Marching for Women’s Equality and Lives, Circa 1989

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

I’ve been busy over the last days talking to relatives and neighbors who have either lost a job or are not finding a job since graduating from college.  They seem to have a sense of inertia, without a clue as to what to do.

I give them a real pep talk, with practical suggestions. I lost a couple of  jobs due to recessions…back in 1975 and again in 1981.  I was willing to take pay cuts, start at the bottom, take courses, learn how to write several types of resumes, switch fields and move if I had to.  The people I have talked to don’t seem to have that sort of drive and I’m not sure why.  Things are worse now in term of a future which doesn’t bode well for a return to normalcy, of course, but I’m struck by the sense of disbelief that seems to be hampering these folks.  It’s crippling them and they aren’t prepared to look at themselves and be willing to alter their set-in-stone plans.

The same sort of paralysis seems to extend to women these days.  Sure, we’ve been sold out by the national organizations, but the misogyny and attack on women’s health seems to be quite acceptable these days.  I can’t quite understand this sort of thing, since I came up through the days when we were fighting for our rights.

I was rummaging through a drawer and found a button from 21 years ago nearly to the day.  It was a march on Washington, one of several I went to.  I remember riding on a bus put together by the local chapter of NOW.  Many women’s groups joined together. We were all fighting mad in 1989.

I’m still angry and now I’m also broken-hearted.  This button brings me back to a day when women were galvanized and had a voice.

I wonder if these days a march on Washington would be even able to be organized, if there would be any interest… and if it actually occurred, whether it would be ignored by the media.

Something is very wrong, very wrong indeed…

When we were marching...

My Apologies to Terry O’Neill, President of NOW, Who Actually Has Been Doing What She Said She Would Do

~~By  InsightAnalytical-GRL

In my previous post, Surprise, Surprise: Obama Advisor (Female) Thinks Sharia Law is “Misunderstood”, I made this caustic comment:

What’s up with this willingness by “liberal” women to sell out women?  We saw it with Ms. Magazine and all many female Democrats during the primaries.  Supposedly NOW chose a woman to head the organization who is ready for a fight, but I haven’t heard a peep out of her, have you?

I still feel the same way about Ms. Magazine and other so-called “progressive/liberal” women’s publications and Obama supporters who have managed to excuse the misogynistic vein which runs through the Obama crew.

However, I must update some of what’s going on with NOW and offer a bit of an apology to Terry O’Neill of NOW.  Today I saw in the a story in the Albuquerque Journal that piqued my interest in revisiting NOW.

This story was an AP piece, which means I can’t quote it nor link to it under penalty of legal action.

The gist of the story is that NOW’s new President , Terry O’Neill (elected in June 2009), has been working on trying to assess what health care “reform” will mean to women. (More on this further down)

But, the old story of creepy men has become a top concern due to the Roman Polanski arrest and David Letterman’s revelations about his dalliances with women employees.  O’Neill has been quick to respond to those who try to makes excuses for these louses. See below for links to O’Neill’s statements on both of these clods.

Amazingly the AP article reports that while O’Neill has recieved a surge of emails to NOW about the latest Letterman revelations, many of them criticize HER, calling her a “man-hater.”

Sigh.

O’Neill has been on Letterman’s case since June, when he spewed this, as described in the Atlantic:

Jun 12 2009, 9:50 am by Chris Good

NOW Condemns Letterman

After this week’s flap between Sarah Palin and David Letterman, which started when Letterman cracked a joke about Palin’s “slutty flight attendant look” and another about her daughter getting “knocked up” by New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, the National Organization for Women has condemned Letterman’s jokes and is asking its supporters to write to CBS and voice criticism.

Letterman was added to NOW’s Media Hall of Shame after this incident (see page 5). (You might be interested to see the latest additions to the list…Glenn Beck is currently the most recent addition, but lo and behold, there’s a dig at the Huffington Post for their games with women’s chests right underneath…)

On the subject of these crappy “reform” plans, I heard a two-second blurb on the radio “news” a few weeks ago about the restoration of funding for “abstinence only” education, which has been called a complete failure.  The Senate Finance Committee actually restored funding to this crap at the behest of Sen. Orrin Hatch with the help of two Democrats, Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) joining with all the Republicans on the Committee. JERKS!!

