Who entered the “Breast Summer Ever” contest, and why?

The judges for Amp Radio’s controversial contest for a $10,000 breast augmentation have picked their 10 finalists. Now it’s up to the public to vote on who is most deserving of the boob job.



Since I first heard about this contest, I was curious to see would enter, their reasons for entering, and whose story would resonate most with the public and win the ultimate prize. Each contestant has made a video, which are posted online. I watched each one and here are their reasons for wanting breast augmentation:

• 4/10 women had lost weight, which changed the size and shape of their breasts. They talk about the “excess skin” left over after weight loss and how their breasts just don’t look right anymore.
  
  
• 3/10 of the women talked about nursing children and the toll that having kids takes on your body. Basically, they want their pre-baby boobies back.
  
  
• 3/10 had sob stories, but surprisingly there were no cancer survivors. One woman has a large burn mark that covers her right breast, another has "lop-sided" breasts, and one had a rare disease that made her very thin and unable to develop breasts during puberty.
  
  
• 1 woman is transgender (she was born male but is transitioning to female).
  
  
• 1 woman said she wanted a lift and reduction, as she is a size FF and would like to be average sized.

I was a little disheartened to see how many women discussed their post-pregnancy bodies and how they want their old body back. Why can’t we accept that women’s bodies change after pregnancy? Our bodies change throughout our lives – why is an aging body or a post-baby body seen as something that needs to be fixed? (News flash, ladies! You can’t stop aging. You just can’t. Stop wasting your time, money and effort trying to, and accept your aging body instead. I promise life will be a lot more fun that way).



There is an unreal amount of pressure on women to get back to how they looked before the baby. Trashy celebrity tabloids publish issues with headlines like, My body after baby - How I lost 25 lbs in 8 weeks. The pressure is so strong that I actually know women who are choosing not to have children because they’re afraid of what it will do to their bodies. Says Katie Gentile in an article from the Daily Beast,

When women shed the baby weight, they are not merely getting back their pre-baby body, they are obliterating all the evidence of ever having had a baby in the first place. This means the one thing that only women's bodies can do is expected to be immediately erased. The post-baby body is wrung of its recent life-giving feat. Sagging milk-filled breasts must appear perky; the once-swollen abdomen is made concave. It's as if we should actually believe the baby dropped from the stork, from the sky, from anywhere but that toned, buff body.

To me, part of being a feminist is accepting and not judging other women’s decisions and choices. So I’m not going to rag on the women who entered this contest or judge them for what they want. But many of the women talked about gaining or improving self-confidence through breast augmentation surgery, and I think they’re missing a key piece to the self-confidence puzzle. Self confidence is an internal thing – it comes from knowing who you are, knowing your values and what you stand for, setting and accomplishing goals and knowing that you are worthy of happiness and love. True self confidence, self acceptance and self love come from the inside – plastic surgery is an external procedure that will not fix an internal problem.



I won’t be voting for any of these ladies because I fundamentally disagree with the contest. I think the contest promotes body dissatisfaction and the idea that self confidence can be instantly achieved with a surgical procedure. Also, Amp Radio has a young audience and I know lots of kids listen to it. I think it normalizes plastic surgery for young people when they hear about it as a “fun contest.” Our society’s obsession with perfect bodies has gone too far, and I refuse to be a part of anything that perpetuates endless discontent with one’s body.



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Check out some of the contests in Canada offered by ReadersDigest.ca

Vintage Japanese Political Poster

PinkTentacle posted a neat-o collection of vintage Japanese political posters - and this is my favourite. It's supposedly an anti-pollution poster, but it could also have a host of other meanings and interpretations. Interesting stuff.

Monday's Show: Designer Vaginas and more!

Monday's show will feature a discussion on "Designer Vaginas" - a slang term for Vaginal Reconstructive Surgery, or plastic surgery "down there." According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, these surgeries have become the hottest trend in the field.



Related articles:

Meet the Genitailor - The Tyee.ca, 2005

Designer Vaginas - The Globe and Mail, 2005

Designer Vaginas - Salon.com, 2000





We'll also discuss a study from 2007 that was recently unearthed by two women from Bioethics Forum. In the study, a doctor from Cornell University defends the practice of surgically cutting girls' clitorises. He also used vibrators on girls as young as 6 in order to "test sensation in their nerves."



