"Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race and Finding Home"

      Twenty years ago, in October, Anita Hill, a young female attorney, accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for sexual harassment. This occurred during the 1980s, when she worked as his aide at the Department of Education. The debate was angry and intense, and prompted a public referendum on sexual harassment and gender inequality.Thomas denied the allegations and was confirmed by a vote of 52-48 -- the closest vote in Supreme Court history.Twenty years later, Hill is a professor at Brandeis University teaching classes on race and gender equality.
       The professor's new book, "Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race and Finding Home," illustrates she is still wrestling with those questions and not just about racial and gender equality, but economic, medical and societal equality. She has currently just began a book tour this month. When ask whats her look on the case many years ago, she replies, ""I think it was just a wake-up call to the reality of some of the discrimination that women experienced," Hill said. "And that women learned they could do something about it."Hill said her feelings about testifying about the qualifications of a Supreme Court justice haven't changed in 20 years."I testified because the integrity of the court was in question," she said.

     I personally think that this is amazing that after twenty years, Anita is still fighting for equality. For her to stand up for herself and report these allegations show her eagerness for equality, and justice. Many in her position would have stayed quiet, being discourage by a man's power, because of his job and position in society. Because of her, she has encourage another not to keep silence, but go after justice. And she continues to do so by publishing new books, and teaching at her university. Reaching out to females is her goal.

Gender Inequality: Military

Ray Odierno
Gender inequality is a hot topic in reference to the military as October comes to an end. According to an article by the Army Times by Lance M. Bacon on October 22, 2011, "Congress in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act required the defense and service secretaries to review policies “to determine whether changes are needed to ensure that female members have an equitable opportunity to compete and excel in the Armed Forces.” That report was due to Congress on April 15, but the Pentagon was granted an extension through October." Proponents of women being allowed in combat argue that women are already dying in combat, should be recognized for their service, and are highly qualified, therefore, should be used as an asset to the United States Military in all roles disregarding their female gender.

Bacon reports that few details are known about what is to come with the Nation Defense Authorization Act, but displays Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno's discrepancies as foreshadowing for what is to come. Odierno states that he is not pleased with what has been decided. Bacon conveys:

“I was not involved with this specific report. It was done before I got here,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said recently. “And the reason I want to clarify that is because I am not real happy with it. I don’t think it represents some of the things that our women are doing in combat.”

“We need them there. We need their talent,” he said. “This is about managing talent. We have incredibly talented females who should be in those positions. We have work to do within the [Defense Department] to get them to recognize and change. We did not get there at this time in this report, and I’m focused on this and I will spend some time on it.”

When I decided to do my blog on this, I was speaking with my friend who has honorably served four years as a marine straight out of high school. We both believed that the real issue wasn't that women were not fit for the same jobs as men in the military, but that we still socialize women and men in extremely traditional gender roles. Most women are not taught that service or even a career in the military is a primary goal of females as a gender, and most men are not taught that women could be assets during combat. In the same article by the Army Times, he story of Sgt. Christine Baldwin displays our feelings of socialization, but proves that initial feelings are not true to outcomes in all cases:

Baldwin recently returned from an eight-month tour with Operational Detachment-A teams 1324 and 1315 in Tahlequah, in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province. She served as part of a cultural support team that builds relationships with and serves the female population that will not respond to men.

Any time you are placed at the tip of the spear, you’d better be sharp. It was a lesson that Baldwin, a computer graphics artist, learned the hard way.

Her inclusion on the team started with a five-day assessment, which Baldwin called “the most intense five days of my life.” They were pushed to their physical limits. They wore rucks for 10 straight hours while conducting land navigation. Psychological evaluations were thrown in. They were deprived of sleep while their capability, capacity and endurance were tested.

“If someone had told me everything I had to do beforehand, I would’ve been like ‘There’s no way,’ ” Baldwin said. “Afterward, was like, ‘Yeah I can do that stuff, and I am just as tough as those guys.’ ”

Baldwin had nothing but comp

liments for her teammates, who she said fully accepted her as a member of the unit.

“I had my apprehensions about going in there,” she said. “But once we got in, we told them where we were coming from and they told us where they were coming from. We went out on a few patrols right away and showed them that we were physically able to do this and there were no issues.”

Sgt. Christine Baldwin, Left

Hopefully stories like Christine Baldwin's and influence like Ray Odierno's will lead us to more egalitarian gender norms, even outside the military.

Will Women Making Strides in Government Worldwide Spread Nationally?

