Volume 3, Resources 5: Big Announcement, Peptoc, and Hood Feminism
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend so don’t forget to Spring forward an hour if you are in a place that acknowledges the time change.
It’s a resource week but before I get into that, I have an announcement! When I began this newsletter over two years ago, I intended to eventually put my more thoughtful, essay-type issues behind a paywall. The time has finally come for that (it’s actually way past time). The resource issues will remain free, because I am a librarian and access to resources, and information is very important to me. Besides, the resources shared every other week are not by me and I’m not going to charge to share something that is available for free (though I send tips to most every creator I share).
Because accessibility is important to me, I have updated the price structure. The paid version of this newsletter is now $6/month, $66/year. Folks who are already paid subscribers got an email on Tuesday with this information and how to update their accounts. I want more people to be able to access this newsletter while still doing my best to value my own work (more about that next week).
Like I said, the resource issues will always be free and you’ll always have access to the huge round-ups as well such as the Absolutely Massive List of Anti-racist Resources for Black Lives Matter Allies, this list of therapy resources, and my guide on affordable prescriptions.
The issues that dig deep and lovingly call you out will be available for paid subscribers only. Of course, paid subscribers will be getting access to more things I have in store, such as my happy mail list (form requires the email associated with your paid subscription).
Resource #1: Peptoc
Tl;dr: Call 707-998-8410 to get pep talks from kindergarteners. It is an automated voice system; you don’t actually have to talk to anyone I promise. I am not a complete monster and I would never do that to you.
For a longer (2-minute) rundown, check out the NPR article. A Bay Area kindergarten class has recorded pep talks and inspirational phrases and you can call this hotline and listen to them.
If you're feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1.
If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2.
If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3.
If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4.
For encouragement in Spanish, press 5.
I called this morning after a work meeting. When I tell you that I, a grown-ass adult, burst into tears when I heard a random 5-year-old tell me over the phone, “The world is a better place with you in it,” maaaaannnn, I was inconsolable. It is the cutest, sweetest, loveliest, and sometimes funniest little kid art project. There are no special charges to call the hotline but be aware if your phone provider charges you for calls.
Resource #2: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Content warnings for anti-Blackness, eating disorders, and domestic violence. There are definitely a number of heavy subjects in this book but that is part of the point: there are all kinds of difficult things we absolutely must talk about when we talk about feminism. Each chapter discusses the different ways in which “mainstream” feminism has failed and continues to fail so many women who are not white, cisgender, non-disabled, affluent, and straight.
While some of the chapters focus on Black women and the author’s experience as a Black woman, they also expand to include a variety of the intersections of identity at which any one of us may exist. A few of the focuses include hunger & food insecurity, eating disorders in the Black community, education access, housing access, colorism, maternal mortality, gun violence, and more.
The chapter on gun violence is particularly powerful, as gun violence isn’t often immediately considered a feminist issue. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), 1 in 4 women have been victims of severe physical violence and The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%. Gun violence in certain areas is keeping girls from going to school. Not only are women victims of gun violence, but also the mothers, wives, and sisters of victims.
This book allows for such great opportunities for readers to step back and examine our own feminist views and learn where they can be expanded and where we each may have some work to do to better include all women. It is a must-read for anyone considering themselves a feminist and/or an anti-racist. (Spoiler: can’t be one without being the other)
Bonus, the publisher offers a free book club discussion guide you can access here.
That’s it for this week! You can shop any books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481. If you are a paid subscriber and would like for me to send you some happy mail, feel free to give me your address.
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That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
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