Ariel Gore

spring greetings

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:07:00 +0000

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm hoping you want to buy a book or two...

at Yo Mama's Bookshop

three cheers for diane di prima

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 +0000

In Recollections of My Life as a Woman, the poet Diane di Prima tells of a night at Allen Ginsberg's place in New York. She'd gotten a friend to babysit her young daughter and headed over to Ginsberg's apartment because Jack Kerouac and Philip Whalen were in town for "one of those nights with lots of important intense talk about writing you don't remember later."

Well, Diane had promised her babysitter that she'd be back at 11:30 that night, and 11:30 starts rolling around, so she bids her farewells. "Whereupon, Kerouac raised himself up on one elbow on the linoleum and announced in a stentorian voice: "DI PRIMA, UNLESS YOU FORGET ABOUT YOUR BABYSITTER, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE A WRITER.""

How do you like that?

Kerouac just raises himself up on his one drunken elbow and slaps us with the great fear we all share. He embodies the archetype of the selfish, self-destructive male artist and he announces that unless we, too, are willing to be irresponsible to our relationships, we’ll never quite measure up.

"I considered this carefully, then and later," di Prima writes, "and allowed that at least part of me thought he was right. But nevertheless I got up and went home."

Three cheers for di Prima!

"I'd given my word to my friend," she explains, "and I would keep it. Maybe I was never going to be a writer, but I had to risk it. That was the risk that was hidden (like a Chinese puzzle) inside the other risk of: can I be a single mom and be a poet?""

A serious question, that one. Serious not only for single moms, but for all of us. Can we be present in our relationships and still do the work we feel called to do? It's like my friend Lynn says: "A woman has to make a real effort not to dissolve into everything that needs her." Our relationships need us, but we don't want to dissolve. We refuse to dissolve, but we choose also to be responsible to our relationships. We're tired of the drunk guy on the linoleum telling us we can't do both. Women have always done both.

Looking back, di Prima recognizes what is true: Had she opted to stay that night, "there would be no poems. That is, the person who would have left a friend hanging who had done her a favor, also wouldn't have stuck through thick and thin to the business of making poems. It is the same discipline throughout--"

The same discipline.

And discipline, like motherhood, is good for the soul. Poetry is good for the soul. Responsibility to all of our dysfunctional relationships is good for the soul. The archetype of the selfish male artist tells us that we can't manage all of these things at once, that we can't be simultaneously responsible to children, babysitters, self, and art, that we have to sacrifice, to abandon—but we know that’s a lie.

As I write this, Kerouac has been in his grave for nearly 40 years. Diane di Prima is down in San Francisco, mother of five children, author of 35 books of poetry and several memoirs, powerhouse and 21st century radical.

In Revolutionary Letters, di Prima writes, "Be strong. We have the right to make the universe we dream. No need to fear 'science' groveling apology for things as they are, ALL POWER TO JOY, which will remake the world."

Three cheers for the courage to make the universe we dream.

mama's day party

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:38:00 +0000

Thanks for coming to the party!

Look at the you tube right here

kboo radio show

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:22:00 +0000

I'll be on KBOO 90.7 in Portland tomorrow - TUESDAY MAY 6 - with Hip Mama's new editor, Kerlin Richter, Rad Dad editor Tom Moniz, and Edgy'Catin Mama editor Nina Packebush.

Tune in to our mother's day show! Listen live at kboo.fm...

new issue

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:01:00 +0000

The new issue of Hip Mama is wending its way to newsstands and to subscribers mailboxes right now.

Featuring...

Yo Mama's Daybook
Pregnant daddies
How to counter military recruitment
Hip Mama readers old-school and new sending the zine off to its new editor with love, good wishes, and inappropriate memories...
Annaliese Jakimides on what we teach our children
Victoria Law reports from the first gathering of indigenous Zapatista women with women from around the world
And way more

You can order a single copy or subscription at theHip Mama shop.

Friends of Matt Diaz

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Hey! My friend and ex-Navy officer Matthew Diaz gambled everything to uphold the rights of prisoners at Guantánamo. Now he may lose his law license.

He was just awarded The Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize

Read the Salon story about Matt Diaz here

Friends of Matt Diaz are accepting donations--all money will go directly to Matt to help him pay his costs. We expect to have a dedicated website up soon, but for now your donations are secure and deeply appreciated.

