Cover your nose when you gay-sneeze, yo

As a student employee of Ramapo College and someone who aspires to be a professor, I feel a special obligation to be righteously angry when Randy Thomasson of Save California compares the new Cal State Fullerton queer studies minor to a disease. On behalf of academia and the social sciences (full disclosure: I am a sociology major) I am offended that Mr. Thomasson has so little faith in the vetting that goes into academic major/minor programs – does he really think a program that is more ideology than accepted theory would be approved? Apparently. The linked article from LGBTQ Nation describes Mr. Thomasson’s belief that “a sincere academic discussion of the LGBT community would show that no one is born gay and that people can simply change their sexual orientation and become ex-gays.” Hmm.

Wouldn’t the reverse also be true then? And if it were true, why would anyone be gay? Why choose to be hated? Why choose to be harassed? Did you know that “9 out of 10 LGBT students have experienced harassment at school”? Why choose that? Unless choosing differently would be a painful, uncomfortable, depressing and confusing experience as well, because you would be choosing to be untrue to yourself and investing in some major self-hate. I don’t get it, Mr. Thomasson.

The queer studies minor at Cal State Fullerton is actually kind of cool, in my humble opinion. But I guess I’ve already been infected.

- One of the 99%

Slutwalk

No matter who you are
No matter where you work
No matter how you identify
No matter how you flirt
No matter what you wear
No matter whom you choose to love
No matter what you said before:
NO ONE has the right to touch you without your consent.

This is what Slutwalk is all about. On October 1, 2011 Slutwalk NYC attracted hundreds of women who gather in Union Square proclaiming that they will not be victims of sexual assault based on what they wear. The movement, which has held protests in Boston, Denver, San Francisco and New Dehli, India, originated earlier this year in response to a Toronto police constable who provoked outrage by saying women should avoid "dressing like sluts" in order to avoid being sexually assaulted. Slutwalk is a great way for both men and women to get the word out about victim blaming, which seems to be a topic that doesn’t get much national advocacy.

I personally plan on attending Slutwalk when it comes back around here. It seems like a liberating experience and a lot of fun!!

- Written by Kelsey Gore

Middle Class Sinking Fast!

"Over the past three decades, the distribution of income in the United States has become increasingly dispersed in particular, the share of income to high-income households has increased, whereas the share accruing to other households has declined," the Congregational Budget Office said. While those at the top have seen their incomes soar over the past three decades, middle-class and lower incomes have stagnated. As told by the CNN, "For the top 1% of the population, average inflation-adjusted household income grew by 275%. The rest of wealthiest fifth of the population, not including the top 1%, saw household income grow by 65%". The middle class had a different story from that and the poorest fifth of the population saw their incomes rise a mere 18% in a little less than 30 years, according to the study, which was based on IRS and Census data.

As we seen with the recent Occupy Wall Street movement, it can be seen that it is in part a revolutionary act being put to use based on the culmination of all these discrepancies. Shifts in government transfers and federal taxes also contributed to that increase in inequality not only between the class system but the society as well. Protesters refer to themselves as "the other 99%," which suggests that they represent a broad segment of the U.S. demographic, excluding the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Occupy Wall Street began on Sept. 17 in Manhattan's Financial District and has grown into a global movement since then.

I speak on this issue as a representative of equal opportunity and the dismantling of oppression in any form including class and equitable opportunities, I see this as a big issue that is rising once again and will cause more than occupy wall street acts. I wanted to raise awareness about this to you fellow readers because it is a serious issue and something not only America is dealing with, if the middle class alone is having such difficulty imagine how hard it is for the lower class and poorest populations. So take a stand and raise your because we have been divided and conquered and it is up to us to once again be united as we stand.

BOO!

As you know, Halloween is just around the corner! In the spirit of the occasion, I carved the scariest pumpkin I could think of...take a look...



