Introducing the 23rd Carnival of Feminists!

(photo thanks to southernfried at morguefile)

Howdy there, carnie-lovers!  It's that time again, so as your trusty carnival barker, I'd like to invite you to step right up to see the most amazing collection of feminist writings across the blogosphere!  Welcome to the 23rd edition of the Carnival of Feminists!  This edition has a special focus on  women and health care because issues of access and treatment--whether we're talking about breast cancer, emergency contraception, rape, or a visit to a specialist for further tests--are ultimately issues of control.

This past weekend, I visited the Doctors Without Borders Refugee Camp in New York City.  During the tour of the camp, the doctor talking to my group was explaining the daily horror of life in Darfur.  He said, when a family has to make a decision about who will go out for firewood, they have the following choice:  send the father, and he'll be killed or send the mother who will "just" be raped.  He wasn't being glib;  he was trying to paint a picture of the very dire circumstances in Darfur.  The doctor understood the bleakness of the choice, and, pointing with his hand to the tents around the compound, he said "that's the history of the world, isn't it?  Women and children always get screwed." 

As feminists, I think we would argue that the world has changed a lot for many women, in large part because of the work of women in demanding change;  but the very real political and social realities for too many women around the world is that life is a daily struggle.  Life becomes an act of resistance and all too often, our bodies are the battleground.

So, this edition of Carnival of Feminists borrows as its charge, the original Our Bodies Ourselves as a way of thinking about women, and control over their own bodies as catalyst for social change.   And, of course, this edition also features a smattering of what's been on the blogosphere this week, from the best of Boob-gate 2006 to a very funny (and wretched) piece on "Rear of the Year."  I think this is a pretty great collection of posts, but no carnival is exhaustive.  My one regret is that I don't have more posts about health care in emerging nations, but I'll keep my eye out to nominate those for future carnivals!

(photo:  Kenn Kiser, morguefile)

So, there are 45 posts organized into 7 sections.  In each case, I've given you a taste of the larger post with a teaser, in italics, from the original post.  A quick mea-culpa:  in 2 cases, I have featured older posts (before my Carnival time of 9/4-9/20) because they really related to health care.

• Stories of Illness
• From the Mixed Up Files of Dr. Atwood:  Health care in a Handmaiden World
• Feminist Foucault:  The Health Care Panopticon
• Activism
• In a Week of Boob-gate 2006, Some Commentary Feminism Needs
• From Around the Feminist Blogosphere
• Deconstructing Women:  Parts that Make the Whole

At the very end, in keeping with the Lingual Tremors' tradition, you'll also find some links for following up on ideas/submitting/keeping active.  So, what are you waiting for?  Jump right in!

Stories of Illness
(Barbara Kruger image)

The carnival opens with 8 personal narratives about illness, disability, and the very real tension of what Blue calls the "medicalized" life.

Blue at The Gimp Parade on "My Ventilated Life":

My big beef with my nursing assistance is that it totally medicalizes my life -- my normal life at home where I'm not ill. In the hospital I had my "vitals" (blood pressure, temperature, pulse, etc.) taken twice a day, at the beginning of each 12-hour shift. Here at home, since the vitals are supposed to be written on the time sheets each nurse hands in for pay, I sometimes have them taken three times each day. Any remarks by me that "I feel fine, terrific," would only be anecdotal to the medical evidence of the vitals they are required to collect.*

Lorraine's discussion of her hysterectomy and the decision to make her surgery a subject for her blog, "Sex After the Fact":

I also want to say that there were women who reached across the internet to let me know that I would be okay. They shared their experiences with me privately. And I thank them for that. I may cringe when I see this posted, but I just want to reach out to those who may be in similar positions to the one I was in last fall and tell them: it's okay. It will be okay.

Ktrion's discussion of her partner's chemotherapy, and the ways in which the medical staff didn't meet their needs, "Week 2, Cycle 3":

Friday a.m we head into the City early, and arrive at the cancer center to try to see a nurse or doctor. This is a busy day at the cancer center, and everyone treats us as if we are staging a civil disobedience in the middle of the waiting room: as if we have pitched our tent and announced WE’RE NOT LEAVING TILL I SEE MY DOCTOR! (this is SO not our attitude today!) The nurse who told us to come in is not on duty today, and we are regarded with deep suspicion by the medical folks.  (see also the Chemo Altar)

In a carnival on health, I'd be remiss not to mention Liz from Granny Gets a Vibrator?  Many of us have been disconcerted, after Liz shared that she was diagnosed with lymphoma, that her blog seemed to have been consumed by a site selling sex toys.  Alphabitch, provides this  update on Liz.

antiprincess narrates her neurology appointment and the disconcerting way the doctor told her what was "wrong":

"well, it might have been a stroke. OR a migraine. OR a seizure disorder. OR anxiety.
OR it could have been any of those in combination.
We'll know more after we run more tests..."

