Uncensored Feminista

I saw most of the speech last night, but not all.  I did catch Rep. Joe Wilson completely berate our President by shouting out “You Lie!” while he was explaining that illegal immigrants would not receive free healthcare under this reform.

Now, I have to wonder how much of this might be racially based.  Coming from South Carolina – and excuse me for generalizing an entire state here – but South Carolina is known for being a hot bed of racial tension.  A white man from the south just called our black president a liar, in public, on camera while he was addressing Congress, and this is an outburst that has never been done before.

“CNN: Never has any member of Congress shown such disrespect for the president during a speech,” Fowler wrote. “One would think that as a member of the military, Joe Wilson would have more respect and patriotism than he displayed tonight. When Congressman Wilson insulted President Obama, he also insulted the American public. Joe Wilson is a poor example of a statesman and an American. He owes an apology to the president and the American people.”

This to me screams “White Privilege”.  Of course, I could be making a big deal out of nothing, but I have to wonder…

Quick Hit: Please read this great article on why the term “illegal alien” brings images of very bad things to the more conservative minded Americans and those whose families have been in America for so long that they forgot their families actually came from other places of the world (unless you’re Native).  Here’s a quick quote of why it’s actually a very negative term:

If you can classify a whole group of people with a pejorative –alien –and then group them as “illegal,” you have carried out a neat trick: you have stripped a whole group of people of their humanity. Once dehumanized, any ill-treatment is judged by lesser standards, perhaps less moral than ones we apply to animals.

Just a quick something to think about.

There has been way to much media hype, and in all honesty, a whole ‘lotta crap going around about healthcare reformation and how it’s going to lead to everyone’s ultimate demise — which I think is a ploy by the insurance industry to try to salvage their ass and continue making big money of the back, sweat, and labor of poor, sick people, who just happen to be the ones that need them the most.  So, while scanning through my Facebook today, I saw that Jaclyn Friedman – of “Yes Means Yes” fame – posted this amazing  You Tube video explaining why the “Public health” option is a good idea, in easy to follow language.

This is where I was when President Obama was inaugurated.  I watched in awe with hundreds of fellow classmates as our country made history.  I feel as if it’s a new day now.  I feel as if the weight of the world has been taken off my shoulders as I watched Former President George W. Bush along with Laura Bush get on that helipoter to take them away from Washington.

Watching the news yesterday has reassured me that Obama is going to do what’s right for this country.  He’s already signed to have Guantanamo closed, he’s going to repeal the Global Gag Rule, and doing so with sensitively.  He’s going to do right by our country, and I’m proud for the first time in a long time of what America is and what it stands for.  I lost my faith in my country during the past 8 years, especially 8 years ago when Bush stole the election.  But you get past it and move on and hope the country will correct the mistakes of the past, and it has now.

Yesterday also marked the day that 36 years ago Roe v. Wade was passed by the Supreme Court.  This is a momentous day, because the ruling states that a woman has a right to bodily privacy, to make whatever decisions she feels is right for her to make, not her father, not her husband, not the government.  I feel people forget this.  I feel that certain groups in our society feel that women are incapable of making educated decisions regarding their body and that they, the government, or someone else who is not a woman knows what’s best for them.  The truth is that nobody knows what’s best for someone except that person.

Because of this anniversary, there was a March in front of the Supreme Court in D.C., and man tried to ram his SUV into an abortion clinic in St. Paul.  What I find most interesting though is the fact that most of the people who are against abortions and whom are violent toward abortion clinics and patients are men.  It’s patriarchy doing it’s thing.  It reminds me a lot of the movie I saw about the Suffragettes, Iron Jawed Angels on HBO and all the men who were against them getting their voting privileges. Here’s a photo clip of the violence I’m talking about that was portrayed in the movie.

I’m completely convinced that this violence has everything to do with loss of power and control, just like it did back then, 100 years ago.  With every little freedom a woman is given towards the right to form her own decisions regarding her life, her body, and her well-being, certain men simply freak out, and I don’t seem to understand this.  I’ve always been priviledged to have my independence, and I was raised to speak my mind and take care of myself, because nobody was going to do that for me, so here I am, taking care of myself, forming my own opinions, and speaking my mind.

