Articles Out There This Week

There are a number of articles out on the blogosphere this week:

Responses to Dr. George Tiller's murder

A letter expressing the need for more female heroines in animated films (via feministing)


"When the Anti-Choice Choose" ( a great read, which I referenced in my own article below)

An interesting post about beauty salons as important spaces where women can share experiences with each other

Happy reading!

History, Quilting and Celebrating Women

I’ve never been a huge fan of history, I think in large part because what is written about in history books is so male-centered and male-dominated. So often when I do see mention of women in traditional and even some non-traditional history books they seem to be overwhelmingly women who have either participated in the “male world” as soldiers or explorers or are talked about in relation to their famous husbands. Women should not only be included in history if they are incredibly famous or take on male roles and perform them exceptionally. Of course these women should be included in history, but the lives of everyday women need to show up in history’s pages too.

In Denver, Colorado two playwrights, Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek wrote a story about American pioneer women, gathering material for their play from journal entries written by pioneer women themselves and recollections of these women. This play broke new ground, since most of the history books and literary works about the American pioneer era to date highlighted the experiences of “outlaws, cowboys, gold miners and trappers,” effectively ignoring the experiences of women. Newman and Damashek decided to tell the stories of pioneer women through the use of quilts, and I’ve included an excerpt from a review of the play that describes their rationale below.



“Newman and Damashek realized the potency of quilting, an almost-universal activity among pioneer women, as a metaphor. Made of scraps and bits — pieces of dresses, blankets, sheets, pants, fragments of a young girl's worn-out skirt — quilts were used to swaddle babies, warm the sick, shelter sleepers through the bitter winter nights and cover the dead. They served as gifts and charitable offerings; they were created to mark such significant transitions as births, weddings and coming of age. Women quilted outside in the welcome solitude of a May afternoon, or met in festive groups to sew, share food and dance. Quilts married gritty practicality with artistic expression as women sewed their deepest thoughts and longings into their panels. Newman and Damashek used the idea of the quilt not only to celebrate these quiet, industrious lives, but as a profoundly female way of structuring their play; each scene is inspired by and reflects on a traditional quilt pattern.”

It is refreshing to hear about ordinary women’s lives being explored and shared in a way that does not follow the traditional, male, linear and sequential model that many plays follow, but that the playwrights structured their piece in a way that reinforced the significance of these women. Subjects like those brought out in this play need to be a part of what we regard as legitimate history.

So often I feel like in my own small efforts to uncover, expose and eliminate sexism, I forget to recognize so many of the positive things going on in the world that celebrate women. In the process, these celebrations elevate women above the place they are given in society and enrich the world we live in by uncovering alternatives to a male-centric, elitist way of viewing the world.

Principians Raise Awareness about Sexual Harassment

Last night, Principia’s Peace and Conflict class presented a documentary they made about Sexual Harassment at Principia. The students who created the documentary included several anonymous records of sexual harassment at Principia in the video, submitted by students in the Principia community. The documentary also included the responses of a variety of students to various questions about sexual harassment. About thirty students, three professors, three parents and one administrator attended the showing, which was followed by a discussion about how to prevent sexual harassment on campus and how to make sure that those instances that do occur are handled effectively and with utmost concern for those who have been sexually harassed.

I was heartened to see that most students who were asked to provide a definition of sexual harassment provided consistent, accurate definitions. This has to be one of the first steps to addressing the problem—making sure that people know the definition of sexual harassment—and, if the documentary is any indication, students seem to know the legal definition. The trickier part is educating members of the community about what in the group discussion was referred to as “rules of social conduct” which would help members of the community recognize certain behaviors as inappropriate and would help prevent sexual harassment on campus.

During the discussion, a transfer student also talked about his experience with sexual harassment education at his former school. This college spent two days showing presentations and videos and engaging students in small and large group discussions about sexual harassment, and the orientation was presented in such a way that it made students feel it was “cool” to be informed about sexual harassment. Those engaged in last night’s discussion mostly agreed that this kind of model could be used at Principia, and that it would be more effective than the current model, which involves talking to students during freshman orientation and providing each person with a sexual harassment manual. Students often lose or forget about the manual, and there was a general consensus that very few read it, so when students are faced with sexual harassment they are often unsure about how to react and how to bring it forward so that counseling and appropriate disciplinary action can be taken.

