Warning: This post contains uncharacteristically strong language for the Fierce Diva. It's to prove a point, of course.
I have something I need to get off my chest – no pun intended. I find the mega-hype over this week's cover of Time Magazine (for those of you living under a rock, it would be the one that features a photo of a mother breastfeeding her three year-old son) rather annoying. Forget about the article. The photo itself has gotten plenty of press and outrage from the country-at-large.
There has been a demand for the magazine to be censored at certain new stands. People are calling the photo soft porn. Let's get something straight, Divas. Fifty Shades of Grey is soft porn. The cover of Time, no matter what you think of extended breastfeeding, is not.
The cover of Time has turned the people of this country into a bunch of crazymotherfuckers. Honestly, Divas, if you're going to muster up all kinds of crazaymotherfuckerness to get behind a cause, is the Time Magazine cover really worth your efforts?
I can think of dozens of issues where your crazymotherfuckerness is sorely needed. Real issues, that actually matter, that we don't pay enough attention to! Perhaps today is the day for you to put your angst behind an issue worth fighting for. Here are five very worthy causes to get you started:
(1) Child porn or sex trafficking: If you're going to become a crazymotherfucker, this is the issue that needs your outrage, your voice, and your support. We can all sit around and waste our time, pointing the finger at one another about how we parent, how long we breastfed or didn't breastfeed, and boobies on the cover of Time, or we can use our energies to save the life of a child who is being raped, tortured and exploited. You decide. Check out the following resources and join the cause. http://www.tinyhandsinternational.org, http://www.love146.org, http://www.maitinepal.org/
(2) Famine: There are 12 million people starving right now in East Africa alone. There are children who are dying from malnutrition and disease as I sit here and write this article! That information makes me a crazymotherfucker. Here are some charities that work directly with East Africa on malnutrition and clean water:
www.doctorswithoutborders.org, http://www.unicef.org/, www.mycare.org/
There are also people in your town that are going hungry. Yes, in your very nice middle class town. Because times are tough here in the US. Remember to give to your local food pantry, and give generously.
(3) Equal pay for women: The glass ceiling is still very much there. I've seen it. I've lived it. Isn't it time that we demand equal pay for equal work? In a recent Article in the Huffington Post, Senator Kirsten Gilligran of New York wrote, "In Wisconsin, women make just 75 cents on the dollar for what men make, in New York, women make just 83 cents, and nationally that figure is 77 cents. If you're an African American woman, you are earning 62 cents on the dollar, and if you are a Latina, only 54 cents on that dollar. This is unacceptable." Please write a letter to your senator to let him/her know that equal pay is an important issue to you. Because even after all this time, we are still not "there" yet.
(4) Abuse and neglect of animals: We live in a country with overcrowded animal shelters, many of which euthanize dogs and cats that are not adopted in a reasonable amount of time, in order to make room for more animals that are abandoned, strayed, or left at their doorsteps. We could minimize this problem by spaying and neutering our pets and by putting a stop to illegal "puppy mills." You also have the chance to save the life of a dog by becoming its "foster parent." This is a short term commitment, where you are the interim home of a dog who would have otherwise been euthanized, until he gets adopted. Contact your local Humane Society chapter or ASPCA to inquire about their foster program.
(5) This country's education system: Our education system is broken. We have great teachers who want to teach, but have limited resources, or they don't have tenure and are fired. Then, we have burnt out, tenured teachers who are hanging in there for their pensions and don't teach at all. Know what goes on at your child's school. Start reading the Board of education meeting minutes, which in most cases, are available online. Talk to other parents, band together and become crazymotherfuckers when necessary.
The Time cover created a lot of buzz, and buzz sells magazines. So, in the end, while you're all hyperventilating over nothing too important, they're the ones getting the last laugh.
Maybe what I need to do to get more traffic on my blog is stick a picture at the top of the page of my breastfeeding one of my kids.
Joking.
I would welcome some publicity, but for now, I'll stick to Twitter (@fiercedivablog..if you've forgotten 🙂
Namaste, Divas!
©2012 Ilene Evans