If you are not able to donate but want to be kept updated about Matt's case, just email Ariel with "Friend of Matt Diaz" in the subject line.

And of course you can comment about Matt's case here and/or ask questions about how you can help.

(Click here to listen to La Califusa's song for Matt)

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Mother's Day Hip Mama Party & Variety Show

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:33:00 +0000

Come celebrate the spring & the changing of the editors...

MOTHER'S DAY PARTY & VARIETY SHOW IN PORTLAND!
We'll be hosting a Mother's Day party & variety show fundraiser for the relaunch of the zine
Connect with other counter-culture parents
Meet the new editor
Support the new Hip Mama
Music from The Repair and others
Puppet show
Silent auction
Beer & Wine
Readings by Ariel Gore and others...
Watch for more details right here...
Mark your calendar: Sunday, May 11, 5 - 8 p.m., at the Watershed - 5040 SE Milwaukie in Portland, $5 suggested donation (or get a free ticket with your 5-issue support the new Hip Mama subscription
Kids free & welcome

Hip Mama is getting a new editor

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:41:00 +0000

After 15 years, Hip Mama is getting a new editor!

The Spring '08 issue--the one I'm working on right now--is the last issue of Hip Mama I'll edit. It will be out in mid April. After that, I'll to stay on as Yo Mama & a consulting editor, but I'm passing the reigns to the amazing Kerlin Richter, a writer/editor, visual artist mama, and theology student.

Kerlin will of course bring her own vibe & vision to Hip Mama--and maybe even get back to putting it out 4 times a year--but the "mission" stays the same--feminist, pro-choice, reader-written--yes indeed. The post office box is the same, too (P.O. Box 12525, Portland, OR, 97212), but the new email address will be hipmamazine at gmail dot com

Support the new Hip Mama with a 5-issue subscription--your first issue will be #39, edited by Ariel, and then you'll get Kerlin's first four issues. Includes a free ticket to the Motrher's Day celebration for mamas in the Portland area. Take a chance on something new and beautiful!

three cheers for truth-telling!

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:36:00 +0000

I just learned that my friend Matthew Diaz, former JAG corps officer at Guantanamo, fresh out of jail and booted out of the military for telling the truth is being honored with the 2008 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling.

Woo hoo!

Congratulation to Matt. He deserves heroic recognition.

CLICK RIGHT HERE to listen to my sister's song for Matt.

As you may remember, a jury last year sentenced Matt to six months for giving a list of Guantanamo detainees to a New York law firm, making him, as Harper's Magazine put it, "the first political prisoner in recent United States history." He transmitted the names as an act of protest over the mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. A federal court subsequently ruled that the Navy's decision to withhold the names was unlawful, and issued an order compelling their disclosure--so the Pentagon's withholding of the names, and not Matt's action, was unlawful.

maximilian sez

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:14:00 +0000

why you feel so funky

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:32:00 +0000

(AP) -- A vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs -- and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen -- in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

Eew.

Rad Zinesters in California

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Holy wow - I so wish I was in California. Look at this amazing line-up....

California, here we come!
Radical Parent Writer-Zine-Friends Together at Last:
Rahula Janowski of the zine Joybringer, Jessica Mills, author of My Mother Wears Combat Boots, Tomas Moniz of Rad Dad, China Martens of The Future Generation

Wednesday, March 19th, 7 pm at AK Press Warehouse 674-A 23rd. St Oakland, CA:
Book reading event with China Martens, The Future Generation: A Zine-Book For Subculture Parents, Kids, Friends & Others (Atomic Books Company) and and Jessica Mills, My Mother Wears Combat Boots (AK Press). For more info contact: AK Press at 510.208.1700 or visit www.akpress.org

Thursday, March 20, 6 pm at Modern Times Books 888 Valencia Street, San Francisco
What does it mean to be a radical parent in these times?

Saturday and Sunday March 22-23 at the 13th Annual Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, SF

Sunday March 23rd, 12:00 – 12:50 at the Anarchist Book Fair
PANEL DISCUSSION - Anarchist Parents / Building an All Ages Community of Resistance
Anarchism challenges us to create personal and social change but often provides no support for mothers, fathers, and other caretakers of children who try to do so. Let’s learn how to work together in new ways. By valuing the involvement/work of parents and caretakers, we form a more vibrant culture of resistance; and we teach the young the vision we want to see of a more equitable future by including them in our activities now. This will be a discussion between both parents and non-parents, on concrete ways child-free allies can support parents and children in their community. Good for everyone!

does your kid ride the short bus?

