Shows
FemmSouthEP 5: Taking the Fight to the Ballot BoxIn this podcast episode, Leigh, Lindsay, and Mette welcome guests Lauren and Jasmine, members of the Pensacola Abortion Rights Task Force (PART), to discuss Pensacola's history with abortion care and activism, as well as Florida's current Amendment 4 initiative. PART was founded in 2022 in response to the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and the closure of the local family planning clinic. The organization is actively involved in petitioning efforts for Yes on 4, a non-partisan, citizen-led ballot amendment set for a vote this November. This amendment protects abortion access up to viability and secures the right for individuals and physicians—no...2024-10-1448 min
FemmSouthEP 4.2 Let's Talk About Sex: Defending Books & Librarians Against AttacksIn this gripping episode, we delve into the heart of the battle for intellectual freedom with Angie Hayden, the visionary founder of Read Freely Alabama, and Elizabeth Williams, a passionate member of FemmSouth and organizer for Read Freely Alabama's Baldwin County chapter. Join us as Angie sheds light on the harrowing frontlines in Alabama, where the public library in Prattville stands as ground zero. Amidst the fallout from clashes with right-wing groups, Angie reveals the shocking dismissal of four dedicated library workers and the replacement of key positions with members of Clean Up Alabama and their allies. We also uncover...2024-04-2249 min
FemmSouthEpisode 4.1: Let's Talk About Sex EducationIn this episode, Lindsay, Mette, and Leigh meet with two guests from the Alabama Campaign for Adolescent Sexual Health (ACASH) to hear how the the overturn of Roe continues to shape Sex Education policy in Alabama.
Christina Clark Okarmus, the Executive Director of ACASH, and ShaKaya Darrington, member of the Youth Advocacy Group, explain how sex education is a critical component to Reproductive Justice as children and teens deserve age appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive education about their bodies, how to recognize sexual abuse, how to prevent unwanted sexual advances, how to negotiate safe sex, how to prevent unwanted pregnancies, sexually...2024-03-061h 03
FemmSouthEpisode 3.3: Faith Leaders Speak Up For Choice with Rev Ginny Phillips Allen and Renee AdcockEpisode 3.3 “Faith Leaders Speak Up for Choice” with Rev. Ginny Phillips Allen and Rev. Renee Adcock.
In this session, you will hear our conversations with two local faith leaders talking about abortion rights in lower Alabama. If you attended a protest following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in either Mobile or Fairhope, you likely saw Rev. Ginny Phillips Allen in her clerical collar standing on the streets and even being asked to speak on the steps of the Courthouse in downtown Mobile. She shares her journey from growing up as the daughter of conservative Baptist minister to taking a prog...2023-11-1349 minFemmSouthEpisode 3.2: Faith Leaders Speak Up For Choice with Rev. Latishia JamesIn this second segment we talk with Rev. Latishia James, an ordained minister in The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, and the Co-Director of Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity (also known as SACReD) where they advance reproductive justice for marginalized communities through congregations and spiritual communities grounded in a progressive moral framework. Latishia is a Black queer femme, womanist, writer, and facilitator of healing spaces for BIPOC women, femmes, and LGBTQIA folks.
Latishia opens this episode by sharing her calling to reproductive justice through several pivotal experiences—her mother’s battle with AIDS, her queer identity in a Pentecostal upbr...2023-11-0656 minFemmSouthEpisode 3.1: Faith Leaders Speak Up For Choice With Rev Katey ZehAcross three segments—all guided by ordained faith leaders—we’ll shine a light on the patriarchal systems and colonialist histories that lead to trauma, abuse, and violations of the autonomy of pregnant people. We explore the supposed schism between spirituality and sexuality. And we discuss the role of clergy and share resources and advocacy tools for both clergy and members of faith communities.
In our first segment, we talk with Rev. Katey Zeh about her call to reproductive justice in seminary as a volunteer supporting people through their experiences at an abortion clinic. She opens up about her struggles with h...2023-10-191h 04
FemmSouthEpisode 2: At What Cost? Denying Choice Deepens DisparitiesWhat happens when a pregnant person is denied an abortion? How does it impact their life trajectory, financial security, and the wellbeing of existing and future children? And how does it compare with those who are able to access a wanted abortion?