AHH! It's Sarah Palin! Now, you may be wondering why a politician like her is so scary to folks like us here at the Women's Center. Well, let's take a look at aspects of her political platform:
-She opposes same-sex marriage
-She opposes abortion in all cases, including those of rape or incest
-She supports discussion of creationism in public schools
-She supports oil drilling in the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge

At this point, if I decided to be Sarah Palin for Halloween, I'd win "scariest costume." However, she does share some views with the Women's Center, in a roundabout sort of way. Palin supports sex education in public schools (she wishes to promote abstinence) and gun safety education for youth (to keep everyone safe from the semi-automatic assault weapons she would lift bans on). She supports action against global warming, but does not believe humans are a major contributing factor to it. In general, her views are fairly appalling to people who identify with a feminist perspective, on any level.
Have a fun and safe Halloween, and don't let Sarah Palin getcha!

Genderfork.com: beauty in ambiguity

Today I began brainstorming some events for next semester. One of the initiatives I wanted to take was to gender ambiguity and androgyny in the spotlight for the Ramapo community to understand. During my research I found a great website called Genderfork.com which I thought was really amazing.

This collaborative blog contains pictures, stories, poems, quotes, and profiles on individuals who chose not to buy into gender norms and who, like the Women’s Center, see Gender as a social construct. These individuals are brave enough to live their lives and express themselves in a more androgynous manner, and furthermore are proud enough of their custom-made identity that they are willing to share it on the internet for the masses to witness.

Furthermore, this website helps to form a powerful community where members can reach out and ask questions to fellow genderqueer or nontraditional folks about issues such as people’s reaction to their appearance, or the steps they need to take in order to be comfortable with their own bodies and appearances.

Check it out folks! It’s pretty amazing.

Thoughts on the Recent Republican Debate

This past Tuesday, I watched the debate in Las Vegas of the 2012 Republican presidential candidates, and it was one of the most disheartening experiences I have had of late. The debate, which featured Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Rick Perry seemed more like a bunch of self-righteous adolescents bickering over petty issues than an open dialogue on the problems the United States is facing at the present. The rudeness, ad hominem personal attacks, and disturbing views expressed at the event made a mockery of political discourse and showed how out of control partisan rhetoric has become.

The most obvious childish fighting happened between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, who spent most of the debate sniping at one another and making ridiculous claims about their policies and personal lives. Perry also refused to answer questions asked of him by moderator Anderson Cooper, stating that he would instead talk about what he wanted. Michele Bachmann, meanwhile, spent an inordinate amount of time interrupting people, and her constant refrains of "Anderson" in attempts to get his attention really distracted from the conversation and showed how little respect is given to political courtesies in this day and age. Gingrich made comments about how atheists cannot be trusted in political office, while Rick Santorum rambled on about how the decay of the American family structure was responsible for the nation's problems. All in all, the petty squabbling was embarrassing to watch and it seemed stunning that in a short amount of time one of these people would be a major contender for the presidency.

However, the most upsetting portion of the evening was the audience's reactions to certain statements made by candidates. When Herman Cain reiterated his belief that the Occupy Wall Street protestors have no one to blame but themselves for not being rich and successful, the audience roared with approval. The amount of time spent focused on "illegals" and what to do to stop them also showed a fundamental lack of compassion and understanding of the topic, and the fact that the audience responded so favorably to outrageous statements on undocumented workers reminded me of how far we have to go to ensure a better future (And present) for our country. People are struggling to make a better life for themselves and their families in a broken system, whether it is down on Wall Street or in low-wage labor with the constant threat of deportation, and the Republican presidential candidates made it clear that these people have no place in their vision of the United States.

Walking For a Cure

This October, all over the country people are walking to find a cure to Breast Cancer. With organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure, people are really getting active in this fight against cancer. This weekend, I went to Woodberry Commons for a Breast Cancer walk and had an amazing time. All the men, women, children, and even pets were all there to show support. The energy of the people there was heartwarming and you couldn’t help but feel empowered to help make a change in the lives of those affected by Breast Cancer. The walk was about 3 miles and the whole event only took about two hours. Taking this short amount of time out of my day was totally worth it and I can’t wait to go back next year.

October Events

Hey! Have you seen our October Calendar yet? There are still a few awesome events to check out in October:

Click to see the calendar bigger!

E!’s Giuliana Rancic reveals she has breast cancer

Our hearts go out to Giuliana and her family. October at the Women's Center Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you want to support research that will help to treat Giuliana and other Breast Cancer survivors feel free to stop by the Women's Center any time this month to make a donation to the American cancer Society and receive a Breast Cancer Support band in return!

