feminist blogs

By: Anonymous - from the series of guest posts written by Dr. Baldwin's students at Michigan State University.

During the 2009 election we had three strong but very diverse candidates. We had the old-timer, the minority and the female dog. Unfortunately she didn't get a very good reputation. Hillary Clinton is seen as an over empowering woman. She is a threat to men in the government and throughout the world. But what is wrong with a little confidence? In today's society it is a positive thing for a man to be confident. Confidence in a man is sexy and shows power. Women are taken as aggressive and atrocious. That if we come off as too confident or secure men are turned away and view that woman as stuck up. Why can't a woman be confident and proud of herself without being called out on it? Women and men should be see as equal when they are looked at for what they have accomplished or how they perceive themselves.

By: Jade - from the series of guest posts written by Dr. Baldwin's students at Michigan State University.

Numerous blogs on this site are about women and their rights, but I was thinking about something a little different. Many people don’t realize what really goes on behind closed doors in the senate because it’s mostly ideas that they don’t want the people to know about. This is not something most men and women want to even talk about for the fear of being shunned by society. Why is it that our state and house representatives can serve one term and work part-time, but get paid for full time work? They get all the benefits they could ask for, without having to pay a dime. When it came time to make budget cuts, they cut education instead of their own salaries. In my opinion, life would be a whole lot different, if they paid for even a portion of the things everyone else in the world has to pay for.

They also don’t participate in our health care, retirement or social security, which we all have to pay for. For some reason, all of the people representing our state have their own separate plans. It’s no wonder that none of them care about the problems everyone else is facing. It’s not fair to everyone who works hard for their money and has to save everything they can just so one day they can retire and not have to worry. Meanwhile, all these people have to do is serve four years and they’re set for life. I find that utterly ridiculous, but there is nothing we can do about it. The legislators are so focused on their party, democrat or republican, that they aren’t realizing what is truly best for the people of the state of Michigan. What happened to “of the people, by the people, for the people”?

It's been widely known that Meghan McCain, John McCain's outspoken daughter, is a proud supporter of same-sex marriage. She even posed in an advertisement for the "NO H8" campaign against Prop 8 in California.



And nowwww... Cindy McCain, John McCain's wife, has decided to pose for the campaign as well.



I'm very surprised that Cindy so publicly supports marriage equality. The NO H8 Campaign website posted the images and announced that Cindy and Meghan are "redefining Republican." Despite my disagreement with many of their political views and my dislike for John McCain, I really respect their willingness to go against the grain by speaking in favor of a political view that is so unpopular within the Republican party (and with John McCain himself).

I think this is an important step in the right direction, to where eventually LGBTQ rights won't be a political debate, but a given. If two of the country's most well-known Republicans can recognize that denying rights to same-sex couples is a form of hatred and discrimination, surely others can as well.

What are everyone's thoughts on this Harry Reid controversy? For those of you who don't know, a new book revealed that Reid, leader of the Senate Democrats, made "racist" comments towards Barack Obama, calling him a "light-skinned" African-American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

Reid issued an apology, and President Obama has accepted it. Prominent Democrats, as well as the nation's first black attorney, have defended Reid. Republicans are calling Democrats hypocrites, accusing them of applying a double-standard by calling out others on racism, but not their own. They are also calling for Reid's resignation. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that Reid should step down, calling his comments "embarrassing and racially insensitive."

Except, um, remember when the GOP and conservative activists were constantly guilty of distributing horrific materials attacking Obama for his race?

Methinks the Republicans aren't criticizing Democrats because they are genuinely offended by Reid's racist comments and by racism in general, but because they are using this as an opportunity to call us hypocrites.

Also, blogger Brian Montopoli of CBSNews.com made a good point. Look carefully at what Reid said. Reid didn't seem to be criticizing Obama, but instead describing how certain aspects of himself will work in his favor for election. Montopoli wrote:

On NBC's "Today" show Monday, Matt Lauer asked PBS' Gwen Ifill this question: "Isn't Harry Reid implying that a dark-skinned African American who speaks in a way that some would consider more stereotypical would not be electable?"

Ifill's response? Well, yes. Because it's true.

