Paradigm Shift

Queer Women of Color and Friends (QWOC+ Boston) has been invited to co-host Boston NOW’s October Feminism and Dessert discussion and we’d love for you to join us!

We’re inviting you to show up and jump into what promises to be a candid and informal conversation about FEMME IDENTITY and FEMINISM as experienced by WOMEN OF COLOR.

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SPEAKERS*
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Opening up this conversation are three very different feminists and/or femmes:

– Spectra Speaks (Founder of QWOC+ Boston | Naija Afrofeminist | http://www.spectraspeaks.com/)
– Idalia Poetry (Organizer for QWOC+ Boston | Nationalista y Poeta de las Mujeres | http://idaliapoetry.tumblr.com/)
– Rayshauna Gray (Organizer for Young Boston Feminists | New Wave Feminist)

*Our speakers are sacrificial lambs / primers for good conversation, and they are only experts on their own experiences and identities. Everyone will be invited/encouraged to share their own experiences as well.

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SCOPE OF THE DISCUSSION:
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We’ll aim to explore the following questions:

— Who is a femme? What does she look like? What does she sound like? Are there cultural differences with this idea?
— What attributes of femininity are traditionally perceived as weak or strong, feminist or unfeminist? Are they cultural differences with this idea?
— Individual experiences with (or without “feminism”) as women of color and allies

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON OUR BLOG!
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Leave a comment HERE — (especially if you will be unable to attend but would still like to participate!) about ANYTHING you have to say re: FEMME / FEMME IDENTITY.

A discussion is only as rich and encompassing of multi-perspectives as its participants and we’d like to get the conversation going.

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DETAILS
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When: October 7th
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Where: Cambridge City Hall Annex *
344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Cambridge, MA
Accessible from Central Square T stop (red line) and the 68, 83, 91, and 64 buses.

Feminist and Dessert is FREE and wheelchair accessible.

The Reproductive Justice Arts Extravaganza will commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Women’s Medical Fund. We will showcase up to 25 submissions from our juried art competition at the AxD Gallery in Center City, Philadelphia and host live performances to celebrate the reproductive justice community.

The Women’s Medical Fund provides direct financial assistance and other support to low-income women and girls in Southeastern Pennsylvania who wish to terminate a pregnancy but cannot afford a safe, legal abortion. For more information, visit their website. To make a tax deductible contribution to the work of WMF, go to http://www.womensmedicalfund.org/.

PERFORMERS HAVE BEEN PICKED! We’ll be featuring:
– Pussies, Pens, and Politics
– Excerpts from the play The Waiting Room by Megan Smith
– Gigi Naglak and Meghann Williams of Chlamydia Dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque
– Dancer Charly Brownskin

Location: 265 S. 10th Street Philadelphia, PA 19107

For more details about the event: http://www.rjae.org/

RSVP on Facebook!

The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership
is offering a highly selective
Women’s Ethical Leadership Retreat!
October 22-24 2010
Ancramdale, NY

Tuition: $395 Room & Board: $200 (2 nights)
Very flexible payment plans, group discounts, and scholarships available!
Mention Paradigm Shift and get $100 Discount!

Learn the SKILLS & get the CONNECTIONS you NEED to SUCCEED

Click here for more information
Contact Rebecca at 646-435-0837 or at RMarcus@woodhull.org
www.woodhull.org

Washington, DC – On September 22, three male students from the District will be recognized for their commitment to healthy dating relationships and nonviolence at the 12th annual Men of Strength Awards. The fundraiser will take place at the National Press Club from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and is hosted by Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR), a national D.C.-based nonprofit that mobilizes young men to prevent sexual and domestic violence through outreach and educational programs.

Terrill Wise, Jonathan Wade, and Anwar Muhammad Nur are all participants or graduates of the organization’s Men of Strength Club. Also known as MOST Club, the school-based 22-week curriculum teaches male teens ages 11-18 healthy dating relationship skills and encourages them to show their “strength” in positive ways among their peers. Terrill, Jonathan, and Anwar have all demonstrated an outstanding commitment to being a “man of strength,” serving their communities through volunteer activities, and speaking out about the importance of men’s involvement in stopping violence against women.

Over the past 11 years, the Men of Strength Award has been given to celebrities, legislators, business professionals, athletes, and activists who use their “strength” in positive and various ways. Past honorees have included Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI); former NFL star Joe Ehrmann; former Liz Claiborne, Inc. CEO Paul Charron; and The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler.

This year the Awards will focus more on Men Can Stop Rape’s growing and targeted outreach to young men in middle school, high school, and college. The organization will debut its new anti-bullying and harassment poster awareness campaign for middle school boys entitled “YMOST: Young Men of Strength.” MCSR will also premiere its new educational film “Use Your Strength” which follows students growth and progress through MOST Club and Men Creating Change, MCSR’s new college program. Departing from the traditional celebrity-hosted event, the evening will be emceed by Rafael Suarez and William Harris, two college students and graduates of MOST Club. Over 250 supporters will enjoy heavy appetizers, cocktails, live musical entertainment, and a live program auction.

