More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone procedures to alter their genitalia for non-medical reasons, known as female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM). Unlike male circumcision that’s typically done on baby boys, girls are cut up into their teenage years and the practice is steeped in sexist traditions. This practice is much more common than you think, and there are some things you should know about female circumcision and genital mutilation.
Mike Pence's Neighbors Show Their Disgust with Hostile Lawn Signs
December 30, 2016
Gearing up to become VP, Mike Pence rented a house in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. Little did he know, he would be moving into enemy territory, as less than 10 percent of the precinct voted for him and the one we don’t speak of to run the country, according to the DCist. To make it extremely clear how unwanted he is, Pence’s new neighbors put up “this neighborhood trusts women” signs everywhere. Welcome to the hood, Mikey!
The signs came from NARAL Pro-Choice America, which vehemently opposes the VP-elect obsessed with defunding Planned Parenthood. In an Instagram post showing off the signs, the group wrote, “We canvassed Mike Pence’s new neighborhood in NW DC—and wouldn’t you know it, most of his neighbors #TrustWomen!”
According to deputy field organizer Anne Bailey, people in the area were enthusiastic about making a statement against the Indiana governor when NARAL knocked on their doors. “They were glad to have a way to show their resistance to the anti-choice and anti-woman agenda,” Bailey told the DCist. The blue yard decorations can now be seen all over the neighborhood, with one directly across the street from the Pence family’s new home.
Check out the positive yet hostile signs (the white house in the background is where Pence will soon reside):
A photo posted by NARAL Pro-Choice America (@prochoiceamerica) on
At this point, it should come as no surprise that our next vice president enacted some of the most restrictive anti-abortion legislation in the nation while governor, including a bill requiring women to bury or cremate their aborted fetuses (luckily, that was struck down by a federal judge, so no need to start planning fetus funerals just yet).
Immediately after the election people started donating to Planned Parenthood in Pence’s name as a nice “fuck you” to the anti-women politician most Americans didn’t vote for. People did the same for NARAL, and the pro-choice organization received about $350,000 in his name, the DCist reports.
It brings a small ounce of joy to my heart to picture Pence waking up every morning and looking out his window to see three “this neighborhood trusts women” signs directly across the street (if he doesn’t live in the official VP residence, that is). Let’s hope the signs stay all four years and irk Pence every single time he drives out of his neighborhood to go run the country alongside The Donald. Looks like he won’t be invited to the neighborhood block parties/potlucks/happy hours any time soon.
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