as part of this struggle, we need to be better educated about our bodies and about our rights. although there isn't as much good, non-corporate information out there as i'd like, there are a few websites with truly awesome information about wimmin's health and sexuality; some of the more fabulous resources are listed below.

our anatomy

Elf Sternberg, of alt.sex fame, has a fine site that shows you the basic anatomy of yer genitals and reproductive organs.

the brilliant, multi-talented Annie Sprinkle brings you a saucy, no-holds-barred webpage devoted to teaching you how to examine yer own cervix.

our bodies

one of the most serious health problems for american wimmin is that we literally kill ourselves in an effort to live up to the patriarchy's ideals of what we should look like. two great sites that are helping to combat this are FaTGiRL, "the zine for fat dykes and the women who want them," and a glorious zine called Fat!So?.

the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago has a great page on episiotomy, showing that it is unnecessary and damaging, and should be discontinued as a routine medical practice.

worldwide, the practice of female genital mutilation has devastating physical and psychological consequences for millions of wimmin. there are two great sites that cover it all, including legislation pending in a few american states: one by the FGM Education and Networking Project and another by Marisa Bocci.

our sexuality

the absolute best place on the web for safer sex guidelines and resources used to be a site by John Troyer, which was devoted to bringing you the most up-to-date information regardless of your sex, gender, orientation, or preference. it seems to have metamorphosed, but still seems to have the same awesome info. check it out.

the Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver has one of the coolest homepages i've ever seen, with tons of great information on wimmin's sexuality and health.

Adult Children of Heterosexuals has a wonderful site with comprehensive listings of dyke links ("girl stuff"), bi links ("bisexual hell"), and trans links ("transgender madness"). presents tons of great queer information in a high-spiritied manner; much more fun than, say, the queer resources directory, which, however, has probably the most comprehensive listing of queer info on the web.

our health

the Global Reproductive Health Forum is a site devoted to encouraging open, critical discussion of rights and health issues from a variety of perspectives. includes a lot of information by/for wimmin of color and wimmin living in Southern countries. beautifully illustrates the real power of the internet in bringing us together, and allowing us to educate ourselves and each other. definitely, definitely check it out.

SPOT has a page devoted to educating wimmin about the myriad dangers of tampon use. great idea, great information, great graphics. check it out. also, if you are looking for all-cotton, unbleached tampons, you might want to try terra femme tampons good information. even if you don't want the tampons, check out the site: the owner, Willi Nolan, is active in the fight against assault on wimmin and children, and has compiled a fine set of socially-conscious links. finally, you can avoid tampon problems altogether by using a menstrual cup. check it out.

WHAM! (women's health action and mobilization) is a direct-action group devoted to defending our right to reproductive freedom and good health care, as well as working on other wimmin's issues like domestic violence. for a more conventional approach to these topics, check out one of the Planned Parenthood websites.

if you want a list of links, FeMiNa's wimmin's health listing is easy to use and really thorough. from here you can get to almost any of the good, large wimmin's health sites on the web, as well as many smaller, more focused sites.

our rights

Vandana Shiva's brilliant essay on the US government's efforts to control the reproductive freedom of third world wimmin to further american economic and political goals goes way beyond the liberal notion that this problem is one of "choice" vs. "demographic imperialism." a few pages, but absolutely worth the time.

for those of you who like lists, the Institute for Global Communications has a fine list of feminist activist resources on the net.