Just a Girl

Governor Ultra Sound Bob McDonald is a hot mess...

Great blog post teasing out the problems behind dating games such as playing 'hard to get'.

"... popular culture is woven together with stories of women who said No when they meant Yes, or in some cases, eventually meant Yes, after a little creative coaxing. When a man fights (with a boombox above his head) to overcome a woman’s objections, love is in the air. Media makers spin science to validate this Dating Do—even self-proclaimed liberated women defend their position as hard sought objects of pursuit, arguing that women who are communicative and upfront about their desires are just secretly insecure about their ability to keep a mate.

But that’s not how we put it when we pass this pill to each other. We dress it up and paint it pink: “Guys like a little chase. Don’t make it too easy for him,” followed up with a feel-good, “You’re worth it, girl.”

The unfortunate side effect of this poison is the implication that consent can exist between two people even when one says otherwise." 

A contentious bill that would require health teachers to inform seventh-grade students that abortion—along with smoking, drinking, drug use, and lack of prenatal care—can affect carrying a pregnancy to full term, passed a first reading in the North Carolina house Wednesday. Although the abortion claim has no basis in medical fact, 73 state senators voted in favor of it.

This bill has now passed through the state legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature to turn it into law.

State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered for 11-hours straight in order to keep the Texas Senate from voting on an abortion bill: 

'Over two-thirds of this group of [60] women did not freely consent to their first experience of heterosexual intercourse.'

From Liz Kelly's Surviving Sexual Violence (p.82)

TED Talk by Jackson Katz Ph.D. called Violence & Silence. Amazingly addresses so many problems and questions in rape culture and how violence against women isn't just a woman's issue, it's a men's issue, it's everyone's issue. And it all comes down to being good leaders!

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom. - Jimmy Carter