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May 19, 2015
The butthurt is strong.
Men’s rights ‘spokesman’ says ‘Mad Max’ boycott was totally not official — now he wants an apology
Men’s rights ‘spokesman’ says ‘Mad Max’ boycott was totally not official — now he wants an apologyThe butthurt is strong.
May 17, 2015
<snip>
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/canadian-teen-dress-code-rebuttal#.oeoQ2oNAWK
A Canadian Teen Wrote The Best Rebuttal After Getting Detention For Wearing A Halter Dress
A Canadian Teen Wrote The Best Rebuttal After Getting Detention For Wearing A Halter Dress<snip>
“If you are truly so concerned that a boy in this school will get distracted by my upper back and shoulders then he needs to be sent home and practice self control,” she wrote.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/canadian-teen-dress-code-rebuttal#.oeoQ2oNAWK
May 16, 2015
The National Journal conducted a study of women congressional staffers on the Hill and has been releasing some of the findings in a series of articles. On Thursday, Sarah Mimms highlighted how women are still held back from certain networking and career opportunities. Many staffers, she writes, are "not allowed to spend one-on-one time with their male bosses."
This is what happens when appearances are put ahead of substance. Sexual harassment shouldn't be reduced to the appearance of impropriety. Sexual harassment is an active choice that the harasser makes, and the way to fight it is to hold men who harass accountable, not to act like life on the Hill is taking place within a Victorian novel. Instead, because some powerful men mistreat women, the solution is to deprive women of opportunities for career advancement.
In Missouri this week, state house speaker John Diehl was caught in a "sexually charged" relationship with a college freshman interning in his office; Missouri Southern State University responded by shutting down the internship program. That is punishing people who have little or no power because some middle-aged man allegedly gave in to some teenager's flattering attentions.
You're not taking sexual harassment and abuse of power seriously if your solutions focus on depriving victims and potential victims of job opportunities. These women are willing to run the risk that some gross older man will get grabby with them in order to advance their career; their bosses should meet them halfway by running the risk of "impropriety."
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/05/15/one_more_obstacle_for_women_on_the_hill_male_congressmen_will_only_meet.html
Female Staffers on the Hill Are Being Shut Out Of One-On-One Meetings with Bosses
Female Staffers on the Hill Are Being Shut Out Of One-On-One Meetings with BossesThe National Journal conducted a study of women congressional staffers on the Hill and has been releasing some of the findings in a series of articles. On Thursday, Sarah Mimms highlighted how women are still held back from certain networking and career opportunities. Many staffers, she writes, are "not allowed to spend one-on-one time with their male bosses."
Several female aides reported that they have been barred from staffing their male bosses at evening events, driving alone with their congressman or senator, or even sitting down one-on-one in his office for fear that others would get the wrong impression.
This is what happens when appearances are put ahead of substance. Sexual harassment shouldn't be reduced to the appearance of impropriety. Sexual harassment is an active choice that the harasser makes, and the way to fight it is to hold men who harass accountable, not to act like life on the Hill is taking place within a Victorian novel. Instead, because some powerful men mistreat women, the solution is to deprive women of opportunities for career advancement.
In Missouri this week, state house speaker John Diehl was caught in a "sexually charged" relationship with a college freshman interning in his office; Missouri Southern State University responded by shutting down the internship program. That is punishing people who have little or no power because some middle-aged man allegedly gave in to some teenager's flattering attentions.
You're not taking sexual harassment and abuse of power seriously if your solutions focus on depriving victims and potential victims of job opportunities. These women are willing to run the risk that some gross older man will get grabby with them in order to advance their career; their bosses should meet them halfway by running the risk of "impropriety."
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/05/15/one_more_obstacle_for_women_on_the_hill_male_congressmen_will_only_meet.html
May 15, 2015
House Republicans voted on Wednesday to pass a modified but still terrible version of their 20-week abortion ban. The measure no longer includes a provision forcing rape victims to report the assault to the police in order to access care, but it still makes them jump through hoops. Instead of mandatory reporting to law enforcement, the updated bill requires victims to seek mandatory counseling — effectively a waiting period. It is still unconstitutional. It is still based on phony science.
