A Modest Suggestion

Now that we've gotten rid of "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" maybe we could ratify the ERA?

Picture found here.

Ninety Years Young

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920. Ninety years later, no woman has ever served as President or Vice President.

PIcture found here.

Education for Women: Acts of Rebellion

Via BBC:

None of the symptoms experienced by the girls are reported to to be serious.


And, indeed, they never are. Women's symptoms are, by definition, not serious.

Education is a weapon that the Patriarchy wields against women. Just like poisoning wells of water, poisoning education is a way that the Patriarchy makes what is necessary dangerous for those of us with two X chromosomes.

Bite me, assholes. Bite me.

Picture found here.

That's 52% Of The Sky, Thank You

More here.

My New Name For A Blog

What echidne said.

Perhaps the most troubling part of the bill is a standard that could make women legally responsible for miscarriages caused by so-called "reckless" behavior. Under the "reckless behavior" standard, an attorney only needs to show that the woman behaved in a manner that is thought to cause miscarriage, even if she did not intend to lose the pregnancy. Under this law, if a woman drinks too much and has a miscarriage, she could face prosecution.

No, really. I'm sick and tired of this bullshit.

Picture found here.

Nonna! Did You Know???

Son and DiL took G/Son on a hike today on the Rachel Carson Greenway.

My phone rang this afternoon and the most excited little voice said: "Nonna! We're in the WOODS! And, hey, Nonna! Did you know that frogs can SING?"

Swear to Goddess, this grandparent thing is the best thing, EVER!

And, thank you, Ms. Carson, that all these years later, there are still frogs to sing to my G/Son

More info: here and here.

We're Likeable Enough

Thank you, Mr. President for striking down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information ! This step will save women's lives, help to keep our already-vastly-overpopulated planet a bit less crowded, and acknowledges the deep truth that women have a right to control their own bodies. As Secretary of State Clinton explained: [F]or seven years, Bush's policy made it more difficult for women around the world to gain access to essential information and health care services. ''Rather than limiting women's ability to receive reproductive health services, we should be supporting programs that help women and their partners make decisions to ensure their health and the health of their families,'' Clinton said.

I'll repeat what I've said before: Criminalizing abortion and denying women access to safe abortions doesn't prevent abortions. It simply sends women into back alleys and the hands of untrained abortionists. Everyone knows that the real goals of the pro-criminalization crowd have nothing to do with preventing abortion. They've been trying for 36 years to criminalize abortions and, in that time, have prevented exactly zero abortions. Meanwhile, they actively oppose many measures that do actually prevent abortions and give only lip service to others. I'm not particularly concerned with reducing the number of abortions, but, we know, empirically, what measures do, in fact, reduce the number of abortions and, if the pro-criminalization crowd actually cared about preventing abortion, they'd be doing these things instead of standing outside clinics screeching at women.

1. Education for girls reduced the rate of pregnancies, thereby reducing abortion. Spend money teaching girls to read, do math, do science, learn a marketable skill, write, whatever, and you'll reduce abortions.

2. Teach real sex education. Quit with the insulting, anti-sex "abstinence" bullshit and teach all kids real sex education, including the use of all forms of birth control. Teach it early, teach it often, teach it without including the biases of the Abrahamic religions. That's something Abrahamic parents can do in their homes and their own places of worship.

3. Make free, safe, effective birth control available.

4. Provide economic opportunities for women. There's a reason that abortions went down during Bill Clinton's administration and up under George Bush's administration. When a woman knows that she will be able to provide for her child, she's more likely to carry her pregnancy to term. When she has health insurance, family leave, access to day care, etc., she is less likely to abort.

5. Teach boys that no means no.

6. Enforce child support laws.

I'll believe the pro-criminalization crowd really cares about "babies" when they start to do the above.

Meanwhile, as grateful as I am to Mr. Obama for reversing Bush's gag rule, I'd like to offer a big, steaming cup of fuck-you-very-much to our new president for this little game: Obama issued the presidential memorandum rescinding the Bush policy without coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. The abortion measure is a highly emotional one for many people, and the quiet signing was in contrast to the televised coverage of Obama's announcement Wednesday on ethics rules and Thursday's signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror suspects. Look, closing Guantanamo and banning torture were highly emotional measures for many people. That was a reason to put those policy changes front and center, not to try to hide them on a late Friday afternoon. Why are women's rights different?