In the last few years, women in the American government have been making strides towards higher levels of leadership in much larger numbers than in years past and with great awareness in society.  These women project to the world images of a newer, more forward thinking America.  For example, Hilary Clinton is the first woman to make a truly credible run at the Democratic presidential seat.  Though she did not win, she is seated very high up in the government and plays a huge role internationally as one of the major faces of America and American culture.  Condolezza Rice, Sonia Sotomayor, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman have also helped open doors and keep them open for women in the American government.  Last but certainly not least, I would be remiss to not mention First Lady Michelle Obama, who is using her position to promote a healthier America.
As a result of this shift towards more female presence seated in high positions, analysts have noticed a spike in female leadership worldwide. For example, in Brazil, former economist Dilma Rousseff is the country's first female president, leading the world's seventh-largest economy.  In her company are Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Christine Lagarde, who is the new director of the International Monetary Fund and Michelle Bachellet, who is the first female president of Chile and the executive director of U.N. Women which is the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
These women are projecting images of a new, forward-thinking world (not just a country); one which focuses less on supremacy of men and far more on the need for dialogue on who is best for the job regardless of sex.

Is the United States actually progressing slower than the rest of the world in terms of women being elected in to positions of power?  It seems possible, as the U.S. is still waiting for a female president, but hopefully soon, Americans will look less at gender, and more at qualification.  The international examples named above are proof that women are capable of handling the tough jobs; so why aren't they getting them in America, where there is supposed to be equality between men and women alike?

To Educate a Girl

I saw an awesome documentary called To Educate a Girl. The documentary is about girls in Nepal and Uganda who are out of school, starting school, or fighting to stay in school. I knew that in certain countries education was a difficult thing to access but it is a completely different thing seeing these girls and hearing there stories. There are many reasons why girls aren't able to go to school but it has been proven that when a group of girls within a community get educated a community thrives more. 


According to The World Bank, when girls receive an education they have healthier and fewer babies because they are more informed about family planning. Another benefit of girls attending school is that the girl will make more money in her lifetime than she would with limited education. Another reason would be that, according to the Basic Education Coalition, that women tend to put their money back into the home to better their families.  
 
This documentary was amazing and eye opening. Unlike some documentaries it was educational but also extremely interesting to the point where you get invested into these girls lives and sincerely want the best for them. I would definitely recommend everyone watch it. 

Here is a link to the documentary. 
To Educate a Girl Documentary

The FBI Changing the Definition of Rape

There was a campaign recently to have the FBI change the definition of Rape. The FBI haven't changed the definition of rape since 1929 so it does seem to be time for an update. The definition was, 

The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Included are rapes by force and attempts or assaults to rape. Statutory offenses (no force used- victims under age of consent) are excluded. 

An FBI panel composed of outside experts from criminal justice agencies and national security agencies voted to broaden the federal government's definition. The proposed definition is,

Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.

The FBI's current narrow definition of rape has also created complications for law enforcement agencies, who can't report all the rapes they prosecute for inclusion in federal statistics if their state or locality has a broader definition.

For example, in 2010, the Chicago Police Department reported nearly 1,400 sexual assaults. None of them, however, appeared in the federal crime report because they didn't fit the federal government's definition of rape.

This change doesn’t directly affect rape arrests, charges, or convictions–this is about records and reporting. But this can help keep the number of reported rates more closely in line with the number of actual rapes, meaning that federal resources can be directed to prosecution ofactual rapes.

Transgender Individuals and the Military: Fighting For Equality

Gays in the military has been a hot topic in the media recently, resulting in the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which now allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military openly.  In Las Vegas recently, the first session of the OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit was held where active-duty military personnel were able to openly discuss the progress that has been made since the repeal of DADT and the work that still needs to be done in the quest for equality in the military.
Among the topics discussed, were repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the recognition of same-sex marriages; working towards the Pentagon's agreement to partner benefits, which are not currently offered; and conduct that is deemed discriminatory within the ranks as well as bringing attention to the many contributions made by gay and lesbian personnel; last, but certainly not least, working to convince the Pentagon to change the rules in place which prevent transgender people from serving.
By far, discrimination against those transgender individuals who wish to serve their country is currently the most sensitive issue within the military's LGBT community and of all the workshop sessions held at the OutServe summit, was the only one which summit coordinators insisted be off the record for the media.  The repeal of DADT didn't cover those individuals who have had aw gender reassignment surgery or identify with the opposite gender.  While there is no explicitly written document from the Pentagon prohibiting the acceptance of transgender individuals into the military, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) considers transgender individuals to be suffering from Gender Identity Disorder, constituting a medical disqualification from service.
OutServe must appeal to the senses of the American Psychiatric Association.  The key to success in the area of transgender service is held by the APA.  In 1973, the association faced a similar situation, resulting in the removal of homosexuality as a medical disorder.  This overturn yielded the results necessary to topple a key barrier to military service.  The APA is currently revising its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V); the new version is due in May 2013.  Advocates for transgender rights are working to have their condition reclassified, so that under specific conditions transgender individuals would be eligible to serve in the military.  If this diagnostic label can be removed, it would open the doors of service to those who have been locked out for far too long.  Though OutServe is hesitant to openly discuss its agenda, they are working diligently to strategize and mobilize a plan of action to educate people prior to making their case to the public and the Pentagon.

