Cool your JETS

The recent attack on Mexican sports reporter Ines Sainz has brought back to date a very age old idea: that women "ask" for certain negative attention from males based on how they dress.

For some reason, I was under the impression that that school of thought had been dying out; but apparently, I am wrong. Men, especially sports players, are exempt from being held accountable for their own behaviors and actions. Men are portrayed as uncontrollable sex crazed animals and we as women have to walk on egg shells in order not to risk provoking the sex hungry beasts. Instead of portraying men as human beings who have a conscience and a knowledge of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, we point fingers at the females victims.

Sainz has awoken the many terrible aspects that the whore/virgin dichotomy proposes. The "whore" is a "bad" woman and therefore, justifiably subjected to all types of lude male behavior such as harrassment, groping, rape, etc. Had Sainz entered that locker room in a long skirt and turtle neck sweater and possibly been less physically attractive we would know nothing about her. In all honesty, is she dressed any less provocative than the any of the JETS cheerleaders? What is the difference? The difference is sometimes men are intimidated by an attractive woman with power and use lude sexual behavior as a way to intimidate and patronize her in order to feel a sense of power within themselves. And when we as women say that women like Ines Sainz's code of dress gave men the right to condescend her, we are giving men like the Jets players right to treat us all this way.

But what is it about women who are comfortable with their sexuality that scares men and brings out the worst in their behavior? What is it about them that makes men AND women focus the blame entirely on women and not on men? Have we not advanced that much as a species that we still believe men suffer from some primate-like inclination to act like animals? I like to think that we know better and we know that, man or woman, we are human beings with the ability to rationalize better conduct towards the opposite sex.

With this consciousness we know that no one "asks" for negative attention in the same way no one conducts themselves to attract muggers or bullies. The rationalization of an idea like this can not exist; it's impossible. In 2010 I am sorry I even had to hear a phrase of that nature, coming out of the mouths of female news reporters no less!

If you still go around believing that certain girls and women "ask" to be harrassed or raped and somehow deserve to be treated brutally because of how they dress then I am sorry but I have to honestly question your mental capacity to rationalize.

Both women and men need to put an end to this type of mentality so we do not teach our sons that that type of behavior will be excused or teach our daughters that harrassment or rape is something they brought upon themselves.

Feminism at the Brooklyn Book Festival

Feminism was definately not dead in brooklyn today. The Brooklyn Book Festival was rampant with many feminist writers as well as publishers and feminist literature.
Despite the weather, the streets were full of publishers, agents, writers and fans and a good number of them feminist!

At a panel entitled "You've Come a Long Way Baby, Or Have You?" several feminist writers:Rebecca Traister, Leora Tanenbaum, and Jennifer Baumgardner discussed feminism and how it related to the 2008 election. They brought up and discussed many important topics but one that I really thought was amazing was the fact that no one brought up the historical achievements of the women involved in the election. For instance, Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman to win the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary; yet no one made reference to it at all!

But what I enjoyed most about the panel was that feminism is still alive and kicking! It was so exciting to see all these women and men gathered to listen to and discuss how many more obstacles women have yet to face. It's a small reminder that maybe feminism is not completely dead afterall

Pop Starlet Vs. Rocker Chick

Rocker Chicks like Shirley Manson and Courtney Love have always been amazing to me as a girl and even now. The idea of a woman able to dress how she wants, rock the guitar, spew out "fuck you" lyrics and just not give a shit about the rules of being "a lady" has always impressed me.

Now when you compare them to the pop star who always worries about being in shape, wearing the sexy clothes and making the sugary love songs, it seems they are almost the epitome of the female societal role, the sex symbol. Don't get me wrong there are pop stars who teeter on the edge and break some rules but the rocker chick seems to exhude a more powerful woman.

However, the bad ass rocker chick seems to have died down, and in a world where the American woman can exert more power, the bimbo like pop star is what has become prevalent. I don't understand why bands like Halestorm are not more popular than they are and instead American girls choose to listen to Mandy Moores and Britney Spears'.