Obama often gives the impression that standing up for women's rights is a necessary, but distasteful, part of his job. Now, his job is to be the president. I hope that women's issues aren't going to continue to be the "Friday document dump" of the Obama administration.

And I'm sorry as all get-out that Mr. Obama is "bored" by the "stale and fruitless debate" over whether I own my body or the state owns it. Really. So sorry to bug you, Barack. No, I'm not.

Picture found here.

Update: As always, Twisty says it better.

Vote Like You Mean It

I don't want to hear that you're not voting.

I don't want to hear that you're throwing your vote away.

Register. Vote. Vote like you mean it. Vote like women whose mothers were jailed and beaten and force fed so that you could vote. Because that is who you are.





/Hat tip to my beloved friend, N.

International Women's Day in Iraq

Kathlyn Stone reminds us that conditions for women in Iraq have become much worse since the U.S. invasion.

International Women's Day, March 8, should be a global day of celebration over the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide.
Instead I mourn what my government has done to the women of Iraq.

The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq have brought an alarming increase in violence against women, including "honor killings” by religious fundamentalists. Women who do not subordinate their role to that of property of male family members have no value among the fundamentalists.

The Iraq Freedom Congress, a grassroots political movement headquartered in Baghdad, issued a statement congratulating women worldwide on International Women’s Day and asked that people everywhere stand with the women of Iraq as they face oppression from sectarian gangs.

While hundreds of women have been murdered by religious gangs, unveiled women are routinely targeted and threatened with violence if they don’t wear hajibs and follow strict Islamic law. The government has not moved to stop the violence or the threats, according to the Iraq Freedom Congress.

“Iraq Freedom Congress stands at the forefront of the struggle to expel these bandits from Iraq,” said Amjad Al-Jawhary, an IFC spokesperson.

The international protests against sexual discrimination are growing louder every year, says Al-Jawhary, and yet in Iraq, “the discrimination against women by sectarian militias linked to mullahs in Iran and groups of Al Qaeda has reached the level of sexual genocide, particularly in the cities of Basra, Baghdad, Mosul and Diyala.
These groups have committed the most heinous crimes against humanity, and women in particular.”

The U.S. military occupation has “turned a blind eye” to the work of the religious gangs, said Al-Jawhary. He suggests that both the occupation forces and the present government have surrendered Iraq and future generations to the criminals through their failure to reign in the gangs.

"We must put an end to the killing of women,” said Fryal Akbar, head of the IFC’s Women’s Bureau at a press conference in Bagdad held earlier this year to draw attention to the escalation of violence against women.

“Women today have every right to defend themselves against the religious and sectarian gangs by all means." She also warned that the IFC will not stand by watching crimes being committed without consequences. "From our experience, these gangs will not put an end to their crimes unless serious action is taken."

A year ago today, Yifat Susskind of MADRE, an international women's human rights organization headquartered in New York, wrote “Since the United States invaded, Iraqi women have endured a wave of death threats, assassinations, abductions, public beatings, targeted sexual assaults and public hangings.

Both Sunni and Shiite Islamist militias direct much of this violence. These groups mushroomed across Iraq after the United States toppled the secular Baath regime. Ironically, the Shiite militias are the armed wings of the political parties that the U.S. boosted into power. Their aim is to establish an Islamist theocracy and their social vision requires the subjugation of women.”

Suhad Salim, another member of the IFC Women’s Bureau, described a young woman’s sense of hopelessness. “The deterioration of the security situation, the intervention of the political Islamic groups into everyone’s personal life and the enforcement of the Islamic law on the street has forced women to quit both school and work to stay home seeking safety. These conditions create desperation and hopelessness in life leading many women to buy shrouds and wait for their death.

“I asked Sawsan Ali of Althawra city who is 30 years old why she quit school and stays home. She has lost her ambition and tends to think about death. Sawson answered: “There’s no hope for safety in the foreseeable future, my rights as a woman do not exist. Everything is against me as a human: family, traditions and culture. Killing and terrorizing women have become a daily show. Why should I live? I cannot go to school safely or voice my opinion. Whatever I do is opposed by others. Basically nothing is left to live for, therefore I am preparing for death.”