The Daddy Shift

      

       There has been a general shift from past to present regarding child-rearing and housework among United States household.  Fathers are spending more time with their children and on housework now, than ever before.  Jeremy Adam Smith, a writer for the New York Times, writes about this child-rearing and housework shift calling it; “the daddy shift”.  He explains this shift as “the gradual movement away from a definition of fatherhood as pure bread-winning to one that encompasses a capacity of care giving”.  A cause of this shift can be traced back to a more common economic instability that exists today among American families.  According to Smith, families are shifting to a new family model that is more resilient to trying economic times.  This resilient family model consists of both women and men that are capable of earning a living and working at home.  Though fathers spend more time with their children and on housework today than at any at any other point since researchers started collecting data, a lack of support for men in their new care giving roles has begun to slow this shift.  Studies have consistently shown that eighty to ninety percent of mothers still expect their husbands to serve as primary breadwinners.  In order for this “daddy shift” to continue, fathers need continued encouragement from their wives to participate in family life.  I have criticism for Smith regarding an ideal family model.  I question whether or not an ideal family model exists? Just because one family is different from the next, does not mean one is more prone to gender inequality than the other.

Women Judges

     When you think of the characteristics of a judge, what comes to mind? Many will reply answers like, strong-minded, firm, leader, good judgement, and MAN. Why is this? Why are there so many more men judges than women judges? This has been the case for many years. When you think a bout a judge, you immediately decide that its a male. 30-years ago a remarkable thing took place in history. Sandra Day O'Connor became our first female justice, and held a 25-year career in high court. Why was this so remarkable? Because these positions were only held by men. Men held dominance over these seats.
      Women reports for half of the graduate students in law school. Even though this is the case, women only report for 22% of U.S. Federal court judgeships, and only a quarter of state judicial seats. In corporate legal offices, only 19 percent of the attorneys are women, and in private practice, only 19 percent are partners. A 2009 study shows that in the nation's 200 largest law firms, only 6 percent of managing partners are women. Why is this the case? If the graduating students of law schools are closely to 50:50 for the ratio of men to women, why aren't the percentages more closer related? Just another issue of gender inequality.

Gender Inequality in Sports

Growing up, some of my favorite memories were spent at my grandmother's house. Her walls were covered in framed photographs and newspaper clippings, plaques, and artifacts from around the world. One of my favorite pictures was of her softball team. When I asked her if she was any good, she replied, "I was the best on the team."

Sports were just one aspect of life that my grandmother pursued confidently. She denied my grandfather marriage seven times in order to finish her nursing degree (back in those days, if she would have accepted, she would have had to withdraw from nursing school). However, I resonated a lot with her involvement in sports simply because I was very athletic myself. Ask people about gender inequality in sport, and a majority would say that women's sports are just boring and not as exciting as men's. And this statement is fine, because it is their preference, but I think a lot of women and girls have to fight a lot of scrutiny to be taken seriously in sports. In many cases, women find popularity if they are not only good but also attractive; i.e., Skylar Diggins, Candace Parker, Maria Sharapova. If fathers want their daughters to play sports, they generally say they are raising their daughters like boys. Women sports are generally always looked at as second to mens, and women are more likely than men to be punished more severely for un-sportsmen-like behavior (even the name says something, un-sportsMEN).

One of my favorite movies that displays gender inequality in sport is A League of Their Own (1992) . One of the two main characters is named Dottie, which happens to be the name of my grandmother. The story is about how Walter Harvey proposed a professional baseball league for women during WWII.

Here are some quotes from the movie that display some common events/reactions to women and sports:

Mae Mordabito: [During the league's publicity drive] What if at a key moment in the game my, my uniform bursts open and, uh, oops., my bosoms come flying out? That, that might draw a crowd, right?
Doris Murphy: You think there are men in this country who ain't seen your bosoms?

