Government-Free VJJ

You know that female anatomy features prominently on this blog, so you won't be surprised when I tell you that I support the Government-Free VJJ Project:

Knitted Womb by MK Carroll. Pattern on Knitty.com

Some awesome folks got sick of politicians trying to butt into their reproductive rights and so are knitting bits of the reproductive system to send to these men-in-power.  You can find patterns here.  I kind of enjoy the "Snatchel" by the Anti-Craft.

New FemEx DC Class: Orientation this Week!

For the last 16+ weeks, I have been meeting with a group of women for a discussion group/class called FemEx DC.  They are hosting a spring class starting soon.  There will be two informational meetings this week.  Please consider checking it out if you are a self-identified woman in the DC area.  Here's the info:

Lovely DC friends,

You are invited to join DC's fifth round of FemEx (the Female Experience)! 

FemEx is an adaptation of a women's empowerment class that is taught at UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Brown.  This 16-week course is designed for women by women to create a safe environment where women can discuss and learn from the diverse viewpoints of their peers.  Please see below for the complete course syllabus. 

Two open house/info sessions will be held from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Monday, January 24 and Wednesday, January 26 at the Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library: 1630 7th St. NW.  This is next door to the Shaw/Howard Metro Station on the Yellow and Green Line when you take the exit towards Shaw. 
During these info sessions, interested potential participants are encouraged to come whenever they can, stay however long they want, and have the chance to speak with the organizers and ask any questions.  We will also go over the course syllabus.

Round 5 will start the week of February 21 and will end the week of June 13.  Each class will meet once a week (likely in the evening on a Sun-Thurs) for about 3 hours.  Please come with an idea of your availability on these days during this time.  The number of classes, class times, and class locations are pending participants' availability.  Any suggestions on a regular meeting location are also welcome. 

Please RSVP to dcfemex@gmail.com so we know how many people to expect.  You must attend an info session in order to participate in the class. Those who cannot attend the info sessions, but are still interested in taking the class, can set up an outside time to meet with one of our facilitators. Feel free to email this invitation to friends, co-workers, or other amazing people you know.  The info session is open to all.

Femsexy love,
the Femex Facilitators

Female Experience Syllabus 

Section A: Introduction

We will review the course procedures and requirements, create a safe space, draw up a class contract, as well as create a forum for discussion regarding what students hope to obtain by taking this course.

Section B: Anatomy, Sex, and Gender

Topics covered: sexual anatomy, intersex, transgender, transexuality, and discussions on gender v. anatomical sex.

Section C: Communication

We will discuss the importance of honesty and communication in relationships and group dynamics. Topics will include communication inhibitors, methods of effective communication, and asserting/respecting boundaries.

Section D: Power & Privilege

We will look at the power and privilege inherent in identity, as well as the role "-Isms" play in shaping societal viewpoints.

Section E: Women's Health and Menstruation

We will discuss the structures of western medicine and non-western approaches to women's health, as well as the following: breast self-exam, pelvic exam, yeast infections, urinary tract infections (UTI), toxic shock syndrome (TSS), menopause, mental health, the possible carcinogenic and negative affects of commonly used female products (tampons, douches, etc.), and the concept of women's genitals as "dirty." Discussion of cultural stigmatization of women's menstrual cycles. Women's health resources shared.

Section F: Contraception and Sexually Transmitted Infections

Topics covered include the pill, barrier methods, and safer sax methods, as well as STI's.

Section G: Body Image & Portrayals of Women

We will look at how women view themselves and each other; what shapes our self-image and how this affects our lives. We will discuss cultural variables for body image, as well as eating disorders and body dysmorphia. We will also begin to explore how women's sexuality is portrayed in different forms of popular media (magazines, television, films, music etc.) and how such portrayals influence the ways women and the public at large view women's sexuality, including influences such as age, race, class, etc.

Section H: Reproductive Choices and Motherhood

We will take an in-depth look at the variety of women's reproductive choices. We will discuss cultural, ethnic, societal, religious, and political factors that affect women's choices. Topics covered will include pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, birth, and motherhood. We will also discuss effects pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood have on sexuality.

Section I: Sexual Practices and Orientation

We will look at how society views sexuality, and factors that shape our sexuality including heterosexism, religion, culture, and ethnicity. Topics discussed: a variety of sexual practices, the spectrum of sexual orientation, and the expression of one's own sexual desires.

Section J: Masturbation, Pleasure, and Orgasm

We will look at different models of the sexual response cycle as well as discuss the physiological and psychological factors of orgasms, including childhood sexuality, cultural variables, and medical factors involved in the inhibition to orgasm. We will also discuss self-love, erogenous zones, female ejaculation, and negative and positive views of masturbation.

Section K: Pornography, Erotica, and Sex Work

We will discuss pornography and erotica in a variety of mediums, as well as various forms of sex work, and their effects on the women's sexuality and different views of sex work. We will also discuss the taboos that surround pornography and sex work.

Section L: Relationships

We will discuss the importance of honesty and communication in sexual relationships. Topics will include monogamy/polyamory, useful communication techniques.

Section M: Violence Against Women

We will take an in-depth look at violence against women. We will read, analyze, discuss and share resources.

Section N: Women's Empowerment & Final Projects

Topics discussed include boundary building, woman-to-woman support, community building amongst women, and women's individual empowerment. The last week will also be devoted to presenting final projects/papers and closure.