Elsewhere in the country, numerous other restrictions have passed at least one legislative chamber or have already become law:
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/05/14/were_living_in_an_anti_choice_nightmare_25_ways_anti_women_warriors_are_playing_doctor/
We’re living in an anti-choice nightmare: 25 ways anti-women warriors are playing doctor
We’re living in an anti-choice nightmare: 25 ways anti-women warriors are playing doctorHouse Republicans voted on Wednesday to pass a modified but still terrible version of their 20-week abortion ban. The measure no longer includes a provision forcing rape victims to report the assault to the police in order to access care, but it still makes them jump through hoops. Instead of mandatory reporting to law enforcement, the updated bill requires victims to seek mandatory counseling — effectively a waiting period. It is still unconstitutional. It is still based on phony science.
Elsewhere in the country, numerous other restrictions have passed at least one legislative chamber or have already become law:
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/05/14/were_living_in_an_anti_choice_nightmare_25_ways_anti_women_warriors_are_playing_doctor/
May 14, 2015
Recent elections in Austin, Texas, have given the city its first majority-female city council, with seven out of 11 members of the lady persuasion. It's a milestone, though not an earth-shattering one. But city manager Marc Ott—or someone in his office—apparently thought the change needed to be met with a training workshop for city employees on how to deal with this confounding creature, the female human being.
The first speaker was Jonathan K. Allen, whose claim to fame is being the city manager of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, which has an all-female city council. Austin-American Statesman writer Lilly Rockwell collected some of the highlights of Allen's talk—which appeared to be given to a majority-female audience—in which he explained that women lack interest in “the financial argument” and would rather ask questions than read handout material. Allen shows heroic forbearance in putting up with all these chattering females, because “my daughter taught me the importance of being patient.”
“They don't process things at [sic] the same way,” Allen said, to women, referring to women. (The same way as what? Woman, you ask too many questions!)
Shortly after Allen's talk, the women of Lauderdale Lakes fired him as city manager. (Lest you think that a feminist cabal is running all the men out of town: They appointed another man, Dan Holmes, as acting city manager.)
Later in the session, business consultant Miya Burt-Stewart concurred with Allen's assessment that women can be irritating with their endless questions and also argued that men have a “dominating” management style while women have a “compromising” one.
Training workshops full of self-important puffery are an unfortunate fact of the modern American workplace, but rarely do you see one this ridiculous. That this happened in Austin, generally a laid-back and liberal city, makes it all the more puzzling. When the Statesman asked why the city subjected a majority-female audience to evidence-free stereotypes about their own gender, city spokesman David Green said it was a “timely and relevant professional development opportunity.” Consultancy jargon will also teach you the importance of being patient.
Read more: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/05/13/austin_has_a_female_majority_city_council_that_means_we_need_a_workshop.html
Austin Greets Female-Majority City Council With Workshop on How Women Are the Worst
Austin Greets Female-Majority City Council With Workshop on How Women Are the WorstRecent elections in Austin, Texas, have given the city its first majority-female city council, with seven out of 11 members of the lady persuasion. It's a milestone, though not an earth-shattering one. But city manager Marc Ott—or someone in his office—apparently thought the change needed to be met with a training workshop for city employees on how to deal with this confounding creature, the female human being.
The first speaker was Jonathan K. Allen, whose claim to fame is being the city manager of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, which has an all-female city council. Austin-American Statesman writer Lilly Rockwell collected some of the highlights of Allen's talk—which appeared to be given to a majority-female audience—in which he explained that women lack interest in “the financial argument” and would rather ask questions than read handout material. Allen shows heroic forbearance in putting up with all these chattering females, because “my daughter taught me the importance of being patient.”
“They don't process things at [sic] the same way,” Allen said, to women, referring to women. (The same way as what? Woman, you ask too many questions!)
Shortly after Allen's talk, the women of Lauderdale Lakes fired him as city manager. (Lest you think that a feminist cabal is running all the men out of town: They appointed another man, Dan Holmes, as acting city manager.)
Later in the session, business consultant Miya Burt-Stewart concurred with Allen's assessment that women can be irritating with their endless questions and also argued that men have a “dominating” management style while women have a “compromising” one.
Training workshops full of self-important puffery are an unfortunate fact of the modern American workplace, but rarely do you see one this ridiculous. That this happened in Austin, generally a laid-back and liberal city, makes it all the more puzzling. When the Statesman asked why the city subjected a majority-female audience to evidence-free stereotypes about their own gender, city spokesman David Green said it was a “timely and relevant professional development opportunity.” Consultancy jargon will also teach you the importance of being patient.
