Lovability’s Maureen Pollack speaks with California Assemblymember Christina Garcia in a powerful interview conducted just hours before Governor Newsom signed landmark legislation making stealthing illegal in California – the first state in the United States to do so.
In case you’re not familiar with the issue, stealthing is the nonconsensual intentional removal or tampering with a condom during sexual intercourse – an unacceptable, unforgivable, and dare we say, rape-like practice that men use to get out of using condoms.
Hear about Ms. Garcia’s four-year fight to get the anti-stealthing bill passed as well as her additional initiative – getting spousal rape treated the same as non-spousal rape (which Gov. Newsom also signed!). You’ll also learn about her journey through public service and her advice for Maureen — and any woman running for public office!
“I have been working on the issue of ‘stealthing’ since 2017. And I won’t stop until there is some accountability for those who perpetrate the act. Sexual assaults, especially those on women of color, are perpetually swept under the rug. So much stigma is attached to this issue, that even after every critic lauded Micheala Coel’s, I May Destroy for its compelling depiction of the horrors of sexual abuse including of ‘stealthing,’ it got zero Golden Globe nominations. That doesn’t seem like an accident or coincidence to me.”
Assemblymember Garcia
Assemblymember Cristina Garcia has served in the California state Assembly since being first elected in 2012, representing California’s 58th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Artesia, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Downey, Montebello, Pico Rivera and Norwalk. First as a dynamic community organizer and civic activist, and now as a new generation of leader in the California State Legislature, Ms. Garcia has often been referred to as a “Force of Nature.”
In Sacramento, she crashed the good old boys network and is leading the way to empower women to take their seat at the table. She has insisted on parity in the tax code by introducing a bill to repeal the sales tax on menstrual products and led the charge to update the definition of rape in light of Brock Turner’s verdict, starting a national dialogue on both issues.
Assemblymember Garcia is on a mission to educate, empower and engage — whether that is for constituents of the 58th Assembly District, for women, or for disadvantaged communities. She fights for change, with a passion to improve the lives of working people and to brighten the path to the future for our next generation. As a vibrant new leader of promise, Ms. Garcia hasn’t forgotten where she came from, but with purpose, she also knows where California should be going. She is, without question, a total Power Babe!
To learn more about Assemblymember Garcia’s efforts, follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
About Babe With The Power Sessions
Babe With The Power (BWTP) Sessions is a vlog that showcases and promotes amazing women who are pushing boundaries, breaking stigmas, and challenging existing norms. Hosted by Maureen Pollack, Co-Owner of Lovability and Inventor of The WaterSlyde aquatic stimulator, BWTP Sessions explores their incredible journeys and lessons learned to inspire each of us to live life to its fullest. At Lovability, we believe EVERYONE has their own superpower. What’s yours?