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Editors Yantra Bertelli, Jennifer Silverman and Sarah Talbot are looking for submissions for My Baby Rides the Short Bus, an upcoming anthology to be published by PM Press.

"We are seeking submissions from a diverse group of parents raising special needs kids who feel marginalized by their subculture status (economics, lifestyle, orientation, religion/atheism) and underrepresented in print.

Got tips on how to stay sane during the IEP process when you don’t believe in the system to begin with? Felt you had to hide you radical political books while the Early Intervention Folks come over? Found yourself stuck a mainstream world of special needs parenting that you don’t fit into?

Submit your stories to a upcoming anthology that features writing from parents in the know about what it's like to raise "special needs" kids -- with no sugar coating or the 'you will dream new dreams' kind of crap we're subjected to by mainstream media. Unfortunately we can’t pay, but all contributors will receive two copies of the book."

Get all the info: www.shortbusbook.blogspot.com
Deadline: May 15 shortbusbook at yahoo dot com

i am such a dork

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:41:00 +0000

But I try to sound cool! Read the Bookslut interview here.

cease & desist!

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:34:00 +0000

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

Hip Mama

Re: Trademark Infringement of “Got Milk?”

Dear Sir or Madam:

We represent the California Milk Processor Board, which owns the federally-registered trademark “Got Milk?”® (Reg. Nos.1,903,870 and 2,689,741). It has come to our attention that Hip Mama is selling t-shirts and tank tops with the phrase “Got Breast Milk?” on them.

Our client has spent a great deal of time, money, and effort to develop the goodwill surrounding the “Got Milk?” trademark and corresponding marketing campaign, and does not allow anyone to use the trademark or a confusingly similar mark without its authorization. Part of the goodwill attached to our client’s trademark lies in its use of the distinctive “Phenix American” font. Over the last twelve years, the unique font and style of the “Got Milk?” trademark have attained particular value because of the trademark’s widespread popularity. Our client has not authorized Hip Mama to use the “Got Milk” trademark in any way. An evenhanded review of Hip Mama’s use of the “Got Milk?” trademark demonstrates that it is acting in total and willful disregard of our client’s intellectual property rights.

If Hip Mama has purchased these products from someone you believe is an authorized “Got Milk?” licensee, please provide me with the name and contact information of this individual. If we are able to verify that this person is licensed to sell “Got Milk?” products we will notify you of this fact and withdraw the demands presented in the balance of this letter.

A trademark is infringed by use of a word or phrase that is likely to cause confusion. In deciding whether there is a likelihood of confusion, “[s]imilarity in appearance, sound and meaning strongly support a finding of likelihood of confusion between two trademarks.” Hip Mama’s use of “Got Breast Milk?” on t-shirts and tank tops is likely to cause confusion with our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark because both statements are similar in: 1) appearance; and 2) sound.

First, the phrases “Got Breast Milk?” and “Got Milk?” are very similar in appearance and only differ slightly due to the addition of the word “Breast” to “Got Breast Milk?” Second, the two phrases sound alike.

Many courts have also “recognized that the second comer has a duty to so name and dress his product as to avoid all likelihood of consumers confusing it with the product of the first comer.” Hip Mama has done very little to ensure that consumers will not be confused as to the origin of its products that contain the phrase “Got Breast Milk?”

Accordingly, it is beyond dispute that Hip Mama’s sale of t-shirts and tank tops with the phrase “Got Breast Milk?” on them violates our client’s trademark rights.

Our client intends to vigorously defend its rights in this trademark under all applicable federal laws. Federal law provides our client with the right to bring a civil action against Hip Mama. Potential remedies include recovery of profits, monetary damages sustained by our client, statutory damages, a court order for the seizure of goods and counterfeit marks, costs of bringing the lawsuit and injunctive relief. Federal law also grants a judge discretion to award treble damages and attorney’s fees.

At our client’s discretion, they may choose to forego actual damages and profits and instead elect to receive statutory damages. The court may award between $500 and $100,000 for each counterfeit mark. Furthermore, if the court finds that your use of the counterfeit mark was willful, it may award up to $1,000,000.00 for each counterfeit mark.