Also, consider stopping by one of our Octoberbreast Events:

Screening of Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy
Wednesday, October 19th 3-5p.m. Location: Laurel Hall Theater
Hosted by the Nursing Organization and Look Good Feel Better Foundation, this event is about self-acceptance, loving yourself and the reliance on courage, humor, and other characteristics that should be of concern rather than looks.

Breast Cancer: Treatment and Accessibility
Thursday, October 20th 1-2p.m. Location: Alumni Lounges
Hosted by Beta Kappa Sigma and Lambda Theta Alpha. A speaker will be teaching the audience about the issue of how African American and Latin women are affected by breast cancer and the treatment accessibility they are offered.

Coffee Talk: Sexism and Breast Cancer
Thursday, October 20th 5-6p.m. Location: Women's Center
Come join Women's Center staff and other students in an informal discussion of the issues facing men who have breast cancer, as well as the issue of "pink washing" and how we can hold companies accountable for their Breast Cancer fundraising campaigns. Check out our tumblr for more information if you'd like!

Some things are complicated...

...And some things are not. At least, according to one of my professors. This belief was voiced in a conversation about the Occupy Wall Street protests and the at times hyperbolic reporting the movement is now receiving. One thing worth complaining about is this: the story of a transman who was separated from other protesters after arrest, confined without food, ignored by police when requesting water and answers - why was he treated differently? The only answer seems to be that he identified himself as transgender. Don't even get me started about the policy standing by and gawking at him.

Read for yourselves. It's appalling and the NYPD should be ashamed. Personally, I think the police - unionized, public employees of the City of New York - should be standing shoulder to shoulder with the protesters. Aren't unions and public employees the enemy?

Decide for yourselves.

- One of the 99%

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign

Hello All,

Just wanted to inform you about the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign that has been taking place on campus. We will have the campaign in full throttle this upcoming week October 16th-October 21st..... If you click on the link you will find all the events incorporated in the week.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=254960741215324

We hope to see you there not only may they count as experiential but you may also donate and help change someones life. We brought this campaign to the Women's center because it is something that is an extremely large issue in the world. As an office that advocate for equitable environment,free from violence and from a feminist perspective ending all forms of oppression I feel physical health is included and was an issue we should advocate for. The bettering of women and men every where who are trapped by the confounds of this diagnosis. I hope you all take the time out to come to our events and support what we are trying to do. We are making a statement and trying to bring about as much awareness as possible.

If you are also interested in joining our OctoberBREAST team for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and walk with us or donate. You can click the link and find out more about what we are doing.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?team_id=1030110&pg=team&fr_id=35964

Donate today and save a life tomorrow... each step we take and each person who joins the fight brings us one step closer to winning the fight.

"Let Women Die" Act

Recently, Congress has brought the “Protect Life Act” to the table for debate. The act, proposed earlier this year, allows hospitals to deny their patients abortions. If it is passed, abortions can be denied under all circumstances, including situations in which the woman’s life may be in danger. This aspect of the proposal has earned it the nickname “Let Women Die” Act. A feeble defense to the hostility arising is that the act would not play any active part in a death-it is just allowing medical professionals to refuse to save a life. Also proposed in the act is the outlawing of federal funds going to any health plans that cover abortions.

For those of you who are politically inclined, this may all sound a bit familiar. For thirty-five years now, the Hyde Amendment has provided the exact same powers to hospitals. This recently proposed act does nothing new; if anything, it only reinforces the rejection of a woman’s right to have control over her own body and choices. For those of us who are opposed to these laws, there will be twice as much work to undo what might be done if this act is passed.

There is a project in progress to make all the voices against the Hyde Amendment heard: The Repeal Hyde Art Project. For more information on this project, visit repealhydeartproject.org

Violence Awareness

Here at Ramapo College of New Jersey, We make it our business to put violence awareness out there for the campus and even the world to see. This is one of our RA's poster in the village on campus :)!

Reclaiming Columbus Day for Justice!

For most people today is Columbus Day, but not for me. After reading about the atrocities committed by Columbus and his men in James Lowen's Lies My Teacher Told Me I can no longer acknowledge the day in good conscience.

