Headaches and politics

There is an obsession with presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann and headaches. An article in The Daily Caller quoted a former staffer to the congresswoman who claimed the congresswoman had debilitating headaches. I googled "Bachmann+headaches" and it showed me 2,230,000 results. The other phrases that were being used in these articles were "pill popper," "incapacitating," "high heels," "suffering," and "stress-related."

Next time a male candidate shows some aggression on a basketball court I hope I see 2,230,000 results when I google "his name + aggression." Then I expect to see phrases such as "aggression in Oval Office?" "angry, "hates losing," "can't control," "can the world be safe?"

This reminds me of what President John F. Kennedy said to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1961:

"If I don't have a woman every three days, I get terrible headaches."

Got this new graphic from Ariel Dougherty

Men are so distracting....

From the Free Williamsburg website. This is perfect.

"Citing Modesty Concerns, Hipster Website Removes "Sexually Suggestive" Male Images From Sit Room Photo"

Erasing the women in the room

Well, there were only two women to erase so it made it easy for them. Secretary Clinton and Audrey Tomason Secretary Clinton (National Security Council) were digitally erased by a paper published in New York.  

The original photo:

The newspaper that published the doctored photograph is called  Di Tzeitung. The editorial team issued a statement expressing regret for doctoring the picture because it is an official White House photograph. They stood by their reasoning for erasing the images of the two women in the room; they follow the Rabbinical Board which does not allow the reproduction of photographs of women. 

A monument at the Minnesota State Capitol

There is a republican debate tonight. Here is a picture.

Something missing here? Yeah, I think so too.

Question idea for moderators: "Why aren't there any women running for president in the Republican party?"

I'm not letting the democratic party off the hook. In 2012 their won't be any women running either.

Women hold only 3% of high positions in Mainstream Media

With numbers like this women's ideas do not get floated into society. The debates in our country are formed and maintained by men.

And this looks even worse:

"According to a recent, two-year study of the four major Sunday talk shows by Media Matters, out of over 2,000 guests, 77 percent were men and 82 percent were white. The top rated show, "Meet the Press," also led the pack in male representation, at an embarrassing 85 percent."

Tunisia on women and parity

Electoral lists in Tunisia will have to consider parity between women and men.

Girl Scouts need new badges: Women in Leadership Badges.

I just received this tweet from Catalyst. 

Girls Scouts and Gender Stereotypes

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/not-just-pushing-cookies-brstudy-finds-scouts-sell-gender-stereotypes-toobr/article1976780/

“When boys speak to others about their Geologist badge, they have a legitimate career title to use and are likely to be taken more seriously in conversations than girls discussing their achievement of a ‘Rocks Rock’ badge,” Ms. Denny said.

Or consider some of the other names of badges for girls: Caring for Children, Looking Your Best, Sew Simple. The “Looking Your Best” badge offers an activity option of an “Accessory Party” where the girls “experiment to see how accessories highlight your features and your outfit.”

What new badges shall we create in addition to WOmen in Leadership?
1. Harriet Tubman badge for Courage.
2. Abigail Adams badge for Equality.
3. Statue of Liberty badge for Honor.

The culture of silence at Yale

It's been over forty years since since the Women's liberation movement changed all of our lives. So why is this still happening at places like Yale? Aren't universities like Yale places for deep thinkers and intellectualism?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-02/title-ix-complaint-against-yale-women-allege-a-culture-of-silence-on-campus/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsC1

If you know a woman you would like to see run for office

If you know a woman you would like to see run for political office read this Washington Post article:

Women are asked to run for office less than men. We need to start asking women to run. Women bring different sensibilities and ideas to the table. We change the debate. If we want to change the world make half of the participants at the 'tables of power' female.

Think about what life would be like without the Women's Liberation Movement

Women would be looking for jobs in the "female help wanted" sections of the classified ads in newspapers. We would be told routinely that we couldn't get into a college we had applied for because they had already accepted enough women for that class. We couldn't get a credit card in our own name.
We couldn't get a home mortgage in our own name. You had to be married for a credit card or a home loan.

Equal Visibility Everywhere: Gender Parity in NSH gets a setback

Tubman Won't Bump Hanson Statue

Harriet Tubman will not replace John Hanson unless Maryland is given a chance to place a third statue in National Statuary Hall.
So, as of today, there are 100 statues in National Statuary Hall and only nine are of women.  Why is Harriet Tubman not considered as important as John Hanson? Who is John Hanson? Exactly.

Harriet Tubman Statue closer to reality because of EVE

Op-ed by Dr. Lynette Long, president of EVE.