Related articles:

Bad Vibrations - Bioethics Forum, 2010

Cornell Surgeon Used Vibrator to Stimulate Six-Year-Olds - Jezebel, 2010





Finally, we'll briefly touch on the G8 summit, where "Maternal Health" was a signature focus when world leaders gathered this past weekend in Huntsville, Ontario.



Related articles:

Maternal Health: 10 Reasons You Should Care About the G8 Summit - Best Health, 2010

Women's health initiative fails to inspire - Ottawa Citizen, 2010

Study suggests kids of lesbians have fewer behavioral problems

CNN Reports:

A nearly 25-year study concluded that children raised in lesbian households were psychologically well-adjusted and had fewer behavioral problems than their peers.



"This study shows that the 17-year-old adolescents who have been reared by lesbian families are psychologically happy and high functioning," said Dr. Nanette Gartrell, a Williams distinguished scholar at the UCLA School of Law. Restrictions of child custody and reproductive technologies based on sexual orientation are not justified, she said.

Children from lesbian families rated higher in social, academic and total competence. They also showed lower rates in social, rule-breaking, aggressive problem behavior.

The involvement of mothers may be a contributing factor, in addition to the fact that the pregnancies were planned, Gartrell said.

The children "didn't arrive by accident," she said. "The mothers were older... they were waiting for an opportunity to have children and age brings maturity and better parenting."

This also could have occurred because "growing up in households with less power assertion and more parental involvement has been shown to be associated with healthier psychological adjustment," Gartrell wrote in the study.

Read the full story.

Did you know that May 16 is Stepmother's Day?

Psychology Today has an interesting article about Stepmother's Day, which is unofficially on May 16th.

Many [stepmothers] feel unacknowledged, overlooked, and unappreciated by their husbands and their husbands’ kids of all ages. And by their husband’s ex-wives, too. “I cart those kids to their after-school activities every day because their mom’s work hours mean she’s unable to. I care about my stepkids, I really do, but it’s a lot of work to do everything I do for them and she has never, ever once thanked me for it. Neither have they. It bugs me on Mother’s Day especially, when she’s getting lauded. I feel that I do the heavy lifting—and I DO do the heavy lifting—and she should thank me,” one woman with twin nine- year-old stepkids wrote.

Kinda interesting. I think that Mother's day should be a blanket term to celebrate mothers in all their forms: adoptive mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers who take care of their grandchildren, etc. But it's nice to see there is some kind of movement, unofficial as it may be, to recognize that mothers need to be appreciated - whether they're the birth-mother or not.

Monday's Show - Baby Fever

Join us on Monday night for our show on Baby Fever, which is an overwhelming feeling or desire to have children that many women experience. If your womb has ever ached upon holding a baby or playing with young children, then you know all about Baby Fever. Most women get it at some point in their lives - usually the feelings grow stronger as a women ages from her early twenties to mid thirties. However, women can experience Baby Fever at any time: some women know from a very young age that they want to be mothers, and others don't realize it until they're in their 40's - or later. Of course, it is also completely natural for some women to never experience this feeling or have a desire to procreate.

We'll be discussing some of the reasons why most women experience Baby Fever, the big decision that many women struggle with (to have children or not?), and one of the most challenging questions for feminists: can women really have it all (a partner, a fabulous career and children)?

Tune in on Monday December 14 from 8:30 to 9:00 pm (MST) on CJSW 90.9 fm. You can also listen to our program online at www.cjsw.com.

Tonight's Show - Female Filmmakers Ponder: To Have a Baby or Not?

Tonight we have the pleasure of interviewing two local filmmakers who are working on a project called The Baby Cliff. Dominique Keller and Smita Acharyya coined the term "the baby cliff" to describe the point in a woman’s life where she needs to decide whether or not to take the plunge into motherhood. The film they are creating is an interactive project: the general public gave input on characters, scripts and actors.

Join us tonight from 8:30 to 9:00 pm on CJSW 90.9 fm to hear this interview. You can also download it as a podcast if you miss the live show (it will be available on Wednesday).