Abigail's Chemo Countdown:

what are ya gonna do now?
 
when you ran the race you thought well I am hot shit now
working on the count down
then the next day taxol shot and now its back to OW
workin on the count down

CP on abortion and choice in "My Body, My Choice":

In 1983, I had the first of two abortions.

I was fifteen years old and at that time, smart enough to know better. Yet, I became pregnant anyway. I can't tell you why. I don't know. We used a condom. Perhaps it broke. Perhaps it fell off. Perhaps we got careless.

From the Mixed Up Files of Dr. Atwood:  Health care in a Handmaiden World
(photo from King County Public Health)

While both of the following posts could very well fit into the category above, the political implications of choice are so awful that I felt they deserved their own category.  As always, hat tip to Margaret Atwood.

Biting Beaver's horrific account, "Morality Clauses, EC and Broken Condoms" about trying to get EC in Ohio (and her follow up post the next day):

I'm stunned. I'm utterly, completely stunned. I'm shaky and anxious and shocked beyond belief. I live in rural Ohio and I have been denied EC.

"Abortion Clinic:  The Reality Show" 

they are ready to deal with whatever emotional or spiritual issues that come up, but can move on with their lives knowing that their abortion was safe, that they did the right thing regardless of what anti abortion protesters might say or think.  we value women; we trust them make the wisest decision for their own lives.

Feminist Foucault:  The Health care Panopticon
(photo from Thomas W. Wright)

9 of our featured bloggers focused on the health care system and analyses of power and control.

Sheelzebub offers up an analysis of reproductive rights and social control in Control and Punishment:

It's time we saw the issue of reproductive rights for what it is--an issue of control. The mainstream media and popular myth see it as abortion, a horrible decision that will wreak women forever, or just a lifestyle choice. It isn't. Reproductive rights--and by this, I mean the right to carry a pregnancy to term, the right to an abortion, the right to birth control, access to medical treatment, and the right to make your own medical decisions despite your reproductive status--are human rights.

The Reclusive Leftist comments on Biting Beaver's post in "Welcome to Gilead":

Astonishing because for all the talk about how The Handmaid’s Tale is coming true, it’s still difficult to grasp that it’s really happening.

Doppelganger on Social Power and the Open Body:

By keeping marginal certain acts, does not society then reproduce the self-Other dichotomy that lies at the heart of most social fragmentations (eg, racism, nationalism)? And yet, do not subcultures, by making visible (politically or otherwise) their discourse and actions, invite cooptation by the mainstream, thus rendering their resistance impotent? The implication is a perpetual passive and active power play, wherein, ultimately, society succeeds in reproducing itself in a cycle of resistance and reappropriation. Cooptation of the marginal necessarily colors sociocultural values, fostering shifts in worldview. However, any resultant sociocultural change is on society's terms, because the radical is always rendered against the normal.

The Women's Bioethics Blog on "More Than a Choice--A Progressive Vision for Reproductive Health & Rights":

Jessica Arons, Director of Women's Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress has just published a compelling new whitepaper: "More Than A Choice - A Progressive Vision for Reproductive Health and Rights." Arons, who is known for her ability to bring together diverse voices and craft a vision for the future, has produced a progressive blueprint for reproductive health and rights.

Barbara Angelica Crowe on changes in Medicare/Medicaid:

There are still times while I am "scootering" that I notice people looking through me; often walking right at me where I have to stop and move for them. I observe walkers. I wonder how it would feel to walk like a "normal person"! How it feels to NOT THINK ABOUT WALKING and just hop from place to place. Jump in the car, out of the car, run into the store, run out of the store, carry bags, lift children into cars or carts, run, etc. etc! Even in my home standing at the sink, bending to put dishes in the dishwasher, laundry, putting away groceries, cooking; all everyday acts that take planning on my part.

The Goldfish on disability, positive freedom and satyagrapha, "Liberte, Egalite, Fratenite":

The truth is that at this stage in our history, society does not want to stop discriminating against disabled people. The argument is yet to be won. And coercion does not win arguments.

