Breastfeeding Culture: Mursi Tribe

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The Mursi tribe of Ethiopia's Omo Valley is one of the oldest and most easily identifiable tribal cultures of Africa. Most Mursi children nurse past toddler-hood, and clothing for women commonly leaves breasts exposed. The breast area for the Mursi tribe is viewed as nourishment for children and signals to men peak nubility of the woman, based on shape and texture. The Mursi people are at risk for displacement. From Mursi Online: Since the 1960s, the extension of government control over … [Read more...]

Book Club: Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah

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Our first book club book discussion is underway! If you haven't already, head over to the forum and join the conversation. We are on to our second book! We have chosen Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not … [Read more...]

Mapping the Hate

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Have you heard about The Geography of Hate project created by Humboldt State University undergraduate students? They sifted through a year of geocoded conversations from twitter to find hate words used in a negative context (which is important to note, since many people now use these words in a positive or neutral manner). The words were then applied to a color gradient map. The map shows certain areas I was surprised to find concentrated with hate speech. (Especially in the San Francisco … [Read more...]

Our Brother’s Keeper

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"Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9)           … [Read more...]

A Platypus Nurses Without Nipples

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Most people know that the Platypus is an egg-laying mammal and a member of the order Monotremata. Interesting fact about these creatures is that they do not have teats/nipples. The platypus nurses its young from its mammary patches that secrete milk. … [Read more...]

Confrontation at MMA Class: A “Bad Kid”?

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Yesterday was an interesting day. I called and called around looking for push-up pop molds. Finally, a Sur La Table employee flippantly responded that they indeed carried the product. After a 30 minute drive to the store, paid parking, and two little boys ready for breakfast in tow, we arrived. The man I approached at Sur La Table was extremely apologetic, but explained they did not carry the stupid push-pop molds. (I would like the know if the other employee I spoke to on the phone would … [Read more...]

Breastfeeding Billboard Jokes About Pedophilia

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A billboard featuring a woman breastfeeding her infant (with the breast area blurred out) and the caption (coming from the infant) “Jealous?” is making news because a website geared toward matching younger men with older women is using this as their advertisement. Regardless of the true intentions of a company that put this thought out into the world, it does bring up some obvious issues. Advertising is like a time capsule revealing some of our more shameful ideas of the past.  … [Read more...]

That Time My Husband Cut My Hair with Poultry Scissors

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I have admitted before that my choices of what (or what not) to spend our money on have been questionable. When it comes to personal aesthetics, I am met with another grey area. There was that time I came up with a brilliant plan to wax my own eyebrows to save money. It went okay for a bit, but then I almost burned the house down with the hot wax on the stove, and I accidentally waxed half of my eyebrow off. I called my Scandinavian mom after this happened and she gave me these soothing … [Read more...]

Clothing Your Kids Without Sweatshops: A Giveaway!

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When we asked for resources for kid's clothing companies that don't use sweatshops, we started a pretty serious conversation about what companies truly have ethical processes. Our best resource was the owner of Bloom in Ithaca. She gave us these resources: 1. Teres Kids The clothes from Teres Kids are organic and Made in the USA (not the territories.) 2. Kiwi Industries Kiwi Industries makes all their clothing in a factory in New Mexico which pays their workers a living wage and provides … [Read more...]

Mother’s Day Links

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Check out my friend Zoe over at Slowmama. - Why I Let My Adopted Preschoolers Nurse    Amy at Zen Parenting responds to public criticism of her appearance. - My Body- Apparently Up for Debate   Interested in learning more about transgendered families? Check out Milkjunkies.net: "A transgender dad in a gay relationship breastfeeds his baby boy. A celebration of queer families, breast milk, and attachment parenting!"   My friend Shannon over at The Woman … [Read more...]