Yesterday marked the 90th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment – you know, that little law that gave women the right to vote.  There were some great posts celebrating this fact, as well as critiquing the methods and shortcomings of the heroines that fought for our rights.  A good feminist is always critical and willing to take a look at where we need to improve, so I send out kudos to all of those women out there who continue to fight the battles within while striving to foster an effective and efficient sisterhood.

Shoutouts to feministing for the awesome old school vid!

Young Women and the Battle for Women Suffrage [the ms. education of shelby knox]

‘Battle’ is the correct word to describe the 100-year campaign to get women the right to vote. Sadly, many American school children never learn about the courageous activism waged by the many women and men of all races it took to make the 19^th amendment the law of the land. If they get any information on the topic at all, they leave the classroom thinking Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton simply asked for the vote and it was kindly granted! The lack of women’s history education in schools leaves young women without a true understanding of all the women have done and become before, making it harder to do and become today.

This is a cross post from a good friend of mine.  It originally appeared at team berlin.  If you are interested in guest or cross posting at feministhemes.com, send a line with your idea to ms.wizzle@feministhemes.com.

In response to Vatican says women priests a ‘crime against faith’ [telegraph]:

Yep.  It’s definitely one of those times when I remember why so many people hate the Catholic faith.  Mostly because they’re full of dicks, both literally with all their penii flying all over the place and metaphorically in the sense that they’re quite mean.

REALLY?!  Worse than pedophilia?  REALLY?!  Honestly?  Who came up with an idea like that?  Only the Catholics could come up with a concept that is so obviously opposed to the teachings of Christ, and yet have such “reverence” for the Virgin Mary.  Yes, they have their insane reverence for a character in the Bible that hardly does anything at all, except for what they view as her womanly duty of giving birth.  Yet, they never look at the fact that there were female judges that led the Jewish people through battles and back into moral integrity.

What terrible hypocrisy.  How can we possibly allow such hate and sinfulness from a church?  I don’t care what we want to say as far as equality goes.  I don’t care when we want to say as far as women being ordained as priests.  If the Cathies just said, “No.  Not our style,” that would be okay.  That’s their thing, they’re sexist, and they like it.  I’ve long since accepted that.  But I cannot stand by when somebody who identifies as Christian is saying that ordaining women as priests is WORSE than pedophilia!

It isn’t as if the Catholic church has belittled pedophilia enough already.  No, they seem to do plenty of that.  No really, Catholic church, take as long as you need to prosecute or punish the pedophilic priests.  We’re not in a rush to get any sort of justice or closure on these.  8 years?  No, go ahead and take longer.

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I’m still pretty enthralled with Stieg Larsson’s Girl trilogy, and almost through the final book.  Sadly, the second film isn’t going to be shown anywhere near where I live until the end of August, so I’ll probably end up reviewing the final two books before I get to the second film.  In the mean time, there are plenty of other bloggers out there writing some great stuff about the series.

(Beware of spoilers for the first and second books if you haven’t read them yet.)

Why “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” Is So Important [Women Undefined]

Yet what on the surface seems to be an entertaining but purely aesthetic read offering little to no intellectual exercise, there is a gripping examination of gender equality and discrimination in Sweden (by extent Western society). Larsson examines the state of the country’s gender relations and brings to light such issues like violence against women ( often brutal violence) , discrimination against sex workers, gender equity in the workplace, child abuse and molestation, rape, sex trafficking, and the stigmatization of female rape victims worldwide.

Stieg Larsson’s 4th manuscript clouded in mystery [associated press]

“The question about the fourth manuscript is entirely hypothetical,” head of publishing at Norstedts, Eva Gedin, said. “We have never studied this manuscript and therefore don’t know if it exists, how much has been written and if so what shape the manuscript is in.”