In this episode of the “Reproductive Freedom in the Deep South” series, we address these and many other crucial questions related to the socio-economic fallout of Alabama’s abortion ban. We are joined by Dr. Diana Greene Foster, professor at UCSF and author of The Turnaway Study, and Vicki Shabo, policy advisor and gender-equity advocate at New America’s Better...2023-05-3159 min
FemmSouthEpisode 1: The Current Post-Roe Landscape in AlabamaThis is the first episode in the "Reproductive Freedom in the Deep South" Series where we talk with representatives from reproductive justice organizations with boots on the ground in Alabama. Our special guests are Tish Gotell Faulks, Legal Director at the ACLU of Alabama; Robin Marty, the Director of Operations for the West Alabama Women's Center; and Kelsea McLain, Deputy Director of the Yellowhammer Fund.
Each one of our guests talks about the impact of the overturn of Roe on their organizations, the services they provide in a post-Roe landscape, along with the health and safety concerns they are dealing...2023-04-251h 17
FemmSouthReproductive Freedom in the Deep South: Introduction to the SeriesThis is our kick-off episode introducing audiences to the six-part series where we will host conversations with a range of people and professionals who are experiencing first-hand the effects and the fallout of the Dobbs decision here in Alabama.
In June of 2022, the constitutional right to access abortion care in the US was revoked when the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, which had been the law of the land for 50 years. On that same day, this judgment—which we’ll refer to as “Dobbs”—triggered a state-wide ban on abortion here in Alabama. Ours is among the most extreme bans in th...2023-03-081h 01
FemmSouthEpisode 21: Financial Feminism Part IThis episode is the first of a two-part series exploring financial feminism and impact investing in women. In this first episode, we consider several definitions for the term financial feminism. We explore the barriers women face with finances and investing in a post-pandemic world and examine whether we can actually know if our investments are closing the gender wage gap and securing women a seat at the table. Beyond economics, how do we know our investments are working towards the type of change women care about, i.e., structures and practices in businesses and corporations that do not favor women...2022-04-2059 min
FemmSouth2022 Kick Off Podcast EpisodeFor this kick off episode, I have asked two of my favorite FemmSouth bookclub members and podcast guests, Shannon Fountain and Kadine Christie, to discuss their successes, joys, and transitions over the last few months. Kadine, a published local author, has been birthing a new book and shares the ups and downs of transitioning into full-time writing. Shannon discusses balancing motherhood and a new relationship with the increasing demands of pharmaceutical work during a pandemic. What we all seem to have in common is embracing the in-between of mid-life transitional periods. From kids getting ready for college, to discovering our...2022-03-2539 min
FemmSouthEP 20 Part II: Music & Writing For Healing With Jolene ThibodeauxJolene @_thibodeaux_ is a local singer, songwriter, poet, and published author. Her writing and music draw from her experiences growing up in Alabama and time spent with her father in the Pacific Northwest. She is a rich and down-to-earth storyteller with imagery steeped in rural living and a passion for nature.
In this episode, Jolene talks about growing up surrounded by poetry both in words and actions. A debilitating spinal injury she suffered as a child opened her to poetry and music as healing arts. Throughout her life she has existed in spaces of rhyme and rhythm to treat pain...2021-06-3050 min
FemmSouthEP 20 Music & Writing for Healing with Haley HarkinWe have a new episode release and a very special musical guest, Haley Harkin! Haley is a singer/songwriter of folk medicine music from Austin, Texas. She joins us to continue our discussion of Women Healers, focusing specifically on writers, poets, and songwriters that use their craft for healing. In this episode, Haley shares her early struggles with insecurity and anxiety, and how her ability to write songs and perform in front of an audience came after working with plant medicines in ceremony. Writing lyrics and playing music has been for Haley a journey of transformation. After five years of rece...2021-06-1049 min
FemmSouthEP 19 Part IV with Pamela SmithIn the final episode of our Women Healers series, we are circling back to birth work to talk with our special guest, Pamela Smith, one of the founding members of the Farm community in Summertown,Tennessee.
