A SHAKEUP OF THE SHIBBOLETHS?

N.E. Hills are alive with the debate on whether marriage must be restricted to one husband and one wife - lesbian and gays need not apply. In Vermont, both Houses have passed bills that allow same-gender marriage but the Governor has promised a veto.

Vermont does have Civil Unions, which at the time of passage, appeared to be a big step forward but now as more states are making marriage legal, the push is on to join in or be left behind.

It is interesting to read the pros and cons and compare them to the hissy-fits that emerged during the Civil Union debates of yore. All the dire predictions of Vermont turning into California just never happened. Somehow those same gender couples that lived among us were remarkable just like us and the fervor died down to the plaintive bleating of a few diehards and of course the Fundies.

Today the debate is showing something quite different and it seems to me that it is pointing to the real fear of what same gender marriage will precipitate. Possibly this is because of the changes made by having Civil Unions and more people came to think of them as pals living together rather than a threat to their own marriage and children.

Now the caption under pictures of same gender couples identify them as Mary Roe - husband; or John Doe - wife. This has brought out one more of those hidden prejudices that manifest in sexism and misogyny. Man and his society, aided and abetted by women, have spent eons defining and enforcing gender roles. A woman husband! ? A man wife! ?

Oh, no! Our well entrenched patriarchy screams. This cannot be allowed because it will forever endanger our carefully constructed male superiority meme and challenge the Biblical admonition that: God is the head of the husband and man is the head of his wife.


Many may profess not to believe this but it is only buried in a shallow grave in the amygdala [Limbic System of the brain] because it is reinforced daily by our language, our customs, our laws and our fears.

Is it just possible that tearing down the old definition of marriage will force our society to re-evaluate women and men and gender rolls? Maybe all the Women's Movement needs is a shakeup of the shibboleths.

MY MENTOR AND FRIEND, DR. ESTELLE RAMEY

Estelle was a fantastic person, as protective of men as she was adamant for the recognition of women's rights. She approached the gender discussion with wit and science. She died three years ago but stands as an example of someone who would have been a great choice for any Council leader. Reading some of the comments on blogs, I found that she would be called a dinosaur - sadly many women have bought into the idea that any woman with experience, actions and intelligence is passe.

From the 70's on she influenced many women's lives - certainly mine as I was introduced to her while studying in medical school [not as a med student - not allowed in them there days] taking courses to get a MS. She was an endrocrinologist who told it like it is, I discovered, after I contacted her for some info on the thymus.

I intend to do a series of posts using her words and the words of others who knew her. It seems that few women or men remember much of what the recent past was like and about the women that "were the change". The following is from her obit - note how the attitudes of the DNC have not changed much.

Ramey burst into the national limelight in 1970 when she sharply contradicted a Democratic leader’s assertion that women could not perform key executive jobs because of their “raging” hormones.

The controversial comments were made by Dr. Edgar F. Berman, a retired surgeon and confidant of former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. At a session of the Democratic Party’s Committee on National Priorities, he dismissed Hawaii Rep. Patsy T. Mink’s call for action on women’s rights with a diatribe on what he saw as crippling differences between the sexes.

“Suppose,” Berman conjectured, “that we had a menopausal woman president who had to make the decision of the Bay of the Pigs?” (He was referring to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, during John F. Kennedy’s presidency.) “All things being equal,” he continued, “I would still rather have had a male JFK make the Cuban Missile Crisis decisions than a female of similar age.”

He insisted that women’s “raging storms of monthly hormonal imbalances” made them unfit for high office.

Hormonal imbalances happened to be Ramey’s specialty. When a friend told her about Berman’s comments, the endocrinologist wrote letters to the Washington Evening Star and the Washington Post criticizing the Democratic advisor. The Star published her letter, in which she wrote that she was “startled to learn that ovarian hormones are toxic to brain cells.”

She pointed out that during the Cuban missile scare, Kennedy suffered from a serious hormonal disorder — Addison’s disease, which affects the adrenal gland — and that the medications he took were capable of causing severe mood swings.

A short time after Berman made the offending remarks, he accepted an invitation from the National Women’s Press Club to debate Ramey. She claimed the advantage from the outset: When Berman opened by saying, “I really love women,” she clobbered him with “So did Henry VIII.”

