Lost in translation

MZP6 Comments

My inspiration for this post.

I’m bilingual. I spoke Spanish before I spoke English because I grew up with two Cuban immigrant parents. My mom likes to joke about how she dropped me off at my preschool in my mostly White Southern town and handed the teacher a Spanish/English dictionary so she could communicate with me.

Being bilingual gives you an interesting lens on the world. Mine is particularly interesting because although I am Latina, you wouldn’t necessarily know by looking at me. I pass, most of the time, as white. That means a lot of things, some of which I may some day tackle here, but in this context it means I get to hear things, in both languages, that other people don’t.

As a doula this was particularly enlightening/challenging because I got to hear and understand everything a doctor was saying but not communicating to their patient when she didn’t speak English. I got to witness the jokes between doctors, the decisions about care that were being made without consultation, the idle chatter and conversation that they carried on in her presence. Then I had to make a decision. Do I tell her what they are saying?

I was taught that a doula shouldn’t be a translator. My doula trainer explained, with the best of intentions, that those roles should be separate. Just like a doula doesn’t replace a partner, they can’t replace a translator.

That’s great in an ideal world, where everyone has exactly what they need. But let’s remember where we live: planet not so ideal. On this planet, translators are only brought in when there is paperwork to be signed. On this planet, doctors/medical students/nurses with a working knowlege of Spanish get to communicate with the patient when and if they want to. On this planet, a Spanish speaking doula may be the only thing helping a Spanish speaking mom/family/partner feel safe.

So I had to make decisions. Constantly. Decisions about when to translate, what to translate, how to translate. Having to be a filter never felt good, even when I felt like I was protecting her from hearing something she wouldn’t want to hear.  I didn’t want to be the only one in the room who could communicate her needs/questions/concerns to her providers. I didn’t want that power.

What would my ideal world look like? Well, first of all, women would get treated exactly the same regardless of what language they spoke. Doctors/nurses/people wouldn’t talk about a patient in a language she didn’t understand in front of her. They would get consent for everything they did, before they did, and explain every step along the way. 

And that’s just the beginning.

Home birth and class

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I’m working on an article for RH Reality Check about the lack of class perspective in the home birth debate. It seems to me that much of the discussion about home birth (and other alternative birth options) are framed in the terms of consumer choice, which doesn’t take into consideration those who can’t make that choice, or don’t have that option (for reasons of insurance, money, providers, home environment,etc). I wrote about this a while back when the NYTimes had that story about home birth that seemed to only feature wealthy white women in NYC.

I’m looking for doulas, midwives and other birth advocates/activists who have experience with home birth and thoughts on this issue.

Please email me at RadicaldoulaATgmailDOTcom.

Thanks!

Latina immigrant who was shackled during labor now faces deportation

MZP1 Comment

Juana Villega de la Paz made news this summer when she was detained by a police officers for driving without a license while 9 months pregnant. She was found to have no documents and ended up giving birth with in detention and was treated as a securty threat. She was shackled during parts of her labor, a practice that occurs at jails and prisons around the country but is being actively contested.

Juana was released after the birth of her child and told to report to the authorities each month. She just received news that she will be deported the next time she reports.

This story highlights a number of things: the inhumane way people are treated while incarcerated, the way undocumented immigrants are being treated like they are violent or dangerous criminals and the ahborrent state of our immigration policy.

Juana is currently using legal venues to prevent her deportaiton. She has four American citizen children.

In search of: African American Doula in St. Louis

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My husband and I are searching for an African-American doula in the St. Louis area (preferably close to the city) to prepare for the birth of our new baby girl – due May 5th.  We really would like to work with an African-American doula, and so if you are one, or have the contact information of one, please email me at tinabevansATgmailDOTcom.

Virtual Tour for Yes Means Yes: Interview with Hazel/Cedar Troost

MZP1 Comment

Hi ya’ll!

Welcome to the second to last stop on the virtual yes means yes tour. Be sure to check out the grande finale conversation at Feministe tomorrow.

If you haven’t heard about the book yet you should check it out. I have a piece about sexual violence against immigrant women in the book and there is a lot of really great content.