Pamela tells the story of joining Steven, Ina May Gaskin and the 200+ caravan in 1970 that eventually becomes the Farm community in TN that develops one of the most influential midwifery centers for natural childbirth along with pre & post natal care for mothers, babies, and their families. The Farm midwives regard child birth as an empowering experience for women, and they provided natural, home births during...2021-03-2359 min
FemmSouthEP 19 Part III: Special Guests Firestar & BrightheartEp 19 Part III of Women Healers with Firestar & Brightheart
“Midwifing the soul into wellness” is Firestar’s poetic description of her practice of shamanic healing. Like our previous class of Women Healers, shamanism is a special calling and an undertaking with a long, rich tradition that spans many cultures across the globe.
In Part III, our special guests are Firestar and Brightheart, two healers that use psychedelic mushrooms and other plant medicines for individual and group healing ceremonies. Being immersed in both clinical psychotherapy and indigenous healing traditions, Firestar and Brightheart discuss the dichotomy of language around their practice. Finding a language and a cult...2021-03-171h 01
FemmSouthEP 19 Part II Women Healers With Eri Guajardo JohnsonOur special guest is Eri Guajardo Johnson (she/they), a queer, bi-racial birth worker, community educator, birth consultant for trauma survivors, and founder of Birth Bruja, which is an online educational platform devoted to intersectional, liberational & decolonial approaches to birthwork, healing, and life. Eri's experience working with sexual assault victims and her study of indigenous Mexican and Indian healing modalities informs her approach to birth work. She also has a master's degree in Women, Gender, Spirituality & Social Justice from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and is an online community educator. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to...2021-03-041h 17
FemmSouthEP 19 Part I: Special Guest Nafeesah Roberts As-SalafeeyahThe first episode in our series on Women Healers is a lovely discussion with Nafeesah Roberts As-Salafeeya, a Community Labor and Postpartum Doula. Doulas play a critical role as healers because they provide physical and emotional support before, during, and after birth in ways that modern hospital providers cannot. They are birthing advocates that help women actualize their preferred birthing experiences whether at home or in the hospital. Nafeesah tells of her journey into becoming a birth worker, and how her home birth experience put her on the path to empower other women with their birthing journeys. Inspired by her own ance...2021-03-0158 min
FemmSouthEP 19: An Introduction to Women Healers SeriesIn this introduction, I set up our discussion about women healers. What do we mean when we refer to women healers, and how does this language differ from the language of modern medicine? As Elisabeth Brooke says, "Medicine has always been political," and those with the authority to practice medicine exert a great power over those they deny.
Women have always been healers, midwives, doulas, herbalists, witches, medicine carriers, conjurers, invokers, shamans, spiritual leaders, and the many iterations of healing practices around the globe. In this four-part series, I will talk with doulas, birth workers, trauma workers, and medicine carriers...2021-03-0131 min
FemmSouthEpisode 18: A Silver LiningFor this episode, I couldn’t be more excited to speak candidly with Jillian and Shannon about all of our personal struggles dealing with 2020 and to acknowledge the accomplishments we did make in our community. As we say in this episode, women are conditioned to find the silver lining in all situations, but sometimes “shitty things can be shitty” and that’s okay. Among the many opportunities for reflection, 2020 has taught us to surrender to what is, which may mean honoring our darker emotions like fear and anger and a whole plethora of unprecedented emotions many of us felt this year.
...2020-12-1356 min
FemmSouthEpisode 17: Breaking the Silence of AbuseIn Sep, our book club read Rachael Louise Snyder’s No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us for our focus on intimate partner violence, which often remains hidden despite the fact that it affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In this episode, Leigh talks with the executive director of the Lighthouse, Rhyon Ervin, about these alarming stats and what their agency does to help victims. The Lighthouse is a non-profit agency providing shelter and resources for victims of abuse in the Monroe, Conecuh, Baldwin and Esca...2020-11-101h 03
FemmSouthEpisode 16: Education at Home~A New FrontierIn this episode, Leigh interviews Kadine Christie, a mother in her eighth year of homeschooling her three children. Kadine has her BA in sociology from Kean University and her Masters in Counseling from Capella University. She’s also a writer, has published work in several magazines, and is currently working on her upcoming memoir, I am Home.
