I have been thinking about the birth control pill lately and was particularly inspired by this youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oDyCx3A6Ao

I think Sarah Haskins brings up a very interesting point about BC pills, they are not marketed to us for the right reasons. Period control? Mood control? Acne cure? All these reasons have been created as a way to make it easier for women to feel as though they can ask for birth control...but is this mislead/damaging to women?

To me, I wonder why we can't just be honest about the pill....regular periods are a plus but I primarily take birth control because I enjoy having condom-less sex with my partner without the risk of pregnancy. It is that simple. Right now, pregnancy for me is such a serious concern that I take birth control despite potential health risks (from any hormonal birth control) such as blood clots, weight gain, and the unknown consequences of having too much hormones pumped into my blood stream on a daily basis.

So why am I being sold birth control for my menstrual cramps? Is it because all BC pills work the same way and they need to distinguish between different brands for profit? Is it because we are still too afraid of women admitting they enjoy having sex just for the sake of pleasure rather than reproduction? And does it on some level make it easier for young women to be able to get their hands on the pill if...

Holiday season in retail is a nightmare. There is Christmas music play around the clock including not only original songs but also an entire series of remakes. Then there are the awful people that grace your work station: disgusting children and their overbearing mothers who think it's cute to make them wave at you and people that pay for their entire bill with change.

Anyway, I was noticing a tremendous increase in the purchase of lingerie. This is a common theme, peaking during February but there is also a dramatic increase around the holidays. Tons of women looking for ways to dress up their bodies as gifts to their partners. This does not seem to be of much concern to men. After acres of sheer panties I occasionally ring up boy undies, which are typically simple cotton briefs.

So what's my point? Well world, I am frustrated. When did we decide that women were the only ones that had to dress up in the bedroom? You'd think after years of matching bras to panties, satin night gowns, and lace thongs up our asses that there would be something men would have to contribute. I swear to you now that it would be handjob city in my room if my partner went to bed with silk boxers....

   I recently rediscovered my love for Salt N Pepa. I remember singing to the lyrics of their highly sexualized songs as a child (they really hit it off when I was still learning to write in cursive), and while I didn't understand what I was singing I did know it was catchy. What I like about the music video above is the variety they show in the video. For a group that was popular in the early 90's they are pretty ahead of their time, showing Queer folks, big women, skinny women, androgynous folks and most importantly their bodies - hypersexual and yet in control.

As an adolescent I remember thinking about the lyrics (of their song Shoop in particular) and feeling somewhat empowered: was I not a woman and wasn't I entitled to express my sexuality the way boys my age did? While I did not have a ton of sex as an adolescent I was more interested in my expression. How was I treated differently depending on what I wore or how I behaved? What was acceptable for girls to do and what deemed them "bad girls"? I usually made an effort to be the bad girl, rarely brushing my hair, outspoken, assertive, completely trying to seperate myself from Orange County perceptions of womanhood.

Then I started college, and some things changed (I stopped trying so hard to counter society) and some things stayed the same (I still didn't brush my hair).  Most...

Call me uptight...but is a playground right next to a stip club okay?

On Larkin street, right in the heart of the Tenderloin there is a strip club called New Century Theatre (http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-century-theater-san-francisco) located right across from a kids' playground...why does this bother me so much?

There is a suggestive, but not blatantly sexual photo outside, so it can't be the obscene.

I believe kids are sexual beings so t certainly cant be the fear of their sexualization.

Yet, for some reason it just irks me...maybe because it is such a sign of class and it's just accepted that these children will be exposed early. I doubt you'd ever see a similar sight in white suburban areas. I guess I should just be impressed that there are playgrounds available. Either way it always gets me when I pass it on the 38...what do you all think?

I like to think that I am fairly progressive and that simple social taboos about buying condoms or sex toys are below me..that I am, in fact, somewhat shameless. I was reminded today that I am not shameless, and in fact, I am incredibly embarassed about my period.

Greeted by my period right before I started work I had to stop at a grocery store to buy some pads. Everything started out okay, I grabbed a pack, lined up, and was ready to girl. As soon as I set my box down to check-out I realized that my entire line was men. I immediately felt severe shame. Sitting there was my lonely box of pads for everyone to recognize. I immediately began looking around the counter trying to find things to cover them with, isn't it weird to only by pads? Maybe I need a candy bar - "too stereotypical!" I think, as if they would be onto me.

Another man lines up behinds me and reaches for that plastic bar thing that seperates your groceries from the next person, he immediately used that bar thing to PUSH my pads forward and away from his groceries. I felt humiliated and disgusted. I quickly threw a magazine in with my pads, as if that would somehow distract people. When it finally came time to pay, my cashier (a woman) looks at my...

I have been thinking a lot about gender lately and how we force gender on our children. 

I work in retail, and while I was organizing baby items by color (and also by gender, pink and yellow are for girls, blue and green are clearly for boys - but that's a whole seperate story), I overheard a mother talking to her kids about the toys they wanted to buy. Apparently her young son, probably about 5 or so wanted to get a tea set, just like his older sister. Our tea sets are particularly popular right now, especially because they are bright pink, have disney princess pictures on the side of the teapot and are covered in glitter.

Anyway, this boy tells his mom that he wants to get this tea set too and the mom tells him no, explaining that it is a girl toy. The little boy starts throwing a fit, whining and almost in tears over how he really wanted this toy. The frustrated mom grabs the toy from his hand, gets really close to his face -practically touching noses - and screams "Do you want to look like a faggot?"

The boy begins to cry hysterically and the mother keeps reprimanding him, telling him to "stop crying" and be "a big strong man".

This is a common script, in fact I hear it a lot in my store from parents trying to keep their children gender-apropriate. To boys, it's always the emphasis that they need to be tough and be strong men, this of course excludes crying or whining. Girls on the other hand are constantly being reminded that...

I, like the next person, love my vagina, and I love getting my annual exam. It makes me feel like a liberated, sexually healthy woman.  However a new attempt at being "culturally sensitive" has turned my annual joy into racial shame.

Being that I am poor, I use a clinic that is "family pact" happy and up until this summer I was completely satisfied with my experiences there.

The most recent visit just started off so normal. Walked in, went up to the counter and showed my i.d.  The woman behind the nurse's desk spoke to me casually, read my i.d. then did a double-take at me.

"Will you be needing an interpreter?"  the nurse asked

Having been to this clinic several times in the past I was confused by the question,

"for what"? I asked

"your exam"

  I shook my head at her. What an odd question.

 Next I was instructed that I needed to pee in a cup for a pregnancy test. I asked if it was necesary since I had just ended my period. She agressively insisted that I needed to do it,

"it's policy" she snapped.

After peeing I waited for the doctor and thought about race. Was the woman at the desk targeting me, or was I overreacting? Surely this was a new policy and I just needed to relax and do what they think is best. This is a health clinic. They know what they're doing.

When the Doctor came into the room she asked me if I felt comfortable communicating in English....