The Washington Post, in its story on the debate, reported that Ramey “mopped up the floor” with Berman. He ultimately resigned his post on the Democratic National Committee and Ramey became a popular public speaker on women’s issues.

You may think this settled the hormone question but most men still think women's homones affect their brains adversely.

RUSH AND WOMEN

Yesterday I watched and listened to Rush Limbaugh give his speech to the faithful of CPac. Since it was covered by FOX, he jokingly announced that it was his first address to the Nation and later on he called it his first International address, slyly noting that he was not using a teleprompter. I can remember when I'd turn off the radio if he came on but that was when there was a Democratic Party that I could identify with.

Full of himself with his usual bravado, the big guy seemed really nervous and coughed a lot. Like most of us he is much more confident alone behind his radio mic but despite all that he was his usual megaphone self, blasting away at the current administration and rallying the Conservatives to take back the country.

As he spoke, I was remembering his nasty misogyny, recalling a list of them I'd just read in a blog. Strangely, they didn't seem much when compared to what we endured during the Primaries from people who claimed to be Democrats, just like us.
Damn, this is getting confusing. What happened to that Party? It picked up the values I shared and slammed them into the crapper.



Rush did a great job of slapping down current Democrats in power but came nowhere near in nastiness, to what Frat Boy-speech-writer did to Hillary. I've seen just as nasty stuff against Democratic women from the Obama crowd and written in our women's blogs. This was a favorite, oft repeated and never, never denounced by Democratic leadership, [even the women].

"Never Trust Something That Bleeds Five Days A Month And Doesn't Die."

Whatever you may think of Rush, he is consistent. He's the same nasty boy wisenheimer , whether his Party is in power or out. A stark contrast to the mealy mouthed mavens of the MSM and Dem Talk. There was no tingle up my legs listening to Rush - just bewilderment that Democratic perfidy has surpassed his record for vileness.

I believe I'm on the road to recovery - but still am unable to stomach those who betrayed my trust at AARadio - that was supposed to be representing all Democrats and their values. Sadly, what made Air America attractive was that it attacked the villainous Republicans. We were surprised and devastated when it attacked Hillary. Why did we let the Rachels, Thoms, Randis, Steph and her boys manipulate us that way? More to the point and more honestly, why did we allow ourselves to be manipulated?

Like many others, if the blogs are to be believed, I am just another person without a political affiliation. The internalization of that fact was what gave me the freedom and the wisdom to listen to Rush and others who mostly do not represent my political views. No, I didn't become a fan of his nor did I instantly put on the GOP, glorious, shining mantel of ... but hold on. Those shiny robes are now worn by the Glorious one, the Precious one who represents the Party opposed to Rush.

And women's votes put him in those robes and keep him there with their adoring cries. Even some who do not worship him are quick to forgive because he appointed women or mentioned support for health care, education etc. Is this just another example of the way women are conditioned to return to their abuser? We see it every day as battered women bring their children into a help center and then recant and return to the bastards that beat the shit out of them.

Sure women think they are free, liberated from the confines of the past and escaped from the dictates of society.

But the more liberated they think they are the more they mold themselves to men's fantasies thus validating them. It takes real courage to be free. So far most take the safest path and return to their abuser who promised to bring flowers of health care or reproductive freedom.

Rush, for all his warts, is The Man, a universal symbol of women's continued acceptance of her oppression. A big old piñata for them to hit with their sticks of hatred and feel they are winning their birthright while ignoring the clanging shackles put on them by a punishing society they support out of ignorance or fear.

But there is hope. Women who have finally recognized how our society conditions them and have pulled themselves free of its disastrous evils are showing what a morass of tradition they were tangled in. More and more of our daughters are DEFINING THEMSELVES AS WOMEN. They are throwing aside the traditional roles of doormat, prom queen, worker bee, sex doll [3 aps, count them!] and punching bag.

WE STILL TASTE THE SWILL

We swim in it daily in our homes, our work and from the media.

While nothing should be considered any worse than the buying and selling of human beings, fairness dictates that we look at the status of ALL women who were brought to this country.

Not just the ones in chains, as were the slaves, but those bound just as tightly by the religious rawhide that classified all women as a possession, by father, husband, son or any male relative.

Not many years ago, women, no matter their color, were chattel. They were not citizens, they were not allowed to gain employment of their own choosing, they could not own property, they were forced to marry the man chosen by their male relatives. They were banished with no means of support unless they agreed to remain as an unpaid, family servant for life.