Read more about it at NOW’s call to action so that this garbage will be out of the final bill when reaches the Senate floor: Abstinence-Only Education Shouldn’t Make the Cut and also check out the Center for Public Integrity on who’s behind Sen. Hatch’s move for restoration and the kinds of money wasted on the lie-laden program.

Another Action Alert includes a broader discussion of  the “reform” plans and their impact on women: Bad Health Care Bill Penalizes Women: More Amendments Limiting Reproductive Health Care and Excessive Premium Rates for Older Women .

NOW is also supporting a single-payer system.

After the debacle of the 2009 Democratic primaries and NOW’s support of Obama, it’s good to see that Terry O’Neill seems to be more on target with a message that really is pro-women. This older “war horse” is doing exactly what she said she would do.

Of course, you may not see or hear much of her unless you look at the paper for a story buried under a piece about bears favoring minivans when they go out steal food at the national parks (yes, on page D4 of the Albuquerque Journal).

And for sure, you won’t see Terry O’Neill on TEE VEE very often, either.  After all, she’s OLD and her chest probably not up to snuff…

***

O’Neill Statements:

The Latest Letterman Controversy Raises Workplace Issues for Women (October 6, 2009)

NOW President Terry O’Neill Calls Polanski Furor “Dangerous Talk” That Could Set Back Women’s Rights/”Celebrity Culture Gone Haywire” Blurs Case, O’Neill Says (October 2, 2009)

About Sarah Palin…

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

I was at the gym on the Wave when I saw the news about Sarah Palin’s resignation. My first reaction was “Oh, this is bad!  They’ll call her “a quitter.” I listened patiently to the patter on FOX and later at home and, of course, the term “quitter” was brought up, as well as speculation about her not having a thick enough skin,” her family concerns, and maybe how having a Downs child demands more time than she originally thought.  Or maybe she she was just “fed up.” I was informed that she had been acting “bizarre.” I heard the radio news playing back the Katie Couric interview about what Palin read. (Frankly, she said she read everything, which sounds just about like how I would answer on the fly…I’m sure if she had specified at the time, people would have criticized her even for that!)

I can only speak for myself but as I heard more of what she actually said today, especially the part about working for Americans in the future, I actually began to feel good about all this. I love that she focused on the political climate in Alaska. I loved that she didn’t consult with the Congressional delegation.

The “elite” have been out to get her since Day 1 and the Letterman crap didn’t arouse much passionate defense. (The late comments by NOW were just that–late and rather pro forma to save their image after they got an earful, most likely.)  Frankly, the Republicans don’t seem to want her either.

You know what? I would love it if she left the Republican Party and traveled around speaking, pointedly, about the political climate in this country. I’d love if she began saying point blank that the media is garbage.  I would love it if she mused out loud about the criticism about her “stupidity” and lack of “experience” and compare that to this fraud in the White House’s experience and his need for a teleprompter. I would love it if she starting hanging around with a Ron Paul or some of those Democratic reps who don’t approve of a lot of the Obama Adminstration’s crap, the GOP and the demise of this country.

I would love it if she spearheaded a third party.  Basically, I’d love it if she essentially started campaigning against Obama by going after the creeps around him, some of whom have been going after her in Alaska. She can also talk about the Republicans who join in the game.  She can without any problems call out the elites in D.C.  I think the harsh attacks on Palin belie a great deal of fear…She has nothing to lose, so I would love to see her really unleashed on her own terms.

However, if she chooses not to, that’s OK…because I don’t want to see her go down in a small plane “accident”…

Right now the punditry and the elite are rather shocked, it seems. Well, screw them!  We’ve been inspired by the women of Iran recently and maybe here in the U.S., we can be inspired by a woman who isn’t afraid to go out there and be herself and speak her mind.

Whatever she does, it will be interesting.

For now, I’m hoping she goes on every damned talk show and simply unloads.  I hope she gives Obama and the rest of the Villagers some nervous moments.

And maybe she can provide the spark that gets this country to wake up…

Just a couple of days ago she let this drop:

Palin says she’d beat Obama in long run

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she’d come out ahead if she went one-on-one with fellow jogger President Barack Obama in a long run, according to an interview published online Tuesday.

“I betcha I’d have more endurance,” she told Runner’s World magazine.

snip

“Sweat is my sanity,” Palin told the magazine.

