All posts by Grace

How to “Pick your outfit appropriately”

By Grace Published September 12, 2012

It’s time to party, which means it’s time to choose my party out­fit. I want to look hawt but not so hawt that I “attract those not-so-respectful guys.”

Lucky for me, I found some tips on how to pull this off in “Sur­vival Guide: College-partying tips and how-tos that save your mind and dig­nity — Pick your out­fit appro­pri­ately.” This was pub­lished in The Louisville Car­di­nal:

“It should be com­mon sense,” the author astutely observes, “but choos­ing the right attire for any occa­sion is cru­cial. Just in case you do attract those not-so-respectful guys,” the author sug­gests tak­ing the fol­low­ing pre­cau­tion­ary measures:

1. “Be sure to cover up the assets.” (Might I sug­gest an off-shore bank.)

2. “The goods should not be on dis­play for every­one.” Again with the commodification.

3. Wear “noth­ing see-through, too thin or too short.”

4. Show no bras or under­wear and “def­i­nitely no would-be cen­sored body parts.” (Exnay on the ass­less chapsay.)

I think it’s safe to assume based on cur­rent stan­dards of dress for men and women that tips #1–4 are meant for women. There is but one bro-tip:

5. “Guys should stick to clean shirts (if pos­si­ble).” If possible!

Remem­ber, this “common-sense” advice will help you in case you “attract those not-so-respectful guys.” Because how “not-so-respectful guys” react to you is some­thing you have con­trol over?

No. It is not.

Women (and men) have been and will be vic­tims of unwanted sex­ual atten­tion no mat­ter how they dress. After you’ve made it clear that the sex­ual atten­tion is unwanted but the per­son does not stop, it becomes sex­ual harass­ment. Sex­ual harass­ment is not caused by cloth­ing. It is caused by the “not-so-respectful guys” ASSHOLES who sex­u­ally harass.

Instead of telling women how to dress to avoid sex­ual harass­ment I don’t know maybe we tell men (and all peo­ple) not to sex­u­ally harass peo­ple at par­ties, on a boat, in a moat, eat­ing a root beer float?

Just a tip.

Posted in Kentucky Tagged: | 2 Comments

President Clinton’s side dish

By Grace Published July 27, 2012

And the gold medal for “Most depress­ing thing I saw on the Inter­net today” goes to…

This is the most con­found­ing muta­tion of the Obama “Hope” poster I’ve seen yet.

Accord­ing to this graphic, the Clin­ton pres­i­dency can be summed up as “Great econ­omy, no wars, and a lit­tle some­thing on the side.”

There’s some­thing hor­ri­bly wrong with all three parts of that sum­mary, but I want– no NEED– to focus on the “and a lit­tle some­thing on the side!” part.

Let’s talk about Clinton’s “side dish.”

Lewin­sky was 22 years old at the time of the affair. Clin­ton was about 30 years her senior. He was also her boss, who just hap­pened to hold maybe the most pow­er­ful political/economic office in the world. She was his intern–the power imbal­ance could not have been any greater. He ruined her life by grossly and I think crim­i­nally abus­ing that.

The kicker is that the Amer­i­can peo­ple* Clin­ton sup­pos­edly served awarded Lewin­sky with half– if not all– of the blame, all the while won­der­ing why the most pow­er­ful man in the world would want to sleep with a woman as “dumpy” as her.

That’s vic­tim blam­ing at its finest, folks. And more than a decade after the affair went pub­lic, some of us still don’t get it.

 

*In the inter­est of full dis­clo­sure, I used to be a Clin­ton apol­o­gist. I went as Lewin­sky for Hal­loween sopho­more year, for instance. I’m not proud of that. I was all, “Amer­i­cans are such Puri­tans about sex” and “Jour­nal­ists would NEVER have asked Jack Kennedy about his affairs” and “Even the pres­i­dent has a right to privacy.”

Guess what? I WAS WRONG.

I turned 22 two years ago. Let’s just say I’m really glad I’m not 22 anymore.

