As activists, we talk about moving people, moving organizations, moving politicians (toward our goal/desired end result). We talk about push-back when there’s resistance. But what do we do when the resistance we encounter is within ourselves? What do we do when the push-back is from our gut? I ask these questions because, like many activists,…
I’m not doing a year-in-review this year. And it’s not because nothing interesting happened. Indeed, I’d say 2010 was a pretty full year: health care reform, Prop 8 overturned, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, natural disasters (including devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile as well as the Icelandic volcano), the BP oil spill, Team Coco,…
With Thanksgiving in just a couple of days, it’s time for my annual Mindful Giving List. As we gather to give thanks for the wealth or love and friendship in our lives, it’s also good to consider what we can do to help those in need. These are just some of the ways you can…
When I caught a whiff of uproar over the self-published The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct, I admit I had to take a few digital steps back and collect my thoughts. As a survivor of sexual abuse, I didn’t even want to open the links flashing through on twitter.…
April is national Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. I know there are a lot of “awareness” months and events, but here’s why I think you should care: Every two minutes, someone in America is sexually assaulted, according to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). And according to the US Dept. of Justice…
The local production of The Vagina Monologues is coming up in a week and The Sin City Siren is supporting this event. Now you can, too, by entering for a chance to win two tickets to one of the shows on Friday (April 9) or Saturday (April 10) night! (Of course, you can go without…
At work today a trio of us, all women, were working to sort some large stacks of files. And as women often do, we started to chat while we worked. I do not know how the conversation took this turn, but somehow we started talking about bad childhoods and the traumas we survived. Admittedly, it…
Welcome to the annual charitable giving list for 2009! These are just some of the ways you can give back while indulging in the mass-consumer, gift orgy of the December holidays. And as always, I don’t get anything for posting this but a smile. There’s a lot on the list that hasn’t changed from last…
I like this new PSA from RAINN – Rape Abuse and Incest National Network: If you or someone you know needs help, contact your local police and you can get further services from RAINN’s national 24/7 hotline: 1.800.656.HOPE. (They also have an online hotline.) Locally we have some dedicated folks over at the Rape Crisis…
For the past couple days — during the marathon Michael Jackson coverage and all-MJ music and video tribute sessions — I’ve been caught with my feet in two different worlds. How is it possible that the sudden death of a pop culture icon has split me in two? I could have never guessed it. Let…
The Sin City Siren 