Kadine shares her own education background growing up in Jamaica and then moving to the United States. Her story traces her tumultuous path through a failing education system and her falling back in love with learning once she was able to take control of...2020-08-0358 min
FemmSouthEpisode 15: Addressing Racism: Southern Black Feminist PerspectivesIn our commitment to amplify black female voices, this episode is an intimate conversation with Valencia, Clarice, and Wenter, three southern, black women in our FemmSouth book club, about their perspectives on racism and the BLM movement. Join us as we hear their thoughts on police brutality, speaking out against racial injustice, allyship, corporate integrity, white supremacy, education, and the impact Hollywood representation of black beauty has had on their personal journeys towards self-actualization and self-love.
This episode is longer than previous episodes because so much needed to be said that to trim it down to 45 minutes just didn't seem rig...2020-07-151h 39
FemmSouthEpisode 14: The Work That ReconnectsIn this episode Leigh and Amaya interview Anna Swisher, a facilitator for Joanna Macy’s The Work That Reconnects. Anna explains the evolution of Macy’s approach over the last half of the century, the foundational basis of Macy’s work in Deep Ecology and Systems Theory, and walks us through the stages of the spiral through which the workshops are organized. Amaya shares her transformative experiences working with Anna following her own burn out, and how Macy’s work provides a necessary support network for activists and communities built around activism. Anna also talks about what to expect from the work...2020-05-1956 min
FemmSouthEpisode 13: Octavia Butler, Parable, & PandemicIn this episode, Shannon and Leigh discuss Octavia Butler’s dystopian, afrofuturistic novel, The Parable of the Sower and the current coronavirus pandemic. Butler has imagined an all-too-real version of the United States if things like climate change and corporate greed are left unchecked. Much like Butler's imagined crisis, this pandemic has amplified the stark social, financial, and political inequalities that define life for so many of us. It is also shining the necessary light on the people that hold our society together. Uncertainty for the future resides, leaving some wanting to return to “normal” as quickly as possible and some...2020-04-3054 min
FemmSouthEpisode 12 Part III True Inclusivity for LGBTQ+ ChristiansIn this episode, Leigh interviews Reverend Ellen Sims from Open Table United Church of Christ in Mobile and Elizabeth Denham, LGBTQ+ advocate and owner of The Franchise Woman magazine. Both are connected to the advocacy & family support groups, Rainbow Mobile and Prism United.
If you've lived in the South for long, you know that churches can have a huge impact on the violence, fear, discrimination and rejection experienced by many LGBTQ+ persons. Despite the fact that many churches espouse an open door policy for all people, LGBTQ+ people are often met with disappointment at the realization that this inclusion does...2020-03-2356 min
FemmSouthEpisode 12: Out of The Margins Part IIIn this episode, we go out into the community to see how Christian Feminism is being discussed and practiced in the local area. Leigh interviews Judith Comer, an ordained Episcopal Minister, and Jessica Deese, a mother of four children who is active in her local church community and school.
In this episode, we discuss the value of Feminist Theology from seminary to the pulpit.
Although Feminism and Christianity have often been cast as incompatible, and they certainly have a history of opposition, Christian women (among many others) have been challenging androcentric language (language that is oriented around the masculine) and...2020-03-0659 min
FemmSouthEpisode 12: Christian Feminism: Out of the MarginsIn this episode, Leigh and Shannon discuss restoring the equality of the Divine Feminine in Christianity by centering on biblical women and feminine expressions of the Divine in scripture. We look at Christian supremacy and its legacy of oppression. We learn the historical roots of feminism in Christianity, investigate where feminism has already shaped the Church, and identify where feminist theology has failed to reach local congregations. We ask whether women can continue to advocate for change within the institution by using language and liturgy that is centered on a discipleship of equals in the commonwealth of God, rather than...2020-02-1753 min
FemmSouthBonus Episode!! Music by Brenda BledsoeBonus episode featuring singer, songwriter and musician, Brenda Bledsoe. For over 17 years, Brenda has been writing songs inspired by the people and places that have impacted her life. She's been playing the flute and guitar for even longer.