 

Posted in HerPolitics Tagged: | Leave a comment

Adventures in activism (or that time I argued with a Pro-lifer)

By Grace Published July 3, 2012

PART I OF ∞

Last Fri­day was a land­mark occa­sion. Whilst inno­cently tabling at a com­mu­nity event for Unite Women dot org, I found myself in my first ever argu­ment with a “Pro-lifer.”

That’s Pro-lifer with a capi­tol P because it became quickly clear that the guy’s main rea­son for stop­ping by was to antag­o­nize us about abortion.

He blended in well with the other fair-goers: middle-aged, fit, wear­ing all neu­trals (it was an envi­ron­men­tal fair).

Here are the high­lights (these are close approx­i­ma­tions of what was said, as best as I can remember):

Con­tinue read­ing »

Posted in HerActivism, War on Women Tagged: , | Leave a comment

Planned Parenthood president speaks in Louisville

By Grace Published June 5, 2012

I had the plea­sure of attend­ing Planned Parenthood’s cock­tail reception/fundraiser, at which PP pres­i­dent Cecile Richards spoke & min­gled. The recep­tion took place last night at the gor­geous bar/restaurant/art gallery/hotel 21 c.

Planned Par­ent­hood pres­i­dent Cecile Richards min­gles with the crowd at 21 c. Pho­tos by Richard Becker.

Richards is both charm­ing and dis­arm­ing. She pos­sesses that unique abil­ity com­mon in great lead­ers to make you feel, not like you’re the only per­son in the room, but like you’re the only per­son in the room with whom she wants to speak.

Cecile Richards telling me an amus­ing and at the same time dis­turb­ing story about her recent appear­ance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Mem­bers of the Ken­tucky chap­ter of UniteWomen.org, includ­ing Eryn Heakin, Stage Stage Coor­di­na­tor, Leslie Nei­dig, Regional Direc­tor, and Grace Cham­bers, State Direc­tor, as well as Carol Savkovich, board chair of Ken­tucky Reli­gious Coali­tion for Repro­duc­tive Choice, pose with Cecile Richards (middle).

When Richards took to the podium, she spoke about the well-publicized attacks against Planned Par­ent­hood over the last year and a half, as right-wing forces in the U.S. Con­gress and beyond have sought to defund Planned Par­ent­hood at every turn.

Yet, the over­all tenor of her speech was hopeful.

“We are mov­ing for­ward. It’s a dif­fi­cult polit­i­cal time,” Richards said, and, in reac­tion, sup­port­ers of Planned Par­ent­hood have ral­lied around the orga­ni­za­tion like never before, as last night’s fundraiser demonstrates.

“I have to give a big shout out to the U.S. Con­gress for ignit­ing the fire,” Richards quipped.

Richards also gave a shout out to Planned Parenthood’s male sup­port­ers and to PP of Kentucky’s teen­REACH peer edu­ca­tors for fight­ing for ade­quate sex edu­ca­tion in our schools. Watch their awe­some sex ed video here.

If you missed the fundraiser, never fear; there is no time like the present to donate and get involved.

Posted in HerActivism, HerHealth, Kentucky, Reproductive Rights Tagged: , | Leave a comment

Everything you need to know about the 2012 Kentucky Derby

By Grace Published May 9, 2012

Ah, the Ken­tucky Derby: that one time of year when the rest of the coun­try sees that we are not just the tooth­less poor. We are the gaudy rich, as well. 

The L.A. Times reports that the Ken­tucky Derby is the only annual sport­ing event that is watched by more women than men.

Big floppy hats.

Rosie Napravnik becomes the first female jockey to win the Ken­tucky Oaks.

Host­ing a Derby party? Try my recipe for mint juleps, made with 100% sex­ual harass­ment–free bour­bon!

Posted in Kentucky Tagged: , | Leave a comment

Rally rundown

By Grace Published May 1, 2012

My belated, brief recap of the Unite Against the War on Women rally, 4/28/12:

Con­gress­man John “Awe­some” Yarmuth spoke around 2:30 pm. He was, of course, awesome.

We esti­mate that there were approx­i­mately 300 peo­ple present for the Congressman’s address. The crowd size fluc­tu­ated after Yarmuth spoke, aver­ag­ing between 100–150 peo­ple in size. Really, it was a great turnout, espe­cially on a day with so many com­pet­ing events.