Despite my lack of aptitude when it comes to history, for the past ten years or so I have had some awareness of the fact that Columbus Day was a really crummy holiday. I mean, thinking about it logically it is easy to understand that Columbus didn't discover anything, he simply took over a patch of land that was already inhabited by various groups of people. With this understanding I spent many years ambivalent, not thrilled about the reasoning behind the holiday but enjoying my day off all the same.

Now, however, I am outraged.

This excerpt from a post on commondreams.org is lengthy, but it sums up the horrible history behind Columbus' expedition to the "New World" very well. It is a history that I, like many of my peers, was woefully unaware of until just a few weeks ago.

"If you fly over the country of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, the island on which Columbus landed, it looks like somebody took a blowtorch and burned away anything green. Even the ocean around the port capital of Port au Prince is choked for miles with the brown of human sewage and eroded topsoil. From the air, it looks like a lava flow spilling out into the sea.

The history of this small island is, in many ways, a microcosm for what's happening in the whole world.


When Columbus first landed on Hispaniola in 1492, virtually the entire island was covered by lush forest. The Taino "Indians" who loved there had an apparently idyllic life prior to Columbus, from the reports left to us by literate members of Columbus's crew such as Miguel Cuneo.

When Columbus and his crew arrived on their second visit to Hispaniola, however, they took captive about two thousand local villagers who had come out to greet them. Cuneo wrote: "When our caravels were to leave for Spain, we gathered one thousand six hundred male and female persons of those Indians, and these we embarked in our caravels on February 17, 1495. For those who remained, we let it be known (to the Spaniards who manned the island's fort) in the vicinity that anyone who wanted to take some of them could do so, to the amount desired, which was done."

Cuneo further notes that he himself took a beautiful teenage Carib girl as his personal slave, a gift from Columbus himself, but that when he attempted to have sex with her, she "resisted with all her strength." So, in his own words, he "thrashed her mercilessly and raped her."

While Columbus once referred to the Taino Indians as cannibals, a story made up by Columbus - which is to this day still taught in some US schools - to help justify his slaughter and enslavement of these people. He wrote to the Spanish monarchs in 1493: "It is possible, with the name of the Holy Trinity, to sell all the slaves which it is possible to sell Here there are so many of these slaves, and also brazilwood, that although they are living things they are as good as gold."

Columbus and his men also used the Taino as sex slaves: it was a common reward for Columbus' men for him to present them with local women to rape. As he began exporting Taino as slaves to other parts of the world, the sex-slave trade became an important part of the business, as Columbus wrote to a friend in 1500: "A hundred castellanoes (a Spanish coin) are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten (years old) are now in demand."

In order to draw attention to the controversy over this "holiday" at Ramapo Professor Gorewitz planned a "campus takeover to appreciate Native Americans." This is the schedule for the day:

9:45 - Gathering
10:00 - Greetings from representatives of the Ojibwa and Lenape communities
10:15 to 11:30 - Trudell by Heather Rae
11:30 to 1:00 - Powwow Highway directed by Jonathan Wacks
1:00 to 2:00 - Drum circle near the arch
2:00 to 3:30 - Smoke Signals directed by Chris Eyre
4:00 to 6:00 - The Business of Fancy Dancing written and directed by Sherman Alexie

I'm in class and meetings for most of the day, but I did manage to jump back and forth between Ramapo Coming Out Day (more about that in another post) and the Drum Circle! The drum circle was lead by a Native American man* who spoke for awhile about the significance of the various instruments before leading the circle in a beat for a little while.

* [Because I came in late, I missed where exactly he was from but we should all be aware that   "Native American culture" is not a monolithic thing. Someone I spoke to told me the man was from Wisconsin, so I suspect he is Ojibwa based on the program and the fact that there is an Ojibwa reservation in Wisconsin. If anyone has more information about the facilitator of this portion of the event please post it in the comments! ]

In addition to the film festival, there has also been a petition going around to change Ramapo's name for the day to it's Native American spelling, Ramapough.