The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut [the new yorker]

But where in Sweden were they? There was no way to know, especially if you’d never been to Sweden. A few chapters ago, for example, an unscrupulous agent from Swedish Intelligence had tailed Blomkvist by taking Stora Essingen and Gröndal into Södermalm, and then driving down Hornsgatan and across Bellmansgatan via Brännkyrkagatan, with a final left onto Tavastgatan. Who cared, but there it was, in black-and-white, taking up space. And now Blomkvist was standing in her doorway. Someone might still be following him—but who? There was no real way to be sure even when you found out, because people’s names were so confusingly similar—Gullberg, Sandberg, and Holmberg; Nieminen and Niedermann; and, worst of all, Jonasson, Mårtensson, Torkelsson, Fredriksson, Svensson, Johansson, Svantesson, Fransson, and Paulsson.

“I am not defending women, I am defending society. I as a man suffer if my wife has been subject to violence and is treated as a second-class citizen. [Then] we have an unstable relationship and our children suffer.”

- Bassam al-Kadi

Bassam al-Kadi is the head of the leading women’s right organization in Syria, the Syrian Women’s Observatory.  From The Christian Science Monitor via Jezebel.

Cindy McCain isn’t the only political wife with different opinions from her husband.  Not that we should be surprised, of course, wives have separate minds from their husbands.  What I guess surprises me is how these women manage to keep quiet about their beliefs for the sakes of their husbands careers.  I get it, relationships require sacrifices.  But when you sit alongside a man with a significant amount of privilege, holding a great deal of privilege yourself, it seems like a good time to stick your neck out for what you believe in.  Especially when your menfolk are running around snatching rights out of the hands of citizens.

On gay marriage:

I think there are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman. But I also know that, you know, when couples are committed to each other and love each other, that they ought to have I think the same sort of rights that everyone has.

She goes on to say that she believes this is a “generational thing” and that “its coming.”

On abortion rights:

She [Katie Couric] asked me if I was for the overturn of Roe versus Wade. And sort of everything went through my mind. This was the very morning my husband was about to be inaugurated. And I thought, do I really want to start my husband’s presidency, you know, suggesting that a Supreme Court rule being overturned. And I said no.  And I think it’s important that it remain legal, because I think it’s important for people, for medical reasons and other reasons.

After this interview it actually sounds like Laura Bush’s book might be worth reading, rather than another regurgitation of the Bush administration’s “world view.”  Anyone read it yet?

Shoutouts to feministing.

Last night, I saw the most beautiful woman in the world.  I have loved Ani DiFranco since about the 9th grade.  I picked up the album Dilate at a used record shop, popped it in my walkman + car tape-deck adapter, and dove in head first.  With my mom.  Who kind of liked it, but didn’t “know about all this F%$# You business.”

Then there was the time I headed off to camp for the summer as a volunteer junior counselor and my mystery bunk-mate had an extensive Ani collection, guaranteeing me that we would be BFFs (which we are).  Ani posters have accompanied me from home to home, dorm to rental, state to state.  I’ve driven hundreds of miles to see her.  I’ve driven tens of miles to see her.  And I think I’m up to about… 7? shows now.  Last night was one of the greatest.

I’ve never fallen in love with Ani’s new material as quickly as I did last night at her show in SLC.  Like this one (which is not a video that I took, and which is not the best video quality, but listen to it for the song anyway – you won’t regret it):

I was especially impressed with the way that she introduced this song in such a conservative state.  She prefaced it with how hard it is to write political songs, since they aren’t very romantic or emotional or pretty, but that she felt it was time to get down to business.  She added that not everyone was going to agree with what she had to say in the song, but that that’s okay, and “welcome so much” to her point of view.  And (although I’m admittedly biased in her favor) I honestly liked her political stuff better than her personal stuff last night.

Ani has always tapped in poignantly to the human experience: pleasure, pain, suffering, longing, desire, dreams, hope, anger, power…  We love her because she puts to words and music what we feel.  And humans love that dark, suffering, angsty stuff.  Last night Ani was happy and busted out some love songs and celebrations of how far she’s come, her new marriage, and her new outlook on life as a mother.  It’s not what Ani fans are used to (although we’ve been slowly acclimating to it over the past few albums), but Ani’s music isn’t for us.  It’s for her.  And she has every right to celebrate her joy.  She certainly deserves it.

