Younger Women's Task Force

Promote Healthy Life-Long Lifestyles: Top 10 Tips

2009-10-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Last night I learned what the acronym BPA (Bisphenol A, a chemical compound commonly found in plastic drink and food containers) means. I also found out that Himalayan rocks combat negative computer-generated ions! These are just a few of the facts I learned during the "Women’s Preventative Health Panel: Women Who Health" conference sponsored by the Younger Women’s Task Force-New Jersey Chapter.

Speakers included Joan Denzer, Sierra Club; Founder Kathy Morris, Inner Journeys; Program Director Sheila Quarles, Inner Journeys; Certified Personal Trainer Gretchen Vogel; and YWTF-NJ Board Member and Field Director Jackie Cornell-Bechelli, Planned Parenthood.

We discussed ways to ensure and promote healthy lifestyles through education and awareness. The strategies that the presenters shared to promote healthy life-long lifestyles were relevant, useful, and attainable. Here are my top 10 tips, which I plan to incorporate into my daily life:

1. Use glass bottles instead of plastic bottles to avoid BPA.

2. Eat the bigger-sized fish sparingly (if at all) to avoid high levels of mercury (the bigger the fish the more mercury it contains).

3. Visit Shopper's Guide to Pesticides and What's On My Food? to learn which foods contain the most pesticides.

4. Eat organic foods and fruits whenever possible (less pesticides and synthetic chemicals).

5. Stop worrying about weight and the numbers on the scale and instead strive for a body fat of 22% (body fat below 29% is average; 22% is optimal).

6. Reduce intakes of white flour, sugar, and rice (low nutrients, high glycemic foods).

7. Stay hydrated to stay healthy (healthier heart, skin, and water's an appetite suppressant - sometimes you think you're hungry but you're really thirsty) by drinking ½ my body weight in ounces daily.

8. Exercise more effectively: three times a week strength training and three times a week movement/cardio.

9. Get massages regularly. Massages are not a luxury, but a necessity.

10. Research and use natural remedies to alleviate stress and anxiety (burning lavender oil eases stress and reduces anxiety).

Hope you find these strategies just as useful as I did!

MURDER is Murder

2009-06-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

I am sure that I am not the only one who is still saddened and angry about the murder of Dr. Tiller. As a feminist, I feel morally obligated to support the men and women who are in the position of risking their lives to provide women with safe, legal medical procedures.

Sue Wicklund, who wrote This Common Secret about her experiences as an abortion provider, is one of the few doctors providing abortions in western states (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho). Over the many years of her practice, she has been harassed and threatened. When she looked into adding more security precautions to her clinic last month, she realized it would take her six months to raise the needed funds. You can shorten that period of time if you donate here.

I am sure there are other clinics that we can support--Sue is one of my heroes, but if you have another one who needs our help, please list them in the comments.

When the religious fanatics don't have one of their own in office, they will go to extreme lengths to "protect the rights" of a fetus. When I was a teenager (in the mid-90s--Clinton years), I wanted to volunteer at the local abortion clinic and my mom supported me--until she heard the words "bulletproof vest." With pro-choice supporters in top levels of our federal government, I’m not scared of losing my rights--I'm scared that more doctors will lose their lives.

Rebecca Andruszka is Director of Communications at Younger Women’s Task Force—NYC Metro Chapter. This post represents her personal view and opinion, which is not necessarily endorsed by YWTF or its affiliates.

Cross posted at Feministing Community

Sexing up Children's Movies

2009-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

I just came back from watching Bedtime Stories. While I thought the movie was okay overall, it really annoyed me that the female character Adam Sandler attempts to save in all of his fantasy stories was a Barbie-doll type blonde heiress who looks young enough to be his daughter. Her sole purpose seemed to be to appear in every scene in an extremely sexy outfit in slow motion for male satisfaction. This might not have struck me as surprising if it weren't for the fact that this was a children's movie and they could have still kept her character virtually the same (pretty, princess type) without the overt sexualization. It's as if the men taking their children/nieces/nephews to the movie, need some type of reward. It's telling that there's no male equivalent. In fact, all of the male characters are buffoons (but they all get the pretty women). At the end of the film, Sandler amazingly discovers that the slightly older, bookish brunnette type is the "fairest of them all."

What also annoyed me about this (besides the fact that the whole idea centered around who was prettiest even though what was considered pretty might have changed a tiny bit) was that it gave into the sexy, dumb blonde vixen versus the nice, smart, pretty-but-not-very-sexy brunette dichotomy. It reminded me of when I first saw Beauty and the Beast as a kid. The three blondes were overtly sexy but dumb and shallow while Belle was modest but smart and kind. And the effects aren't lost on children. The two girls I took (one seven, the other ten) were arguing after the movie over who could "be" the pretty, blonde girl, with the seven year old brunette remarking that she's was actually blonde initially but her hair was dyed in the womb. Neither cared much about anything except the fact that one was more fashionable, "prettier" and therefore cooler. This in comparison with the seven year old boy in the film calling his fourth grade crush "hot" and the way the girls I work with constantly discuss the levels of prettiness of every female possible while totally ignoring the physical appearance of all males, makes me want to bang my head against a wall. A children's film should be about entertaining children, not giving men erections or depicting women in limited ways that will begin psychologically damaging them before they hit puberty.

Francesca Casamento is an active member of Younger Women's Taskforce (NYC Metro Chapter).

Doubt and Gender

2009-01-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Doubt is an excellent film that portrays complex characters handeling a crisis during a time of change in one of the most male-dominated, sexist institutions in history--the Catholic Church. This film takes place during the 1960s when liberal Catholics were making progress by creating a Church that was modern in its outlook. The film portrays the different ways men and women use their power in the Church and how a conflict between a man and woman is resolved with the imbalance of power.

The priest, Father Flynn, is the character who thinks the Church needs to be more open and welcoming. The priest is the one who tries to make the sermons relevant to modern life and it is he who avoids simplistic black and white views of morality and faith. The priest is the only one who goes out of his way to build a relationship with the first black boy in school (who is gay).

The priest protects the young man from being displaced as an altar boy when he is caught drinking wine, an act of kindness and forgiveness that the tradition-favoring Sister Aloysius Beauvier does not find acceptable. The priest wants to redefine the roles of the clergy in the community and attempts to bridge the gap between the secular, modern world and the Catholic faith community. The priest passionately advocates for a church that is built on a love for humanity over one that sees itself primarily as an institution about control and discipline.

Father Flynn's demeanor and methods give credibility to the idea that men in power can be kind and understanding and still be effective leaders. He also defies stereotypical behavior for men and is not at all apologetic for it. Sister Beuvier, and others, thinks it is strange that he keeps his nails long (because it is "womanly") and for keeping pastel-colored flowers in his bible. There is definitely a fear of homosexuality present, which to some automatically implies pedophilia.

Most of his personality traits challenge the rigid way we think about gender; tellingly, this is one of the reasons he is accused of abusing the young boy. And he admirably encourages the young nun to not stop caring so much for her students, even though others may misinterpret things. But the priest is no feminist. It is he who takes the nun's seat in HER office when she invites him to a meeting to interrogate him. And he is the one who chastises her for going against the Church hierarchy by contacting a fellow nun in his previous parish instead of the parish's priest.

The movie also depicts the ways women use their roles in the Church and it is interesting to note how this could influence society's perception of women in positions of power. My father often rehashes the ways in which the nuns in his Catholic school in the 1960s would use humiliation in front of peers as a method of controlling students. Great films like The Magdalene Sisters showcase the way many nuns unfairly treated those they were given control of, often resorting to all kinds of abuse and manipulation. It is easy to stereotype them, and for some, to draw conclusions about what their behavior means about giving any power to women in general. Doubt effectively avoided playing into that stereotype by having different sisters with different personalities.

Meryl Streep gives a phenomenal performance playing an authoritarian nun who values order and tradition while simultaneously defying the Church hierarchy by independently investigating her suspicions of a priest abusing power. And while one may find flaws with Streep's unflinching character, she is still portrayed as a strong woman who isn't afraid to follow her convictions to the right thing and protect innocent children from what she perceives to be a threat.

Her strong will may ultimately be a weakness, but it is a trait that is most often associated positively with powerful men and she never attempts to abuse that power. However, it is important to question whether or not she would have been less hell-bent on being one hundred percent sure of her suspicions and may have been open to a more effective approach to dealing with every one involved in the scandal if she had more official power and room for maneuvering to begin with. She knowingly makes a comment in the beginning that she is unable to do things another way because she is a woman and will not be taken seriously.

For the vast majority of the movie she does not even admit to having the smallest doubt about what she believes because she knows that any sing of supposed weakness on her part would be used to discredit her all together. Father Flynn delivers the powerful sermon in which he declares that doubt is as strong of a bond with the divine as unflinching faith is. He is also continuously willing to take more risks with his clerical functions but his sex has given him the freedom to do so, while Beuvier must be careful out of necessity. One leaves the theatre wondering how things may change if women are given more power in the Church and society overall. Although the film was set in the 1960s, the issues it presents regarding gender and institutional power is just as relevant today as it was over forty years ago.

Francesca Casamento is an active member of Younger Women's Taskforce (NYC Metro Chapter).

2008-12-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Let’s begin with some statistics and facts:

After implementing changes in their sexual education programs (removing abstinence and supporting contraception), Sweden managed to significantly reduce their teenage birthrate. (They now have half the teen abortion rate that that of the United States) (80-81).

The Netherlands reduced their teenage birthrate by 72% using similar methods to Sweden. They also maintain the lowest teenage abortion rates in the industrialized world (80).

In a 2001 survey conducted by UNICEF, the United States had the highest number of teenage pregnancy compared to the rest of the industrialized world (60% higher than the rate in the United Kingdom, which placed second) (79).

Summary: The United States, a country that is and has been on the forefront of so much progress and improvement the past few decades, is profoundly terrible at sexual education. The reason for this is the premise for Cristina Page’s book, How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America.

In it, she analyzes the pro-life movement and brings to light much of the rhetoric that they use to further their agenda. And what exactly is their agenda? Well, anti-abortion, of course! Scratch under the surface a bit, and you will see differently. As Page writes, “In recent years, [the pro-life movement] has turned itself into the anti-birth control movement – and indeed, the antisex movement-whether it avows it or not” (xii). But that really isn’t logical at all, is it? Why, or more importantly how, could a movement against abortion also be against birth control, something that is an extremely successful method of preventing abortions? The answer is because the pro-life movement is ultimately against our modern day sex lives: “Indeed to be pro-life today means to be inside a movement that finds fault with every kind of birth control, from the Pill…to the condom…To be pro-life means to favor abstinence until marriage, in part because they believe that sex is supposed to be for one purpose only: to procreate” (3).

It is the small elite of the pro-life movement that is furthering this agenda, and it is incredibly astounding how much influence they have exerted in this country thus far. Page recounts the chain of events in 2004 that resulted in the Bush Administration pulling funding for an essential UN program called UNFPA. This program provides “life-saving interventions in the reproductive field: delivering babies, creating healthy births…dispensing emergency contraception to women who have been raped during military conflicts” and much more to the people in many third world countries (124). Also important to note, this organization does not perform abortions. However, one pro-life group, Population Research Institute, took up issue with the emergency contraception UNFPA provides, and through fact-spinning, rhetoric, and sympathy from other pro-life lawmakers in Washington, they were able to see President Bush pull the plug on United State funding for UNFPA. This made “the United States the only donor country to deny funding to UNFPA for non-budgetary reasons” (128). Yet another reason why the world has not been too thrilled with America all these years.

Additionally, the reason Plan B took so long to become available over-the-counter was because of well-placed pro-lifers within the Reproductive Health Drugs Committee, a division of the FDA, who stalled the approval process with objections that ignored science and that were comprised of fabricated consequences. The list of these types of incidents goes on and on.

But we are now about to begin a new age in the United States, an age that once again involves a pro-choice president. Cristina Page herself has said that had McCain won, we would most certainly be preparing for an overturn of the keystone that our modern day women’s reproductive rights rest on: Roe v. Wade. Luckily, that bleak future is not so near anymore, but that still does not mean we can sit back and relax. There is still much more work to be done on this front. If this book has taught me anything, it is how much goes on behind the scenes in Washington, how much we as citizens do have at stake, and thus, how important it is to be active, involved, and educated.

To get more involved in the pro-choice movement, please visit:
Naral Pro-Choice America: www.naral.org/
Planned Parenthood Federation of America: www.plannedparenthood.org/
The Pro-Choice Public Education Project: www.protectchoice.org/

For more information about the book and Cristina Page:
Birth Control Watch and Cristina Page’s Blog:
www.birthcontrolwatch.org/blog

Pro-Choice Movement: www.prochoicemovement.com

YWTF-NYC’s December book club meeting will be feature Birds of America by Lorrie Moore. Check out our Meetup site for more info on upcoming meetings.

Jessica Perl is an active member of YWTF-NYC.

Stand Up For DC Women!

2008-12-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

By Shannon Lynberg

Each year an estimated 1,735 women living in D.C. will be raped (U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and according to the National Institute of Justice, 1 in 5 women will be raped during their lifetime. Thus, more than 61,000 of the 300,000 women living in D.C. will likely experience rape at some time during their lives.

The only person who can prevent a rape is the perpetrator. Yet, it is often the victim, usually a woman, who receives the blame for her sexual assault. Sexual assault victims are re-victimized when they are denied proper treatment and the justice they deserve.

In Washington, D.C. and across the United States rape victims have been reporting that they have been ignored by law enforcement officials, turned away by hospitals and denied the forensic medical exams (rape kits). These essential steps are required to confirm that a sexual assault took place and subsequently press charges against the attacker.

Due to systemic problems concerning how sexual assaults are handled and lack of media attention, it is impossible to know just how many women have not received the support and resources they deserve.

Beginning in 2009, new legislation will go into effect that will better protect the rights of sexual assault victims. However, many women are unaware of these laws. In an attempt to fight these injustices, YWTF created Stand Up for DC Women!

It is our hope that through this campaign, YWTF will educate the community on the legislation that protects the rights of sexual assault victims as well as what to do if your rights are denied.

Through collaborative partnerships and educational outreach, Stand Up for DC Women! will raise awareness about injustices in the treatment of sexual assault victims and ensure that they receive adequate care.

In January 2009, YWTF will begin distributing bi-lingual wallet sized cards that will explain the new legislation, victims' rights and what to do if your rights are denied. This information will also be made available on our website at www.ywtf.org.

This is a nationwide problem and upon successful completion in D.C. , the Stand Up for DC Women! model will be implemented in communities across the U.S.

If you are interested in learning more about Stand Up For DC Women!, email standup@ywtf.org.

2008-11-21T12:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27825997/

This is an article on MSNBC on 11.21.08. An article like this sooo disturbing on so many levels. I feel like it produces outrage, sadness, disbelief and just a general sense of rage. In case you haven't read it, the article details the case of man who had a case brought against him by over 10 women claiming he date raped them. The first time he was tryed it was for 3 cases and he was acquitted and the second time he was tryed was for all 10 and he was basically given a slap on the wrist. There were a lot of factors and the article is actually great becuase they have experts talk about how juries often don't sympathize with rape victims and why. Though the article is disturbing, I am so glad they posted it. I was almost surprised that they chose to. It is just so disturbing to know that it is so easy for men to get away with a crime like date rape and that we are still today fighting so hard to be taken seriously after we are victimized. I had a lot of reaction to the article after putting it up in my gmail box and on Facebook, one male friend even said he wanted to find the guy and sodomize him and see how they guy took it.

Rape is I believe now considered a war crime when it's purpotrated against hundreds or thousands, but if it is just against a few women then it is considered some kind of joke. The defense (sickening I know that human beings could event defend this man's behavior) basically used the argument that he is a "playboy" and because they were at restaurants with alcohol it becuame all about the women wanting to go out and get drunk. Although I know this isn't an uncommon story, it is still horrifying, especially when you learn that the man had over 50 women listed in a "Calender of Women" on his computer. It is simply outrageous that these women were treated so poorly and that a man was basically treated as an innocent because he was considered a man with a raging libido. You can of course draw your own conclusions, but this was simply too upsetting for me to read and forget about. I tried to post it everywhere I could. I can only hope that when people read it they are more sympathetic to the cases of rape vicitms.

Effective Networking Tips from Missy Quinn

2008-11-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

Missy Quinn, Director of Recruitment for Contemporary Staffing Solutions, spoke at the October YWTF Philly networking panel. She shared her wealth of expertise with those in attendance. Among the key tips she offered were:

1. Begin with a plan...Why are you attending?

2. Have your 30 second commercial prepared about yourself/your business. Make sure you've practiced so you come off confident.

3. Bring your business cards. Nothing should be crossed off on your card.

4. Wear a watch so you can keep track of time. Get what you can and the move on.

5. Try to get a list of the people who will be attending, then make a plan to meet them. Make sure you know something about their company/business.

6. Pass leads first. If you do, you will have it come back to you tenfold.

7. Name tags should be worn on the right side of your suit jacket so they're easily read when you shake hands.

8. Wear a suit jacket with two pockets or carry a business card case with two sections. Put their cards in the left pocket and your own cards in the right pocket.

9. Bring a small hand bag with a pen to give/get referrals.

10. If you go with a co-worker, spread out so you'll be able to make more contacts.

11. Make sure you keep your contact list updated.

12. Follow up by e-mail, phone, interest, coffee or lunch and have fun!

National Protest Against the Passage of Proposition 8

2008-11-13T11:01:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, November 15th, progressive folks of all sexual orientations across the U.S. will be organizing locally at their respective city halls. In excess of 250,00 people have already committed to participate in these protests across the country. The arrangements for the D.C. protest are as follows:

The rally in the District of Colombia will start at 1:30 PM EST at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, on the eastern edge of the National Mall between 3rd and 1st Streets. We will tally there before proceeding up Constitution Avenue in the direction of the White House, and the event will conclude at the northeast corner of Lafayette Square.

For more info, email local organizer kellan.baker@gmail.com. The current estimated attendance for this event is 2,000 or more protesters.

- Nikki

To Be or Not to Be...Yourself

2008-11-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

By: Erika Kelley

Pink’s new song, “So What,” where she says she’s still a rock star, has infiltrated the air waves and has me hooked on its singsongy intro and exorbitant amounts of energy. As I sang the lyrics in the car on my way home the other day, I sat back and tried to remember exactly when did she become a rock star? If my memory serves me correctly, she initially exploded on the scene as an R&B/Pop artist with the release of her album, Can’t Take Me Home. But, with her follow-up effort, M!ssundaztood, she changed her style, image, and sound. “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” shed some light on reasons behind her initial image: manufactured. Today, she’s an entirely different artist, with control of her career, devoid of feelings of puppetry.

I can’t help but ask myself why did Pink feel she had to succumb to her producers’ whims and demands in the first place…and as others might call it: sell out? In an article by Robert Hillburn, “Her Colors Don’t Run,” he explains that countless young pop stars share Pink’s feelings of puppetry in an age when record companies carefully shape their images and big-name producers make the creative decisions for them. Most go along because they are more interested in being stars than artists. Hillburn quotes Pink, “They know people are so hungry for stardom that they’ll just follow the record industry game. I know because I was ready to do anything when I started out.”

I found myself wondering is this the norm for females? Have I ever “sold out”…even temporarily? Not me. I’m too strong-willed and possess strong convictions. Well…there was that one time…I mean, there were those two times a few years back…

As I prepared for a nerve-racking interview, I struggled with what to wear. I decided to wear my hair in a tight bun complemented by glasses and simple jewelry. I fashioned a black pants suit with a white shirt and black heels. I distinctly remember feeling that this style of dress wasn’t reflective of my personality or fashion sense. However, I dressed this way because I was told it was “professional” and would help land me the position. Surely enough, management offered me the position. Once I was hired, I immediately abandoned the “interview look,” and opted for my typical “Erika look,” which generally consisted of the following:

A-line knee-length skirts with tights;
knee high-boots or 2-3 inch heels;
blazers matched with brightly-colored shirts;
spiral curls or sleek, straight hair; and
accessories, accessories, accessories (no glasses – only wear them when I’m driving).

Years later, I resorted to the same tactics to secure my current position. Like Pink, I had one goal in mind and resorted to compromising my style of dress and actually misleading the interview panel into thinking I was someone else (more conservative and serious versus contemporary and effervescent). However, once I got my foot in the door, I transformed to what was more appealing to me.

Is this right or wrong or simply the way of the world, and do men encounter the same issues?

When God was a Woman

2008-10-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

by Jessica Perl

I’m always proud to display the books I’m reading on the subway, particularly when they have provocative titles or covers. When God was a Woman was certainly no different; I imagined some people might be intrigued by this title. One day, I was standing in a crowded subway, holding on to the overhead bar. There was a woman sitting directly in front of me, and the cover of the book was practically in her face. I could see her eyeing the book and reading the blurb on the back. I immediately felt a rush of excitement – here’s the moment I live for! I’m inspiring someone to think differently, to see an alternative side to the predominant ideologies we are taught today. Just then, however, I noticed her shaking her head and glaring at the book with unmistakable disdain. I noticed she had a book in her hands as well. My gaze shifted downward to see what it was, and I could only chuckle when I did. It was the Bible.

Clearly, not everyone is open to the idea that before God and Jesus, many inhabitants of the Earth believed a being with breasts ruled the Heavens above. But honestly, why shouldn’t this idea be a shock to people? It’s not something highly publicized, this part of our history really isn’t fodder for any major motion pictures. In fact, it doesn’t even get much play time in high school social studies classes! And even if you go searching for more information on this topic, you’ll find, as Stone herself did, that not much has been written about the civilizations where women held the dominant positions. Additionally, the material that Stone was able to dredge up, she found much of it to have been written by male scholars who, more often than not, injected their religious and social biases into their findings. In response to one scholar’s research that provided a quick dismissal of the idea that skulls of animals were hunting trophies of a prehistoric tribe simply because they were found in the grave of a woman, Stone questions, “Might these authors be judging the inherent physical nature of women by the fragile, willowy ideals of today’s western fashions?” (Intro, xxi). (As this book was published in 1976, we can only hope more objective and valuable resources have since emerged.)

Despite efforts to minimize or erase it from the dominant discourse of our history, existence of female dominated civilizations cannot be denied. There have been numerous excavations of ancient temples and artifacts, as well as accounts of travelers passing through the regions way back when, that exist today to clue us in to the truth of the past. One account from a traveler describes how women, and only women, were involved in the public affairs of daily life – they held public office, fought wars, and engaged in trade. It was the men who were relegated to taking care of the children, the home, and other domestic efforts.

Stone gives a great overview of the violent and forced transition from the goddess-worshiping practices to the current male-dominated religions of today. Some of the events will really leave you horrified. In writing this book, though, Stone does not call for women of the world to rise up in arms and wage a war to take back what is rightfully ours. Rather, she states her purpose for women as this, “With [the understanding of these civilizations], we may be able to regard ourselves not as permanent helpers but as doers, not as decorative and convenient assistants to men but as responsible and competent individuals in our own right. The image of Eve is not our image of woman” (Intro, xxvi).

For anyone who wants to delve further into a more shielded facet of history, for anyone who wants to know what it was like when women were on top, When God was a Woman is a great place to start.

YWTF-NYC’s November book club meeting will be about Christina Page’s How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America. Check out our Meetup site for more info on upcoming meetings.

Jessica Perl is an active member of YWTF-NYC.

For the Love of Cats

2008-09-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

By: Erika Kelley

Women and cats. What do we have in common? It has to be something because women are frequently dubbed “catty.” I would like to think it’s because we’re:

· Protective -- like a mother cat is protective of her kittens;

· Teachers -- able to teach our children the way cats teach their kits -- to survive in the world, fix their own meals, share it (there's usually always room for one more in the heap), and to clean up afterwards;

· Able to live balanced lives -- like cats -- every day needs some down time for a stretch and a purr session and we understand that play time is valuable;

· Gardeners -- like cats, we realize that gardening is a great stress-reducer;

· Respectful -- like cats, we have respect for our elders; and

· Successful -- like cats, we’re able to climb to new heights!

No doubt about it, this is all true; however, we’ve been dubbed, “catty” for reasons more closely aligned with Marcia Ellet, J. Andy Murphy, and Terri Laforest’s book, “The Catty, Catty Ways of Women in the Workplace,” where they explore the way women treat one another in the workplace focusing on gossiping, backstabbing, manipulation, and other situations that cause the claws to come out and the fur to fly.

I would argue, however, that this common stereotype, that women are “catty,” is unfair, untrue, and an unfortunate generalization. Of course, we’ve all had our fair share of “catty” interactions. But in comparison to the number of kind and caring acts that we experience from women (family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers), I think it’s safe to say that "catty" behavior is few, far, and in between.

My thought: the negative interactions typically overshadow the positive. It’s like driving. No one really thinks about the number of polite drivers that adhere to the speed limit, allow us to merge with ease, etc. It’s the few drivers with road rage and the ones that don’t wave to us (to say thank you) when we allow them to get in front us that we remember.

Case and point…

I broke down on a major highway earlier this week. While sitting in the car, with the windows up, waiting for my husband to rescue me, I heard a woman yell: Oh (insert explicative) no! Better get to pushing! I found myself thinking: you “catty” chick! I’m sure if she found herself broken down on the highway, she wouldn’t appreciate someone barfing out trash to her under the most vulnerable of circumstances. I sent my husband and a few of my girlfriends a text message describing this incident.