Somehow, I don’t think Palin is a quitter. She’s playing the game her way.  Whatever her plan is, I say:

GO, SARAH!!

Used Body Parts (Female)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

A few days ago over at Partizane.com we were “treated” to a couple of really disturbing videos.  The subject of both was how women are presented in advertising. One video was a compilation of images by the GABRIELA NetworkUSA which is described as  “A Philippine-US Women’s Solidarity Mass Organization, est. 1989.”  It’s aim is to empower Filipinas living in the U.S., but the video is a must-see  for every woman. The other video which features images interspersed with a discussion of their impact by Jean Kilbourne is called “Killing Us Softly 3.” (The information on how much advertising we see seems to date from 1999, but the age of the video doesn’t diminish its impact.)

The post which features these videos is called BURN  IT DOWN WOMEN .

I’m old enough to remember when the objectification of women in advertising and other media was a real cause for women’s groups. Sadly, they don’t seem to really care about it now.  Instead, they seem more interested in endorsing misogynistic Presidential candidates and then whining about it.

***

For some reason I occasionally get email from the much detested Newsmax, although these days they seem almost sane when compared to the “mainstream media.”  Yesterday, the message was about a calendar, with a sample of what was included inside.

You can see what I saw in my email if you click on this link.  Frankly, it’s a really nice departure from what’s being dished out in advertising and cable stations like VH1, etc. Or a Ludacris video.  Or, worse, what passes as “reporting” on topics of a sexual or “cultural” nature which go for the most exploitative images of women producers can possibly find whenever possible.  Even watching one blonde after another on FOX gets to me, since they are all the same color blonde, it seems, and are made up like Kewpie dolls or older versions of Barbie. They are not individuals, just interchangeable talking mouths.

Now, if you don’t feel like going to the Newsmax store to see what’s there, I’ll give you a small sample.  These calendar pictures seem like a breath of fresh air, not necessarily because they are about Sarah Palin.  Just the range of pictures is a pleasant change, from home to campaign trail to her role as governor, all taken by a Wasilla, Alaska photographer named Judy Patrick who served as Vice Mayor of Wasilla when Palin was Mayor. A real woman doing things she normally does.

One could ask whether this sort of calendar “objectifies” Sarah Palin — does this go beyond admiration into the realm of objectification?  It seems more like a family photo album, but somebody is making money off it; I’m sure the photographer isn’t getting the lion’s share of the profit.  In the mall today, I saw one remaining calendar featuring Obama and his “words of hope.”  Where does that fit in?  Are these calendars just plain vanilla exploitation?  I don’t know…

Ironically, only a few days ago, BBC America repeated the movie “Calendar Girls” (2003) which starred Julie Walters, Helen Mirren, and nearly every older woman I’ve ever seen on Masterpiece Theater.

As you recall, the movie is based on a true story about how a fundraiser dedicated to raising money to purchase something as gift in memory of a late husband mushrooms into an international event.  There are nude older women, posed discreetly behind plants and buns and it’s good fun, but with the additional message of how the increasing hype jeopardizes a friendship.  (The story is highly fictionalized; see the facts, here.)   BUT, when you think about it, a nude woman, young or old, being used to sell more calendars and make more money is still what’s going on.  And the mature women are “girls,” of course.  Acceptable “objectification” for a good cause?? Mmmm…

Then there’s the promotion for the film–now THIS really IS “objectification.”

As Jean Kilbourne mentions in “Killing Us Softly 3,” the absence of the woman’s face is typical of how ads focus on one  body part, rather than the whole person.

Sigh. I feel like I’m in the process of dredging up all the stuff that’s hidden in the gravel on the bottom of the fish tank.  We really need to attend to this, don’t you think???  Hey, NOW…how about returning to reality and helping us out?? Consciousness raising, anyone?

***

Last night as I was writing this post, I had “Mr. Roberts” on in the background and noticed the pinup posters on the lockers of all the crew. I remembered how Betty Grable was THE pinup girl during WW II (I also recalled that she died on July 4th…I heard the news on the way to the 4th of July Party thrown by the U.S. Embassy in Rome back in 1973) …Today, this, a “re-make ” of a pin-up calendar in the style of WWII pin-ups.  At least they’ve got clothes on!!!

California Woman Raises Troop Morale, Funds With ‘Pin-Ups for Vets’ Calendar