A few privileged women were allowed some rudimentary education but most were punished if they tried to access it on their own. Her husband could banish her from her home on a whim and take her children from her. The home and the children she bore belonged to her husband. Marital rape and beatings were commonplace and considered to be a husband's right.

It took immense courage and many years for a few fantastic women to change this. The changes came slowly and only after great effort and sacrifice. We saw a great surge in the 60’s and 70’s, after that, women just coasted believing the fight was won.

Not all women, of course. There were many that still suffered from the great gap in pay for equal work or the restrictions on the type of position a woman might aspire to. But the grassroots burned out as the Woman’s Movement moved itself loftily above the common woman and devoted itself to feminizing everything back into the same old mold society was more comfortable with.

Our youth looked for other inequities to champion against and many found the treatment of African Americans one cause they had to support. It was in this same spirit that many women of the present day devoted themselves to helping a black man become president.

But many more women and supportive men saw that real change and progress was in a woman, Hillary Clinton, whose qualifications towered above a Johnny-come-lately, Barack Obama, who had no ties to the Civil Rights Movement; whose family had never known slavery.

When these women and men listened to Obama’s inauguration address they heard the emphasis on founding fathers and MLK as if no woman ever existed along that trail of history – only men. No Sojourner Truth, no Harriet Tubman, no Rosa Parks, no Corretta Scott King was even alluded to or acknowledged for their part in the Civil Rights Movement.

He called for everyone to pitch in and work for his better America and we remembered his gestures and misogyny during the Primary campaign. We women heard him call for sacrifices in Medicaid and Social Security that would grossly affect the old and the ill – the majority of these being women. Since women are paid less than men over their working life, their retirement packages are smaller and they depend on Social Security benefits.

The media still raves about one sentence of POTUS’ Address. We paraphrase it for a more relevant, realistic twist:

Women “have tasted the bitter swill” of misogyny and sexism. We swim in it daily in our homes, our work and from the media. It does not abate; it grows stronger and comes continuously from many sources unrestricted by the very government officials that should be condemning it.

1929 DEFENESTRATION 2009

It’s been nearly a hundred years since the Great Depression [GD], and now here we are on the verge of another one. It’s been 89 years since women’s brave and persistent efforts won them the vote. For a timeline of their efforts to achieve this: http://www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/index.html

The GD lasted for 10 years and during that time forward, women held onto their slim gains of equality by the skin of their teeth. While men of property and wealth were devastated and several corporate fat cats defenestrated, women, always the most depressed class, suffered more than any other group.

A revival of the movement followed some time after the end of the depression, advanced by WWII, which provided the need for women to work outside of the home. They were magnificent; building planes and ships; working in factories and on farms.

Although on balance, this period ushered in several years of change for the better, some of the changes were cosmetic. Many women took their newfound freedom and ran with it – right into the pits that their mothers had so recently dug their way out of.


And what a boon to men it was when these women took the attitude that they could be and dress and do anything they wanted to. What the women called freedom, the men saw as their just deserts – women were accepting their proper place as serving mankind – continuous eye candy.

Women were allowed better jobs and education by acts of Congress but for many of them it was a bloody battle to secure and keep these rights. The money and power still belonged to the establishment. For many women, to get along meant to go along. It meant to go along with the sexism in the workplace and campus – just laugh and pretend it didn’t hurt.

Others resisted and fought back. Some have recorded their experiences and written about them as fiction to avoid threatened lawsuits. The Gutenberg Project chose one of these, Wild Justice, for their on-line book collection. Anyone may read or download this ebook at: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/152/152-h/152-h.htm

One of the most horrific things in the Woman’s Movement for Equality is the incidence of woman on woman misogyny. We can celebrate the many men who support our cause despite the real risks they take from the brotherhood, but oceans of tears cannot remove this blatant perfidy of women.

The mere fact that a superbly qualified woman could win the most votes and the most delegates in her Party’s Primary and be denied the candidacy by the illegal acts of the men and women of the Party should tell you something.

Amy Siskind wrote in A Year Ago Today, about her awakening to the fact that the Democratic Party did not support women. She wrote graphically of how our children have been programmed to hate women by the media.