Rewind…

I broke down on a major highway earlier this week. While sitting in the car, with the windows up, waiting for my husband to rescue me, a woman pulled up alongside of me and pointed to her cell phone and mouthed the words: are you okay? Do you have a cell phone? I couldn’t roll down my windows because the battery completely died; so, I held up my cell phone to her and smiled. She returned the smile, nodded, and continued on her way. Shortly thereafter, another woman passed by. I heard her yell: Oh (insert explicative) no! Better get to pushing!

As you noticed, there was no mention of the first incident in my text message to my husband or girlfriends. The kindness that I experienced from this female stranger was not out of the norm. In fact, the majority of female strangers with which I have interacted have been kind and respectful as opposed to rude and obnoxious like the woman on the highway. Yet, the negative woman on the highway completely overshadowed the kind gesture displayed by the other woman on the highway!

Shame on me for reinforcing this negative behavior and terms, like “catty,” that are used to impart negative attitudes towards women. What’s worse is that I’m not alone. Negative female stereotypes have been exploited and perpetrated in films (Mean Girls) and on TV (Gossip Girl). The mass media projects images of girls’ meanness and fighting that reinforces long-standing stereotypes of catty, untrustworthy, manipulative, and gossipy behavior.

But there is hope…we can all do our part to counter these stereotypes. I am convinced that positive action will counter negative images!

Supportive, caring, and loving women who I have grown to love and adore, surround me. So, I plan to constantly remind myself of these positive women as opposed to allowing the negative female interactions to consume me. I also plan to share more of these positive female relationships, instead of the negative, in hopes of slowly, but assuredly, changing negative female stereotypes into positive ones.

So, what will you do (or continue to do) to contribute towards countering negative female stereotyping?

Hey Guys!

2008-09-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Although I hate to admit it I have not been a feminist my whole life, preferring an imagined life as a radical flower child. Not for any particular reason other than I was uneducated about the movement and did not take my first class until I was in college. *Quick side-note: this has made me passionate about bringing women’s issues education to K-12 institutions.* Before that life-changing course, feminism was something I knew about and although I always "wanted women’s rights," I never identified as a feminist. Needless to say, that has all changed.

When I think back on my non-feminist life, I see sexist instances that I ignored, or places I could have spoken out that will be forever out of my grasp to change – after all, they are in the past. Then I get e-mails like the one I received today from my college service fraternity and I am reminded that there are things I can fight to change now:

“This e-newsletter is in addition to the communications you are already receiving from the Fraternity -- not a replacement. The brothers who receive this e-newsletter have an updated e-mail address on file with the National Office.” (emphasis mine)

Brother? Fraternity? How can I identify with something that completely ignores that my gender exists within the framework of the organization? I am not the only female within this organization; this e-mail comes from a community service group made up of both men and women. Attendance for women at universities is on the rise, and mine in particular had more women than men, but still we are labeled as FreshMEN during our first year.

Once you start looking into it these examples are all over the place: congressman, policeman, fireman, history, etc. A favorite of mine is the “you guys” statement that I have been known to get into arguments about, especially when it is said to a group of all women.

I understand why people tell me these are “just things we say,” but I truly believe that it is harmful to women’s issues to use sexist language. By using exclusionary language we undermine women’s power and significance in our daily lives and I would rather be seen as a complainer than stand by and let it happen.

*For more reading, please read the sexist language paper my Sociology Professor gave us on the first day: Why Sexist Language Matters

2008-09-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself as the newest Younger Women's Task Force blogger. Originally from the midwest, I attended college in North Carolina and now live in Washington, D.C., that being said, I have had a range of feminist experiences (and thus opinions). I am exited to share thoughts with you and receive thoughts back and it is my hope to start more conversations on feminism in our daily lives. I look forward to being a part of this vibrant community and I will be posting in no time...

These Heels are made for Working

2008-08-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

By: Erika Kelley

A few months ago, I found myself in the mall again. This time, however, I was actually accompanying my husband. He was shopping for a pair of shoes. While he was perusing, I decided to do a little perusing, too. And guess what? I stumbled upon a pair of fierce Nine West high heel shoes. The first feature I noticed was the price: $9.99. The second element I noticed was the color: gold (gold matches with most of my earth-tone-colored clothes). The third detail I noticed was the heel: quite a bit higher than the heels I normally purchase (typically 3-4 inches). I glanced at the price again and then ran my fingers over the heels. $9.99 for a pair of gold Nine West shoes, who’s measuring the height of heels?

After purchasing our new shoes, we ventured home. I commenced my new-purchase-routine: matching new shoes with existing attire. I decided to try on a few outfits and parade around in my new shoes. Because the heels were so high, I decided I would match them with my extra-long Ann Taylor slacks -- pants I never bothered taking to the cleaners for hemming because most of my heels were high enough that the pants never brushed up against the floor.

The next day I headed off to work with my new fierce, gold, Nine West shoes. First stop, a quick visit to see my friend and co-worker. I strutted into her office and sang: Gooood Morrrnninnng. She smiled and gave me that, you-are-so-crazy-look. Crazy for my new shoes, I thought. She spotted them instantly and we took a few moments to admire them for the star-quality-appearance and for its I-have-a-family-and-lots-of-bills-affordable-price.

By lunch time, I realized I needed to take these shoes to the shoe repairman to get the heels shortened because my toes hurt! I ascertained something else: not everyone appreciated the shoes as much as my friend and me. While assembling folders for our training the following day, a few of my co-workers (four females and one male) decided to share their opinions about my shoes. There were no ooohhhs and ahhhs and no talks of fierceness. Instead, a female co-worker jokingly asked where was my pole. It took me a second to realize that she was insinuating that I was a stripper because I had on high heels (and extra-long Ann Taylor slacks). A few of my other co-workers agreed that my shoes were extremely high and questioned me about the height. I admitted I wasn’t too sure and stated I felt I was dressed appropriately. To that riposte, the co-worker that made the stripper comment, asked her friend to get a ruler. Her friend obeyed and they fittingly measured the height of my heels. In unison, they revealed the height to the group: 4 ¾ inches.

After that revealing conversation with my co-workers, I found myself pondering over the appropriateness of shoes in the workplace.

I did some research and learned that heels that are between 2 ¾ and 4 inches are most appropriate for the workplace (2-3 inches for work environments with strict dress codes). In an article by Desiree Stimpert, “Work Shoes with High Heels,” she provided a list of appropriate and stylish shoes, acceptable for the workplace. Interestingly enough, in addition to Steve Madden, Calvin Kline, and Ralph Lauren, Nine West made the cut.

What’s also astonishing is that experts have found that high heels tone women’s legs and strengthen pelvic muscles. In tests, Dr. Maria Cerruto, of the University of Verona, Italy, discovered, ‘‘Wearing heels during daily activity may reduce the need for the pelvic floor exercises necessary to keep that part of a woman’s anatomy toned and elastic.’’ Enough said.

I eventually had my gold Nine West shoes shortened to about 4 ¼ inches (much better for my toes!). But, like the women polled in the article “Heel Thyself,” by Jennifer Memolo, I continue to wear my heels daily (and change into flip flops or sneakers when walking to the parking lot and driving) and advocate: here’s to maintaining “professional chicness” in the workplace, toned legs, and strengthened pelvic muslces!

Jane Sexes It Up: Real Live Nude Feminists

2008-08-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Younger Women’s Task Force-NYC Metro Chapter hosts monthly book club meetings. See the end of this post for more information.

Many people see a contradiction between feminism and sexual desire. Even feminists sometime have trouble harmonizing their personal sexuality with their political values. The authors of Jane Sexes It Up are smack in the middle of this contradiction, trying to sort out what it means to be a woman, a feminist, an academic, and a sexual being. However, the debate about feminism, sex work, and public sexuality has changed drastically in the past few years.

We are now living in what Ariel Levy calls “raunch culture,” in which feminist sexual desire is rarely represented. Women of all ages are trying to express themselves sexually in a split culture where you are either making out with your girlfriend for the Girls Gone Wild camera or pledging your virginity to daddy. Feminist debates have raged for decades about the possibility of feminist sex work, but today, “reality” sex workers are paid in t-shirts and “(over)exposure,” not hard cash. They have no say in the image they present, and are edited to fit into misogynist roles. There might be young women who are positively exploring their sexuality on Girls Gone Wild, but (to state the obvious) it is not a safe space where women can assert themselves or ask for a share of the profits.

You may not always agree with the authors of Jane Sexes It Up, but there are no whores (even when there are sex workers) and no virgins. The authors are much more nuanced in their analysis of women’s—and men’s—sexuality and the possibilities of a feminist sexuality for both genders.

There are few simple answers in this book. There is a general agreement that a feminist’s sexuality must be reflected upon and examined (by the feminist herself, not by others). But what constitutes feminist desire or what doesn’t is a bit of a false question. It isn’t about what is or isn’t feminism, but rather, what feminists will make of their current realities. What does it mean that we are turned on by sexual power differences but fight power inequity as feminists? How do issues like abuse, anorexia, and cutting affect our decisions in sexual relationships and sex work? And that old question, what does it mean to be a feminist wife?

The authors vividly (sometimes pornographically) describe their sex acts, sex partners, and the mundane details of their sex work. In this way, they aren’t so different from more recent phenomena like the anonymous blogging celebrity Belle de Jour or the memoir The Sexual Life of Catherine M. But honestly, in our current culture, I don’t care much to read about the details of other people’s sex lives. The most liberating moment for me was when Lisa Z. Sigel, a pornography scholar, answers the question of whether or not she is turned on by porn: “I am not the object of study, so it’s none of your business.” (257)

Yes, my sexuality is none of your business. I will not be examined by you. I am not hiding anything; I am not in the closet. You are simply not allowed to take ownership of me, or my sexuality. Although normally I advocate for a sexually-open culture, after reading Jane Sexes It Up, the right to privacy is my biggest turn-on.

YWTF-NYC’s next book club meeting will be on August 20 at 7:00 PM at Tea Spot (127 Macdougal Street, NYC). Check out our Meetup site for more info on upcoming meetings.

Rebecca Andruszka is Director of Communications and co-chair of the Book Club Committee at YWTF-NYC. All opinions express are those of the individual, not of Younger Women’s Task Force.

Female Bullies…as Children and Adults

2008-08-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

By: Erika Kelley

Lets face it, we’ve all had our encounter with the female bully, whether your role was that of the victim, aggressor, or bystander. I experienced female bullying for the first time in elementary school…

I walked into the lavatory (I haven’t used that word since elementary school!) and witnessed four girls applying make-up on another girl: different color eye shadows, blush, and lipstick…the makings of a hideous clown. The girls kept eyeing one another, giggling, and saying, “You look really beautiful. The boys will love you.” The clown-faced girl was beaming from ear to ear. I didn’t understand how she didn’t know that these girls were ridiculing her. I also didn’t understand why the so-called aggressors would want to do such a thing.

So, whatever happens to the mean school girls? Well…they typically grow up to be mean women.

Dawn Olsen, writer for an online magazine, Blogcritics, has some vivid (and disturbing) depictions of female bullies...

Women are territorial with teeth, passionately protective, fiercely jealous and deeply mistrustful due to strong instinctual drives.

Women like wolves, attack in packs, rarely ever confronting without some back up from their peers. Knowing the full value in the power of numbers they encircle their victim and take little chunks from all sides, whittling away at the self-esteem of the victim, and their desire to be included, a drive most women so feverishly have.

Some women are extremely adept at "silent aggression" and derive the most perverse pleasure watching their object of ridicule squirm, cry, and otherwise become unhinged. The more signs of weakness from the victim, the more vicious the attack, making the alternatives for the "odd girl out" less and less apparent.

What I have found is that these individuals…bullies…are easier to deal with when you understand them.

According to Professional Life Coach Heidi Costas, despite the façade that such people put up, bullies have low self-confidence and low self-esteem, and thus feel insecure. Low self-esteem is a factor highlighted by all studies of bullying. Bullies are seething with resentment, bitterness, hatred and anger, and often have wide-ranging prejudices as a vehicle for dumping their anger onto others. Bullies are driven by jealousy and envy.

As a child, I wasn’t equipped to deal with the toxic behaviors of female bullies. As an adult, however, things have changed. With guidance from wise female friends, family, and professionals (and as a result of past experiences!), when dealing with female bullies, my approach has been to…

1. Maintain my confidence. I refuse to let anyone intimidate me.

2. Ignore the gossip or confront the individual(s) responsible for starting the rumor in the first place, depending on the situation. (If the rumor affects my family or career, I can’t afford to ignore it!)

3. Do not pledge allegiance to backstabbing cliques or groups.

4. Aim to embrace a spirit of cooperation in my interactions with others.

And I must say, in most instances, I have been successful…yet the fight to end relational aggression continues!

Interested in hearing other strategies for dealing with relational aggression (female bullying)? Check out Cheryl Dellasega’s book, Mean Girls Growing Up: Adult Women Who Are Still Queen Bees, Middle Bees, and Afraid-to-Bees. She explores why women are often their own worst enemies, offering practical advice for a variety of situations. Drawing upon extensive research and interviews, she shares real-life stories from women as well as the knowledge of experts who have helped women overcome the negative effects of aggression. Readers will hear how adult women can be just as vicious as their younger counterparts, learn strategies for dealing with adult bullies, how to avoid being involved in relational aggression, and more.

And since research has shown that girls between the ages of 8 and 17 need a little extra protection against the emotional and social hazards of growing up…Rachel Simmons, in her books, Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Girls and Odd Girl Speaks Out: Girls Write about Bullies, Cliques, Popularity, and Jealousy, prescribes clear-cut strategies for parents, teachers, and girls to resist bullies and their acts of aggression. She also has great resources on her website.

Women in the Workplace: Assertive vs. Aggressive

2008-07-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

By: Erika Kelley

I have been working since I was 16. And throughout the years I learned that the roles of men and women in the social and corporate world have evolved. However, early on, I also discovered that workplace stereotypes still exist. For women, it is often expected that we are to be submissive, eager-to-please, and supportive. However, if we're too nice and understanding -- we're considered emotional and soft. But, if we're a bit assertive and outspoken -- we're ice queens.

Men on the other hand are expected to be strong, forceful, and direct. What’s interesting is that in leadership and management courses, I ascertained that a “good” employee is one that exhibits directness with simplicity. A “good” employee is assertive, a trait very often exhibited by men; one that is accepted…expected.

So, the age-old question still exists: What's the appropriate stance or attitude women should have in the workplace?

My stance has been to follow the path of a “good” employee and break the “passive” female stereotype. However, instead of affirmation and recognition, I have often encountered negativity, more often from my female counterparts, and have occasionally been referred to as “aggressive.”

Here’s my story…

Over six summers ago, I decided to participate in flex-time at work. Instead of working the standard hours, 8:15 AM to 4:15 PM, I decided to change my hours to 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM. I’d miss traffic, get home in time to watch Dr. Phil with the hubby, and even have time to exercise! Sweet.

About half of the people in my office took advantage of flex-time; however, only a handful worked the early hours like me. The inconsistency between work schedules never posed a problem…until…well, allow me to explain.

With a project that surpassed its deadline and extension, my co-workers and I met frequently to consummate the project. A few times, the meetings were scheduled in the afternoon, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. And like typical meetings in our office, they tarried and often exceeded the allotted time. No matter, an older (50+) Caucasian male, Michael (my former colleague’s has been changed to protect his confidentiality), that worked 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM (half hour lunch instead of an hour), would politely alert everyone that we should start wrapping-up, promptly at 2:45 PM. And that’s exactly what we did – wrap up – so that he would be able to leave at his scheduled time, 3:00 PM. What a considerate bunch, right?

Well the following week, Michael went on vacation. Like last week, we had another afternoon meeting, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. We started at approximately 2:15 PM and the meeting was still in session at 3:15 PM. Like Michael, I alerted the group that I would need to excuse myself in a few minutes, so it might be a good time to start wrapping-up. I expected everyone to concede, like they did normally. This time, however, was different. No one began to wrap-up. Instead, a female colleague asked me: do you mind staying a little bit longer? Being the team player that I aspire to be, I agreed to stay. The meeting ended at about 3:35 PM. Not a big deal, a five-minute delay.

Two days later, the same thing happened. A meeting that was supposed to begin at 2:00 PM started about 10 minutes late and was still in session at 3:15 PM. This time, I found myself thinking: Where is Michael? Things were so different when he was present at meetings. No one ever asked him if he could stay longer. Again, like Michael, I mentioned that we had exceeded the time allotted for the meeting, and now would probably be a good time to wrap-up. I was met with sighs and rolling eyes. A female colleague even said to me: We know you leave at 3:30, Erika. There was extra emphasis on the word “know” and my name!

I digress…Have you ever watched a movie where there’s complete silence and then a brass cymbal hits the floor? This is where the cymbal hit the floor in the midst of deliberate silence.

May I make a suggestion? Can we start our meetings on time, to avoid running over the allotted time scheduled for the meeting? I was met with blank stares. A female colleague spoke up: Most of us work 8:15 AM to 4:15 PM; have you ever considered working the core hours so that you’re available for afternoon meetings? I was ready to scream, kick, and yank my hair out. I felt somewhat attacked and felt this situation was very unfair. I knew for a fact, they, who happened to be all females – Caucasian, Hispanic, and African-American, would have never asked this of Michael, but I wasn’t sure why.

So, I looked at the differences: Michael was Caucasian, a male, and over 50. I was African-American, a female, and in my late 20s. But so what? Which is exactly why I said: Yes, I have considered working the core hours; however, my current hours better accommodate my lifestyle. I was then told: Well, you’re free to go. With that, I gathered up my belongings and said to the group: Enjoy the rest of your day; I’ll follow-up with you regarding what I missed tomorrow.

The office informant later told me that I had been dubbed: aggressive. Nonetheless, the meetings for the remainder of the week started and ended and time, as scheduled. And the week thereafter, Michael returned.

To be or not to be assertive? That is the question.

“The Meaning of Wife”: When Nothing that was Actually Old is New Again

2008-07-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

By: Caitlin Murphy

While walking through the insanity that is Penn Station early on a Tuesday morning, I was in a different state than the normal look-straight-ahead-and-maintain-efficient-steps routine I usually maintain: I was actually hyper-aware of marital imagery.

After finishing another chapter from Anne Kingston’s “The Meaning of Wife”, I almost laughed out loud to really see an advertisement for “Bridezillas” on WeTV at the exit of my train. I’d passed by the advertisement for several months without ever truly pausing to think about the implications of the entrenched message it sends about brides-- women who are getting married turn into emotionally unstable, child-like beasts that act on primal, deep-seated urges. These urges, we’re told, “naturally” affect us all, but certain women get more “passionate” than others about it. Not more than a minute later, I noticed a young woman carrying chocolate-brown bag that had pink dots and big, swirling letters that read “Bridesmaid” on the side. Once again, this revealed another entrenched message I had never quite reflected on before-- that the actual wedding day is a kind of fashion statement that is far more important than the actual marriage.

Both of these seemingly innocent encounters with bride/wife imagery shocked me into the realization that there is a steady flow of marital images that we subconsciously gloss over daily. However, no matter how little attention we may pay to these details, they play an important role in filling in the “gap” that has developed in defining brides and wives since the 1960s.

As Kingston posits, a “wife chasm” opened up following the slew of new legislative rights women won for their bodies, their finances, their career choices, their property, and their self. While there was a positive re-definition in what a woman legally could or could not do, there was a non-existent “catch up” in terms of what a woman socially and culturally could do, be, act like, and want. Since no new script was provided for women that found themselves with these new rights, there was a glaring “gap” in what the new definition of what a woman, and a wife, would be. Commercial, corporate, and political forces, while initially met with the “wife-lash” that followed the 1960s, found the huge niche easy to fill with a variety of messages that were generally accepted by the 1990s, which heralded a very deliberate shift from “wife-lash” to “wife-lust”.

The kinds of marital messages that I’ve been taking in and accepting subconsciously (such as that brides innately go off the deep-end during the wedding process-- itself a showy, elaborate affair) are purposefully packaged to appear as if they are timeless pearls of wisdom. However, if looked at closer, the over-the-top, “traditional” weddings that are expected today were never truly “traditional”, as only royalty could actually afford them. One of the most damaging messages, Kingston points out, is that the frustrated, burnt-out wife that can’t “do it all” is a new character in modern society that needs to deal with her own personal issues. (When in reality, she has been around for centuries, in any society that attributes more rights and responsibilities to wives outside the home and expects her to take on many new, extra roles without any additional government, societal, or corporate support.) Kingston points out that the attempt of women to “do it all” has ironically left many women in the kind of robotic, “Stepford Wives” state that the original film was tongue-in-cheekily suggesting as the solution for independent, feminist-prone women. Worse, there is a complimentary message that even if a wife can “do it all”, she must love keeping a blissed-out, warm, loving home through the fruits of her domestic labor, no matter how banal or arduous the chore. Kingston puts it bluntly: “A chore is a chore.”

So what is the solution in a society in which chores are weighted with emotional love, titles like “Bridesmaid” are weighed as fashion labels, and brides are weighed as “naturally” unstable, irrational beasts? We have to un-do exactly what is keeping these martial images entrenched in the “wife gap”– we have to strip the subconscious weight that is holding their place and make way for the kind of definition “wife” has needed for decades. This new definition would suggest something that at this point in our “wife-lust” culture would seem quite radical: that “wife” must become a gender-neutral term, as it captures all of the domestic duties and emotional support that two partners must be willing to share. As Kingston points out, this kind of re-definition requires an admittance on the part of the government and corporations that they must step in provide the kind of aid and support the modern family necessitates, but just as importantly, it involves finally looking at women and men as human beings who can only handle a certain amount of responsibility and emotional pressure. Perhaps then, the battle cry of “the feminist movement screwed me over” can be restated in the next generation of young women and wives as “we still have a way to go”.

The Younger Women’s Task Force–New York Chapter holds a monthly book club that discusses issues such as those brought up by Kingston with a group of intelligent and fiery young New York women that care. The book club will be meeting this month to discuss Kingston’s “The Meaning of Wife” at 7pm, July 16th, at Tea Spot, located at 127 Macdougal St.

2008-04-09T13:58:00.001-07:00

Interview with Christine Baze, Founder of the Yellow Umbrella Organization

How old were you and what was your life like when you were diagnosed with cervical cancer?

I never thought about cancer when I was 31. I was happy, healthy, married and totally excited about my future - I was pursing my dream of being a full time Rock Star. It was going well. Really well, until I went in for my pap. After 13 consecutive normal yearly paps, this one came back abnormal. Within a week after further tests, I got the news - invasive cervical cancer with extensive lymphatic invasion. Impossible. Me? Cervical Cancer? Ten days after my diagnosis I had a radical hysterectomy, then laproscopic surgery, then 5 weeks of daily pelvic radiation concurrent with 4 rounds of chemo and then 3 rounds of internal radiation. Then came the depression. I felt like I lost everything. Eventually I realized I did NOT lose EVERYthing, just some bits and pieces. So I put myself together with the pieces that were left, and decided to use my story, my experience, my music and my voice to get the message of cervical cancer prevention out there - I wanted to educate and empower other women.

How has the experience of being a cancer survivor shaped your thinking? (If at all).

Cancer changed my life, there's no way of getting around that. I became acutely aware of how precious each and every moment is and the power we all have as individuals to make choices and to live every day intentionally For me, that means doing what I love, making music, and making a difference through my work as an activist. The "gift" of cancer has been this incredible clarity in my heart and in my head about what REALLY matters.

Tell me about your organization, especially what inspired you to start an organization and what you're most excited about for the future of your organization. What motivates you to keep sharing your stories and what achievement are you most proud of?

The Yellow Umbrella Organization started out as PopSmear.org (pop music and pap smears, get it?!?) in 2002, and the message was simple: "Ladies, don't blow off your yearly pap. Have a conversation with your doctor and make sure you are getting the BEST pap out there. And if you are 30+, ask for an HPV test with your pap. And men, go tell the women you love." It's that simple to keep your cervix smiling! And what happened at the first concert and the 88 to follow is that people listened! The more I sang and talked about my story and how we can DO something about this cancer, the more people talked about it - in the papers, magazines, on the TV and the radio. When I did the first show I never dreamed that I would be running an organization, traveling around the country and still talking about it over 5 years later, but that is what happened and I feel just as passionately as I did at the first show. The Yellow Umbrella Org is excited about continuing the message through music and collaboration (say- something.org), as well as expanding our sites to include a network of organizations who are all working in the fight against cervical cancer. As for the achievement I'm most proud of, I have to say kicking cancer's ass!!! = ) Cancer helped me see how strong I really am. I never knew, but now I see the power an individual has to get from the dark into the light, and I will never forget that. And also, I have to say, I have the most incredible opportunity coming up next month when I get to open for Sheryl Crow at the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults fundraiser!!! Now THAT is a dream come true, and something I think I will be proud of for the rest of my life. FOR SURE!!!

In the past couple of years, the story of HPV and its prevalence has really emerged, partially due to the emergence of the HPV vaccine and likely a variety of other factors, including the work of organizations such as your own. Did you know anything about HPV before your diagnosis? If not, what information did you learn about it after?