Tickets are $100 per person and $150 for couples and can purchased in advance at www.mencanstoprape.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $125 per person and $175 for couples. Proceeds will go towards the Men of Strength Club program which has sites at every public middle school and high school in the District. For more information, visit www.mencanstoprape.org, email awards@ mencanstoprape.org or call (202) 265-6530.

The 2010 Men of Strength Student Honorees:

· Mr. Terrill Wise
Student at Johnson Middle School and a Men of Strength Club member

· Mr. Jonathan Wade
Student at Benjamin Banneker High School and Men of Strength Club member

· Mr. Anwar Muhammad Nur
Graduate of School Without Walls High School and now a senior at Temple University

About Men Can Stop Rape:

Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) is a national Washington, DC based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize men to use their strength for creating cultures free from violence, especially men’s violence against women. Vital Voices (cofounded by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton) recognized us as “one of the most innovative prevention programs in the United States.” MCSR has reached over 2 million youth and professionals with our award-winning youth program the Men of Strength Club, our college program Campus Strength, and our “My Strength” awareness campaign. Learn more about us at www.mencanstoprape.org.

Demos event: live webcast

220 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Jane Addams was a leading statesperson in an era when such possibilities for women were almost nonexistent. Few people today, however, know the full scope of her work as a political progressive. Join us to commemorate the 150th anniversary of her birth, and to celebrate the release of Jane Addams: Spirit in Action.

In this fresh interpretation, the first full biography of Addams in nearly forty years, Louise W. Knight shows Addams’s boldness, creativity, and tenacity as she sought ways to put the ideals of democracy into action. Starting in Chicago as a co-founder of the nation’s first settlement house, Hull House—a community center where people of all classes and ethnicities could gather—Addams became a grassroots organizer and a partner of trade unionists, women, immigrants, and African Americans seeking social justice. In time, she emerged as an all-around progressive leader: an advocate for women’s suffrage; an advisor to presidents; a co-founder of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP; and a leader for international peace.

Knight’s fast-paced narrative traces how one woman worked with others to make a difference in the world, and how her legacy has contributed to the ideals and policies we strive for today.

Click here to RSVP for this event!

Click here for more information on Demos!

Louise W. Knight is a Visiting Scholar in the Gender Studies Program at Northwestern University and a writer and consultant to nonprofits. The author of Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, she lives in Evanston, Illinois.

Blanche Wiesen Cook is a bestselling biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt, and Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s Studies at John Jay College.

Are you ready to own your sexuality, to reclaim it, heal it and celebrate it? If you are ready to explore and transform your sexuality, join sexuality educator Amy Jo Goddard and some of the former participants of the Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship program for a free introductory night. Amy Jo will help women to assess where they are currently in their own sexuality and lead them in a guided meditation and interactive discussion. There is no obligation to take the program, and you will definitely walk away with some clarity and action steps about your own sexuality.

“I know there is a deep need for safe spaces where women can study and grow their sexuality, so I’ve carefully constructed a framework where women can learn experientially and share with each other aspects of their sexual selves that have been in hiding. I want to see women be truly empowered sexually. I want to see women support each other. I want women to have the intimate relationships they dream of. I want to support women to take the risks required to become their most authentic, fulfilled sexual selves.”

For more info or to sign up, go to:
http://womenssexualityintronight.eventbrite.com/

www.amyjogoddard.com

BIO:
Amy Jo Goddard, M.A. is a sexuality educator & trainer, writer, performing artist and activist. She travels to colleges, universities, communities and conferences teaching workshops and speaking about sexuality and maintains a private sex coaching practice. She is co-author of Lesbian Sex Secrets for Men and is a contributing author of All About Sex: A Family Resource Guide on Sex and Sexuality. Her article about queer performance artists and activism was published in 2007 in the Social Justice Journal and she has been published in numerous other publications including LOFT and Bust Magazine. Amy Jo was host of cherrybomb.com’s web stream program “Fresh Advice,” developing, researching, writing and performing over 60 episodes on women’s sexuality. A professional trainer of sexuality professionals, medical students, college students and youth for fifteen years, she has taught courses relating to sexuality at the City University of New York and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Amy Jo has taught breast and pelvic exams to medical/nursing students for 8 years and she is director/producer of the forthcoming documentary, At Your Cervix, a film that depicts this unusual work. She facilitates the Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship in New York City.

This week the New York Abortion Access Fund dipped below $1000, less than our average weekly grant total. To replenish the fund and keep our services operating, we are calling an emergency fundraiser for next Thursday, September 16th. Please join us from 6-9pm at Destination Bar for an evening of discounted cocktails, a raffle and silent auction in support of the New York Abortion Access Fund.

Suggested donation: $20 (or more if you can afford it)

When: September 16, 6:00-9:00pm

Where: Destination Bar, 211 Avenue A @ 13th St

Can’t come but support the cause? Donate anyway! Via Facebook Causes or via our website: http://www.nyaaf.org/.