In an interview with LA City Beat (reprinted on Alternet), retired professor Linda Hirshmann expands on the analysis in her book Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World. When asked about “the non-threatening behaviors women are socialized to adopt,” she concluded her comments by saying that she finds “Ph.D.s who are wiping butts” horrifying. “I’m sort of surprised I’m the first person to get out there and say this is immoral.”

As a PhD who has chosen to wipe my own children’s butts, I’m appalled not only by such a strident view of what it means to be an educated woman but by the blatant claim that to care for one’s own children is immoral. The so-called moral high ground she claims has no relation to the world I live in, where parenting is itself a political act. Wiping butts is also an act of love whether for our children, our parents, or anyone else who is so vulnerable as to need such care.

My doctoral training highlights the political nature of social and personal choices even when they don’t fit the molds demanded by authority figures, whether those authority figures be retired professors or global corporations. I am proud to have wiped my own children’s butts.

Let me encourage you, as activists and advocates for cloth diapers despite prevailing corporate wisdom, to speak truth to power.

–Lori Taylor, President and Founder, Real Diaper Association

I was wondering, while reading the news about restricted or completely disallowed carry-on luggage on airplanes, whether mothers are being allowed to carry diapers. Can you imagine a 10-hour flight with your baby without diapers and amusing toys? I have made the trip many times with my children starting when they were a few months old. I needed that bag of tricks with me.

Following the logical crumbs of this issue, I also wondered about gel. Gel bras and gel shoe inserts have been banned from plane travel. Does this mean no gel diapers?

If you have experience with diapers on planes in the past couple of weeks, tell me how it went. Did you see any gel diapers confiscated as potentially dangerous?

Are you going to the Green Festival in Washington, DC this October? Look for RDA there. With Mothering Magazine, we are creating a diaper changing and nursing area for parents. Along with cloth diaper vendors, including RDA business member Karen Amidon of Green Mountain Diapers, we will hold hands-on demonstrations for festival attendees.

Are you looking for a bigger audience? Would you like to target green buyers? Send a sample of your product for display in the Real Diaper Association diaper changing area at the Green Festival in Washington, DC, October 14-15. Include cloth diapers, covers, or other diapering accessories. There is no limit to the number of samples accepted. If you include business cards with the samples, we will attach these to the item so festival goers can take a card when they like what they see and feel. You are welcome to include other information also, such as a brochure or catalogue. All samples will be kept by RDA and circulated among Real Diaper Circles as a trunk show. This publicity gift will keep on giving. For more information, please contact lori@realdiaperassociation.org or send products and literature to RDA Board member Marie DiCocco at PO Box 31281, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. Submissions from RDA business members only.

Have you read about Real Diaper Association’s annual educational campaign yet? This year, we have launched an oral history project to collect stories about cloth diapers from the grandmothers and other friends and neighbors of RDA members: Your Grandmother Should Know.

A lot of us are part of the online community that talks about diapers online–A LOT. If you know about Real Diaper Circles, you know we RDA organizers like to encourage people to talk about cloth diapers face to face. We think that there is plenty to learn about cloth diapers beyond our virtual world. We think it might help us to find cloth diaper solutions by asking those who came long before email lists and forums. We think your grandmother should know cloth diapers, and we want to know, too.

You are the collector and interviewer for this oral history. The Project Manager (me! Lori from the RDA Board) has compiled detailed Project Guidelines to walk you through every step. We tell you how it works, then you make your own plan and do interviews. You can also use the interview to generate local publicity for your Real Diaper Circle or for cloth diapers generally. This is year one. Then, RDA will compile all interviews into a collection and begin to use what we learn for publications and educational materials. This is year two.

You can download the Project Guidelines as a pdf or (for RDA members) we will send you a bound copy. If you want extra printed copies, you can buy them at our advocacy gear store. I added a Your Grandmother Should Know mini button there, too.

If you have questions about the project, want a copy of the Project Guidelines, or you just want general encouragement that you can do it (you definitely can), contact Lori at YGSK@realdiaperassociation.org.

Monthly cloth diapering workshops are now available to Phoenix metro-area residents! Mothers’ Milk Boutique in Scottsdale, Arizona, has generously offered us use of their facility for a monthly workshop to offer information and education to anyone interested in cloth diapering their new baby or transitioning to cloth with an older baby or toddler. For more information and to register for the next class, please visit Wildflower Diapers or contact shannon@wildflowerdiapers.com.