I had never heard about HPV before I was diagnosed and I considered myself an educated, proactive young woman because I never missed a pap or physical or anything like that. So when I was told that it was from sex, at first I was horrified and embarrassed. But then, as I learned more, I realized that it was nothing to be ashamed about at all. I learned that it is virtually ubiquitous, that it's not a sign of promiscuity or infidelity, that it is usually a transient virus and that the danger mainly exists when you have a persistent infection. And then I learned about the different screening tools - the pap and the HPV test. I never knew that the pap was measuring for cellular changes (dysplasia) caused by HPV, I only knew that I had to go every year. I also did now know that the pap can have a false negative rate of up to 50%, which means it tells you you are "fine" when you are not. My docs think this is what happened to me, that the pap missed me year after year, and it wasn't until the office switched to a liquid (more sensitive) pap that it caught what was happening. At this time, 2002, the HPV test had just come out. It is a DNA test that tells you if you have HPV and are at risk for cervical cancer. When I wrapped my head around all this information, I just knew I had to share with as many people that would listen because it could help save women's fertility and women's lives. With the vaccine, there's just more and more to talk about and more we can do. It's a very exciting time.

Many of our readers may be thinking of getting the "catch-up" HPV vaccine for women aged 19- 26. Do you know if you need to be screened for HPV before you get the vaccine? And more generally, what would be your personal advice to a younger woman who is not sure about whether or not to get the vaccine?

My understanding (and every woman should talk directly to their doc about this) is that one does not need to be screened for HPV prior to getting the vaccine. Even if you've been exposed to one strand of HPV, Gardasil covers 4 strands, and therefore you will have protection against the others. Soon there will be another vaccine available, Cervarix, so there will be more choices for young women. As far as my personal advice, it's a no brainier. 3 shots are better than a hysterectomy. Trust me! I think women need to use EVERY tool and do EVERYthing they can, because remember, I did go for my pap every year and it still missed me. It wasn't enough. So I say, use everything we've got. Shots are better than chemo. No joke.

How can we all help to spread the word about HPV, cervical cancer, and women's sexual health? Are there additional resources that your organization offers that you'd like us to know about?

SAY SOMETHING!!! Honestly, that is the way we are going to beat this disease, by talking about it. By women educating one another. By men telling the women they love, by roommates telling each other not to blow off their pap, by sisters telling sisters to get the HPV vaccine. That is what you can do to help! The stigma attached to HPV and women's sexual health is very real and we are the only ones who can break down the misconceptions. We have the power. We have the technology to prevent a cancer. Let's do it.

This interview was originally featured in YWTF’s bi-weekly e-newsletter, Younger Women’s Movement, on February 20, 2008.

You can sign up to receive the Younger Women’s Movement at www.ywtf.org

Ayo I'm Tired of This Misogyny: Ayo Technology Video

2008-03-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Ayo Technology video staring 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland takes sexist objectification in music videos to the next level. The video incorporates the main message of the song, "I'm tired of using technology," by showing the musicians using super high tech telescopes, binoculars and computers to stalk women. 50 Cent looks like a sniper or deer hunter on a roof, and then he is featured following a woman in her car. Timberlake is parked outside another woman's home watching her undress. Is he trying to bring stalking back too? Their technology allows them to see through women's clothes and control their bodies from afar. In addition, the video is spliced with images of strippers and women having sex night vision style.

It is disgusting that they are bringing stalking to a mainstream "sexy" level. More than a million women are stalked annually. Stalking is a terrifying experience for victims, causing them psychological trauma, and possible physical harm. Some affects on the victim include panic attacks, isolation, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal feelings and decreased ability to perform daily tasks. According to CFW.org, stalking is one of the most common predictors of more violence such as physical abuse, rape and/or murder. More information can be found in the Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women from the U.S. Department of Justice.

It is absolutely pathetic that those involved with this project are so creatively limited that sexual objectification of women was the chosen way to display the song. Their total disregard for the dignity of women is beyond disappointing. Thankfully the documentary "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes" explores sexism in hip-hop. The film pays tribute to hip-hop while challenging the industry to take responsibility for glamorizing stereotypes of manhood.

This blog was originally posted on August 27, 2007 on http://www.youngpeoplefor.org/blog/posts/1255

Glamorizing Misogyny

2008-02-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

Last year, America's Next Top Model glorified violence against women. Their crime scene victim photo shoot provides us with visions of undressed murdered female bodies. The shoot included vivid images of women in situations such as (but not limited to)- wearing lingerie with organs stolen, almost naked in a bed (legs spread) strangled, drowned and abandoned, severely beaten and thrown down a flight of stairs, and electrocuted in underwear.

The focus was on the sexiness of the corpses, instead of the humanity of female victims. In the photo that depicted a model shot in the head, one of the judges stated, "I love the broken down leg. It's absolute genius."

Sadly, torturing, raping and murdering women seems to be entertaining in our "bitch slapping" culture. Images of sexually objectified women lead to violence against women. The abuse of women has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, battery is the leading cause of injury to women. Erotized violence conditions boys and men to be desensitized to the suffering of women. The mainstream media plays a critical role in connecting masculinity with control and dominance over the female body.

Even though more then 3 women are murdered by their male partners in the U.S. everyday (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001), amazing feministy boys give me hope.

Let Tyra (tyrabanks@studiofanmail.com) know that America's Next Top Model's toxic actions are beyond unacceptable (feedback@CWTV.com).

If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, give them this number: U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE). It could save their life.

This blog was originally posted on March 30, 2007 on http://www.youngpeoplefor.org/blog/posts/930

Gender Issues and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial

2007-11-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

BY: Caitlin Jennings

This Veteran’s Day marks the 14th anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. I always felt the statue, representing three women near a fallen soldier, worked harmoniously with the rest of the memorial. Unlike some critics, I see it as a safe haven, set aside, quietly complimenting the wall and encouraging additional contemplation. As Cindy Gurney, Executive Director of the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation put it, “it provides balance…it completes the memorial; it completes the wall.” In recalling the first time she saw the addition of the women’s memorial, she said, “I though it was wonderful the way those three pieces came together…the men who survived, the women who survived, and those who died.”
Diane Carlson Evans, Founder and President of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, first had the idea for the memorial in 1983 after seeing an image of the proposed addition to the wall—a statue of three soldiers designed by Frederick Hart. In a case study entitled Why was the Vietnam Women’s Memorial added to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial? she recalled that the image raised “painful personal awareness that our country did not and might not ever know the women who served alongside those depicted.” She also noted, “Historically, women who have served humanity during America's struggles and wars are not included in the artistic portrayals. They slip into history unrecognized and forgotten; compounding the myth that either they did not serve or their service was not noteworthy.”
Cindy explained that many women felt the wall, by itself, was inclusive. The eight women who died are listed with the men. However, when the controversial statue of the three soldiers was added “then you’ve got a monument to the men who served. Then there are 10-11,000 women who say ‘but what about me, that doesn’t include me.’”
While many veterans and other related groups supported Diane’s effort to rectify the exclusionary nature of the memorial by adding a statue depicting women, others fought the idea. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think people of such great numbers would be so against honoring the women of Vietnam,” Diane told me in a recent interview. “This was definitely a gender issue.” Diane believed opponents were uneasy with the idea of a figure depicting women. She noted in the case study, “Many people were comfortable with the popular stereotype of the all-male American military. For adversaries we were providing a new emblematic definition of women they were eager to impugn.”
Diane felt much of the gender related opposition was due to false stereotypes about the role women served during the war. Therefore, the success of the memorial hinged on “our ability…to educate the nation about who these women really were, what their contributions were, and getting those stories out there so people could make decisions for themselves on the merits for the memorial and not listen to those who were trying to impede the whole idea because of their misgivings or their misogyny.”
Fewer women served in the military than men. Therefore, one of the main arguments against the memorial concerned numbers; only 11,000 women served in Vietnam and only eight gave their lives. Was their contribution enough to merit a memorial? Diane said she replied to that argument by saying, “This memorial is not about the numbers…but if you want to go into numbers…lets talk about the fact that these women helped to save the lives of 350,000 men and women.”
The stereotype that women in Vietnam only served as nurses also hurt the cause. Cindy remembered there was a misconception, even among women, that the memorial would only represent nurses. In fact it represents all American women, both civilian and military, who served in Vietnam including air traffic controllers, USO volunteers, and journalists. It also represents the over 250,000 women who aided the effort at bases around the world. These women suffered from war related injuries and post traumatic stress disorder just like their male counterparts.
While the ability to persevere was needed for both their service and to push forward with plans for a memorial to honor that service, some people negatively viewed the female veterans’ determination. George F. Will said in an August 26, 1991 Newsweek article that the Mall should not become a monument to “irritable factions.” He also sarcastically noted that women were trying to “enrich” the memorial. On November 11, 1987 in the Washington Times, J. Carter Brown, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, said that any statue of women would “detract from the enormous power of the memorial.”
“What Brown neglects to specify, however, is precisely how much the [women’s memorial] might dilute the power of the Wall as compared to how much the existing statue on the site—Three Fighting Men—already compromises the Wall's inclusive embrace by its omission of women,” responded K.A. Marling and J. Wetenhall in The Sexual Politics of Memory: The Vietnam Women's Memorial Project and “The Wall.”
The gender issue also affected the ability to raise money and quickly garner support from powerful people. They lacked the resources the men had when proposing the addition of the three soldiers. As Cindy noted, in addition to the fact that the majority of veterans were males, these veterans also “went into fortune 500 companies or they became successful lawyers or politicians…and they were able to put together a lot of money and they deal[t] with money at very high levels. [Women] did not rise to those levels in the corporations.”
When reflecting on the long and arduous process, Diane said it “seemed like it took forever, especially because I kept comparing what we were doing to what the male veterans had done.” While the Hart statue met similar opposition concerning its possible negative effect on the impact of the wall, it was erected about three years after the idea was proposed and did not require separate legislation. In contrast, the proposal for the women’s memorial took ten years and required two pieces of additional legislation. Diane believes that if not for the gender issues “we would have had our memorial up within two or three years. But why did we have to go to congress and go through all these hoops…that the three servicemen statue didn’t have to go through?”
“The opposition tried to beat us down and throw obstacles in our way and they did it through a variety of methods and activities, some very public some very behind the scenes, but we just really felt that we were doing the right thing.” Diane’s voice resounded with determination when she added, “The reason that we have the memorial…is because we would not give up.”

“Let's all resolve that this memorial serve as a vehicle for healing our nation's wounds. Let's never again take so long in honoring a debt,” Al Gore said during the Dedication Ceremony on November 11, 1993. Today the monument and foundation serve an ongoing purpose. Cindy hopes that “some of our experiences…can also be helpful to the new generation of women who are serving.” Diane is currently serving on the advisory board for the National Vietnam War Museum. When discussing the project she assured me, “Women will be included.”

The Green in You: Making Conscious Decisions to Help Our Environment

2007-07-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

By: Chantelle Britton

Many of us want to be environmentally responsible, but few of us are willing to make commitments of major lifestyle changes. Luckily, there are simple and effective ways to help our planet and maintain our health and quality of life. If you are not sure where to start, consider the following suggestions.

Bear in mind that the approaches listed below do not in any way encompass all of the practices that you could take to become environmentally conscious. There are many more ways. Visit the websites and resources embedded in this article for more information on how you can play a role in protecting our environment.

1. Start by Educating Yourself
There are numerous resources via the Internet that will give you great and valuable tips on becoming and staying green. Check out Treehugger.com, a web-based magazine dedicated to modern aesthetic environmental practices. Treehugger has “going green guides” that cover everything from personal hygiene to weddings.

Idealbite offers daily doses of sassy and modern tips on eco-friendly living. They send daily e-mails on products and services that not only impact our enviornment, but will impact our lives.

The Center for a New American Dream has valuable information and resources available to help people shop smart and responsibly for the health of all beings.

2. Choose Your Mode of Transportation
Truly consider the amount of fuel consumed through our different modes of transportation. There are a variety of options to think about when choosing your mode of transportation. Some options include walking, cycling, public transportation, car pooling, or if your job allows—work from home (telecommute).

Also, when purchasing a vehicle, consider those that consume the least amount of fuels, such as hybrids, bio-diesel and reduced emission vehicles.

3. Conserve More Water
Water that we use through our taps goes through a energy intensive process of filtering, purifying and transporting, which means that fossil fuel are being emitted each time we turn on the water faucet. Some simple water saving tips include installing water saving shower heads, fixing dripping water faucets, and not letting the water run while you brush your teeth. If you garden, collect rain water instead of using a hose to water your plants.

One other tip to consider is to avoid bottled water. Bottled water is not only a billion dollar industry; its production is affecting our environment in so many ways. Consider this: The US leads the world in consuming bottled water. In 2004, 26 billion liters were consumed and the demand for bottle water is so high that the manufacturing of bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, more than enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year (See: Center for a New American Dream).

4. Consider Your Food Habits
According to Treehugger’s website, there are four basic guidelines to follow to have greener meals. The first guideline is to eat locally. Since most foods travel long distances before you have the chance to enjoy it, locally grown food reduces transportation impacts on our environment. In addition, local growers also spend less energy on packaging processing and shipping their products.

The second guideline is to eat more organically grown foods, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, and meat products. Organic products are produced in ways that support healthy people and an eco-friendly environment. Check out the US Department of Agriculture’s website for more organic information.

A third guideline is to consume less meat. Meat stricken diets may not be the best approach for everyone, but lessening the amount of meat you consume can be beneficial to the environment. Many resources are used up to produce meat and meat products. The production process puts strains on our water resources, land and grain resources, not to mention the potential for pollution to soil, air and water.

5. Start Recycling
The common phrase of “reduce, reuse, recycle” comes to mind when you think of recycling, but recycling has become one of the easiest ways of protecting our environment. Most local governments—cities, counties and towns, have some form of recycling program through their trash collecting systems.

Recycling involves breaking down used items into raw materials to make new items. It reduces toxic greenhouse gas emissions and conserves energy. Try, whenever possible, to recycle items such as plastic, paper, aluminum, and glass products. Also consider buying recycled items, such as paper products and even clothes. Contact your local government’s trash collecting system for more information on recycling. Visit Earth911 to find out more.

"The Neck of the Flower: STEM, an Importnat Aspect of Women's Choices in Careers"

2007-07-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

By Christina Stevens-Payne and Martha Young

On July 18, 2007 we went to a briefing, “STEM Education, Girls, and the Challenges that Follow: From the Classroom to STEM Careers,” with speakers Dr. Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Ph.D. and Dr. Laurel L. Haak, Ph.D. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and for those who may not understand the severity of this topic, understand that there is a huge disparity between men and women in these fields. This briefing discussed the lack of women engagement in STEM careers. According to information reported by Girls Inc., a youth organization that motivates girls at high risk in their academics, there is a misconception that females have a lower aptitude than males in STEM. They stated, “The 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress in math and science for grades 4, 8 and 12, found the largest gap between boys’ and girls’ scale scores to be a mere four points.” Additionally, half of the finalists in the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search were comprised of girls. While these numbers are very positive, they are not high enough. Girls Inc. also stated that, “Girls continue to lag behind boys in computer science and physics, comprising only 31% of AP Physics test takers and just 16% in AP Computer Science test takers in 2006.”
What really stood out to us was that according to The College Board 2005 Total Profile Report out of all the college-bound seniors in 2005, 15% of the young women planned to major in computer science, 15% planned to major in engineering and 40% planned to major in math. Fast forward to college graduation and according to the National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering you learn that women only account for 20% of the bachelor’s degrees in math and computer science. This is shocking to learn considering that women make up 60% of the undergraduate college population. Eccles’ presentation discussed this issue in-depth through her research from over the past 25-30 years, however, there were some key components within the study that didn’t sit well with us and we felt the need to discuss these further, point by point:

She Said….

Eccles said she focused specifically on communities where the participants were more “likely” to achieve higher education. Most of her participants were from the southeast Michigan area and did not include Detroit. (See our rebuttal #1 below)
Eccles said the study was based only on gender and not race, sexuality, gender, and ethnicity. (See our rebuttal #2 below)
Eccles’ study focused on primarily undergraduate and graduate women and their work while only skimming the surface of middle school and high school young teenage women. (See our rebuttal #3 below)
Eccles discussed how dangerous it was that the minority women are not able to get interested in STEM. (See our rebuttal #4 below)

We Said…

First off, it was hard for us to really get a full understanding of this issue without regards to urban and rural lower income young women. We felt the study was biased towards a specific group of participants. Southeastern Michigan is seen as a more affluent and middle class area. Only using those participants, pigeon-holed Eccles’ arguments. She couldn’t make a generalization because she didn’t use a wider range of young women.
You can’t look at women, without taking into consideration ethnicity. You can’t look at women, without taking into consideration poverty. Basically, when you talk about women, you need to include all of these factors.
Generally, since we are in the age bracket of undergraduate and graduate students, we believe young women tend to already have an idea of what they are interested in whether it be math or liberal arts. However, middle and high school students tend to not have an idea of their interests. Consequently, this is the age range where interests are developed and should be were we focus our efforts.
Frankly, it is not an interest issue, but a resource issue. If you have young women who are from a more affluent area they have access to resources in their schools, therefore, becoming interested in STEM. However, if a young woman comes from an area such as the urban or rural locations mentioned earlier, the resources are not always readily available, perpetuating further disengagement and an everlasting and widening gap between the social classes.

After all is said and done, we believe that the original context of the briefing was important and necessary, however, it is important that when researching such a colossal topic, a researcher really must make sure they have dotted all their i’s and crossed all their t’s. Eccles did not do that and we were disappointed at her study and findings, as well as her evidentiary support. Hopefully in the future, other researchers can be more aware of this factor when conducting their studies. We would never want to dissuade or discourage research studies in this field because as we all know, there is a women’s movement and these studies only help it.

Rapping to Destruction: Hip-hop's Damaging Portrayal of Women

2007-07-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Rapping to Destruction: Hip-hop’s Damaging Portrayal of Women
By: Chantelle Britton

Don Imus reminded the world that hip-hop rappers often insult and degrade women. His proclamation was made after he referred to some of the Rutgers University’s Women’s Basketball players as “nappy headed ho’s.” Imus’ comments have resurfaced the complex debate of hip-hop’s degradation of women, particularly black women. Political leaders, activists, celebrities and others described Imus’ statements as deplorable and unacceptable. The result: Imus was fired and branded as a bigot. Not only did Imus’ comments about the Rutgers team offend many, his words about hip-hop’s degredation of women also had a striking impact as politicians, celebrities, and activists discussed the topic.

A few years ago Essence magazine launched a campaign to “Take Back the Music,” which is designed to take a stand on hip-hop’s portrayal of black women. The campaign focuses on providing a platform for discussion on the issue; exploring the effects of hip-hop on children, particularly girls; and supporting artists who promote positivity in their music. This campaign began when a few students from Spellman College, a predominately African-American, all-female college, decided to protest a performance by rapper Nelly at their school’s charity function. Their protest was based on Nelly’s explicit lyrics and graphic sexual imagery in a song called “Tip Drill.”

Before Essence and Spellman students became involved in the debate, the late C. Delores Tucker, a US politician and Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, was an outspoken critic of rap music, primarily in the areas of exploitation of women and gangster rap. Her claim was that the message was breaking down the moral foundation of the African American community in addition to being misogynistic.

Countless others have argued for change in some sectors of hip-hop, particularly rap music. The critique exists and has existed for some time, but some believe that the destruction many sectors of hip-hop are causing is slow to change. Graphic sexuality on music videos and lyrics that encourage “pimpin and ho’in” are regular occurrences on some television programs and on radio stations across America. Songs like “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” (which won an Academy Award for best original song in 2006) glorify the “lifestyle” of being a pimp and pimpin’ ho’s.

Where does the blame lie? Various sectors of hip-hop dehumanize and demoralize women often in sexually violent and sexually explicit ways. However, the blame cannot only be directed at hip-hop artists or their record label executives. Some blame the women in music videos for furthering a stereotype of black women as being over-sexualized and promiscuous. “Video vixens,” as they are often referred to, argue that this is the best way for them to attain success in their careers as actresses or models. For others the exploitation of their sexuality is primarily about providing for their children.

The easiest solution for an individual is to not watch it, don’t buy it—ignore it, but will ignoring this problem that has a psychological hold on many of our young men and women make it go away? Also will ignoring it, make our communities a better place or rid the world of misogyny and sexism? Probably not, but in order for women to be respected, we must recognize the implications of the messages that are being produced through some sectors of hip-hop.

There may be hope for hip-hop

The culture of hip-hop has evolved tremendously since its origins in New York in the late 1960s to early 1970s. It encompasses a variety of elements including political activism, fashion, slang, music, art (primarily graffiti) and dancing (break-dancing). From Afrika Bambaataa (the Grandfather of hip-hop) to the current beats that can be heard on the airwaves across the country, the hip-hop persuasion has spread across continents. Its influence around the world is vast.

Because of its enormous influence over billions of listeners; hip-hop can be used as a tool for social and cultural change. And in some sectors, it has been. Consider the “Rock the Vote” campaigns and the use of hip-hop in recent elections. The culture of hip-hop can be diverted from misogynistic and exploitative of women. In fact, many rappers do not promote hatred or exploitation of women in their lyrics, but rather they promote their love and dedication for women as witnessed in their lyrics and in their videos. Such main stream and underground/alternative hip-hop rappers include Talib Kweli, Pharaoh Monach, Dead Prez, Common, and Lupe Fiasco.

Additionally, people are realizing the negative messages being delivered to youth and recognizing the exploitation of women through hip-hop. A poll of black Americans conducted by the Associated Press and AOL-Black Voices showed that 50% of respondents say that hip-hop is a negative force in American society. And, though music sales in all genres are down, rap sales have declined 21 percent from 2005 to 2006. Although these statistics are significant, it does give voice to some change. To remedy the solution of misogynistic outlets, we must start with a discussion. And, that discussion will lead to action.

Lobbying for ENDA

2007-07-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

The United States Constitution promises an accessible government. However, those we elect to represent us, as U.S. citizens, often seem out of reach. It seems, at times, infeasible to contact the elected body and, as a result, many constituents complain to friends and family when something goes wrong in the political world, rather than to their Representatives, Senators, and President. Many voters, including ourselves until recently, had never taken advantage of our ability to meet with our Congressmen and Senators.
As part of the New Faces, More Voices leadership training program for DC Interns working for Women’s Organizations, though, we had the irreplaceable opportunity to “lobby” for an issue of our choice. After some consideration, we chose the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal bill which would protect against discrimination for sexual orientation and gender identity in the workforce. We then researched when the proposed bill was expected to leave committee, who was co-sponsoring it, and who generally supported the issue of equality, double checking most of our information with the Human Rights Campaign. We then made an adapted sheet of facts about ENDA to leave behind at the congressional offices we visited.
Once all of the research was finished, all that was left to do was make the appointments with the offices of our Congressmen and Senators, which was easier said than done. After several phone calls, emails, and repeated faxing of meeting requests, we were able to secure four appointments with our congressional offices.
On “Lobby Day,” we spoke with staff members, usually Legislative Directors, from the offices of Senator Hutchinson (R-TX), Senator McConnell (R-KY) and Congressman Davis (R-KY), all of whom listened attentively as we described ENDA and the equality it would ensure. At our last appointment of the day, Congressman Yarmuth (D-KY) himself sat down with us to discuss his unwavering support of ENDA and equal rights. Instead of shooing us out of his office after he assured us of his support, he stayed for nearly an hour to discuss student loans, the immigration debate, and the media.

Walking through the halls of the House and Senate buildings and advocating for ENDA was a truly awakening experience. We realized how lucky we are to live in a democratic society where we can express our opinions, not just to our friends, but to those who represent us and vote on the issues of importance. We learned that setting up an appointment and taking the time to go speak with the elected body really does make a difference. After sending those who met with us thank you emails, for example, we received two replies promising updates on the Congressman’s position on ENDA and offers to meet again to discuss any other issue of importance to the young community—proof that our advocacy did not fall on deaf ears.
After our experience, we plan to return to the Hill to lobby others to support ENDA and, after some practice, hope to expand to other issues as well. We hope, too, that all young people will take the time to visit the Capitol or write their Representatives so that, collectively and powerfully, our voices will be heard.

Martha Young and Sarah Brown

2007-06-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

The Oxygen Mentor Walk

Many years ago my father told me that one way to find the path to my dream career was to find someone who had already done what I wanted to do. And not just find anyone, but someone who had done the job well and was willing to tell me how they had gotten there. He was referring to a mentoring relationship, one of the most important relationships you can build to ensure a successful career.

On Tuesday morning I had the opportunity to participate in Oxygen’s Mentors walk in Washington DC. Oxygen’s mentors walk: Bringing Along the Next Generation is an event that brings high-profile women leaders from a variety of professions to walk--and talk--with other women who share their passion and dream of breaking into that field. The event registration asked applicants to identify their current role models and professional aspirations and then organizers used this information to match participants with mentors who have careers that align with the participants’ self-identified goals.

At the age of twenty-five I am fortunate to have some direction in my professional life. I shared my aspirations with Oxygen organizers writing a paragraph about my dream of running for national office and continuing to fight for women’s equality globally. You can only imagine my surprise and excitement when I learned that twelve-term Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder would be my mentor. Congresswoman Schroeder was a champion of women’s issues during her 24 years in the House and considered running for President in 1986 but withdrew for lack of funds despite being ranked third in the Time Magazine poll. Congresswoman Schroeder was not only a high powered politician but also a mother of two young children when she was elected to Congress.

After Congresswoman Schroeder introduced herself the walk began. I spent the next hour and a half, walking around the National Mall, speaking to the Congresswoman about her expertise on women in the military, her experience in the House, and listening to her describe her road to public office. I asked Congresswoman Schroeder if she always knew she wanted to be a politician. She laughed and explained that when she ran for office, there were few other women politicians to look up to or even imagine the career as a possibility. It was not her vision, but her leadership and strong sense of civic participation naturally lead her to the position. I could only think how lucky I am not only to have women leaders to look up to but also have the opportunity to make a personal connection with such a successful Congresswoman.