Read more: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/05/13/austin_has_a_female_majority_city_council_that_means_we_need_a_workshop.html
May 14, 2015
<snip>
The Lagos-based newspaperVanguard reported that of the 234 women and girls rescued earlier this month by the Nigerian Army, at least 214 are pregnant, and media outlets across the world picked up that claim. According to Ratidzai Ndhlovu, an in-country representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), that figure is incorrect — the 234 girls are in a camp in the eastern city of Yola and are still being evaluated by health workers, who have not yet released figures on the number of pregnancies. There are 214 other girls and women, some recovered Boko Haram kidnap victims and others not, who are pregnant in an IDP camp in Borno. Confusion about location and numbers aside, all parties agree that of the hundreds of women and girls rescued from Boko Haram, and the hundreds more the Nigerian government hopes to recover, many will be pregnant and will need extensive medical and psychological care.
Governments and international organizations are stepping up to help, offering antenatal care, family planning services, and treatment for malnourishment. Media stories about the rescued women and girls abound. But despite the fact that a story about pregnant rape survivors — potentially hundreds of them — is making headlines across the globe, almost no one in media, in government, or on the NGO circuit is talking about the need for abortion.
A small handful of advocates for global women's rights say that's an unconscionable omission. There are legal obstacles, but they say there's an established framework for providing abortions to rape victims in Nigeria. The problem is lack of political will.
"There's enough international work and policy that has gone into addressing the exact issue we are faced with right now that it should be a no-brainer for international donors like the U.S. government, like UNFPA, to be going into Nigeria and helping these girls access safe abortions, for the ones who want and choose that," Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), an organization that advocates for a human-rights-based foreign policy that centers on the rights of women and girls, told Cosmopolitan.com. "There are resources, there's policy in place, it's just a matter of being compassionate and providing these services. I'm beside myself that nobody's talking about this."
According to mental health experts, rape survivors are best served when they are able to make their own decisions about their bodies and their care. Particularly important, experts say, is survivors' ability to regain control over their bodies, their lives, and their choices — and that includes the right to exercise a full range of reproductive choice.
"If there's any sort of return to normalcy, there needs to be engagement with the woman about what she can do to reclaim her life," Bea Arthur, a therapist who often works with victims of violence, told Cosmopolitan.com. "Telling someone they can't have a choice extends that trauma and denies them their own humanity, integrity, and basic human self-respect."
Read more: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a40182/nigerian-rape-victims-abortion/
As Boko Haram Kidnapping Victims Are Rescued, Many of Them Are Pregnant. Why Isn't Anyone Talking Ab
As Boko Haram Kidnapping Victims Are Rescued, Many of Them Are Pregnant. Why Isn't Anyone Talking About Their Right to Abortion?<snip>
The Lagos-based newspaperVanguard reported that of the 234 women and girls rescued earlier this month by the Nigerian Army, at least 214 are pregnant, and media outlets across the world picked up that claim. According to Ratidzai Ndhlovu, an in-country representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), that figure is incorrect — the 234 girls are in a camp in the eastern city of Yola and are still being evaluated by health workers, who have not yet released figures on the number of pregnancies. There are 214 other girls and women, some recovered Boko Haram kidnap victims and others not, who are pregnant in an IDP camp in Borno. Confusion about location and numbers aside, all parties agree that of the hundreds of women and girls rescued from Boko Haram, and the hundreds more the Nigerian government hopes to recover, many will be pregnant and will need extensive medical and psychological care.
Governments and international organizations are stepping up to help, offering antenatal care, family planning services, and treatment for malnourishment. Media stories about the rescued women and girls abound. But despite the fact that a story about pregnant rape survivors — potentially hundreds of them — is making headlines across the globe, almost no one in media, in government, or on the NGO circuit is talking about the need for abortion.
A small handful of advocates for global women's rights say that's an unconscionable omission. There are legal obstacles, but they say there's an established framework for providing abortions to rape victims in Nigeria. The problem is lack of political will.
"There's enough international work and policy that has gone into addressing the exact issue we are faced with right now that it should be a no-brainer for international donors like the U.S. government, like UNFPA, to be going into Nigeria and helping these girls access safe abortions, for the ones who want and choose that," Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), an organization that advocates for a human-rights-based foreign policy that centers on the rights of women and girls, told Cosmopolitan.com. "There are resources, there's policy in place, it's just a matter of being compassionate and providing these services. I'm beside myself that nobody's talking about this."
