The Hip Mama Survival Guide, by Ariel Gore

[pdx.mothernurture]

ARIEL GORE is the founder and publisher of Hip Mama, a parenting zine with attitude. She regularly lectures on the culture and politics of motherhood, and she has appeared on CNN, MTV, CBS Evening News, and NPR. SHe and her daughter Maia live in Oakland, California.

"This book may sound outrageous, but it isn't. It is full of sound common sense. And it's also zippy, funny and true.."
-Sheila Kitzinger, author of The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth

I saw this book at Good Will and picked it up after of course looking up the section on circumcision, pages 61-62

"...IT IS NOT MEDICALLY NECESSARY."

"...lasts fifteen minutes, is extremely painful, and is usually done without anesthesia, a tradition left over from the old school belief that newborns do not feel pain."

"And with the steady decline in routine circumcision over the past few decades, your uncircumcised son will be far from "alone" in the locker room."

"If you are of two minds about the procedure, viewing The Nurses of St. Vincent: Saying "No" to Circumcision...will definately convince you (or, perhaps, the partner you've been trying to sway) not to do it...The video also includes chilling close-up footage of an infant circumcision. Call me a lightweight, but I could hardly watch it, let alone imagine putting my kid through it."

"Call the National Center for Education in Child and Maternal Health...or National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers at [phone] for more information."

"If you do decide to leave your son's penis alone, watch out for old-school doctors who do not know how to care for the uncircumcised penis. Often they will recommend all manner of scrubbing and cleaning and pulling back of the foreskin. All of this scrubbing can actually cause the infections you are trying to prevent. As with every part of a new baby, you want to be gentle with the penis. Use warm water and keep your baby clean, but know that the foreskin is a natural thing and the penis is, essentially, a self-cleaning little appliance."

http://www.hipmama.com/

http://www.arielgore.com/

Jen

[ValarieR]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing

[Yulia_R]

Does anyone know where can I see The Nurses of St. Vincent: Saying "No" to Circumcision?

[ThomasL]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Does anyone know where can I see The Nurses of St. Vincent: Saying "No" to Circumcision?

Just google in the name on the search engine. It should be near the top.

[witchbaby]

i love ariel. she's a really awesome person.

[pdx.mothernurture]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Does anyone know where can I see The Nurses of St. Vincent: Saying "No" to Circumcision?

The book says it can be purchased for $29 from Fireball Films, P.O. Box 107 New York, NY 10003. However, the book is copyright 1998.

http://www.mgmbill.org/nursesofstvincent.htm (5 minute clip)

http://www.circumcisionvideos.com/combodvd.htm (Ordering info---not cheap.)

More info:
http://nurses.cirp.org/

HTHs,

Jen

[AntoninBeGonin]

I just ordered two copies. One for a baby shower I'm going to in early May, and another for my cousin who lives in SC.

[thismama]

I love that book. It started me on the road to being a feminist AP mama.

[TigerTail]

i've read other stuff by her, but that is a pleasant surprise. i knew she was cool, just not how much. we should seriously spread this around.

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by pdx.mothernurture

The book says it can be purchased for $29 from Fireball Films, P.O. Box 107 New York, NY 10003. However, the book is copyright 1998.

http://www.mgmbill.org/nursesofstvincent.htm (5 minute clip)

http://www.circumcisionvideos.com/combodvd.htm (Ordering info---not cheap.)

More info:
http://nurses.cirp.org/

HTHs,

Jen

Thanks!

[Fi.]

Originally Posted by witchbaby

i love ariel. she's a really awesome person.

Agreed. And she reaches our TRULY "target audience" - young moms. She's a major pillar of the young mom community and MANY look to her and take her advice.

[trmpetplaya]

I really liked her before, but now I think I love her :

love and peace.

[mntnmom]

OOhhhh!!! I think I'll collect a couple for baby showers...what a good idea!!

[calngavinsmom]

There are a whole bunch of these puppies on Amazon for cheapy cheap if anyone is so inclined....I got one for $1.34....had to pay $6.95 for shipping though, but I guess it's all a wash

Take care,
Tara

[dnr3301]

I love her stuff. we went to the same college, but she's a couple years older than I am, so we didn't know each other, but when I started hearing her name around in my AP circles, I was confused for a minute because I only knew of her from school, and I didn't realize she was seni-famous.

[Lillibetsy]

Ariel Gore is the reason I had homebirths and discovered AP. I was a regular on the hipMama boards back in the day. They got shut down several years ago for user nastiness though.