Another momentous thing happened in D.C. yesterday: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed the Senate!  Here’s what Planned Parenthood had to say about it:

Tonight the Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by a bipartisan vote of 61 to 36, vindicating Lilly Ledbetter’s long search for redress after 19 years of pay discrimination.

“This is an important first step in our efforts to undo years of backsliding on the right to be paid a fair and equitable wage,” said National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy. “The Ledbetter bill will allow redress for workers with the energy and willpower to seek redress in the courts, but we have a long way to go before we have fair pay for women, and laws with real teeth.”

While it is too late for her to receive the compensation she deserved from Goodyear and was denied by the Supreme Court, Lilly’s determined quest for equal rights for women in the workplace led to today’s Senate passage of the legislation introduced in her name. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation next week after an expected concurrence from the House.

The Ledbetter Act, which was blocked in the Republican-led Senate last year, will essentially reverse the 2007 Supreme Court decision that required workers to file charges on a pay discrimination claim within six months after receiving their first discriminatory paycheck. The Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber, which reversed the jury’s compensation award to Ledbetter, essentially gave employers the go-ahead to discriminate in pay, as long as they weren’t caught in the first six months after the onset of their illegal actions.

Earlier this month the House passed the Ledbetter Act with a companion bill, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close loopholes that allow employers to pay men and women discriminatorily and provides consequences for that discrimination. The Senate today acted only on the Ledbetter Act, so work on passage of the companion bill begins tomorrow.

But tonight NOW salutes Lilly Ledbetter and promises to continue working for passage of fair pay legislation with real teeth, so that her long journey through the courts and the halls of Congress will not have been in vain, and all workers will be able enjoy a fair, safe and equitable workplace where they can do their jobs and support their families.

Little by litte we are working our way to equality.  Little by little women are being freed from the oppressions they face that hold them back from achieving the great things we all know they’re capable of.

I also just got word that Obama overturned the Global Gag Rule this morning via Twitter (thanks Veronica!).  More on that as the info comes in.

It’s been a big week indeed!

Amsterdam To Close Many Of Its Brothels, Marijuana Cafes, Sex Shops.

I’m so torn about this because prostitution is a good way for a woman with no skill to earn a living, but the problem that I see that is most prevalent is that prostitution equates women to objects that can be bought and this mindset can trickle over to women who are not prostitutes. It’s a way of perpetuating patriarchy and I really don’t find it in the least empowering. Most importantly, it also causes problems like enslavement and trafficking of women and children.

It’s great that they’re giving women a legal, semi-protected way of practicing their trade, but how protected is it really? In countries as rich as, say, the United States, women and children are being enslaved for the purposes of sexual services, and yet here’s Amsterdam trying to promote prostitution in a safe, legal environment. How many of those women in the red light district are there because they’re forced? I think that if they were to implement other social programs that would help them out of their situation and get them into a job where they don’t have to sell themselves, that this would be money better spent.

The city is targeting businesses that “generate criminality,” including gambling parlors, and the so-called “coffee shops” where marijuana is sold openly. Also targeted are peep shows, massage parlors and souvenir shops used by drug dealers for money-laundering.

…

“It’ll be a place with 200 windows (for prostitutes) and 30 coffee shops, which you can’t find anywhere else in the world _ very exciting, but also with cultural attractions,” he said. “And you won’t have to be embarrassed to say you came.”

So basically, they’re going to target businesses that “generate criminality” and will define where you can sell yourself and your body in a way that won’t embarass the “Johns”, continuing to perpetuate crime because of the demand that is then created, whether it is on their land or someone else’s.

I could be totally off here, but sex tourism is a big problem in a lot of countries, and in many of those countries, those who are in the business of sex are enslaved, they’re children who don’t have any other choice or don’t have a say in the matter.  There’s a lot of problems with this, and simply because it works in one country, as far as keeping a close eye on crime, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it works in other countries, and by legalizing prostitution you are creating the demand for sex that trickles over to other countries where it’s not legalized and becomes a big problem.

These are just my random thoughts on the situation, and I’m sorry if they’re a bit scattered, but I would love to hear input from others or be given points of view that I may not have considered.