Anti-Choicers and Choice

I just read an article about anti-choice women who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and get abortions. I strongly recommend reading the article. It reinforced how incredibly loving and selfless so many abortion providers are (and how far I have still to go to be that loving). The article left me feeling so angry about how hypocritical and narrow-minded some anti-choicers can be. Yet I don’t fault them completely for feeling the way they do.

A few weeks ago I watched the documentary, “Jesus Camp.” The documentary follows several elementary and some middle school-aged children from Evangelical families as they attend “Jesus Camp.” At this camp, adults indoctrinate these children, lecturing to them about how morally depraved American society is, featuring kid preachers whose sermons are unsurprisingly similar to those of elder preachers and scaring them with graphic stories filled with fundamentalist Christian language condemning abortion. These adults convince the children that they need to speak for all the lives lost to abortion. At the end of the film, these young children march in Washington, DC to protest abortion, their small lips covered in red duct tape with LIFE scrawled across each piece.

It makes sense to me that some anti-choicers act the way they do if they were exposed to similar treatment as young children. If children have been inundated with anti-choice messages from a very young age, I can imagine that most of them would still hold very anti-choice views that would be extremely hard to reverse. So I don’t blame them. Instead I feel genuinely sorry for them. How long has this cycle been going on? Because I suppose that those who run these camps may have also had similar experiences as children, and now perpetuate the indoctrination. They are cogs in a bigger religious machine.

Milestones

I hope this doesn’t come off as an ageist, snooty, and ableist complaint, because I’m trying to just explore my reactions to a situation that has developed over the past few months. I’m graduating from college this weekend and getting married two days after. My grandmother who, due primarily to restricted mobility and communication difficulties, spends most of her time at home, is absolutely thrilled about the wedding and, in her words, cannot wait to attend. Graduation is a different story. I completely understand not wanting to attend a long and often boring graduation ceremony that doesn’t feature a loved one very much (particularly in comparison to a wedding). I can also appreciate that making the effort to attend either event is physically and socially difficult (as much as someone can without experiencing it firsthand). Yet the principle of it still bothers me. Because there isn’t much of a gap between my graduation and my wedding, I think I’ve been made acutely aware of how much more emphasis people have placed on my wedding than on my graduation. Obviously committing to marriage is a significant step in society, and I do think my decision to marry is going to be one of the most impactful decisions in my life. But I also think that attending and graduating college is a huge privilege and milestone that will forever shape my experience.

My experience with my grandmother has prompted me to think about the effort I’ve put into both milestones, the amount of thought and prayer I’ve put into preparing for both events, and the amount of support I’ve been given, and the value I’m placing on both higher education and marriage. I realize I have so much to celebrate and that I can enjoy each celebration without comparison or concern about those who are celebrating with me.

Stockholm: An Exploration of True Love

In response to letters from a concerned public, Amazon has stopped selling “Stockholm: An Exploration of True Love,” a disturbing video game. Stockholm is advertised as a game “in which you must sexually and psychologically abuse your kidnapped victim to get her to fall in love with you.” Online petitioners who liken the video game to “great art” are working to garner enough support to convince Amazon to reverse its decision and continue to sell the video game.

Meanwhile, the creators of the game are trying to capitalize on Amazon’s ban of the game. The official website proclaims Stockholm as “the controversial masterpiece that was banned from Amazon” and comments on several articles suggest that Amazon’s decision to ban the game will only increase the number of game sales once the creators find another distributor who can sell to customers. Which leads me to wonder how to protest the sale of misogynist, disturbing video games and other products in a way that successfully prevents sales or is effective in another way, but that also does not attract a backlash? Is raising awareness about the video game to expose its misogynist, violent and disturbing content still the right course of action even if it means that more people will learn about and then buy the game? Of course there is no way to know the ramifications of the decision to speak out against this video game, but it is wise to know the potential consequences of your actions before you decide to proceed with whatever you feel compelled to do. Ultimately, I feel that despite possible negative ramifications, it is our responsibility as feminists and as citizens to speak out against products that both unabashedly and subtly degrade women.
http://rmdglobal.net/stockholm/

Marketing to Women

Mainstream marketers continue to miss the mark when attempting to develop and market their products to women. While I’m all for companies spending more time creating and promoting products that serve the particular needs and desires of women, most products and/or marketing campaigns that aim to attract women leave me unsatisfied at best and more often offended. The marketing departments at Dell and Mars, for instance, have demonstrated with their recent marketing campaigns that they are extremely out of touch with women.