I also had the opportunity to walk with freshman Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. Congresswoman Shea-Porter is the first woman elected to National Office from New Hampshire and is also a strong supporter of women’s rights. Ironically, Congresswoman Schroeder, was Congresswoman Shea-Porter’s representative many years earlier when both were residing in Colorado. Approximately ten Congresswomen, three Under-Secretary’s of State, and many other high powered success Washington women gave their time to participate in the Oxygen Walk.

The event was a success on many levels. Namely, for making the connection between young aspiring women and more experienced professional women. In my professional career I have had many mentors, most of them men. Women have frequently offered to guide me but parenting and the many volunteer activities most women are a part of often get in the way of building a solid relationship. Young women need mentors to help them navigate through the challenges we face in the workplace. This event was an excellent first step in that process. It is now the participants and mentors responsibility to foster those relationships and build real connections with likeminded women who are eager to promote the qualities that make women strong and successful leaders in all careers.

Finally, the young women who participated need to build synergistic relationships with each other. We are not only colleagues and friends, but advocates for each other. We need to share our positive and negative work experiences publicly, support women’s leadership in the companies and organizations we work for, and commit to mentoring the women who enter the workforce after us.

Women the Hidden Victims of Violent Conflict in Africa

2007-05-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

Women the Hidden Victims of Violent Conflict in Africa

by Anne Marie Williams

No matter how hopeless peace may seem in Africa's many violent conflicts, it is our responsibility as members of the international community to make this impossibility a reality. To give up would be a betrayal to the entire populations of women who are caught in the middle of these wars, brutalized, raped and then forgotten during the peace process. We need to remember these hidden victims and work to ensure peace on their behalf.

As militias and government forces fight to control a territory they rape women and rule the population by fear. These rapes and beatings terrorize villages and breakdown the economic and social systems in the area. Unable to work, women and their families are deprived of income. During community raids, girls and women are enslaved as wives for militia commanders and kept captive for years.

Systematic rape is a crime against humanity according to the International Criminal Court. Despite this, rape is a standard weapon in wars on the African continent and around the world. Thousands of women have fallen victim in the militia wars or genocides in Rwanda, Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire and Democratic Republic of Congo. At this very moment, the conflict in Darfur, Sudan claims hundreds more victims

Even as peace agreements are made, widespread impunity protects the perpetrators of these heinous crimes from punishment. Often these atrocities are accepted as an inevitable effect of war. While women face stigma returning home, they are threatened or discouraged from reporting the crimes and no one has been brought to justice in these conflicts for using rape as a weapon of war.

While the perpetrators roam free, or receive comprehensive medical treatment in prisons, their victims return to their lives, starkly changed. Usually with children from the rapes, they are shunned from their homes. They live in poverty, and many of them suffer serious injury or disablement from the crimes. Brutality and genital mutilation with objects such as sticks, bottles or guns, coupled with a lack of medical treatment leave many women seriously hurt.

Tens of thousands of women are infected with HIV and other STI's during wartime. Militias are thought to rape women with the intent of spreading HIV. In Rwanda, it is believed that the Hutu militia's widespread campaign of rape used HIV as another attempt to exterminate Tutsis. As a result of sexual violence, sixty percent of HIV cases in Sub-Saharan Africa are female. Further stigmatized for having HIV, and with no access to medical treatment, these women add to the huge number of HIV victims and AIDS deaths in Africa.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among other NGOs, work tirelessly to bring the plight of these women to the attention of the international community. Together, we need to put pressure on the United Nations and the governments of countries at war and recovering from war to protect women and not forget them in the peacemaking process. Sexual violence needs to be taken seriously by officials and become a punishable crime in practice instead of theory. Above all, women and citizens of the world need to speak out about this violence.

We must raise our voices and demand that a women's body does not become a battlefield in times of conflict or peace.

Please get involved today:

1. Donate to We-ACTx, an organization supporting Rwandan clinics treating women who contracted HIV during the 1994 genocide. Go to http://www.crossroadsfund.org/WE-ACTx-Rwanda.html for details.

2. Donate to stop the atrocities occurring today in Darfur, Sudan at www.savedarfur.org .

3. Write elected officials to demand continued support for African Union troops in Darfur, and for international pressure to allow UN troops into the country. Information at www.amnestyusa.org .

4. Encourage elected officials to ratify CEDAW, an international treaty for the rights of women ratified by 182 countries but not the United States.

5. Stay informed of the hidden side of violent conflict and speak out to protect women around the world.

Anne Marie is a high-school student and human rights activist living in Evanston, IL. She studied the effects of war on women as a part of an independent senior project. She will be attending Tufts University next year where she will continue her commitment to human rights activism.

Shadow Week

2006-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

As kind of a grand finale to my internship, my supervisor, Deva, arranged for me to shadow a different YWTF board member at her job for three days this week. This way, I would be able to sneak a peek inside a few nonprofits, see how they were different (or similar) to the missions and inner workings of YWTF, and possibly gleam a few career ideas.

On Tuesday, I shadowed Aisha Taylor at the Women's Ordination Conference, where the exclusive focus was working to get women ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic Church. I wasn't sure what to expect, as Aisha was one of few board members I had yet to meet, and the address listed on their website was a P.O. Box. Aisha told me how to get there, and I arrived at a nondescript strip mall in Fairfax to begin my day at their offices. Aisha, who is the Executive Director of WOC, and Nidza Vasquez, the Program Director, were very friendly, and fed me dark chocolates and artichoke-spinach dip as I set to work organizing a mailing to the leaders of about fifty dioceses, nationwide, showing that their parishioners supported women's ordination. I also hand-wrote Christmas cards to their big donors, and made a few copies of a memo. The office was decidedly cozy, with lots of beautiful art celebrating women in religion.

WOC really challenged a lot of my ideas about feminism and religion. I think it's an unfortunately common western feminist belief that extremely religious women are, in some ways, oppressed by the institutions at which they worship. With the Catholic Church's blatantly anti-contraceptive and anti-choice stance, I must have assumed that any self-respecting feminist would sever her ties with the Church; this was a very stupid assumption. There are billions of Catholic women all over the world who believe in equality for women; just because they are pious does not mean they are victims. Instead of abandoning the Church in which they were raised, why not work towards making the Church more accepting of them? Aisha and Nidza told me that every reason the Church has offered as to why women cannot be ordained has been refuted through a textual analysis of the Bible, and that celibacy and maleness are outdated prerequisites for priesthood, considering the worldwide shortage of celibate male priests and the all-too-obvious problems that have arisen from those requirements. They argued that women do a majority of the actual work within their dioceses, and that they have often felt called to ordination, but denied that right based on their gender, and that this was in blatant disregard of Jesus's teachings of respect and equality for all people. So true! When my day was over, and all the envelopes were sealed, postmarked, and ready to go, Aisha gave me something really cool: a fake dollar bill with the face of Thérèse de Lisieux, a patron saint of sorts for those in favor of women’s ordination, and a message reading, "To encourage the church to celebrate the gifts and calls of women equally with those men in all ministries, I am withholding $____ from this collection. I have contributed it to Women's Ordination Conference." I thought that was really neat.

The next day, I was to meet Alex Walden at Legal Momentum, a women's public policy firm located just a few blocks down from the YWTF offices. I showed up a bit early, and waited in their offices, which were big, white, and set into a grid of cubicles, while reading the New York Times. Alex showed up with a hankering for coffee, so we walked down to Ye Olde Starbucks for some caffeine and chit-chat about her job with Legal Momentum. Basically, Legal Momentum has a legal team and a policy team, who work through a variety of programs to publicize, both in court and out, the preexisting rights of women under the law, and work to push for new ones. Alex worked in policy, which means that she was the one who reviewed the firm's activities and made press releases, amongst other things. She was leaving for New York the next day to negotiate the new contract for Legal Momentum's workers, who are unionized. We chatted away about her career ambitions and mine, and the frustrations and rewards of working for an organization that's policy-oriented. A cup of coffee stretched into an hour or so, and then we went back to her office, where I helped her research the results of female candidates in the midterm elections--luckily, a topic I'd researched before!

Thursday was by far my favorite. I was lucky enough to shadow Sheerine Alemzadeh, who is a paralegal with the Tahirih Justice Center, which helps women without status who are in jeopardizing situations because they are women seek asylum and avoid deportation, by offering them pro bono legal assistance. The center started with the seminal case of Fauziya Kassindha, who fled her native land of Togo because she refused to undergo FGM; she was the first person granted asylum in the U.S. on the grounds of gender-based persecution. This was an amazing organization to get to see first-hand, and Sheerine was the perfect shadow to follow. I highly recommend that anyone reading this blog right now go check out their website right now to learn more about it, because to explain the details of their operations would take more space than I've got. Needless to say, they provide a much-needed service by giving women, who often don't speak English, and know little to nothing about the legal immigration system here, and are most likely unable to afford court fees, to live in a persecution-free environment. Whether they were fleeing their homelands due to rape, domestic violence, or persecution because they were feminists, or whether they came to the States as "mail-order brides" and were living in abusive relationships, Sheerine and her associates help them through a series of phone screenings, interviews, and counseling. I went to a meeting with the three paralegals, who went through a list of cases and decided which ones they could help, and who would take which case. Then, Sheerine took me out to lunch at a Thai place down the street, and we talked about why she loves her job so much. I told her how I thought it was so important to do hands-on, and not just policy-centered, advocacy, and she agreed, saying that the Center really balanced out the two by helping actual immigrant women and by lobbying. She has touched so many lives, both directly and indirectly, and she's only twenty-two! Amazing.

It was so nice to get out of my office and see how other young women are becoming trailblazers in the women’s movement, and in such different ways. Each of the organizations I visited serves a different and integral purpose. YWTF organizes younger women and gives us a forum for meeting up, sharing concerns and ideas, and helping our communities based on local needs. The Women’s Ordination Conference serves as the voice and action of millions of Catholic women who feel called to ordination, or who simply wish to be recognized for their work within the Church on a level comparable to men. Legal Momentum advocates for a variety of issues related to women, both by taking on important court cases related to women’s rights, and by generating policy that speaks to all women, regardless of class or status. The Tahirih Justice Center fields calls from immigrant women at risk for deportation or abuse and helps them negotiate the necessary legal work. And these are only five of hundreds of like-minded organizations in the DC metro area alone working to help women! It was truly refreshing to witness firsthand the commitment and dedication these women and their co-workers manifest, and I, for one, was inspired.

YWTF Member Profile: DC Metro Chapter

2006-12-07T07:38:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be neat to let our readers get a feel for who our members actually are—what they do, how they’re engaged in YWTF, and so on. I hope that future YWTF bloggers will continue this trend, so that we can round it out by featuring profiles from chapters across the country; for now, I’m staying close to home, focusing on the DC Metro Chapter. Enjoy!

Name?
Lacey Dunham

Age?
23

How long have you been a YWTF member?
1 year

Why/how did you join YWTF?
I stumbled across YWTF doing an Internet search. The group seemed to fit my interests and seemed like a great way to meet people, so I joined! The first event I went to was The Good Body by Eve Ensler. We saw her perform it at the Lincoln Theatre in NW.

What do you think is the best perk of being a YWTF member?
Getting to meet and talk with other younger women. I also enjoy how the DC group’s agenda is member driven; what we’re interested in is what we do as a group. I appreciate that openness and flexibility.

What was your favorite event that your chapter hosted?
I’m a creative person with a lot of interest in the written and performative arts, so I’ve enjoyed the performances the group has attended. Something new we’re doing that I really enjoy is our discussion evenings, an informal gathering of members to talk about an issue affecting younger women. It feels wonderful to connect with women over issues that are important and matter.

Are you involved in any other form of activism outside of YWTF?
I work with a neighborhood association in my area that works to provide a balanced voice for all citizens in the neighborhood, not just the affluent, property-owning (and often Caucasian) neighbors.

What is your profession?
Currently, I am a fundraiser with an international development research and action organization that performs our work through the lens of gender.

Where did you go/are you going to school? What did you major in?
I graduated from a women’s college, Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. I doubled majored in Creative Writing and Social Politics.

What do you like to do in your free time?
A lot! Reading and writing are my true loves so I read voraciously and provide occasional freelance book reviews for websites and businesses. I also write a lot and take part in a bi-weekly writing group in NW DC. Additionally, I sing in a gospel choir and work now and then at a local yoga studio. I try to find time to meditate daily and to play with my two cats. As you can see, I like to keep myself busy!

What’s the last book you read? Would you recommend it?
The last book I read was A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. There are short-comings to her thesis, namely that she doesn’t take class and race into perspective but it’s an important book for anyone interested in women and feminism. I also finished a book recently by a young adult author, Francesca Lia Block. Her writing is simple but her language and imagery are often overwhelming with their beauty. She writes on very adult themes and I appreciate that she is exposing youth and children to ideas and concepts in the world from which I don’t believe they should be sheltered.

If you had to pick a younger woman role model, who would it be and why?
You know, I’m always very impressed with all the younger women I meet in DC. I love talking with them and discovering their passions, learning about their jobs, and what motivates them in their daily lives. I am much more motivated by all of these women than I am by any Hollywood face or name. I think women who are living their daily lives, who are making a difference, who have passion and dedication for what they do are important role models for me and everyone.

How do the goals of YWTF apply to your daily life?
YWTF provides a forum for me to explore myself and my relationship to the larger world, especially now that I’m a professional and no longer a university student. I think ageism is an enormous problem in our culture and I appreciate YWTF because, as a younger woman who is often seen as incompetent, unintelligent, and incapable because I’m both a woman and I’m younger, it’s meaningful for me to know that an organization exists to support me and my place in the world.

10 things YWTF members can do over Thanksgiving in the spirit of sisterhood

2006-11-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is a special time in which friends and family come together and share a fantastic meal symbolic of the thanks we offer for the bounty that has been bestowed upon us. It’s also a unique opportunity to strengthen the bonds of sisterhood, both within your family and outside of it. Even though the women in your family and friends might drive you crazy sometimes, no one’s perfect, and we should all take the time to recognize the love and thanks we have for their presence in our lives.

10. Invite over all of the young moms you know (and their children) and have a special kid-friendly Thanksgiving arts and crafts party. Trace your hands to make turkeys, press leaves in wax paper, serve apple cider and turkey sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Sometimes Thanksgiving dinner can be so formal and stressful for mothers of young children; this event lets them relax and have fun while somebody else (you) does all the work.

9. Volunteer at your local women’s shelter! Thousands of women and children are displaced from their homes every year from poverty, natural disasters, domestic violence, and unemployment. They deserve a yummy dinner, too! Many shelters house their own Thanksgiving events, and need volunteers to donate, serve, and prepare food.

8. Invite all of your sisters over for a post-Thanksgiving leftover party. Open-faced turkey sandwiches taste better the next day, and besides, the women in your life are perfect for sharing stories about what your crazy family members did this year. You’ll all be glad for the excuse to leave the house and catch up.

7. Read Leslie Marmon Silko’s Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today. Since Thanksgiving is the closest thing we have to commemorating the indigenous peoples of America, we should take the time to educate ourselves about their societies (some of which were abound with female leaders!) and remember what this empire took from them. Also, Native American mythology is absolutely fascinating, and full of vibrant and awesome female characters you’ll be sure to draw inspiration from.

6. Let all of your sisters know how much they mean to you! The actual giving of thanks is often reserved for the dinner table, but that doesn’t mean you can’t show people outside of your immediate family your gratefulness. Send a card, or an email, or even just a text message, thanking them for something they did for you that year, or just for being there.

5. Especially with older couples, women are expected to prepare and serve dinner without question—Thanksgiving, and year-round. Turn this idea on its head by arranging for the male members of your family to serve everything, while the women stay seated and enjoy being waited upon. Have boys pull out chairs and set place cards, while their dads handle the heavy stuff.

4. Invite a friend who is single or whose family lives far away to have dinner with you and yours. I speak from personal experience when I say that there is nothing sadder than eating take-out on Thanksgiving alone because you couldn’t make it to see your mom. Your friend will be relieved to have plans, and removed from the situation enough to laugh at your crazy uncle (everybody has one) from a safe distance.

3. If you are going to be around extended family over the holidays, take the time to talk to the older women at the table—your grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, great-aunts, etc. I once had an assignment over Thanksgiving to do an in-depth interview with my Gram, and I learned so much more about who she was than I had over years of polite conversation. These women have been through it all, so why not run some of those big questions that have been plaguing you by them? They’ll be sure to give you an answer that will make you think, and probably laugh as well.

2. Let the women dining at your house know that there will be no weight-watching at your table. Thanksgiving is a celebration of bounty, and everyone who is lucky enough to partake of such a beautiful meal should be able to enjoy it without guilt or self-hatred, if for just this one day of the year. Make sure everyone knows that fat jokes and the like will not be looked upon kindly by their gracious hostess, and that she will insist on second helpings for everyone.

1. Do not, I repeat, do not let the matriarchs of your family do the clean-up. In my family, my grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-aunt do all of the cooking. Sometimes they let my dad help (he’s a chef), but no one else is permitted to set foot in their kitchen, and that’s fine with me. However, I have to return the favor. Following the age-old rule of “if you made it, you shouldn’t have to clean it,” I believe that the arduous task of clearing the table and scrubbing pots should be left up to us young’uns. Even if your obsessive-compulsive great-grandmother does come and rearrange the dishes in the dishwasher as soon as you’re done.

Election Day

2006-11-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

Every other November 6th, I ask my friends, “So are you voting tomorrow?”

Needless to say, I’ve heard every excuse and argument in the book.

You forgot to register. You saw what happened with the 2000 elections, and you don’t think your vote counts anyway. None of the candidates is especially appealing to you, and you’d rather not be forced to choose the better of two evils. You’re just not a political person. All of those nasty smear ads on TV are confusing, and a big turn-off. You meant to stop by the polls, but you were just really busy that day. Or, my personal favorite, you refuse to stoop to contribute to a system which is, in your opinion, farcical in terms of achieving real democracy.

As something of a skeptic myself, I understand where this type of disenchantment comes from. In recent years, the level of corruption at the highest echelons of government has become too obvious to ignore, often reinforcing beliefs held by many that the political structure is not a trustworthy one. What happened with the electoral college six years ago was certainly discouraging. And, I will be the first to admit that, at times, I’ve felt overwhelmed by the sheer Orwellian overtones of it all. But let’s be realistic: it’s not a conspiracy. Even though our forefathers were rich old men who didn’t give a thought to the rights of women or people of color, they did get one thing right: checks and balances. It’s a beautiful concept, or at least it’s meant to be. But a system that’s designed to be of the people, for the people, by the people, is not going to mirror its constituents if they do not care enough to vote. It’s just not going to work. Legislative elections are the very meat and potatoes of democracy—there is no electoral college. Your vote directly determines who will represent you and your community in our nation’s forum.

There are a unique set of challenges facing the woman who votes. Often, women are encouraged to simply vote as their husband does. They certainly are not targeted enough in campaign ads or outreach, and there are precious “spin-free” few media outlets that focus on educating women about the candidates and issues that are most likely to concern them. And, of course, we are significantly underrepresented in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. However, we also happen to comprise a huge chunk of the electorate. Women aged 18-40 are more likely to vote than our male peers, but we’re still teetering around the fifty-percent range. What about that other fifty percent? Everybody has a reason to vote, because everybody is affected by the outcome of an election. This year, with a record 2,431 women vying to join the 240 female “holdovers” who weren’t up for reelection this year, we’re looking at a more female-friendly Congress than ever before.

There are a myriad of issues which directly affect younger women at stake in this election! Are you and your partner married? If not, the medical benefits, domestic violence statutes, and other forms of protection offered to you by the state could be in jeopardy. This affects you! Do you make a living wage, or think that the minimum wage should be raised? This affects you! Do you, or do you plan on having children that you will be sending through the public school system? This affects you! Do you think women should have the option of a safe, sterile abortion? This affects you! Do you want to keep paying exorbitant gas prices or develop cheaper, safer alternative fuel sources? This affects you! Would you be comfortable in your kids’ sexual education if all they knew was abstinence? All of this effects you! And there’s so much more. I’ll spare you the piece about how women fought for the right to vote for years and how not voting is a betrayal of your heritage if you promise to just do it. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Organize a carpool, or find one that already exists in your area. Do whatever you have to do. Just do it!

Here are some neat links to voting initiatives and resources for the educated female voter.

Voting Vixen
Women's Voices, Women Vote
Emily’s List’s WOMEN VOTE!
Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers
Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement
League of Women Voters

Lifestyle Activism, The Realistic Way

2006-10-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

The concept of “lifestyle activism” has been showing up on my radar a lot lately. It was the subject of one of our Leadership Training Institute Workshops, lead by Amy Richards, and I’ve heard many a young activist bring it up in conversation. The idea is basically, “practice what you preach”; if you’re an animal rights activist, go vegan; if you’re an environmentalist, go green; etc. I had never thought about it before, but I love this idea, because it really focuses on the grassroots spirit of activism—something YWTF is all about! It’s different from lobbying, joining an organization, or demonstrating. It’s something that anyone, anywhere, can do at any time, and it’s based on tapping into your own personal power as an agent of improvement.

Okay, I admit it. I am far from a perfect lifestyle activist. Not all of my clothes are sweatshop-free, I have been known to duck into a McDonald’s every once in a blue moon when the desire for a taste of the fries I grew up on overwhelms me, I have an inexplicable penchant for the kind of misogynistic hip hop that gives most mothers the vapors, and if someone offers me a cup of coffee, I don’t ask if it’s fair-trade. But, by this definition of lifestyle activism, who is perfect? In today’s world, it’s pretty impossible to avoid patronizing some people and corporations that aren’t exactly female-friendly. What’s important is that we recognize the value of our money and actions, and realize that we can enact significant and sustainable change, all by ourselves; what’s important is that we make an effort. By watching where we spend and being a good neighbor, we’ll find that even the smallest action can make a world of difference!

As a consumer, my money is highly coveted by a wide variety of businesses and corporations, so I try my best to make sure that, in spending, I’m supporting companies who will, in turn, support women. I use the services of woman-owned businesses as much as I can. Do some research to find out which companies, both locally and nationally, are owned and/or operated by women; most areas have women’s capital funds or economic development groups that would be glad to provide you with listings. Bars, restaurants, garages, cab companies, housepainters, law firms, boutiques, bodegas—whatever service you can imagine, there’s sure to be a female entrepreneur who offers it. Women are often marginalized and excluded from the male-defined world of big business, so do your part to support your sisters!

One way I do my part is by purchasing clothes and bath products from companies with healthy-looking models, who rely on quality products to motivate my patronage. This way, I’m advocating positive body image for all girls and women by refusing to give my money to corporations who make me feel like there’s something wrong with me that needs to be fixed (by their product, with my money, of course!) A lot of the music I buy comes from small, independent distribution centers who support female artists. I respect female performers who value their skill as artists rather than as major-label sex-appeal products, and I respect the companies who support them even more! If I hear a movie’s got an explicit rape scene in it, I don’t go! I’m not spending ten bucks to see yet another hack male director shove that in my face—I’d rather check out some sweet flicks penned by women that offer insight into my life.

If you want to take your activism a step further, an intense scrutiny of your favorite name brands is in order: What do they pay their women workers? Are they equal opportunity employers? What is their stance on child labor? Do they provide day-care to their laborers? What percentage of management is female? You can find answers to some of these questions here, here for international companies, and here for companies with progressive policies toward women. If you find that the business in question is seriously lacking in these areas, it’s time to find a new brand, or at least significantly cut back on your rate of consumption.

Lifestyle activism can also be conducted through how we form and support our relationships. Mainstream American media often tells us that sisterhood should be replaced by acrimony and animosity. Instead of sharing our experiences with one another and deriving strength from these connections, we’re often encouraged to be catty and immediately dislike women who aren’t exactly like ourselves. As a woman, I keep open eyes and open ears to all of the women in my life. Acquaintances, family members, co-workers, clients, neighbors, teachers, whomever—they all have my support and I make sure they know that I am always available as a resource. Whether you’re walking a friend to her car, lending your couch to someone who has problems in their home life, or just checking in to say hi, your sisterly actions probably mean a lot more than you think. Most of the women I’ve spoken to about this say that what they want the most is someone who knows how to listen. So listen to the women in your life without an ulterior motive, be silent when necessary and know when to offer constructive advice. Be empathetic without being overly sympathetic; no one likes to be labeled a victim. I try to be as empowering as possible when someone’s talking to me about, say, an overbearing boyfriend or how they’re getting harassed at work. If someone has a problem I’m uncomfortable handling, I will refer them to someone who will, and then I’ll make sure that person follows up. But most importantly, I let them know that they’re not alone!

So, yeah. I like fast food and bad rap. But I throw all-girl sleepovers where we watch Thelma & Louise and Waiting to Exhale, eat chocolate and popcorn, and get silly. I get super excited every time I see a Dove ad with healthy, beautiful women on the side of a bus. I make heating pads for menstrual cramps out of socks adorned with buttons and patches and filled with rice to give as gifts during holidays. I try to be a good friend and a conscious consumer as much as I can—and I truly believe that the world, or at least my world, is that much better because of it.

Musings on the F-word

2006-10-30T07:52:00.001-08:00

When I began the application process for this internship, I noticed that the word “feminism,” or any of its derivatives, was nowhere to be found in the mission statement or goals of YWTF. I found this strange, since, to me, it was clearly a feminist organization. Although I was aware that the word was controversial, I thought, surely we must be past this by now! Of course you’re feminists—we’re all feminists here. What’s the problem? And so, I set about drawing my own conclusions as to why the word is such a hot spot within the Movement today.