I went ahead and voted early today, and boy let me tell you, it took forever.  The polling place opened at 1pm today, and we got in line at about 12:30, and the picture to the left is what the line looked like.  We went to the Kendall Branch Library polling place, and if you know how this branch works, the front doors are on 96th Avenue, and the line wrapped around the block to 97th Ave.  It took us (because I brought my boyfriend with me) 2 and a half hours to get in and vote, and it was well worth it.  I shouldn’t have to tell you which way my vote went, but I can tell you I’m glad I did it now and not later.  I am glad I voted early, I’m glad I voted the way I did, and I’m glad I have the right to do so under Amendment 19

You know what makes me incredibly proud?  The man to the left.  It was his first time voting, and he did so because he feels that this election is important enough, and I talked him into it.  It seems that there are several other people who feel the same as David.  Why?  Because the world is a scary place right now.

So I’m proud of him.  I’m proud of me, and I’m proud of the example we’ve set for the little one as well who doesn’t quite understand why he can’t vote, but I’m sure we’ll be talking about that more with the days to come.

Don’t be discouraged by the long lines guys, this is an incredibly important election and if you don’t vote, I don’t want to here shit about what McCain is doing to ruin our nation.  IT’S YOUR FAULT!  YOU SHOULD HAVE VOTED!

Here’s some quick stats:  in 2004 22 million women nation wide did not vote.  That’s 22 million women who did not voice their opinions.  If you want to see why it’s so important for women to vote, watch Iron Jawed Angels on HBO.  It’s on the women suffragists and everything they went through under Woodrow Wilson’s United States in order to get Amendment 19 passed so that we could all have the same privileges as men.  So go watch this movie, get inspired, and GO VOTE.

Here’s a couple quick videos from the rally here in Miami.  Please excuse the quality of the videos.  They were taken on an itty bitty digital camera, so it may be a bit shaky.  Listen to the words more then trying to look at the video.

Let me tell you about the amazing day I had yesterday.  I went to the Obama rally held here in Miami at Bicentennial Park.  Firstly, to get there I decided to take the Metrorail.  Holy Cow were there people at the people mover to get from the train to the park!  It was so bad security was only allowing a certain amount of people on the platform at a time, so I walked the 1.2 miles it takes to get there from the train.  I get there and there’s a two hour wait just to get past the security checkpoints.  The crowd was the best though.  Everyone was so loving, so accepting, and there was such a postive vibe amongst everyone that it felt great (unlike what you see on the news at the McCain/Palin rally’s).  I get past security just in time to hear Bob Graham introducing Michelle.  She got up and introduced Barrack and was so eloquent and so wonderful (crappy little video from my little camera to come, as soon as I get it uploaded onto YouTube).  Then Obama…

This rally and this awesome man has restored my faith in humanity just a little more, which is something I lost a long time ago (just drive through Miami and you’ll see what I mean).  What a wonderful experience it was, and one that I hope everyone has the chance to experience at least once in their life.  To be able to hear the man or woman with whom inspires you the way Obama inspires me was such a rewarding experience.  I have faith that he will earn the office, not win it, because it’s not about winning.  He truly deserves it and he’s worked hard enough, has shown an incredible amount of dedication and intelligence to deserve it.  I can’t wait for Novemeber 4th.

I had to repost this because it’s just too important.

[H/T: Jessica Valenti Twitter]

I really need to get myself into the habit of posting more.  It’s been really crazy in my part of the world, so you’re going to have to excuse me.  School is leading me to pull my hair out, it’s so hectic.

Enough about me though.  I’m having some serious issues with everything going on lately with the McCain/Palin camp that I just have to voice it.

Firstly, debate 3.

Did anyone catch this?

Did anyone catch McCain’s snide remark about the *air quotes* “health” of a women??  Does women’s health not matter to McCain?  I mean this is the same guy who was responsible for calling his wife a trollop and a cunt at a party for making a comment in passing about his thinning hair.

And how about this one?

Did you catch it?  In case you didn’t, here’s the direct quote:

“I would consider anyone in their qualifications, I do not believe that someone who has supported Roe v. Wade that would be part of those qualifications, but I certainly would not impose a litmus test.”