Dell created a separate section of their website for women’s PCs and named the section Della. The major point of differentiation from Dell’s other PCs is the smaller size and weight (cause all women love small things!) and more color and design options to choose from. Dell provides superficial advice that demeans the very market they target, which includes things to do on your Dell like shop for clothing and track calories. These “features” have nothing to do with Dell computer capabilities, but rather are activities that anyone with Internet access can engage in. C’mon Dell, don’t patronize me! Mars, a company that sells chocolate candy of all sorts, has developed a new candy bar for women called “Fling” which uses sex and pink wrapping to convince women to buy chocolate.

When will marketers realize that using pink wrapping, and selling sex will never be as effective as developing products and marketing campaigns that treat women as intelligent, multi-layered, multi-tasking, with diverse backgrounds and interests? Marketers need to understand that women are not a niche market that need a separate section on a website, but are instead part of the human family, with needs and desires that should inform and enrich products, websites, etc that have been previously molded primarily according to men’s expectations and desires.

First Large-Scale Art Exhibition Featuring All Female Artists

The Centre Pompidou

Camille Morineau has organized the first large-scale art exhibition solely showcasing the work of female artists, entitled, “elles@CentrePompidou.” The exhibition, which opens this Wednesday at the Centre Pompidou, a world-renowned Parisian museum, includes 500 pieces created by over 200 women. In an industry that has historically recognized and showcased male artists, the emergence of this exhibit could generate awareness of lesser-known women artists and work and could serve as a catalyst for greater appreciation of female artists. The exhibit also prompts visitors to recognize how much discrimination against women has persisted in this industry, a fact that Morineau believes goes unnoticed by most museum visitors.



After reading about the new exhibit, I was reminded of a feminist activist group, the Guerilla Girls, who have been exposing sexism in the art world since 1985. The gorilla-mask-wearing group members create billboards and posters (like the one above), write letters to curators and take to the streets in their masks in an effort to encourage more museums to diversify their collections. The Guerilla Girls are concerned with increased access and representation for women artists and artists of color.

I think the ideas promoted in the "elles" exhibit are ones that are needed, and I'm glad that such a prominent museum has come forth with the exhibit, as it sends a clear message of support for female artists that I hope they will follow up with long-term investment in more works by female artists and artists of color. I would be interested to see a push, not only for increased representation, but also for a larger number of works by women and people of color whose work does not follow the artistic themes throughout history, but instead tell their own, alternative story that cannot be found in the prevailing style or theme of the time. Of course female artists whose work rivals Van Gogh’s, DaVinci’s and Radko’s are important and should be recognized, but artists who have a different concept of what art is and can expand and diversify that dialogue will really help to transform the art world and forward the conversation.

Women's Participation in Business Could Lift Us Out of Recession, BBC Reports

The BBC reports that women could help lift economies out of the recession by starting their own businesses. A conference held in London this week, which attracted businesswomen from all corners of the globe, as well as a small group of businessmen, aimed at discussing how to break the glass ceiling universally and encourage more women to develop their own businesses.

Interestingly, the BBC reports that male attendees were among the “strongest advocates for encouraging women to become entrepreneurs.” Britain’s Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, who attended the conference is quoted:

“Women have a huge amount to contribute to businesses at top levels. There are barriers holding them back. This is wrong. It’s not just for the women as individuals; it’s unfair to the rest of us because our economies are losing out as a result.”

The article repeatedly reiterates that promoting women in business is not just good for women and that the conference is not just about developing strategies for overcoming social and economic barriers that have made it difficult for women to participate in business for women’s sake.

I’m all for the acknowledgment that women play a vital role in society. Such recognition helps more people understand and value the work that women do. I also think that the assertion that women can and do have an extremely positive impact on the economy and that the work they do can help get us out of a global recession is correct, albeit obvious. But this shouldn’t be the reason for us to remove barriers and encourage women to start their own businesses. We should want increased access for women because it benefits women and because women should have access to opportunities that will improve their lives. Why is it that the work women are doing is only widely acknowledged when it benefits men, children, or society at large? When will the work women do ever be valued simply because it benefits women?

