Well Boys--Shame, Shame On You!

Everytime women struggle to advance their rights and achieve equality, they are met with an age old response from men. Derision and ridicule! They belittle us, they poke fun at us, they insult us and outright abuse us.

Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton faced it as they sought suffrage for women. In the 60's and 70's we saw men poking fun at women who sought to be police officers, doctors, or numerous other professions that were then reserved for men only. We saw it recently as the media and male pundits responded to Hillary Clinton's bid for the Presidency. Sadly nothing has changed. These men (many who identify themselves as liberal) don't seem able to appreciate that women have a right to stand up and demand equality. Our struggle for equality seems to be an opportunity for them to get a chuckle. Well boys-- Shame, shame on you!

Throughout Hillary's campaign women suffered with her as the media and other candidates leveled sexist attacks against her. We all felt them personally. In the end many women feel cheated by a process that was far from fair. We feel cheated of a once in our lifetime opportunity for a woman President.

Men's response to this is OK, you lost, get over it. Men aren't from Mars--they are from another galaxy, if they think that response will appease us. In fact their total and absolute insensitivity to our feelings, concerns, and rights reflects upon the real problem here. Most men do not take women's rights seriously.

Recently Marcia Pappas, President of NOW-NYS issued a press release "He Must Come Bearing Gifts". Some male blogs have already responded with the typical male derision.
To Scott Leffler , who seems to think that asking for gender parity on the Supreme court and a woman chair of the DNC (she would be the first) is a female dominant position. Shame, Shame on you!
To Jackie Tam, who actually rewrites Marcia's release to create silly conditions-- Triple shame on you!

Women lost an opportunity to take a major step forward in women's rights and many women want a major step in return. We also want the primary system (that we feel cheated us) fixed. How do men respond? By poking fun at us in order to shut us up.Well boys! Shame, Shame on you for trying, but you won't shut up this woman. Better women than I have faced down this gauntlet of derision--so I proudly face it down too--knowing that I follow in great footsteps as I refuse to be silenced.
Lori

He must Come Bearing gifts

Obama must do more to gain women's vote than simply tell us that he is the least of two evils. He must come court us! He must come bearing gifts! I am not talking about candy and flowers here. He has to make up for our loss of a woman president in our lifetimes.

I am proposing the list of gifts he must come with:
1) Based on population 4 or 5 Supreme Court Justices should be women. So--Obama must promise that all his appointments to the Supreme Court will be pro-choice women.
2) Howard Dean (the mute DNC Chair) must be replaced with a woman chair, who will not sit back quietly, while sexist attacks are levied against women candidates in primaries.
3) Super delegates must reflect gender equality. Closely contested elections should not be decided by a predominantly male body of super delegates (Keep in mind that super delegates are composed mostly of elected officials--that are overwhelmingly male).
4) We must correct the inequities in the Democratic Primary system.

• a) Caucuses are not Democratic. Attendance is low because many voters cannot devote two evening hours voting. As it stands, anyone who does not show up at the start of the caucus and stay to the end does not get a vote. And who is most likely to have a conflict with these evening times? Women of course! They are more likely to be caring for their children. When caucuses were set up. Politics was a predominantly male game. Men didn't have to worry because their wives were putting the children to bed. Come on, Democrats and move into the 20Th century. We should be making voting easier and more accessible, not continuing with arcane, restrictive and sexist traditions.
  
• b) Caucuses have open (i.e. public) voting where the women are often intimidated by the men. In a secret ballot women can vote their consciences. We still live in a sexist society; and people should not be intimidated by public votes.
  

5) Many misogynist Republicans and other conservatives crossed over to vote in our primaries. In fact Obama counted on these. He didn't want a re vote in Florida or Michigan, because the Republicans had already voted. If we ever get another woman candidate who can make a serious bid for the Presidency, misogynists from other parties should not determine the Democratic candidate. The Democratic Party is over two thirds women and our effect should not be diluted by the primary/caucus process. When there is work to be done, when there are close votes, women are the backbone of the Democratic Party. When there are close races, it is women that make the difference for Democrats. When it comes to choosing the Democratic nominee, women's votes must be represented proportionally.

Before women have another opportunity for the Presidency, there should be a level playing field.
In case we get another chance, we need assurances that this misogynist sleight-of-hand won't happen again.
Obama must bear these gifts- then we can talk.

Let me know what other gifts you think we should demand.

Women Must Put Women's Rights First

I think that NOW needs to be more focused on sexism and actual women's issues.

personally I am a staunch environmentalist. I belong to several environmental organizations. I hang my wash out on the line, I recycle, reuse, and compost to the extent that I bring my used egg cartons back to farmers for reuse. I save the whales, seals, wolves, polar bears, (and numerous more mammalian and non mammalian species.)

But I strongly believe that we should not be diverting NOW's focus. NOW should be saving women!

Sexism is the last truly acceptable ism.

Did you hear the boys at Sierra Club speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the boys at PETA speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the boys at the National Wildlife Federation speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

NO-- they stick to their message.

While the Democratic Party should encompass all these issues and women's rights;

Did you hear the Democratic Party speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the its presumptive male nominee speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the its Chair speaking up against the sexism in the primary (I mean before women stopped sending in money and the woman candidate had suspended her campaign)?

The final straw though is when the national Organization for Women (the one organization who has this mission) can't discuss the sexism in the primary and how we should respond to it, because we need more time to discuss global warming and animal rights.

If women don't learn to put themselves first-we will forever be last!

It is OK for us to say that everyone and everything doesn't always come before women. Women need to focus and make our rights a priority for us-no one else will.

If we can't focus we'll have a male polar bear in the White House before we have a woman.

Statement made at the Sunday afternoon plenary of the 2008 National NOW Convention