While Reid could have done a much better job structuring his comments, I don't find what he said racist. I find it true. The fact that Obama isn't very dark-skinned and speaks in a manner that Americans don't associate with the stereotypical person of color helped him win. We have said it time and time again: Obama's victory was a step in the right direction, but racism continues to plague America. Obama was an "acceptable" African-American, just like there are "acceptable" queer figures and "acceptable" feminists (see: Sarah Palin).

It is immoral to condone offensive remarks simply because they were made by an ally instead of an enemy, and I do think we should urge Reid to better exercise sensitivity and morality in the future, but asking him to step down as Majority leader? That is far too extreme.

Obama has made yet another move to demonstrate his desire for equality, and I cannot wait to hear what Rush Limbaugh has to say on this. President Obama appointed Amanda Simpson, a transgender woman, to be the Senior Technical Adviser to the Commerce Department. In a statement, Simpson said:

I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. As one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.

Wow.

THANK YOU, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), for calling out the fact that women's access to health care and reproductive services is constantly under attack, yet the medicines (i.e. Viagra) and procedures that men use are not put in this same political position. Double standards. Story of our lives, ain't it? IMO, it all goes back to society trying to control a woman's sexuality. Why are birth control rights threatened incessantly, yet condoms seem almost impervious to the same assaults? Because men are allowed to be sexually free, and we're not.



Take a moment to contact Senator Boxer and thank her for her wise words. It's not easy being a feminist in Washington.

In a 54 to 45 vote, the Senate has rejected the anti-choice effort to eliminate insurance coverage for abortions.

Majority Leader Harry Reid said the legislation is about access to health care, and not abortion.

I'm extremely relieved that the Senate had some sense, but the Senate bill that was created still specifies that abortion coverage can only be paid for with private dollars (not public dollars - e.g. Medicaid), a restriction put in place by the Hyde amendment in 1976. Visit Change.org to send a message to the House, Senate, and President Obama, urging the repeal of the Hyde amendment.

But still, definitely a pleasing victory for all supporters of reproductive justice. To everyone who did their part to stop the elimination of insurance coverage for abortions, congrats!

I don't know about you, but I'm incredibly freaked out about the assault on abortion coverage, carried out by anti-choice politicians through health care reform. The Hyde amendment has been in place for 33 years, which bans public funds being used for abortion, but Bart Stupak and his anti-choice allies not only want to keep the Hyde amendment in place, but also eliminate private insurance coverage for abortions, a service that 85% of insurance companies offer now.



Yesterday, I campaigned on my campus with Tiffany Card to get signatures on an anti-Stupak petition. Here are some actions you can take:

• Learn about the situation.


• Check out upcoming rallies and protests in various states.


• Visit the Planned Parenthood action center to contact your senators.


• Sign the petition on CREDO Action, and they will send a coat hanger to the 20 formerly pro-choice senators who voted in favor of Stupak.


• Or follow in the footsteps of the Clinic Escort and purchase miniature coathangers yourself to mail to the "pro-choice" senators or Democratic representatives who voted for no abortion coverage.


• Sign the online petition at StopStupak.com.


• Download Planned Parenthood's petition, print it out, and collect signatures in your community.


• Join the Stupak REVOLT group on Facebook.


• Tweet, post, e-mail, and flyer! Get the word out. Many people are not aware of the situation, but are willing to take action once they learn about it.

Amplify has created what they have called The Hanger Project, made to spread awareness about the restrictions anti-choice legislators are trying to put on abortion through the health care reform bill.

Join The Hanger Project, and learn about how you can help fight against politicians in Washington attempting to take away our legal right to have an abortion. Download and print the Hanger Project's awesome flyers and hang them on wire hangers around your town or on your campus. I think we could get many more people to join our fight, but first we need to educate them on what is happening. Awareness is key.

Here's the deal.

The Senate healthcare bill that was revealed yesterday does not include the Stupak language in it, thankfully.

However, the bill does include the long-standing Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal dollars from being used for abortions. Also, the Senate now has the ability to bring the bill they have passed to the floor for debate, during which they can add amendments, so we still need to call our senators and voice our opposition to Stupak's amendment to ensure that similar anti-choice language isn't introduced when the bill hits the Senate floor. Senator Hatch, for example, has said that he will introduce a similar bill. So, our reproductive rights are still very much in jeopardy.

PUSH your senators to support a woman's right to have at least her private insurance cover an abortion. It's so important.