This is the part of the event that resonates with me most, since so few people on this campus realize that there is a Native American tripe, the Ramapough Lenape people, living not twenty minutes from Ramapo's campus. Even fewer people realize that the Ramapough Lenape people's health and livlihood has been compromised for years now, at the hands of Ford Motors:

In 1983, the Ramapough homeland was declared an EPA-monitored Superfund site by the federal government. After 7,000 cubic yards and 727 tons of paint sludge and 61 drums of toxic waste was removed from the Upper Ringwood, New Jersey site from 1987 to 1990, and in 1994, the EPA delisted the site and declared it safe. In 2006, after many complaints by the Ramapough, Upper Ringwood was the first site in history re-declared a Superfund site and today the EPA admits that 80 percent of the toxins were missed in the original cleanup.

I didn't know about any of this until a few weeks ago, when I stumbled upon an article online. This is astounding to me, since the impact this event has had on the community is so powerful:

One area in particular is known as “Cancer Row.”  Every house here has been visited by cancer and in many cases, by The Grim Reaper.  No individual lives into his or her 70s in this area, which, prior to Ford’s presence, supported a healthy population of elderly people.

Children, adolescents, and adults are routinely diagnosed with multiple cancers; many have died as a result.  Those who are still on this Earth are not exempt from a myriad of other health issues, including but not limited to gall stones the size of which seasoned medical professionals have never before seen, skin ailments requiring surgical excising of large areas of one’s skin, and unexplained bleeding from the throat, eyes, ears, and mouth.

Stumped, local doctors advised one 29-year-old woman that she suffered from lupus and all manner of other diseases; all were incorrect diagnoses. Finally diagnosed properly by healthcare professionals in New York City, the woman learned that she suffers from heavy metal poisoning.  A newlywed, she was also counseled not to try to conceive, as “it won’t live.”

Things like this are allowed to happen, largely, because so many of us are ignorant. In many mainstream public school systems we are taught to see Native American culture and people as something that died out "a long time ago." The evidence of this is all over our culture: from "Indian Princess" Halloween Costumes, to movies like Pocahontas that vastly misrepresent the story of a real Native American girl, to "Tribal" trends in clothing stores... our culture treats Native American people, a CURRENTLY oppressed group, as some sort of mythical historical figure.

In doing this we ignore the reality: Like the fact that there are many, very different groups of Native American people; or the fact that Native American women are at least 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes than other women in the United States (and at least 86 percent of reported rapes or other sexual assaults against Indigenous women are committed by non-Indigenous men); or the fact that an entire race op people (The Ramapough Lenapes) are being harmed by toxic chemicals that an American company put into their land. 


We do this because it is easy: after all, buying into Disney's version of Pocahontas' life feels much better than acknowledging the reality. Seeing Columbus as a hero who discovered the earth was round (nope) feels better than acknowledging the America we know was founded on a history of rape and subjugation.


We do this because he people in power want to keep us ignorant: After all, acknowledging the injustices STILL being commuted against Native American people means that we actually have to do something about it... and doing something likely means inconveniencing major companies and uncovering a great deal of corruption. 

We don't have to do this anymore. This injustice started with Columbus, but it can end with us... what are you going to do to help?

FURTHER READING:

I Am Not a Mascot - "My name is Simon Moya-Smith. I'm an Oglala Lakota Sioux. In this blog you will read the adventures and musings of a contemporary First Nation journalist living in a society that, well, just doesn't get it. Far too many American Indian issues are swept under the rug. I am a rug lifter. "

Native Appropriations - "Native Appropriations is a forum for discussing the use of Indigenous cultures, traditions, languages, and images in popular culture, advertising, and everyday life."

My Culture is Not a Trend - "This blog is devoted to calling out those who might think that it is fun to dress like a native for a photo-shoot, or what have you. Just because it's popular, doesn't make it right, and to me, it is just as offensive as blackface. "

Native Youth Sexual Health Network - "The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) is a North-America wide organization working on issues of healthy sexuality, cultural competency, youth empowerment, reproductive justice, and sex positivity by and for Native youth."

Please share any additional links or information you have in the comments!

Ramapo Took Back the Night

Last night the Women's Center concluded this year's Violence Awareness Week with the always amazing Take Back the Night. This event, half speak-out for survivors of violence and half empowering march around campus, never ceases to impress me. The stories that survivors share are moving reminders of the effects that violence has, and to be able to share such intensely personal experiences with a large audience shows a true depth of courage.

