounded www.SheroesCentral.com, a discussion board about female heroes and remarkable women in fact, fiction and history.

One of her most recent books White Tiger (September, 2007) is a graphic novel written with her husband Timothy Liebe for Marvel Comics. Her next books are due out in 2009. To learn more about Pierce's many stories or read her blog, go to www.TamoraPierce.com.

An Evening with Tamora Pierce takes place on Friday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the library's Ordway Auditorium. Sponsored by Teton County Library Foundation, seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, with doors opening at 7 p.m. Valley Book Store will have books on hand for a signing following Pierce's talk.


Right to Life Ad - Planet Jackson Hole 3/12/08

Having actually had the benefit of comprehensive sex education in school, I know that a woman becomes pregnant when a sperm fertilizes one of her eggs, most commonly as a product of unprotected sex. Whether you believe this is a result of divine intervention, hormonal compulsion, or individual determination is your choice.

Welcome to the United States of America, where the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a national religion.

You are free to practice one of the many religions present in this country just like I am free to believe most of those religions were the invention of patriarchal white men and have very little to do with leading a moral life. You, however, do not have the right to force your beliefs on the rest of us by attempting to codify your religious dogma into secular laws.

Obama's Wyoming Win

I had to be out of town for the Wyoming caucus last week, but I hear from my peeps that the turnout in Teton County was as inspiring as in the rest of the state. Of my friends and family, some are die-hard Obama supporters, while some of us see-saw between the pulls of the two Dem candidates. My girlfriend expressed her struggle between wanting to elect a woman president and noticing that our peers are voting Obama. I've been leaning O-ward, myself, thinking that I could "get beyond gender" and vote for the candidate I trust more. But honestly, I think Hillary Clinton would do a bang-up job as prez and I won't be sorry if she wins the party nomination.

What is most exciting about Obama is the way he is galvanizing citizens -- including US, citizens of Western states.

On the day of the March 8 Caucus, Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal told the L.A. Times "This is nothing I expected... At Democratic events in Wyoming, you tend to see the same worker bees over and over. Today I see tons of new faces. This has great potential to revive the Democratic Party."

And in a recent Nation magazine blog post, Laura Flanders reported from Butte, Montana, saying that "Even from Butte, it's clear to organizers: Obama's not the savior: we are. He opens a door. We push."

Right to Life Ad - Planet Jackson Hole 3/5/08

“Choice is when you pick Coke over Pepsi. Choice is not when you deliberately decide to end the life of an unborn child with a heartbeat, brainwaves and a distinctive genetic code.”

- Don Feder, Syndicated Columnist Writer, Boston Herald

Huh? A deliberate decision is a choice. Maybe you don’t like it – but it’s not your choice to make. The government chooses not to fund comprehensive sex education and to cut funding for family planning programs. Insurance companies choose to require large co-pays for birth control pills and then choose not to offer adequate coverage for pre-natal and obstetrical care. Women are left to make choices that make sense for themselves and their families.

The realities of adoption

This article from the Chicago Tribune discusses the problem some birth mothers have with the movie "Juno." Many of these women feel it did not realistically portray the emotional issues surrounding adoption.

""['Juno'] gives the impression that one can hand a baby off
to strangers, have a few tears at the time the baby is born, and then the next
day get on with your life as if nothing happened. That is of great, great
concern to me," says Mirah Riben, a board member at
Origins-USA, a national organization for
birth mothers, or women who place their children for adoption."I think that's a
terrible, terrible message to get across to teenagers and their
families.""
"There are no large, representative studies of contemporary
American birth mothers, a group that voluntarily relinquishes an estimated
13,000 to 14,000 infants each year, according to a 2006 report by the Evan B.
Donaldson Adoption Institute.One of the best existing studies, published in 1993
by Columbia University researchers,
found that 38 percent of birth mothers felt a lot of grief six months after
relinquishment, 46 percent felt some or "a little" grief and 16 percent felt no
grief."
"Four years after placing their babies, 74 percent of mothers
in a Columbia University study felt "a lot of peace" about the decision. In the
same study, 9 percent of mothers reported feeling no peace about the
decision."

Apparently open adoption (where the birth mother has some contact with the adoptive family) can reduce the level of grief and regret to some degree.

While back in my home state over the holidays, I met up with a good friend who had an unplanned pregnancy in college and gave her child up for adoption. We talked about it and she said she's doing pretty well now (10+ years later) but that she was depressed and even suicidal for a long time. She had contact with the adoptive family for 2 years, but chose to cut off contact after that. She knows where the family lives and has declined job opportunities in our hometown for fear of running into her son and/or his family. And now that she has finally found some peace with her decision, she and her husband are considering starting their own family.

Adoption is a brave, unselfish choice. Those who deal with their unplanned pregnancies by giving their child up for adoption deserve a full education regarding their choice and should be warned that they may need counseling or other emotional and mental health support long after the baby has joined its new family.

Only in Jackson Hole

We received a funny, confusing comment to one of our posts.
The author seems  to be some sort of quasi "enlightened"
mudslinging Republican Buddhist. Only in Jackson Hole, Wyo,
we tell you!

"You are more militant and close minded than the 'right wing
conservatives' you oppose!" writes our anonymous commenter.
Hmm, that's funny because we haven't been actively lobbying
to limit anybody's human rights lately. Then again, our minds
are closed off to proselytising hate and bombing health clinics.

"Be the change you would like to see in the World!"
Our response: Exactly.

"If you maintain this attitude in your blog you will only fuel
the other side to be as Close minded, Bias, Militant,
Narcissistic, and Shallow as you are portraying yourselves.
~Namaste~ my Sisters."

Okay, that's just weird. Can you just imagine some yogi bowing
to us saying "namaste" out of one side of his/her mouth and
telling us we're militant jerks out of the other? We think this
person may be suffering from some internal conflicts and we wish
her/him further enlightenment so as to make her/his story
consistent. In the meantime, we know the "other side" doesn't
need our help being close-minded, militant, narcissistic, or
shallow.

As for bias, it's true, dear reader, we have a point-of-view!
Of it, we are proud!

Anne, Mary, Emma

Atta Girl Awards - Nominate by March 12

The Equipoise Fund is accepting nominations for its annual ATTA GIRL awards. Get your nomination in by March 12 at http://www.equipoisefund.org/nominations.html.

"The Equipoise Fund created the Atta Girl Awards to give Wyoming women and girls a 'butt-boost' for all the lives they lift. The Equipoise Fund invites nominations of inspiring Wyoming women who use their energy and creativity to create positive change for women in Wyoming. Nominees may be engaged in personal, volunteer or professional venues. Their efforts should increase the vision, voice and visibility of Wyoming women directly, or their efforts may empower and encourage other women to claim their voice."

I love this organization!!!