Diane Levin on the bigger meaning of Senator Brown’s “available daughters” comments

Diane Levin comments on why Senator Brown's “available daughters” comments are not light and funny.

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Egypt: 'Artificial Virginity Kit' Opposed

Yup.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST   | October 06, 2009
World Briefing | Middle East:  Egypt: 'Artificial Virginity' Kit Opposed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Conservative lawmakers have called for a ban on imports of a Chinese-made kit meant to help women fake their virginity.

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France Mulls "Health Warning" for Fashion Photos

...and more fashion and health intersection...  France mulls over the idea of slapping "health warning" labels on digitally-altered photos of models.

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Women in politics get discredited over appearances yet again. Disgusting.

Regina Benjamin, Obama's pick for Surgeon General, is getting slammed as a bad choice for this position because of her body weight. This seriously pisses me off. Her job would be to assist the *public health* of our country, and in general, a person's individual health is separate from her job description.

Besides--we've had overweight Surgeon Generals before, drug czar's who couldn't quit smoking, and so on, yet no one ever found their personal states important to their professional capabilities...but they were male. I am thoroughly sick of women in politics being attacked for what they look like. This distraction tactic is not only demeaning to women on the whole, but it undermines the incredible contributions the bullied individuals can make to our government, country, and world.

Why on earth do we find a woman's weight, thigh size, pant-suit taste, or other looks- and fashion-based information newsworthy?! I'm disgusted that our media has sunk below the realm of reality TV, and I'm sad at the sexism, discrimination, and twisted sense of health this infuses into our culture.

From the Feminist Daily Newswire, two gay rights items of note:

California Supreme Court Will Not Hear Appeal in Sexual Orientation Expulsion Case

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that they will not hear an appeal in a case where a private Lutheran high school in the state expelled two students in 2005 based on suspicions that the students were lesbians. The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled in January that the school legally expelled the students. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar dissented.

According to an ACLU filing with the California Supreme Court, "The opinion could be construed, to contain a wholesale exemption for any private school that in its mission statement claims to 'inculcate [its students] with a specific set of values." The ACLU also wrote that the ruling confuses "when the Unruh act applies in the private school context" and also challenges "one of the express reasons Unruh applies to 'business establishments' -- the refusal of a private school to make its facilities available to African-American students," The Recorder reported.

The lower court's ruling PDF argues that although the California Lutheran High School accepts tuition, "it is not a business establishment within the meaning of the Unruh Act; hence it [can] legally discriminate based on perceived sexual orientation." The ruling relied heavily on a 1998 CA Supreme Court ruling that allows the Boy Scouts of America to legally exclude individuals on the basis of sexual orientation because the Boy Scouts are "not a business establishment within the meaning of the Unruh Civil Rights Act."

Maine Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

Governor John Baldacci signed a bill yesterday that legalizes same sex marriage in Maine. The state Senate voted 21 to 13 in favor of the bill in a final vote yesterday. The state House voted 89 to 58 earlier this week in favor of the bill.

Baldacci told reporters "In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions….I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.", according to the Morning Sentinel. Prior to final passage of the bill by the state Senate, it had been unclear whether Governor Baldacci would sign the bill.

The law will go into effect in September, 91 days after the state legislature adjourns. However, under Maine state law, a people's veto effort can delay the law from going into effect. According to the Bangor Daily News, more than 55,000 valid signatures are needed to place a repeal of the law on the state ballot. A recent poll showed 47.3 percent of Maine residents support the same sex marriage bill and that 49.5 percent oppose the legislation, reported the Associated Press.

Maine is the fifth state to permit same sex marriage in the United States after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in New York and New Hampshire.

While Tony Snow Fights Cancer, Dana Perino Takes Over the Press 'Gaggle' ...with her "Big Girl Panties" on?

According to the Washington Post, Dana Perino, deputy press secretary who's stepping in for Tony Snow, was told by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings to "Put your big-girl panties on." In the same 'tough panties' vein, PoliticsDaily has a sub-site called Woman Up. The motto: "Woman Up: Where Big-Girl Panties Are Always a Fit."

There's been some debate amongst feminist circles lately whether phrases like "woman up" and "put your big girl panties on" really do women any favors. I'm especially intrigued with the panty reference. Are we saying that being a larger, more mature woman is where the power is at? Or are we yet again just talking about something kind of petty and taboo (mature women's sexuality), and hindering women's real power?

I do like the "big girl panties" phrase because in it female power is cleaved from sex/beauty and put in a legitimate arena (i.e. gaining a political job takes qualifications and hard work, not thong underwear and blowjobs).