Ever since my first sociology class, when the word “feminist” was defined as someone who advocated that women have equal social, political, and economic rights to men, I have identified it as such. I never understood other women’s reluctance to adopt the title, assuming that they were worried about being labeled as man-hating lesbians or “feminazis.” To me, this was retroactive; how could we ever fully take possession of the word, and ourselves, if we continued to hesitate based on the reaction of men? My mother, for example, has never considered herself a feminist, while in my eyes, she was the embodiment of the word: a strong, powerful woman who is proud of, and comfortable in, her identity as a mother, a worker, a teacher; a woman who raised two equally strong-willed daughters, often holding down multiple jobs to provide for us; a woman who always made sure her husband would meet her halfway; a woman who quit her job of five years with no back-up plan when she found out that the new guy, who was performing the same job, was getting paid more; a woman who respects herself. All of these things made her a feminist to me, but to her, she was just doing what she felt was right. And my mother is not alone; the more people I asked, the fewer I found that willingly self-identified as “feminists.” At this point, I had to ask myself: should we be using this word if a majority of women reject it?

“Isms” can be tricky things. I find them problematic for a number of reasons. Essentially, the attempt to condense a vast, interlocking, overlapping history of struggles and oppressions, both subtle and blatant, into a single, all-defining word, really downplays the importance, and intricacies, of the issues associated with the word. You know that old Kierkegaard quote, “If you label me, you negate me”? It’s similar to that. “Isms” take any number of intangibles and try to make them concrete, easy to pin down; and while this can be a useful tool for preliminary phases of education, it is in no way conclusive or illuminating. In fact, it implies a sense of separateness from other “isms,” when in fact, feminism is inextricably related to questions of race, class, age, sexual orientation, and a myriad of other factors.

Which brings me to my next point: as Katy talked about in her “Feminism Is Not an Island" blog, the “women’s movement” has a history of neglecting those it purportedly seeks to include. Early suffragists, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, thought that their goals were being distorted by those of the abolitionists, and believed that winning the vote for white women took precedence over basic human rights for all women, thus effectively removing the support of black women, who certainly coveted the right to vote, but were otherwise occupied escaping human bondage. The “feminism” of the 1950s and ‘60s, as exemplified by Betty Friedan’s The Feminist Mystique, sought to open up the world of work to the masses of American women so long confined within the domestic sphere, a goal which was irrelevant, if not offensive, to many women of color, and to poor white women, for whom work was not an option, but a mandate; some may have dreamed of being able to stay at home with their children, but for these women, it was not an economic reality. When African American women in the Civil Rights movement became disillusioned with their treatment in organizations fighting to end the more obvious manifestations of racism in the Deep South—Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader Stokely Carmichael’s infamous joke, “The position of women in SNCC is prone,” comes to mind—they found a white women’s movement that was, by and large, unwilling to integrate, or to attempt to understand, the intersection of sexism and racism.

Since women who possess the faculties and resources to fight for equality (within the preexisting male-centric political model) have been socio-economically estranged from their sisters, by both internal and external forces, the “feminism” has become fractionalized in the public eye. We have all of these divisions: heterosexuals versus lesbians; career mothers versus stay-at-home moms; women of color versus women of white privilege; high school dropouts versus the academic elite. While these women do have differences that need to be acknowledged, I believe that they are able to coexist under the same umbrella. Their isolation is one of many inevitable negative results of a system that has historically underrepresented the voices of women. Those who perform on the socially accepted stage of activism and political efficacy have been able to do so, for the most part, because they have had the advantageous white, upper-middle class wind at their backs. Women’s fertility increases as economic status decreases; the poorest citizens are less likely to be educated about and utilize contraceptives; and school systems in low-income areas often lack the resources necessary to present students with the means to access further education. It is unfortunate that women with families, especially when single, are forced to divide their time between work that pays the bills and the unpaid work of housekeeping, as caretakers, laundresses, cooks, chauffeurs, and consumers. Because of this divide, childfree women are disproportionately influential on the stage of political activism. These inequalities have caused a bias in popular conceptions of the women’s movement by silencing the stories of those women who function somewhere beneath the radar of the media’s consequentially skewed vision of what a feminist is.

This is all changing, slowly, but we’ve still got a long way to go. YWTF’s choice to avoid the word “feminism” makes a lot of sense to me: feminism has too many ties to its sordid history of exclusivity and stodginess. We’re starting something fresh here, and we want to make the voices of all younger women heard, not just a select few.

Roller Derby: Uniting Younger Women, One Bout at a Time

2006-10-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

You've probably noticed a recent resurgence in the great American contact sport of Roller Derby. Spurred on by the now-cancelled A&E reality TV show "Rollergirls," small all-female DIY leagues have been popping up like wildflowers in countless metropolitan areas across the nation, drawing spectators by the thousands. The game is simple (kind of): two teams of five "bout" by trying to lap each other in the rink. It gets a lot more complicated once you get into the extended rules, but basically you have three players, or “blockers,” who make up the “pack”; a “pivot” who leads the way and sets the speed; and a “jammer,” whose responsibility it is to make her way through the opposing team’s without getting sidelined. The rules are subject to change depending on the league, but this is the general template. There’s no elbowing or hitting allowed, but pretty much anything else is fair game, with body blocking being the coup de grace of choice. Spectators sit on the floor around the track, and shriek with glee as skaters careen into the crowd, as they so often do.

Roller derby has a kitschy aesthetic, attracts a wide array of women, and has a punk attitude. Each team’s “girls” wear bright, crazy outfits—one team in New York wears orange prison mini-dresses—and have names like Julie Unrulie and Carrie Shitkicker. In any one league, you’ll be sure to find students, teachers, mothers, lawyers, and activists. They don’t exactly fit preconceived notions of female athleticism: women, sometimes tattooed and pierced, of all shapes and sizes fill the rink, because each body type serves a purpose. There is absolutely no emphasis on weight-loss. The idea is simply this: to kick ass. Derby girls learn an impressive variety of skating maneuvers, such as backwards skating and hip-checks, all in an effort to block other teams and, at all costs, to stay on their skates, and they’re not afraid to bleed.

These women are incredibly dedicated. Ask any derby girl what the sport means to her, and she’ll tell you quite frankly that it’s her life. Roller derby gives girls who’ve always wanted to join a team sport, but have been intimidated for whatever reason, a space to play, and play hard. And despite the frequent scrape-ups and occasional broken bones, they wear their bruises like badges of honor. But don’t let the competitive attitude scare you: if you’re on the team, you’re family. Often, new girls haven’t laced up a pair of skates since middle school, and leagues usually appoint welcoming committees to make sure that each newbie is paired up with a veteran derby girl who will give them rides to practice, walk them through the preliminary moves, and introduce them to other teammates.

The spirit of community is amazing, and whatever happens in the rink, stays in the rink, as teams will often go out for drinks together after bouts or practices, and friendships are easily forged. Of course there are always going to be disagreements, but leagues are extremely democratic, and usually team-owned. And best of all, there’s no ideology pitch: derby girls aren’t getting someone else’s notions of feminism shoved down their throats. Instead, they are invited to experience for themselves the thrills of excelling at a hobby—competition, friendship, and time devoted only to themselves.

Young women all around the country have created these spaces for themselves, and that’s the beauty of the sport: it’s self-defined. Some have criticized roller derby as relying too heavily on shtick or sex appeal, but for many participants highlighting their sex appeal or kitschy fun adds to the value in the sport. Derby girls may be embracing their femininity in the form of funky (and often skimpy) outfits, but they are undeniably strong and fierce, evoking Kali on wheels. This duality is, to me, evidence of how far we’ve come: why shouldn’t our sexuality and our strength be displayed simultaneously? The glory of the third wave is this reconciliation of the restricting contradictions which have been placed upon us, as women, with the joys of being female. If society has told us that our bodies should be static objects, to be looked upon, talked about, and defined by the objective male gaze, but never directly self-engaged, let’s challenge that by making ourselves as active as possible—and there are few things more aggressive than a full-on body-check. If society says that revealing clothing makes for an easy target by stating that a woman who dresses provocatively deserves to be sexually harassed or objectified, let’s turn that double-standard on its head by putting the bodies that wear them into motion. As my friend Julie, a Richmond Rollergirl, said on the subject,“I think that it’s so true—and we’ve seen this happen again and again—what Eleanor Roosevelt said about, ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ We’re not going to sit there and take it…we’re going to challenge it and we’re going to make our own rules as we see fit.” As she said, we’re making it our own, recreating it, for our own benefit. And if, in doing this, we giving younger women a place to connect, and develop their minds and bodies, then so much the better!

When I spoke with some roller girls from Richmond, Virginia, they relayed some amazing stories about the amazing transformations that new team members had undergone, not only because of the community provided, but because these women were, for the first time in their lives, encouraged to really blossom and devote themselves to something other than work, family, or school; an opportunity that many, unfortunately, never receive. Not only can roller derby serve as an outlet for stress and as a place to form new bonds with other women, but one girl I spoke with, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the sport even served as an exit ramp to one of her teammates’ abusive relationship; once she had stepped outside of her isolation, she was able to gain the focus and clarity to move on with her life.

Roller derby is only one of many positive recreational outlets available to young women today. We should all get active in our communities—there are so many different ways to involve ourselves and each other! If you’d like more information about roller derby, check out some of these links:

Women’s Flat Track Derby Association
A&E’s Rollergirls
Gotham Girls Roller Derby, NYC
River City Rollergirls, Richmond
DC Rollergirls
Charm City Rollergirls, Baltimore

No Girl Left Behind

2006-10-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

About three years ago, the rise in Afghani children’s education (of both sexes) was used as an example of the U.S. victory over the Taliban regime. U.S. officials boasted that, since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, children’s education was soaring – and they were right. Then.

Now, it’s a different story, especially for Aghani girls. The Taliban insurgency has become even more threatening, and the backlash against U.S. occupation tears apart whole provinces. A recent article in the Washington Post, “Afghan Girls, Back in the Shadows” asserts that “In the southern province of Kandahar, all schools are now closed in five districts. Attackers have thrown hand grenades through school windows and threatened to throw acid on girls who attend school.” The list of tragedies goes on, and too much of that violence is directed at schools, particularly those who educate girls.

And yet, the information about the progress of Afghani girls and women is sparse. When the New Faces, More Voices interns were researching for our lobbying day, many of us reported that we had found little to no research pertaining to Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s Afghan Women Empowerment Act. It’s understandable that it would be difficult to find Afghani research on the subject, but what about the U.S.? Why aren’t these horrible facts being shoved in the faces of complacent policy-makers? Why are we still pretending that the U.S. succeeded in Afghanistan when the insurgent backlash is almost worse than the original Taliban regime?

The answer is, we don’t want to know. It’s better if we pretend that Afghani girls and women are fine, that the literacy rate isn’t in the single digits, that the home schools for girls aren’t being bombed, and that the female teachers aren’t being gunned down by hired thugs. But all that we achieve – as women, people, a nation – by ignoring the Afghanis’ suffering is a false peace of mind and hardened hearts. We need to act.

Now, I’m not trying to say that we should rush into Afghanistan as Western saviors to the “helpless” Afghani women and girls. (That kind of attitude has gotten the U.S. into enough trouble.) The Afghani home schools for girls are proof that these women can help themselves. When it comes down to it, however, their resources are scarce. Afghani teacher Mahmad Agul admits, "We lack everything here -- paved roads, electrical power, deep wells, clinics. But this school was our highest priority."

Hence, the always burning and hard to answer question: What can we do? Well, for one, you can write your representatives in Congress, urging them to co-sponsor the Afghan Women Empowerment Act (SR 2392 in the Senate and HR 5185 in the House). This act will allocate millions of dollars to the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and, most importantly, to Afghan women-led nonprofit organizations. The Feminist Majority Foundation even has a page where you can send an email to your representative directly.

Other than that, I have to admit, I don’t know. I’d be more than happy to hear suggestions from you all. But I do know that just having the knowledge of the situation, and not ignoring the Afghani women and girls, is a step in the direction of real peace.

Leadership Training Institute, Pt. II

2006-10-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

As it turned out, all of my event-planning worries were unfounded. The event went off without any (major) hitches, and we were all quite satisfied with the way things turned out!

First on the agenda was a meet-up at Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant in Dupont Circle specializing in huge family-style dishes, which I thought was especially appropriate since many of our leaders had never met before, and we wanted to foster a communal environment. I arrived late from putting together some last-minute packets to find a huge table of young women hunched over drinks, joking about the “fill-in-the-blank” ice-breaker worksheets in front of them. This was my first glance at YWTF, really, outside of my office, and I was immediately struck by the diversity of the leaders. Once we had all finished with the exercise, which included details and anecdotes about our backgrounds, personalities, and aspirations, each woman read hers out loud; much laughter inevitably ensued. Everybody was so engrossed in completing the activity that it took a good forty minutes before anyone even looked at the menu! This casual atmosphere really lent itself to the kind of conversation and acquaintance-making that is not as easily breeched in a strictly professional setting. All sections of the table were lit up in discussion—whether directly YWTF-related, political, or fun—as we discovered what we had in common with each other. After we had all consumed enough delicious Italian goodies to sedate a small army, food coma set in on top of travel fatigue, and people split up between going to the hostel and out for more drinks.

The next morning, we were fortunate enough to have Executive Director of the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) Terry O’Neill as our first speaker. Terry’s topic was Fundraising and Event Planning, with a focus on the upcoming Women’s Equality Summit (also known as WESCAD). Since NCWO and YWTF would be working on this together, we thought this would be a great time to get a dialogue going about how we wanted to put the YWTF stamp on this monumental event. WESCAD is going to be divided into two days: March 26, which will be issue-oriented; and March 27, which will be a lobby day. To begin, Terry conducted a brief overview of possible resources to reach out to for funding. Individual donors—members and non-members alike—should always be considered important to an organization’s base. The majority of donations, however, are generally going to come from corporations. We discussed ways to engage corporations—which are often wary of donating to charity without a guarantee of profit for shareholders—in the event, such as charging for booths, or matching funds. This latter option is especially accessible to those of us who have friends or associates working at a corporation; apparently, it’s very easy to have your organization’s name added to the list. We talked about some companies that would be likely to want to match funds with YWTF. Then, we brainstormed some potential ideas for the workshops, awardees, etc., that would comprise the first, issue-oriented, day of the WESCAD. For example, for a topic like body image, we would want to call companies who had put some time into generating a female-positive public image, such as a women’s magazine or a beauty-product corporation like Dove. Stefanie, our YWTF-NYC chapter leader, pointed out that, instead of focusing on the same old hum-drum topics which seem to be common at these kinds of events, we should really try and make the workshops as practical and constructive as possible, lest we engage ourselves in preaching to the choir, as it were, by explaining issues to women leaders who are already well-versed in the intricacies of policy. Stef suggested using the workshop time to educate participants on such useful skills as making a fact-sheet, conducting public education and outreach, and running media campaigns. This segment was really interesting and informative, I’m sure, for all who were involved, and gave us a much-needed platform to expand upon our plans for the WESCAD, which is only a few short months away!

Next we had Pat Reuss, Senior Policy Analyst over at NOW. Pat is feisty and extremely hilarious; she is also the author of Title IX, was a key player in the drafting of the Violence Against Women’s Act, and is considered a foremother of the second wave feminist movement. We knew we were in for a treat. When she showed up she asked us, “What was I supposed to talk about again? I totally forgot,” at which point I officially deigned her a woman after my own heart. You wouldn’t have guessed it, however, as she took the conference room with the ease of a pro. Her talk, on consciousness-raising practices and new innovations, was very well-informed, as she filled us in on tips for connecting other women without being exclusivist or didactic and walking the thin line between consciousness raising and education. Though she didn’t offer a definitive definition for “consciousness-raising,” she said it was integral to organizing and is essentially what happens when two people connect with one another, overcome their differences, and share commonalities. It happens best when it is not planned—over coffee, while planning an action, or in reaching out to strategic partners. Consciousness-raising is a powerful tool for building a movement that includes allies and influences other for change. According to Pat (and I agree!) this understanding of consciousness-raising (finding commonalities, recognizing privilege, and building deep connections) is what makes organizing sustainable, meaningful, and powerful. She was, of course, drawing from a very extensive catalogue of experience, as she has been helping to create safe spaces for women for the past twenty-six years of her impressive career!

Unfortunately, I missed the end of her session, as I had to run across town to pick up our lunch. We feasted on Chinese food from City Lights and the most amazing chocolate-covered strawberries I have ever tasted, donated from the infamous (and deservedly so) Cakelove Bakery on U St. Next, it was on to the resource-sharing roundtable, which was, I thought, the most integral part of the retreat. In this roundtable, chapter leaders discussed what has and hasn’t worked for them in the past, and ultimately honed our national foci for the upcoming year.

Our leaders had tons of inspiring stories to share about their chapters’ various successes! Natalie Wasmer told us about the Voting Vixen initiative, which seeks to get younger women in the area to register and vote, that our Miami chapter is putting together. Natalie said that the techniques they’ve been using to really target that younger audience—such as creating a sleek, trendy-looking mini-zine, organizing pub crawls, and setting up events in small local record stores—worked so well that lots of people not only wanted to participate, but also wanted to help with the initiative! Brie Blumenreich, of the DC chapter, talked about the AIDS awareness event she put on last month. Aimed at building community, and especially important in a city with frighteningly high rates of young women battling HIV, it was a brown-bag lunch in the park with free AIDS testing, speakers, and goodie bags. Brie said that these kinds of “padded topics” are great for getting people interested and involved in what the chapter is doing. Krista Thomas shared the Chicago chapter’s experience of hosting a screening and panel discussion of the landmark film “I had an abortion.” YWTF-Chicago’s members were pleasantly surprised by the large turnout which could only be explained by the power of personal networking via listservs and word of mouth. New York City’s Stefanie Lopez-Boy also spearheaded a voting initiative, in which NYC members put together a voter’s guide which, instead of focusing on candidates’ platforms and issues, highlighted exactly the responsibilities of each local office, and related this directly to how it might affect younger women. YWTF-NYC did registration outreach from booths in the street to targeted calling. Alison Stein, YWTF board chair, founder, and active member of the Philadelphia chapter, told us about a training session the Philly chapter put on to educate younger women about running for local office. The location, at a community college, turned out to be a crucial benefit, drawing a large and diverse crowd and engaging women who had not previously heard of YWTF. These sessions were followed by happy hours, which further connected the women involved and brought even more into the community! Through these examples, it is magnificently, wonderfully, amazingly clear just how many different ways there are to execute YWTF’s missions and goals. For such a young organization, we have already enacted so much change!

In the next part of the resource-sharing roundtable, we worked on elaborating our national focus for the year. Every year YWTF takes on one focus that all of the chapters commit to organizing around. The focus is decided each year at the retreat so that chapters can weigh in on what that focus should be. Last year the focus was networking. This year we narrowed it down to the following categories: women in the media; women in leadership; civic engagement (and specifically the Equal Rights Amendment); creating intergenerational dialogue; mapping younger women; and working against the glass ceiling, whose familiar “thump” women often don’t encounter until their late twenties or thirties. There was extensive discussion about the Mapping focus. It was also the most interesting of these to me. I wondered: where are all the younger women? What are their lives like? This is a huge project, but it could definitely be accomplished.

In terms of what worked and didn’t work, we decided to reactivate the short-lived “buddy system,” except this time, with the suggestion of Natasha Chatilo from Boston, we would pair more experienced chapters, like New York City, with our fledgling chapters, like Boston. We reviewed strategies to draw bigger crowds at meetings (do them later in the evening i.e., after 6:30 or 7:00pm, include educational as well as social and recreational activities); we talked about creating a boiler plate for common language our chapters could draw upon; we got into chapter leadership accountability, and what to do if removal becomes a necessity; we talked about how to create bylaws for each individual chapter.

Next, the YWTF coordinating board gave reports on their latest work on diversity, fundraising, and groundwork; among some of the more remarkable items discussed were the creation of separate chapter bank accounts, instead of passing all funds through the national office, and the drafting of our first ever YWTF Member Survey, as we often know little more about our members at the national level than their email addresses, and would like to change this as soon as possible.

Our next speaker was Kate Geyer, who is the Legislative Director to Maryland Delegate Anne R. Kaiser. Kate was, herself, a younger woman, who came in looking every bit the D.C. professional and proceeded to tackle most of the myths, and real problems, facing younger women getting involved in local politics. The first thing Kate told us is that we can’t be afraid to “tell the truth to power.” It is a well-known fact that most Americans feel disillusioned with their government—to them it is inaccessible, far away, even corrupt—but don’t know how to directly enact change. We started with a brainstorm on formal versus informal politics, and found out that there’s actually not much of a divide between the two; the largest gap is between the paid work of formal politics and the unpaid work of informal advocacy. But the question remained: how do we bridge that gap? For one, Kate said, we need to have very specific goals. There is a big difference between complaining and implementing change, and in order to accurately represent your population, you need to know the history of your issue and what’s already been done so you’re not backtracking. In order to do this, you need to access your resources: start at the bottom (Google, Wikipedia, university libraries) and work your way up (legislative and judicial records, community organizations, join a meeting with a Congressperson). After you’ve researched your case inside and out, you should know your “benchmarkers”: it’s rare that you’re going to get complete, uncompromising support, so you need to be aware of your limits. What’s good enough for you? Be flexible and ready to compromise, and to offer viable alternatives, but don’t be too quick to back down. If you don’t know an answer, just say “We’ll get right back to you on that,” instead of looking flustered and stammering for a response. Work your pitch down to ten seconds, because the people you’ll be pitching it to will be very busy! Most importantly, you have to be ready to reframe your issue using language that will appeal to the opposition; bipartisan support is integral to all types of coalition building. Kate was really inspiring to me, and gave us the kind of practical, no-nonsense advice that we needed.

Juanita Boyd Hardy was up next. She came prepared with a very detailed slideshow entitled “Leveraging 3 P’s for Effective Public Speaking,” and brought her husband along to film the presentation! Juanita has traveled all over the world, training young executives for IBM in the art of public speaking; on top of this, she has her own consulting company, Tiger-I, so she was really just a wealth of knowledge on the topic. Some of the participants were seasoned public speakers, and some, like me, turn red as a beet whenever more than a few pairs of eyes are turned towards them; for this reason, her opening quote, “The brain starts working the moment you’re born and never stops until you get up to speak in public,” really hit home for me. She proceeded to shed light upon the “three P’s” of public speaking: Preparation, Perspective, and Presence, bringing up many tricks of the trade along the way. Perhaps the most constructive exercise was one in which she had us split into teams and get our YWTF pitch down to one minute in what Juanita dubbed, “The Elevator Pitch.” I know this was really useful for me, because sometimes when I’m trying to explain what YWTF does, I end up sounding quite long-winded and wishy-washy. Now, I know how to articulate our missions in a concise, to-the-point manner.

By this time, it was getting late, so we all headed out to the Community House Party. YWTF-DC board member Kate Farrar was generous enough to open her beautiful home to us, and those of us who lived in the area each brought something to the potluck. This was a chance to really unwind and get to know each other better. Several courses and a few bottles of wine later, we were sitting on the floor gabbing about everything from Tupac to socioeconomic self-identification. We were all tired, though, and the last of us left Kate’s apartment at about eleven-thirty for the comfort of our bunk beds back at the hostel.

The next morning, Fran Strauss, Director of Women’s Health and Health Care Plans from Adeza, came to deliver a presentation called “Pregnancy, Preterm Birth and Infertility: Current Trends and Practices.” Fran and I had an opportunity to chat for a while before the session actually began, and I found her to be really sweet and genuinely interested in helping younger women. She brought along t-shirts and glue sticks to add to the beautiful tote bags donated by Lifetime. She educated us about “fetal fibronectin testing,” a new development which allows expectant mothers to predict the likelihood of a premature birth. I have given lots of thought to birthing in general and the obstetrics industry in particular, but had never before thought about the huge numbers of families dealing with the complexities of premature birth, let alone the lack of information offered by doctors during the pregnancy. FFN testing, as it’s called, is especially efficient because it is a biochemical indicator, and not biophysical, like assessments of contractions and changes in cervical length which doctors have traditionally applied. Certain states, such as Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, are low Medicaid reimbursement states who have legislation making access to FFN testing harder for poorer women. I know that many of the retreat participants were significantly moved by this presentation, and I’m sure that we’ll see action on this subject in quite a few of the chapters in upcoming months.

Our final speaker was author and columnist Amy Richards, perhaps best known for her two tomes of local organizing: Grassroots: A Guide for Feminist Activism and Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future. Amy was fresh, down-to-earth, funny, and anything but didactic. She talked mostly about ways to integrate your activism with the rest of your life, and showed us ways to engage and inspire others. This is what YWTF is based on, so Amy’s session was really important and just as helpful. She gave us a lot of time, so we really got a chance to bounce some of our own ideas off of her, ranging from getting attendance up at meetings, to issues with philanthropy, to educating younger women on voter initiatives. The thing Amy said that stuck with me the most was that you have to reframe your opponents’ issues, instead of working within the frame that they provide. She said that you have to find the one thing they haven’t focused on yet, and hone in on that. While YWTF doesn’t really have any direct opponents per se, it’s good to know how to present your argument to persuade other women who might be hesitant about joining up.