The fact that this event received so much support from the Ramapo community made it even more meaningful. I have attended this event since I started at Ramapo back in 2008, and to see that it still makes a big impact on our campus is heartening. The volume of both the number of people in the march as well as their voices is something that people could not ignore last night, and I hope that the messages we tried to impart last night remain firmly etched in the Ramapo community's consciousness.

I have had the honor of organizing this event for two years now, and I could not have asked for a better way to finish my last Violence Awareness Week. My deepest gratitude goes out towards everyone who made last night as wonderful as it was, and I can't wait to see how this event grows in the future.

Spent

Poverty affects a lot of people in this country, yet there seems to be this mentality that it couldn’t ever happen to you. I know that when I walk through the city and see all of the homeless, I’m never afraid that that could one day be me because obviously, if you make good choices and do the right things, you could never become homeless. Right?

Not really. Homelessness isn’t something that happens to those who make poor life choices. It could happen to anyone. The Urban Ministries of Durham created a game called Spent that was designed to challenge the way people think about homelessness. The player starts by losing their job, their home, and all of their savings except for their last $1,000. The challenge is to last a month.

http://playspent.org/

I played the game three times before I finally got through the month successfully, and I realized that even though I finished the month with $272, the next month’s rent (of $759) would be due the next day. If I was actually in this situation, I wouldn’t have a feeling of accomplishment. The game wouldn’t be over.

As a student, the idea of living in this kind of poverty after school isn’t a completely foreign one. The pressure of finding a job to be able to pay back mass amounts of student loans is great and finding a job isn’t easy. In fact, in this economic situation, the default rate on student loans is extremely high, and it has been one factor that helped spark protests around the country like the one on Wall Street right now.

Play the game. Can you last a month in this situation?

Breast Cancer Awareness Isn't Just for Women

This piece is a follow-up of sorts to a post I wrote awhile back for Not Your Average Feminism, on a similar topic, called It's About People, Not Breasts.

             


This past weekend I helped to bring Octoberbreast to my college's Octoberfest celebrations. For three hours I stood behind a table with some friends, in a black dress and a bright tie-dyed sports bra, encouraging other women to tie-dye their own bras while we spoke with them about the various Breast Cancer Awareness Month events we had coming up around campus. The table was met with a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement... we ran out of bras long before the event ran out of time!

In executing this table we did A LOT of things right. The idea was fun and catchy. We had a range of sizes wide enough that we did not have to tell anyone that we didn't have a bra big enough for them (though we did run out of smaller sizes much quicker than anticipated.) We managed to educate a number of people through conversations and pamphlets given out alongside their bras - sharing information about breast cancer in general as well as the events we have less to come.

Still, there was one thing about this event that made me feel just a bit disappointed in us: we had forgotten the men.

Breast cancer awareness is important, yes, but with "I <3 Boobies" bracelets on so many arms, and NEW! pink products coming out all the time... most people are pretty aware of breast cancer, well, at least the 51% of them that identify as female are. The other half of the population is still at risk because somewhere along the line the conversation about men & breast cancer often seems to get lost. In fact, I have to wonder if all of these campaigns that focus so much on boobs make men even less aware of breast cancer, since they are trained to associate it with "boobies" and women in general.

If this is true, as I suspect, then these campaigns actually could be costing male breast-cancer patients valuable time as they are less likely to be on the lookout for breast cancer symptoms. That time could be the difference between life and death.

In August many media outlets were reporting on a South Carolina man, Raymond Johnson, who was denied coverage for his breast cancer... simply because he was not born female. Johnson makes too much money to be considered for Medicaid, but not enough to afford insurance that would cover his treatments, as a result of this his doctors encouraged him to apply for help under The Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act. Johnson met all of the requirements for coverage under this act except for one: he wasn't a woman. Johnson isn't the only man who has been denied by this fund for the same reasons.