Is Common Ground on Abortion Possible? Should We Aim for It?

The number of Americans identifying themselves as “Pro-Life” has surpassed the number of Americans who identify as “Pro-Choice” for the first time since Gallup introduced the question in 1995. The poll reflects a right-ward shift of independent and moderate Republicans on this issue, with Democrats’ views remaining consistent.

In response to this news, some “Pro-Life” advocates are stating that there is a growing consensus that abortion “can be avoided through education about abstinence and birth control.” Where are the pro-life voices advocating for comprehensive sex-education programs? Affordable and accessible birth control? While there must be some pro-lifers who recognize that comprehensive sex education programs and increased access to birth control will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions, any efforts among pro-life individuals and groups to advance programs and access are not covered. Is this because such efforts are virtually non-existent, or because the media wants to only depict the polarization of this issue? One of the things I find so perplexing about the mainstream pro-life movement is that its strategies for reducing abortions are actually counterproductive. The pro-life movement is focused on limiting education about and access to contraception and promoting a restrictive, impractical (for many), and sexist standard of female sexuality. These strategies restrict the options women have to prevent pregnancy and result in more unintended pregnancies.

Obama has focused his efforts on limiting the polarization that so often characterizes the abortion debate, bringing attention to a goal that most people on both sides of the isle can get behind: reducing unintended pregnancies. However, while there is agreement that unintended pregnancies should be reduced, there is much disagreement between pro-choice and pro-life advocates about how to effectively go about doing so. This may explain the somewhat inconsistent moves Obama has made surrounding this issue. Obama’s proposed 2010 budget reduces the amount of funding available for abstinence-only sex-education to 25% of teen pregnancy prevention funds. However, he has opted not to include federal funding for birth control, which would ensure affordable contraception was available to millions of Americans. While I think his efforts help move discussion past whether abortions are morally permissible and toward developing constructive solutions that engage both sides of the aisle ultimately could benefit women, the compromises that seem to be taking place as evident in the above decisions could also continue to prevent women from receiving the education and access they need. Furthermore, should women’s ability to freely govern their bodies be an issue where we should seek common ground if it means that compromise is needed? Any thoughts?

Erotic Ads Eliminated from Craigslist

Following the highly publicized “Craigslist Killer” case and mounting pressure from several state attorneys general, Craigslist has agreed to remove its erotic services section nationwide. The section will be replaced by an adult section that will be monitored manually by Craigslist employees for illegal activity.

What interests me about this change is that it has been framed as not only a step to eliminating illegal activity, but also as a protection to women. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has stated that “The steps they're taking are the only effective way to prevent the exploitation of women and children.” Is Madigan really so out of touch that she believes that simply eliminating a portion of Craigslist will keep women safe an unexploited? In fact, Craiglist provided a comparably safe atmosphere for sex workers, providing women refuge from selling their services on the street and allowing many to screen their clients before committing to a time and place. The wide client-base Craigslist attracts enabled many sex workers to set their own rules and work independently. The structure of Craigslist “lessen[ed] the class divide found in nearly every other shadowy corner of the sex trade.” While no avenue is completely safe, Craiglist’s erotic services section provided sex workers with more safety than they could hope for on the streets and prevented the exploitation previously suffered at the hands of pimps.

The only effective way to prevent the exploitation of women is not, as Madigan insists, to eliminate erotic services from Craigslist. Funding programs that educate boys and men to see all women as human and not as disposable sex objects that can be used and discarded at will could be a start. Recognizing that the line of sex work does not exist independently of a market of hundreds of millions of men who pay for these services, and that combating exploitation by focusing efforts on the client who exploits, could be more effective. However, these steps would also garner more criticism. It is much easier to disenfranchise a portion of society that has historically been marginalized and silenced.

Supreme Court Justice Pick: “The Best” Choice

Articles abound as President Obama gets closer to nominating a Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Souter. One recurring theme I’ve seen in many of these articles and in the comments section of these articles is the sentiment that the best person for the job should be chosen without regard to race or gender.

