Month: September 2012

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Breaking the Cycle–September Luna Ride Sept 29, 2012

  • It’s that time of the month again ladies!!!

    Ovarian Psycos bring you our September Luna Ride – A bike ride riding under the full moon in a sea of womyn (and female identified) individuals ♥

    “To all my lovely ladies who need some female strength, a nice ride under the stars and an open dialogue about the obstacles that families are faced with ALL set with in a loving and nurturing group of womyn ♥ ”

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    This Luna Ride is titled:
    “Breaking the Cycle”

    – Being born into families that are affiliated and affected with first hand ‘gangsters’ leaves their children with no choice but to deal with this. This is the example that we have to see AND our children, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews have to see and deal with everyday and know nothing else but this.
    This is something that a few of our Psyco Sisters have brought up to our attention. Ovarian Psycos are not just some “pretty girls on bikes” we, like many others deal with this shit on a daily basis!
    Easy money, drugs, gang life, trying to make a dollar outta nothing – We already have to fight off the oppressor and on top f that – they’re kicking us and our brothers and sisters down. The psycos are tired of this – Let’s be the change we wish to fkn see – break that cycle.

    Ride will be ending at Whittier Narrows. There we will have a talking circle and give out useful information for everyone. ♥
    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

    Meet Up: Gold Line – Indiana Station
    Meet Up Time: 7:30 pm
    Roll Out Time: 8:00
    End Destination: Whittier Narrows

    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

    Please:
    – Bring WORKING Bikes!
    – Stay Hydrated – Drink Agua!
    – It’s will get DARK – LIGHTS LIGHTS LIGHTS!
    – Open Heart – Open Mind ♥
    – Remember: FEMALE AND FEMALE IDENTIFIED –>ONLY<–

    – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

    Ovarian Psycos Mission:
    “We are an all-womyn bicycle brigade cycling for the purpose of healing our communities physically, emotionally, and spiritually by addressing pertinent issues through cycling.”

    Ovarian Psycos Vision:
    “We envision a world where womyn of color are change agents who create and maintain holistic health within themselves and in their respective communities for present and future generations.”
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LOS ANGELES’ FIRST CLITORAL MASS A TODO DAR! (VIDEO)

THANKS TO ALL THE LOVELY WOMYN & WOMYN ID’d FOLKS WHO HELPED MAKE LA’S FIRST CLITORAL MASS A TODO DAR!

More than 250 womyn took the streets on their bicis, guided by ladies in reflective vests and the outline of, of course, the beautiful moon goddess coyolxauhqui dressed in blue, on August 31st for LA’s first Clitoral Mass!
The ride came after months of preparation by the Clitoral Mass committee which consisted of Ovarian Psycos core collective members, our sisters over at the Iron Unicorns and many other womyn/womyn id’d cyclists and all around psycos! Womyn in the CMC coordinated safety, “caracol” traffic control, pit stops that included a drum circle in Leimert Park and snacks at La Mina in City Terrace, an after-party celebrating OPCB’s 2 year anniversary and much more!

Riders met up at LA’s state historic park on Friday Aug. 31st–no, not making line for FYF– but to ride in LA”s first ever Clitoral Mass ride. Elsewhere, Critical Mass may have drawn nearly 2,000+ riders, but Clitoral Mass made historic strides that will leave skid marks in LA’s history forever.

Video of the ride courtesy of our friend Kris Fortin over at LA Streetsblog

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Utah’s SLUG Mag features Beautiful Godzilla: Rebel Grrrls—Ovarian Psycos

Beautiful Godzilla: Rebel Grrrls—Ovarian Psycos

by Esther Merono [esther@slugmag.com]

Issue 285 / September 2012

[Illustration: Ryan Perkins]

Ovarian Psycos’ Maryann Aguirre, aka La Fingers, answers a phone somewhere in East LA with unrestrained enthusiasm as I state my name on the other end at the SLUG Headquarters in Salt Lake. My own excitement is muted by slight intimidation and the natural awkwardness that accompanies my introduction to any stranger, but something about her voice is familiar, and it greases the stiffness I’m feeling. She’s just arrived at her home after biking from work in the heat, and, having ridden to the office during pit-staining temperatures earlier that day myself, it’s easy to lament her discomfort. As we discuss her bicycle, a Raleigh hybrid she’s pretty fond of, Aguirre speaks rapidly in Spanish-speckled English, her pitch inflecting upwards at the end of each sentence, giving my inquiries a boomerang effect. As she explains her nickname, La Fingers, a result of being caught wagging her middle-finger on more than one occasion, I know I’m talking to the right person. Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” lyrics pop into my head as I listen––”That girl thinks she’s the queen of the neighborhood. She’s got the hottest trike in town. That girl holds her up so high. I think I wanna be her best friend, yeah!”––and I quietly make the (creepy) decision to friend request her later. Feeling conversational, I stray from the long list of chronological questions I’ve typed up, but Aguirre wants to stick to the plan––she’s been chosen to represent the Ovas in this particular interview, and she’s gonna do it right.

Though Aguirre tells me she has only been a part of the “womyn and womyn identified” Los Angeles bike crew for about a year, the Ovarian Psycos celebrated two years of female empowered thuggery over the summer. The group was founded by Xela de la X, aka Cihuatl Ce, for similar reasons as many other female organizers, including myself: to provide a safe space for women within a very male-dominated community. Of course, their mission statement, goals and organization are much more ambitious and resourceful than my attempts have ever been, but I’ll get to the deep stuff in a moment. What initially attracted me to the Ovas, after the lovely Elizabeth Lopez Medina linked me to their merch page, was their deliciously deviant slogan: “Ovaries so big, we don’t need no fucking balls.”

Yeah, yeah, feminism is about equality, yadda yadda––but the Ovarian Psycos are far from being the he-man haterz hypocritically correct ding-dongs are gonna make them out to be. Aguirre tells me the slogan came about organically and conscientiously, and was met with mostly positive feedback. “We’re not gonna have a fuckin’ ‘ride my bike and I feel so free!’ kind of slogan,” she says. “No––ovaries so big, we don’t need no fuckin’ balls!” Aguirre’s voice gets louder and she loses the questioning inflection as she explains the group’s target demographic. “We try to be particular with the words that we choose to use because we’re trying to hit certain kinds of women,” she says. “Not just women who are just like ‘oh yeah, cool, I like to ride my bike,’ [but] women who need the sisterhood and the bonding … ‘at-risk’ society.” Aguirre drops down an octave as she opens up about her own background, laying it out for me in a matter-of-fact kind of list. She’s 22-years-old, Chicana, and a mother of a 4-and-a-half-year-old, working full time. She’s had a rough life, growing up in the hood with an abusive parent, pregnant at 16. “It’s not just to go and ride our bikes,” she continues. “It’s much deeper than that. We’re trying to outreach to women [whom] society has decided are not the fucking top girl––they’re the fuck-ups.”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

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“Beyond Spandex, Toward Social Justice: Women Redefining the Movement” Panel @ First National Women’s Bike Summit

We want to give a special thanks to the organizers of the first National Women’s Bicycling Summit for inviting us to speak on a panel “Beyond Spandex, Toward Social Justice: Women Redefining the Movement” (badass title btw!).

Ovarian Psycos featured in Momentum magazine!

4  Ovarian Psycos core members made powerpoint presentation and dialogued with an attentive audience of about 100 at the first National Women’s Bike Summit!

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/49912005″>The Inaugural National Women’s Bicycle Summit</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/streetfilms”>Streetfilms</a&gt; on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>