From choice, a world of possibilities

How Did Women's Health Advocates Start a Movement?

I was lucky enough to know reproductive health writer and activist Barbara Seamen before she died in 2008, and I felt her influence on every page of Voices from the Women’s Health Movement. The book contains the written work she loved and returned to often throughout her long career. It also has many brand new pieces, including stories that Barbara helped to put down on paper.

Does Manhood Need to Change to Create Healthier Societies?

For something we see and experience day in and day out, masculinity sure is a tricky business. In a collection of essays that span various countries and cultures, Global Masculinities and Manhood considers how communities around the world have been shaped by what it means to "be a man" -- and rebel against unhealthy gender expectations in order to make change.

A Senator in St. Lucia Argues for the Decriminalization of Prostitution

After his controversial article was published in the St. Lucia Star, Dr. Stephen King, the President of St. Lucia Planned Parenthood Association, has become an outspoken advocate of the decriminalization of sex work. Dr. King's article was a part of broad local media coverage of this critical issue, with experts weighing in on both sides of the debate. Before you form an opinion, listen to what Dr. King has to say:

Why are LGBT People Still Seen as Criminals?

In light of Dharun Ravi's hate crime conviction, Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States is a timely and insightful book.

A Statement of Intervention by the Rio+20 Women’s Major Group

On March 26th, the Women’s Major Group delivered the following intervention during the Third Intersessional meeting of the UNCSD to discuss the upcoming Rio+20 convening in June:

We, the Women’s Major Group, are deeply concerned about the pace and state of the negotiations of the past week. Let me reword this: we are scandalized! You have asked us to prioritize 3 points, and we want to focus on:

Stichting Lobi Educates at Pink Ribbon Suriname Launch

On International Women's Day more than 10,000 women and men marched through the streets of Paramaribo, Suriname to raise awareness about breast cancer, a leading cause of death for Surinamese women. Taking advantage of the opportunity to distribute information about its cancer prevention and coupons for screening services, Stichting Lobi's medical staff joined the pink-and-white clad crowd as they rallied against the disease.

Women Who Inspire Change: Anabel Ochoa

In 1997 I was 18 years old and had just moved to Mexico City. Although I had moved away from Zacatecas to study at the university, I also had the desire to fully embrace my sexuality and live as a gay man with dignity.

One night when I was feeling alone, far away from the family and friends I’d left at home, I heard something on the radio that took me by surprise. The program being broadcast was called “Totally Naked,” and its host was sexologist Anabel Ochoa. After that night, I never missed a show.

Women Who Inspire Change: Barbara Owens

Inspiring a love of reading, writing, and journalism is a difficult task for any 10th grade English teacher, but it's especially difficult for a woman who—at 5 feet tall—is smaller than most of her students. I don't think I fully understood at the time what Barbara Owens was up against.

Women Who Inspire Change: Brígida Concepción Ortega Fleitas

My grandmother, Brígida Concepción Ortega Fleitas, was known to me as Lela. Her 11 children—8 girls and 3 boys—were all born in her home in Arroyos y Esteros, Paraguay. Her first child, María Herminia, who we called Aunt Herminia, passed away when she was just 20 years old. At the time of Minina's death, my grandmother was pregnant with her youngest daughter, Mary, who carried the legacy of her eldest sibling by being given the name María Herminia as well.

Women Who Inspire Change: Mamen Saura

So many people want to do something good with their time and talent, but often can’t find a way to make it happen. Mamen Saura is not one of them — she has made it her life’s work to use her skills as a professional photographer to give voice to the stories of some of the world's most vulnerable women.