In this episode, Brenda shares her new song, Let Your Truth Out, inspired by the recent violations against women's reproductive rights in Alabama. Brenda also discusses her own journey into speaking and living her truth after years of working in a male-dominated, corporate job. Now she's living her dream, playing folk music and building a farm with her husband.
We hope this...2019-11-2207 min
FemmSouthEpisode 11 Part 2: Trans Feminism ConversationsFor the second part of our episode on Trans Feminism, Sarah and Leigh interview transgender friends in the community to talk about coming out in the south. We hear transwomen’s perspectives on living with gender dysphoria, what coming out to their families has been like, how the church has influenced their transitioning, and what they think about passing within the socially constructed gender spectrum. We hear from a mother who is having to advocate for her child in the face of unsupportive family members and trying to build her own support system with close friends.
These interviews reveal just ho...2019-11-2158 min
FemmSouthEpisode 11: Trans Feminism & Beyond the Gender SpectrumJoin us as we explore Sarah McBride's book, "Tomorrow Will Be Different," a touching, personal memoir that covers her transition story, her journey into transgender activism, and the tragic loss of her husband to cancer. Sarah's book is also a primer on the many complex issues facing the transgender community through the lens of her life as a transgender woman and LGBTQ+ activist. It's a great way for people who are not already personally connected to the trans world to engage with empathy and understanding.
Sarah's story is also an avenue to explore the ways in which the issues faced...2019-11-0457 min
FemmSouthEpisode 10: Part II ~ Reflecting on Audre LordeIn part II of Episode 10: Reflecting on Audre Lorde, Leigh is joined by three local women (Valerie Montgomery, Claire Hallblack, and Valencia Wilson) to talk about race and infrastructure in our local community as an extension of our discussion about Audre Lorde's book Sister Outsider. Audre Lorde calls for women to unite and build new paths across difference, but what are the obstacles to building these paths in places where the infrastructure of racism, classism, and sexism still exist?
Structural racism, classism, and sexism can be seen in many facets of life in a small town, even in one as...2019-10-1546 min
FemmSouthEpisode 10: Reflecting on Audre Lorde--Black, Radical, Femininst, Lesbian, PoetThis episode examines Audre Lorde’s collection of essays and lectures in her book, "Sister Outsider." Join Leigh and new cohost, Jillian Rosandich, as we talk about Audre Lorde’s theory of difference, a foundational pillar of Intersectional Feminism that recognizes the particular experiences and issues of women of color and other groups that were being left out of the broader feminist conversation of second wave feminism. As Lorde put it,
"The oppression of women knows no ethnic nor racial boundaries, true, but that does not mean it is identical within those differences" (70).
These conversations are just as relevant today as w...2019-09-2453 min
FemmSouthEpisode 9 Part II: Women's Anger & Emotional Freedom Panel DiscussionWhy is anger a particularly challenging emotion to acknowledge and express for women? Many of us grew up in a culture or a home that discouraged any expression of anger or discontent. We learned to suppress our darker emotions, drive them down deep, and sacrifice our needs to be the peacekeepers in the home and at work. How did women get to this point historically, and what can we do to reframe anger so that we can use it to attain personal and political freedom against injustice, create safe boundaries, & validate our experiences?
In this episode, you will hear accomplished...2019-08-3058 min
FemmSouthEpisode 9: Women's Emotional FreedomAnger, one of the darker emotions that women have historically learned to suppress & transfer into other more acceptable emotions like anxiety, sadness, and depression, is actually a valid and valuable tool for creating change in our personal lives and in the world. This is not the first time in history women’s anger has been at the front line of activism. Women’s anger has always fueled change. As “the first line of defense against injustice,” (Chemaly) when women get fed up, the world changes.
This episode is one of a three-part series on Women’s Emotional Freedom & Transformation. Join Amaya and...2019-08-1643 min
FemmSouthSheWolves Bonus Episode: Skeleton WomanJoin Leigh as she interviews Matt Myrick, singer, songwriter, and father of two small children, to get his take on the story of the Skeleton Woman in Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run With the Wolves.
