I've finally noticed that the advertisement banners above my Yahoo inbox are for e-diets and free weekly fetal development updates, probably the result of that dang survey you have to fill out when you apply for a Yahoo account. I have female parts, so - logically - I should be offered a personal health plan (heart smart, low-fat or healthy soy?) to get me ready for bikini season or the opportunity to see what my baby looks like, because, duh, I'm 25 and since your 20s should be about the time women will want to pop out kids, I must be expecting.

However the image of hands forming a heart around a white woman's belly button doesn't steer me toward thoughts of gamboling bikini'd on a chilly Northern Californian beach with baby in tow, especially today as I read e-mails concerning the deportation of Southeast Asian immigrants, hate crimes on Muslim women in LA, and the revival of "benevolent imperialism". Goddammit, I just want to retreat further away, under the covers with a book and a flashlight, grumbling like a cranky old woman with a sore foot and too many grudges.

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