International Women's Day

International Women's Day in Afghanistan; women still have a long way to go.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — It's in the voices of the young that hope can be found for women in Afghanistan.

While their mothers and grandmothers wept for their past on International Women's Day, the young girls laughed and sang for the future.

More than 1,000 women gathered at two events in Kandahar on Saturday to celebrate the day devoted to women's rights around the world.

Young women know a different Afghanistan than generations past - they can go to school and find work.
But neither they nor their elders know peace yet, and many said Saturday that is the only thing holding back the full advancement of women in Afghan society.

"When security becomes good, when it becomes safe and we feel we can leave our children outside, no bomb blasts, no kidnapping, nothing, that's when things will be better for women," said Rangina Farescshta, one of the women who attended a rally organized by the provincial women's council in Kandahar.

When the Taliban descended on Afghanistan over a decade ago, the public lives of women effectively came to an end.

The world gasped in horror as thousands of Afghan women were shrouded behind the veil of the burka, losing their jobs, their schools, even their ability to go out in public alone.

Since 2001 and the fall of the Taliban, women are slowly rising back up through the ranks of Afghan society. They sit in government, run hospitals and have regained the right to an education.
"This year is better than last year and the year before last year," said Dr. Farishta Bwar, who works in the department of public health. "Every day the women's life becomes a little better."

But a chilling list of statistics enumerate the hardships still facing the estimated 11 million women in Afghanistan, about half the population.

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission recorded 2,374 cases of violence against women in 2007, including 165 cases of women setting themselves on fire. But the commission concedes the number doesn't really reflect Afghan society because such violent incidents often go unreported.
According to the United Nations, one woman in Afghanistan dies every 29 minutes due to reproductive health related complications.

Their average life expectancy is 44 years, about half that of a woman in Canada.
Though more than two million girls in Afghanistan are now registered for school, there are no numbers on how many actually attend class.

"There was a girl who was going to school and she was threatened and she left school altogether," said Foozia, 14, who still attend class at her school in Kandahar city where conditions are safe.
Foozia said she was at Saturday's rally because it's important to show support for the women of Afghanistan. "We want a peaceful Afghanistan where every woman will be able to ask for her rights," she said.

It's violence that made the old women cry at Saturday's rally.
One after the other, women who'd lost their sons, husbands and brothers to the fighting in Afghanistan rose, wrapped in white scarves, to share their stories.

Sobbing, they called for peace and for women's rights.

There are an estimated one million widows in Afghanistan, many under the age of 35, who face particular difficulty in society. Without men to provide for them, they must use whatever meagre skills they have to eke out a living, but more than 85 per cent of the women in Afghanistan are illiterate. Canada funds a number of programs aimed specifically at widows in Afghanistan. It also spends millions of dollars through the Canadian International Development Agency on education, health and human rights programs aimed improving the lot of all Afghan women.

But men still have control, said Farescshta. "Husbands, fathers, sons have the power to stop women from going outside to make society beautiful and make society educated," she said.
"Husbands, they (often) don't let their wives and sisters and mothers to do work outside, to get education for their children."

The young girls outside one of Saturday's rallies said their mothers and fathers were supportive of them being in school For Sabeera, 10, it's all she wants to think about.
She and her classmates, dressed in the glittery greens and reds of Afghanistan's national costumes, shook their heads with an emphatic "no" when asked if they want to grow up into a life like their mothers.
They don't wish to marry, nor have children, Sabeera said, they want to be doctors or teachers or police officers. An impish grin broke over her face as she stood to recite a poem she'd written.
"I am going to school of my own choice," she said. "There is competition among the girls in school. I do not want to be behind them. I have to be ahead of everyone. I have to succeed."

My New Name For A Blog

What Twisty Said. I have to get up pretty early in the morning to wrap my head around the notion that sex is bad but children are pure. I wish that Diane Sawyer would eat a big fucking bowlfull of Shut-the-Fuck-Up.

Pardon Me, Have You Seen My Payback?

[T]wo new groups have migrated to the Democratic Party -- and provided the basis for an enduring majority coalition.