In closing, Deva and I were so tremendously pleased with the way the Leadership Training Institute turned out. I want to thank all of the chapter leaders and representatives who gave their weekends to the cause—that’s no small feat, and we really appreciate it. And, of course, thanks to all of the amazing speakers who came out and donated their time and wisdom to us; obviously, organizations like YWTF would not be able to exist without the inspiration these people provide us. Special thanks go out to Cakelove, Lifetime, and Adeza for the donations; and thanks to Deva for all the hard work she put in to make this a success! There is no doubt in my mind that each and every person involved in the retreat left more informed and more excited about the future of YWTF!

Planning the LTI

2006-10-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

Being a women's studies major, I often heard a lot about non-profits as an alternative (or, for some, as a supplement) to a career in academia. I never had time for an internship during my four years as an undergrad, so when I graduated in May, I took the summer off then headed up to D.C. to see what kind of a job I could land. When Deva Kyle, YWTF's national Project Director, hired me as the new Project Intern, visions of the mythical world of non-profits danced through my head. I saw myself looking all professional, commuting to an office downtown full of eager young up-and-comers and eccentric movement veterans, where I would sit at a desk filing papers, completing various tasks too monotonous for anyone on the payroll to stoop to. I had no idea.

Of course, the internship turned out to be nothing like this. The national YWTF office is a space shared with the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) and the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), the umbrella organization housing YWTF, NAPAWF, and about two hundred other non-profits. No one but me keeps regular office hours at YWTF--they all have nine-to-fives, like Deva, who works as a pension lawyer, and run YWTF when they're not working at their main job. This meant I'd be doing a lot more work than I had originally expected. At first, this worried me: I was to be all alone, fielding the myriad of questions asked of a national organization? Within the first week, I received the daunting work plan for the national Leadership Training Institute, and by week two, there were hundreds of emails in my inbox! I felt like the biggest novice, but luckily, I ended up not being as alone as I thought: I had the help of Deva, Ilma and Terry from NCWO, the two previous interns, Katy and Dara, and a big computer file on previous YWTF activity. So, I got to work.

The Leadership Training Institute, or LTI, is a sort of chapter leaders' retreat, wherein the directors, or their substitutes, and board members converge in our nation's capital for a weekend of roundtables, speakers, and dinners. The goal, obviously, is to better equip the leaders of YWTF to improve upon their chapters, but there's a second goal which is equally important: camaraderie. It's crucial for the members of an organization to be close, or at least to be able to put a name to a face, in order to enable the kind of networking and assistance that would best sustain growth. Even though the LTI only lasts three days, it takes a ton of work to execute. The interns before me researched and found speakers, a conference room, booked the hostel, compiled most of the in-city transportation information, and solicited donations to feed our guests. I picked up where they left off. Event planning requires confirming and re-confirming, checking, double-checking, and following up again. As a first-time planner, you are consumed by this intense fear that you're forgetting about some crucial element and the whole thing is just going to fall through at any moment. It can definitely be a little nerve-wrecking, but I'm hoping that my fears will prove unfounded and I'll be fulfilled by the success of the event.

I got in touch with all the chapters to find out who was coming and who wasn't, when they'd be arriving, when they'd be leaving, how they'd be getting here. This alone was a weeks-long process, as a few of the chapters didn't end up finding a representative who was able to fly out. I reconfirmed with the speakers and scrambled to fill in the blanks when some declined. I reconfigured the schedule accordingly and sent copies to everyone. I checked back with the places who had confirmed donations a month ago, and one of them ended up not being able to contribute, but didn't tell us until the Monday before the conference, much too late to find another donor. I called the board members to see which of them was planning on attending. I called Lifetime, who donated goodie bags for our guests. I gathered the speakers' bios, compiled handouts, transportation information, and a list of contacts for the out-of-towners, and made lots of copies. Looking back on this list, it doesn't seem like that much work, but belive me, it was.

Tomorrow is the first day of the retreat. Deva and I will run around pulling last minute strings, making sure everything runs smoothly as planned, picking up supplies, and setting up the conference room. At five o'clock, we're all meeting at Teaism for dinner, drinks, and discussion. I'm excited to meet all of these women I've been communicating with for the past month, and I'm hoping to learn a lot more about the non-profit sector in discovering the differences and similarities between the chapters. At any rate, this experience is invaluable and I'm sure I'll look back and laugh at my initial trepidation.

Media Skirts Responsibility to Women

2006-09-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

This morning, while riding the orange line to work, the following particularly eloquent letter to the editor of the Washington City Paper from Deb Callahan, of Bethesda, Md., caught my eye:

City Paper needs an attitude adjustment regarding women elected officials. Your article “Blighted Cropp” (9/8) soundly insulted virtually every female politician cited based on a perceived physical imperfection. Your lead paragraph twice referred to Cropp’s weight, your highlighted sidebar referenced Councilman Kathy Patterson’s perceived lack (and supposed need?) of Botox treatments, and in perhaps the most bizarre slam you refer to Nancy Pelosi as “116 years old but looks like she could be Patterson’s daughter.” The men, meanwhile, are held to some different kind of standard. You find Harold Ford “hot”? Come on, nice looking, but hot? Get a grip. This is an election, not Project Runway.

As soon as I got into the office, I looked up the article in the City Paper’s archives and sure enough, the second line in the cover story on the D.C. mayoral campaign read: “How much does mayoral contender Linda Cropp weigh these days? Has she shed a pound or two this summer?” And then the author adds insult to injury by making the ludicrous claim that “such questions…actually go to the heart of the Sept. 12 Democratic mayoral primary.”

I’m sorry, but…what?

Since when do we choose to elect (or not elect) public officials on the basis of body weight? Why should the American public care about the appearances of our decision-makers and policy-changers? Shouldn’t the general consensus be that as long as they look somewhat put-together and maybe, oh, I don’t know, do their job right, we don’t have a problem? Yeah, sure…except when the figure in question happens to be a woman.

We all know that the professional world is often—okay, usually—skewed in favor of men. Their work has, after all, been consistently valued more than the work of women; their very presence in the office is never assumed to be distracting to the other employees; they don’t generally require time off for gestation and lactation; and, since they are rarely considered primary caregivers by their employers, their schedules are not perceived as being tethered to the demands of childcare. So when a woman rises to the top of her field, either by remaining childless or through the cooperation of a particularly helpful partner, why can’t we hold her, as a professional, to the same standards of attire as a man?

In fact, we see this scenario replay itself ad nauseam every time a woman steps into any public arena which is not exclusively relegated to the world of fashion, children, the home, or entertainment—especially politics and news journalism, those good-ol’-boy standbys. Instead of being presented on the basis of merit and a lifetime of achievement, she is swiftly taken down a few notches, reminded of her second-class status by a media which inevitably either applauds or disapproves of her choice in wardrobe, hairstyle, relationship history, children, or lack thereof. And it doesn’t stop with her entrance into the spotlight; rather, no matter how well she performs at her job, she will be harangued throughout her career, asked questions no interviewer would dare utter to a man with half of her clout. While most of the negative effects of such media harassment are obvious, there is one which is not quite so blatant: when a female figure’s press is dominated by comments about her inherent femaleness, the public knows less about her platforms or career goals than it would were she a man, thus significantly reducing her chance of success.

This matter was first brought to my attention a few years ago, when one of my favorite college professors complained to our class about the undue attention her personal style had garnered amongst her mostly male colleagues. I thought she always looked the part of a professional, but apparently others disagreed. If she wore a skirt, for example, someone was sure to tell her that she looked really nice (no one commented when she wore slacks). Once she wore a pair of fine-waled fishnets, which she thought looked perfectly modest, and her department head snidely commented, “I didn’t know it was Halloween already!” None of my male professors’ wardrobes was up for public review; in fact, were I to compliment, say, the way a male professors’ facial hair was groomed on a particular day, I am quite sure I would have received the kind of withering stare reserved for only the most insolent of students. The difference is clear: when drawing attention to personal appearance, and hence to the body itself, a man need not feel violated, whereas a woman often feels threatened and sexualized in the same situation. In researching this topic, I found more articles criticizing women for dressing too sexy in the workplace than ones which admonished male employees for making it an issue to begin with. This tactic is called victim-blaming, and is among the more tiresome of sexist defenses.

Case in point: Katie Couric made headlines as part of her historic emergence as the first female network anchor to go solo. But it wasn’t so much the fact that the credits listed her as managing editor, or the way she reformatted CBS’s Evening News structure, that our attention was drawn to. Instead, we heard the collective gasp of critics across the country—“A white blazer after Labor Day? What was she thinking?” Never mind that, were we to compile the heinous hairpieces of America’s male anchors, we’d have standing before us a veritable mountain range; these guys are not exactly clad in Armani. It’s completely acceptable for a man to commit a fashion faux-pas, but as Judy Woodruff, erstwhile CNN anchor, was quoted in the Washington Post ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/11/AR2006091101303.html) on the subject of Couric’s debut, “You know you will be judged by your appearance if you’re a woman…if you don’t like to worry about hair and makeup and clothes, you should go into radio or print.”

At least she’s in good company: Couric can now join the scads of “media tarts” (a title coined by Australian author Julia Baird, in her book of the same title). We’ve all witnessed attacks on the physical appearances of Condoleezza Rice, Geraldine Ferraro, Elizabeth Dole, Hillary Clinton, and Harriet Miers. Who could forget the infamously unbearable USA Today interview in which, after a heated discussion regarding conditions at Abu Ghraib, Barbara Slavin pressed Condoleezza Rice to reveal, of all things, the truth behind rumors of her size six dress size, or the obscene amount of press—dominatrix jokes being the most common—Rice received when she wore those black stiletto boots. For the ultimate experience in this kind of idiocy, check out http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/, where a blogger known as “Princess Sparkle Pony” has so kindly provided a color-coded “Condoleezza Hairdo Alert System,” along with a photo-documented play-by-play of Harriet Miers’s runny eyeliner and wispy bangs. Should it come as a surprise that, when I looked at Princess Sparkle Pony’s profile, the blogger turned out to be a forty-one year old man?

No wonder women make up such a small percentage (22.5 percent at last count) of national leadership! Their media coverage is filtered through the gender stereotypes of producers, editors, reporters, bloggers, and eventually, by the voters themselves, through a tendency to discuss female candidates in relation to their chances of winning and “less devoted to issues and more likely to emphasize their possession of typical feminine traits and their strengths in typical female policy areas,” according to Jessica Aubin’s recent study on media coverage of women candidates (White House Studies, Fall 2005). Since most voters rely on traditional media outlets, this “style over substance” treatment has a predictably negative effect at the polls, as voters are generally more well-informed about male candidates’ platforms.

So, the next time you see a newspaper or magazine wasting valuable print space critiquing the looks of a female politician (or for that matter any other woman in the public), follow Deb Callahan’s lead and write a letter to the editor. You never know how many critical eyes your letter will affect, and the publication will certainly sit up and take notice of the fact that they are offending at least half of their readers with all of that nonsense.

10 MORE Things You Can Do to Better the Lives of Younger Women!

2006-09-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

(1) Speak Up! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been the only one advocating for women’s issues in my college classes, only to learn later that there are other young women who feel the same way but who didn’t want to say anything. I understand that it can be daunting to speak your mind, especially in the face of opposition, but please, for the sake of all women, say something! For example, if someone in class says that children of working mothers are dysfunctional and violent, engage them in a discussion about whether that’s factual, or a social construct, and why they think it. Don’t be abrasive, but don’t be afraid to debate either. We need to speak up for ourselves, for each other, for women of color, for all women. When we stay silent, we stay complacent.

(2) Be an Ally to Women of Color. This tip is stolen straight from books like White Privilege: Readings on the Other Side of Racism by Paula Rothenberg, which offer being an ally as one way to end racism. If you are a woman of color, be an ally by advocating for yourself and your fellow women; if you’re not, stand up for women of color and have their back. This goes along with the electronic voice on the Metro that says, “if you see something, say something.” So if you see that the black woman ahead of you gets asked for two IDs when using her credit card, offer to give 2 IDs yourself – simple actions like this (along with larger ones) are the ways that we can strip racism of the significant hold it has on our lives.

(3) One Word: 401K. One of the best things you can do for younger women is to tell them to save money for retirement. It may seem silly now, in our 20’s and 30’s, to be anticipating our 70’s and 80’s, but when that day inevitably comes, you’ll want to have a nice nest egg on which to depend. We women are too often neglected when it comes to financial advice, but putting away for retirement is a great source of empowerment for younger women. It means that we’ll have the financial security that men already have, which is ultimately worth more than that recent impulse buy.

(4) Keep an Eye Out. What I mean by this is, watch your friends and colleagues for signs of things that happen to women every day: eating problems, emotionally and physically abusive relationships, sexual harassment, etc. Obviously, I don’t mean for you to stalk younger women and interrogate them on their personal lives. But be aware that, all too often, younger women experience these kinds of issues, and if you notice it happening, try to bring it up in a way that is supportive and not condemning. Women tend to feel trapped into eating problems and dysfunctional relationships, and too much pushing will only make them retreat into themselves further. But be there for them, and be ready to talk about it, and one day they just might open up and ask for help. I’ve noticed that people tend to avoid these uncomfortable situations indefinitely, but when that happens, younger women lose.

(5) Support Woman-Friendly Political Candidates. Make sure that, when you vote (which I’m sure all of you do), you read up on all of the candidates (a couple helpful sites are http://thomas.loc.gov and http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm). The most important thing you can probably read about each person is her/his voting history. Research like this will show you what the candidates are really interested in, as opposed to what they say to get elected; also, don’t be afraid to see candidates speak and ask them specific questions. If they’re going to represent you, then they better have younger women in mind!

(6) Give Your Fellow Younger Women a Hand Up. If men have the “old boys’ club” we should certainly have a similar (if more inclusive and less disgusting) club of our own. Basically, tell other younger women about job openings and opportunities that will help them reach their goals. And when you succeed, mentor younger women so that they can get to the top too. Working together - simple as that.

(7) Read the News. As depressing as the news can be (especially these days), we have to keep up-to-date on the world around us. For me, that means reading the Express newspaper (the mini version of the Washington Post) on the Metro and scanning the headlines of online versions of progressive newspapers. You can make it more fun by reading blogs to see what’s happening (and usually the blog will link the article itself). But however you get your news, get it – we younger women have to be on top of things if we’re going to be taken seriously, and if each of us stays at least semi-informed, then we’re that much closer.

(8) Smile. I think I can safely say that we all wish people were nicer – so why not start with ourselves? I tripped – pretty much fell – on the Metro escalator today, ending up in a rather embarrassing pose while holding onto the side for dear life. What made it better? The girl next to me who smiled at me when I laughed at myself. These are the kind of insignificant (yet significant) moments that make all of our lives better.

(9) Upkeep Your Relationships. I know we’re all getting through college, applying for jobs, having a tough time at work, trying to take care of kids (and ourselves), and/or are dealing with the many other things that our 20’s and 30’s bring. But, during all the chaos, don’t forget to communicate with your fellow women. Send your mom an e-card, call your sister, send your girlfriend flowers, listen to a friend vent about her job. Just keep your relationships solid, and never take the women in your life for granted.

(10) Defy Stereotypes. This one’s pretty easy, because just by living and being ourselves, we defy the stereotypes that exist about younger women. Play sports. Excel in math and science. Decide not to have children. Skip the make-up. Basically, experiment. Figure out who you are, what you want and make special efforts to try new things without being afraid that you’re not fitting into a certain mold, because after all, it’s the same mold we’re trying to break!

Ten Things You Can Do To Better the Lives of Younger Women

2006-08-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

Ten Things You Can Do to Better the Lives of Younger Women

1.) Know Your Body. Ask your doctor questions. Regularly check up on developments for health that are related to women. Know what contraception is best for your needs. And if something doesn’t feel right, change it. Learn as much information as you can about your body. Learn whether the HPV vaccine is right for you. But beyond all of that, learn to know what feels best for you body. Figure out what makes it happy and then go for it.

2) Study Hard. If you are a student, work hard while in school, if you’re out of school continue learning new skills. Financial stability is a necessity for younger women, and education is one way to ensure that happens. By being capable of earning your own income, you will feel less pressured to get married for financial reasons. You will have more options and independence if you know you can support yourself. You don’t need a degree or a certificate to dramatically increase your earning potential. The job markets that are growing the fastest are those require vocational training. However, economic circumstances can prevent women from reaching those goals and leaves doors closed. One way to ensure that younger women everywhere can reach financial stability is by working to increase financial aid opportunities as well as to decrease the debt load felt by many younger women who are committed to getting an education.

3) Play Hard. Women who play sports report higher levels of self esteem, are more likely to graduate from college, and receive numerous health benefits. Besides, you get the support you need from a team environment and you learn how to compete in a healthy and constructive way. If you’re still in school start now. Eighty percent of the women leaders in Fortune 500 companies played sports when they were younger. If you’re done with school play sports anyway, adult sport venues like the golf course, tennis course, and local YWCA are great ways to make professional contacts and network. Kick around a soccer ball, go kayaking, join your local hiking group. It might be the key to healthier leader-you!

4) Consume Wisely. Younger women are one of the most sought after consumer groups in the world. As a result, younger women can use this collective buying power as a serious tool for activism. Take for example the work of the young women who organized a “girlcott” against Abercrombie and Fitch for selling blatantly sexist t-shirts. They were able to change company policy. You can also use your buying power to positively support companies and organizations that also support younger women. Don’t shop at places like Target, Walmart, CVS or other pharmacies that don’t guarantee access to contraception. Don’t buy products that use images of younger women in demeaning or objectifying ways just to sell. Buy into something positive instead, like companies with ad campaigns that specifically support younger women instead of objectify them.

5). Stand Up for Younger Women! Sexual harassment can make any space feel unsafe. Walking to your job, at work, riding the subway, and just walking down the street can become harrowing and threatening experiences. When you are in the position of being harassed, it can be harder to speak up and say in a calm voice to “stop disrespecting women.” It can make all the difference in the world if a passerby offers support instead of just ignoring the situation. I was riding public transportation with some friends and when other passengers made comments about my body. Instead of saying something cutting and witty or even expletive-ridden, my friends pretended that the situation wasn’t occurring. Their silence made it that much harder for me to say anything. Worse, by ignoring the situation, they ignored my feelings of discomfort and fury at being called out for being a woman.

6) Abolish Slavery. Despite what you may have learned in history class, slavery is not simply a cruelty of the past. It is a living and brutal reality for the estimated 27 million people still held as slaves around the world. Many of these slaves are younger women who are trafficked and sold across country lines as young wives, housekeepers, or forced to work in brothels. Ending human trafficking and abolishing slavery once and for all is one of the most important steps you can take in order to help younger women across the Globe. Read the stories of ex-slaves, talk to your friends, go to a rally, send money, or commit yourself full time. Don’t stand by and do nothing.

7) Run for Office. The United States ranks 58th for representation of women around the world. It is not enough to simply try and influence the existing policy makers, who everyday make decisions that impact the lives of younger women. Running for office allows you to stay informed, stand up for what you believe in, and actually make a difference. More importantly, you would have the opportunity to create solutions instead of just reacting to the ideas that others have proposed. Support organizations that are working for change like The White House Project and Fair Fund.

8) Make Your Own Headlines. The standard view of the media is that women are collectively tall, tittylicious, skinny, opinionless, mostly white, and able to buy their way into happiness. These images of women are coupled with a news media that ignores the experience of women and provides a narrow world view. With less than 8% of the guests on Sunday morning news talk shows being female, it is necessary to make your headlines. Access to information is key. Creating new avenues for information to be disseminated? Priceless. So make your own blog, start a podcast, or get yourself booked on Sunday morning talk shows on your local cable channel. Heck, even start your own tv show. Making your voice heard by making your own headline.

9) Support LGBT Rights. Working towards full equal rights for LGBT people is necessary. Campaign to have “gender expression” added to the no-harassment clause in your workplace. Make your home a LGBT safe space. Treat your girlfriend well. Support candidates that support full marriage equality. Challenging LGBT discrimination means challenging some of society’s barriers about gender, especially about gender roles. Working to eliminate those barriers helps all women, regardless of whom they love.

10) Join YWTF! Okay, so this seems like a shameless plug, but it is true. In order to help younger women, you should support organizations that are dedicated to furthering the rights of younger women. Joining YWTF gives you the opportunity to join the women’s movement by working on issues that matter the most to you. It will give you the space, the resources, and the community to support those things that help younger women but haven’t been added to lists like these.

A Glance Into the Worlds of Non-Profits

2006-08-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

When I first came to YWTF as an intern, Deva had me write a short “bio” about myself. I remember writing that I was “interested in the balance between activism and feminist theory” and that I wanted to “further my experience in feminism” through the internship. After the past week, in which I did some career shadowing with several successful younger women, I have a new perspective on what exactly I mean when I say that there must be that balance between what we think is right and what we do to achieve it.

During each day’s career shadowing, I experienced a different type of activism on behalf of women. On Monday I visited the American Association of University Women (AAUW) which focuses on achieving equity between men and women in university settings and, though few would deny that this is an admirable goal, AAUW is one of the leading organizations that acts to fulfill it. Moreover, AAUW doesn’t have just one method of operating: their activism spans from research and lobbying to chapter activism and financially assisting women to gain higher education.

On Tuesday I shadowed at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), an organization that, some argue, is based more on theory and books than on action. Yet, from what I saw and read during my stay, IWPR is an invaluable resource for the gender activist community. The sheer volume of research and studies that IWPR circulates is astonishing, and the results that come from such publications even more amazing. Senators and House representatives have been known to change their stances on issues simply from reading IWPR’s “Status of Women in the United States” reports, not to mention the value of just collecting and disseminating information about women’s equality, or lack thereof. Sure, IWPR may not often lobby or do other more conventional political activism, but their research is the backbone of countless other groups’ platforms, on the Hill and elsewhere. IWPR’s collaboration with many women’s organizations, in fact, is yet more proof that women can and do work together.

Speaking of women working (excuse the awkward and cheesy transition), on Wednesday I visited Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment. (And yes, Women Work! usually has an exclamation mark after it, like Jeopardy! but so as not to confuse my computer or my readers, I’ll leave it off.) Women Work operates in two different and seemingly opposing ways. They not only lobby and advocate for political issues, but they also work at the ground level to offer job training and education to women. It was inspiring for me to see how Women Work can deal with both politicians and the women they help, without privileging one over the other (if anything, the women themselves are the ones privileged over the politicians!). Women Work advocates for women to get the vocational training they need to get better jobs and to succeed, and if that’s not activism, I don’t know what is!

Now, although I learned a lot in all of the places I career shadowed, Thursday was probably the most enlightening experience of the week. At the same time, it was the most unnerving, and it left me really considering what to do with my gender activism in the future. I career shadowed with the director of Digital Sisters. I would say that I shadowed at Digital Sisters, but in this case, there was no solid location, no air-conditioned business office – this was the kind of activism that really gets you in the field and allows you to see the effects of your efforts . We visited two places, both impoverished areas where Digital Sisters offers technical education so that people can get better jobs. Digital Sisters goes to the heart of the problem – to the housing projects and the homeless shelters – to help get people off the streets and off drugs and into successful careers.

As I looked upon settings so different from the office buildings to which I was accustomed, I wondered about my own activism: was I doing enough to really reach individual women? I had the right ideas, but how was I translating them into action? And as for my future, how could I reconcile my hoped-for career as a professor with being an activist for women (and men) in hardship?

I still don’t have the answers to these questions, but with time (and experience) I think I will. For now, I’ve at least experienced activism in a myriad of ways, from the halls of the House to community streets. Each women’s organization has a different method, maybe even a different demographic, but the mission is similar: to advocate for and better the lives of women.

Happy Birthday, NOW!

2006-08-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Birthdays conjure up images of birthday cake, party hats, streamers, and happy memories. However, there is always that one kid crying in the corner because none of the other children at the party want to play the same game. Charlotte Hays, from the Independent Women’s Forum, was channeling that same petulant child in her op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on NOW’s 40th birthday celebration. While her op-ed raises some good points, the majority of her criticism is packaged in a way that is fundamentally damaging to women everywhere, not just those who consider themselves feminists.

For example, she opens her article with a jibe at the way that the women and men at the conference were dressed. Is it really necessary in this day and age to criticize women first and foremost on how they look? Furthermore, she also equated “radical” (in a negative sense) with the idea of being open to people of varying sexual orientations. She writes, “[e]very resolution was relentlessly hammered out until there was no possible way that LGBT people (LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) could feel excluded; there was an "equal marriage" pretend-wedding reception with punch and cake.” With the majority of the country favoring some form of equality for same-sex couples, equal marriage is hardly the bastion of radical liberal behavior for which it has been ostracized. On the contrary (and maybe this is just because I'm from Massachusetts), celebrating equal marriage with a reception seems like a fairly logical step in support of one of the main tenets of the organization.

Some of Hays' characterizations were simply inaccurate. She writes that “even the music hasn't changed” about the inclusion of folk singer Sally Repp (whom I admittedly have never heard of, but I bet my parents have.) She neglected to include Ani Difranco, a feminist force of the younger set.

Hays also argued that “[s]till, NOW felt just a bit . . . tired. Whatever you think of the feminist movement--and I happen to deplore most of it--the women who got it started were forces of nature, interesting people with strong personalities.” She thinks that the current leaders of NOW don’t have the same energy or spark necessary to fuel the movement. This is a subtle point. At first glance, I would actually tend to agree with her. But that doesn’t mean that the feminist movement has lost its leadership or its luster. Rather, the leadership and forces have multiplied so much that the media can’t pinpoint just one of them. For example, for me, my mother was that force of life that inspires me to be a feminist. So was my father. So was my sister. So was my best friend. Honestly, so was Xena. The leadership of the feminist movement cannot be reduced simply to the officers of NOW or other professional feminist organizations.