Dave Hooch: I know my girl ain't so pretty as these girls, but that's my fault. I raised her like I would a boy. I didn't know any better. She loves to play. Don't make my little girl suffer because I messed up raising her. Please.

Ira Lowenstein: This is what it's going to be like in the factories, too, I suppose, isn't it? "The men are back, Rosie, turn in your rivets." We told them it was their patriotic duty to get out of the kitchen and go to work; and now, when the men come back, we'll send them back to the kitchen.
Walter Harvey: What should we do - send the boys returning from WAR back to the kitchen?

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104694/

Alimony for Men???

     When it came to an individual having to pay alimony to their former spouse, it was always the man paying it to their wife. For years the judge was more likely to ruled in favor of the woman, for financial assistance. This has always brought the attention to discrimination towards men. Why are they obligated to help their former spouse? Even though men are still the one's mostly paying alimony, the percentage of women paying alimony has increased incredibly. What contribute to the change?

       Alimony is considered based on how long the marriage was, who was making majority of  the household money, what was the daily sacrifices for survival, and by getting divorce, due to the sacrifices will you be able to continue to survive. Men has always seen to be the "head of the house." which means they make all the money. Due to this, they are obligated to help their former wife, even if they are no longer together and divorce. But now, men are finding themselves more in positions where they can be receiving alimony. A number one reason for this is that women are starting to make more money then men. Another reason is women are now gaining more education, and when it comes to pursuing their career, men make major sacrifices, such as moving for a job opportunity for their wife. These factors have contributed to the changes when it comes to alimony. Even though many still believe the men percentage is still to much higher, when compared to women percentage.

Alcohol: Male or Female?

 Can a gender inequality really exist with regards to Alcohol?  Apparently the answer to that question can be put up for debate.  Alcohol has an unequal affect on men and women.  This results in the intoxication of women far faster with fewer amounts of alcohol than men.  It is common knowledge that this is partly due to the fact that women are typically smaller than men.  Also, women generally have a higher percentage of body fat compared to body water which affects alcohol absorption rates.  Another difference exists regarding the metabolizing process of alcohol between men and women.  This difference can be traced to the comparatively small amounts of an enzyme named gastric alcohol dehydrogenase.  This enzyme helps break down the alcohol in the stomach prior to absorption which helps decrease a person’s level of intoxication.  Because women do not have as much of this enzyme, their level of intoxication will be higher than men, even when weight is accounted for in the comparison.  When taking this information into consideration, one can see that there is a slight disadvantage among women and alcohol.  Using this knowledge, one can infer that women have a greater chance of reaching the legal limit of intoxication with fewer amounts of alcohol then men.  This may help to distinguish disparities that may exist among women regarding DUI laws.

Gender Inequality Amongst Company CEO’s

The push for gender inequality within the workplace has been a hot topic regarding employment for decades.  By examining the statistics regarding the number of males and females that hold white collared jobs in the United States from past to present, one can see that great strides have been made.  Today, women hold about half of all white collared employment positions here in the United States.  The numbers begin to shift drastically when looking at those who hold high prestigious positions within the company.  Currently, women represent 14.4 percent of executive officers at Fortune 500 companies.  Though this number has risen compared to past generations, the difference is still extremely high.  Only two out of the thirty United States companies that are observed on the Dow Jones are headed by females.  Taking into consideration the recent firing of Yahoo’s CEO, Carol Bartz, will this gender inequality that exists among CEO’s start to shift?  Some believe that the struggling number of 14.4 percent will only grow a little, if any given the current economic circumstances.  This can be due to the fact that many experts believe that unlike men, woman often have trouble finding mentors to help guide them through major career choices.  This might be an indication of gender prejudices that exist among those that hold executive positions.

Nobel Peace Prize

This year three women won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work". Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (the President of Liberia), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), and Tawakkul Karman (Yemen) are role models to women everywhere. These three women spend their lives fighting, non-violently, for gender equality. Most of the awards have been given to men, and they were the first women to win the prize since Wangari Maathai in 2004 (New York Times). Their award shows that even though much has been done, there is still a lot to accomplish in terms of gender equality. Even though these women are not American citizens, American women should take note. The sacrifices these women make fighting for gender equality are not the same as what females face in the United States, but there are comparable elements. Knowing that three women have been recognized for their efforts in gender equality should be an inspiring moment in history for everyone, not just women. In America, the LBGT community continues to gain awareness as the scope of gender equality grows. Women and men should strive for egalitarian gender norms no matter what gender or sexual orientation.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2011

NY Times

Quotes Nobel Peace Prize Website:

"Congratulation!! and thank you for your hard working to make a difference in our world, to make it a better place."

