From left to right: Myra Duran, Tani Ikeda, Morgane Richardson, Miranda Petersen, Melanie Klein, Brie Widaman and Jollene Levid

Thursday night, feminists drove from all over L.A. to be at the Young Feminists Speak Out event in Santa Monica.  While the panel (click here for a list of all featured panelists and their bios) focused on the new generation of feminists, people of all ages were in attendance to talk and listen.  The event was put together by Morgane Richardson, a feminist originally hailing from the east coast, Myra Duran and Miranda Petersen.  Upon moving to Los Angeles and noticing a lack of feminist gatherings in Los Angeles, Morgane was inspired to organize a diverse panel of LA-area feminists  and connected with Myra and Miranda to make the vision a reality. They are already working on more feminist events for the Los Angeles area.  Melanie Klein and Miranda Petersen moderated, and asked questions which ranged from how each panelist “found” feminism, to whether there’s a need for a current mainstream icon for the feminist movement.

One of the questions asked was whether there is an “east-coast/west-coast divide” in terms of organization, issues, and focus in the movement.  I was surprised to hear panelists disagree that a divide exists.  Ever since changing my major to Women’s Studies, I’ve wanted to do work for a feminist-focused company, and while there are some in Los Angeles, or regional offices for larger organizations, a great majority exist in Washington D.C. and New York City.

(more…)

That’s right, ladies! Sing it loud, sing it strong…..’cause your tampon makers are never going to! At least not in America that is. Richard Adams’ blog on The Guardian’s website  (and Ms. Magazine’s new blog !) reported that the major networks in the US refused to air a Kotex commercial that used the word vagina.

And, as far as I’m concerned Amanda Hess of The Sexist hit the nail on the head…..

“Now, the commercial contains no direct references to female genitalia – you know, the place where the fucking tampon goes.”

Nice.

Food and feminism go hand-in-hand. In countries like India food security issues and feminism have been linked for decades! In an article in Ms Magazine in 2004, Elaine Lipson outlined many of the reasons why women should concern themselves with the quality of food that we and our families are eating.  

…..Women worldwide are still primarily responsible for feeding families. They need to be aware of what they’re serving and what they are eating…..Every feminist, woman or man, who embraces equality and diversity and opposes violence and domination, should recognize that the foods we eat, and how they’re grown, matter to our environment and to our lives.

Additionally, the vast majority of our food is grown and produced outside of the United States where it is incredibly commonplace for women to tend the land, work on farms, or receive their livelihood’s from a coopeative of women creating food for their communities. Food subsidies given by the U.S. and Japan weaken the economies of many agricultural countries. Meaning that the work of those women whose livelihood’s depends on the land they tend and the food they grow is incessantly undermined by our food subsidies.

All that being said…..in honor of Huffington Post’s Week of Eating In, I will be posting recipes throught the week of February 22-28, 2010! Eating in – and learning how to – promotes a lifestyle that creates community, consciousness about what you’re eating and where it comes from, and reduces the amount of waste you produce (especially, if you recycle and compost)! To quote a Huffington Post blogger, Cathy Erway, “….by preparing your own food, you’ll become more mindful of it. And for one of the few physical necessities of every day — eating — a better connection with that food is nothing to sneeze at.”

So….just for a week…try it! Stay home, cook some great food, take pic’s of it for HuffPost & facebook, and share some great eats with your family and neighbors! You might find out that you really like knowing exactly what you’re eating, or that you just enjoy the simple act of preparing your own nourishment.