My Guest Blog Post on HER KIND

Earlier this week, a guest blog post of mine appeared at HER KIND, the blog of the organization VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.  This is my very first guest blog post, so I am excited to share this news with you.  

Wondering what VIDA and HER KIND are about?  From HK: “As the blog of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, HER KIND serves as a forum to create lively conversation about issues that are often dismissed or overlooked by the mainstream media. We wish to honor the experiences of women writers and for HER KIND to act as an agent for positive social change, encouraging women to define their own terms regarding the importance and value of women’s voices.”

As a writer myself, I see the need to encourage society to value women’s writing and the variety of  women’s experiences, so when I received the call for submissions in my inbox last March, I just had to jump on board.  I wrote my post in response to the prompt “Freedom.”  At the time, I was thinking about how difficult it can be for women, particularly mothers of young children, to find time to write (I was feeling it intensely).  This elusive time is affected not just by the demands of family, but also by the social pressures placed on women, especially women who are mothers.  

By the way, this was before the recent media frenzy over women’s achievement that you may have heard or read about regarding women’s ability “to have it all.”  In any case, my article does not directly contribute to that conversation, although it may be peripherally relevant from a different perspective.  I willingly chose motherhood as my full time occupation, supplementing that with a paid part-time teaching job.  In addition, I hoped that this arrangement would provide me with time for my passion: writing poetry.  While that may be my version of having it all, most other women have their own ideas that are probably as varied as the women themselves.  The mainstream media conversation does not even begin to address the complexity of the “having it all” discussion, in my opinion.

On that note, here is a teaser from the published post: “I am not what you expect from a feminist writer.  For the past eight years, I have devoted most of my time to mothering rather than the working and writing life I built as a single person.  I do teach Women’s Studies, but part-time.  I have spent very little time writing, even though writing is one of the most fulfilling ways to spend my personal time…”

I hope you will go read the full article, and if you are so inclined, join the discussion by leaving a comment below or at HER KIND.

L.L. at Seedlings in Stone hosts the weekly On, In, and Around Monday Link up, “an invitation to write from where you are… [with] a sense of place.”  How about an abstract place…

 

Round-up: What Women’s Studies Students are Thinking About

Today, I asked students in my two Introduction to Women’s Studies classes to tell me what areas of our society, in their opinion, could use change or improvement in order to promote equal opportunity and to change our society for the better.  You might be surprised by some of their answers.  During our next class, I will introduce the semester long Advocacy/Activism Project, an assignment that asks them to educate others about a women’s studies related topic; today’s discussion is a pre-cursor, a way to show them that they have a wealth of topics to choose from.

If you are interested in my thoughts as a Catholic about Women’s Studies, you can read about how I see some common goals between Feminism and Catholicism, or read my thoughts about Feminism and Respect Life Month (click on the titles to link over to those posts).

Here is a list of issues and topics my students mentioned today.  Each class also chose a topic for in-depth discussion of possible solutions.  I have listed those choices two first.

• Time to be a good parent and the negative stereotypes about the men and women who choose to parent full time.
• Gender roles and stereotypes about women and men in the workplace, especially regarding promotions, supervisors, and workers with families.
• The difficulties merging reproductive work (pregnancy, lactation, child rearing) with paid work in our current business climate.
• A culture that encourages both women and men to objectify their bodies and those of others in order to “get ahead,” make money, or for entertainment.
• Educational opportunities for women and girls, especially in math and science, and basic education and beyond for women and girls in other parts of the world.
• Access to medical treatment, especially for women, girls, and the poor.
• Lack of respect for women candidates and leaders in business and government.

Several topics came up in both classes, and for the two we discussed in depth, they choose to combine some of the topics that were related to each other.  I think they did a good job of analyzing some of the major problems of our society, especially from a social justice perspective.  Keep in mind that I have not yet mentioned the phrase “social justice” or suggested that women’s studies work is similar to social justice work; they are determining that themselves.  

This particular class period is very motivational for the students, as they see how real concerns from their own lives are relevant to the course.  It is also motivating for me to see that students recognize serious problems in our society.  The next step is for them to educate others about these issues for their semester project.  Here is a round-up some of the projects my students created last semester.

One of the most innovative projects encouraged college students to object to the graphic portrayal of violence against women on television by turning the program off and writing letters of complaint to broadcasters.  This student created a website that educates about the issue, and includes a page to sign a pledge to turn off such programming.  She even created a flyer with a QRC code that links to her website when scanned by a smart phone.  Read the website here.

Another student created a Facebook page to encourage debate among rap music fans about whether the lyrics in certain rap music degrade women and to educate about rap music with positive lyrics.  See the page here.

One student created a video about societal attitudes toward “Supermoms,” encouraging viewers to show gratitude toward their mothers for all they do.  This video also addresses stereotypes and recognizes the roles filled by both working and non-working mothers.  Watch it here.