Hello! I’m the owner of Buzzie Bee Diapers, a small scale diaper service on the coast of Maine.(www.buzziebee.com). This week, two of my customers have expressed interest in continuing cloth diapers when their children start daycare this summer. I’ve spoken with one of the daycare directors and have realized the issue is not that they are against cloth diapers but that they don’t know how to handle the soiled diapers. With disposables, they just all go in the same bin. Any tips on how a center might separate and store soiled cloth diapers. One center in particular has 6 babies in cloth at home but not at the center. They want to offer cloth as an option but only if they can figure out a space conscious way to store the soiled diapers until pick up. Thanks for any advice!

On June 7, 2006 the local Real Diaper Circle of RDA in Everett, Washington had it’s first Public Service Announcement air on KSER 90.7FM.

It aired during a mid-day time slot and garnered local response by phone as well as email. This PSA will continue to be heard on a weekly basis by local listeners as well as over the live internet stream worldwide.

Special shout-out to Accredited Real Diaper Circle Leader, Maya Keithly! Her Advocacy Focus is:
Helping families choose a system that works best for them with resources & tools for successful cloth-diapering. Spreading the word through local businesses, festivals and public service how cloth diapering is best for all of us, especially baby. Specializing in the explanation of local wastewater treatment and true statistics on the impact of cloth vs. disposable.

RDA just sent out Volume 19 of its E-Newsletter since its launch in August 2004 with Volume 1. Did you get it? If not, we’d love you to join our list. The RDA E-Newsletter is a monthly publication. You can sign up on any page of the Real Diaper Association website in the lower left hand corner of the left-hand navigation menu.

For our E-Newsletter publication, there are several areas of interest you can request to receive information about, ensuring you do not receive information you do not want.

• General Interest
• Cloth Diaper Industry News
• Educational Campaigns
• Local Real Diaper Circle News
• Press Releases
• Website Updates
• Cloth Diapering Advocacy Tips

View the RDA E-Newsletter Archives

*Per the RDA Privacy Policy, we will NOT sell or distribute our private mailing list information with anyone.

Real Diaper Association is sponsoring an ongoing Real Diaper Giveaway. The program has several steps:

1. Advertising on the RDA website and RDEvents.org blog, which will fund the program.
2. Nomination of families and organizations who need cloth diapers.
3. Selection from the nominations for the Real Diaper Giveaway by member vote.
4. Giveaway to nominees of cloth diapering supplies bought from RDA business members

Real Diaper Giveaway Details!

Click on the following text links for program details.

• What will the program accomplish?
• How much of the money goes to give away diapers?
• What sort of advertising will be available and how much will it cost?
• Will funds spent on advertising be tax deductible?
• Who can make nominations?
• What does RDA need to know about those nominated?
• What kind of supplies will be given away?
• How will Giveaway recipients be chosen?
• How will diapers be distributed?
• What if I would rather make a direct donation to give away diapers?

The Real Diaper Giveaway spreads more cloth diapers to more babies who need them, and the process of nomination and give away encourages Real Diaper Circles as well as business and individual RDA members to seek local publicity for cloth diapers through stories of their charitable giving. This is a great project for Circle members as they build their local foundation.

Click here for more information on the REAL DIAPER GIVEAWAY!

Post about your local events in this category! Having a Real Diaper Circle meeting? Post it here!

The following picture and description is follow up from a Real Diaper Circle Meeting in Washington state. Maya Keithly, Accredited Real Diaper Circle Leader and RDA Board Member, led this meeting.

Maya Comments: “Well, this meeting was one of the best yet - new parents who don’t even own cloth diapers came on down.

Liane, our EC mama was helping the new family with Snappis & a prefold. We also spoke of reactions to certain fabrics and laundry soaps, and we saw EC in action!”

TAKE PICTURES! We want to see pictures. If you DO take pictures, please send them as .jpg attachments to admin@realdiaperevents.org. We’ll optimize and upload them to the RDEvents server and send you a URL to place in your post. Posting a picture with your description of your event really helps others to not only READ, but SEE what they can do locally!