/fatemeh mir

"Goodness...many thanks for your effort and your sample to all cultures around the world. Congratulations from Pasto, Colombia."

/Darío Romo

A brief Commentary on Commentary on Hollywood's

In an article Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor on the office) wrote for the New York Times she gave witty commentary on the state of women in movies today. She hilariously writes on the mystifying women that dominate our screens, and the fallacy of their real life existence. 

A few years ago, I sat down for a meeting with some executives at a movie studio that I will call Thinkscope Visioncloud. Thinkscope Visioncloud had put out several of my favorite movies, and they wanted to see if I had any feature ideas. I was very excited. I have a great job writing for “The Office,” but, really, all television writers do is dream of one day writing movies. I’ll put it this way: At the Oscars the most famous person in the room is, like, Angelina Jolie. At the Emmys the huge exciting celebrity is Bethenny Frankel. You get what I mean. It’s snobby and grossly aspirational, but it’s true.

The junior executives’ office at Thinkscope Visioncloud was nicer than any room within a fifty-mile radius of the “Office” studio. After I finished pitching one of my ideas for a low-budget romantic comedy, I was met with silence. One of the execs sheepishly looked at the other execs. He finally said, “Yeah, but we’re really trying to focus on movies about board games. People really seem to respond to those.” (Really, since when?) 

For the rest of the meeting, we talked about whether there was any potential in a movie called “Yahtzee!” I made some polite suggestions and left.
I am always surprised at what movie studios think people will want to see. I’m even more surprised at how often they are correct. Based on what I’ve learned from my time in Hollywood, the following titles are my best guess as to what may soon be coming to a theater near you: 

“Bananagrams 3D”
“Apples to Apples 4D” (The audience is pummeled with apples at the end of the movie.)
“Crest Whitestrips”
“Sharks vs. Volcanoes”
“King Tut vs. King Kong”
“Streptococcus vs. Candidiasis” (Strep Throat vs. Yeast Infection)
“The Do-Over”
“The Switcheroo”
“Street Smart”
“Street Stupid” (“Street Smart” sequel)
“Fat Astronaut”
“The Untitled Liam Neeson Vendetta Project” 
“Human Quilt” (horror movie)
“The Cute Bear from Those Toilet-Paper Ads Movie”

Those movies all sound great to me, and, incidentally, I am prepared to write any of them, if there is interest. But what I’d really like to write is a romantic comedy. This is my favorite kind of movie. I feel almost embarrassed revealing this, because the genre has been so degraded in the past twenty years that saying you like romantic comedies is essentially an admission of mild stupidity. But that has not stopped me from enjoying them.

I like watching people fall in love onscreen so much that I can suspend my disbelief in the contrived situations that occur only in the heightened world of romantic comedies. I have come to enjoy the moment when the male lead, say, slips and falls right on top of the expensive wedding cake. I actually feel robbed when the female lead’s dress doesn’t get torn open at a baseball game while the JumboTron camera is on her. I regard romantic comedies as a subgenre of sci-fi, in which the world operates according to different rules than my regular human world. For me, there is no difference between Ripley from “Alien” and any Katherine Heigl character. They are equally implausible. They’re all participating in a similar level of fakey razzle-dazzle, and I enjoy every second of it.It makes sense, then, that in the romantic-comedy world there are many specimens of women who—like Vulcans or Mothra—do not exist in real life. Here are some examples:

The Klutz 

When a beautiful actress is cast in a movie, executives rack their brains to find some kind of flaw in the character she plays that will still allow her to be palatable. She can’t be overweight or not perfect-looking, because who would pay to see that? A female who is not one hundred per cent perfect-looking in every way? You might as well film a dead squid decaying on a beach somewhere for two hours.So they make her a Klutz.The hundred-per-cent-perfect-looking female is perfect in every way except that she constantly bonks her head on things. She trips and falls and spills soup on her affable date (Josh Lucas. Is that his name? I know it’s two first names. Josh George? Brad Mike? Fred Tom? Yes, it’s Fred Tom). The Klutz clangs into stop signs while riding her bike and knocks over giant displays of fine china in department stores. Despite being five feet nine and weighing a hundred and ten pounds, she is basically like a drunk buffalo who has never been a part of human society. But Fred Tom loves her anyway.