Emily on the Red Cross' continuing homophobia:

Well, yesterday the Red Cross launched its annual fundraising day--"Cross Dress for the Red Cross"--launched, of course, by a local footballer in a ball gown and tiara. 

The second "older" post in this Carnival--from August--on African women, obesity and AIDS:

As more and more women are acquiring AIDS in South Africa, a new trend is emerging: in order to not look HIV positive, women are becoming obese in large numbers.

I Carried a Watermelon reports on Pakistan's rape laws:

At present under sharia law, a women can only have been raped if she has 4 witnesses to the crime, otherwise she can be tried for adultery.

Activism
(photo from Blank Noise, below)

I wanted to focus on women who were making change happen and Blank Noise Project, in New Delhi held an action last Friday night.  So, check out their aggressive campaign to take back the streets and control over how their bodies are treated:

Blank Noise Project's "Night Action Plan 1--Delhi":

Blank Noise Project, Delhi calls you to engage in our 'Night Action Plan'

where: Our Friday Night Action Plan begins from Delhi Haat at 9 pm------girl's hostel------towards Sarojini Nagar Market.

criteria: wear something you always wanted to but could not.

Walk includes some talk. food. drink and 'action'

warning: (Action might require people to sprint, hide, run)

Confirm by calling Blank Noise Delhi at 98734 85284

Over at Wordbody, read Mshairi's "Suffer the Little Children" for the Global Day of Action for Darfur

Who will cry for me?
I died
Drenched in blood
Open wounds on my head
And legs
Cut down
On my first day in school
Who will bury me?

In a Week of Boob-gate 2006, Some Commentary Feminism Needs
(photo from www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/breasts/)

Molly Saves the Day, and Amanda at Pandagon, inspired by Molly, both hosted open discussions and offered to answer any questions people had about feminism.  I thought this was also particularly note-worthy given the recent discussions about civility.  Molly and Amanda really set the standard here in terms of taking some time to educate.  Talk about distance learning!

From Around the Feminist Blogosphere
(Image from Recollection Books)

And a smattering of what's hot in the feminist blogosphere!

Mamita Mala on "As American as Maiz and Yuca":

It’s the most dreaded question. “What are you?” It comes packaged with boxes to check, spaces to mark with an x, lines to fill in. Sometimes you are allowed to choose only one box, one label. Sometimes you get to be other.

WEG's powerful post on motherhood and rage:

Motherhood equals stress equals anger.  It's how I manage and express the anger that makes all the difference.

Natalie Bennett's "Myths of Bengal in the British Museum"

Durga greets visitors to the exhibition, in a fantastically detailed carving of the obvious malleable “pith from the inside of a shola weed” (surely a curator’s nightmare to handle). Serenely triumphant in victory, she’s totally in control - the matriarch - flanked by her daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati and at the bottom (unusually enough), her sons, Ganesh and Kartik.

Yet soon, the visitor sees, her story is more problematic as a vision of female power.

Uma's heartbreaking "What's in a Name":

Some of the names given to unwanted/unwelcome girl babies in some sections of Punjab/Haryana:         

Women Take to Role as Trekking Guides:

Gita Bohara, a trainee, tells OMNI that she wants to be a professional trekking guide and contribute to the trekking sector of the economy. "Now I can feel really alive and appreciate the real Nepal here," said Ms. Bohara, glancing over beautiful mountains and jungles nearby.

Sokari at Black Looks has some great pictures of Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama at Peace Jam 2006.

Celina's interview with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner of the Motherhood Manifesto on Feministing

I think people are increasingly aware of the maternal wall, particularly when you look at the root of many problems women are facing economically. I wrote a book called The F-word: Feminism in Jeopardy, a couple of years ago in which there is a chapter about motherhood that started me down this road. When you look at what’s happening with women in America, you can see the root of the wage gap between men and women in our country really stems from this maternal wall: Women with children make about 73 cents to a man’s dollar, single mothers make an average of 56 to 66 cents to a man’s dollar, and women without children make about 90 cents to a man’s dollar.

G Bitch on "Survivor's Village:  Nine Myths and Realities about Public Housing in NO"

Life for public housing residents in New Orleans may not have been ideal before hurricane Katrina, but this is no reason to demolish their homes. Destroying public housing and displacing residents will only make their lives more difficult. It will uproot communities, separate families, increase homelessness, and raise unemployment as displaced residents find themselves forced into unfamiliar and hostile surroundings.