Today I have an interview with Hazel/Cedar Troost, another contributor to the book.

About Hazel/Cedar Troost:

Cedar/Hazel Troost is a trans and polyamorous femme living in Chicago, practicing explicit verbal consent, and passionate about ending trans misogyny. Ze is a former member of the University of Minnesota Transgender Commission, co-organizer of the 2007 Twin Cities Trans March, and the original author of the Cisgender Privilege Checklist currently residing at T-Vox—but hir real love is gardening.

You can also check out Hazel/Cedar’s blog here.

I asked to interview Hazel/Cedar because I thought hir post about consensual touch and body autonomy had some interesting connections the birth activist movement. We got a chance to gchat briefly. Here is an exerpt from our convo:

Continue reading →

Some thoughts on tokenism

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There is a guestpost up at Professor What If that I feel the need to respond to. I feel the need to respond, and to respond here at Radical Doula at not at Feministing (where most of my blogging has been going lately) because of the nature of the conversation the post has invoked.

The post is called What if the feminist blogosphere is a form of digital colonialism?

You should read it, but it touches on some of the politics of blogging, “big time” blogs vs smaller blogs, WOC bloggers vs. white bloggers. Tokenism and power.

As a Latin@ blogger who started writing for this “small time” (what is the definition of that anyway?) blog and then joined a “big time” (again, where is the line?) blog as a contributor about a year ago, I felt like Van Deven and Shoot were talking about me.

There is A LOT running through my head right now. I’m annoyed, I’m frustrated, I’m tired of having to expend energy responding to intra-feminist blog wars and cat fights.

I already feel the pull between writing for this blog, which I love and miss when I don’t have time to write as much, writing for a larger blog with a bigger reach (more impact?) and yes, more benefits to my own life as a writer/activist, and the other myriad of things I do to make money to support my passions, many of which don’t pay.

I’m not going to lie. I love that I have a platform at a blog that has built up a readership over the last 5 years. As much as I sometimes hate having to deal with commenters at Feministing, I like that I get to talk about the world from my own queer, Latin@ perspective, to many people who would never hear it otherwise. And they need to hear this shit. Seriously.

How would the first 21 years of my life been different if I had had someone like me to look up to? What if Ellen DeGeneres hadn’t been the only dyke I knew of? What if I had been able to read the thoughts of someone like myself, about gender, sex, race, politics, life? Maybe my teenage/college years wouldn’t have been so damn isolating. And you know what? I never would have found a blog like radical doula. We need these ideas and perspectives in mainstream (and I say that with a bit of perspective, since no feminist blog is really mainstream yet) places, so that people like the 16 year old version of myself might see themselves reflected somewhere.

Shark Fu pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of how offensive the tone and implications of that post are. I can’t be bought. I can be offered an opportunity, a larger microphone, a new platform. I can say no, I can set my own terms, I can choose to preserve the spaces that are mine and mine alone at the same time as a I contribute elsewhere.

You want to talk about tokenism?

Let’s talk about tokenism. Let’s talk about how it happens everywhere and everyday. Let’s talk about how it’s the flip-side of oppression. Let’s talk about how it makes me question every award I receive, every job I get, every person who emails me, every opportunity I’ve ever had. Let’s talk about how often I make a joke out of my own presence to call attention to the hidden thought in the room before someone else does. Let’s talk about how it makes me feel like I can only talk about a certain set of issues, that I have to be the one and only representative of an entire community. Let’s talk about how I don’t need to be publically reminded of something I think about every day.

But do me a favor. Let’s put this shit in context. The feminist blogosphere isn’t the only place that tokenism happens. And it’s probably not the first place we need to be fighting it. Not that you asked, but my role in the big feminist blog I write for is pretty damn much my own. No one tells me what to write about, how to write, who to write for. I make all those decisions, just like I decided to join that platform as just one part of the activism I do everyday.