But just what is “the best”? What characteristics, education and experience should the “best” candidate for the Supreme Court possess? Perhaps one of the criterion for an ideal Supreme Court justice replacement should be that the candidate is of a different racial and/or gender make-up than the vast majority of those justices already serving on the Supreme Court. Of course, gender and race should not be the only considerations, and it is equally important that the nominee be anti-racist and feminist (which white men can be). Yet, it is also high time that the make-up of the Supreme Court begin to reflect the demographic make-up of the United States. For far too long, the criteria for “excellent” Supreme Court justice nominees have been shaped by a white, male elite paradigm. Paul Campos writes about the potential problems with appointing yet another Harvard or Yale law school graduate:

“Limiting Supreme Court nominees to those who [follow the typical Supreme Court career path] largely limits the field to members of a social and intellectual elite who generally lack much in the way of either practical political experience, or contact with people outside their rarified socio-economic status. The court is ultimately a deeply political institution, and, as the history of the Warren court illustrates, being immersed in politics for much of their lives may serve justices better than having gotten straight A’s at one of two law schools.”

“The best” for me is a candidate who breaks the mold, who brings something new to the table, who is not more of the same, who doesn’t fit outdated, gender, race and class “neutral” notions of best. Campos believes that President Obama’s own unique road to the White House could prompt him to nominate someone who has not followed the typical Supreme Court career path. I hope he’s right.

Male Contraceptive Shot and Pill May Be Coming Soon to a Store Near You

Two scientific discoveries may spur advancements in contraception. Scientists in China have been testing the effectiveness of monthly testosterone shots as a form of male contraceptive. Following the identification of a “genetic fault that leads to male infertility,” scientists from the University of Iowa suggest one outcome of further study could be the development of male contraception similar to the Pill for women. If these male contraceptives make it through test phases to the general public, they have the potential to dramatically alter the current contraceptive landscape.

One part of the article on the male contraceptive shot stuck out to me:

“Previous attempts to develop an effective and convenient male contraceptive
have encountered problems over reliability and side effects, such as mood swings
and a lowered sex drive.”

While I think it is important to limit the negative side effects that contraceptives have, female contraceptives have side effects that are more numerous and severe than mood swings and decreased libido, and women have been using them for years. The development of these products was not halted until every side effect could be removed. The article leaves me wondering where the impetus to delay development comes from. Are potential male customers unwilling to use contraception that has side effects?

Ultimately, having a wider range of contraceptive choices will be beneficial to men and women. I hope the emphasis on eliminating the side effects of male contraceptives will prompt manufacturers of female contraceptives to work to eliminate serious side effects from their own products.

I also wonder how men will respond to the availability of a new male contraceptive. What kind of men will the pill or shot appeal to? How will the introduction of the pill change the discourse around contraception in the United States? Erica’s question, “how in the world are drug companies going to market this option to men?” has also sparked a lot of interesting debate.

Redefining Work in the Recession

This March, the number of women in our nation’s workforce surpassed the number of men for the first time in U.S. history. The rate at which women are becoming the primary breadwinners in their families is also rising. While the recession could have a transformative impact on gender roles, helping to debunk the traditional gender role myths, instead the recession is increasing the burden on many women. With growing numbers of women in the workforce, more women are performing “double-shifts” – putting in a full day at work and then coming home and performing the majority of the housework and childcare responsibilities. While non-traditional gender roles in the workplace and home have become more socially acceptable, the U.S. American Time Use Survey suggests that traditional gender roles still persist in most households, despite the increasing number of men who find themselves at home without a job. According to the survey, the amount of time unemployed males devote to children and household responsibilities is equal to the time spent by men who are employed. Work time is primarily replaced by watching TV, job search and sleeping, the survey found. In contrast, the number of hours spent on childcare by women who become unemployed is almost twice the amount of time employed women spend on these duties. The U.S. American Time Use Survey also found that employed men spend less time on childrearing and household responsibilities than employed women.

Many positive changes have and could continue to result from the collective efforts of women in the workplace fighting for pay equity, demanding sexual harassment be taken seriously and arguing for more flexible work schedules. A change in how our society structures work as well as the way our society views home responsibilities needs to continue to transform to reflect the importance of work/life balance and its availability to women and men of all socio-economic classes, as well as a more equitable division of home responsibilities and childrearing.

