Sustainable Mothering » Activism

The Implosion of Slutwalk and My Apology

Jake — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:11:36 +0000

When I first heard about Slutwalk, I cringed. I thought then, and think now, that the name is awful. "Slut" is a hate word and I do not believe hate words should be used in any context other than direct quotes and then only as necessary for some specific purpose that can't be met without [...]

Facebook Removes the White Lady: Breastfeeding Policy or A New Punishment for Nudity?

Jake — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 17:56:45 +0000

The day after several blogs, including this one, suggested racism as a motive for Facebook's removing a breastfeeding image from the Earth Mama Angel Baby Facebook fan page, Facebook removed the photo of the white woman breastfeeding her baby.

Okay, this one does violate the "areola rule." But in addition to [...]

Facebook’s Removal of Breastfeeding Pictures: Racist or Arbitrary?

Jake — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:04:59 +0000

Facebook has been making news and raising ire for removing breastfeeding photos since late 2008. I have been writing about the protests here and in the late Mothering magazine. Facebook did announce the standard it would be using to decide whether a breastfeeding image is "obscene" and thus would be removed. I wrote about that [...]

Helping Breastfeeding Mothers in Haiti: One Women’s Experience

Jake — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:57:47 +0000

Following is a Guest Post from my friend HopeAllison Dwiggins. HopeAllyson is an IBCLC who recently traveled to Haiti with Circle of Health International. For a week she provided lactation support in a maternity clinic in Fond Parisien and the surrounding community. She taught classes to nurses and expectant mothers, as well as [...]

Will Nebraska Finally Get A Public Breastfeeding Law? Will it Matter?

Jake — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:00:58 +0000

Only three U.S. states have no public breastfeeding law – West Virginia, Idaho and Nebraska. Unfortunately the majority of state public breastfeeding laws don't do a particularly good job of stopping harassment of women who breastfeed in public (this is where I tell you again to go read my feature in Mothering magazine called Lactation [...]

Tennessee Legislature Considering Eliminating 12 Month Limitation in Public Breastfeeding Law

Jake — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:18:28 +0000

Since its passage in 2006, Tennessee's public breastfeeding law has been trouble. It reads:

68-58-101. Right to breastfeed in any location. —

A mother has a right to breastfeed her child who is twelve (12) months of age or younger in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be present.

The [...]

West Virginia’s Pending Breastfeeding Bills: I Have Good News and I Have Bad News

Jake — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:00:57 +0000

West Virginia is one of only three U.S. states (along with Nebraska and Idaho) that has no law whatsoever protecting breastfeeding. So I was glad to read that this month not one but two bills were introduced in the West Virginia Senate concerning breastfeeding.

Unfortunately, one of the bills could result in a law that helps [...]

We Own a Hobby Farm: Genetically Modified Crops and A Small U.S. Farm

Jake — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:28:12 +0000

This week the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its decision to deregulate alfalfa that is genetically modified to resist (or not be damaged by) Monsanto's pesticide Round-Up. Guest Blogger Dee Keith, IBCLC, RLC, is a mother of 10, wife to Larry, home schooling, gardening, earth loving private practice lactation consultant and aspiring flexitarian.

We [...]

Dear John, I Love Jane: A Book Review

Jake — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:00:04 +0000

Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write About Leaving Men for Women is a collection of love stories. Most beautiful, some sad, they are in many ways like any love stories – except before the authors found love with women, they had lived with (and often loved) men.

In the inspired introduction, [...]

Growing Up with Domestic Violence: Patrick Stewart and Me

Jake — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:00:24 +0000

I got a fundraising e-mail from Amnesty International the other day. It was from a celebrity, as so many non-profit fundraising e-mails are. But this one really made me stop and look. It was from actor Patrick Stewart and it was about supporting Amnesty International's campaign concerning violence against women. He wrote:

I know too much [...]