She criticized that “(past NOW) president Karen de Crow, with her leonine white mane--dancing to Ms. Rapp's chorus line, ‘We’re Marching With Molly Yard,’ was a caution for us all about growing old gracefully.” What’s the point of growing old gracefully when you can instead celebrate by dancing and eating cake? Hays' anti-older feminist bias, seen throughout her piece, is something that younger women should caution themselves against. While the movement should rightly be taken to task for not taking the issues of younger women seriously, younger women should look to learn from and work with older women. For example, even many of the issues that are considered to be near and dear to older women’s hearts (pay equity, the Equal Rights Ammendment, affordable child care) are all issues that younger women can learn and benefit from (even the ERA!). Likewise, the issues that are more important to younger women (dating violence, media justice, and student’s rights) are also important and relevant to older women. By learning from and combining the strengths of each generation, the women’s movement will ultimately be more successful.

Hays further wrote, “[b]ut some of the decline is simply that there is no new blood there.” It’s far more complicated than that. The decline facing the women’s movement is the lack of cohesion between the younger women leaders and the older generation. Also, the women’s movement is considered to be declining because younger women leaders simply don’t register as leaders. Hays simply wasn’t looking hard enough. The new blood is all around her, especially if you look around your most recent YWTF meeting.

Gender Activist Bibliography - Part 2!

2006-08-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my Part 2 to Dara's first installment of the Gender Activist Bibliography. I would say that I painstakingly rated these books from 1-20, but that would be a lie, so please note that there's no particular order, and enjoy!

This Bridge Called My Back: Radical Writings by Women of Color
Edited by Gloria Anzaldúa and Cherrie Moraga

This is one of those books that absolutely changes your life. I first read it in my Introduction to Women’s Studies class, and since then, This Bridge’s beauty, conviction, and ideas have followed me. Anzaldúa and Moraga offer a moving anthology of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and essays. The authors, including big names like Audre Lorde and Trinh T. Minh-ha, break away from the stiff and patriarchal methods of writing, expressing themselves in whichever way is most comfortable while still giving compelling testimonies. The authors of This Bridge challenge the readers to examine their own lives: to realize how they too are implicated in racism and sexism, and to change themselves. Read this book with an open mind and be ready to be critical toward both yourself and the world around you, and you will have a truly enlightening experience. Disclaimer: don’t read this book if you’re complacent and unwilling to change your mind and your life.

Making Face, Making Soul / Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color
Edited by Gloria Anzaldúa

Making Face, Making Soul is almost like a Part 2 to This Bridge Called My Back. It furthers the dialogue of women of color and offers even more challenges to its readers. Not only that, but the prose and style of this anthology are exquisite and lasting. Just look at a few of the section titles to get an idea: Still Trembles Our Rage in the Face of Racism: There is War, Some Losses can’t be Counted; (De)Colonized Selves: Finding Hope Through Horror; and If You Would Be My Ally: In Alliance, In Solidarity. While both This Bridge and Making Face do not often offer tangible solutions to the problems of white supremacy and racism, they challenge the reader to make her own solutions, and to fight for people of color, either as a member or as an ally. The best thing about this anthology, however, is the hope. Shining through anger, frustration, confusion, and lingering after critical revelations, the hope and the inspiration in Making Face, Making Soul is tangible.

Radical Feminism Today
By Denise Thompson

From what excerpts Amazon has offered me, I can say that this book looks to be an interesting critical interpretation of feminism. When it comes to theory, however, it is not for the faint of heart. Reading Radical Feminism Today is much like reading dense philosophical texts: the ideas are great, but are sometimes difficult to understand, at least on the first read. Nevertheless, this seems like a book that would be engaging for modern feminist scholars, and would at least illicit a reaction of either agreement or disagreement. In Radical Feminism Today, Thompson seeks to define feminism, accusing many feminists of skirting actual explanations. One promising definition that Thompson gives is: “Feminism aims to expose the reality of male domination, while struggling to expose a world where women are recognized as human beings in their own right.” I can agree with that. I admit that I’m a little wary that Thompson “points to the limitations of implicitly defining feminism in terms of ‘women,’ ‘gender,’ ‘difference,’ or ‘race/gender/class.’ I’m also wary of any book that claims itself to be ‘controversial.’ Then again, as feminism is continuously evolving, it doesn’t hurt to be ‘controversial’ once in a while, and I anticipate at least perusing Radical Feminism Today in the future.

Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done About It
By Martha Burk

Don’t you hate when men and women say to you, “there’s no need for feminism anymore: women and men are equal now” and “there is no more discrimination”? Well here’s a book that you can politely but firmly ask them to read before continuing that sentiment. Martha Burk writes a gripping eye-witness account of severe discrimination that still exists, even if it is more covert. The book is centered around the Augusta National controversy, using the “resulting firestorm” as evidence for a larger epidemic. “Cult of Power is an in-depth account stemming from the initial controversy, written by the woman who was at its center. Burk lays bare the reasons the closed gates of Augusta National symbolize all the ways women are still barred from the highest echelons of power—in government, social and religious organizations, and most important, in corporate America—and why we must change the system.” Take that, nay-sayers!

Eleanor Roosevelt, Volumes 1 and 2
By Blanche Wiesen Cook

The best part of this book is the fact that it’s a feminist perspective in the often male-dominated world of biographies. Avoiding the patriarchal lens, Cook offers honest insight into Eleanor’s independence, grace, and achievements. In the preface, Cook writes, “I am proud to be part of this movement that removed women from the margins of our culture and placed them at the center of their own lives, and our field of vision.” The first volume covers the years 1884-1933, including Eleanor’s family, childhood, education, and marriage; the second volume, years 1930-1933-1938, begins at Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency and covers Eleanor’s determination and many accomplishments. This is definitely a book (or rather, two volumes) for feminists searching for political inspiration.

Unfinished Work: Building Democracy and Equality in an Era of Working Families
Edited by Jody Heymann and Christopher Beem

Here’s a read for all your policy-minded folks. Unfinished Work is a great anthology for all those interested in the politics and policies surrounding family and the workplace, with an emphasis on women. In fact, it’s good information for anyone wanting to have a family and work too in an American society in which this combination seems increasingly impossible. “Unfinished Work provides invaluable insights into the lack of an effective national response to the challenges faced by working families today, and offers solutions from leading thinkers in labor, public policy, sociology, economics, history, ethics, family studies, social work, and political science.” Woo, that’s a long list! But the broad scope of Unfinished Work is what makes it seem both revolutionary and effective.

50 Ways to Improve Women’s Lives: The Essential Women’s Guide to Achieving Equality, Health, and Success
Edited by the National Council of Women’s Organizations

The topics in this collection are endless: sexual health, work and family balance, higher education, networking, mentoring, advocacy, community-building, international women’s issues, and more. Personally, I haven’t had a chance to read 50 Ways yet, but I plan to! The National Council of Women’s Organizations has harvested compelling articles from leading women in many areas, from academia to politics to nonprofit organizations. And don’t worry – just because the Younger Women’s Task Force is under NCWO doesn’t mean this is a shameless plug – the book really does look good!

Letters to a Young Feminist
Phyllis Chessler

This may, at first, seem like a patronizing attempt to bridge the intergenerational gap. However, while there are some parts where it feels like Chessler is your mother, it’s not in a “oh look at you, you amatuer feminist” way. Chessler cares enough about the future of feminism to write candidly about the realities of feminism and the dangers it faces now. She explains how feminism was and is and should be, particularly in a way that would be useful to early and/or young feminists (hence the title – and by “young” it seems that she means “new”). The following statement is one that I want to say to the many people who tell me feminism is no longer necessary: “Darling, I don’t want to frighten you away, but I don’t want to waste your time either, so I can’t pretend that simply because you or I want it to be so that men and women are equal.” Exactly.

A Hunger So Wide and So Deep: American Women Speak Out on Eating Problems
By Becky W. Thompson

So much of our discussion about eating problems today is biased. We make the mistake of thinking that only well-off, white, heterosexual women obsessed with the media’s portrayal of beauty can have eating problems. In A Hunger So Wide and So Deep, however, Becky Thompson explores the experiences of women of color as well as white women, both lesbian and heterosexual. “She argues that many women turn to food—bingeing, dieting, purging, or starving—as a sensible means of coping with physical and psychic ‘atrocities’ deriving from ‘racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, the stress of acculturation, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.’” This is a book that tells us the disturbing and deep-seated realities of eating problems from a multicultural standpoint. It may not be the most cheerful of reads, but it’s important knowledge for readers who care about women.

Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
By Gloria Steinem

This is one of those books that I’ve heard about several times but never gotten around to actually reading. I can say, however, that after glancing at just the Table of Contents on Amazon, I want to run out and grab a copy right now. Titles that seem especially interesting are “I Was a Playboy Bunny” (really?) “In Praise of Women’s Bodies” and “Men and Women Talking.” If you won’t read this just to see if Steinem’s serious about the playboy bunny thing, then read it because she’s one of the truly great thinkers of the feminist movement. This may be her first collection of feminist essays, but it’s still good.

Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black
By bell hooks

This book by bell hooks may not be as popular as Feminism is for Everybody but it is just as powerful, with ideas that are similarly revolutionary yet easy to understand. Talking Back focuses more on hooks’ personal experiences: about her community, how she overcame racism, her methods of teaching, and more. Throughout the collection of hooks’ essays runs an unspoken theme that words are power to black women. The title Talking Back references how young black girls in hooks’ hometown were often punished for being outspoken, and in response, hooks uses this book to “talk back” triumphantly.

Zami, a New Spelling of My Name
Audre Lorde

“Zami, a carriacou name for women who work together as friends and lovers.” Just the definition of “zami” makes me want to read this book. Zami is basically the self-told story of Audre Lorde’s life, a genre which she entitles (instead of autobiography) a “biomythography.” Lorde, an African-American lesbian feminist, takes the reader through her different identities and transformations, explaining how she has come to reconcile these many important identities. It seems as though Zami is not only Lorde’s journey through life, but a journey on which Lorde takes her readers.

Don’t Bet on a Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England
Edited by Jack Zipes

In the mood for a little whimsy without the damsel-in-distress? Well here’s the book for you. Jack Zipes presents a collection of tales written by authors like Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, and Anne Sexton. These authors focus not on weak, helpless damsels, but on powerful female role models and archetypes. Knowing the influence that stories have on young children’s perceptions, Zipes decided to compile stories that empowered them (especially girls) rather than perpetuating patriarchal stereotypes. “Don’t Bet On a Prince was created out of dissatisfaction with the dominant male discourse of traditional fairy tales and with the sexist social values and institutions which it supports.” Sounds like a good idea to me. And not only are these stories suitable for children (more suitable than, say, Sleeping Beauty), they’re also a light, intriguing read for adults (who will particularly enjoy the subtle humor and satire in many of the stories).

The Good Body
By Eve Ensler

As if we didn’t have enough people scrutinizing and trying to control our bodies, now Eve Ensler reminds us that we too are waging war with our bodies: “It’s as if they’ve been given their own little country called their body, which they get to tyrannize, clean up, and control while they lose all sight of the world.” And yes, even us feminists suffer from these delusions of power. However, Ensler tells us, we can change all that. With her typical sarcastic and wholly satisfying humor, Ensler gives us a different collection of “monologues” that are just as inspiring. So go ahead, have your cake and eat it too (seriously, eat it).

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us
By Kate Bornstein

This book is an intimate autobiography detailing the struggles and triumphs of a transgendered woman. “[T]his particular coming-of-age story is also a fascinating and deeply provocative investigation into our notions of male and female, the myths attached to them, and the penalties that befall not only those who transgress the definitions but anyone who blindly conforms to them.” Bornstein challenges the notions of gender in a candid and humorous way, inviting her readers to consider a world without the constrictions of a binary gender system. And the best part about this book is that it’s an interesting read – instead of being bogged down with lengthy discussions of identity politics, Bornstein writes about her own identities, and the philosophy follows.

Ariel: the Perennial Classics Edition
By Sylvia Plath

The last book of poetry that Sylvia Plath wrote and compiled before her suicide, Ariel contains some of Plath’s most well-written and captivating poems. Her style and content together are intriguing, and the reader experiences vicariously both Plath’s despair and her ability to capture a moment at its finest. This Perennial Classics edition of Ariel is particularly important because it recreates the collection as Plath had originally intended. Upon her death, Ted Hughes, her husband, took out over a dozen poems, while rearranging the poems’ order, before submitting the collection for publishing. Now, however, we see Ariel as Plath would have wished us to read it.

Women Write: A Mosaic of Women’s Voices in Fiction, Poetry, Memoir and Essay
Edited by Susan Cahill

If, like me, you ever wished that there was a collection of strong women’s writing, here it is. Women Write seems like it is truly a monument to women writers, showcasing some of the best talent and insight all the way from the 1600s onward. Some of the authors include: Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton, Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, Anne Bradstreet, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath, Mary Shelley, and many more. Also, as I was going through the Table of Contents, I noticed that not only is this anthology a mosaic of types of writing, but it is also a mosaic of women from all different backgrounds and histories. As a literature and women’s studies major, this book looks perfect for me, and I’m excited to read it; it also looks perfect for anyone interesting in women and writing.

Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century
Edited by Justine Larbalestier

It often seems to me as though there isn’t enough feminist science fiction (and discussion of it) out there, besides Judith Butler, Ursula K. LeGuin and a few other authors. Even when I searched “feminist science fiction” on Amazon, there wasn’t much to show for it. These two reasons, and more, are why Daughters of Earth is such an important book for young women. Justine Larbalestier teams 11 powerful science fiction stories with 11 equally as powerful critical essays and insights, combining fiction and criticism into one great science fiction anthology. After all, “[w]omen’s contributions to science fiction over the past century have been lasting and important, but critical work in the field has only just begun to explore its full range.” I’d like to add one more significant accomplishment of Daughters of Earth: Larbalestier’s anthology brings attention to women in science fiction, period.

Talking Up: Young Women’s Take on Feminism
Edited by Rosamund Else-Mitchell and Naomi Flutter

Oftentimes we in the women’s movement focus so much on past achievements that we forget our movement is still evolving. Talking Up is therefore refreshing simply because it is full of young voices, voices that haven’t been heard yet but have great ideas to share. The young women authors in this collection share their experiences with learning, living, and sharing feminism. Topics range from women’s studies classrooms, to sex, to family. And although Talking Up features only young authors, there is still engaging discussion on the generations within the movement and how we can reconcile differences in order to forge ahead.

Letters of Intent: Women Cross the Generations to Talk About Family, Work, Sex, Love and the Future of Feminism
Edited by Anna Bondoc and Meg Daly

This book is so important in an era in which feminism is harshly divided into 2nd and 3rd wavers. Letters of Intent is an intimate collection of letters between new and established gender activists, containing such pairings as Amy Richards and Gloria Steinem, and Emily Gordon and Katha Pollitt. Like the members of YWTF, “[t]he authors in this section are deeply committed to social change yet refuse to follow a prescribed activist formula. Their exchanges with seasoned activists illuminate what activism is and could be.” Letters of Intent is yet another book from my gender activist list that I’ll have to read soon, for it speaks so well to older and younger activists alike. Not only that, but it seems like a truly enthralling read.

Well, that's the end of my Gender Activist Bibliography (Part 2!) and I hope you found some good books to read. And feel free to add to the list yourselves!

Gender Activist Bibliography

2006-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Introducing Feminism, 2nd Edition

This collection provides an interesting review of history, complete with witty black and white pictures, often featuring cut outs of women talking to each other about feminist ideas. The book offers a history of the movement (mostly defining the movement as something that happened exclusively in the Western Hemisphere) as well as attempts a basic introduction to key concepts such as pornography, pregnancy, and pay equity. Introducing Feminism has the feel of zine which makes it cute, funky and much more engaging. The cover is cute and would look smashing on any bookshelf. At the end of the day, however, the book falls short in terms of depth. Plus, it seems to treat feminism as something that ended in the ‘80’s—it is in need of a serious update!

After Shock: September 11, 2001: Global Feminist Perspectives

After 9/11, it was supposed to be the end of irony and the opening of a new world order. Commentary and predictions flew wildly around the globe. However, feminist voices were largely excluded from the post 9/11 conversation. Editors Susan Hawthorne and Bronwyn Winter bring together a wide range of views that uncover the connections between war, terrorism, fundamentalism, racism, global capitalism, and male violence. The first line of what promises to be a promising book reads :”Light explodes inside the skull do hours weep?,” opening with a powerful poem titled “who’s terrorism?” Including immediate reactions and more recent reflections, this collection contains essays, speeches, letters to the U.N. and to George Bush, emails, and poetry, addressing 9/11 with much-needed clarity and passion. Contributors include Barbara Kingsolver, Arundhati Roy, Barbara Ehrenreich, Eve Ensler, Ani di Franco, and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. The range of ideas in this book seems fascinating and highly worth reading. A book that includes material both with Ani di Franco and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan? I’m there. Check it out!

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (Crossing Press Feminist Series) by Audre Lorde

This is prose that gets under your skin and into your head. Audre Lorde writes beautifully about the struggles of being black, woman, lesbian, feminist and a mother. She transforms the personal in the political and back again. If you are looking for some consciousness raising, inspiring, and honest words - then this is the book that will bring that to you. This book contains the famous “Poetry is Not a Luxury” and other crucial essays that are guaranteed to sock you in the gut, bring you down to your knees, and then inspire you to get back on your feet and start marching and dancing away the patriarchy.

The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde,

I will admit to never reading this book. However, I have always wanted to pick it up. In this collection Lorde talks elegantly and passionately about how to harness the erotic as a force powerful enough to change the world. While I might disagree with her construction of femininity as something essential, I still think that whatever she has to say will be thought provoking and valuable. Plus, the publisher has packaged this essay in such a way that once you finish reading the essay, you can tuck it into the included envelope and mail it to a friend.

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf

I used to sneak into my sister’s bedroom and rummage through her bookshelf whenever I ran out of things to read. “The Beauty Myth” has been placed prominently in a central part of her shelf for as long as I can remember. I regret never picking it up. In this book, Wolf argues on behalf of a rather simple thesis—that the image of beauty in Western (mostly US) culture is destructive and dangerous to women. However, she infuses this book with compelling statistics and stories in order to earn it’s place as a classic in the contemporary feminist canon. This dangerous “beauty myth” impacts women’s lives in nearly every way, ranging from the workplace to sexuality to religion. Although it can seem out of date in places, this is still a valuable read in that makes interesting link between profit and women’s insecurity.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan,

This book has been declared to reach the same importance as nearly as the Book of Moses in terms of feminist history. Personally, I never read it until I had to pick it up for school—interestingly, not for any of my women’s studies classes but rather for an English class titled “American Protest Literature: From Tom Paine to Tupac.” Betty Friedan begins by writing that the “problem lay buried, unspoken in the minds of American women.” It was the problem that “had no name.” However, while this book does a valuable service in detailing the lives of privileged Smith graduates and the difficulty they faced in their post-college lives, the book has been inflated to be representative of every woman in America. The book has rightly been criticized as being racist and classist. However, the book is an interesting read, and for many people who haven’t delved deep into academic feminist theory, it can be life-changing. At any rate, it’s a fast read so you might as well pick it up.

Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation by Barbara Findlen

One person criticized the feminist movement as “Every Feminist knows one of the biggest internal and external criticisms of the movement: it is too exclusive. Too white, too middle-to-upper-class, too limited to past decades when Feminism was "needed". In short, the argument runs something like this: if Feminism is not indeed dead, it is too exclusive to attract most people.” This book is written in order to wrench open the feminist ranks and let more and more people in. Accordingly, this anthology has authors that range from different ethnicities, sexualities, races, political persuasions, from victims of rape, mothers, and teenage girls. It is a book that is meant to speak to that ambiguous third wave that has confused feminist activists in recent times. Some of these essays are powerful, most of them are at least interesting, but often times the essays come off as childish and limited. In part because the book tries so hard to be so inclusive, it lacks the sock it to you punch of other feminist works. In short, it’s just too nice and friendly to be truly revolutionary.

Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards

This book attempts to marry the Second Wave feminists with those kicking at the door in 2006. It is a very historical text and in the later chapters it begins to delve into possible strategies for younger feminists. Specifically, it attempts to reinforce the idea that cultural feminism (girl power, Spice Girls, green nailpolish, high heels) is an important political force. They advocate making the politics more explicit by getting reengaged in the feminist movement collectively. However, the book loses a lot of its punch in that it is too even-handed. It is very polite to older feminists (despite some insistence that they are ageist and don’t take younger feminists seriously) and equally as generous to younger feminists that aren’t politically seriously engaged. The author’s have a difficult time making a stand, and that wishy-washiness does more to split apart the movement than bring it together.

Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism Leslie Heywood, Jennifer Drake

This is a slightly more academic text that attempts to deal with a similar issue as Manifesta. Namely, what to do about this nebulous idea of the Third Wave? The book offers a collection that ranges from “Roseanne: Killer “Bitch” for Generation X” and “We Learn America Like a Script: Activism in the Third Wave or Enough Phantoms of Nothing.” The writing is dense and it seems to be less practical than I was hoping. The “doing feminist” part of the title seems to be largely “doing” in the sense of theorizing about things that have happened in the past. If you are looking for some new and, in some cases, innovative theoretical essays, this is a good place to start. If you are looking for a practical primer on how to deal with the ambiguities facing feminism today, look elsewhere.

Changing the Face of Power: Women in the U.S. Senate
By Melina Mara

Unlike most of the books included in this bibliography, this book is mostly pictures instead of text. It offers a range of stunning portraits and candid shots that feature the 14 female senators at work. The interviews were conducted by Helen Thomas, and if any of you saw the now famous clip of her and Stephen Colbert, that is reason enough to buy this book. However, the most compelling reason to buy this book is that the pictures are shocking, insightful and provide a never before seen look into the lives of these senators.

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Daisy Hernandez (Editor), Bushra Rehman (Editor)

This book accomplishes the rare feat of being readable and challenging in both the “real world” and an academic context. This is a collection of essays from a range of women of color (Chicana, indigenous American Indian, Arab, and more) about the intersection between contemporary feminism and racism. This book is divided into four sections: family and community; mothers; cultural customs; and talking back to white feminists, men, mothers, liberals, and others. The book and it’s radical, radicalized tone could be off-putting to some who are not in position where they can analyze their own privilege. Indeed, the book should be off putting to all those that are in some privileged category. However, it is that edge of discomfort that makes this book so valuable and more likely to actually build a movement than some of the other more sanitized feminist texts.

Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity by Chandra Talpade Mohanty

This book has been assigned to me no less than five times. It is pretty much the basis of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department at Harvard. And despite all of that, I am ashamed to say that I’ve never actually managed to get through the whole text because it was so overwhelmingly boring. Additionally, I was frustrated with many of her solutions for solving the problems of reductionism, colonialism, and capitalist-based theory in mainstream feminist work. Most of her solutions only addressed the academic side of feminist life, and never seemed to get at real life. Additionally, in her first chapter “Under Western Eyes,” she writes that people need to be having different conversations with each other in order to undo the subject/object dichotomy. Which is all well and good, but she never gets into the mechanics of what that conversation would actually look like. That being said, I only did read about half of the book, so the words of another reviewer should give a more complete and balanced perspective : Feminism Without Borders is an excellent book, one of the best I have ever read. Mohanty is a strong advocate of a transformative, economically and socially just feminist politics. She defines herself as an anti-racist, anti-capitalist feminist. Her feminist vision is one of a truly free world where every person can enjoy true equality, security, and integrity, where there is "economic stability, ecological sustainability, racial equality, and the redistribution of wealth..." (3). In short, if you have a slight interest in feminist theory, this is a crucial book that has become the foundation for current thinking in feminist thought.

Toward a Feminist Theory of the State by Catharine A. MacKinnon

Catharine MacKinnon is the epitome of the “love her or hate her” school of thought. In this book, she begins with an analysis of Marx and Engels and locates the tensions between Marxism and feminism. She then continues on to discuss a host of feminist issues (abortion, pornography, et cetera). She has been criticized as a misogynist, a man hater and a general misanthrope. She has also been declared to be one of the most brilliant contemporary legal theorists. Regardless of what you think of her views, her book is an engaging and interesting read. MacKinnon is a brilliant manipulator of language (on occasion at the expense of argument), and each sentence is written in a beautiful and rhythmic way. In addition to the other accusations, MacKinnon has also been accused as being anti-sex. However, after reading her work—laced with erotic undertones and sensual imagery, it becomes clear that MacKinnon is not anti-sex—simply anti-sex as a tool of oppression. And even though I am a nerd for political theory, this is a fun book for any one to read because at its most basic it is a sexy and provocative treatise.

Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism by Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards

Grassroots is written by the same authors of Manifesta. Grassroots is a much more practical application of the thoughts that were first laid out in Manifesta, and in that sense I found it much more refreshing. This book, however, is still not going to solve all of the problems in the feminist movement, and leaves much to be desired. First off, the book occasionally suffers from a “holier than thou” attitude and can be off-putting. Additionally, there is a serious lack of self-analysis from what it means that this guide is coming from two affluent white women. However, the book does provide a valuable list of resources in the index, and from there you can use it as a jumping off point to fueling your own personal brand of activism. The fundamental message of the book is “any one can do it” and despite its flaws, the book does provide an activist (seasoned or budding) with the resources they need to get the job done.