Chinese Politician Proposes 'Women-Only' Sections on Beijing Subways

The recent proposal of “Women-only” sections on subways in Beijing could serve as one effective way to prevent sexual harassment frequently carried out by men on public transportation in a direct and timely way. Wang Zhuo, a politician from Beijing who has developed this plan, notes that the addition of these ‘women-only’ transport carriages would also help address overcrowding, a growing and significant problem in Beijing.

It strikes me that, creating a whole new section of the subway for women, is a reactionary strategy to curb sexual harassment. Adopting a preventative strategy such as educating men in an effort to prevent sexual harassment and objectification of women seems more beneficial to women and more effective in the long run. On the other hand, while education must be seen as an essential step to curb harassment in the long run, women-only buses fulfill an immediate need and protect women from the abuses that can take place, while also allowing children to be sheltered from witnessing the harassment of their mothers. The introduction of women-only buses could help the Chinese government demonstrate that they see sexual harassment as an issue that must be addressed and that they will take a more serious stand against the daily abuses women suffer.

The introduction of these carriages may be seen as a first step to show that initiatives to help prevent sexual harassment are needed, appreciated by women and can work effectively. While these carriages will not prevent all sexual harassment, they might help provide women with a feeling of increased safety in one avenue of their public experience. The carriage proposal is not a means within itself to eliminate sexual harassment, but is evidence of the increased effort to recognize and begin addressing issues of importance to women. If implemented correctly, the program could serve as a pioneer program that could encourage other regions to make efforts to prevent harassment.

I have mixed feelings about this proposal. What are your thoughts?

Good Reads: Wednesday

Planned Parenthood President, Cecile Richards highlights what she considers to be the 10 most significant steps President Obama has taken toward advancing women's health in his first 100 days.

Bonnie Fuller calls out Conservative commentators for spouting racist comments in response to swine flu scare

The Associated Press reports that a federal judge ruled in favor of a trans woman who sued the Library of Congress after her job offer was rescinded when she informed them of her upcoming sex change surgery. U.S. District Judge James Robinson is the first federal judge to rule that discriminating against transsexuals violates federal law.

Creating Change: Joanne Goldblum

This week, TIME magazine published an article about Joanne Goldblum, a Connecticut social worker who launched a Diaper Bank after learning that basic household items and hygiene products like toilet paper and diapers are not covered by food stamps. Lack of access to these staple items can have significant ramifications for both parents and children. Goldblum points out, for example, that many day care providers expect parents to supply their own diapers, effectively barring some parents from using day care facilities since they cannot afford to provide their own diapers. This in turn makes it harder or prevents parents from finding employment, staying employed or obtaining a degree, as their time is spent taking care of their children.
I thought this mainstream article did an effective job of pointing out one of the many problems facing people who live at or below the poverty line, and the inadequacy of federal assistance programs to help meet needs. However, I’ve been disappointed with what seems to be a disproportionate number of articles from mainstream sources talking about how the recession is affecting middle and upper-middle class families. While the problem Goldblum has identified is not a product of the recession, but rather an example of one hole in the welfare system, the recession is likely making the consequences of these problems more severe. Several have called attention to the classist approach much of the mainstream media sources and the “experts” they feature have taken, whether it be in terms of content or advice about surviving the recession.
To learn more about the Diaper Bank and how you can contribute to a solution, visit Goldblum’s website.

Feminism and Marriage

Image Source

I’m getting married in June. Consequently, I have been thinking a lot about the institution of marriage. Specifically I’ve been giving some thought to how/whether my decision to marry impacts my feminism and how I can bring my feminist ideals to my marriage in a way that will enable an equitable partnership and contribute to the discussion and practice of making more equitable partnerships the norm. Discussions along these lines are also taking place in the feminist blogosphere, prompted largely by a major young feminist figure, Jessica Valenti, discussing her own plans to marry.

