I am so excited: ELLE magazine has a huge feature in their August issue on pro-choice politics and why the time to act for reproductive rights is now, appropriately titled “The Incredible Shrinking Woman” (as in, anti-choice politics being infantilizing and lessening the power of women). The feature includes an essay by Gloria Feldt, the former president of Planned Parenthood, author of The War on Choice, and, frankly, one of my role models. There is also an ELLE.com exclusive Q&A with her. There are also essays from other writers, including Leslie Bennetts, who wrote the Feminine Mistake.
This is so great that ELLE, a mainstream, corporate-owned magazine has stood up for their readers like this. Let’s make sure they know how grateful (and pumped!) we are. Here is the letter I wrote to ELLE’s editors… you can do so, too, here. ELLE is probably going to get a lot of anti-choice mail from readers, so it’s really important that we let them know that we appreciated this feature!
To the editor:
As a young woman and longtime ELLE reader, I was absolutely thrilled to read your feature “The Incredible Shrinking Woman” (great title!) in the August issue. With the tenuous state of women’s and reproductive rights today, it’s especially important that influential media outlets like ELLE feature content that stands up for women’s rights and demystifies the rumors and misconceptions about abortion and being pro-choice. I was especially excited to see Gloria Feldt included in ELLE, given how much she has done for women, through her work with Planned Parenthood and as a leader in the feminist community who continues to bridge generational gaps between the different eras of feminists. I’m so glad to see that she is working to educate young women about their rights and choice, and I’d love to see more content like this in the future! Well done, ELLE!
Sincerely,
Liz Funk
1 response so far ↓
1 Jamia // Jul 17, 2007 at 6:00 pm
I am proud to call Gloria Feldt one of my mentors and a major friend to young women. Gloria continues to support me and other young women she worked with as CEO of Planned Parenthood, investing in us and providing us with opportunities to further our careers and widen our network. Gloria was one of my recommenders for Graduate school and I continue to think of her when I sit in gender studies classes thinking about how far I have come and those who have given me their shoulders to stand on to get where I need to go…
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