But, it bothers me that when a woman takes a powerful position, this news is often accompanied by media queries or jokes regarding if she's tough enough (the second sentence in the Washington Post article talks about Dana Perino sobbing), as well as references to her appearance and sexuality or asexuality that distract--and detract!--from her validity (the third sentence is, "Three hours later, her face freshly powdered and every strand of her neat bob in place, Perino crisply fielded questions at a televised briefing").

Hillary Clinton's media treatment during her presidential campaign was a case in point: She was picked on for showing weakness when she cried at the same time as she was put down for being too tough (the infamous "b*tch" label). Criticisms (and reactions to criticisms) of her "ugly" pantsuits and the size of her thighs garnered more attention than the content of her campaign speeches.

Repeatedly, women are depicted as emotional roller-coasters who vacillate between complete hysteria and total dictatorship, while the importance of their looks is played up. Doesn't all this negative and contradictory focus on gender maintain levels of sexism and prevent women from concentrating on the work they want to do? (Nobody was quoting cutesy lines in major newspaper articles--at least to my knowledge--about Obama putting his big boy undies on...) I'd say that in this climate, references to big-girl panties probably don't help to put the spotlight back on women's legitimacy and brilliance.

Female Force comic books

From Jill Zimon at WritesLikeSheTalks.com..."Female Force" comic books.

I have to say, I feel unsure what they're about. Is the idea that real women's lives are heroic? That any woman's story can end in success? Maybe it just irks me that when seen together, the fact that all "powerful" women are one step behind a man, becomes crystal clear. And that's certainly not the fault of the comic books, but just another reason why feminism still needs to be going strong. But then, my "media watchdog" kicks in and I start to wonder if creating comic book versions of real people turns them into fantasy characters where hardship and adversity don't exist or can't affect them. ...And now I sound like I want a comic book about "Joe the Plumber" (which would truly be propaganda). Sigh. I clearly need to mull this one over more with your help!

Obama Creates a White House Council on Women and Girls

Way to create something new, Obama! I'm curious to see how this will actually work. No matter what, the existence of a White House Council on Women and Girls is immense. And I like the fact that I randomly happened to be wearing my Obama shirt today when I got wind of this news. (Yeah, ok, so it's time to do laundry, but still.)

Your Connection to the Election

Hi everyone,

I know that the In Her Image blog focuses on things like women's rights and media literacy, but since I feel that without Obama in the White House we won't have much women's rights or free media, it seems like time to blog about the election.

Here are two really fast, painless things you can do and can pass on to friends to support getting the Democrats back into office. (By the way, if you're undecided or thinking of voting for McCain, I will personally buy you a coffee and pastry and we can sit down and talk about the future of this country and the world because I seriously want everyone possible to vote for Obama.)

1. Voice your opinion to Moveon about how to persuade undecided voters to vote for Obama here
http://pol.moveon.org/y2f/y2fsurvey.html?id=13765-4394626-R3erKAx&t=1

2. Give the price of a pizza or movie ticket ($12) to Moveon to help get young voters in swing states registered, and get your very own Obama t-shirt! (This is the *good* kind of free advertising folks ;) Seriously, this is a great deal - who can get a shirt for $12 normally anyway in our brand-crazed society? And right now there's really nothing better to put our money and efforts toward, right!?
http://pol.moveon.org/obamatshirts/index13.html?id=-4394626-EXBd_Mx

The state of the world is only hopeless if we think it is, and we are only powerless if we don't act.  If everyone does something small, amazing waves will be made!  (Of course, if you want to do something big like calling undecided voters, kudos to you too.)

Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox for a brief moment there.  Only for the important things :)

Other than that, I apologize for falling off the blogging bandwagon completely last month during some travels, but I'd still love to keep updated on your thoughts and what you're up to! And if you're going to Turn Beauty Inside Out or the Girl Scouts Leadership Institute in October, please come say hi!!  I'd love to see you round.

Pop Politics

In honor of all the awesome political discussion, analysis, and action that went into and will come out of the NCMR, I thought I'd post some political links. I'm really glad to have met some of the awesome political feminists behind these sources like Jenn Pozner, Shireen Mitchell, Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Deanna Zandt at the conference as well!

From Feministing:
Politics Made Sexy for Men
GOP Consultant: Sometimes it's "accurate" to call a woman a "bitch"

From AlterNet:
Anti-Feminist Backlash Out in Full Force

From the New York Times:
Judith Warner: Woman in Charge, Women Who Charge
[In a nation indifferent to the sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton, no wonder a film like "Sex and the City" is a hit.]

We of course still have much to do, but I do have a feeling of movement, and sharing information--spreading awareness--is the first step.