On her first day of work back in 2004, Debbie nearly knocked the water cooler over and onto cofounder and then-publisher Lisa Jervis. Luckily no one held it against her, and in fact she was handed the publishing reins in 2006 when Lisa stepped down from the staff.
Prior to joining Bitch, Debbie was, at various points, involved in sexuality and reproductive justice work, union organizing, queer youth counseling, and racial- and economic-justice work. Way back in the day she also used to answer emergency road service calls from stranded Minnesotans in the dead of winter, which led to her fear of phones.
Debbie has a Master's degree in Publishing/Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, which sounds much fancier than it is, 'cause most of her time there was spent working on the collectively run, community-supported, endearlingly-titled Madison Insurgent newspaper and and helping organize the first successful unionizing effort at the Whole Foods Market chain.
She returns to her hometown of Minneapolis occasionally to help her grandma host tea parties. She also likes practicing yoga, playing the accordion, rearranging furniture, talking to animals, and adjusting the lighting.
The rising visibility of trans, intersex, and genderqueer movements has led feminists—and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world—to an increasing awareness that m and f are only the beginning of the story of gender identity. With the release of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Julia Serano offers a perspective sorely needed, but up until now rarely heard: a transfeminine critique of both feminist and mainstream understandings of gender.
Passing on the news of a recently-launched website dedicated to honoring and mobilizing girls' media production called Girls Make Media. Creator Mary Celeste Kearney is hoping the site will become a resource for girls, as well as media educators, researchers, and others dedicated to amplifying the voices of girls.
Looks like it's off to a good start -- please check it out, spread the word, contribute...
I'd never
been to Salt Lake City before, so I was excited to check it out. After
a long drive in from Denver, I was even more excited to be greeted by a
plate of vegan cookies, freshly-baked by our host, Courtney Maguire
(thanks, Courtney!). Courtney is one of the folks involved with the Female Empwerment Movement (FEM),
a new(ish) feminist group created in response to the high rates of
sexual violence in Salt Lake. FEM also helped organize and get the word
out of the evening's events, and I'm grateful.
I'm also grateful to Angela Brown, Meghann Griggs, and the rest of the folks at SLUG magazine,
who responded almost immediately to our call for assistance in helping
put together the discussion and fundraiser in Salt Lake. SLUG was
founded in 1989 and remains Utah's oldest alternative paper.
I've been debating whether I should post this for a few days, but I've decided I must.
Earlier this week, I went to the Mother Jones website to find an old article I wanted to post here. But my search was interrupted when I saw an ad for Wal-Mart pop up.
An ad for Wal-Mart on the website of a magazine that calls itself:
An
independent nonprofit whose roots lie in a commitment to social justice
implemented through first rate investigative reporting.
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