Smita & Dominique on the edge of "the baby cliff"

Tonight's Show - A Spin on "Labour" Day

Labour Day is an annual holiday that resulted from the labour union movement that celebrates the economic and social achievements of workers. However, we decided to take a feminist spin on the word "labour" and do a show about birthing, labour and delivery.

Tonight, we'll discuss the history of birthing in Canada, with a particular focus on the role of the midwife. Prior to the 1920's, Canadians were born at home with the assistance of family members and a midwife. But changes in technology and a shift toward hospital births made the midwife almost obsolete. Today, there is a major comeback in the desire for midwifes, but there aren't enough midwives to meet the demand.

We will also discuss some of the drugs administered to women in labour. From epidurals (for pain relief in labour) to oxytocin (a hormone that can initiate or speed up labour) we'll look at various drugs commonly used in hospital births and the affects they may have on mother and child.

Tune in tonight from 8:30 to 9:00 pm on CJSW 90.9 fm. Remember, our show is now available as a podcast, so visit this page to dowloand or subscribe to our podcasts.

Websites & articles of interest:

1. History of midwifery in Canada - Histori.ca
2. Lower risk of problems in midwife-assisted home births, study finds - The Globe & Mail, August 31, 2009.

Calling Calgary Mothers: BOLD Red Tent Event

Here's a really cool event for women from every background who have given birth, are about to give birth, or who have an interest in birth.

What: BOLD Red Tent Event - This unique fundraiser is put on by the Elizabeth House, a home for pregnant and parenting young women. They invite you to join in a celebration of birth and motherhood by gathering and sharing stories inside the BOLD Red Tent. Outside the tent, help create a visual expression of your birth story, enjoy free speakers and performances and visit vendors currently serving birthing women and their families.

When: Saturday September 12, 2009. 9:30am - 4:00pm

Where: Bridgeland Riverside Community Association, 917 Centre Avenue NE (just off the Bridgeland C-Train Station and the number 9 bus route).

Cost: $10 donation to participate. 100% of event proceeds to support the women and children of Elizabeth House.

Check the BOLD Red Tent Event website for more details.

Iris Evans Ignites Furor Over "Raising Kids Right"

Alberta's Finance Minister, Iris Evans, is in hot water over some recent comments she made regarding child rearing. Evans was in Toronto this week speaking about the importance of teaching children financial literacy, when she said that good parenting means sacrificing some income to stay at home while kids are young, as her children have done.

“They’ve understood perfectly well that when you’re raising children you don’t both go off to work and leave them for somebody else to raise,” Ms. Evans said. “This is not a statement against daycare. It’s a statement about their belief in the importance of raising children properly.”

Naturally, this has sparked outrage and debate across the country. I won't write too much about it here, because you can read plenty of articles online about it (this one and this one are good), but I will say this:

When you're a Minister in the provincial government, you can't say shit like this. Period. For most families, their financial reality is that both parents must work in order to earn enough income. Also, there is no such thing as a "proper" or "correct" family. Whatever works for your family is what's right. 'Nuff said.

Ms. Evans has apologized for her remarks, but debate and anger continues to rage on.

Woman "Too Young" to have Tubes Tied

A 21-year-old woman in Brampton, Ontario has been told by her obstetrician that she is "too young" to have her tubes tied.



Tarrah Seymour and her husband already have one child and are expecting their second. Together they decided that Tarrah would have her tubes tied after her second child is born. They both feel that limiting themselves to two children will allow them to give the best advantages to those kids - days out at the zoo, college educations, and all that good stuff.



The couple never imagined that their obstetrician would treat them like children who can't make their own decisions. According to the Toronto Sun, the doctor said that a tubal ligation was not open for discussion because Tarrah may become involved with someone else later in life and regret her decision. Because tubal ligation is a permanent sterilization method, the doctor says he won’t consider performing it on any woman under 25.



The couple are understandably upset. “We know what we want in life” said Tarrah. “We want two kids and then we want to start our careers. We had logical reasons behind it. He should have listened and respected that.”



