Many of you remember the post a while back about our Minnesota friends Marty and Ariane who were expecting triplets, mama Ariane sharing the whole experience through her blog “Growing a Family.” Well, an update: at just over 28 weeks, they’re here! (Eventual feminists) Victor, Oscar, and Mylo were born Sunday and I’m happy to report, although teeny tiny, they’re all healthy and goin’ strong. Make sure to catch up on this wild ride via Ariane’s blog, scope out the post about her delivery, and send warm well wishes as these two superheros embark on a new adventure: parenthood (…of triplet boys)!
Sweating during the day and freezing at night means one thing: fall’s officially here. Enjoy this little ditty from my girl Zee Avi, perfect for a sunny fall day.
Ah, the week after a holiday — where shit is extra bananas, diminishing any enjoyment you took in having that ‘bonus’ day off. It’s been a busy one here in DW Land, but we still managed to have a little bit of gab while noting at least some of the awesome and ridiculous out there. Here are a few things that made our radar…
Giving “You’re fired!” a whole new meaning, Jon Hoadley, SDan-gone-Director of the Unity Michigan Coalition (and DW super fan) took to HuffPo in honor of National Coming Out Day. But if you’re gay and live in Michigan, maybe don’t read at work?
We are the 99%, bitches! Will you Occupy? Check out these Saturday events in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Vermillion and get your voice heard and your viz on!
This weekend, embrace the message of the once awesome/hairy and now retired REM of getting involved in the place you live and work.
For many, it’s been a special week marked with school spirit, camaraderie, and avoiding stepping in barf on the sidewalks of Vermillion. Enter: Dakota Days (aka D-Days, Drunk Days, D-Daze, etc.) This year’s theme: Raise the Dust? So, if you’re not too busy hating the new USD logo, having a life, or succumbing to the guilt of academia, there’s a whole host of events taking place tonight and tomorrow in V-Town America. Stay safe, go ‘yotes, and don’t get gonorrhea. Meanwhile, this is what we’ve been talking about in DW Land…
Lots of interesting questions surround the discussion of number of sexual partners like “Do people keep track?” “Do we care?” and “Do we really need more bad rom coms in the world?”
Dear New Mom,
You and your parenting are not legitimate. Please find another career track other than pursuing a degree in law.
If you’re household is like mine, the premier of a new Ken Burns documentary is a television event equivalent to the Super Bowl or the Oscars — Must See TV. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea seriously made me more patriotic. I wanted to go out an buy a flag for my car or something. This week’s Prohibition was no different. Interesting characters, great narration, a fascinating subject, slow pans of archival photos — all the hallmarks of Burns’ work.
What I found really interesting, though, was the part prohibition played in changing women’s place in the world. The first episode talks about the conditions that led to the anti-booze movement, namely widespread alcoholism among men that often resulted in spousal abuse, marital rape, and paychecks that went for whiskey instead of food for the family. Not surprisingly, then, women were among the biggest proponents of temperance, and the burgeoning movement provided experience and opportunities in political organizing and rabble rousing. Women’s temperance organizations and suffrage groups became inextricably linked, sharing leaders and using many of the same channels for spreading the word about their cause.
In the later episodes, we see the taboo-flouting culture that sprung up around prohibition created an environment for the evolution of the modern, Charleston-dancing, hard drinking, short-skirted, short-haired ladies we now associate with the 1920s. While the teetotaler and suffragettes of the earlier generation regarded this group as frivolous and ungrateful for the equality their foremothers had fought so hard for (sound familiar?), it seems evident to me that both groups of women pushed women’s rights forward in different ways. It’s possible that we wouldn’t be where we are today but for the failed experiment of prohibition. (I ran this theory past resident DW historian Anna and she said, “I could buy it,” which is a resounding endorsement in my eyes.)