In order to avoid resorting to litigation, we insist that you comply with all of the following demands:

1. Immediate cessation of all sales and marketing activity related to the “Got Breast Milk?” items, as well as any other materials that infringe our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark.

2. Ship to us, no later than February 5, 2008, all “Got Breast Milk?” items, as well as any other materials that infringe our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark. You must bear the cost of this shipment.

3. Ship to us, no later than February 5, 2008, all graphic design materials you use to manufacture all “Got Breast Milk?” items, as well as any other materials that infringe our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark. This includes, but is not limited to, all mesh design screens, lettering and computer-generated materials that you use to manufacture these products. You must bear the cost of this shipment.

4. Immediate destruction of all catalogues that contain all “Got Breast Milk?” items, as well as any other materials that infringe our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark.

5. Immediate removal of all “Got Milk?” and “Got Breast Milk?” product images, as well as any other materials that infringe our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark from all of your online catalogues and websites.

6. Provide to us, no later than February 5, 2008, an accounting of all profits that Hip Mama has made at any time from the sale of all “Got Breast Milk?” items, as well as any other materials that infringe our client’s “Got Milk?” trademark. The accounting must state: (a) the amount of revenue that you generate through the sale of all “Got Breast Milk?” items on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis; (b) the length of time the “Got Breast Milk?” product images have appeared on your website(s); and (c) the amount of both “hits” and unique visitors that your website(s) receives on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

In addition, once we receive the information relating to the accounting for all profits, we will insist on being paid all profits. If you are not immediately forthcoming in complying with all of our demands, we will increase our demand to cover all attorneys’ fees incurred. If we are forced to file a lawsuit, we will pursue all available remedies, including treble damages.

If you do not meet the above-referenced February 5, 2008 deadline, we will be forced to commence litigation against Hip Mama.

Very truly yours,
Lawyer, Lawyer, and Lawyer

* * *

Lawyer, Lawyer, and Lawyer:

Thank you for your letter. I'm confident that Hip Mama's T-shirts never infringed on your client's trademark. No reasonable person would be confused by the parody. However, it will comfort The California Milk Board to know that Hip Mama has not sold "Got Breast Milk" T-shirts for years, never made a profit on them, has none in stock, and has no plans to revive the line.

I hope you won't think it's rude at this point, but I'd like to recommend a book. I think both you and your client will be interested in CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT POVERTY: SOCIAL BUSINESS AND THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM by Muhammad Yunus and Karl Weber. It's full of ideas about how to use your time, resources, and considerable talents. I'm sure you agree that there's so much to be done in this world beyond chasing down small business owners who once parodied your slogan.

Wishing you lasting joy,
Ariel Gore
Owner, Hip Mama

Does a bear breastfeed in the woods?

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:27:00 +0000

From macaronimaniac:

What do you get for the new mother who literally wrote the book on modern parenting? Actually, this maven of the maternal has done a lot more than that. She's written/edited five books on parenting, plus a zillion issues of Hip Mama zine.

So could little old childless me actually help Ariel Gore with a parenting issue--by creating a styling gift for her new baby?

Does a bear breastfeed in the woods?

Let's start with a little background. Color it lavender. Because Portland is a veritable modern day Land of Lesbos. And we've got the subarus, comfortable footwear, and womyn's softball league to prove it. Halloween in my neighborhood is a steady parade of adorable Chinese adoptees ringing the doorbell while their proud mommies watch protectively from the sidewalk.

But it turns out that when a couple of nice gals get themselves knocked up by a friendly volunteer donor, it can still cause confusion for the community at large. When we met up with Ariel and Maria for what I like to think of as Baby's First Happy Hour (it's not exactly a bris, but still we should observe its ritual importance), they reported that the staff at their pediatrician's office was unclear on the lesbian parenting concept. In fact, they were so hung up on the traditional hetero familiy model, they assumed Maria was the mother and Ariel was the grandmother. Such ignorance is terrifying.

Mostly because Ariel is younger than me...

Oh yeah, and because it ignores that whole Love Makes a Family, rainbow supergraphics in the nursery, Every Lesbian Mother is a Working Lesbian Mother reality.

"I just want to get a pin or something we can stick on Max, so we don't have to keep explaining," Ariel said.

And that's what made me think up this.

It's not exactly haute couture, but then again, this kid is going to be dressed by lesbians. As long as it doesn't clash with Guatemalan pants, he's good to go.

