Merry Christmas (babies make awesome Christmases)

This is Ezra all dressed up in his little suit that his grandparents McCuistion gave him for Christmas.  He got to have this early because he grows like a crazy man and we wanted him to get the most use he could out of it.  Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

Jason and Ezra snoozing during the Village Christmas Party

We really sunk into the Christmas Holiday for the Village Christmas Party.  What village, you ask?  On my side of the family, we belief in saying, it takes a village to raise a child.  The "Village" is our adopted family.  At the party, we had a white elephant exchange and many other fun activities.

At the Holiday Festival of Lights-  Lindsay let us borrow her mobi-wrap.
Ezra had a great time facing forward as we walked around.  

After the party, the village decided to go to the Holiday Festival of Lights (it's one of the top ten light displays in the country!)  over on James Island.  We drove and walked around for hours with the dogs and babies.  There will be more to come on the Christmas Season once I get my mom's camera disk.  Hold tight!

This is both Alex and Ezra's first carousel ride.  They both enjoyed it tremendously (as did both sets of parents).

8 rights for which feminists fight

When I wrote my prior article, Gender and Politics, I was asked by many exactly what rights feminists are seeking.  Yes, many refuted the wage gap, and one even sarcastically referred to his handy copy of the US Constitution.  Well, my dears, sit back and enjoy because sometimes what is more important are the things that go unmentioned.  This is a list I have compiled of some of the rights for which feminists fight. 

1.  The right for females to have any job males can have (including in the military- yay women on submarines!).

2.  The right to not be sexually harassed at the place of employment (because while this is not exclusively done to females, the VAST majority of sexually based harassment is done to a female).

3.  The right to not be a victim of domestic violence.  Did you know in the state of South Carolina that in the same year that cock fighting became a felony, a bill to make domestic violence a felony was as well on the table and it didn't pass?  And again, I know this is not only a female problem, but 95% of domestic violence is against women.  Feel free to research this topic in Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti. 

4.  The right to informed decisions about birth control (this is an issue for both men and women).  Also, on that note, many women are fighting to keep their pro-choice option as this seems to be constantly on the table for question.  Worth mentioning is that I am actually pro life, and while most feminists would denounce me as a true feminist, many would not.  There are many breeds of feminism. 

5.  The right to not be put on certain tracks in school due to age, sex, race, ethnicity, etc.  Tracking women in specific classes (avoiding STEM subjects) creates job segregation.  Jobs that are comprised of mainly women are generally paid less.  Feel free to take a closer look at this in Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework by Lyn Weber.

6.  The right to not be devalued with age.  While ageism is real for both men and women later in life, it begins VERY early for women.  Women are constantly infantilized because younger and more innocent is better.  Take one look at any magazine and advertisement, and I think you'll see what I mean. 

7.  The right to not be stigmatized for being pregnant and unwed.  Men don't have that problem and neither should women.  Being pregnant and single should not keep a woman from any government job- because men aren't asked about their kids and spousal relationships prior to employment.

8.  The right to not be revictimized for being raped.  One will often here that she was asking for it by her manner of dress, the neighborhood she was in, the late hour she was out, or the mental state she was in.   I call BS (for all you LDS out there, I mean Bologna Sandwich :).  If someone says no the answer is no regardless of ANY other conditions of the event.  The conviction rate of rape is in the single digits (~6%)-  please check out this and other rape statistics here.

Crawling (or Diving)

Big News this week-  Ezra crawled for the first time.  Okay, so it was more like diving, but, hey, it was still moving intentionally forward!  He moves his feet forward and then falls forward.  He hasn't gotten the hands part down, but he generally loves the fact that he can go somewhere. 

Gender and Politics (as promised)

After posting this on a primarily conservative website, I have come to realize I am not as thick-skinned as I would have like to think.  Here is a more cited version.  Also, I need a break from writing after fighting that political uphill battle.   Hopefully a sabbatical and some much needed reading of other feminists will bring me back rejuvenated and in full force. 

Gender and Politics

For some it’s abortion. For others, it’s taxes. For others still, it’s same-sex marriage.

Here’s the thing- Everyone has an issue.

My issue? Women’s Rights.

I support this by participating in multiple forms of activism and…
By not voting people into office that hate me.

For example, in a local election, Senator Jim DeMint ran against Candidate Alvin Greene. DeMint’s credentials far exceeded Greene’s, however DeMint had been cited several times with sexist commentary. Retracting statements after discussing it with your campaign manager is too little too late. Guess who got my support? That’s right, the guy with no experience and no credentials.