So, he wouldn’t impose a litmust test, but clearly anyone who supports Roe v. Wade is certainly not qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice under McCain’s rule.

*blink*

I was dumbfounded and numb after this comment.  He claims he’s a Federalist and that this decision should be up to the states.  I call bullshit.  Again, this goes back to the cunt/trollop comment.  If he’s capable of calling his wife a cunt and a trollop, he clearly has no respect for women, therefore he must be (in my opinion) among those in society who believes that women are incapable of making this decision for themselves.  They’re clearly incapable of making this decision with the advice of their family, their doctors, and/or whomever else they decide to seek advice from.  They clearly are just running to the abortion clinic to have the fetus taken out of them without putting any thought into it at all.

…And women’s brains are smaller than mens, therefore we’re incapable of reasoning…

I don’t know what annoys me more, McCains snide comments or Palin calling herself a feminist.

Now, I want to imply my own analysis here regarding McCain’s behavior as of late.  Has anyone else noticed the tantrum he’s throwing?  I surely have, and I have to wonder how much of that has to do with his privileged status?  I have to wonder how much of this hate spewing his been tossing around in his rally’s lately have to do with the fact that he felt he was entitled to the presidency because of this privilege?  And what truly bothers me, and what I still truly feel, is that this man chose a woman for the vice presidency in an attempt to get all of the Hilary supporters to vote for him, even though Palin doesn’t come near Hilary on the issues, what she stands for, and as a true feminist.  He chose the most anti-woman running mate he could which is a slap in the face to all women who truly supported Hilary because of her issues, not just her gender.  I feel as if he really thought women would naturally gravitate towards him because of this and just close our eyes and say “YAY A WOMAN!” without truly looking into where she stands.

I am still highly sickened by this man and the more he speaks, the more confident I feel with my choice to vote for Obama.

Quick Edit: I just saw this over at Feministing and felt I had to share, especially since I live in a swing state that usually gets elections all wrong; Florida, need I say more?  Warning, possible trigger.

It’s been a while, I know, but life is incredibly busy lately with two research projects, one ecology project, and acting monologues to memorize, but I thought I would post a quick hello to you all simply to let you know that I’m still alive.

As for what’s going on in political news, I am incredibly ecstatic to find out that the polls are turning.  Obama is again in the lead in the polls, and it seems that there has finally been a shift among women from the McCain camp back to the Obama Camp.  He’s even ahead in battleground states, according to MSNBC.  Honestly, I was starting to get worried.  I was already thinking of how I was going to pack up my house, my cats, the kid, and the boyfriend to move us all to Canada, but it appears as if the blinders are coming off and I won’t have to move.

This election is important.  It is so important in fact that I succeeded in convincing my boyfriend that he must not only register to vote but vote come November 4th, and he’s watching the news daily to see what else is going on in the McCain/Palin camp as far as all the drama goes.

Obama was here in Miami for a rally this morning, but unfortunately I could not go.  I ust recently started a new job and was unable to ask for the day off to go see him, so I’m a bit bummed that I missed the rally.  I can only hope there was someone out there nice enough to video it and will be posting it up on YouTube later on tonight.

I also attended a panel discussion called “Sex, Lies, and Sterotypes” that was hosted by Planned Parenthood, VOX, and SEICUS.  I will write more on it later, but the jist of it is that Abstinence only education is bad (like we needed a panel to tell us that), and it’s being implemented domestically and internationally.  Kids are being misinformed, it’s not working internationally, and more and more people are contracting HIV/AIDS and dying.  Locally Planned Parenthood is trying to organize the Healthy Teens Campaign which I personally think is awesome because it would stop the lies and the half truths from being spread, but unfortunately right now they’re not teaching anything at all because of “budget cuts” (or so they claim), so I’m writing letters to the Board in hopes that they will see the error of their ways, but I would love it if others would do the same.

One last thing before I go; if anyone had done any research on how toys genderize kids or on commercial sexual exploitation of kids, please email me at lmato002 {AT} fiu {DOT} edu.  I would love your input or any information that you found.  Thanks!