And the best part is, you can get one for the child in your life by clicking here. Available in both infant and kid sizes. No verification of actual maternal sexuality needed. In fact, my friend Holly said she wants to get one for her daughter just to see how her husband's mother will react. So get yours today!

And send one to every Tom, Dick, or Heather who has two mommies you know.

Because wouldn't it be nice if the Sapphic sartorial splendor of this family

could be shared by this family?

hip mamas making media

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:38:00 +0000

I was sitting here drinking my coffee this morning, listening to NPR, and who should be the featured essayist on "This I Believe" but the amazing Annaliese Jakimides!

You can listen to her or read the essay here.

Adding to the inspiration, another longtime Hip Mama contributor, Katherine Arnoldi, wrote with news that College Mom Magazine's Winter 2008 issue is finally online with a story about Roslind Harper, mother of seven, college graduate, and College Mom Magazine's Mom of the Year, an article by Angela Camera, who is bursting with pride for her College Mom, Kelly Kent's search for affordable child care while she attends a PhD program in Southern California, a review of Juno, and more...

writers with drinks

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:48:00 +0000

I'll be reading at Writers with Drinks spoken-word variety show in San Francisco on Saturday, January 12

With
Aimee Bender (Girl In The Flammable Skirt)
Ariel Gore (How To Become A Famous Writer Before You're Dead)
Wagner James Au (New World Notes)

At The Make-Out Room 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco CA, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, doors open at 7 PM.

See you there.

your instructions

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:34:00 +0000

In 2008, vow to be more creative
And less work-a-day.

* * *

It was coming ‘round time for the annual solstice puppet show in Portland and my friend Moe gave me a call.

She said, The people, they need instruction going forward into the new year. Will you give an astrology reading before the show?

Now, I’ve asked Moe for a favor or two in my day. And my friend Moe has never refused me. Well, I guess she has. But she’s always been very polite about it, so it’s not like I could say, Why don’t you go ask one of those bitches who didn’t just give birth?

So I said, All right.

I’d give the new year’s astrology reading.

But then I awoke the day before the show and I said to myself, I said, I AM NOT AN ASTROLOGER. I mean, if Moe wanted an astrologer, why didn’t she call Rhea Wolf?

I…

I mean, what am I?

I closed my eyes.

I said, God, What am I going to tell these people? They need instruction, going forth.

And when I opened my eyes there was this sort of impish woman standing in front of me, with grey hair. And when she opened her mouth I swear she sounded like she was from the Bronx.

I squinted my eyes, because you know I don’t see so well. I said, God?

She said, No, Grace Paley.

I said, Grace! You’re not God.

And she said, Jesus Christ, Ariel. God’s busy. But I brought you the instructions. And she handed me this piece of paper.

This is a famous poem, she said. Maybe they’ve heard it before. But it’s high time they heard it again. Only this time, tell them they oughta listen.

Because in these times of dire beauty when truly everything we do matters, these are your instructions.

* * *

Responsibility

It is the responsibility of society to let the poet be a poet.

It is the responsibility of the poet to be a woman

It is the responsibility of the poet to stand on street corners
giving out poems and beautifully written leaflets
also leaflets they can hardly bear to look at
because of the screaming rhetoric

It is the responsibility of the poet to be lazy to hang out and
Prophesy

It is the responsibility of the poet not to pay war taxes
It is the responsibility of the poet to go in and out of ivory
towers and two-room apartments on Avenue C
and buckwheat fields and army camps

It is the responsibility of the male poet to be a woman

It is the responsibility of the female poet to be a woman

It is the poet's responsibility to speak truth to power as the
Quakers say

It is the poet's responsibility to learn the truth from the
Powerless

It is the responsibility of the poet to say many times: there is no
freedom without justice and this means economic justice and love justice

It is the responsibility of the poet to sing this in all the original
and traditional tunes of singing and telling poems

There is no freedom without fear and bravery there is no
freedom unless
earth and air and water continue and children
also continue

It is the responsibility of the poet to be a woman to keep an eye on
this world and cry out like Cassandra, but be
listened to this time

* * *

In 2008, vow to be more creative
And less work-a-day.

Vow to be a responsible poet.

If the bald eagle
can make a come-back

why not you?

congratulations, Jamie Lynn

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:55:00 +0000

It’s been a trip watching the mainstream media deal with its own bigotry against teen parenting since Jamie Lynn Spears announced that she’s expecting. Supposedly objective news sources call it “sad,” “shocking,” even “tragic.” Scandal sheets are more honest about the way a lot of folks seem to feel: Teen pregnancy is trashy.