“It’s when your 5th grade daughter’s friend gets into your car after school one day. And her friend is crying because a gang of boys had acted out on her. And the girl is told she is a “bitch” and a “whore” by a pack of circling boys for breaking up with their friend. And then you see that it starts very early. And then you notice the familiarity of those words as having heard them in prime time on the cable news. And then, with eyes now open, you realize that you can no longer sit at the sidelines and still live with yourself.”

http://thenewagenda.net/2008/12/27/a-year-ago-today%e2%80%a6/

Many women woke up just recently when the male national media went absolutely ga ga at pictures of Obama in bathing trunks. They realized that hard bodies are what many men really desire to look at and admire; women’s bodies were only for carnal conquest and possession.

[We are generalizing here. There are men who have evolved beyond the juvenile developmental stages of reporters and Democratic speechwriters.]

To many men, women’s bodies are in the same class as their cars, sports, boats etc which they own. This may be the true indicator of why they have no compunction in the way they refer to her as bitch, c*unt or barnyard animal. It may also explain why the “preferred” or “prized” woman is a stick figure with breasts.

Many men admire the bodies of a Putin or an Obama and admire the men too, but are content with their own appetites and the resulting beer bellies and DD size drooping male boobs, er, pecs. They walk around our beaches dressed only in shorts. They are kings and privileged to display and enjoy themselves by right of gender.

Women, even those with good healthy bodies or even the “Twiggys”, must keep certain areas of their bodies covered in public. Although décolletage is allowed as it “appeals sexually” to the male, a woman may not breasts feed a baby in public without consequences. As one person said, “women’s breasts are to fondle, not to feed.”

Sadly, many women spend their lives trying to obtain bodies our society approves of, bodies like those that are constantly taunting them in commercials, TV and movies. They may even forfeit their health to attain them.

So what sank the Woman’s Equality Movement? Probably a long list of things but we think at the top of the list was the use of the word feminist and then the splitting off of various groups: economic, sexual preference, race and age for example. Then, and still continuing, came the creation of various cults such as Post Feminist, Neo-Feminist etc, as academia beat the hell out of any common sense, united type movement.

Now we see Blogs attempting to rally women to activism and mercifully they are not all using the feminist word. Just when we need all our strength to pull together, really great, well-meaning people may be pulling us apart. Who has the time and money to support all these great efforts?

Here are just 3 that appear to be making an effort to politically and actively unite women to actively fight against sexism and misogyny: Puma, 51 Percent and The New Agenda – and they are just the tip of the iceberg, there are many more. Is there any way to unite all of us to make a powerful movement that will make it clear that women will no longer tolerate misogyny and sexism?

We saw how easily many women, who formerly supported HRC, turned happily to Obama, ignoring the misogyny and sexism of his campaign.

Will the women of ’09, who are again being hit hard by the economic depression, persevere and rise united again stronger than ever? Or will they just jump out of the windows of expediency again?


Truck Accident Lawyer

GUYZ JUST HAVIN' A GOOD TIME

Arguably one of the greatest disappointments to women and supporting men has been the perfidy of some of the leaders of the woman’s movement for equality. Outstanding in this regard is NOW – the National Organization for Women.

“The National Organization for Women, which last struck issuing news releases on why Sarah Palin isn't a real woman, refused to comment on the Obama speechwriter incident.” - Andrew Breitbart
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/12/i_believe_hillarys_cardboard_c.html

Early on, many of these so-called leaders turned away from the most qualified presidential candidate, who happened to be a woman, and embraced her male rival. If nothing else this should show women why the gains they have made are largly ephemral.

This would suggest that it is time to find new leaders who will not sell out their sisters for political gain and hunkyness. If you were burned, despite your contributing financial support to NOW, check out these women, and if the fit is right, join them. http://thenewagenda.net/

Think we got it bad? Check out what British women have to contend with:

How Far Have we Come in 80 Years by Rachel Cooke
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/dec/07/women-equality-rights-feminism/print

We certainly may have common cause and perhaps together we can help bring forth a truly international women’s movement. It would be a great time for it with Senator Clinton heading up State.

The Cooke article is well worth reading. This quote strikes home, referencing the rapidly increasing ‘sex encounter clubs’ - “The rise of these places is just one aspect of a culture in which the buying and selling of women's bodies has become so ubiquitous, we are now almost blind to it…”

My emphasis in this excerpt. In three lines, Cooke sets forth the problems and the solution.