While the ongoing debate has unfortunately centered more around whether you are less of a feminist if you get married and even whether or not those who marry can be feminist, I think the central question the debate brings up is whether or not we can change patriarchal society through informed participation in and attempted transformation of its historically patriarchal institutions. (As a central societal institution, marriage has historically been used to justify and perpetuate female subservience.) Will transformation come only through rejection of these structures? I’ve thought a fair amount about these questions and will continue to think about it for a long time to come. I’d love to hear your thoughts about this and to talk about where I am in my thinking about it. I think that working inside the institution of marriage to make it a more equitable and accessible can be valuable. I think the efforts of those men and women who carved out more equitable partnerships within marriage have already positively impacted the institution of marriage (though I acknowledge that we have a long, long way to go). Of course I also see the value in choosing not to participate in an institution such as marriage. I don’t think ending patriarchy and transforming existing heterosexist, patriarchal institutions will come from one approach, but rather through the conscious efforts of many people using multiple approaches. What are your thoughts? What am I missing?

"Cosmetic Procedures"

Image Source: Pierce Mattie


Last week I received a mailing congratulating me on my engagement and alerting me to the various cosmetic procedures that I should really take advantage of to look my best. Likewise, many of the advertisements on my facebook try to appeal to my insecurities and tell me that their invasive procedures can change my life and help me become more beautiful. The services offered ranged from laser hair removal to permanent cosmetics (read tattooing makeup on your eyelids, lips or eyebrows) to liposuction to masking unsightly veins.

I take issue with these procedures on several levels. First, undergoing any of these methods would not make me look my best as promised, but would rather remove, alter or reorganize normal parts of my body in a way that would align me more closely to conventional beauty standards. While I would never claim to be immune from the pull that these standards have, drastic, expensive procedures that mutilate my body in order to ensure that I can more closely conform to these standards is way over the top. The focus and emphasis women are taught to place on their physical looks, their bodies and faces is time-consuming and painful and keeps many women distracted from pursuing other more important things. It strikes me that in so many regards women are asked to put others first and think so little of themselves and their own needs. Yet on the other hand, women are also expected to attain levels of beauty that require near self-absorption. When will women get the time and space they need to explore activities and arrangements that are fulfilling? When will this need for fulfilling activity for women be considered to be enough for society to consider this time well spent, regardless of how it benefits children, husbands and partners or society?

On Valuing Femininity

One major talking point in feminism is the devaluation of the feminine in patriarchal society. In an effort to combat sexism, the feminist community has generated insightful critique of and public demonstration and activism around issues such as female beauty standards, barriers to access and equity for women in the workplace and reproductive choice. These efforts have made inroads and millions of women have benefited because of this work.

At the same time, some members of the feminist community have also engaged in practices that also devalue the qualities considered feminine in our culture. For example, I often hear young feminists talk with an air of superiority about how they were never into playing house, dressing dolls or making female friends. Instead they enjoyed playing with cars and trucks, exploring the woods, and kicking the soccer ball around with boys. As these young feminists describe themselves as tomboys, they chastise others who did enjoy activities considered more feminine. I take issue with the assumption of a strict dichotomy expressed in their statements: that you can be either feminine or masculine and that this is expressed in either playing house or playing with cars, playing with girls or playing with boys. For the vast majority of us, such a dichotomy does not account for our experiences, which were more varied. I also disagree with the sentiment that playing house and playing with dolls is inherently “un-feminist” or inferior to playing with cars or playing sports as a young child. All activities mentioned can teach children important skills and none are in-and-of-themselves damaging. By playing house and parenting dolls, children learn to demonstrate caring, consideration for others, and selfless giving. By traipsing through the woods and racing cars, children learn to explore, discover and compete. These qualities are ones that all children should learn. The feminist community is undermined when members of the community rank and qualify individual actions, preferences, or ways of knowing by a standard that prizes that which is considered more masculine.

Feminist Blogger Launches “And It Was Wrong” Website to Break the Silence Surrounding Sexual Assault

Feminist blogger Rachael Goodman-Williams recently create a website designed to help end the silence surrounding sexual assault and help women and men recognize that sexual assault is a significant issue and that its perpetrators are in the wrong. Goodman-Williams’s website includes an overview of the project and an avenue for women to submit their experiences of sexually assault. Goodman-Williams requests that all experiences submitted end in “and it was wrong” to reinforce this simple, yet often overlooked and masked fact. So often, Goodman notes, women are made to feel as if what men do to them, the abuse they suffer, is not significant or does not warrant outrage or resistance. The creator of this website plans to compile the experiences shared into a book that she will make available to men and women. In addition, she reads excerpts of the experiences she receives at speak-outs, rally’s and women’s centers. Goodman-Williams hopes that this project will enable women to join together to recognize that sexual assault is a systemic issue that requires collective resistance to dismantle.

