Month: August 2010

Summer of Feminista: What does a Cuban feminist look like?

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Summer of Feminista text logo

I have a guest post up at Viva La Feminista today for the Summer of Feminista series. Veronica Arreola, the awesome blog mistress over there solicited posts from latinas about their experiences with feminism.

I wrote a quick post about feminism in my Cuban-american family. Here is a quick excerpt:

The women in my Cuban-immigrant family are definitely feminist. I’m not sure how many of them would identify with the f-word themselves, but they were definitely my feminist role models. Let’s start with my mom–an immigrant herself, who came from Cuba when she was only thirteen. After divorcing my dad when I was four, she’s been a paragon of strength–raising two kids, a vibrant academic career. All on her own, all without a partner in her life. She I can pretty safely say would call herself a feminist. Her sisters though? Not as likely.

I didn’t grow up under a banner of feminism–if my mom was an activist in the 70s, it wasn’t under that banner either. But damn if the women in my family aren’t strong as hell–and that taught me feminism loud and clear, even if I never knew the word until college (or maybe high school, but then only as an insult).

Read the rest here, and if you’re Latina, think about participating!

Reading tonight in DC: Sparkle

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Hi folks! Just peeking in from vacation month with a few posts.

Tonight, if you’re in DC you should come to a reading I am participating in. I’ll be reading from a piece that will be published in a forthcoming anthology about Butch and Femme identity. It’s called “Coming Back Around to Butch”

Details:

*Sparkle* is a queer-driven reading series for all at Busboys and Poets, 5th and K. Hosted by Regie Cabico and Danielle Evennou, *Sparkle* is an open mic with featured performer(s) that occurs at 9 PM on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

Spoken word by mothertongue’s Danielle Evennou alongside words by activist, writer and Feministing.com Editor, Miriam Zoila Pérez. Plus open mic!

Wednesday, August 25th at 9pm

Busboys and Poets, 5th St NW and K St NW, Washington DC

Facebook event here.

Hope to see some of you!

Lambda Literary Foundation Emerging LGBT Voices Retreat

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I wanted to share some exciting news, and give the heads up that we are heading into light-posting (aka vacation!) month.

2010 Writers' Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices Next week, I’ll be attending the 2010 Writers’ Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices, hosted by the Lambda Literary Foundation. I’m super psyched to have been picked along with 32 other amazing LGBT writers (including fellow radical doula Valerie Wetlaufer!).

I’ll be in the non-fiction track, working on a manuscript for a book project that has been in the works for a year or so. Yay!

It’s my first time with formal writing instruction in non-fiction and I’m super psyched.

I will also be taking some time off (mostly). As a self-employed writer and consultant, vacation is tough. But it’s also crucial. So I will be partially disconnecting until Labor Day. The plan is to still have some posts here at Radical Doula, but we’ll see how that goes. I will also be spending a week on this lovely lovely organic farm I worked at last summer.

Hasta septiembre!

Radical Doula Profiles: Monica Brasile

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I had the opportunity to connect with Monica when I was in Iowa last Spring during the Feministing College Tour. In short, she’s awesome. An amazing academic, activist and doula. I’m psyched she agreed to be part of the series!

This is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

Monica in black and white with long dark hairMonica Brasile has been a Certified Childbirth Educator and Doula since 1996, and is a founder and steering committee member of Friends of Iowa Midwives, a statewide grassroots organization working to increase access to midwifery care in Iowa. She is a PhD Candidate and Graduate Instructor in the department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa, and has taught several courses on women’s health and activism, including Feminism and Social Change and Issues in Reproductive Justice. She lives in Iowa City with her partner and teenage son. Her website is www.mapleseedbirth.com.

RD: What inspired you to become a doula?

MB: When I gave birth to my son at home, I was 19 and single. The loving, respectful care I received from my midwife was a welcome respite from the highly charged atmosphere of welfare reform anxiety that surrounded young single moms in the early 1990s. For me, giving birth was a hugely transformative, empowering, and positive experience. That experience gave me a passion for helping others arrive on the other side of birth feeling confident, strong, and supported, rather than violated, afraid, and alone. I am a doula because I believe that all women deserve to be trusted, listened to, and cared for respectfully. I believe that all women deserve access to information and the opportunity to make informed choices about pregnancy, birth, and parenting.

RD: What is your doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

MB: Because I believe that women should be the ones to decide what happens to their bodies, I work as a doula to help women to be at the center of the birth experience. I am committed to providing evidence-based, mother-friendly, non-judgmental birth services, with the belief that each birth is different and each family’s needs are unique. I believe that informed childbirth is an important facet of reproductive choice. By supporting women as a doula, I am supporting their reproductive autonomy. As a feminist, I see childbirth as an issue of reproductive and social justice, and I am interested in challenging ways in which birthing choices are often constrained by larger structural issues like poverty, racism, homophobia, access to health care, and the legal status of midwifery.

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New volunteer doula programs added to resource page

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Just wanted to let folks know that I’ve been adding new volunteer doula programs to the Volunteer Programs Resource Page. Thanks to everyone who has sent me info about programs!

We now have 27 programs listed, including four outside the United States!

If you know of other programs I haven’t listed, please send them my way via email.

Midwifery Modernization Act signed by NY Governor

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Final piece of good news for midwives in New York State. Governor Patterson on Saturday signed the Midwifery Modernization Act, which will mean a vast improvement in access to midwifery services in NY State. The legislation was pushed through by the amazing organizing and activism that rallied after the closing of St. Vincent’s almost put home birth midwives out of business.