“… as Germaine Greer once put it, 'there have been women in the past far more daring than we would need to be now, who ventured all and gained a little, but survived after all'. These days, the law is mostly, if not always, on our side. All we have to do is quit being taken in by appearances, stop pretending not to mind about the bad stuff, start refusing to take the joke, cease mistaking everything from lipstick to leather for empowerment.”

In “It’s th System, Stupid”, Violet Socks explains to James Carville:
“…sexism is a system. Women’s second-class status in society is a 24/7 deal, a full-time gig, an all-pervasive set of mores and assumptions. It’s interwoven into the very fabric of society, and every thread contributes to the pattern. It starts in the cradle and follows us to the grave; it harasses us at work and diminishes us at home.
http://thenewagenda.net/2008/12/09/its-the-system-stupid/

For more background and understanding of Gender and Politics, you can check into the Research Rooms at the Liz Library.
http://www.thelizlibrary.org

Does anyone who watched or still watches “Hogan’s Heroes” see the similarity between Obama and Sergeant Shultz? Misogynistic campaign, supporters, Rev. Wright and now Gov. Blagojevich – “I know nothink, nothink!

GENETIC PARDONS

Obama's speechwriters groping model of Senator Clinton


Sure, things are moving at a terrific pace but sometimes it's wise to slow down a little and consider the past and how it relates to the present. There are lessons there we can all learn from; there is information to help us avoid mistakes and waste time.

Know your history. Bookmark this LIBRARY for information and research so you can read about and understand the woman's movement for equality was never just a collection of words.

The Liz Library logo:


http://www.thelizlibrary.org

The recent yearlong battle with misogyny of 2008 was lost, as women took hit after hit. Every effort to resist or defend oneself was met with derision and more misogyny.

What did become apparent to everyone was that our society of so-called human beings condoned it and more than that, it has put it right alongside genetic male characteristics as pardonable. "They just can't help it - it's hardwired in their brain", they tell us.

Oh yes, the male is programmed to hunt and women are his prey. The whole idea of respect for, or equality with the other is a myth. Even all the world's great religions give credence to man's vilest and thoughtless actions.

Many women over the years have been swamped or drowned in the tidal wave of sexual discrimination that goes along with the male privilege and genetic pardon. They may have been bloodied but they are not only holding up their heads, they are proceeding to continue the fight.

There are now many blogs and movements where women and supportive men are fired up to fight against misogyny.

Heidi Li tells us that

"we each, as individuals, must object every time and every place we hear or read sexist or misogynistic language". She advises us to say, "Please stop braying at me!"

http://tdg.typepad.com/heidi_l...

Here are just a few of the other blogs in the fight; you'll find links here to blogs they recommend:
http://alegrescorner.soapblox....
http://riverdaughter.wordpress...
http://susiemadrak.com/ http://www.free-us-now.com/
http://thenewagenda.net/blog/

The common message is that we should put our collective foot down and stamp sexism and misogyny out. Just as racist speech and writing has been made socially unacceptable we should demand the same of sexist speech and writing.

Will we be hearing soon that the ethics of young males is hardwired also? Check out these alarming statistics:

Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth
Copyright 2008 Josephson Institute
http://charactercounts.org/pdf...

It should certainly be looked into to find out why both men and women teach their sons and daughters different values; Values that have caused such massive putrefaction of the Blogisphere.

The fight we are in started centuries ago; it continued in the last century with your mother's and grandmothers fighting for your right to vote, for equal pay and opportunity, equal education and reproductive rights.

The past year will live in infamy in the annuals of women's history as a time a society that considered itself progressive, regressed to Stone Age values and actions.

"If women want any rights more than they's got, why don't they just take them, and not just be talking about it." - Sojourner Truth

AFTER THE BRAWL

After the brawl was over
Maggie took out her glass eye,
Put her false teeth in water,
Hung up her hair to dry,
Stood her left leg in the corner,
Hung her right arm on a hook.
After the brawl was over…
After the brawl.
--- parody - author unknown [original song, “After the ball” by Charles K. Harris]

Following the recent selection, all the Maggies emerged with heart and mind still strong and vital despite yet another cruel battering by the 4th Estate that should have protected her.

Here we are again hearing from various media mavens that, oh my yes, media had been a tad biased in favor of one candidate. And perhaps even a tad sexist in its treatment of the women candidates.