In search of: Birth Support in Tacoma WA

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This request is different than ones I’ve posted before, but in the spirit of helping all parents find what they need for their unique birthing situations, check out what Anna is looking for in the Tacoma, WA area:

I am a mom of 3 who has given birth naturally each time I am expecting our 4th.  1st time was in the hospital with a midwife.  2nd with a home birth midwife and her doing my care and the last time was an unassisted pregnancy and birth. We had a couple of very knowledgable people with us who were willing to simply be there IF we needed them and otherwise not.

We would love to have the same again.  ( perhaps some one who is a lay midwife or who has gone most of hte way through midwifery school, but did not complete for license or some one who no longer practices with a license?  Also a very knowledgable doula who mostly does natural births.)

In all cases I am looking for some one who will not interfere at all unless asked to. I want my husband to be my primary labor support.  We know what we are doing, mostly need some one there in case things get long and he needs a break and in order to support HIM.  It would also be good to have help with the other children.  ( we have one who is 12 on baby’s due date, one who will be 9 and one who is 3.  )

I have had uncomplicated births except for the cord around the neck the first 2 times.  The only other issues had at a birth came from interventions at the hospital. ( not drugs or surgery but ultra sound, not being able to choose my position and so on)  We have had a waterbirth the last 2 times and plan to have that available as an option again.

We live in Tacoma WA.  My husband has been my primary support the first 3 times, but would like him even more involved this time.  He has been through 3 childbirth classes and knows enough to teach one himself.  I am certified as a childbirth instructor too, but am not in practice.  ( I practice real estate now)  I have attended many births as well as my own.

We would love to find a knowledgeable person who could be there if and when we felt the need and who would not be offended if we did not.  I do not need prenatal care since I can do my own.  I would like some one to talk to as the need arose.  ( more than anything to help me with resources or just to talk things through as needed.  I would like to have some one who will not be interventive and who will be there for support).

If you think you could be a good fit, or know someone who might be, email her at a_matsunagaAThotmailDOTcom.

Radical Doula Revs Up

MZP3 Comments

Dear Radical Doula readers,

First, an apology. Over the last six months or so I’ve been neglecting Radical Doula. Thanks to all of you who stuck around! I promise to make it worth your while.

Luckily for this blog, there have been some major changes in the last few weeks. First, I left my full-time job with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. NLIRH will always feel like my movement home, and if it wasn’t for that amazing group of young Latina women dedicated to reproductive justice this blog would not exist.

But my passions have pulled me in a different direction. I’ve left my position at NLIRH and now I will be spending about half my time blogging, writing, freelancing and speaking. What that means for you all is way more radical doula content! I hope to post a few times a week (at least) and continue to add content and features to the site. While I don’t currently make any money from Radical Doula, it’s my baby (pun intended!) and my activist passion, so I fully intend to continue to work on it.

There are also exciting projects in the works:

  • I’m helping to organize a doula training for genderqueer/trans folks (more to come about this!)
  • I also have some other ideas for continuing to build a community of radical doulas, including ways to better connect all of you out there doing birth activist work.
  • More Radical Doula profiles!
  • The “in search of” posts. I want to keep using this site as a way to connect birthing people with doulas who share their values and politics.
  • I’m also hoping to make some visual and technical improvements to Radical Doula as well. Speaking of which, I’m in search of a logo/banner or designer to help create one. Email me if you have thoughts.

If you have ideas of things you would like to see on this site, please email me at radicaldoulaATgmailDOTcom.

In solidarity,

Radical Doula

Yes Means Yes on tour!

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I mentioned this briefly before but I have a piece in the new book Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.

The book has some really interesting pieces in it, and I promise I’m not just saying this because I’m in it.

If you want to hear more from the contributors, there will a livechat this afternoon at 3pm Eastern over at Feministing with the two editors and three contributors (me included!).

If you’re in DC, you should come to our reading on Thursday February 5th at Bus Boys and Poets (on U st). After party at Chi-Cha lounge! I’ll be there, along with LaToya Peterson, Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman and other contributors.

Also, today’s livechat kicks off the official Yes Means Yes Blog tour, with stops all over the blogosphere. I’ll be hosting the second to last stop here at Radical Doula, with an interview with contributor Hazel/Cedar Troost about her article on consensual touch. Should be interesting! See below for the rest of the blog tour schedule.

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