That Feminist Dyke

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[My main Tumblr can be found over at myasphyxiatedmind]

If you want your ask replied to privately, just put '****' before you start typing.

My name is: Michelle, but most people call me Dark online.

My gender-pronouns are: They/them/their.

I am: 26 years old, a feminist, liberal, an atheist, an omnivore, and an ISFJ.

The Feminist: Intersectional, body positive, pro-choice, and sex positive.

My privileged identities include: Female assigned at birth (trans* privilege), white, able-bodied, allistic (?), dyadic, monogamous.

My non-privileged/oppressed identities include: Gender-fluid, fat, gray-a, neuroatypical, and gay.

I have: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder.

I like: Pets & animals, animal welfare, pet care & pet care education, ~*SCIENCE!*~, anatomy & physiology, roleplaying, anime/manga, computer & video games, rock & metal music.

Hello.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

If a black woman and a white woman both need emergency obstetric care, a Brazilian doctor will assist the white woman because of the stereotype that black women are better at handling pain and are used to giving birth.

“Racism Is Bad for Health”

Read the rest of the study at the link, with details on how this racism in healthcare plays out.

(via redlightpolitics)

Resources for Decision-Making and Low-Income Parenting

bebinn:

This post will continue to be updated, so if you don’t see anything of use to you, check back to the source or under my Important Posts page. Any resources of these kind that I’ve missed, please reblog with them or message me. This goes for any category you believe you should add, with both financial and social support systems.

Decision-making:
  • If you’re not ready or able to talk to anyone, Pregnancy Options has a free, printable workbook to help you make a decision
  • Backline offers a full range of reproductive counseling and referrals, and the National Abortion Federation provides information on pregnancy and abortion, and support and referrals for abortion services.
  • The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice offers counseling for decision-making, concerns involving abortion, and referrals
  • The Abortion Assistance Blog has lists of clinics, abortion funds and people offering rides to/from the clinic, lodging for people traveling a long distance, babysitting, moral support, and referrals
  • The Administration for Children & Families has information on adoption
  • Here’s a list of adoption lawyers, which you can refine by state
  • State Adoption Program Managers
  • Knowing how far along you are is important in knowing how much time you have to decide. Ask your local free/low-cost clinic if they perform ultrasounds, or if they can give recommendations. Your nearest Planned Parenthood may offer free or low-cost ultrasounds depending on your income, or provide referrals.
  • See if there is a nearby community college or other training site for people studying ultrasound and imaging technology. Sometimes you can get an ultrasound performed for free by students!
Giving Birth (also see Health Care):
  • See if a doula and/or midwife program in your city or state offers low-cost or volunteer labor and birth support. Here’s a list of volunteer doula programs to start. It’s also possible to negotiate a lower fee with doulas and midwives.
  • Operation Special Delivery provides volunteer doula services to those whose military partners have been injured or killed, and those who are or will be deployed or otherwise unable to attend the birth.
  • Medicaid may help cover the cost of a birthing center, which provides a safe and comfortable alternative to hospital or home birth. Some birthing centers also offer payment plans.
  • There are lots of online checklists for what to bring to the hospital during your labor and birth
  • 32 Ways to Save Money During Your Hospital Birth
  • You can negotiate with the hospital - what they charge you is WAY more than what it costs them. If you’re paying in cash, they may give you a discount. There are a lot of tips and forums dealing with hospital negotiations online. Here’s one website.

Health Care:

  • Look over your insurance options at Healthcare.gov
  • Your state’s Medicaid program
  • The Affordable Care Act expands insurance and health care options for pregnant people and children, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). You can find local health care centers, services, and information on their page.
  • Many Planned Parenthood locations provide general health care at little to no cost, depending on your income
  • Nurse-Family Partnership offers free at-home (or another safe place) pregnancy and childcare assistance until your child turns two.
  • NeedyMeds is a directory of programs that offer assistance to people who can’t afford their medications or health care.
  • Free Dental Care can help you find low-cost or free clinics
  • Look for dental and dental hygiene schools if you are comfortable with closely-supervised students
  • Your state’s United Way program may sponsor or help you connect with low-cost or free dental care
Food:
Housing:
Parenting:
  • Backline can connect you to parenting resources
  • Your state’s Department of Human Services may have a program to provide low-income, working parents with access to quality, affordable child care
  • The US Department of Health and Human Services sponsors the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) to both states and Native tribes
  • eHow has a step-by-step guide to finding child care assistance through Child Care Aware
  • You may be able to find parenting and home ec. classes, baby materials, social support, child care, and other resources through your place of worship
  • Many diaper and formula companies offer free samples and opportunities to win packages or cash
Disabilities (also see Health Care):
  • Search for your state’s Early Childhood Intervention (ECI or EI) services. These services are mandated by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
  • If you or your partner are disabled, your child can receive Social Security benefits
  • Family Village is a directory of resources on disability rights, social support, information, and merchandise
  • Parent to Parent USA is a national organization that matches families with trained volunteer support parents who can connect them to local resources, provide information on health care, and teach coping skills
  • The Arc provides services, information, self-advocacy and employment opportunities, and referrals through their local chapters to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault:
  • RAINN has both phone and online counseling hotlines to connect you to local rape crisis centers. Centers offer support, counseling, and other resources.
  • The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides similar services, as well as safety planning if you are not able or ready to leave
  • Helpline has articles and resources on domestic violence
  • What to do if your partner refuses to wear a condom
  • Find homeless shelters, family shelters, residential treatment centers, transitional housing, and other women’s shelters via Women’s Shelters
  • I’ve thought about leaving - how can I do it?
  • Your local Planned Parenthood or reproductive health clinic can offer counseling, discreet birth control, and other resources for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence
  • Some crisis pregnancy centers/pregnancy resource centers can also provide, or refer you to places that provide help with rent, prenatal and infant care, and basic baby items. Always use caution when contacting CPCs - many exist to dissuade you from abortion, and some may try to convert you, require you to be Christian or take Bible classes to receive help, or practice coercive adoption. Use them as a last resort or get a recommendation from someone who has used their services.
Please reblog so others have these sources. 
shakethecobwebs: shakethecobwebs:  I think that we should put more time and money into creating comprehensive sex education programs for schools across our country rather than exploiting young mothers who are trying to survive and raise children in a culture that hates women. 

shakethecobwebs:

shakethecobwebs: 

I think that we should put more time and money into creating comprehensive sex education programs for schools across our country rather than exploiting young mothers who are trying to survive and raise children in a culture that hates women. 


(Source: rainbowstreasures)

We need to take birth back and make it a priority in our communities. As important as the issues of access to contraceptives, abortion, and well-women care are — it’s also essential that we’re given the chance to birth in a way that is empowering, rather than disenfranchising. And the only way to make birth a universally positive experience is to give the reins back to the people who are birthing and respect the choices they make in regards to their birth experience. Whether that means a drug-free home birth, an epidural, or a scheduled c-section — we need to respect that people truly do know what is the best route for themselves. Afterall, the best way for a person to birth is however they feel the safest.

Birth is a feminist issue. | NessFraser.com (via becauseiamawoman)

More US women choosing to use widwives over doctors

fuckyeahfeminists:

Pretty cool.

The report, published Monday in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, analyzed two decades of CDC data that showed that a greater proportion of women are choosing to rely on midwives in what experts think is a direct reaction to rising rates of C-section births. Midwives approach birth differently than many physicians: they shy away from inducing labor in most situations, which can lead to a greater likelihood of cesarean delivery. Starting early in the prenatal period, they may take a more holistic approach, emphasizing diet. In labor, they spend much more time in the delivery room, encouraging a woman to try different positions or to walk around to get labor moving. “They have more patience,” says Declercq.

It’s great to see that people are being increasingly aware that they do have options and are seeking them

bebinn:

birthjunkie:

My favorite part… showing the small intestines being pushed out of the way then coming back down after the baby is born!! YES!! That is what happens!!!  LOVE IT!!!

This shows, briefly, what happens inside the body when you are pregnant, and when you give birth. I’m not sure what the sparkles at the beginning were, so I shall assume they are baby magic.

After consulting with Doctors, Danielle and her husband decided that it would be more humane to terminate the pregnancy than allow the fetus to be born, only to die shortly thereafter. Attorneys, however, informed her that this wasn’t possible:

After consulting attorneys, doctors told Deaver and her husband that the Nebraska law prohibited an abortion in their case. She had to wait, give birth, and watch the infant die.

The result?

Nebraska’s new abortion law forced Danielle Deaver to live through ten excruciating days, waiting to give birth to a baby that she and her doctors knew would die minutes later, fighting for breath that would not come. And that’s what happened. The one-pound, ten-ounce girl, Elizabeth, was born December 8th. Deaver and husband Robb watched, held and comforted the baby as it gasped for air, hoping she was not suffering. She died 15 minutes later.

To give you some grounding info, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated that there is zero evidence that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks of gestation, and notes that there is no legitimate evidence demonstrating that a fetus can feel pain in the weeks thereafter.

But if we assume arguendo that a fetus can feel pain, then that means that the fetus experienced more pain during the 10 days it was being crushed to death by Danielle Deaver’s uterus (as a result of not having an amniotic sac to cushion its body), than it ever would have if the pregnancy had been terminated shortly after Danielle’s water broke. The law caused more harm than it alleviated underneath its own premise.

Letters To My Country: More Scenes From The War On Women. Read more at the link. (via pantslessprogressive)

Not to mention how much more fucking trauma it caused the parents.