Another student chose to educate Hispanic women about their high risk for heart disease by writing information, statistics, and pointers in chalk on the walkways of a park in her neighborhood.  She also passed out flyers and talked to some of the women who were walking at the park.  See a slideshow of the project here.

Every semester, students create distinctive projects like these, and other students choose more common topics like domestic violence, human trafficking, and objectification in the media or advertising.  What I enjoy about this assignment is seeing how students develop the confidence to educate others about something they feel is important; this skill will enable them to successfully convince others to take action in the future on other issues they think are important, whatever those might be.

Feminism and Respect Life Month

Every October, Catholics are asked to remember our commitment to life through prayer, giving thanks for the gift of life, and voicing opposition to policies that disregard human life.  Many pro-life organizations hold protests and media events highlighting their efforts to protect the lives of the unborn and occasionally, the lives of those on feeding tubes or those awaiting death row sentences.  As a Catholic and a mother, I see the need for these groups to broadcast their messages as alternatives in a society focused on preserving some lives over others.  However, as a Catholic, a feminist, and a teacher, I recognize that my commitment to respecting life is more complicated than the abortion debate, euthanasia, or the death penalty.

As promised in an earlier post, I will hash out the main difference between feminism and Catholicism here, by discussing the issue of respecting life, particularly the controversy over abortion, in more complexity.  For me, abortion is a less polemic issue than for many others, because I see it as part of a larger picture, rather than the picture itself.

This year, the leader of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese, Daniel Cardinal Dinardo, in his message about Respect Life Month, suggested Catholics “witness to the inherent equality and transcendent value of every human being.”  Equality is an important goal, but a difficult one for our contemporary society, which remains organized around maintaining differences in race, class, age, gender, sexuality, ability, and many more categories.  As a feminist, I am committed to promoting equality every day, including equality for those who are “the least” among us, as Christ asks us to.  In a society where power and resources remain mostly in the hands of men, women and children are “the least” among us.

For me, promoting equality and respect for life go hand in hand; I believe you must consider them together and work toward them as a common goal.  The current debate about abortion focuses on respecting the life of the child vs. that of the mother.  I believe we must consider another angle: how can we respect both lives at the same time?  By creating a society where all women and men are equal: socially, culturally, politically, and economically.  

When the human dignity of women is acknowledged with equal treatment in our society, women and men alike will take responsibility for their sexuality, will understand the awesome power of their fertility, and will respect the gift of life that may result from their sexual unions.  Under current societal structures, many women remain subject to the will of men, both men and women are influenced to sexually objectify their bodies and those of others, and many are ignorant about human fertility.  Under such conditions, respect for life cannot flourish, because men and women are not respecting themselves or each other.

While my image of an egalitarian society may seem idealistic, it is no more idealistic than the visions of others who have succeeded in the past.  Consider how much our society has changed since the civil rights movement.  Change is possible, and necessary.  Things move slowly, but surely.  Consider the Occupy Wall Street Protests; they ask for a more equitable distribution of wealth.  Equality in financial circumstances is an important part of what feminists fight for.  When all women earn the same salaries as men for the same work, instead of the 77¢ we currently earn for every dollar earned by men, married couples and individual women alike will be less likely to see children as a financial burden.  When all families and individuals earn wages that compensate them fairly for the time they spend away from their loved ones, children will be seen as the gift that they are.

During mass this month, we have prayed for the ill, for the deceased and their grieving relatives, for those serving in our military, for the end to all oppressions, for more respect of all human life, and for pregnant women who feel they have no alternative to abortion.  I strongly believe that working toward equality for women will provide those alternatives.  If women were equal to men in our society, fewer women would be subject to sexual violence and to poverty, and fewer would choose to preserve the circumstances of their own lives at the cost of their children’s.  Others may disagree with me, equating equality for women with more access to abortion.  I believe the opposite: an unequal society promotes a culture of disrespect for the lives of women and their children, and sees them as expendable.  Only when we are all equal will we all value each other’s human dignity the same as our own.  That is what I pray for this month.

Feminism and Catholicism

In a few days, I will start teaching “Introduction to Women’s Studies” for the fall semester.  I thought this would be a good time to reflect on how I see some tenets of feminism and Catholicism fitting together.  I’m sure some of you have wondered how I reconcile these two seemingly different perspectives, although you have all been polite enough not to ask.

Seemingly different is a good way to put it.  Feminism and Catholicism have some very obvious differences, but they are also very similar in ways that might surprise you.  I will focus this post on the similarities; let me know if you’d like me to hash out the differences in a later post.  