Plus she’s still totally righteous.

Friday Night Lights is an amazing TV show, and if you’re not watching it, you should be.

I’ve been in love with the show since about halfway through the first season. I, like many fans, grew a little concerned as the early part of second season brought in some elements that seemed out-of-place, but I chock that up to the network getting involved and since those few missteps the show has returned to being one of the most sweet, gut-wrenching, beautiful, raw, poignant and genuinely optimistic shows on television. While I can try to articulate its awesomeness, however, I know others have already said it so much better…

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Sadly that sigh of relief was even more temporary than I had hoped, and its not like I had high hopes in the first place.  The proposed law which would make “reckless” behavior resulting in miscarriage a criminal offense in Utah went back to legislature, was superficially reworded, and has now been signed into law.  It’s a sad day for the women of Utah.

Guv signs revised abortion bill [Salt Lake Tribune]

The bill’s original version drew national headlines because it allowed criminal charges if the mother’s behavior was “reckless.” That raised concerns that a mother who fell on the ice or was an avid jogger and suffered a miscarriage could be charged with a crime.  Herbert balked at signing that language and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, quickly revised the legislation to remove the word “reckless.”  Herbert vetoed the original legislation, HB12, Monday — his first veto as a governor — and signed the revised version, HB462.

“Intentional” Miscarriage Now Homicide In Utah [Jezebel]

In response to criticisms that the original bill could have sent a woman to prison for life for staying in an abusive relationship or falling down the stairs, legislators added the caveats that a woman may not be prosecuted if the death of her fetus “is caused by a criminally negligent or reckless act of the woman” or “is not caused by an intentional or knowing act of the woman.” So now a woman has to intentionally induce her own miscarriage in order to go to prison.

Utah Continues Reckless Efforts to Lock-Up Pregnant Women [huffington post]

Criminal laws, however, depend on application of intent standards and are enforced by police officers and prosecutors who have extraordinary discretion in deciding who will and will not be arrested. Because everything a pregnant woman does or does not do can affect pregnancy outcome, it is hard to come up with an example of a law that could be applied only to women who “truly” intend to end their pregnancies while ensuring that pregnant women who do not intend to terminate their pregnancies or risk harm to their fetuses are protected from police investigation, interrogation, arrest, and prosecution.

Choosing Abortion in Utah May Be Criminal Act [Ms.Magazine]

While it was revised to exempt legal abortion, the state’s existing abortion ban is so restrictive that it renders that exemption virtually meaningless.  Currently, abortion is illegal in Utah under most circumstances, per a state ban that NARAL Pro-Choice America calls both unconstitutional and unenforcable. Legal abortion is further restricted by mandatory delay and counseling laws, an abortion-refusal clause and laws inhibiting low-income women’s access.

Utah Criminalizes Illegal Abortion Charging Criminal Homicide [feministing]

This language isn’t really much better. Instead of recognizing that it could only be the most oppressive circumstances that would lead a young woman to have someone beat her in hopes of inducing a miscarriage, and therefore creating legislation that protects young women, they legislate against women.

The following is a guest-post from Cheyenne Smith, a college student from Texas majoring in journalism/magazine design. She’s also a slam poet and nationally recognized editorial cartoonist – a firm believer in the power of words and image (check out her work at tumblr).  She pays the bills as a barista and is trying to tackle the publishing world one rejection letter at a time If you are interested in cross-posting or guest-posting at feministhemes.com, please contact me with your ideas at misswizzle@feministhemes.com. We always welcome new voices!

March celebrates the leaps and bounds made by women over the last few centuries, and with good reason. America in particular showcases the advancements made in feminine culture giving today’s modern woman a pertinent place in society. And though our country designates an entire month to shed the spotlight on once less-fortunate females, there still remains leagues of frenzied feminists standing up in protest to such an event claiming their “inferiority” in a “male-dominated” world. To these women, I roll up my Rosie the Riveter sleeves and ask, exactly what rights do you think we don’t have?