According to mental health experts, rape survivors are best served when they are able to make their own decisions about their bodies and their care. Particularly important, experts say, is survivors' ability to regain control over their bodies, their lives, and their choices — and that includes the right to exercise a full range of reproductive choice.
"If there's any sort of return to normalcy, there needs to be engagement with the woman about what she can do to reclaim her life," Bea Arthur, a therapist who often works with victims of violence, told Cosmopolitan.com. "Telling someone they can't have a choice extends that trauma and denies them their own humanity, integrity, and basic human self-respect."
Read more: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a40182/nigerian-rape-victims-abortion/
May 9, 2015
For this edition of Worst State of the Week, we honor the mothers of America by looking at some cold, hard statistics in order to answer the question: What member of the Union makes it harder on women just to do the daily work of parenting? We looked across several categories to spread the love among numerous worthy states.
Unintended pregnancy is riskier than planned pregnancy both in terms of the mother and child's health, and in terms of the mother's ability to still achieve her education and employment goals. Rates of unintended pregnancy vary widely by state, but while usual suspects such as Mississippi and Texas are way up there, Delaware, of all places, is the actual winner. As Olga Khazan at the Atlantic explains, the First State "has an unusual confluence of factors that add up to a surprising rate of mistimed conceptions," such as bad access to transportation and poor sex education. Since most teen pregnancy is unplanned, it's worth a look at the teen birth rate, which is highest in Arkansas, with a rate of 43.5 births per thousand teenage girls.
One of the biggest challenges facing mothers is lack of health insurance, which can make it hard not only to get prenatal care but to stay healthy for your children. While Obamacare is steadily improving this problem, many gaps remain. Kaiser has a breakdown of uninsurance rates by gender, and Texas is the clear winner, with 27 percent of women ages 19-64 going without health insurance.
Though everyone likes to talk about work-life balance, there's surprisingly scant comparative data on how the states are doing on family-friendly policies such as sick leave, paternity leave, and safe places at work for mothers to express breast milk. In 2012, the National Partnership for Women and Families put together a state-by-state report card, but because so many states offer little to nothing in terms of parental protections, it's impossible to pick a clear-cut winner for the worst. So let's simply give a shout-out to each state that received an F on this metric: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. (California and Connecticut were the only two states to receive A grades.)
Worst State of the Week for Women: Deluxe Mother’s Day Edition
Worst State of the Week for Women: Deluxe Mother’s Day EditionFor this edition of Worst State of the Week, we honor the mothers of America by looking at some cold, hard statistics in order to answer the question: What member of the Union makes it harder on women just to do the daily work of parenting? We looked across several categories to spread the love among numerous worthy states.
Unintended pregnancy is riskier than planned pregnancy both in terms of the mother and child's health, and in terms of the mother's ability to still achieve her education and employment goals. Rates of unintended pregnancy vary widely by state, but while usual suspects such as Mississippi and Texas are way up there, Delaware, of all places, is the actual winner. As Olga Khazan at the Atlantic explains, the First State "has an unusual confluence of factors that add up to a surprising rate of mistimed conceptions," such as bad access to transportation and poor sex education. Since most teen pregnancy is unplanned, it's worth a look at the teen birth rate, which is highest in Arkansas, with a rate of 43.5 births per thousand teenage girls.
One of the biggest challenges facing mothers is lack of health insurance, which can make it hard not only to get prenatal care but to stay healthy for your children. While Obamacare is steadily improving this problem, many gaps remain. Kaiser has a breakdown of uninsurance rates by gender, and Texas is the clear winner, with 27 percent of women ages 19-64 going without health insurance.
Though everyone likes to talk about work-life balance, there's surprisingly scant comparative data on how the states are doing on family-friendly policies such as sick leave, paternity leave, and safe places at work for mothers to express breast milk. In 2012, the National Partnership for Women and Families put together a state-by-state report card, but because so many states offer little to nothing in terms of parental protections, it's impossible to pick a clear-cut winner for the worst. So let's simply give a shout-out to each state that received an F on this metric: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. (California and Connecticut were the only two states to receive A grades.)
May 9, 2015
Because they dropped the ball on the investigation. Emphasis mine. Seems he hasn't been harmed at all. Except by his own actions.
Quarterback Winston files counterclaim against rape accuser
Quarterback Winston files counterclaim against rape accuserHeisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston on Friday filed a counterclaim against a woman who accused him of raping her in 2012 while she was a student at Florida State University, court records show.