Equally horrifying (at least to me) is the fact that Johnson didn't even know he could GET breast cancer. For all of the awareness campaigns out there he, like many men, was left in the dark until his diagnosis was brought to light:

“I didn’t even know men could get breast cancer,” says Johnson, who was diagnosed after he went to a local emergency room for chest pain treatment. “I’m young. I didn’t think anything bad could really happen to me.” [Source]

While it is true that breast cancer is MUCH more rare in men [there are just under 2,000 new cases of breast cancer in men in the U.S. per year, and just under 400 deaths, while almost 40,000 women die of breast cancer each year] that does not mean that raising awareness in men is not important. Like all cancers, a patient's chances of survival are MUCH higher

For an event like ours, I would suggest providing white tank tops for men (and women who don't want sports-bras) to tie-dye in order to help draw in a more mixed crowd. Overall, when it comes to Breast Cancer Awareness, I continue to advocate for a less "boobies"-centric view... what I mean by this, is that campaigns should focus more on the people who are fighting this disease, and less on the "boobies" themselves.

The bottom line is that breast cancer doesn't discriminate based on sex, and neither should breast cancer awareness programs or treatment funds.

To end this on a positive note, is one awesome Breast Cancer Awareness campaign that speaks to men as well as women:

"Peter Criss, drummer and founding member of the rock band KISS, recently went public with his battle against breast cancer. People don't associate men with the disease, but men have breast tissue, too, and they are susceptible to breast cancer. Keep reading and then encourage your loved ones -- male and female -- to get screened for the potentially deadly disease. " Read more here!

What do you think? Do you know of any effective awareness campaigns that target women AND men? As always, feel free to share in the comments!

"Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" struts against Violence!

Hi everyone!

Today Violence Awareness Week went off to a glorious start with our annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event under the arch! Here, a large group of men donned women’s heels and marched with allies in order to bring awareness to interpersonal violence against women, and to stand up against it on our campus. Clad with heels, signs, and the power of their voices, the group marched a mile around the Ramapo Arch, Laurel Quad, and the Student Center to bring attention to the issue of interpersonal violence right into the ears and eyes of the campus community.

Check out some pictures from the event (including Men’s Outreach Coordinator Travis and Queer Peer Services Coordinator Corey wearing some of the highest heels out there!)

Violence Awareness week continues with events every day this week, stop by the Women’s Center at C 220 for more info!

Questions of "Biblical Womanhood" and Judgment-Free Feminism

Rachel Held Evans is a progressive Christian blogger and a proponent of women in church leadership. Her beliefs and projects may not be your cup of tea, but her work is interesting to say the least. This month Evans concludes a year of biblical womanhood – a year of decisive faith and in-depth exploration of biblical commands directed at women. Evans’ project raises many challenging questions about the intersections of feminism, faith and religious practice.

Personally I’m not a huge fan of organized religion, but I am a faithful person and believe very strongly in an intelligent God capable of compassion. One part of Evans’ project (which will be published as a book next year) references a women-specific “10 Commandments” list and several of those rules are “head tilt” moments for me. I have no problem with a “no gossip” rule – for everyone, but yeah for women. I’m less comfortable with a “no haircut” rule because I think it’s rather unnecessary and kind of gross by 21st Century American hygiene standards. I’m confused by the “no teaching in church” rule, especially since my CCD (Catholic-rules-for-kids class) teacher was a woman and most of the Sunday school teachers I knew of as a child were women. I understand there is an ongoing debate in different Christian sects (and in Judaism) about the role of women in leadership, but my question here is how it jives – or doesn’t – with a feminist understanding of equality. I respect tradition and I don’t pass judgment on other people’s faith, but I see no harm in posing questions: when is tradition more important that achieving and maintaining equality or any sort? Can’t tradition change? Should it?

Of Evans’ personal commandments, the most troubling for me was the last: “Thou [woman] shalt not have authority over a man.” Wait, what? I don’t get it. I personally do not believe that faith/religion/spirituality/god/God is inherently incompatible with a feminist understanding of the world and a desire for a world without gendered violence. Seeing such a stark anti-equality statement phrased as religious law (or a mimic of religious law – or an interpretation of religious law), especially from someone who identifies with some part of feminism and supports women in church leadership, is off-putting.

Religion and faith are complicated. Feminism is complicated. Living without judgment is complicated and I’ll admit I’m struggling with this one. I’m certain there are other points of view on this subject. Maybe one of our readers can help me out here. How can Evans’ project on biblical womanhood spark positive discussions about women and faith and religious rules (which was her intention), and how can other feminists (especially those of us for whom religion/god/God does not factor in a major way) engage in such discussions without judgment?