History shows us that a woman’s character is inherently linked to the image she projects. Though housewives, sex symbols and pinups used to rule the scene (visually pleasing men from coast to coast), an up rise in alternative lifestyles and appearances has caused gender lines to virtually disappear. With androgynous fashion rocking runways and same-sex parents in full attendance at their child’s PTA meetings, society’s’ cookie cutter view of the “perfect woman” mutated from a Marilyn Monroe super mom into an ever-changing idea of all that a woman can be: a multifaceted working girl with brains, beauty and sass. Especially considering American media, society’s rejection of the damsel in distress allows for females’ former weakness to become their source of power. Sex feels so mainstream now that any woman with the right amount of entrepreneurship can still run a fortune 500 company – even in a pinstriped micro mini and stilettos. Face it, sex doesn’t just sell, it commands.

With undeniable change in image comes an increase in power. Sure our salaries average out to 30 % lower than our male counterparts, but men automatically pay more for auto insurance – not to mention that filet mignon you ordered on last night’s date. Though the testosterone count sits lower, women’s hold on power in today’s world soars far beyond chauvinistic man’s expectations. Undoubtedly, men covet women as a source of power, but up until the late 1800s that power remained a source of fear that sparked the oppression of millions. One of the oldest games in the world, chess, exemplifies this “fear v. respect” relationship in its purest form. A 64 square board with32 pieces: two teams comprised of 16 male power roles- except for one – the queen. Able to movie in virtually any direction, the queen reigns as the most powerful piece on the board outranking even the king. For a once “gents only” pastime, the creators of chess sure acted upon the idea that behind every powerful man stands an even more powerful woman. Listen up ladies: don’t let men give you more credit than you give yourselves.

Between women’s’ suffrage and the right to choose, females proved totally competent in securing their authority in America. To hear young girls and grown women alike feign inferiority, using injustices of the past as an excuse to settle for less than their full potential in the future, completely negates all progress made by their fellow females. Next time you think you’re oppressed in a “male-dominated world” consider the shockingly low literacy rates for women in Afghanistan, the unmatched rape count in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and the sex trafficking lifestyles demanded of the women in Nepal. American women experience more opportunity, safety and privilege than any other group of females in the world, ad to take such an exalted state of living for granted is completely unacceptable. Once thought of as the lesser of two sexes, women should now hold themselves as not only equal, but elevated. After all, the male population’s signature Y chromosome is only an incomplete X, right?

Utah has a chance to pull its head out of its arches, and at least this bill has been slowed down, but we’re not out of the water yet, folks.  Keep spreading the word about how the Utah House and Senate hope to target women with their proposed anti-miscarriage law.

Utah Anti-Abortion Bill Citing ‘Reckless Act’ Is Withdrawn [The New York Times]

The original bill, which was sent to Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a Republican, for his consideration — and set off a firestorm of anxiety and criticism from abortion rights and women’s advocacy groups around the country — now goes back to the Legislature, neither signed nor vetoed.  The sponsor, Representative Carl D. Wimmer, a Republican, said he had removed a key clause that would have allowed prosecution under Utah’s criminal homicide laws for a “reckless act of the woman” that resulted in death to a fetus. Language will remain, he said, that makes a woman’s “intentional” actions, if resulting in the death of her fetus in an illegal abortion, a felony.

Quick Hit Update: Utah miscarriage criminalization bill withdrawn [feministing]

But don’t be fooled: the new legislation they create could still potentially criminalize women who have miscarriages or illegal abortions, and we can’t let that happen.

Good News: Utah Tones Down Miscarriage Bill. Bad News: It’s Still Murder [jezebel]

All this is in response to a 17-year-old girl who paid someone to beat her into miscarrying — the solution to which, clearly, is to throw her in jail. It apparently hasn’t crossed the legislators’ minds that improving access to safe, legal abortions — by, for instance, removing Utah’s parental-notification law — might prevent girls and women from resorting to such horrific tactics. Or, more likely, Utah still cares more about controlling women than about helping them.