Not only do American girls listen to alot more female pop music but they also want to be just like them. The shallow, materialistic image who looks like a porn star but acts like a submissive doll. I am not saying all pop stars are like this but this is overall the image that they portray.

I don't think we give enough credit to guitar playing, song writing rockstars and i think it is because no matter how many liberites women enjoy for some reason the new generations of women are reverting back to gender roles and trying harder to be the submissive, image-obsessed automaton that American society and the media want them to be.

We need to stop promoting women to act and remain like little girls. We need to stop glamorizing the school girl image and encourage women to act like full growm adult women. The school girl image sells because it promotes this idea of innocence and passivity but also brings with it a load of sexual implications.

The image of an adult woman is a more powerful one, less virginal and let's face it america is obsessed with women being virgins even in a day and age where our hymen isn't being traded for cattle and a suitor!

Women, put down your Coach bags and Botox injections for a minute and look at the example you are setting for your daughter! It is enough that she is getting this idea from the music she is listening to so perhaps you can set a different example: That women are worth more than their virginity and their looks and that they have the opportunity to be powerful and make changes, something too many women outside of this country know nothing about.

Let's not waste our opportunities.

Happy 90th to the 19th!

Today is the 90th anniversary of the 19th ammendment. For those of you who do not know which one that is- it is the one that gave women the right to vote. It is true; women have unfortunately only been voting for 90 years in this country.

Sometimes I cannot believe how fresh an idea equality for women really is. But on the bright side, women have come a very long way in 90 years. And what is most remarkable about the women of the early 1900'sis how determined they were and how hard they fought to pave the way for women today.

Their determination and courage are admirable and I think that these qualities are what is missing from women today. For the most part,the feminist struggle has almost died out and has become replaced with virgin/whore pop icon. Girls today want to grow and be like Britney Spears all the while having no idea who Elizabeth Cady Stanton is and what she has accomplished. It seems we have almost forgotten that women have brains and because of the suffragettes we are able to use them. But some women prefer to play the role of the dumb blonde.

Today most women no longer feel the need to rectify the sexism in the workplace, on tv or at home in our own families, while the women responsible for the 19th ammendment marched in streets and conducted meetings at Seneca Falls and rewrote the Declaration of Independence. Today's women seem more preoccupied with clothing labels and Coach bags and less about making the world better for their daughters so that maybe one day there will be a female president.

For the most part, women have forgotten about the struggle and the hard work and sacrifices. Not one news broadcast has mentioned the fact that the 19th ammendment is celebrating its 90th birthday. It would be tragic to forget that women were not considered equals and for the most part are still not. We need to remind each other that women have worked hard to get to where they are now.

Keep the memory of the 19th ammendment alive!

Murdering in the Name of the Lord?

Abortion is always a touchy subject so instead of arguing pro choice I would like to bring to light the irony of The Army of God and their involvement in attempting and succeeding in killing doctors and clinic workers.

The murder of George Tiller is not new news to anyone and it was in fact not the first attempt on his life. Unfortunately there are many groups of people who shed blood in the name of god and are in fact shaming their religions.

Any religious person regardless of which gods or goddesses they believe in can tell you that religion is about love, especially Catholics/Christians which believe that god is love. These extremists are breaking the very commandments they believe in. I find it impossible that their god would waive "Thou Shall Not Kill" only under certain circumstances! That's ridiculous!

Has no one ever thought how ironic it is for people to murder in order to put an end to what they think is murder? If you truly believe that abortion is wrong then how does taking the life of another human being make your opinion valid?

Though we all cannot agree on abortion, we must at least agree that the shootings, blombings, and arsens involved in destroying clinics and their workers is disgusting and unethical to say the least. I am not afraid to state that I am pro choice and I think I am open to listen to other people's ideas and views on the subject but with extremists or terrorists, whatever you want to call them- I have no tolerance for them.