The Unite Women Ken­tucky rally orga­niz­ers pose with Con­gress­man John Yarmuth.

Amy Shoe­maker, Demo­c­ra­tic can­di­date for the KY State Sen­ate, got to speak after all! She, and every sin­gle one of the speak­ers and bands that per­formed that day con­tributed some­thing dif­fer­ent yet equally amaz­ing to the rally. The pro­gres­sive orga­ni­za­tions that tabled the event made it easy for atten­dees to get informed and con­nect with other pro-women peo­ple. In times like these, events like this remind us that we’re not alone, we’re not crazy, and we’re not going anywhere.

There will be more pic­tures and video to follow.

As for Unite Women Ken­tucky, this rally was only the begin­ning of our efforts to fight for women’s rights in Ken­tucky and in all 50 states. Email unitewomenkentucky@gmail.com to join the fight.

HERLINKS

Addi­tional cov­er­age of the Unite Women rally

More great photos

Posted in HerActivism, War on Women Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments

Kentucky women unite!

By Grace Published April 27, 2012


Unite Women Logo 4/28/12It is on, folks. Tomor­row, Ken­tucky women and allies will assem­ble in sol­i­dar­ity against the War on Women.

“Unite Against the War on Women” ral­lies will hap­pen across the coun­try tomor­row, “as we come together as one to tell mem­bers of Con­gress in Wash­ing­ton, D.C. and leg­is­la­tors in all 50 states, ‘Enough is enough!’” accord­ing to Unite Women KY.

This event has some­thing for every­one. From 2–6 p.m., at Fresh Start Grow­ers Sup­ply, you can Protest the nation­wide attack on women’s rights. Nom on food from the Holy Mole taco truck. Con­nect with badass pro­gres­sive orga­ni­za­tions like the ACLU, Planned Par­ent­hood & Obama for Amer­ica. Jam to per­for­mances by awe­some local bands. Get fired up by speak­ers like Con­gress­man John Yarmuth and poet Bianca Spriggs.

Ral­liers are encour­aged to bring their own signs, sun­screen, water and lawn chairs. There will be park­ing avail­able on the sur­round­ing streets. Streets will be closed in the morn­ing due to the Derby Fes­ti­val Mini-Marathon but will reopen at or around 1:30 p.m.

We still need vol­un­teers. Email unitewomenkentucky@gmail.com, com­ment on this post or sim­ply show up on Sat­ur­day and find an orga­nizer (we’ll all be wearing lanyards).

I will be the one shout­ing into a mega­phone. See you there!

Sched­ule of speakers/events:

2–3 p.m.:
Amy Shoe­maker, 2012 Demo­c­ra­tic can­di­date for Dis­trict 19 of the Ken­tucky State Sen­ate (Speaker)
Mary Lou Marz­ian, KY State Rep­re­sen­ta­tive, Dis­trict 34 (Speaker)
Con­gress­man John Yarmuth (Speaker)
 
3–4 p.m.:
Egret (Music)
Heather Sum­mers (Music)
 
4–5 p.m.:
Jo Ann Dale, Ken­tucky Coali­tion for Repro­duc­tive Choice (Speaker)
Dr. Cather­ine Fosl, Anne Braden Insti­tute (Speaker)
Mered­ith and Katy, We’re Friends! (Music)
Bianca Spriggs (Poet)
 
 5–6 p.m.:
CPHR DVN (Cypher Divine, Music)
Brenda Helm, Team­sters (Speaker)
Derek Selznick, ACLU (Speaker)
Eliz­a­beth Sawyer, Emerge KY (Speaker)
 

HERLINKS

Face­book event page for the Unite Against the War on Women Kentucky

From the Louisville Courier-Journal, “Rally Sat­ur­day to protest ‘war on women’s rights’”

Not in Ken­tucky? Visit Unite Women dot org to find a rally hap­pen­ing in your neck of the woods.

UPDATE: Amy Shoe­maker, 2012 Demo­c­ra­tic can­di­date for KY Sen­ate Dis­trict 19, will no longer be speak­ing at the rally. Next time, Amy!

