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Posted In: Immigration, Racial/Ethnic Identity and RJ, Sexual Autonomy

Story (english)

Growing up in a place like Arizona will leave you marked for life if you are a person of color. I knew I was not White, I was reminded of it day in and day out. When I was younger I did not understand why my skin color mattered. I mean, I had an idea but it just didn’t make sense to me. However, as I grew older it became clearer and clearer that places like Arizona are not “meant” for people like me. As a woman born to Mexican-immigrant parents in an anti-immigrant context I was perpetually viewed as a foreigner, eternally scrutinized when I did not fit neatly into what people expect from “dirty, illegal Mexicans.” However, being a woman of color in a place like Arizona came loaded with several connotations, especially when it came to my sexuality.

As a young woman reaching sexually maturity I quickly learned that dating would be problematic. I wanted guys to see me as a person, to see what I had to offer. However, it quickly became obvious how some view women like me, especially White men. Men would throw “compliments” at me that seemed strange at the time.  Exotic, dark, mysterious, feisty, sexy. I knew women were oft viewed superficially but hearing words such as these confused me. Why was I exotic? Because of the color of my skin? Because of my eyes? Because of my hair? Because of my body?  How could it be that the very same things that I had been made to feel shame for be the same things that made me desirable to men? It made no sense but at the same time it made all the sense in the world. My “exoticness” did not fit the conventionally lauded standards of beauty: light skinned, blue eyes, blonde hair, thin. It was this “otherness” that made me desirable.

Just like the forbidden fruit is said to taste that much sweeter, my “otherness” made me that much coveted. This “otherness” was a double edged sword, however. While I was desired for my exoticness, I was also derided for it. Easy, promiscuous, slut, whore, puta. This otherness also signaled to others that I was a jezebel, a sexually charged “sexy Latina” begging to be pillaged and conquered. This meant that I did not deserve respect, I only had my sexuality to offer and I was willing to give it away at a moment’s notice. I was willing to open my legs to anyone and everyone to tie men down with a kid, as assured by the parents of the White men I have dated. “You’re dating a Mexican girl? You better be careful, you know girls like her are only looking to tie you down with a million kids.” I was willing to open my legs to anyone and everyone but liked to play coy, as assured by those who have sexually assaulted me. “You know you want this dick in you, stop acting like you don’t.” I was not a proper young woman; I was a jezebel who knew what she was doing and did so gladly.

Although I am now older and recognize the structures and factors at play that shaped my sexuality growing up, the effects of my experiences remain extremely salient for me. I know now that my position as a woman of color from a working class background, and the subsequent intersections of these different identities, have dictated my experiences and opportunities and will continue to do so. Even though I have been in a long term relationship with a White man, and whom I love dearly, the things I have experienced continue to make me uneasy. Does he love me for me? Or does he see me as something exotic he has conquered? When I think about forming a family, I fear for the daughter I may have one day. Will her experiences be similar to mine? How can I protect her? Will I even be able to? These are questions I cannot yet answer but reflecting on my own life I dread the answers I may one day receive.

- Anonymous
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Today on Indigenous Peoples Day we call on non-Bla Today on Indigenous Peoples Day we call on non-Black and non-Indigenous Latinos/es to commit to actively dismantling deep rooted colonial legacies of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism and oppression. We call for all non-Black and non-Indigenous Latino/e policymakers to end complicity in upholding white supremacy and inciting hatred towards Black and Indigenous communities. It is time for Latino/e policymakers to be held accountable, take responsibility, and to actively work to dismantle systems of oppression.

As a Latina/e led Reproductive Justice organization based in Los Angeles we are enraged and disgusted by the racist conversation between Los Angeles Latino City Council members Nury Martínez, Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera. Their words clearly show their anti-Indigeneous and anti-Black racism and disdain for working class and poor people. As a Latina/e led Reproductive Justice organization based in Los Angeles we call for the immediate resignation of all the aforementioned Latino leaders. This is not the kind of leadership our city nor our communities want, need, or deserve.

As a Reproductive Justice organization committed to centering the experiences of those most impacted by structural oppression, we re-commit to addressing, centering, and fighting anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism in our communities and to reckon with our own complicity in the continued harm and erasure of Black and Indigenous communities. We must do better.