People have dozens of reasons why they say having a baby before the magic age of twenty is uncool, but mostly it’s a class issue.

Some schools of feminist thought have allied themselves with the elitists, arguing that women should get their educations first, get their careers on track first, go through years of therapy first. Because the institution of motherhood has been used to oppress us, they insist that we should delay or forgo child-bearing rather than reinvent the whole freakin' institution. That’s fine if it’s our true choice. But what if it’s a teenagers true choice to parent? Should we not have that right? Instead we're ridiculed and, adding injury to insult, we're denied equal access to education.

I mean, I don't know Jamie Lynn. Maybe she's a total nut job. Maybe J.Lo is, too. And maybe that straight, married, 40-year-old neighbor of mine is, too. But who gets to decide who's fit to parent?

When I got pregnant at 36, a few magazine editors asked me to write about how different it was from my experience as a teen mom. When they realized I wouldn't dis my first pregnancy or characterize it as a sad reality I’d valiantly “overcome,” they decided they weren't so interested.

I’m glad I got pregnant when I did. The first time. And the second time.

Why are we allowed to discuss only the downside of teen pregnancy? And why aren't we allowed to admit that by delaying child-bearing, we risk our own health as well as our children’s? We certainly risk not being able to get pregnant at all.

“We don’t want to make older mothers feel bad,” one editor told me.

Fair enough.

But I guess we don’t care how younger mothers feel.

Sluts.

I’m not saying we should have our kids early or shouldn’t have them later but, physically, it’s very difficult to be an older mom. That's just the truth. With some exceptions, the pregnancy is harder. With few exceptions, childbirth is harder. And psychologically--it’s not exactly a picnic. Most of us are more flexible when we're young. And we have more energy.

Jamie Lynn Spears obviously doesn’t share the reality of most working- and under-class teenagers in America who can only look forward to a lifetime of poor health care, but if you don’t have adequate health care and probably won’t find it in the future, it only makes sense to start your family when you’re in your late teens or early twenties. You can’t afford to wait.

And, you know, even if you’ve got a hundred reasons why teen parenting isn’t a good idea—don’t you think it’s rude to share your opinions with expecting moms?

The decks are stacked against teen parents. We all know that. So why not unstack the decks instead of making everyone feel bad on top of it all?

I guess I just wanted to remind everyone that when you hear that someone is pregnant, no matter her age, marital status, sexual orientation, or financial situation, the correct response is:

CONGRATULATIONS.

Why We Love Being Young Moms by the members of Girl-Mom.com

solstice puppet show

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:59:00 +0000

Don't miss the annual Solstice Shadow Puppet Show tonight at Liberty Hall, 311 N Ivy St. in Portland.
First show at 6:30 p.m.

I dropped out of high school 20 years ago

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:28:00 +0000

And in the latest issue of my high school newspaper they printed these words of wisdom...

To the students of her hometown, Ariel Gore offers this advice:

"Drop out and get a real life and education. Don't get plastic surgery before you're 30. And — I realize this will nullify all previous and subsequent advice, but don't do what you're told. Don't take my advice or anyone else's unless it lines up with your own truth. You can be successful because you are smart and creative and tenacious, or you can be successful because you are obedient. I would suggest that the latter isn't very satisfying."

Ha! For some reason this makes me very happy.

Give them books by me!

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:38:00 +0000

You just know there are people on your holiday list who need my new book on writing, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead, or my crazy lapsed Catholic novel, The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show, or my taveling memoir, Atlas of the Human Heart, or a sexy Hip Mama T-shirt. Shop right here.

Or if you're in Portland, please come see me at Brooklyn Community Acupuncture's holiday bazaar where you can get all things Hip Mama, books by me, and hand-crafted, local gifts from other folks.

Brooklyn Community Acupuncture Holiday Bazaar
Sunday, December 9th, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
It's at 1212 SE Powell Blvd., but faces SE 12th--so it's across the street from the German deli
Portland, Oregon

See you!

Online Writing Class Starts November 26

noreply@blogger.com (ariel) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:59:00 +0000

I'm teaching an online writing intensive STARTING NEXT WEEK! Check it out at chuckpalahniuk.net & feel free to email me if you have questions...