Physical protests = so much better than virtual ones!

Yesterday, I got to physically participate in a protest, and it was fucking awesome. I went to the Texas capital to show my support for Senator Wendy Davis (D- Fort Worth) as she filibustered for over twelve hours in order to fight Senate Bill Five, which would have closed almost every clinic in Texas that performs abortions among other reproductive health work. Sometimes in this digital age, I forget how important it is to actually get involved in a cause. Online petitions are great. Tweets of support are wonderful. Donations are vital. It is totally different to show support (or dissent) in person. You get to feel the atmosphere; you get to show people what you stand for. You get to see the solidarity that you have with others, even if you seem to have nothing else in common. And you get to see who is being a total ass, so you can work to get them out of office during the next election (looking at you Senator Deuell). 

Now, I am under no illusion that Governor Perry and other conservative legislators will suddenly decide that they would like to give up on their campaign to close abortion clinics in Texas. That would require a miracle and a sudden shift in the national political agenda (because they can never just keep their stupidity here). I know that this will be a long battle, especially if there is a second special session. Then there will be subsequent law suits and federal rulings and all sorts of stuff. BUT I am also aware that Texans showed up last night in HUGE numbers to show legislators that they will physically fight for their rights. That makes me proud, and it gives me hope. I am glad that I could be a part of it, and I am in awe of everyone who spent four days at the capital to protect our rights as women and as human beings (like @missjuliesunday).

    

To learn more about what happened, you can click the following links:

A summary of what happened from Reality Check.

Video stream from the evening on  Slate.

Timeline updates from the Austin American Statesman.

- Lauren, physical protester and it feels so good!

Step Away from the Douching Products!

I know that the topic of douching comes up every once in a while, usually after watching commercials during day time television. I bring it up today, because I just read Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins. The center of one storyline is an epic battle between feminist cowgirls, who believe that douching is wrong, and their ranch owner, who also happens to be the multi-millionaire owner of a douching company. Their fighting comes to a head when the cowgirls decide to attack the ranch owner after they have refused to shower for weeks, so he can get a true understanding of how powerful vaginal odor can be. Even though the book is totally fiction, it does bring up a really good point. Douching is bad for our vaginal health!

Yes, one could argue that we need to take back our vaginal scent and celebrate its musky odor. That’s all well and good. Celebrate your funk! Looking beyond that, we must keep in mind that our body is a very precariously balanced ecosystem, including our vaginas. According to Dr. KateClancy with Scientific American, a healthy premenopausal vagina will have a pH level of 3.8-4.5, which is slightly acidic. This is incredibly important to protect our vaginal environment from bacterial vaginosis (which can lead to preterm labor), to keep our mucus membrane intact, and to protect us from other potentially harmful infections. Douching, even with supposedly pH balanced formulas or natural products, disrupts all of that, which according to a meta-analysis done by the National Institute of Health can be incredibly harmful. They go so far as to suggest that douches should come with a warning label so women will be fully aware of how bad douching is for their body.

So, you are welcome to call people douche bags. (I do!) You can even use douche sprays as alternative deodorizers in your home (maybe), BUT please keep them away from your vagina. Instead, revel in the scent of your slightly-acidic-but-perfectly-normal vagina and know that it is doing good work on its own.

-          Lauren, natural vagina avenger!   

Let's talk about Plan B for a moment.

For the past few weeks, there has been lots of chatter about emergency contraception, typically referred to as Plan B or the morning after pill. All kinds of information is floating around about the contraception method itself. Here are some important things to know that I have gathered from Mother Jones, the New York Times, National Public Radio, Reality Check, and Planned Parenthood: 

• This type of contraception involves pills which release hormones that can decrease the risk of pregnancy after unprotected vaginal intercourse if taken within five days of the interaction. (Planned Parenthood and New York Times)
• Although often referred to as the abortion pill, it is not. If a fertilized egg implants itself in the uterine lining, the pill will not disrupt the zygote. (Planned Parenthood)
• There are two types of morning after pill, one involves taking two different pills and the other only requires one. (This fact will become important in a bit.) (New York Times and Mother Jones)
• Plan B is the popular brand name given to the two different options currently on the market. (National Public Radio and Reality Check)

     Here is a short breakdown of what has occurred:

• In April 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman’s court ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make all types of emergency contraception available over-the-counter without age restrictions, which would eliminate the current prescription requirement. The judge made this ruling after twelve years of overseeing the case with the Food and Drug Administration spurred by a citizen lawsuit. (National Public Radio)  
• Since the ruling, the Obama administration filed an appeal through the justice department in order to delay implementation of the court order. (Mother Jones)
• The appeal was denied, and the two-pill emergency contraception should be available over-the-counter in stores within the next thirty days or so (because the government likes to take its sweet time). (New York Times)
• There must be a separate application process for the emergency contraception that only involves one pill, but it is expected to be approved. (New York Times)

Basically, we should all do a happy dance today, because a safe, effective form of contraception will be available to women of all ages soon. It may have taken twelve years, BUT it is happening nonetheless.  So yay!

- Lauren, emergency contraception information spreader!