Attorneys for Winston, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the first overall pick in the National Football League draft last Thursday, said in the filing against Erica Kinsman that her claims harmed his career and personal life.
"Mr. Winston brings this action against Ms. Kinsman out of necessity, not malice or ill will," the document said. "Nonetheless, Ms. Kinsman's false statements have irreparably harmed his professional and personal life."
Winston is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.
John Clune, Kinsman's attorney, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Kinsman last month sued Winston, seeking unspecified financial damages, in part to force him to answer questions under oath about what happened, Clune said then.
During a student conduct hearing last fall, Winston did not answer questions but detailed in a statement his version of the December 2012 encounter after the pair met at a bar near campus. At the time, she was a freshman at Florida State and he was a promising recruit.
Winston went on to win the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. college football player in 2013. As his football career has soared, Winston has faced questions about his off-the-field behavior in college.
In addition to the rape allegations, he was also given a one-game suspension for yelling a vulgar phrase in a campus courtyard and was issued a civil citation in a supermarket shoplifting incident.
In 2013, a Florida state attorney determined there was insufficient evidence to press criminal charges against Winston. A student conduct code hearing looking into the charges also cleared him.
Attorneys for Winston, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the first overall pick in the National Football League draft last Thursday, said in the filing against Erica Kinsman that her claims harmed his career and personal life.
"Mr. Winston brings this action against Ms. Kinsman out of necessity, not malice or ill will," the document said. "Nonetheless, Ms. Kinsman's false statements have irreparably harmed his professional and personal life."
Winston is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.
John Clune, Kinsman's attorney, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Kinsman last month sued Winston, seeking unspecified financial damages, in part to force him to answer questions under oath about what happened, Clune said then.
During a student conduct hearing last fall, Winston did not answer questions but detailed in a statement his version of the December 2012 encounter after the pair met at a bar near campus. At the time, she was a freshman at Florida State and he was a promising recruit.
Winston went on to win the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. college football player in 2013. As his football career has soared, Winston has faced questions about his off-the-field behavior in college.
In addition to the rape allegations, he was also given a one-game suspension for yelling a vulgar phrase in a campus courtyard and was issued a civil citation in a supermarket shoplifting incident.
In 2013, a Florida state attorney determined there was insufficient evidence to press criminal charges against Winston. A student conduct code hearing looking into the charges also cleared him.
Because they dropped the ball on the investigation. Emphasis mine. Seems he hasn't been harmed at all. Except by his own actions.
May 8, 2015
Texas Republican State Sen. Donna Campbell fought an amendment on Wednesday that would allow exceptions for rape and incest victims from a measure that otherwise prohibits all insurance coverage for abortion. Instead, the GOP lawmaker countered the proposal with her own, which would require victims to report their assaults to police in order to receive exemptions, because otherwise the state might be “enabling” perpetrators.
“I’m concerned that we may be unintentionally providing cover for perpetrators of crimes,” Campbell said. She was then challenged by Democrat Kirk Watson, who pressed her to consider the real-life implications of the law and her amendment.
“Would you agree with me that there are instances where a woman could be raped, and because she fears for her life otherwise, would not want to report that to law enforcement officials?” Watson asked. “Can you conceive of that situation?”
Campbell agreed, but continued by identifying the measure as as strictly “an insurance bill.” “Instead of encouraging that hypothetical situation from moving into protection for her by law enforcement, we’re saying, let’s cover that violation with an insurance payment,” she said. “When she gets the abortion…are we empowering the perpetrator, because now out of a coercion…she gets an abortion, and it’s paid for by an insurance company — and then it may happen to her again?”
“I do agree that when it’s reported, when it’s something that’s measurable within the box — that when it’s reported to law enforcement authorities — then we have something measurable, that insurance companies like to have specific codes, that they then have something that they can then hang their hat on,” Campbell added.
So, essentially: Women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest should be forced to report their assaults to the police, regardless of perceived threats to their safety, in order to use the insurance for which they already pay to have an abortion — because insurance companies “like to have specific codes” for what they cover.
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/05/07/texas_republican_rape_victims_shouldnt_receive_abortion_coverage_because_their_claims_arent_measurable/
Texas Republican: Rape victims shouldn’t receive abortion coverage because their claims aren’t “meas
Texas Republican: Rape victims shouldn’t receive abortion coverage because their claims aren’t “measurable”Texas Republican State Sen. Donna Campbell fought an amendment on Wednesday that would allow exceptions for rape and incest victims from a measure that otherwise prohibits all insurance coverage for abortion. Instead, the GOP lawmaker countered the proposal with her own, which would require victims to report their assaults to police in order to receive exemptions, because otherwise the state might be “enabling” perpetrators.