Women need to be able to make their own decisions about family planning. Whether that involves abortion, tube tying, birth control or anything else… we need to trust that women will do what is best for them. If you can’t trust a woman to make her own decisions, how can you trust her with a child?

Happy Mum's Day!

In celebration of Mother's Day in North America, it's probably very appropriate to give a shout out to Anna Jarvis, the Mother of Mother's Day.

Back in 1907, following the death of her mother Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, Anna launched a campaign to make Mothers Day a nationally recognized holiday, encouraging families everywhere to honor their own mothers. Her efforts were greeted with the implementation of Mother's Day as a nationally recognized holiday in 1914.

Unfortunately and somewhat inevitably, Mother's Day quickly turned into a cash-in for most businesses. Anna herself was quite put off when she began to see just how much greeting card companies were benefiting from the sale and distribution of Mother's Day greeting cards.

I commend the fact that she was pissed off enough to point out that a "printed card means nothing except[...] you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world", and that buying candy to accompany these cards is even more ridiculous since you end up eating most of it yourself. True that - as much as we may hate to admit it.

Anyway, props to Anna Jarvis and her moms, Ann Jarvis (Sr). In their honor, please skip the Hallmark cards, maybe even the flowers too. Instead, get together with your mom, if possible, or break out those DIY craft books you keep untouched on the bookshelf so you can whip up something cute, useful and handmade.

Happy Mother's Day!

Update on Breastfeeding at City Pools

The protest over public breastfeeding in Calgary pools was canceled after a group of Calgary mothers met with City staff on the weekend.
Apparently there was some miscommunication amongst city employees regarding the City policy on breastfeeding in pools. Fourtanately, Heather Bruce, the City Aquatics and Recreation Manager, cleared up the confusion by stating that there has never been a policy against mothers breastfeeding the the water. All City pools will now post "breastfeeding friendly" signs.

What's really sad about this whole story is that the woman who seems to have spear-headed the protest - Gemma Kelsall - has received hate mail and harassment because of this. The CBC reports that Gemma said:

"I have received over a 100 pieces of hate mail in the last two days via my Facebook [group]. People searching me out — strangers. I've been looking at the CBC website and there's over 800 comments this morning, most of them saying we're wrong, we're child abusers, we're disgusting... but I have also got a lot of support and love. I don't want to turn this into a bad news story, 'cause it's really a good news story."

I think it's really sad that some people think the act of breastfeeding in public is "disgusting" and dare to call these women "child abusers." Breastfeeding is the most natural and nurturning thing, and once again (I cannot say this enough), I applaud Gemma and the other women involved for standing up for this important issue.

Calgary Mom's Plan Breastfeeding Protest

The CBC reports that a group of mothers plan to breastfeed their babies in the Killarney pool on Sunday morning to protest what they say is harassment from lifeguards.

A number of women are saying that when they have breastfed their babies in the water or on the pool deck, lifeguards have told them they can't breastfeed there and they must go into the change room.

Calgary aquatics manager Jim McDonald says "The intention of the staff is to provide information to the mothers just to prevent the possibility of ingestion of water," but that doesn't explain why women nursing on the pool deck are asked to go into change rooms.

I applaud the mothers for taking a stand on the issue of public breastfeeding. It drives me crazy that breasts are flaunted all over our billboards and media and we love to see them in a sexual context, but when boobs are doing what nature designed them to do - feeding a baby - nobody wants to see that.

Motherhood & Feminism in Calgary

Looking for a place to chat, snack and find support among other new moms?

Come and join us at the Women's Centre every Monday in February and March from 1:00 - 3:00pm

This mom's group was created in order to provide a nurturing and supportive environment for women to explore motherhood from a feminist perspective that respects the various choices and challenges that we face as women. We also want to have some fun and eat snacks together!

The group is an open drop-in space where all women and children are welcome (experienced moms can join as well). The direction of the group and whether we want to have guest speakers or not will be decided by all of us. Your hosts are Liza (with a 5+ month-old) and Janice (with an 8+ month-old).

Information & RSVP:
http://www.meetup.com/calgaryfeminist/calendar/9531548/

Thanks to the Calgary Feminist Meet-Up Group for passing this info along.