The Ethereal Weirdo

The smart and funny writer Nathan Rabin coined the term Manic Pixie Dream Girl to describe this archetype after seeing Kirsten Dunst in the movie “Elizabethtown.” This girl can’t be pinned down and may or may not show up when you make concrete plans with her. She wears gauzy blouses and braids. She likes to dance in the rain and she weeps uncontrollably if she sees a sign for a missing dog or cat. She might spin a globe, place her finger on a random spot, and decide to move there. The Ethereal Weirdo appears a lot in movies, but nowhere else. If she were from real life, people would think she was a homeless woman and would cross the street to avoid her. But she is essential to the male fantasy that even if a guy is boring he deserves a woman who will find him fascinating and perk up his dreary life by forcing him to go skinny-dipping in a stranger’s pool.

The Woman Who Is Obsessed with Her Career and Is No Fun at All 

I regularly work sixteen hours a day. Yet, like most people I know who are similarly busy, I’m a pleasant, pretty normal person. But that’s not how working women are depicted in movies. I’m not always barking orders into my hands-free phone device and yelling, “I have no time for this!” Often, a script calls for this uptight career woman to “relearn” how to seduce a man, and she has to do all sorts of crazy degrading crap, like eat a hot dog in a sexy way or something.And since when does holding a job necessitate that a woman pull her hair back in a severe, tight bun? Do screenwriters think that loose hair makes it hard to concentrate?

The Forty-two-Year-Old Mother of the Thirty-Year-Old Male Lead 

If you think about the backstory of a typical mother character in a romantic comedy, you realize this: when “Mom” was an adolescent, the very week she started to menstruate she was impregnated with a baby who would grow up to be the movie’s likable brown-haired leading man. I am fascinated by Mom’s sordid early life. I would rather see this movie than the one I bought a ticket for.
I am so brainwashed by the young-mom phenomenon that when I saw the poster for “The Proposal” I wondered for a second if the proposal in the movie was Ryan Reynolds’ suggesting that he send his mother, Sandra Bullock, to an old-age home.

The Sassy Best Friend
You know that really hilarious and horny best friend who is always asking about your relationship and has nothing really going on in her own life? She always wants to meet you in coffee shops or wants to go to Bloomingdale’s to sample perfumes? She runs a chic dildo store in the West Village? Nope? O.K., that’s this person. 

The Skinny Woman Who Is Beautiful and Toned but Also Gluttonous and Disgusting
Again, I am more than willing to suspend my disbelief for good set decoration alone. One pristine kitchen from a Nancy Meyers movie like “It’s Complicated” compensates for five scenes of Diane Keaton being caught half naked in a topiary. But I can’t suspend disbelief enough, for instance, if the gorgeous and skinny heroine is also a ravenous pig when it comes to food. And everyone in the movie—her parents, her friends, her boss—are all complicit in this huge lie. They constantly tell her to stop eating. And this actress, this poor skinny actress who obviously lost weight to play the likable lead character, has to say things like “Shut up, you guys! I love cheesecake! If I want to eat an entire cheesecake, I will!” If you look closely, you can see this woman’s ribs through the dress she’s wearing—that’s how skinny she is, this cheesecake-loving cow.

The Woman Who Works in an Art Gallery 

How many freakin’ art galleries are out there? Are people buying visual art on a daily basis? This posh/smart/classy profession is a favorite in movies. It’s in the same realm as kindergarten teacher or children’s-book illustrator in terms of accessibility: guys don’t really get it, but it is likable and nonthreatening. Art Gallery Woman: “Dust off the Warhol. You know, that Campbell’s Soup one in the crazy color! We have an important buyer coming into town, and this is a really big deal for my career. I have no time for this!” The Gallery Worker character is the rare female movie archetype that has a male counterpart. Whenever you meet a handsome, charming, successful man in a romantic comedy, the heroine’s friend always says the same thing: “He’s really successful. He’s”—say it with me—“an architect!”There are, like, nine people in the entire world who are architects, and one of them is my dad. None of them look like Patrick Dempsey.

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2011/10/03/111003sh_shouts_kaling?currentPage=all

These stereotypical roles reflect and reinforce the dominant ideology. Although a good chunk of the population are women they are still unbelievably underrepresented in the movies. The film industry today is more sensitive to issues of culture and gender but movies still are perpetuating ridiculous misconceptions and are very limited in terms of women. Even the movies that seem to feature women breaking out of these common molds are still extremely sexist. A great example of an undercover sexist movie would be Sucker Punch. After first viewing the trailer you think "Oh this is a great girl power kind of movie!" and than you see it and you're sorely disappointed. 