I know there are many other issues out there to be dealt with and that this nation is in peril, but I can’t vote for someone who does not see me as an equal due to my race, religion, or sex. It’s a deal breaker. I am not a big President Obama fan for many reasons and believe that our country needs a new leader. Being a non-platform voter, all options are on the table, so I dug in to the republican front runners for the upcoming primary. First things first, I compare their views on women.
From my research, Candidate Romney is said to be “evolving” in his tolerance of women. What does that mean? It says he’s not there yet and needs to be told that women are through being merely tolerated. We are equals.

Gingrich wants to inject religion back into schools. As far as women’s interests go, religion is almost always a stumbling block as most religions are patriarchal. This may be suitable in your religious establishment, but it has no place in running a country where over half of the population is female. Patriarchy holds women back by teaching that women should always be in the role of support. This country already runs on the patriarchal model- why should we exacerbate this by pumping religion into the mix.

Romney, Candidate Paul, and Candidate Gingrich have spoken out against Planned Parenthood, claiming that abortions should not be supported with taxpayer dollars. Planned Parenthood is not all about handing out abortions, in fact just the opposite could be said. They are pro-avoiding abortions with options like birth control. In point of fact, on the Planed Parenthood website it states that it is an educator to the community of responsible human sexuality.

Paul's desire to sign a Ban on Planned Parenthood isn’t the biggest feminist beef. Paul states on his campaign website outright that he doesn’t believe in equal pay for equal jobs. I say let’s give all women a forty percent raise and men and thirty percent demotion and see how fired up about equal pay we can get. While this sounds very 1950s, the truth of the matter is when comparing full time working women with full time working men the wage gap is very real.

Candidate Bachmann is avoiding the subject all together. I've tried to find her stance on anything gender related, but have come up empty-handed. When I first began volunteering as a court advocate, I wore pants and always had my hair pulled back to be as “business-like” as possible so I would be more easily taken seriously. It turns out that what I considered “business-like” and “serious” was also what I considered to be less feminine and more masculine. I have to wonder if that is Bachmann’s approach here. Is she just ignoring women’s issues because that will take away from the seriousness of her campaign? If so, that seems pretty bogus. Women have been ignored with our many WASP males in office, they don’t need to be ignored with a woman in office.

And a big thank you to Herman Cain for suspending his candidacy. "Allegations” are when it can’t be proven that you sexually harassed two women who won’t actually speak out about it. Guilty is when four women come forward and a thirteen year mistress.

Back to President Obama. He seems to care more than any other present candidate about “Women’s Issues” ( I use quotes because I think of them as regular issues because they affect over half of the population). I particularly like the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (Equal pay for equal jobs), the Affordable Care Act (insurance companies cannot discriminate against women), and his involvement in to increase women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects.

It goes back to everyone having their issues; one particular hurtle that a representative, whether in White House or other office, has to clear to get support, with all other hurtles being secondary. As a woman, I won't stand to simply be tolerated by male leaders, ignored by female leaders or tracked into a low ceiling, supporting role by an outdated traditionalist system. What I need- what women need- is a true advocate. 

Holiday Cheer (everyone needs to laugh)



Ezra loves being tickled, especially on his belly!




Santa Marla



December brings shopping (& hockey)

December is quickly bringing our first Christmas as parents!  We're super excited.  I have always loved Christmas shopping, but it is even better with a Little Man for which to shop. We are also very excited that due to Jason's day staff position, he will have Christmas off of work-  Yay!!

We took Ezra to his first Stingrays hockey game last week.  He charmed everyone around us, and didn't seem to mind all the noise except once when the END PERIOD buzzer went off. 










We also got to see the Debbie's Kids' Teddy Bear Toss.  This is when the Stingrays score their first goal and everyone throws stuffed animals on the ice for underprivileged children.  It was incredibly moving the amount of teddy bears thrown.  I am still blaming my current softness on left over pregger hormones, but I choked a bit.  This is a video from a year ago at the teddy bear toss.  This year, even more were collected-  they filled two giant truck beds, and two large receptacles.  It was an awesome reminder of the spirit of Christmas

Quote of the day (1)

"It's about the consciousness behind your decisions."
-Jessica Valenti

Do what you want as long as it's intentional and your decision.