FemEx DC

At the risk of being way too heavy on the repro health this week, I wanted to tell you about a "class" I just joined called FemEx DC.  Starting out as FemSex, a student led sexuality workshop at Berkley, this expanded version now explores the full spectrum of the Female Experience, including reproductive health, sexuality, violence against women, and generally what it means to be a woman in society today.

The DC group I am in will be meeting once a week for 15 weeks in people's homes.  There are about ten of us and a facilitator who leads discussions but really lets us learn from eachother.  While all fairly young, the group seems to be pretty diverse, and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.  There are assignments each week, some consisting of reading, others of more exciting projects (meaning that this is not like a typical Sunday afternoon book club where you eat, yak, and maaaaaybe discuss the book).  My first assignment is a creative coloring project and some reading about female anatomy.  I will let you know how it goes.

Weekend Update: In Which I Disagree with the Doctors

I am not even going to apologize for not posting in two whole weeks.  Although I think I could blame the (extremely successful) organizing of the DOT's 2010 Distracted Driving Summit, surprising The Boy with a trip to Cirque du Soleil, the fact that my computer has decided to become a piece of crap as soon as I started grad school apps, or my attendance at the 2010 Reproductive Health Conference in Atlanta and expect a tiny bit of forgiveness, yes?

Right after the DOT Summit last week, I headed off to meet my cousin and aunt in Atlanta for the 2010 Reproductive Health conference put on in part by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.  There are quite a few things I could say about it, but I will just highlight just a few:

• There was a session about talking to clients about sexuality in which a woman tried to convince practitioners that it was a good idea to talk to their clients about sexuality in addition to reproductive health issues.  This blows my mind; I did not realize these were two different topics or that you could separate reproductive health from positive sexuality, violence against women, consent, sexual orientation, etc.  In college, teaching sex ed included educational information about STIs and contraception (I certainly handed out my fair share of condoms at AU...), but no one would show up if you didn't talk about positive sexuality, too (read: condoms protect your health...and can make oral sex taste like strawberries, too!!).  And time was totally wasted if you didn't talk about consent and what makes for a good relationship (e.g. it is hard to protect yourself from STIs or have fun having sex if your partner is abusive/coercive).  When I brought up my confusion with my aunt and cousin, their response was that they don't really teach the counseling skills necessary to have these conversations in med school.  And since you only have 5 minutes to talk to each client, unless they bring up a specific question, you don't really have time to start talking to them about all these issues.  So much for holistic , woman-friendly, health care.
• Ditto on domestic violence/contraceptive coercion.  A speaker urged the group to have conversations with any clients presenting risk factors about contraceptive coercion (a partner negatively influencing a woman's ability to make her own reproductive health decisions).  Aren't providers doing this already?!?!?!!  Apparently, most providers ask if there is any history of domestic abuse but if the answer is no, they don't really pursue it either because they have time or because some clients get offended if you seem to be pushing.
• Here's one that I should have been prepared for:  Atlanta doesn't suck.  I am a true believer in the fact that DC is the best city on earth: not too big, not too small, decent public transportation (don't argue with that, folks.  I haven't driven in over a year and haven't been inconvenienced in any major way because of it), politics, night life (if you want it...), art, music, FREE MUSEUMS (why isn't stuff free everywhere?  I just don't understand), people that I like to hang out with.  Why would I want to go anywhere else?  Generally I don't.  But as far as not-DC goes, Atlanta wasn't bad.  We skipped the touristy stuff (although I did walk by CNN Center and the Centennial Olympic Park) and just checked out neighborhoods.  Decatur and North Highlands seemed extremely livable.  And despite us never figuring out what combination of trains and buses were needed to get us to Emory (we didn't try THAT hard), the public transportation worked pretty well for our basic needs.



Dunno if you can see this, but the shirt is 3D with what can only be described as a built-in slinky around the collar.  Can you see the look of desire on my face?



CNN Center: where arrrrrre yoooooou, Anderson Cooper????



Centennial Olympic Park (like the National Mall, only without the monuments or all the lost tourists)

• Exploring Atlanta, I noticed something about myself, too.  DC has caused me to build this pretty tough city-shell that doesn't really work very well in other locations.  I am pretty off-putting to begin with (I function on a scale of "I'm bored" to crazy feminist), but DC has taught me to distrust anyone approaching me on the street, to be on guard against street harassers, and to expect taxi drivers to be more likely to hit you than stop for you.  People in Atlanta are nice.  I mean, walk-you-to-your-destination-instead-of-just-pointing-you-in-the-right-direction nice.  I assume there are other places where friendliness abounds, too.  I am going to need an adjustment period if I end up leaving DC for grad school.

I guess the most important thing I learned is that I have a SUPER different philosophy on health care than many medical professionals do.  I tend to believe that both doctors and clients are being genuine and truthful and that they both want the best health care possible for the clients.  But in the end, doctors see too many clients too quickly to be able to spend the time I believe they need with them.  They get frustrated when clients ask too many questions (or want a second opinion) and they get frustrated when clients know too little about their health care needs (or have major health care needs because of a lack of previous health education) because both situations require a major time investment on behalf of the health care provider.  And I don't even think this is necessarily the providers' fault.

Because really, how do you change a system that starts with the way we educate doctors, continues by making health care too expensive both for clients and providers (requiring providers to treat 5-10 clients an hour to be able to pay their staff), and is facilitated by poor sex ed for kids and adults?  How do you change a system when the political climate is tough, when hospitals and doctors are trying to limit their legal liability in ways that have questionable or negative benefits for clients, and when we don't think of reproductive health, posititve sexuality and violence against women as interconnected issues to be dealt with simmultaneously?

Gosh I need to get that grad degree, don't I?