A feminist review of Sucker Punch is here: 

I am completely in love of with Mindy's commentary and she is right on about these basic female archetypes that are prevalent in movies. 

"No New Babies"

        There is not one female that can imagined being told, "you are not allowed to have anymore children." This seem just devastating not being allowed to reproduce anymore. So who has the power to instruct a female not to? There are many females that fine themselves in these situations, and if they step cross and continue to reproduce, they will have consequences that will follow.
       The person that has the power to do so is a judge. There are many females that are place in this position. There are many examples. A case where the woman name was, Dawn Sprinkle,age 29, was instructed by a Judge Dorothy McCarter, that she must refrain from having any new babies. Dawn was on probation and violated it by using drugs during her preganancy, and was instructed not to get pregnant for ten years. While having a 10 year sentence in prison, where she only served 5, Judge McCarter ordered her to take birth control and report for regular pregnancy tests at the local jail. After doing her sentence, and if she became pregnant, the judge will place her back in jail or place her under intensive supervision. Because of this, would Dawn ever be able to reproduce again?

        This brought up the topic of gender inequality. Issues were brought up detailing that there was never a case where a man was told not to reproduce beause they had a drug issue. This was primarily and only focus on women. What does this suggest? Is the judge being fair? Many believes that this is gender inequality and if it is taking from a woman then it should be taken from a man also.Whats the differene between a man who is on drugs, and getting women pregnant?

Princess Boy

Growing up, there were only girl cousins on my mom's side of the family. My uncles and my dad did not let that stop them from making sure we knew how to play every sport and play it well. No one discouraged me from wearing sporty clothes or always wanting to show up the boys when it came to some active competition, but the story seems to be different for boys who enjoy things that are socially associated with girls.

Cheryl Kilodavis is attempting to bring light to the other side of the tomboy that has not been as accepted. She wrote a book called My Princess Boy based on her son who liked to dress up in dresses. My Princess Boy

has raised a lot of controversy (surprise!) but as a former tomboy I cannot imagine anyone ever telling me that I could not compete with boys. It is small things like "you throw like a girl" that continue to unhealthily divide gender. Cheryl says the breaking point from when she realized she was going about her son's wants to dress up in dresses the wrong way was when he said "Why can't you just let me be happy mom?"

Earlier this year, J. Crew posted an ad in which a little boy is getting his toenails painted pink by his mother. Of course, the ad sparked a lot of controversy as well. Some mothers responded as "who cares?" defying traditional gender stereotypes, and others responded

negatively. As a woman, I can't bring myself to think that it is wrong to allow little boys to figure out who they are and be able to experience thinks like dress up and painting nails if that is what makes them happy. As women, we were once confined to cooking, cleaning, bridge games, and fashion. We were allowed to "cross-over" into traditional male territory, so why can't men?

Sex Segregated Schools Detrimental to Gender Equality Progress

For many years, people have been sending their children to sex segregated schools.  While the education received at these institutions tends to be great, it is not because of the separation.  In fact, in most cases, students attending these schools are at a social disadvantage.  Being in a same-sex learning environment tends to make these students more accepting of gender stereotypes.

There is no evidence to support the idea that separate but equal learning environments produces a better learning outcome for either males or females.  America is founded on ideals and principles that promote equality in education for all.  Also, students in single-sex schools are at a greater disadvantage because they don't experience learning proper interaction with people of the opposite sex in an setting where they are on a level playing field.

I think that it is vital for children to be able to interact with the opposite sex from a young age. This interaction is vital to understanding the opposite sex as well as their strengths on some levels.  This interaction is also vital to avoiding the belief in sex-related stereotypes because children will grow up with people of the opposite sex that will force them to at least question stereotypes that exist within our society.  For further reading, take a look at this article on Sex Segregated schools.

Gender Politics: Michele Bachman

Rep. Michele Bachman (Minn.) is one of 8 Republican presidential hopefuls. She is known for articulating plans of action (should she be voted into office) in stark contrast to those of the Democratic Party and offends many with her brand of politics. She is forceful in her speaking, spewing opinions that appeal of the Republican senses. However, as of late, she has been losing ground; while her ideas on policy tend to be in line with her party affiliation, she is not very popular among voters nationwide. However, this lack of popularity doesn't primarily stem from her politics; but rather her personality (saying that you believe that wives should be "submissive" to their husbands probably won't win over the overwhelming majority of female voters). She has decided to go against the grain in terms of women hoping to win the presidential seat, and downplay her gender.