The F-Word: Feminism In Jeopardy - Women, Politics and the Future by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

One of the most challenging aspects of being a feminist is having reliable data to whip out whenever one is involved in the seemingly perpetual “but feminism is dead/irrelevant” conversations. This book provides an interesting analysis of some of the bread and butter feminist issues, including the glass ceiling effect and pay equity. The book is well-researched and easy to read and chockfull of useful statistics and anecdotes that can be casually (or not so casually) dropped into conversation. While the book can be criticized for only approaching “safe” “middle-ground” positions—leaving the stickier work of anti-racism, anti-classism and general all around revolution to others—it is still a valuable feminist resource for any gender activist.

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World: Completely Revised and Updated by Joni Seager

The first sentence of this book is powerful: “To UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON in a world characterized by swift and often fundamental change, it is worth keeping your eye on power.” This Atlas does an excellent job of keeping tabs on important statistics affecting women around the globe. The pages are well laid-out and the information is easy to find. The graphs and charts are professional looking, but still visually appealing and simple enough that the book is a pleasure to read and flip through even if you are not looking up some specific information. While the Atlas is small and much of the information is basic, some of it is surprisingly in depth. The categories range from Women in the World, Families, Birthrights, Body Politics, Work, To Have and Have Not, and Power. It provides a valuable insight into the discrepancies in resources available between men and women, but also even more interestingly the discrepancies between women from different regions. The Atlas is definitely worth adding to your collection.

Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics Updated Edition with a New Preface by Cynthia Enloe

This book attempts to bring together a gender study with international politics and policy. It focuses on the affects on women when companies move factories abroad, the impact that bases have on local women (especially in regards to prostitution), and the ever-increasing tourism industry. Like any book that attempts to confront such a broad array of topics, this text is extremely long and can sometimes be difficult to trudge through. Also, the book focuses pretty much exclusively on the impact of gender, and leaves out a more intersectional perspective that would include race, class, and national privilege. However, she does provide an excellent perspective of feminism as an attack on they way that the world is presently constructed and built around oppression. Furthermore, this book provides a nice bridge between academic feminism and real world feminism. Her main point of “The personal is political, the personal is international” really resonates.

Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles

This is an entertaining, informative look at the history of women throughout the globe. Miles’s history is written with a heavy dose of humor, wit, and you go, girl! anecdotes. Even when the history necessarily details oppression and persecution, she is still able to salvage inspiring stories of women who made a difference. The book is lively and filled with interesting facts about little known women who made a huge difference in history, but have largely been left out of the classroom. She talks about the woman who opened the first both control clinic, women warriors in Islam, and reveals that Florence Nightingale’s nickname was “Lady with a Hammer.” Read this book instead of some chic lit fluffy romance novel on the beach this summer. Or if you have to, read both!

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by Bell Hooks

bell hooks is a warm and engaging writer. She is a pleasure to read, but if you take her words to heart, they can sometimes be painful and earth shattering. This book, however, is mostly warm and fuzzy and is a good text to read if you want to remind yourself (or others!) about the importance of feminism. She writes “A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving....There can be no love without justice.-from the chapter "To Love Again: The Heart of Feminism". Her work is inspiring and rooted in common sense and wisdom. However, maybe because I am cynical and jaded and looking for more of a punch, this book is a little too inspiring and optimistic. Regardless, it is worth checking out.

The Jewish Women's Awareness Guide: Connections for the 2nd Wave of Jewish Feminism by Janet Carnay, Ruth Ann Magder, Laura Wine Paster, Marcia Cohn Spiegel, Abigail Weinberg, Marcia C. Spiegel

As a Jew and as a feminist, I’ve often had difficulty trying to make harmony of two crucial aspects of my identity. Although I’ve managed to gain a deeper and stronger connection to both Judaism and feminism through my individual struggle of combing the two, having a handy resource book would have made my life a lot easier. And since I’m still struggling with many of the thornier issues, I’m delighted to have found one such guide in such an easy to use and basic format. For those who are planning on studying at yeshiva or have similarly entrenched themselves in Judaism, this might be too basic. For the rest of us, this is an excellent resource.

Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy : Manual for Activists by Kimberley A. Bobo, Steve Max, Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall, Midwest Academy

This is a helpful, easy to use collection of tips and strategies on how to actually do the hard work of organizing. It teaches you how to run an effective meeting, how to approach an elected official, and offers strategies on how to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard. In short, it is an invaluable guide for an activist dedicated to social justice. The only downside is that the book is pretty boring, since it is essentially just a tool kit and manual. Other than that, this book is a must.

Social Isolation? Enter: YWTF

2006-07-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

With catchy alliteration and an emphasis on emergency, Ann Hulbert grabs her readers’ attention in the latest New York Times magazine. People of the United States, we have a “Confidant Crisis” on our hands.

The mere words “Confidant Crisis” make me think of a solitary person flipping through the TV channels in the dark while checking her email, facebook, and myspace accounts obsessively, with not a real friend in sight. Apparently, my first impressions are not far from the gist of the article, which highlights a study in the American Sociological Review, entitled “Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks Over Two Decades." According to the study, Americans have very few friends with whom they can talk about significant issues. A survey about confidants found, in fact, that most participants only listed two “core” people in whom they could confide, and that less and less Americans are venturing outside the nuclear family to forge these close bonds.

Unfortunately, the most dramatic decrease in relationships has been in the neighborhood/community sector, which is the arena in which many women’s issues are discussed and acted upon. Says one study author, Dr. Lynn Smith-Lovin, "This change indicates something that's not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. These ties also lead to civic engagement and local political action." The impact on women’s groups is only too obvious: the loss of members and, possibly, momentum.

The most surprising thing about these findings is that we are in an age of hyper-communication. It therefore seems as if the sheer volume of communication is actually whittling down our close friends and confidants. This is exactly why YWTF seeks to use this hyper-communication to younger women’s advantage. Having just recently started our blog, we hope to connect younger women in even the most alienating and anonymous of atmospheres.

But reading our blog and checking our website is not enough. We as young women have the challenge of networking and advocating in a world which caters to white, middle-class men. Therefore we need to unite through groups such as YWTF in order to increase our visibility and let our voices be heard. And as women ensure a vital part of our nation’s health, it is critical that our leadership be recognized, supported, and nurtured.

As a chapter-based organization that encourages in-person meetings, networking, and community engagement, YWTF has the ability, in fact the power, to lead “civic engagement and local political action” in cities across the nation, the crucial element that Smith-Lovin suggested was missing from general society. Six members of Congress made a similar statement in a recent letter to YWTF: “It is very encouraging to us to know that such dynamic young women are working hard on the ground to promote issues of importance to women. Without your support and advocacy, we would be unable to do our work to ensure that women’s rights and opportunities are protected.”

Therefore, have no fear ladies (and allies). In the growing threat of social isolation, YWTF is that “close network,” that “safety net” for younger women everywhere.

Gender and Science

2006-07-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

The news this week has been particularly depressing. A two-front conflict for Israel in the Middle East. If you’re from Boston, you would be reading about how panels from engineering marvel” of the Big Dig collapsed, crushing a woman to death on her way to the airport to pick up family. You would also be reading about train bombings in India and more violence in Baghdad. There was a slice of good news: Stanford biologist Ben Barres, formerly Elizabeth Barres, wrote an essay published in the prestigious journal Nature, detailing how he has been treated differently as a male scientist than when he was female.
The article lends support to the idea that discrimination based upon sex still plays a large role in America’s leading academic institutions. Barres recalls hearing that “Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but then his work is much better than his sister's”. Of course, his “sister” was him as Elizabeth. Furthermore, a professor of his at M.I.T believed that Eizabeth’s “boyfriend” must have solved a difficult problem on the problem set for her.
Barres penned the article in order to add to the debate that former Harvard president, Larry Summers, ignited when he made his infamous comments that there is a dearth of top female scientists in academia because female scientists lack “innate ability” (as opposed to experience discrimination). I was a student at the time and was on campus for the firestorm that followed. I was horrified that the president of our university could make such ridiculous claims—but even more aghast that the undergraduate population was, for the most part, unmoved by his comments. In the dining hall or in class, there would invariably be students who would argue that there was some truth to his comments. At the end of the discussion, the controversy was around academic freedom of speech and not the gender inequity still deeply embedded into campus culture.
Harvard academics are still jumping at the bit to defend Summer’s statements. Stephen Pinker, wrote in response to Barres “polemic” that Barres was turning “Science into Oprah” and should learn “to take scientific hypotheses less personally.” Interestingly, Pinker also described himself as a feminist and believes that bias could play a role in the number of women at the highest levels of science. However, he doesn’t believe that bias is a large factor, and it is that women self-select out of these fields into fields in which they would be happier. He also believes that while the majority of women are not innately suited to be “hard scientists,” this “empirical evidence” should not be confused with the moral issue of fairness in how “individual women” are treated. However, how is it possible to believe that the woman in the board room or the laboratory is your equal when she is simply a surprising exception?
A colleague of Pinker’s, Proffessor Lawrence, was quoted as saying the “rat race” in science is skewed in favor of pushy, aggressive people -- most of whom, he said, happen to be men. “We should try and look for the qualities we actually need,” he said. “I believe if we did, that we would choose more women and more gentle men. It is gentle people of all sorts who are discriminated against in our struggle to survive.”
Outside of the fact that it is dangerous to code “woman” as automatically “gentle” while the “gentle men” are exceptions to that rule, Pinker’s attitude is fundamentally more harmful to the chances of younger women in male-dominated fields. His willingness to discount discrimination as a cause and his desire to shut down the debate with Barres through personal invectives, means that the actual experience of women in the higher ranks—and those that are no longer pursuing careers in science, are swept neatly under the rug. Although Larry Summers is no longer president (for reasons outside of the women in science debacle), the debate on campus has similarly been silent about gender discrimination on campus.
For more information check out the American Association of University Women report on women and tenure here.

A Manifesto for Women of the World...?

2006-07-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

I can definitely see why Linda Hirshman’s book, Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World, is so controversial. Not only are her ideas challenging traditional gender norms (good), but she writes in such a biting and unforgiving manner as to make even the liberal women cringe (not so good). Personally, I had to get past her condescending tone in order to focus on some of the good points of her book, which I will list below:

1) Women should lead a flourishing life. I think we can all agree with that. Hirshman’s idea of a flourishing life is inevitably tied to the workplace, which, when considering the emotional, intellectual, and financial benefits of working, makes sense. (More on which work and which women she excludes from her thesis later.)

2) Women need to stay in the workplace in order to help all women, and to change society. It’s undeniable that with the loss of powerful women to the family life, women as a whole lose an edge in our struggle for equality. Hirshman worries that if “women at the top” abandon their positions, the “ruling class” will be “overwhelmingly male,” with disastrous consequences.

3) “[T]here’s a powerful social system in place directing [women] homeward.” True.

4) Women should be better at educating themselves for jobs, as well as bargaining in the workplace and at home. It is indeed crucial that we women stand up for our worth, and in the first place, know our worth. Being assertive to gain what we want at work and in our family lives will only lead to (Hirshman’s favorite phrase) a “flourishing life.”

And my favorite…
5) “Why should the patriarchal workplace be bulldozed and the patriarchal family left untouched?” Great point. We need to attack all systems of patriarchy, not stop when it comes too close to home (forgive the pun). We need to demand that our partners share half (or more) of the household chores and childcare responsibilities. Whether we need to impose a reproductive strike against men, as Hirshman suggests, is to be debated.

Of course, I can’t leave Hirshman without also discussing the many flaws I see with her argument, and mostly, with its execution:

1) Her condescending and insulting tone. Hirshman’s doesn’t just criticize society and the decisions women make…she criticizes the women themselves. I find it interesting that while Hirshman (at least five times) alludes to an insult hurled at working women – that their lives amount to “a pile of pay stubs” – she has no problem dishing out some nasty comments of her own, in a manner I would call mud-slinging.
A couple examples:
“…their talent and education are lost from the public world to a private world of laundry and kissing boo-boos.”
And, about a stay-at-home who wrote to Hirshman about continuing with political activism despite being at home: “Why would the congressmen she writes to listen to someone whose life so resembles that of a toddler, Harvard degree or no?”
Ouch. And don’t even try to tell me “the truth hurts.” Hirshman said it like that on purpose.

2) Her implied disregard for anyone who deals with children. Hirshman seems to forget a crucial part of her plan: assuming that children need the care of other humans, there must be some people to take care of the kids while she and other privileged women go to work. Either Hirshman doesn’t include these women in her argument, or she just doesn’t see them, period. It seems as though Hirshman is so focused on instructing her darling educated, middle- to upper-class women that she forgets there are lower-class women, especially those who have to care for the working women’s children, or do the working women’s housework. Oops.

And Hirshman’s classist undertones continue…

3) Hirshman, in a scathing explanation as to why Gloria Steinem utterly ruined feminism, states, “Under her [Steinem’s] uncritically accepting eye, feminism expanded to embrace every oppressed group.” I’m sorry, is there a problem with supporting the causes of all oppressed peoples? This kind of tone sounds dangerously close to the early white feminists’ sentiment that black women and men shouldn’t be included in their fight for justice. What would feminism be like, I wonder, if this elitist notion of justice weren’t challenged?

4) Hirshman is only arguing for the educated, middle-class women. And I quote, “Organized feminism should say […] We think the educated middle-class women who were always the core of the feminist movement should seek and keep the interesting, well-paid jobs that middle-class men have.” I believe Hirshman has just left out entire groups of women, mainly the lower class. What’s more, saying that middle-class women “were always the core of the feminist movement” implies both that these women are more entitled than all other women, and that the feminist movement always has been and should remain white and middle-class (both parts being untrue). I get scared when I see statements like that.

So I guess it boils down to this: Hirshman has some great ideas, and she’s certainly passionate. Where she goes wrong is in her abrasive tone and the classist attitude which underlies her entire book. I wouldn’t take such issue if Get to Work didn’t have the subtitle, A Manifesto for Women of the World. In reality, it’s more like a manifesto for women in Hirshman’s world.

Feminism is Not an Island

2006-07-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

Last semester, I was sitting in my Culture and Society class when suddenly I realized: I was outnumbered.

I was one of maybe three feminists, or women’s advocates even, in a room of twenty. Not only that, but this class was predominantly female (a reflection of my college’s population). So, let’s do a simple deduction here: who accounted for most of the anti-feminist sentiment? The other young women, of course.

The fact that women, young women especially, can call themselves anti-feminist is still baffling to me. It is, in fact, a relatively new revelation that has left me a bit more of a cynic. I wonder how women can dismiss feminism and, when asked why, can only offer stereotypes as an answer. I’m now beginning to wonder if we feminists tend to dismiss women ignorant of feminism too quickly.

My question, or maybe my challenge, is: Are we cutting off our own movement?

Do we too easily sit in our women’s studies classrooms, or in our women’s groups, and discuss women’s issues amongst ourselves without ever trying to include the women who can’t afford higher education, or the women who aren’t in our networks? Why do younger women misunderstand feminism so grossly? I’m willing to blame a lot of it on the media’s misrepresentation of feminism, but if we allow this media to be the only source from which people - especially our target audience - derive their information, then it is our fault as well.

I know that many of us young women have been hurt when trying to share our views. We’ve been shut down by conservatives, told we were hysterical by self-satisfied men, and written off as man-hating bitches by most of society. It’s our duty now, however, to keep trying. We’ve got to keep talking – to everyone, not just to each other. If we don’t, our society will fall back upon the stereotypes that keep feminism an outsider. But if we do…well then, we just might further a movement.

Why does it always come down to sex?

2006-07-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sex as in gender, that is.

I’m talking about the way that many of my fellow Christians will profess equality for men and women, but only up to a certain point. That point usually comes when they realize that women’s equality conflicts with the old adage that men are the “spiritual head of the household,” no matter what, not to mention the whole “wives, submit to your husbands” thing.

Though these statements may be Biblically based (and many die-hard conservative sexist Christians will avow to that) I don’t see why it applies to our world today, and why we can’t see it as another way in which the Bible is a reflection of the culture in which it was written. Does it really make sense nowadays to grant men spiritual power over their wives simply because they have a penis? I don’t think so. In fact, it didn’t make sense then, either, but it seems that two thousand years ago the society was a lot more patriarchal…therefore to use such statements about women as strict mores for our current lifestyle practices ignores the fact that we’ve made any kind of progress (and by “we” I mean both humanity and women specifically). To me, that seems wrong on so many levels.

The reason I bring this up is that, as a (liberal) Christian, I've had a string of conversations with several other Christians about their views on equality, and each conversation has been initially hopeful and yet ultimately disappointing. (I won't even get into the discussions on abortion and homosexuality.) The latest of these instances was with my cousin, who’s in seminary right now on his way to becoming a minister. He had recently started working with a Baptist church, and, knowing the traditional stance the Baptist denomination takes against women in leadership roles, I asked him what his views were.

The conversation started off well. He was appalled that women were kept out of ministry and started listing off strong women from the Bible (admitting that it’s unfortunate more women weren’t recorded). He also said that he felt that the “wives, submit to your husbands” point was more about living in the circumstances you’re faced with, much like the highly-contested “slaves, obey your masters” line (which will not be discussed here, in my paltry efforts toward brevity). However, when I, encouraged by his stance, said I didn’t think men should automatically be the spiritual heads of the household, he started back-tracking a little. Let’s just say that he leaned toward the view that men are naturally endowed as better leaders, which translates into their roles in the household…he was actually unsure of what he meant himself (which is kind of a good sign) and we ended on a polite but unresolved note.

I could go on about this for days, but my point is, why are there so few Christians who believe in total equality for women and men? Thankfully, I am continually encouraged by things such as the book, Faith and Feminism, and the blog, Churchgal. I just wish there was more encouragement out there for those who think faith can be feminist and feminists can have faith.

"Opting In" versus "Opting Out"

2006-07-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

The choices for young women seem to be shrinking. Having a family excludes making partner at the law firm, and having a career excludes being a "good mother." Lisa Belkin raised the cultural antennas when she penned the short article, " The Opt-Out Revolution", detailing a few stories about extremely wealthy women who chose to "Opt-Out" of high-paying careers in order to stay at the home full-time.

The New York Times fanned the flames of this trend by publishing on its front page a story about female undergraduates at prestigious schools planning on staying at home full-time. This then resulted in a backlash from Linda Hirschman, published at American Prospect, who wrote that women who "opted out" were doing a disservice to women everywhere. Panic ensued.

I felt this fear first hand when I attended a Women's Leadership Conference at Harvard, featuring thirty undergraduate women who were leaders on campus. We came together for a week to network, do leadership training, and talk about issues facing younger women in leadership positions. The grand majority of the week was spent dealing with anxiety around solving the all important "work-life balance." However, the conversation was repetitive and never seemed to offer a solution. Rather, it seemed like squandering an opportunity to actually talk about and enhance leadership.

Meghan O'Rourke in Slate.com brings up a new perspective to the debate, and complicates some of Hirschman’s claims. O'Rourke writes that women need to recognize that there is a collective struggle, and that in order to achieve full equality, women need to literally work for it. At first, I was put off by the article. It seemed to merely reinforce the problems that plague the "opting out" debate. It focuses on a small number of privileged, elite women who actually do have a financial choice and the luxury to make it. It further privileges a heterosexual norm of relationships. Relatedly, it is difficult to swallow the idea that "all women" are in a "collective struggle." It further ignores the feminist issues of who is left in order to support the "working woman." Those legions of women who hold domestic jobs as nanny's, day care providers, maids, et cetera are rendered invisible even more by being ignored as "working."

Those criticisms aside, however, the Slate article give suggesions for practical important issues based upon practicality, in a much easier to swallow form than Hirchman. For example:

"If you buy her argument, then even if you find it hard to leave your baby at home, and even if you find the workplace sometimes less-than-fulfilling, it's important—to society as a whole—that you work. This sounds extreme, but of course it's the lesson every man is taught when he's a boy: Your responsibility to society—the way to become an adult—is to work. "

Even easier, she says that you can choose to partner with someone who is only willing to do the household/child-rearing work fifty/fifty, and must be as devoted to that as you are. However, there must be more creative solutions out there that tons of younger women have been employing. Solutions, I'm willing to bet, that haven\'t been written about in the New York Times. Personally, I've been sticking with the idea of finding a partner as committed to living a feminist life as I am. But I want to hear more. So share your thoughts!

Happy Fourth,
Dara

Did Kuwaiti Women Really Win?

2006-06-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

The question of whether Kuwait’s Thursday election was a success or a failure depends solely on your point of view.

My first reaction upon seeing the following headline in the Washington Post this morning was dismay: “No Women Chosen in Kuwaiti Vote.” Yesterday was a historical landmark, as it was the first time in Kuwait’s history that women could turn out to the polls, and yet none of the 27 female parliamentary candidates were elected. How depressing, I thought.

Yet there are many factors that contributed to the seeming “failure” of this new electoral process, none of which aided the women candidates or women voters in their quest.
(1) Kuwait’s emir, Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, dissolved parliament in May and moved the election, which was supposed to be held next year, to this month, meaning that the female candidates had only a month to prepare and campaign.
(2) The Kuwaiti women voters faced opposition from both highly conservative men and women. Some of the conservative women, in fact, showed up to heckle the voters in line and to cheer raucously for male candidates.
(3) It was at least 120 degrees outside and the voting stations were not easy to get to.

But now let’s focus on the subtitle of the article, which reads: “Advent of Female Suffrage Seen Forcing Attention to New Issues.” In other words, Kuwaiti women have the power now. They are a large constituency (they make up 60% of the electorate) and candidates will have to tailor their agendas to fit the needs of women if they expect (re)election.

I want to make sure that we don’t read “No Women Chosen in Kuwaiti Vote” and think to ourselves, “women won’t even elect their own to office.” The beginning of this article gets dangerously close to this assumption in saying, “…Kuwaiti women, voting for the first time, chose not to put a woman in parliament in Thursday’s elections.” Well, was it just the women who were voting? Absolutely not. There were conservative voters to combat, not to mention the experience and time that the male parliamentary candidates had.

The results of this election should not point to despair and cynicism, but rather to a powerful hope that, in time, Kuwaiti women will continue to grow in political power. Just looking at the reactions and the determination of many Kuwaiti women should give us a good feeling about what’s to come.

"We'll keep up our struggle and will fight until we see women in parliament," said 42-year-old economist Dashti, who won 1,539 votes, the highest of any female candidate.

A Second Introduction

2006-06-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I’m the other intern here at YWTF and I’m lucky enough to be writing the second ever post to YWTF’s blog. I first came to YWTF without knowing what to expect. My third day of work was the first day of the YWTF board retreat. Since the building was locked, Katy and I went downstairs in order to wait for the YWTF board members and let them into the building. For some reason, “board member” in my head conjured up images of well-to do men and women in their fifties. I was routinely shocked as we held the door open for the young women board members—most only a few years older than me. It was then that I realized that YWTF was the type of organization that put its principles into practice in the running of the organization.

So while Katy has told you a little bit about the history of the organization, I’d like to tell share some things about where YWTF is heading:

*One of the developments for YWTF that I’m most excited about is the creation of the Alexis Knox Fellowship. This fellowship will allow young women to develop a project that they think will improve women’s leadership and receive funding, as well as personal leadership coaching, from YWTF. Check out our website http://www.ywtf.org/ for more info.

*YWTF is also focusing on improving infrastructure, such as refining the financial reporting structure and streamlining communication between the national level and the chapters.

*As far as events go, YWTF is planning on doing more events that bridge the generational gaps between women, such as planning dinners with YWTF members and members of other women’s organizations.

There’s plenty more interesting events and issues that YWTF will be involved in, so stay tuned. Also, I plan to be writing regularly with cultural and news analysis, as well as talking about specific tools and pitfalls involved in feminist organizing that will hopefully be useful as well as entertaining. Check back often!

Hello and Welcome!

2006-06-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, this is exciting: the very first post on the YWTF blog! My name's Katy Smith, and I'm a summer intern with YWTF - I'll be making semi-regular posts along with my fellow intern, Dara. For now, I guess I'll just take a minute to say what the Younger Women's Task Force is all about and how it got started.

First, we have the mission statement of YWTF, which should give you a general idea:"Founded in January of 2005, the Younger Women’s Task Force, a project of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, is a nationwide, diverse, and inclusive grassroots movement dedicated to organizing younger women and their allies to take action on issues that matter most to them. By and for younger women, YWTF works both within and beyond the women’s movement, engaging all who are invested in advancing the rights of younger women."

Although we were founded only a year and a half ago, YWTF now has 12 chapters all over the U.S. You can go onto http://www.ywtf.org/ to see exactly where these chapters are and what they're up to, and I highly recommend getting involved with one of them. The YWTF chapters are all linked through our organization, but they also host their own events - we like the term "semiautonomous," even though it may be a bit of an oxymoron. Because YWTF is made up of a network of grassroots movements around the country, and because YWTF recognizes the diversity of views of its members, we don't have specific “younger women’s issues” on which all chapters base their activities. Instead, each chapter is encouraged to address the issues pertinent to their area's younger women, while joining YWTF as a whole when we need to advocate for national (and international) issues.

I think that pretty much covers it! If you're learning about YWTF for the first time, I hope you learned something, and that you'll soon check out our awesome website. If you're already a member of YWTF, I hope this post wasn't too boring for you, but hey, it's always nice to know our values!

***Stay tuned for updates on current events, randomness, and the like. It's gonna get a lot more interesting ;)