To begin, one of the main tenets of Catholicism is that we should respect the human dignity of every person; this is rooted in the belief that we are all made in the image of God.  Every person means even those people who disagree with you, those who behave in ways you cannot understand, or those who believe differently than you.  Every person includes those whose lifestyles may offend you, those who have committed murder and await their sentence on death row, and those who practice different faiths.  Each individual person deserves our respect, our understanding, and fair treatment.  Similarly, feminism is about changing our society so that all members can experience equality.  Feminists believe that everyone deserves the same respect and opportunity from our society, and from other people.  As a mother, as a Catholic, and as a feminist, I want this egalitarian society for my children and grandchildren.

Many feminists work hard to overhaul our society so that women, minorities, the poor, children, immigrants, and others can receive advancement opportunities that have historically been denied to them in this county and in other parts of the world.  Feminists help those who have been affected by violence, and they teach others how to help and how to avoid victimization.  I compare this to the social justice work that many Catholics are involved in.  Catholics also help victims of violence, the poor, and immigrants and work to change our society so that fewer people are affected by these situations.  Both feminists and Catholics see the societal structures that trap people in poverty, violence, and discrimination as problems our society needs to solve.

Feminists have worked hard to improve the status of women in our society, and this has led to more women entering the workforce, pursing artistic professions, and leading single lives.  While some Catholics may also argue that the liberation of women has led to more divorce, more promiscuity, and increased use of contraceptives, I would argue that these situations were already on the increase before the women’s movement succeeded in giving women the opportunity to make decisions for themselves.  Our society is influenced by many forces, only one of which is feminism, and the morality of our society as a whole reflects the collective values of many individuals.

Because Catholics and feminists share concerns about the way our society treats people, especially those who have less resources than others, the two groups can work together on certain issues.  Here is one of the ways I see them as compatible: God gave human beings free will to obey his commands or not, but man restricted woman’s ability to exercise her free will for millennia, thus forcing her to his will.  Unfortunately, many women continue to be subject to the will of men, and this continues to concern feminists.  It should concern the church as well, because an individual who makes her own decision to abide by the will of God has true faith.  A woman who follows God’s law because she is forced to by someone else has more fear of that person than respect for church teachings.

The more freedom women have, the more freely they can choose to follow their vocations as wives, single persons, or mothers, and the better they can understand and live those vocations.  Women who choose a faith-filled path in life understand how to balance their will with God’s in ways that are true to both.  Feminism, or any other social movement, cannot be blamed when women or men choose their paths without God’s guidance.  

I believe feminism has enabled women and men to freely practice their Catholic faith, and to deepen their faith through the practice of equality, including through marriage.  The heart of feminism is equality, and a strong marriage is based on equality.  You can read about the biblical basis for equality at the blog of my friend Lauran and her husband Eric; he wrote a textual analysis of Ephesians that highlights the apostle Paul’s messages about submission.  I will offer a brief summary: The oft quoted “For the husband is the head of the wife… wives should submit to their husbands in everything,” is usually presented as a stand-alone argument for male dominance.  Taking this verse out of context ignores the verse immediately before: “Submit to one another,” an instruction to all believers.  And the verses that follow instruct husbands to love their wives as equals: “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her;” you rarely see this verse quoted in a male dominated culture!  You can read Eric’s full textual analysis here; it is long, but well worth your time.  Eric also argues that his faith liberates him from a culture that tells him to be a tyrant over his wife.  Powerful feminist stuff.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about how feminism and Catholicism share similar views, or your responses to my ideas.

Reminder: you can enter a raffle to win a signed copy of my chapbook until August 31; see my giveaway post for details.

World Breastfeeding Week and a Giveaway

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), whose mission is “to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding,” holds World Breastfeeding Week every year in August.  This year’s theme is “Talk to me! Breastfeeding - a 3D Experience,” and refers to new ways of communicating globally, to “spread breastfeeding information beyond our immediate time and place to activate important dialogue.”  In other words, they ask advocates to encourage dialogue beyond our own communities, with others in addition to pregnant and lactating women, and across generations, cultures, and genders.  A blog is a perfect forum for this type of discussion!

In order to encourage you to contribute to the conversation, I will host a raffle for a signed copy of my chapbook Familia.  [FYI: this raffle took place in 2011.]  You will receive one entry in the raffle if you leave a comment on this post, follow this blog using the blue “Join this site” button on the left (current followers are automatically entered), or follow by e-mail using the subscription form on the top right.  If you have been thinking about following this blog, subscribing via e-mail or leaving a comment, now is the time!  I am aware that some of you follow or subscribe via Google reader, bloglovin’ or other reader services; I appreciate your readership, but since I can’t view subscriber lists for these services, I can’t put you in the raffle.  So, if you’d like to enter, please contribute to the conversation.