Prohibition also features some very memorable female historical figures, from Assistant Attorney General Mabel Walker Willebrandt to New Yorker writer and party girl Lois Long. My favorite, by far, was Carrie Nation, and I think this clip will explain why:
I think we’ve all felt like we could use a little hatchetation now and then. Check local listings for repeats of the series or watch the whole thing online!
Trying to keep South Dakota’s plethora of abortion-related lawsuits straight isn’t easy. It seems like every day there’s a story about a new decision or appeal. Here at DakotaWomen, we’re always trying to make things a little easier for you, our dear readers, so we’ve simplified the path of the 2005 informed consent bill for your edification.
So the current situation? Encouraged by the whole $65,000 in the bank (that should keep several lawyers working for weeks!), this case is apparently going to keep going, despite the lack of science on the state’s side. Oh, and that other case they should probably be worried about.
Thirty years ago today, a brilliant feminist extrordinaire was born. Kelsey’s been a lifetime activist at every level and continues to stand strong for the women of South Dakota and beyond. She’s a DakotaWoman, an advocate, a mama, a GalPal, a JD, and a rural grrrl…and she’ll be kicking ass here in South Dakota until the end of days.
And we’re damn lucky to have her. Now’s our chance to give a little thanks!
Help us wish DW editor Kelsey “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” by donating $30 to DakotaWomen PAC in her honor today. Donate by clicking on the PayPal icon on the right hand side of the page.
An additional way you can help Kelsey celebrate is by perusing Cake Wrecks, one of her favorite celebratory internet time suckage past times.
From everyone in the DW family, Happy Birthday, Kelsey!
Turns out being a state senator, a law professor, a history professor, and a law student makes for some busy DakotaWomen times — who knew? But, don’t fret. We’re back, here to stay, and roundin’ it all up to get this party (re)started.
Here’s a fun infographic that would make the Michelle Bachmanns of the world warm and fuzzy inside.
If you’ve been living under a rock and somehow didn’t see this totally disturbing Allen Unruh gem, quit what you’re doing immediately, grab some popcorn, and buckle in. (Emphasis on the buckle.)
Big Breast Cancer? As much as we all want to believe all ‘charity’ work is honorable (well, unless Leslee Unruh’s involved), turns out that the pink ribbon doesn’t necessarily mean you’re contributing to breast cancer research.
*I’ve talked with a lot of people about the messed up sex laws in this country and on top of the unfairness and hypocrisy inherent in the sex offender registry system, it turns out they aren’t very effective, either. Seriously, if people are so dangerous that they have to be watched their entire lives, don’t let them out of prison. Let non-violent drug offenders out instead — you can put them on a registry and it would make it easier to know who in your apartment building you want to get to know better.
*The ‘brogressives’ commenting on this Nation piece deserve to be beaten by Billie Jean King…with the blunt end of a tennis racket.
*I still love animated gifs.
*But despite what animated gifs tell you, sexism must be alive an well if this shirt was actually able to get made and end up on store shelves.
*This looks like a likely candidate for a DakotaWomen Approved film of the future:
The DW News Roundup is back! Did you miss us? Well, DakotaWomen need summer vacation, too!
*The Broadcast Premiere of the Lakota Berenstain Bears will be Sept. 11, at 9am on SDPB3-TV. The Lakota Berenstain Bears Project is a joint venture of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Lakota Language Consortium, with the goal of bringing the Lakota language to family television sets across all Lakota-speaking communities in North and South Dakota and beyond.
*Keep you pants on, South Dakota. Gonorrhea rates have increased 52 percent since 2006 and will likely surpass 500 cases this year (the most cases reported since 1988). Gonorrhea rates (like Ronald Reagan) peaked in 1980 with 1,406 cases.
*If you think being an asshole helps ‘protect choice’ for South Dakota women, you’re wrong.
*Formula companies sabotage breastfeeding, so breastfeeding advocates push harder to promote it, only to offend women who don’t breastfeed. One interesting response.
For this week’s musical interlude, check out some Minneapolis awesomeness from Pink Mink!
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