TwistyFaster on the fashion police...literally:

Descriptions of Patagonia men’s clothing stick to technical aspects (’burly shell fabric’, ’a gasket-style neck forms a streamlined seal’), but when you’re a woman scaling El Capitan, guess what? You gotta be feminine. You need an ‘irrepressible knit that keeps its feminine shape.’ You need ‘feminine quilting throughout [to add] a touch* of elegance.’ You need a ‘clean, feminine fit.’ You need a ‘a contoured bodice that flows princess-style to an elegant and feminine mid-thigh hem.’

Stroppyblog's report on the Association of London Government's cuts to voluntary organizations:

With the impending Welfare Reform Bill becoming legislation it will be a time where advice organisations will be inundated with requests for help. What we have seen so far with the Bill is how ambiguous it is so we don’t know what the procedures will be and especially with Clause 17 (disqualification clause on "own conduct") will there be more people turned down for benefits? Whatever happens people will always need advice from seeking help with debt issues to help around asylum and so on.

Pat Gowens, guest blogging at Superbabymama on Welfare Deform:

Just for the record, I would like to record the truth about welfare deform's impact on this country, especially on women and children and the low-wage workforce. It is time for us to create a government guaranteed child support program in this country, similar to the child allowances in European countries and Canada. The failures of TANF are many and deadly.

Jeff on the Gender Essentialism of Wanting a Boy:

This is exactly the sort of day-to-day fight that it is sometimes hard to fight as a feminist. But I think it cuts to the heart of the disingenuousness of people who say that they're not being sexist, exactly, but that they'd be disappointed if they had a girl. And I think a lot can be understood as you start to figure out why you want a child of a particular sex, whether you desire a boy or you desire a girl. 

Karen Healey on comics and reality-based feminism:

I don’t know if it’s a purposely feminist story, but it’s hard to read it any other way. The degradation of prostitution, rape by strangers, rape by family members, the cosmetics industry, the danger of the beauty ideal, anti-abortion activists, fear of female power and the enforcement of properly “feminine” roles are all depicted as utterly foul manifestations of a disgusting ideology.

Sonia Faleiro's beautiful photo memoir on Goa:

So who are we, this new generation of Goans? At what altar do we stand, praying to which God, to the music of whose hymns? We turn to the older generation for answers. Aunts who stayed behind, uncles who returned, grandparents with memories of steamers setting sail from Goa to Lisbon, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya. We urge our elders to relive their memories, lay open the picture books of their souls. For by understanding their lives, we hope to understand our own.

Andy Brouwer on Mu Sochua and her work for women in Cambodia:

However, she returned to the country of her birth in 1989 and has since spoken out on human trafficking, women's rights and worker exploitation and shows no sign of slowing down.

Egalia on naming and shaming and a follow up with voices from the blogosphere on the vicious attack on her daughter:

I am proud of her for laughing and for having the courage to prosecute her violent ex-boyfriend, and especially I am proud of her for having the courage to 'out' - or name and shame - Matthew Allen White.

Newsflash from Zuzu at Feministe:  Barbie IS NOT a lesbian:

Brazilian artist, Karin Schwarz, is being threatened with suit by Mattel for artwork that portrays Barbie as a lesbian.

Deconstructing Women:  Parts that Make the Whole
(picture from Aussie School House)

Of course, the big news in the blogosphere for the past week has been Ann Althouse's scathing condemnation of Feministing's Jessica for her appearance (literally--the way she LOOKED!) in a photo op with Bill Clinton.  Everyone had something to say about this, but for starters, you might want to check out Bitch Ph.D. advocating "Mastectomies for Everyone":

The whole fucking point of feminism is that women's bodies--and being as we are human beings, which is to say living creatures, our bodies are us, and you guys are the same way despite having been trained to think of yourselves as emotionless brains on sticks (except when you have a hard-on)--are neither sex toys nor shameful.

and Laurie and Debbie from Body Impolitic on "Breasts Beat Content Everytime":

We’ve been big fans of Feministing just about as long as we’ve been blogging.

Jessica Valenti, one of Feministing’s leading bloggers, made a horrible mistake. An unforgivable mistake. She accepted an invitation to lunch with a group of bloggers and Bill Clinton. Then, she let herself be part of the group photograph. How could anyone be so foolish?

and Belledame222 on "So, a Manifesto, Then":

In my book? "Feminist" = "concerned about women and furthering womens' rights, ideally maybe eventually does something useful to that end." It does NOT mean "appointed myself my sister's keeper, on account of I'm vicariously embarassed by her, or some shit like that;" and ESPECIALLY not in the area of personal adornment and sexual choices--and yes goddamit I said choices, they may be shaped by the System but they're no less valid than yours no matter how much self-righteous up-your-own-arsehole gazing you've done.

