Odds & ends from recent ALI blogs

Some odds & ends from other adoption/loss/infertility/childless/free blogs/sites that I've been meaning to share with you:

• Those of us without children, for whatever reason, have extra cause to be upset by Heather Heyer's recent tragic death in Charlottesville, Virginia, as she protested at a neo-Nazi gathering. As The NotMom reports, here and here, Heyer was 32 and did not have children -- and because of that, she was trashed, in death, by the same people who killed her.  :(   Awful, awful, awful. :(   This is why feminism, reproductive rights, and greater general awareness of the issues around pronatalism and childless/free life are SO important...!! 
• Speaking of The NotMom, Karen Malone Wright shares the story of The Wizard of Oz's childless Auntie Em, and the childless actress who played her in the movie, Clara Blandick. 
• Would you believe I played Auntie Em in my high school drama club production of The Wizard of Oz??  (I actually did double duty and also played Gloria, a character who's not in the movie. I got to wear a gorgeous green 50s-style prom dress -- alas, I don't think there are any photos of me in it -- and led the cast in singing "The Merry Old Land of Oz," lol.) 
• Are you going to The NotMom Summit in Cleveland this October??  (It`s the second one ever... the first was held two years ago.)  I would love to go -- one of these years. Unfortunately, this year doesn`t look like it will be the one. :(  It`s the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend -- and also the weekend of a family wedding in Minnesota -- although I probably won`t be going to that either. Oh, for unlimited funds (and the ability to be in more than one place at the same time...!!)!! 
• In her recent TedTalk (which I posted about here), Jody Day of Gateway Women described childless women as "the biggest diversity group HR hasn't heard of."  Most of us who belong to this group are quite aware that we're a minority (albeit a fast-growing, significant and under-recognized one) -- and the slurs against Heather Heyer (see above) are an extreme case in point of how childless women are discriminated against. 
• Now, Samantha at Life: A Bird's Eye View makes a strong case for including childless women on the list of discriminated-against minority groups. Thanks to Different Shores for introducing me to Samantha's blog! 
• Pamela at Silent Sorority is asking for our help with her new venture, ReproTech Truths, and a related social media campaign, #UnmaskingIVF.  #UnmaskingIVF aims "to help future generations understand the associated risks and costs... Our long-term goal is to push for greater procedural transparency and public health information so that women are well-informed about the full spectrum of outcomes and risks associated with IVF."  Have a look at the site, and consider sharing your own IVF story.   
• A couple of bloggers have been featuring some excellent podcasts & video interviews on their blogs lately. Thank you, Cathy at Slow Swimmers and Fried Eggs, and Catherine-Emmanuelle at Femme Sans Enfant.  (Catherine-Emmanuelle`s blog is written in French, but many of her interviews are conducted in English.)