In the past, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin played up the fact that they are women, which in many respects kept them relevant in the public. However, Bachman has opted to instead run her campaign primarily on policies. In her attempt, she never mentions the barriers that would be broken and opportunities that would be presented to women if she were to be voted the first female president, nor does she identify as a feminist or fully embrace policies that are deemed feminist or pro-woman.

While I am not a fan of most of her viewpoints, I have to admit, for her party affiliation, it works. This strategy is likely to appeal to conservative voters, especially in the South. Sometimes, bringing gender into the equation ends up doing more harm than good by turning the focus from the issues and towards the fact that the candidate is a woman. Also, because she could be the first female president, she doesn't want to ever want to appear less qualified because of gender. Let me be clear: gender does NOT determine qualification for the office of president. However, in the history of our society, being a woman has incorrectly been associated with weakness.

I am interested in seeing how this plays out; the more she shys away from her gender, the more she stands to lose as it pertains to women across the country. What effect will this have on women's rights activists and groups that would have almost surely supported her had she embraced her gender as a campaign point?

Female Prisons vs. Male Prisons

       Gender inequality exists in many things, even in the prisons. This occurs in a variety of places, even here throughout South Carolina. This problem has existed in previous years, and even though we have came up a little, it still does occur.

       In early years, it was said that inequality existed and it caught the attention of many. First off, females were treated differently because they are one's society view not to be committing crimes and doing deviant acts. They are suppose to act like a"lady" and committing a criminal act will be going "against her very nature as the fairer sex." Due to this they were treated with lesser compassion then men. Men sometimes were expected to act out and commit crimes to display their strength and masculinity.
      Some inequality's that existed in early years was that women received inadequate health care, there were different educational opportunities,  as well as different vocational programs, and even not libraries. Men received these many opportunities and programs and more money was invested into them. Another inequality was that because of the men population in prisons, they were distributed in minimum, medium, and maximum security prisons. Women were all place together, not distributed based on the severity of their crime, which was automatically maximum security prisons. They were not equal due to the large gaps in population between male and females. Did this seem unfair?
      Now, today it is said to be equal when compared. The reason in being is because, the rate for women population in prisons has risen tremendously. Another reason is said that because the severity of their crimes are closely related, but a few a little different such as prostitution and check forgery. Due to this everybody is at fair game and is equally said to be punish and put in the same situations, and have the same benefits.But society knows this isn't the case....

Do you think gender inequality still exists in prisons?

Occupy Wall Street

This is a gender inequality blog but I thought this Occupy Wall Street movement was too great  to not talk about. A little back story about Occupy Wall Street is that the movement began September 17th in Liberty Square. There were only a little over a thousand people who came to the first protest so no one really payed any attention to it. But over the past few weeks this movement has grown unbelievably strong, garnering international media attention. The protesters call themselves the 99% which is a nod to the statistic that the top 1% control 42% of financial wealth in the US. There is no leader of this movement and they don't have any clear objectives other than to show their disdain for the current economic climate. One growing theme that is coming from Occupy Wall Street is that people feel that there interests aren't be thought of in government. That while these huge financial corporations are being bailed out, the rest of America is being told to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.


What I find amazing is that these are people who come from all walks of life coming together to protest. This past Sunday there were about 100 New York public school teachers protesting, a group of Marines came all the way from Florida to show their support, celebrity activists such as Dr. Cornel West and Michael Moore have lent their voice to this cause and there are countless students at these protests. Not only are the protests getting bigger in New York but they're spreading all around the world. There are 52 American cities starting their own Occupy demonstration. By September 28, 2011, all six of Australia's territories had their own Occupations being organized in major cities. There are also occupations being organized in Britain, Canada, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. 


 I think that it's also interesting how little i've heard about this! I first heard about this on tumblr (a social networking site), and it's not being picked up by major American media while I've found while doing research on the movement that foreign media has been most up to date on this movement. I am really interested to see where this thing goes. 

Here is a quote by Michael Parenti that seems extremely pertinent, "A nation's greatness can be measured by it's ability to create a society free of poverty, racism, sexism, imperialism, and social and environmental devestation."


Brief Overview of Occupy Wall Street


There will be an Occupy Columbia, SC! Here's the facebook page for Occupy Columbia to get updates:
http://www.facebook.com/occupycolumbia