“I’m concerned that we may be unintentionally providing cover for perpetrators of crimes,” Campbell said. She was then challenged by Democrat Kirk Watson, who pressed her to consider the real-life implications of the law and her amendment.
“Would you agree with me that there are instances where a woman could be raped, and because she fears for her life otherwise, would not want to report that to law enforcement officials?” Watson asked. “Can you conceive of that situation?”
Campbell agreed, but continued by identifying the measure as as strictly “an insurance bill.” “Instead of encouraging that hypothetical situation from moving into protection for her by law enforcement, we’re saying, let’s cover that violation with an insurance payment,” she said. “When she gets the abortion…are we empowering the perpetrator, because now out of a coercion…she gets an abortion, and it’s paid for by an insurance company — and then it may happen to her again?”
“I do agree that when it’s reported, when it’s something that’s measurable within the box — that when it’s reported to law enforcement authorities — then we have something measurable, that insurance companies like to have specific codes, that they then have something that they can then hang their hat on,” Campbell added.
So, essentially: Women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest should be forced to report their assaults to the police, regardless of perceived threats to their safety, in order to use the insurance for which they already pay to have an abortion — because insurance companies “like to have specific codes” for what they cover.
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/05/07/texas_republican_rape_victims_shouldnt_receive_abortion_coverage_because_their_claims_arent_measurable/
May 7, 2015
<snip>
If you were born before women had access to safe, affordable, accessible abortion, chances are your mother was an angry mother.
I was raised by one. Sure -- my mom loved me; but she was over 40 when I was born - and I was the youngest of four children.
My oldest brother was twenty-years-old. My nearest was only thirteen months.
So -- I wasn't (how shall I say this?) -- planned.
Sometimes my mom called me her "baby." Most of the time she called me, "her final mistake."
There were no illusions of "righteous" womanhood in my childhood home. In my family, we knew the truth. Raising kids was no picnic.
"Don't you grow up and have babies for me," my mom said. "You're a smart girl. And you got bigger fish to fry."
My mother might have been angry, but she raised me to be educated, employed and free.
<snip>
My generation was nurtured by women alert to the limits imposed on them. Our mothers trained us to insist on equal pay for equal work and autonomy over our futures.
That's why today is such a mystery to so many of us.
I belong to a gang of women who fought for legal, accessible abortion, affordable contraception and the requisite education necessary to make solid, responsible decisions regarding the future.
And sometimes I wonder if anyone was paying attention.
In spite of the hard-earned lessons we learned from our frustrated, angry mothers, American women are still vulnerable to poverty and the burden of unwanted childrearing.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristine-holmgren/no-more-angry-mothers-emb_b_7215318.html
No More Angry Mothers; Embracing Accessible Abortion and Affordable Contraception
No More Angry Mothers; Embracing Accessible Abortion and Affordable Contraception<snip>
If you were born before women had access to safe, affordable, accessible abortion, chances are your mother was an angry mother.
I was raised by one. Sure -- my mom loved me; but she was over 40 when I was born - and I was the youngest of four children.
My oldest brother was twenty-years-old. My nearest was only thirteen months.
So -- I wasn't (how shall I say this?) -- planned.
Sometimes my mom called me her "baby." Most of the time she called me, "her final mistake."
There were no illusions of "righteous" womanhood in my childhood home. In my family, we knew the truth. Raising kids was no picnic.
"Don't you grow up and have babies for me," my mom said. "You're a smart girl. And you got bigger fish to fry."
My mother might have been angry, but she raised me to be educated, employed and free.
<snip>
My generation was nurtured by women alert to the limits imposed on them. Our mothers trained us to insist on equal pay for equal work and autonomy over our futures.
That's why today is such a mystery to so many of us.
I belong to a gang of women who fought for legal, accessible abortion, affordable contraception and the requisite education necessary to make solid, responsible decisions regarding the future.
And sometimes I wonder if anyone was paying attention.
In spite of the hard-earned lessons we learned from our frustrated, angry mothers, American women are still vulnerable to poverty and the burden of unwanted childrearing.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristine-holmgren/no-more-angry-mothers-emb_b_7215318.html
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