Babe Weekly: The Symbolism of Sarah Everard’s murder, Michelle Obama, the relationship between COVID, race, and gender & more

Leave a comment

By Emily Park

At Catcall, we’re all about turning catcalling on its head and calling out the patriarchy with stories that inspire the shes, theys, gays and highlight the work that needs to be done to dismantle systemic inequalities. We’re proud to bring you the Babe Weekly with the latest headlines, stories, and stats in feminist news.

The road to equality

Arkansas Passes Near-Total Abortion Ban — And A Possible ‘Roe V. Wade’ Test 

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed one of the country’s most restrictive abortion bans into law on March 9. The bill — which could challenge Roe v. Wade — prohibits all abortions except in cases where terminating a pregnancy is necessary preserve the life of the pregnant person Read more here.

Continue reading →

I didn’t have COVID-19, but I almost died because of it

Leave a comment

By Emily Park

Around Thanksgiving, I found myself sure that the COVID test I had just taken was going to come back positive—an assumption that came very close to ending my life at 23 years old. Because of the pandemic, I waited far too long to seek medical attention and experienced delays in my care due to the hospital being overwhelmed by the virus.

I had all of the major symptoms the CDC had been drilling into our heads for the last nine months: shortness of breath, a cough, body aches, an elevated temperature, severe exhaustion, an increased heart rate—the works. But it also turns out that all of the above are also symptoms of a pulmonary embolism (aka blood clots in the lungs), which is the third most common cause of cardiac death.

After a few days of symptoms, I had a virtual visit with my doctor who strongly predicted the COVID test she ordered would come back positive. I was only 23, had no history of clots, and COVID was rapidly spreading through the community. There wasn’t much reason to assume it was anything besides the virus.

Continue reading →

SOUP: The Trouble with Transitioning

Leave a comment

By Jen Harris

SOUP offers a content warning prior to every column, as the subjects discussed herein may be triggering for some readers. Please proceed with caution. If you would like to try a grounding technique for triggered moments, here is a personal recommendation.

The trouble with transitioning is, I’m not a man. When I look in the mirror, I cannot imagine I could look more like my father, though I know a beard would do the trick.

Continue reading →

Babe Weekly: Idaho abortion bill, RBG memorial, best & worst states for women, and more

Leave a comment

At Catcall, we’re all about turning catcalling on its head and calling out the patriarchy with stories that inspire the shes, theys and gays and highlight the work that needs to be done to dismantle systemic inequalities. We’re proud to bring you the Babe Weekly with the latest headlines, stories, and stats in feminist news.

The road to equality — progress and setbacks

Idaho House OKs legislation to defund abortion providers

On March 2, the Idaho House of Representatives approved legislation that, if passed by the Idaho Senate, would halt public funding to “abortion providers”  — that includes schools, public health departments and other health care providers that so much as tell a patient that abortion is an option. Read more here.

Continue reading →

My birthing story: I was one of the first non-binary births at Truman Medical

Leave a comment

By: Max Sheffield-Baird

I never expected to become pregnant. I had made my peace with it years ago. I was assured by an OBGYN over five years ago that I could not ovulate without medical assistance. As I came to terms with my gender identity as a non-binary trans person, I saw my lack of menstruation as my body doing me a favor and saving me the dysphoria of a monthly reminder of my body not quite fitting the person I knew myself to be.

I’m a nurse. I’ve actually attended two births. Each time I cried. It was a sacred experience to witness. Whether you’re religious or not, I was able to see the argument for a Deity when I’d see a baby take their first breath and their parents get to hold them for the first time. For my own birth experience, I had nervous anticipation. No one comes into Birth prepared. Not really. I had a birth plan but I also knew that nothing goes 100 percent as planned. It was an exercise in letting go and surrendering to the process. I’ve never been very good at that.

I did expect to educate the labor nurses and obstetricians around me on my gender identity and how best to support and affirm me as I went through one of the most vulnerable times of my life. I created a sign and hung it over my hospital bed at Truman Medical: “My name is Max, I’m non-binary, I use they/them pronouns.” The nurses asked questions and were respectful. They asked me if “mom” was still appropriate to use.

Continue reading →