Friday Fresh Picks for Feminists

Happy Friday!!! It’s 10am and I am just sipping my first taste of coffee for the day. I don’t know how the morning go away from me like this or how I was able to function till 10am without coffee but sure enough I am certainly savoring the caffeine at the moment. I missed Friday Fresh Picks last week and this week I wanted to share some of what’s I’ve found interesting, funny, motivating and what-not over the past two weeks.

First is an interesting take on the whole idea of making women aware of their symptoms and signs. This is a huge thing I do as a volunteer with the Preeclampsia Foundation. I want women to know the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia so they know when to get help. I read this article yesterday titled Is Medicine’s Gender Bias Killing Young Women. I am still a bit torn on how I feel about this. I see the author’s points as valid and honestly nothing I have ever thought. This one point really left me unsettled.. “focusing on what individual women do—or don’t do—when they’re having a heart attack is a way of subtly shifting the blame for the deep and systemic failures of our health care system onto its victims.” OR is making young women aware of signs and symptoms arming them with the power to know when to pick up the phone and call for help. I can’t stop thinking on this topic

Then there is Adele!! OMG when she eats the grass AND brushes the hair. This is so funny. I really would love to just hang out one night with Adele, eat take out Chinese food and laugh.

CALL THE MIDWIFE!! Why, Why, Why did I wait so long to watch this show. Oh my it is fantastic. The depth of character from the moment the show starts is so fulfilling. I find myself loving the nuns, midwives and all the mothers I am introduced to throughout the show. I am also reminded of how scary, joyous and fragile the whole process of giving birth, becoming a mother and having a baby really is.

Since it seems very strong woman minded today I wanted to share this awesome book I got for my daughter Hayley. Women Who Changed the World: 50 Amazing Americans my son has been obsessed with Scholastic Books on Sports so I was looking for something different for my daughter. I love that she can read about women that helped change the world and see how girls can do anything they try!!!

Our favorite new book @scholasticinc @scholasticreadingclub

A photo posted by Sarah (@finnegan_hughes) on Jan 25, 2016 at 12:45pm PST

We act as if work is optional for women. It’s not. AMEN!!!! I have had women tell me, if you cut out things you could make it work OR my favorite was “You never realize how you can make things work till you TRY” OH OK, How should I TRY to make my health and college benefits just appear. Also, am I a horrible mother because I would rather not TRY to make it work? I would 100% rather bring my children out to dinners, go on vacations, pay for lessons and sports equipment then TRY to get by. I also (GASP) enjoy buying myself nice things. I like to shop at Nordstrom and buy designer sunglasses, I love sunglasses. For my family, work is not an option because we need my income, we need my health benefits and my college tuition benefits. We also need the retirement benefits I have. So work for me is not optional.. I love this article in the Washington Post reminding us how for 70% of mother, they need to work in order to food on the table and they don’t have an option.