You can learn more about Familia (and my other publications) by clicking on the My Publications tab above.  If you already have a signed copy of my chapbook, you can always give another as a gift if you happen to win this raffle.  I must thank my friend Sylvia for the raffle idea and disclose that she is already a follower, so she is automatically entered in the raffle.  

In my post Natural Mom TV, I briefly mentioned my breastfeeding story, and my friend Karen encouraged me to tell more.  Writing about my difficulties may help other women understand how to overcome breastfeeding problems, so I think it’s a good way to start a conversation during World Breastfeeding Week.  By the way, the Texas Department of State Health Services is celebrating World Breastfeeding Month with the theme “Every Ounce Counts”, so feel free to join this conversation through August 31; I’ll close the raffle that day.

My difficulties with breastfeeding were multiple, some physical, and some due to societal pressures and attitudes.  I have two physical issues, both of which made it difficult for my babies to latch on, but which are possible to work around.  The problem is, since my mother, other relatives, and close friends did not breastfeed, I had no one to talk to about this.  Also, my family, and even the night-shift nurse at the hospital, due to prevailing cultural attitudes, felt that it was more important for my first baby to eat something, than it was for she and I to spend time learning how to breastfeed.

I was using a nipple shield to substitute for my flat nipples, but I sometimes let her try to latch on directly to my breast.  Because she was also drinking formula from a bottle, she learned that a bottle would give her food much faster than my body would, so she didn’t put much effort into learning to nurse.  I tried for two months, while using a supplemental nurser with formula, and I also pumped my milk for her to drink from a bottle.

Another problem we had was my fear of asking for help.  I did meet with lactation consultants at the hospital, I talked to them on the phone, and I hired one for a home visit, but we needed more help.  I knew about La Leche League, an organization that “help[s] mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education,” but I didn’t attend their local meeting, partly because I was ashamed that we couldn’t get it right, and partly because I didn’t know how much talking to other women could help.  I desperately wanted to breastfeed, so I was devastated and frustrated that we couldn’t seem to work it out.  I cried about this every day.

After two months, my baby had learned to drink from the tube of the supplemental nurser better than from my breast.  I gave up nursing her and pumped my milk, but didn’t have enough and continued to supplement with formula.  After nine months, my supply ran out.  Plus, my daughter was very active by that age, and I could no longer take the time to pump.

I did successfully nurse my second child, after similar difficulties, but I’ll write about that another time.  My story highlights the need for women to talk to other women about breastfeeding in order to learn, to help, and to encourage each other.  Once a woman has decided to breastfeed, the support of her family, friends, and community can help her succeed, especially if she encounters difficulties.  In a culture that sees bottle feeding as the norm, breastfeeding is a counter-cultural act.  The support of others is essential when women who want to breastfeed face pressure to bottle feed, whether due to difficulties, societal attitudes about nursing in public, or insufficient pumping breaks at work.

So, now it’s time for your part of the conversation.  In the comments, I encourage you to briefly tell your breastfeeding story, to discuss how you have supported or helped lactating women, or to share your thoughts on societal attitudes toward infant feeding.  I can’t wait to read your comments, and to see who wins the raffle!

In 2013 I am linking with:  Breastfeeding Support & Tips

Everyday Activism

I practice activism every day. To me, activism includes a range of behaviors intended to change society for the better, from the street protests of people living in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Spain these last few months, to writing letters to your government representatives, to making choices about how to spend your time and your money. When you think about your choices as activism, it is easy to be an activist every day.

One of the required assignments in the Introduction to Women’s Studies course that I teach is what I call the Advocacy or Activism Project. I ask students to choose a topic related to women’s studies or feminism and educate an audience outside of our class about the topic. This assignment places them in their community and gives them a chance to be activists. They don’t have to wait outside The White House all day in the cold rain holding signs for the president to see like the suffragists, or protest outside the Miss America pageant like the second wavers, or even write letters to congress asking them to renew funding for the Violence Against Women Act. They can just research a topic that interests them and tell their friends about it. They can even use social media to do it. Activism made easy.

One of the last things I tell students every semester is that teaching the course is one of the ways I am an activist. Women’s Studies is about looking at society’s practices in a way that suggests there is room for improvement in order for all members of our community to reach equality. Feminists do not accept the status quo; neither do other activists. At the end of every semester, I have taught 70 students how to be every day activists. When they see a need to practice activism, they will be confident that they can contribute.

I am also an activist in many other ways. When I publish poems about the experiences of the women in my family, I am an activist for including the stories of women, particularly Mexican-American women, in our cultural knowledge and our state’s heritage and history. When I show my daughters what I have published and talk to them about my teaching, I show them that women can make choices to be mothers and/or workers and/or cultural producers. There are many more activist moments in my life, which I will write about in future posts. Writing this blog is also a form of activism (see the last post about eating for health).

So, now I ask: How are you an activist? Are you surprised by the answer?