Favorites from this week

Are you also anticipating being awake a few extra hours, to cram in time with family, catch those you love in other time zones, and check up on the social media you've missed while cramming in work before vacation starts? There is a great list this week to keep your Internet time occupied. I wish you all happy solstice, happy time with family and off from work, and that your weekend may be snowy, merry and bright.Also, check out the review of The Radical Doula Guide before January 4th to enter to win a free copy!...Feminists of Generation Now - Shelby at PinterestThat encyclopedia of feminist faces of this generation make me so, so happy. Thrilled this is being put together. Way to go, feminists of generation now!...France Passes Law Providing Free Birth Control to Teenagers, and No One Balks - Amanda Marcotte at SlateWhat a fantastic move on France's part. Vamanos / On y va / Let's go...."NPR reports that France is adopting a new regulation making contraception and contraception counseling free to girls 15 to 18, with an added provision that doctors must offer this care without notifying parents. Unlike here in the United States, the free contraception is covered by the state and not a girl's insurance, giving her a further layer of privacy protections. The government hopes that by protecting young girls' privacy, it can increase contraception use and reduce the teen pregnancy rate."......13 To Watch in 2013: The Unsung Heroes Changing Health Care Forever - Leah Binder at ForbesMega congrats to Maureen Corry! A wonderful advertisement for her work and for the tough work going on to change birth care in the US...."Maternity care in the U.S. has serious problems, including a rapid growth in the rate of Cesarean sections, now comprising more than 30 percent of all births in the U.S. Procedures that are known to be unnecessary or even harmful – like scheduled deliveries prior to 40 weeks gestation – remain common in American hospitals. Maureen Corry and her 94 year old organization, Childbirth Connection, bring together researchers, clinicians and patients to come up with solutions. Maureen is a strong policy advocate, but also a thoughtful and purposeful researcher who brings all sides together in very constructive ways, which is why many of the issues she has raised over the years are now on the top of the policy agenda in Washington. Look for her report next year on mothers’ perceptions of the childbirth experience."......Supporting Mothers at Any Age - How Media and Society Need to Change - Miriam Zoila Pérez at RH Reality CheckWord, MZP. Word...."The commonality between the conversation about teen parents and the conversation about older parents is that the solutions which could address the challenges that result are not so different. If we as a society created systems that supported families to a greater extent, taking the pressure off of individuals to provide for their own across the lifespan, we might find ourselves with improved outcomes for kids regardless of their parents age. Rather than trying to convince people, especially women, to give birth in the socially-acceptable and medically-sanctioned 15-year window between college and age 35, why not change the way our society support families, so that whenever the moment for parenting arises, people have the support they need to do it successfully?"......OB/GYNE Style (Psy Gagnam Style Hospital Parody)Some great humor to a sometimes tough field. Lightness is needed. Too fun....Mormon Women Dare to Wear Pants to Church - Dianna Douglas at NPROne small step for woman-kind, in pants...."I think people like, say, Kate Middleton, who maintain a conservative nature while wearing fashionable clothes that look good on them," says Michaela Carey, an economics researcher in Chicago. She's not wearing pants to church this Sunday. Not because the duchess of Cambridge isn't often seen in pants, but because she feels like this movement won't do much to advance the conversation about gender equality.Mercedes White, Carey's sister-in-law in Salt Lake City, feels differently. "It's not official. It is happening informally, that women are being told what to wear," she says. "And I think that needs to be pushed back against."......Landfill HarmonicDid you all catch this incredible gem?!? What wonderful spirit, talent, and love out there in the world...."In the midst of such an existence, these musicians have created something both special and truly awe-inspiring. "My life would be worthless without music." says one girl in pigtails. A young man named Juan Manuel Chavez, nicknamed Bebi, has a cello fashioned out of an oil can and old cooking tools. For the camera, he plays the Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 — beautifully."People realize that we shouldn't throw away trash carelessly," says Chavez at the end of the trailer. "Well, we shouldn't throw away people either."...