Then in the very next breath they insist that Senator Clinton should not become SoS because she will set up her own foreign policy and hurt the precious. They wring their hands in agony that “she always makes things about herself.”

No apologies, no explanations, just the usual bull we have come to expect from these people who call themselves reporters and claim they and the free press they represent protect our freedom.

Oh, yes and their right to do all this protecting is protected by the Constitution. Media considers itself the fourth arm of government that polices the other three. Except for some state or local reporting, the media is financed and directed by what Ike told us to fear: The military-industrial complex.

International corporations as well as native, feed us lies and pick our presidents. They support government officials who do their bidding. They have become, because the people have allowed it, the voice of the people.

What makes it all so frustrating is that this has been occurring and reoccurring for years. Reporters on the scene of battles and wars have often omitted anything that might reflect badly on their masters. The usual excuses that it was done for national security just do not hold up.

Remember the lies of the “Embedded media” in Iraq; the government’s cover-up and fabrication of Jessica Lynch, a woman soldier who was captured by Iraqi? The story was slanted to make it appear her Iraqi captors tortured her when in effect they treated her humanly.

Remember the cover-up of Abu Ghriab and Git-mo and torture we engaged in by rendition? And these are only the tip of the iceberg.

Despite all this historical knowledge of the perfidy of the media, most Americans live by the polls and ruminations of the talking heads that make their living by gazing into their own crystal ball and never acknowledge or apologize for any mistakes.

Just amazing how they mostly all get on the same page at the same time. This week we’ve heard several assert variations on the meme that everyone is ecstatically happy with Zero, even those who at one time opposed him.

We are the most poorly informed country in the world yet we continue childishly to claim we have freedom of the press. Could it be that all the dire predictions of the economy are just so that as things turn around it will be reported as a miracle performed by the president-select?

Meanwhile misogyny continues unabated. Twisty writes:

"A black dude can get elected president, but a woman? When swine defy gravity. Racism flourishes, all righty, but it’s covert, on the DL, the embarrassing private luxury of elderly honkys and parochial-minded nincompoops . . . Misogyny, on the other hand, is bullet-proof. It’s not merely tolerated, it’s openly celebrated in the American street, the American courtroom, the American bedroom, the American internet. Except for a puny consortium of bruised and contused blamers calling blindly to the Vaginatariat through mists of dime store cologne, even the victims of this oppression embrace it."

Lest we forget, there was Jimmy Kimmel interviewing the patrons of a black barbershop to ask what would be acceptable and what off limits in regard to what he could say about Barack Obama. All agreed children were off limits but rifts on Michelle’s big ass were OK.

http://www.thelizlibrary.org/

TAG 'EM AND FRAG 'EM

What is it that keeps holding women back from uniting and presenting a true, new force for good in the world? Are all the great women bloggers out there capable of coming together to destroy the eons of bias, discontent and futility of protest?

Can we ever get rid of that posh parasol, hat and gloves, elitist “feminist” label and celebrate our woman selves that come in all shapes, colors and abilities, mostly unexpressed?

Perhaps the plethora of well-written blogs speaking to the issue of equality in fact, instead of parroting the MSM’s happy housewife meme, hurts rather than helps. Each one offers links to other blogs but the click of the mouse does not connect us together, it just gives us more reading material.

Women born early in the last century read these blogs and retch between their tears of frustration. What they experienced, suffered and worked to change for their daughters is just what the modern blogs are pissing and moaning about now.

The so-called women’s movement for equality apparently provided the daughters with the right to free and open sex, the right to keep their own name when married and the right to continue to support the status quo.

Their mother’s plea that women should not be objectified was turned on its head by daughters who just love being objectified or have taken the attitude of “FU! I’ll dress as I like, so there.” And how the guys love it.

All of the information and knowledge gained by the mothers of yore are available in women’s studies, books, on-line and from the mothers who have survived. All useless – those who will not learn from the past are not only repeating it but are also adding new wrinkles to the old patriarchy playbook.

Wake up! It’s not the individual men who are doing this to you. Many of them are supporters – they are on your side. It is the culture and the extent to which you have given in and accepted your lesser-human status.