See link in our bio for full statement on “LA CITY COUNCIL: ANTI-BLACK & ANTI-INDIGENOUS RACISM IN THE LATINO/E COMMUNITY”

#ReproJustice #ThisIsRJ #indigenouspeoplesday
This week is #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek 🦋 Our This week is #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek 🦋 

Our ability to access quality healthcare, stable housing, food security, and safe, non-carceral mental and physical healthcare services all directly impact the mental health and wellbeing of our communities. Our collective freedom and survival rests not only on our ability to practice care for ourselves and each other, but also on our willingness to fight for a future where everyone can easily access all of the resources they need to live full and dignified lives.
 
Reproductive Justice means working to end the stigma around mental health and breaking down barriers to access to the care we need. 🌻
 
🎨: @Nerdybrownkid 

#ThisIsRJ #ReproJustice #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters

[ID: on an off-white background, there is an illustration of a large butterfly made up of community members embracing one another and green text surrounding the butterfly that says, "We are each other's wings"]
Help protect the #LGBTQIA+ community from discrimi Help protect the #LGBTQIA+ community from discrimination in healthcare by telling the Biden Administration why section 1557 is important to you.

The Biden-Harris Administration recently proposed a new rule to implement section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act – draft regulations that will protect all #LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination in healthcare. Now we need YOUR HELP to get these important changes implemented. 

Visit www.nclrights.org/1557 to find out more about how you can support LGBTQIA+ access to safe, quality healthcare free from discrimination and submit your comment in support of strengthening protections for the LGBTQIA+ community TODAY!
 
Ensuring that everyone has access to quality healthcare free from barriers, stigma, and discrimination is Reproductive Justice! 

#ThisisRJ #ReproJustice #1557 #CALeg #ProtectLGBTQHealth 

[ID: On a gray background, bold white text with pink borders says, "Share your story & Tell the Biden Admin why we need Healthcare free from discrimination. visit www.nclrights.org/1557]
California is accepting applications to compensate California is accepting applications to compensate survivors of state-sanctioned forced sterilizations! 📣

Eligibility WILL NOT impact your Medi-Cal, Social Security, Food Assistance, or other state or federal benefits. Compensation will NOT be considered community property, child support, restitution, or judgment money. Applying for compensation is completely confidential.

Visit victims.ca.gov/fiscp or the link in our bio for more information. #ReproJustice #EndEugenicsLegacy

This program is an important step for California in confronting its shameful history and taking a bold stand against the racist, sexist, and ableist practices that perpetuate health inequities to this day. The CA FISCP was co-sponsored by Back to the Basics Community Empowerment (B2B), California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ), and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) in collaboration with the Belly of the Beast filmmakers and team.
Today, September 28 is #InternationalSafeAbortionD Today, September 28 is #InternationalSafeAbortionDay! ✨ 

This Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion has its origin in Latin America and the Caribbean where organizers have been mobilizing around September 28 since the 1990s to demand their governments to decriminalize abortion, to provide access to safe and affordable abortion services, and to end stigma and discrimination towards people who choose to have an abortion. 

Removing unnecessary policy and societal barriers to safe abortion protects people’s lives, health, and human rights by allowing people to access timely, life-saving care. Abortion is essential, normal, and common healthcare and access to safe, legal, and stigma-free abortion care should be available for all who need it! 

Today and everyday, we stand in solidarity and acompañamiento with people across the globe fighting for our right to bodily autonomy. Take action this #SafeAbortionDay and speak out for access to safe and legal abortions by:
💚 Share accurate resources for those seeking abortion care. If you need an abortion visit @ineedanacom. For confidential, free legal advice, check out @reprolegaldefensefund @ifwhenhow. 
💚 Identify, question, confront and reject the multiple stigmatizing ideas and messages about abortion that we learned growing up in repressive anti-choice societies. 
💚  Protect your digital privacy and combat the spread of misinformation! Check out https://digitaldefensefund.org/ddf-guides/abortion-privacy to learn more about  digital security surrounding abortion.

Dismantling negative stigmas and misinformation surrounding abortion and demanding safe, accessible, and legal abortion access worldwide IS Reproductive Justice!

#28S #SeráLey #ReproJustice #AbortionJustice #28Sept

[ID: On a turquoise background, there is an illustration of a Black person with long wavy black hair wearing a purple long sleeve shirt and holding a lavender sign that says, "September 28 International Safe Abortion Day"]
🚨 BREAKING: POLICY UPDATE 🚨 We’re thrill 🚨 BREAKING: POLICY UPDATE 🚨 

We’re thrilled to announce that @CAGovernor just signed two of our co-sponsored bills AB2223 (Wicks) Decriminalization of Abortion and Pregnancy Loss and AB2586 (Garcia) Reproductive Justice and Freedom Fund into law! 🎉

AB2586 (Garcia /Rivas) Reproductive Justice and Freedom Fund bill, and companion $15 million budget request, seeks to address and eliminate reproductive and sexual health inequities by developing responsive policy recommendations centered in a Reproductive Justice Framework. BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities continue to face higher rates of sexual & reproductive health inequities across California, which #AB2586 addresses by employing long term & immediate strategies that center the needs of those most impacted in our communities. 