Other body part highlights include Big Fat Blog's take on HP's new "slimming" camera:

While it isn't a brand-new feature, HP is offering cameras with a slimming feature in-camera that can change one's size. The demo and copy on their site is pretty wild:

See a before and after version, then decide which to keep

That's right - you can make your own Weight Watchers commercials.

and Diary of Barbie's Worst Enemies "Rear of the Year":

For me this award’s undertones just utter in a laddish jeer, “Nice arse, love. It’s a pity that you’re a talent less no mark.”

and Hugo Schwyzer's "The Perfect Recipe for Eye Candy"

We're looking for our next eye candy fix. Are you a PCC student, who is willing to strike a pose and tend not to shy away from the camera?  Do you shine in the limelight and make an impression on a crowd?  We Want You!  No model experience necessary.  Must be 18 years or older.  You know how you should look.

and Michelle's discussion of plastic surgery and Say No To the Knife:

The show didn’t dig deep enough, it didn’t engage with the bigger issue of why women as a sex class are so pre-occupied with turning to cosmetic surgery to make themselves happy. How much longer will it be before the superficial attitude towards cosmetic surgery is exposed and dealt with in the serious way it needs to be?

Upcoming Events/Calls/Notables:

Redrawing Resistance:  South Asian Women's Stories of Survival

Ladyfest Newcastle is this weekend in the UK
B2EA posted AIDsmart's Congressional AIDS Quiz here

Upcoming Carnivals of Interest:

Carnival Against Sexual Violence (nominations due 9/28)
Feminist Sci Fi Carnival (nominations due 9/25)
Carnival of Bent Attractions (nominations due 10/10)
Big Fat Carnival (nominations due 10/3)
Erase Racism Carnival--out today! (next one is 10/20)

And finally, many, many thanks to one and all for the nominations!  I've done my best to get writers' names, blog names and posts' intentions correct. If I've made any mistakes, please email and I'll fix it as soon as possible [lingualx at yahoo dot com].  The next edition of Carnival of Feminists will be on F-Words:  Feminism, Food, Fact & Fiction on October 8th.

Comments

[Trudi]

Hi - Just wanted to let you know that Liz from Granny Gets a Vibrator, has revived GGaV here:
http://www.aswearemagazine.com/content/blogcategory/34/76/

Cheers!

Trudi

[natasha]

This is brilliant - thank you for your all your hard work. Especially for the photos. I love photos, and these are fab.

I just wish I was a faster reader - this will take me a while. I better put the kettle on.

Thanks

[Ragnell]

Nice batch! It'll take a while to go through.

(And thanks for the plug for FSF Carnival!)

[The Fat Lady Sings]

You are a brilliant woman, my dear - and it seems a very busy one! Wonderful selection of material. I can see I shall be spending quite a bit of time here.

[Teena]

Awesome!!! This is my first time here and so thankful that you included on of my daily reads because her link brought me here. Ive spent the last few hours reading and have to say this is one of the best blogs I've had the pleasure of reading.

Teena

[Natalie Bennett]

Magnificent job, thanks! Won't say more - people shouldn't be reading this, but the carnival. :-)

[Sandy]

You've done a great job. Thank you!

[Violet Socks]

Hey, thanks so much for including me!

Looks like you did a great job pulling this one together.

[Michelle]

It was a nice surprise to see my post included here- thanks a lot! This looks like a great carnival, loads of great reading to get stuck into, I'll be back to read properly soon!

Best wishes,
Michelle x

[belledame222]

Awesome job, Lingual X, thank you! It just keeps getting better and better, this carnival. And thanks for the link and the heads-up.

[Debbie]

Wow! Fantastic job!

Thanks for including us. I'm putting up a brief post saying how wonderful you are in the next few minutes.

[Winter]

Fantastic! I don't know where to start!

[Melinda Casino]

Great job! I love the way you laid it out -- short shots of feminism. Well done.

[Sheelzebub]

Wow. I got my reading work cut out for me! Truly amazing work, Lingual X!

[egalia]

Lingual X, thank you for all the time and effort you put into this great resource. And thanks for including my own post.

[Lorraine]

WOW! I think you've just raised the bar on the carnival. This is frickin' amazing. Thanks for including me!