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Social Media Unites Women

By Ginny Sassaman

HERVotes

Women created a tsunami of electronic backtalk around the Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy and Rush Limbaugh’s campaign to make birth control dirty. It was no accident. Women are organizing with a new set of electronic tools: facebook, twitter, blogs, youtube videos and blog radio you can stream. Two coalitions are particularly promising for their media savvy.

 Women United (or in some cases, Unite Women) is organizing a We Are Women march in all 50 states on April 28, 2012. They plan to march on Washington D.C. sometime in September. They have the endorsement of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, The Coffee Party, USA, The National Organization for Women, The Nation magazine and Ihollaback. The latter connects iPhone and Droid apps to 311 lines to help end street harassment in 34 cities, 14 countries and 8 languages.

Everyone is invited to join, plan and rally. There’s no clear leader or brand. The youtube link below, especially The Reformed Whores musical response to Rush Limbaugh and Laura Zuniga’s poem, “To the Oklahoma Legislators,” are well worth the search. You can register and sign up for updates.

 

www.wearewomenmarch.net/groups/vt-unite-women/

www.UniteWomen.org

www.twitter.com/natlwow

www.facebook.com/unitewomen

www.youtube.com/unitewomen

 

 

HERvotes

 

            The second group is a coalition of more established organizations, calling itself HERvotes. This one is focused on making sure that women are ready to vote with needed ID and informed on the issues. MomsRising, the American Association of University Women, The Feminist Majority and The National Women’s Law Center are funding activities, but every ethnic and religious group is represented among their 52 organizational members, and the coalition is growing.

The site identifies 12 important gains that women risk losing, reproductive rights only one under attack. It’s well worth reviewing. On September 15, 2011, HERvotes will conduct its second blog carnival on Women, the Economy, and Jobs. Its first blog carnival included 77 blogs and reached millions through a host of websites, email alerts, and Twitter updates and can still be seen at the HERvotes site. Go to www.hervotes.org