It’s the choices you have made to give preference to, and adorn, your bodies instead of opening and using your mind. ”Be warriors for equality!” - Xena Warrior Princess

Despite knowing that the Primary was rigged for Zero, almost all of those so-called women supporting the one woman in the race happily jumped on the unity pony. Then they jumped ugly on their friends and relatives who would not capitulate to what clearly was the ultimate in the battering of a woman. Tag ‘em and frag ‘em – misogyny rules.

The candidate and Party that supported these atrocities received their accolades from voters singing hosanna to the tall dark and hansom of the fairy tales they were brought up on. It wasn’t so much about the kool-aid as it was about the hormones.

Women seem prone to exhibit a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker. This has been called The Stockholm Syndrome.

No wonder. Male power has only to shake the “fear rattle” and most women respond like the well oiled, well-trained Zombies they are. The culture has taught them that protection lies only with the male.

The brave woman who made the cracks in the glass ceiling and took the vicious cuts and bruises herself watched in agony as those, who had declared support, turned their backs on her.

Then these liberal, elitist, ladies, who had preached equality and tolerance as their credo, erupted when a strong Conservative woman came on the scene. Feminist leaders led their sisterhood followers into another wild game of tag ‘em and frag ‘em that still continues.

This sisterhood and their leaders are now the tip of the misogyny spear to the delight of the male power structure. They descending like a mob of Harpies to claw a woman Governor to death and found instead one strong woman person who had learned well from the elder sisters and mothers of the last century.

Below are links to two blogs with recent, well-written articles. Sadly the content is very similar to things written in the last century – we’ve gone a damn short way, baby.


Six Part Series on the Need for Feminism

1. The Right to Go Out

2. Planet of the Guys

3. Our Father Who Art in Heaven

4. The Invisible Women

5. The Female Body as Property

6. The Longest Revolution

http://echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html#475045112303344609


Women Will Never Be Equal

http://www.partizane.com/node/435#comments

IT'S NOT THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE TO MAKE

Once again the media is telling us that they have chosen our next president and vice president. Already happened, it says. “You partisan yahoos don’t even need to vote. It’s not the People’s choice. It’s ours.

“You nincompoops have such short memories but try and think back to 2000 and 2004. We chose the candidate then too. How’d that work out for you? We do it softly, we do it with lies and threats, we do it rough and for your amusement we do it with misogyny.”

Remember all the flutter about the cost of John Edward’s haircut? It was only because it could be used to derogate women – the media loved calling him “The Breck Girl. But nothing was ever said about the thousand$ spent on his suits, ties, and shirts or how they looked on him.

Hillary’s clothing, body and hair was constantly commented on, usually in a derogatory fashion. If it wasn’t the tut-tuts about cleavage it was the nasty bits about her pantsuits and the male’s reason for why she wore them instead of a dress they could look up under. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/13/8917?page=1

Joe Biden is seldom even noticed; even when he makes a gaffe that would sink any other Party’s candidate like stone. Some mention has been made of his facial makeovers and hair plugs in the more gossipy blogs/columns. Even his monumental gaffes are not criticized – the media only hear the ones allegedly made by Governor Palin or Senator McCain.

Same with Obama’s clothing – for men it’s just suits and ties. Of course the perfect one must and does dress with perfection. So who mentions his $1,500 suits and makes nasty comments about him spending all that money? And even suggest what he may be hiding with custom made suits.

And woe on anyone who mentions the clever way he is fooling you with the slight whitening of his hair at the temples. Gives him an older, experienced look to those who have not seen the changes gradually made with a little white powder. [Oops, this may land me in gitmo.]

Sarah Palin’s new wardrobe has been fueling the hate engines for days now. Led, of course, by a media that spends most of its time looking for something to crap on her with, but little is made of the $520 Ferragamo shoes worn by McCain, although the talk-show host like to blather on about them.

To many women obey the cultural edict to lighten up when constantly faced with the barrage of hateful misogyny and sexism that was and still is aimed at Senator Clinton and their own gender.

Many more even join in now as the hate-crime-inducing drivel is spewed out against Governor Palin. The idea that SNL and The Daily Show can make such hideous fun of womankind is worse than deplorable. It is criminal and it incites violence and disrespect for all women. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20081026_Palin_deserves_our_respect.html

Women have just got to wake up to the fact that sexism and misogyny is no more humorous or acceptable or harmless than making fun of lynching, nappy-headed-hos or Uncle Toms.