Tubman statue would help write women back into history

The Maryland General Assembly has an opportunity to send a new representative to the United States Capitol. This person wouldn't be a voting member of Congress but would stand tall in the halls of the Capitol and serve as a symbol of freedom, courage and equality to all Americans. This session, the Maryland legislature will decide whether or not to replace the statue of John Hanson that has stood in National Statuary Hall for more than 100 years with one ofHarriet Tubman.

Celebrate International Women's Day

It's the 100th anniversary of this great day that was created in Russia. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, is honoring the women and girls of the world (as we knew she would).

The new Newsweek has Hillary on the cover:

"In a time of momentous change in the world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sets out on her most heartfelt mission: to put women and girls at the forefront of the new world order."

The new logo for my film: Clip coming soon!

Kathleen Parker: Why Women Make Lousy Men

Kathleen Parker says this about women's parity:

The most glaring lack of female participation is also the most ironic. Here in the U.S., the longest-running democracy on the planet, relatively few women hold legislative positions. Even though more women than ever ran in the recent midterm elections, fewer are serving now than in the previous Congress. Women hold only 17 seats in the 100-seat Senate and just 75 (roughly 16 percent) in the House of Representatives. Many developing countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, can boast far greater legislative participation by women. Three Kazakh women have so far applied for candidacy in the country’s April 3 presidential election. In Liberia a woman is president.

Why are women lagging in this of all countries? It may be a matter of round pegs and square holes. Women have tried to fit into a male-constructed world and found it either uninviting or inflexible to their needs. They don’t make it to the top of corporations because they find the long hours and travel impossible to manage with children at home. Too, they may find themselves alienated by masculine style, which psychologists Alice Eagly and Linda Carli describe as controlling, versus women’s, which tends to take into greater consideration the rights of others.

The confounding factors are many, surely. But what we enlightened Westerners know is that empowering women empowers us all. Research shows that companies with more female employees make more money. And recent history makes clear that nations that oppress women are dangerous nations. Until women are equal partners in the human race, we are less secure and surely less interesting."

It's Women's History Month - Celebrate!

It will surprise you to know that Senator Orrin Hatch was one of its promoters in addition to the inimitable Rep. Barbara Mikulski:

In 1987 Congress expanded the focus to a whole month. In 2001, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a "Women's History Month". Soon, other state departments of education began to encourage celebrations of National Women's History Week as a way to promote equality among the sexes in the classroom.

Pennsylvania lags in women officeholders

Pennsylvania lags in women officeholders

"The Center for Women and American Politics at Rutgers University (in New Jersey, which elected a female governor, Christie Whitman, in the 1990s) ranks Pennsylvania 42d of 50 states for percentage of female officeholders.

The Keystone State has yet to elect a female governor, attorney general, or U.S. senator. A woman has never occupied the office on the second floor of Philadelphia City Hall. And of all the women in Congress, Pennsylvania claims but one: Allyson Y. Schwartz (D, Montgomery)."

"Quotas aren't just Political Correctness"

From The Daily Beast: "Quotas aren't just Political Correctness"

"In its annual survey on global gender equity, the World Economic Forum itself said closing the employment gender gap could increase U.S. GDP by as much as 9 percent."

Women's representation in New Hampshire state legislature

This article from 2009 was a real eye-opener for me.  "The Matriarchy up North," by Renee Loth shows what happens when women are fairly represented in state legislatures.

"I do think gender has affected the way we discuss issues," says Exeter Democrat Margaret Hassan, the Senate's president pro tem. "Women tend to see problems in a much less segmented fashion, and that has allowed us to connect the dots in different ways."

This is the more interesting question about women in power. Sure, women should be heard more in government - and the law, and science, and journalism - as a matter of sheer equity. But it's not the quantity of women so much as the different quality that can bring real change."

This changed in 2010. "Men's Club Redux? Fewer Women in State Legislative Seats," shows the seats we lost in the 2010 midterms.

"While New England legislatures have included more women historically, the region suffered a much larger loss than the nation at large.  In 2010, 32% of state legislators in New England were women; in 2011, just over 27% will be.  This drop was driven by New Hampshire, where 53 women lost seats in the legislature. Among other New England results, Connecticut lost five women legislators, Maine lost tow and Massachusetts lost six."

We are 23.4% of all state legislatures in the US!

The state legislatures is the pool from which the bulk of candidates running for senate and congress will come from.  Women must run for office. Here is the link for the article in the National Conference of State Legislatures. There is a great map to see the numbers on each step in a cool pop-up.

Women's response to the Male Gaze

If you are seen as a sexual object you just might feel less confident.  A study published in The Psychology of Women Quarterly tells us that if we see ourselves through the male lens we tend to do less well in math.

Women's voices need to be heard

Here is an example of the disparity in magazine publishing between women and men.  This article in Vidaweb, Women in Literary Arts, has more examples. After seeing this graph, why would I ever bother buying a copy of The Atlantic or The New Yorker?