First, there are women, who used to vote disproportionately Republican. (In 1960, for instance, women backed the Republican Richard M. Nixon, with his 5 o'clock shadow, over the dashing Democrat John F. Kennedy.) But in the 1990s, troubled by the Republicans' ardor for the religious right and opposition to social spending, they began voting disproportionately Democratic -- especially single women, working women and college-educated women. In the 2000 congressional elections, single women backed Democrats over Republicans by a whopping 63 percent to 35. Even better news for Democrats: Women are more likely to vote than men.

More here.

And, yet,

In 2007, 86 women serve in the U.S. Congress. Sixteen women serve in the Senate, and 70 women serve in the House. The number of women in statewide elective executive posts is 76, while the proportion of women in state legislatures is at 23.5 percent.

Congress: women hold 86, or 16.1%, of the 535 seats in the 110th US Congress — 16, or 16.0%, of the 100 seats in the Senate and 70, or 16.1%, of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. In addition, three women serve as Delegates to the House from Guam, the Virgin Islands and Washington, DC.

Statewide Elective Executive: In 2007, 76 women hold statewide elective executive offices across the country; women hold 24.1% of the 315 available positions. Among these women, 45 are Democrats, 28 are Republicans, and 3 were elected in nonpartisan races.

State Legislature: In 2007, 1,735, or 23.5%, of the 7,382 state legislators in the United States are women. Women hold 425, or 21.6%, of the 1,971 state senate seats and 1,310, or 24.2%, of the 5,411 state house seats. More at the Center for American Women and Politics site. And, of course, there has never been a woman president or vice president.

What's wrong with this picture?

Asking For It

What Molly Said.

More on this from The Snake Goddess.

To Aunt Het

I do declare, it's hardly fair to get a joke on Het
For on every hand she has to stand being called a suffragette.
The Anti's scoff, but then hats they'll doff as she motors about the town
And her flaming car will be seen afar to add to her renown.
When the vote is won and the talk is done the jokes she will not resent,
For you can bet we'll all vote for Het, when she runs for President!"

by Margaret Olmsted Ogden

This poem was written in 1914, 93 fucking years ago. I. Am. Just. Saying.

Duh!

Professor Glick also concedes that much of this data — like his 2000 study showing that women were penalized more than men when not perceived as being nice or having social skills — gives women absolutely no way to “fight back.” “Most of what we learn shows that the problem is with the perception, not with the woman,” he said, “and that it is not the problem of an individual, it’s a problem of a corporation.”

I actually think this "concession," reported in today's NYT, is important. For too long, women have been told that it's our fault. Somehow, each individual woman out there struggling on the job is led to believe that if she could just precisely calibrate the exact proportions of being smart -- but not too smart, aggressive -- but not overbearing, demanding -- but not castrating, ambitious -- but not grabby, etc., etc., etc. that she could run the obstacle course that it is to be a woman in the work-a-day world and still succeed. That's not true. The fault, dear sisters, to mangle Cassius, is not ourselves, that we are underlings, but in our culture. It's true, an individual woman up against an impossibly toxic mix of Catch 22 expectations, has no way to "fight back." It's not the woman who needs to change. I am just saying.

I Am Just Saying

Hmmmm. That gives me an idea for a magical working.

My New Name For A Blog

What Molly Ivors Said.

My New Name For A Blog

What BooMan said.


Americans need to learn: if someone tells you how to act sexually, hide your children and vote for the other party.

I Want A Women's Revolution Like A Lover

Robin Morgan

I want a women’s revolution like a lover.
I lust for it, I want so much this freedom,
this end to struggle and fear and lies we all exhale,
that I could die just with the passionate uttering of that desire…

Oh mother, I am tired and sick
“How do you stop from going crazy?”
No way, sister, no way.
May we go mad together, my sisters.
May our labor agony in bringing forth this revolution be the death of all pain.
May we comprehend that we cannot be stopped.
May I learn how to survive until my part is finished.
May I realize that I am a monster.
I am a monster.
I am a monster.
And I am proud.

– from the poem, Monster, by Robin Morgan, 1971

My New Name For A Blog

What Digby Said.

I can only speculate as to why these paternalistic ideas always seem to cluster around women's sexuality --- Franke-Ruta even uses the very old term "scarlet letter" in her piece --- but it clearly seems to have something to do with women's agency and not men's.