Skeleton woman is the archetype of the life/death/life cycle, which, according to Clarissa, is the natural cycle of death and rebirth that determines the transformative cycles of all physical and psychological life. When skeleton woman enters into a relationship, she is the gift for both partners of deeper inner knowing and growth.
Leigh and Matt discuss the patriarchal structure through which the sk...2019-07-2642 min
FemmSouthEpisode 8: SheWolves Part III - Bone CollectorsWe are continuing our three part series honoring Clarissa Pinkola Estes' Women Who Run With the Wolves. Clarissa connects readers with the archetypal wild woman who sings over collected bones to revive the Shewolf, La Loba. We all possess this wild woman deep inside our psyches, but many of us have forgotten, suppressed, ignored or simply lost connection.
In In this episode, Leigh interviews singer/songwriter Emily Stuckey and activist and book club member, Ashley Wix, about storytelling, digging up old bones, collecting & examining them through creative practices, and breaking the silencing that happens when we experience shame around our...2019-07-1153 min
FemmSouthEpisode 8: SheWolves Part II - Soul Skin EmbodimentAre we enjoying the full shapes and functions of our bodies, and do we feel at home in our own skin? Join us as we explore the answers to these questions in the second part of a three-part series honoring Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book, Women Who Run With The Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype.
In this episode, Leigh interviews two friends, Lukcy and Kate, about their favorite stories—“Sealskin, Soulskin” and “La Mariposa, Butterfly Woman.” Lukcy is a singer and songwriter who is working on a year-long, collaborative project to create original music with musicians in each state...2019-06-0149 min
FemmSouthEpisode 8: SheWolves - Part 1: Feminine Intuition & CreativityThis episode is the first of a three-part focus on Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book, Women Who Run With the Wolves, Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. For those that have not read this book, first let me say that it is one of those life-changing, must reads for a women’s book club. Estes’ writing is poetic, inspiring, and connects with emotions deep and elemental in women. She reaches sympathetically into the starved soul and commands our reclamation of the “innate instinctual Self” (7). In each chapter, Estes retells a traditional folktale, and then uses these archetypal female characters to unearth...2019-05-1045 min
FemmSouthEpisode 7: Why Mothers Matter - Discussing "Mothering Without a Map" w/ Dr. Katie PenryMotherhood is always a hot topic at our book club discussions, whether we are talking about our own mothers or the challenges of motherhood. In this new episode, Leigh & Amaya tackle motherhood and discuss Kathryn Black’s book, Mothering Without a Map: The Search for The Good Mother Within. This book explores the author's own story, testimonies from other mothers and research from top thinkers in the fields of child development, psychoanalysis, psychology, anthropology, and science, to answer the question: How can women who have been "undermothered" transcend the patterns of their childhood and raise emotionally healthy children of their ow...2019-05-0355 min
FemmSouthEpisode 6 Part II: Modern Day Witchcraft & Earth Magic Wisdom with Riyana RoseModern Witchcraft & Earth Magic Wisdom with Riyana Rose
Amaya is flying solo for this episode, on assignment in the San Francisco Bay Area a place for all things mystical, magical and witchy. She interviews Riyana Rose a modern day witch, herbalist, coach, and writer who has been practicing witchcraft in her tradition called Reclaiming for over 20 years.