Investigation and prosecution for ending a pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss harms a person’s health and livelihood and disproportionately impacts those already targeted for surveillance & criminalization, including BIPOC; immigrants, LGTBQ+ ppl; young ppl; & low income folks. AB2223 (Wicks) Decriminalization of Abortion and Pregnancy Loss will ensure that no one in the State of California will be investigated for ending a pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss.

Thank you to our amazing partners, community members, supporters, and legislators who made this victory possible and continue to invest in building safe and healthy communities where people are all able to access the healthcare services that they need without fear or retribution! 

Say it with us: Deciding when, if, and how to start a family is Reproductive Justice! 
#RJpolicyAgenda #ReproJustice #AB2223 #AB2586 #EndEugenicsLegacy 

[ID: on a solid yellow background, white text says, “BREAKING: Our co-sponsored bills AB2223 & AB2586 have been signed into law!”]
This #WorldContraceptionDay, we’re calling atten This #WorldContraceptionDay, we’re calling attention to the barriers to accessing birth control pills and the need for over-the-counter options because ALL people should have the resources they need to plan their futures, including access to the birth control method of their choice, free from barriers or stigma! 💯 

Research shows that requiring a prescription makes it harder to obtain and consistently use birth control pills. It's a barrier no one should have to deal with. Over-the-counter birth control pills would give people greater access to the tools they need to take care of their own health. Birth control pills are an essential part of health care and health care is a human right. It’s time to make birth control pills over the counter in the US, fully covered by insurance, & accessible to people of all ages!

Expanding contraceptive options & improving equitable access to the full range of sexual & repro health is critical to the fight for Reproductive Justice! 🌟

#ReproJustice #ThisIsRJ #FreeThePill #WorldContraceptionDay #BirthControl
Happy Bi Visibility Day! 💜💗💙 To all of o Happy Bi Visibility Day! 💜💗💙

To all of our beautiful, radiant bisexual familia - you deserve to live and love freely, to have self-determination over your body, to create the family of your choosing, and to be surrounded by supportive and loving communities ALWAYS. Regardless of where you are on your journey or on the spectrum of visibility, you are valid, worthy, and so incredibly loved. May this #BiVisibilityDay be whatever you need it to be. 💗 

Queer liberation is Reproductive Justice! 🌈

🎨: @theunapologeticstreetseries

#ReproJustice #BisexualVisibilityDay #BiVisibilityDay #BisexualityAwarenessWeek #ThisIsRJ

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Join us for a free Oral History Workshop in collab Join us for a free Oral History Workshop in collaboration with @wild_tongue_archive and @avenue50studio! ⭐️ The workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 27th from 4-7pm at the Avenue 50 Studio in Los Angeles and will be the first in a series of Wild Tongue: A Latinx Oral History Archive events hosted by Virginia Espino, PhD, reproductive justice guerrerx and producer of "No Más Bébes."

Wild Tongue is an Oral History archive to recover, rescue, and record the experiences and rebellious ideas that inform the ordinary, yet beautiful lives of a community that is often invisibilized. In this first workshop, you will learn oral history methodology that focuses on a "do no harm" ethics in story collection, and will begin to build the question bank for the Wild Tongue interview.
 
To register for the workshop, visit http://bit.ly/3cLRi86 or click the link in our bio. 🌻

Sharing our stories helps to shatter negative societal stigmas and builds power in our communities and beyond. 📣

#ReproJustice #ThisIsRJ #SpeakingStory

[ID: On a solid sky blue background, there is black bold text that says, "WILD TONGUE: A Latinx Oral history Archive: Free community workshop for those interested in learning how to collect working class narratives from the QTBIPOC Latin American diaspora. Tuesday, September 27th, 2022 4-7pm Avenue 50 Studio 131 N Avenue 50, Los Angeles, CA 90042. Space is limited and priority will be given to Latinx/Chicanx Afro-Latinx and Indigenous women, trans and non-binary people who feel they have experienced gender oppression." In the bottom righthand corner is a picture of Wild Tongue archive founder, Virginia Espino]
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