I grew up in Catholic schools and I think one thing that drew me away from that religion is the intense amount of hypocrisy that goes on within the church and its followers. I thought I was learning about loving and helping and nurturing and unfortunately found that people do alot of evil things under god's name. If you believe murder is wrong than committing murder is WRONG, no matter who is doing the killing or whom they are killing.

The Army of God is a sad, pathetic group of human beings who are easily brain washed and manipulated by other evil doers. There website is a disgusting display of bible quotes that are supposed to justify their murdering and they hail those in jail for murder as "American Heroes." Tillman was a husband and father.

Can you imagine a website that praises the murder of your father?! It's appalling and astonishing how anyone can be part of such a group of people. I really don't want to get too deep into the abortion debate but this type of behavior can not possibly be justified.

I could not possibly even stay on the site for long without feeling horrified that people even think like this let alone gather together to act on these thoughts. There site in no way exhudes a holy environment, visiting feels more like being guilty for being involved in a hit and run.

These physchos should be mentally evaluated and imprisoned.

The Virgin/Whore Dichotomy

If you're a woman then you are either a virgin or a whore. There is no grey area. And if you are a virgin then you are automatically considered "good" and if you are labeled a whore then you are automatically considered "evil." This is an age old issue for women while men are praised for the amount of notches they can add to their belts.

The problem is that women are most often judged solely based on their sexual experiences, this is where their value and worth stems from. People have a hard time NOT judging women based on who is or has been in their beds, when it is none of their business in the long run and for the most part we are misjudging what important characteristics and talents women can bring to the table because we are afraid of how comfortable they are sexually.

It is no secret that men and women are anatomically created to enjoy sex, so why do we act so surprised when women participate willingly in sexual activities? Why is society so afraid of strong, vocal women who are comfortable with their bodies and their sex lives? Men are encouraged to lose their virginity as soon as possible while women are encouraged to save it for as long as they can. Why does there have to be an influence at all?

Little girls are named Chastity and Prudence in hopes that they will instill these virtues throughout their lives. Instead of being taught that sex is not evil they are taught that if a boy really loves you he will wait until you are both married. The instillment of marriage is another problem all together but I'll save society's interference on marriage for another day.

Every woman knows what it is like to be the virgin and the whore at some point in her life. The virgin is eventually made to feel guilty once she crosses over that threshhold and instead of encouraging young women the proper healthy way to be sexually active and being in control of their own bodies we brainwashing them into thinking that they must remain virginal little girls well into adulthood.

These are the only two types of women presented in the bible through the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. These are the only types of women that girls get to be familiar with and neither of these "types" have accomplished anything worthwhile other than abstaining from sex. How the hell does abstaining from sex have anything to do with women as individual people?!

It is not easy for men and women to see women as people who have individual interests, talents, and personalities when we are too busy teaching boys and girls that good little girls remain virgins and bad little girls are sexually active. Next time you find yourself juding a women on her sexual experiences rather than her actions perhaps you will take the issues in this blog into consideration.

Perhaps you will teach your sons and daughters that the virgin and the whore is as ancient and outdated an idea as the world is flat and not round.

Pad, Tampon, or Diva Cup?

It is always the same question isn't it? Pads or tampons?

Every group of girls left to their own devices has had the conversation promoting their own personal preference in regards to their menstrual hygiene.

Some women swear by tampons while others feel healthier using pads but isn't it time that we have a more modernized way of dealing with our periods? Seriously,I vote against both; they are both uncomfortable and annoying in their own ways and we would think that in the year of 2010 we would be using some high tech sanitary something, no?

However, I did come across something called "The Diva Cup;" I know the name is pretty ridiculous but this seems to be the most innovative thing on the market. This "cup" can only be purchased on the website which gives plenty of information on how it works, although I wouldn't mind having a visual aid to fully comprehend its use. ( http://www.divacup.com/) I have yet to come across anyone who has ever tried this device and am wondering if anyone has any insight on it.

Anyway, I guess I will have to do some research myself and get back with a response, at least until some female scientist somewhere comes up with a better solution.