In this episode, Riyana demystifies the term “witch”, by taking it off the flying broomstick and bringing it back down to earth. She shares wisdom about our connection to our indigenous roots, our bodies, what we put into our bodies, how we move thro...2019-04-0158 min
FemmSouthEpisode 6: The Witchcraze & Women's Inherited TraumaIn light of the feminist uprising that is giving women a resurgence in power and voice, we are still having to hold our ground against dismissal and outright hostility. We still have unanswered questions that history has for too long ignored. Why do we feel disconnected from our bodies and ashamed to seek pleasure? Why do we feel such a deep loss of empowerment over our own bodies as they become more commercialized by mainstream media? Why do we know so little about our own sexual anatomy? Why have women been marginalized in the nursing field for lower pay and...2019-03-221h 01
FemmSouthEpisode 5: The Making of Our Podcast & Looking AheadIn this episode, we look back at 2018 and what it was like deciding to do a podcast in the south, the emotional roller coaster that comes with putting yourself out there, and launching successfully to our community and the world. What a tremendous endeavor we have taken on! We reflect on the challenges of speaking so openly about our experiences and putting our voices out in the world for the first time. We talk about our launch party success and the amazing energy we felt from the men and women in our community that have either been doing women's work...2019-03-0451 min
FemmSouthEpisode 4: Maternal Instincts & Female ChoiceLeigh and Amaya dive into Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's book, "Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species." They discuss the female's active role in reproduction across species, they look at allomothers and communal support for motherhood, and they consider reproductive rights, female sexuality, and female choice in alignment with nature. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook.2019-02-0849 min
FemmSouthEpisode 4 Part II: #My ChoiceBuilding on Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's concepts of female choice and agency in evolution, Amaya and Leigh discuss reproductive rights with former abortion worker, Anne (pseudonym). They all talk openly about their own abortions in order to break the taboo and shame surrounding the topic, and offer ideas to support women in their reproductive choices regardless of whether to have the baby or not. They talk about the challenges women in Alabama face when making the choice to have an abortion, and how our conversations in the south need to change to allow for open dialogue, support, and healing. For more...2019-02-081h 01
FemmSouthEpisode 3 Part II: Handmaids' Resistance in the SouthAmaya and Leigh interview local women that participated in Baldwin County's very own Handmaid's resistance, protesting Roy Moore's campaign for the 2017 Alabama Senate election. Mette McCall, Lyza Davidson, and Hanh Hua talk about their passion for protesting his candidacy and for supporting the #MeToo movement. They question female republican voters that supported Moore despite allegations of sexual misconduct with minors, and they talk openly about the challenges of speaking progressive ideas in a predominately right-wing, conservative community. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook.2018-12-031h 03
FemmSouthEpisode 3: The Handmaid's Tale And The #MeToo MovementThe Handmaid's Tale is the next book on our feminist book club's list, and we discuss its current significance and the #MeToo Movement. We look at how themes in the book are connected to the movement and other current political issues. We look deep into what the movement is really about, and we debunk the myth that the movement has gone too far as we discuss the more subtle manifestations of misogyny and exploitation understood by Atwood when she wrote her book. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook.2018-12-031h 02
FemmSouthEpisode 2 Part II: Female Sexuality & Teachings From a TantricaAmaya and Leigh have the great pleasure of interviewing River Blue Lotus, a local Tantrica and Tantric couples coach. River has a degree in contemplative psychotherapy from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, was raised in a Goddess centered community, and has been helping couples go deeper into their relationships through a Tantric approach to therapy. She goes deep into trauma and healing trauma through connecting with, taking care of, and loving the vagina. She also offers her views on porn and talks about helping couples move away from a dependence on or addiction to practices that inhibit presence in their...2018-12-0350 min
FemmSouthEpisode 2: Female Sexuality & the Goddess ArrayJoin us as Amaya and Leigh discuss Naomi Wolf's book, Vagina. We talk about female sexuality and the connection between the vagina and inspiration, healing, and transcendence. We look at the historically repressed and traumatized vagina, the porn industry, and then we shift to the last half of Wolf's book where she discusses the Goddess Array, which is honoring the feminine and bringing intimacy and connection back to the forefront of women's sexuality. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook.2018-12-0351 min
FemmSouthEpisode 1 Part II: Feminism Is For EverybodyIn this episode, Leigh and Amaya go out into the community to ask people their views on feminism. Listen as they interview men and women of all ages to see what they think feminism means, to discuss their associations with the word feminism, especially in the south, and to find out if they do indeed identify with feminist ideology. Surprise interviewees include feminist writer, Anne Kent Rush and Civil Rights activist and writer, Bob Zellner. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook.2018-12-0359 min
FemmSouthEpisode 1: Feminism in the SouthAmaya and Leigh launch their podcast with this first episode about what it's like being a feminist living in the deep south and how southern women need to become more active in the current conversations. Amaya and Leigh discuss the challenges of being raised in the south and speaking out for women's rights, and their calling for doing women's work and healing the feminine and the masculine. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook.2018-12-0349 min