In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Tag: Events

Sex at the Polls, tonight at NYU

Would love to see some of you there. It’s tonight from 6-8:30 in Greenberg Lounge in Vanderbilt Hall at NYU.

Former President of Planned Parenthood Faye Wattleton, Director of MergerWatch Lois Uttley, Feminist Blogger/Litigator Jill Filipovic and Conservative Feminist Scholar Christina Hoff Sommers discuss social constructs, politics, and the glass ceiling. Moderated by Professor Cynthia Estlund. Wine and cheese reception to follow.

WAM Prom: Be There.

On Friday Jan. 13th (oooh!) feminists, media-makers and their friends will be getting down at WAM!Prom 2: Electric Boogaloo, from BeeGees to Biggie. It’s at the Bowery Poetry Club and starts at 10 and you should be there (if only so I can judge you in the costume contest). Details are on the Facebook page. WAM!PRom benefits Women, Action, and the Media (WAM!), a national organization working for gender justice in media that is very dear to my heart.

The Only Girl In The Group

This is a guest post by Meghan O’Neill.
Hi. It’s Meghan. I’m a comedian. I mostly work in sketch comedy and I once belonged to a sketch group where I was…get ready for it…THE ONLY GIRL IN THE GROUP! […] a lot of the time, I was the author of those sketches. I was writing myself as the part of the patient wife or the bitchy girlfriend or the silent, sexy old lady and giving the spotlight to some other male person. On a good day, you’d call that generous. On a really good day, you’d call that stupid! Why would any writer/actor give up their best parts?!

Wednesday Oct. 26th: Debating Abortion Rights at Trinity College

On Wednesday Oct. 26th I’ll be at Trinity College in Dublin, debating the resolution “This House Believes Abortion is a Woman’s Choice” (you can probably guess which side I come down on). My sparring partner is Serrin Foster from Feminists For Life. I hope Dublin feminists can make it! And, for any Irish readers, what should the debate touch on? Any particular resources I should check out, or points that I should make? My familiarity with abortion politics is fairly U.S.-centric, so I’m particularly open to suggestions that address Ireland specifically.

As an aside, I’ll be spending the week in Ireland (working for much of it, but getting to travel at least a little). I’m hoping to do three days on the western coast, and the rest of the time in and around Dublin. Any travel tips or recommendations?

Tuesday Oct. 4 at Yale: “Resolved: College Sexual Culture Endangers Women”

I’m very excited to be speaking at the Yale Political Union tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 4th, on college sexual culture and gender. The event will be at 7:30PM, in Sudler Hall/WLH 201. From the YPU announcement:

This week’s debate is as close to home as it gets—from the editorial pages of campus publications to dining halls and FroCo meetings, Yalies have been drawn into a serious evaluation of our sexual culture. Last semester’s Title IX complaint was only the most recent expression of growing concerns about the environment Yale creates for its female students. No matter where you stand on this issue, we hope you’ll join the conversation Tuesday night! Some questions to consider:

In a college social scene, when does risk become endangerment?
What characteristics are unique to college, and what sorts of behavior should that permit or enable?
Do problems arise primarily from the actions of specific individuals and groups, or collective attitudes?
What role should the University play in addressing potential endangerment?

Hope to see some Feministe fans in the audience!

Dining for Women

A young fistula patient lays in bed. She is looking at the camera and smiling slightly.

Another great event in NYC: Dining For Women, a movie screening and reception to benefit the Fistula Foundation. From their press release:

NEW YORK CITY – The two New York City chapters of Dining for Women are partnering with Mount Sinai’s student chapter of Physicians for Human Rights to host a movie screening and reception to benefit Dining for Women and the Fistula Foundation on Friday, September 23rd, from 6pm – 9pm at the Goldwurm Auditorium in Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Icahn Institute (1425 Madison Ave @ E. 98th St.)

This event features the New York City screening of the documentary, A Walk to Beautiful, which tells the story of five Ethiopian women suffering from obstetric fistula: the incredible struggle the condition entails, and the arduous journey the women undertake to seek a cure and to reclaim their dignity and their lives.

The film features the work of the Fistula Foundation and Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The mission of the Fistula Foundation is to raise awareness of and funding for fistula treatment, prevention, and education programs worldwide. What is obstetric fistula? It is the most devastating of all childbirth injuries – an internal injury caused generally by days of unrelieved obstructed labor. Without timely medical intervention – such as a c-section – to relieve the pressure of the baby’s head against the mother’s pelvis, tissue dies and the woman is left incontinent. Founded in 2000, the Fistula Foundation has grown to help women in 13 countries.

The NYC chapters of Dining for Women are proud to host this event and especially pleased to welcome Marsha Wallace, Founder and President of Dining for Women, and Gail Smith-Peay, Executive Director of Dining for Women. Marsha Wallace founded Dining for Women in 2003 with one chapter in South Carolina. Since that time, it has developed into an international, nonprofit organization of over 200 chapters. Dining for Women is a dinner giving circle, which meets monthly to fund grass-roots programs in education, healthcare, vocational training, micro-credit loans and economic development. These programs are aimed to improve the living situations for women and their families, by providing the tools they need to make changes.

The event doors opens at 6pm, and the keynote addresses will begin at about 6:15, followed immediately by the screening. After the film has screened, there will be a short Q&A featuring members of the production staff—one of whom is a DFW chapter member!—and additional guests. A suggested entry fee of $10 will go to benefit DFW’s operating costs, and additional donations will be accepted to benefit the Fistula Foundation. To reserve your spot, please visit http://benefit2011dfw.eventbrite.com/ and RSVP by Friday, 9/16.

For more information about the Fistula Foundation, visit www.fistulafoundation.org.
For more information about Dining for Women, visit www.diningforwomen.org.

It will be a fantastic event for a fantastic cause. Learn more about Dining for Women and the Fistula Foundation, and then RSVP for the event.

Feministe and Planned Parenthood Are Hooking You Up

Lizz Winstead standing in front of a Planned Parenthood I Am Here For You sign

On September 22nd, “The Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead is bringing her benefit tour for Planned Parenthood to NYC, and she’s bringing Sandra Bernhard and Lisa Lampanelli along with her. It is going to be awesome and hilarious, and friends of Feministe are getting a $10 discount on tickets. So click here for $10 off regular admission prices, go have a laugh, and help Planned Parenthood.

The discount is only good until midnight on Friday, so get going.

Rally / Press Conference in Support of Nafissatou Diallo TODAY in NYC

It’s looking like the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be dismissed because of “credibility issues” on the part of Diallo. City Councilmember Letitia James, along with the awesome feminist activists at Permanent Wave, have organized a press conference and rally today at 5pm at the NYC Criminal Court on Centre Street. Some of my favorite feminists — Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Collier Meyerson, Zeinab Eyega — are speaking, and the event is co-sponsored by a variety of fantastic feminist organizations, including Feministing, SisterSongNYC, Mount Sinai’s Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program (SAVI)/Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims, Hollaback!, and many more. Hope you can be there.

If you can’t make today’s rally, there’s another one tomorrow morning sponsored by SlutWalkNYC.