This website has a lot of transformative potential. Though Goodman-Williams has not made the experiences available to read on this website, her discussion of the project, which is featured on the website frames sexual assault in such a way that encourages women to break the silence, not only by submitting their experiences, but also by allowing themselves to recognize and name, if only for themselves their experiences with sexual assault, rather than continuing to belittle their experiences or making excuses for their assailants. This project illumines the ways in which women have been taught to be complicit in their own oppression and provides ways in which collective consciousness can be transformed and used to propel social change around sexual assault.

Daily Feminism

I was thinking today about the different ways in which we bring our commitment to feminism to bear on our daily lives. While our daily feminist acts may not seem like much, they are one effective way to combat daily misogyny and sexism. In an effort to become more aware of my actions and strive to lead a more feminist life, I came up with a list of feminist things I strive do in my daily life and those things that I want to stop altogether.

Things I strive to do more consistently:

• Support the women around me in the decisions they make, honoring their
ability as adults to govern their own lives
• Call attention to sexism when I see it
• Dispel misconceptions about feminism
• Unapologetically and publicly call myself a feminist
• Complement and honor women friends for their all of their accomplishments
(musical, academic, athletic, etc) rather than just focusing on their
successes in relationships
• Appreciating and acknowledging when men do these things too (which we should
expect, but which also so often does not happen)
• Recognizing male allies and talking with them about how they can work with
other men
• Recognizing and counteracting situations that are anti-feminist
• Giving myself time and space for self-discovery, however brief
• Acknowledging the strength, power and importance of women’s experiences,
including my own

Things I want to stop altogether:

• Apologizing for things I shouldn’t (my own assertiveness, other’s mistakes or
rudeness, taking up space)
• Engaging in conversations that center completely around romantic relationships
• Gossip
• Doubting myself and my abilities

What feminist acts are you striving to do more of? What acts are you working toward eliminating from your life?

Taking Up Space

An incident that happened in one of my classes last quarter got me thinking a lot about gender and taking up space. As part of the final grade for this class, each student had to write a final paper and prepare a 7-8 minute presentation on this paper to share in class. On the second day of presentations, a white male freshman presented his paper for over 20 minutes (and 19 Powerpoint slides). The professor, who is also a white man, did little to stop this student from going over the time allotted, and after his presentation was finished, no public comments were made about the length. Over the course of the week, at least two other white men in the class also crafted presentations that were 3 times the allotted length. As a result, three students were unable to present at all.

What struck me (besides the professor’s silence, which I believe would have existed regardless of the students’ gender or race) was the unapologetic sense of entitlement these white male students expressed, despite knowing that their failure to stick to the time allotted for them would prevent others from presenting for their share of time. I also observed the lengths at which all the women and the men of color took to ensure that their presentations did not go over 8 minutes. These responses are indicative of a larger problem that manifests itself in many other ways: taking up space. White males are taught from a very young age to take up space. They learn that what they have to say is valuable and worth sharing. They learn that they should be big and strong (increasing the physical space they take up). Common phrases such as, “boys will be boys” excuse rude, wild, and/or sexist behavior, enabling boys and men to take up space in many ways that often involve denying others space and control. On the other hand, women are taught to give up, rather than take up space. From a young age, girls are bombarded with unrealistic expectations of thinness and beauty. They are also taught to be polite and reserved, which often causes their space to be trampled on by louder, more exuberant, less polite boys.

Often I’ve observed that the feminist response to the issue of taking up space is to create avenues for women to take up space, make their voices heard. I think this is an effective way to progress. I also think though, that efforts must be made to encourage white men (alongside women and men of color) to respect other voices and keep from trampling on another’s space, while recognizing the structural and cultural factors that permit white men to take up space both verbally and physically.

Welcome!

Welcome to the "Principia Alliance for Gender Equality" blog! I hope we can use this as a space to share ideas, questions and comments related to feminism.

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