“Just slit her throat, lock her in a car boot, and drive the car into river in West Virginia.
“Ain’t gonna let no whore screw with the man
“And a Drive-By Won’t Be Out of the Question. What goes around, comes around. The stupid fucking bitch !!
“Talk About WHITE TRASH that bitch better keep looking over her shoulder.”
This is just a few examples of what Obama supporters said about Hillary Clinton.

"[W]hatever else the current generation of feminists - and particularly the Third Wave feminists - have accomplished, the battle to diminish the cultural acceptability of sexism and misogyny is being lost. Lighten up is not a successful strategy. Lighten up is no strategy at all. . . We must commit ourselves to an innovative and energetic campaign to change our culture. The way things look now, we're not just losing a battle about sexism in this election - we're losing the whole damn war."
-- Ciccina, The Lurking Canary

imPALIN THE PRECIOUS ONE

Whatever else it was, Governor Sarah Palin’s speech accepting the GOP nomination for Veep was impressive. Also impressive was the near total acclimation and support given her by her own Party.

Unlike Senator Hillary Clinton, Sarah is not forced to campaign with a pack of media mad dogs and her own Party officials snarling at her heels. We all remember how Hillary was savaged and slammed for making even the slightest criticism of her rival in the Dem Primaries.

Palin will, of course have to deal with the media mad dogs, the Dem women Senators and Governors that BO has put in front of him for protection, and sadly many other women who will savage her simply because the worst critics of women’s advancement are women.

The media and the DNC savaged Senator Clinton. Now, some of the women who claimed to be in support of Hillary support BO. They claimed to be against sexism, like Taylor Marsh, but now are hurling sexist epithets against Sarah. So much for the legendary “tolerance” of Liberals. That kool-aid sure is potent. http://tinyurl.com/5jyceb

Some are afraid that women will lose what reproductive/workingplace rights they have left if they don’t kiss up to The Precious. They are forgetting that they had the chance to have a real tried and true presidential candidate; one whose life has been spent in support of women, children and their rights and welfare. Why does anyone trust that BO will suddenly eschew the sexism of his campaign?

”Obama stole a campaign and attacked with his rabid cyber-dogs and cultlike supporters in the media. What makes you think hes going to protect MY rights as a woman after he let misogyny be the main weapon to suppress dissent?” sm77 confluence

”There is an aspect to the misogyny that is mentioned here and there, but doesn't get the full attention it deserves, and that is the class bias thoroughly interwoven with the gender hatred The media message is coming through loud and clear - white trash women are sluts for us to f*** with as we please Women p[er]ceived to be of a lower socio-economic classes, regardless of their color, regardless of their actual status, are treated like trash - cheap, dirty, used, disposable objects undeserving of civil rights and privacy, let alone common decency.” - Taking Out the Trash (by Anglachel)

What it all sugars out to is that it is not the candidate, nor is it the Party – it is gender. It is gender that made the huge fuss about Hillary and it is gender that is making the huge fuss over Sarah but they’d better watch it – she’s not called Sarahcuda for nothing.

Chart comparing SP to BO:
http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/2008/08/30/sarah-palin-vs-barack-obama/

If you make it about Democratic values and electability, strong, fearless Hillary would have won in a landslide. The hue and cry over Palin is not about Republican values; it’s about the possibility of a strong, fearless woman getting into the White House.

The Obama /Biden ticket is already running scared and demanding help from Senator Clinton and other women Democrats to undercut Governor Palin. Will this be their strategy if they get elected? When some world leader makes a face at them will they call out the women to protect them? Good grief! The misogyny! Can you see it now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb8vj6BKPf8

Report sexism in media incidents. The WMC is committed to exposing and ending sexism in the media, regardless of the target, but they need your help. If you see an example of media sexism, please use the form at THIS PAGE to let them know.
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/sexism_watch.html

ERA, Finally (by Lynne in Lakeland at Liberal Rapture)

I like strong women. Maybe because I am one. I'm not threatened by other women's success. I applaud it because it raises the possibilities for all of us. We shouldn't be disqualified because we're menstruating, gestating or lactating. Judge us on our merits. John McCain has surrounded himself with strong women. He pays them the same as he pays his male staffers… Governor Palin is the point of equal rights. You can't say she got where she is because of her husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather or any other man. She got where she is by herself. She doesn't want to pull the ladder up after her and she acknowledges the women who came before her. That is a great message for all women.
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