Posted in HerActivism, War on Women Tagged: , , | Leave a comment

Unite Women Kentucky wants YOU!

By Grace Published April 21, 2012

We’re wag­ing war against the War on Women 4/28/12.

We need YOU to donate your money and your time. The Unite Against the War on Women rally is less than a week away, and we’re still $1,400 away from reach­ing our fundrais­ing goal of $2,000. This cov­ers the basic, non-negotiable expenses of stag­ing a rally: fencing, porta-potties, pro­mo­tional mate­ri­als, etc. Donate here.

“This event can’t hap­pen with­out money,” said orga­nizer Eryn Heakin.

The event also can’t hap­pen with­out peo­ple like you. Vol­un­teers are needed to help with the final orga­niz­ing push this week, and of course to work the rally. Email unitewomenkentucky@gmail.com to join the cause.

Why should you donate your pre­cious time and money? Because Con­gress­man John Yarmuth, that’s why.

Sec­ond, women’s health is under attack.

Third, “I would love to show Mitch McConnell that there is a War on Women,” said state leader Leslie Neidig.

Wouldn’t you? Get involved today!

Posted in HerActivism, War on Women Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment

Kentucky declares war against the War on Women

By Grace Published April 18, 2012

Mark your cal­en­dars for the “Unite Against the War on Women” rally to protest the cur­rent nation­wide onslaught of anti-woman legislation.

We’ll assem­ble on Sat­ur­day, April 28th from 2:00–6:00 p.m. at the Fresh Start Grow­ers Sup­ply in Louisville, KY. Go to the Face­book event page right this sec­ond for direc­tions, lots of addi­tional info, and to RSVP for the rally.

Please donate to the cause. Stag­ing a protest of this import requires seri­ous dough, so give what­ever you can and urge your fam­ily, friends, and co-workers to do the same. I’ll be post­ing more ways to help orga­nize as I become more involved myself.

Speak­ers include Con­gress­man John “Awe­some” Yarmuth, Dr. Cather­ine Fosl (Direc­tor of the Anne Braden Insti­tute), Amy Shoe­maker (state sen­ate can­di­date), and Derek Mor­gan of the ACLU. Doesn’t get much bet­ter than that, folks.

Don’t live in Ken­tucky? Don’t worry! “Unite Against the War on Women” ral­lies are being planned all over the coun­try. Go to Unite Women dot org to find a rally in your neck of the woods.

There will also be a rally in Lex­ing­ton on 4/28. Unlike the Louisville rally, the Lex­ing­ton rally is not affil­i­ated with Unite Women (appar­ently the orig­i­nal group split into two for what­ever rea­son), but who cares? We’re all work­ing for the same amaz­ing cause!

 

Posted in HerActivism, War on Women Tagged: , , , | 5 Comments

The superpowers of Pippi Longstocking

By Grace Published April 16, 2012

I started my new job yesterday.

At close we gath­ered for a debrief­ing, in which we went over pros and cons for the night and sam­pled the new choco­late ice cream treat–did I men­tion I love my new job?

Since I’m the new kid, I was asked to tell the group a lit­tle bit about myself, and I did so, as awk­wardly as pos­si­ble, because that is just how I do.

I was also asked, “If you could be any super­hero, who would it be?”

“Pippi Long­stock­ing,” I answered imme­di­ately. I have adored Pippi ever since my father intro­duced me to her in early ele­men­tary school via the 1969 Swedish tele­vi­sion series.

Pippi Longstocking

“Love that answer!” said one female co-worker.

“That’s a first! And she’s mine, too!” said another, bob­bing her head in agree­ment. I find that Pippi induces instant cama­raderie among women. She’s basi­cally secret code for female empow­er­ment, for FEMINISM.

“But what are her superpowers?”

“Well she eats cake for break­fast and nails for lunch, and she’s so strong she can lift a horse over her head,” I said.

We ladies are pos­i­tively swoon­ing over Pippi when a male co-worker asks,

“Can you give us a male equiv­a­lent, you know, for the guys?” Con­tinue read­ing »

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: , , | 2 Comments

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