Category Archives: Politics

Hung Up in Houston

hou-term

It’s a strange thing, being in airports. I imagine them as these micro-versions of the cities where they are based and travelers from other U.S. cities are like foreigners looking to find their own cultural souvenirs, or metaphorical passport stamp. Yes, sometimes these places are home to concentrated evil that we’d all like to forget after canceled flights and lost luggage, but other times, I think there’s something to be found.

Last weekend I was in Bushland. No, that’s not in upstate New York. I’m talking Houston, Texas — real Bush Land. George Bush Intercontinental Airport, to be exact. I was there on a layover to California. Like Texas, the airport is big. It was also filled with some sizable travelers, a shift from the coffee fueled tiny technorati of John F. Kennedy International Airport and Laguardia in New York.

And, Fox News was everywhere. From the Fox News Channel stores to the gigantic Fox News Sky Box, it was clear I wasn’t in Liberal Land anymore. As a news junkie of all things not Fox, this, in itself was completely foreign and about as scary as eating chicken feet. Though, I’d probably eat chicken feet before hanging out in the jumbo sky box.

As I sat in the terminal and Sarah Palin jabbered on the screen above, I searched my feet for ruby slippers. When they weren’t there and my flight was running late, I couldn’t help but examine the buxom faux blondes and broods of boy scouts sneezing on each other. “Is conservatism contagious?” I thought. (Oh, gosh, now I’m thinking like a Republican! Ha!)

In all seriousness, I had a small revelation at this moment in the Lone Star State. All of these people, laughing and spending time together. This is America too. We are not all cracking snarky jokes in our “Yes You Can” and “Believe” t-shirts. Though I detest conservative politics and the media Republicans propagate, there are hot-blooded, Palin-applauding Americans who believe I’m the weird one.

So often I rant and feel bitter about the insane tea party and the millions of people who bought Going Rogue…and worse, voted for George Bush. But, in reality, some of those people are highly intelligent tax payers who may even be related to me. I guess you could say visiting the Houston airport was a reminder that there are Americans outside my eco-friendly, feminist, Obama-bubble. And, even though I hate propaganda, bigotry and republican politics — that doesn’t mean it’s not part of America, our families and our reality.

For me, conservative politics is like fast food. I know it’s really unhealthy for me and I try not to eat it, but others can’t resist its appeal even though studies show there are bad effects from consuming them.

Speaking of food, after I ate what I could of my too-large vegetable burrito, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. Inside were receptacles for needles. Diabetics, huh? Guess all the beef, fast food and Texas toast got to some.

Well, that’s the beauty of being American and having the freedom to travel, hold our own beliefs, politics and diets. At least you aren’t the only one who needs to dispose of medical waste. Now if only I could fit one of those Fox News signs into the needle box.

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Being Pretty Isn’t a Career Tactic

Peggy Olson by AMC

To my horror, I received an email this morning with the subject line, “Are You Pretty Enough to Get A Job?” Normally, Excelle sends me advice with empowering information on how to forward my career ambitions with confidence, strategy and feminist savvy. Well, not today.

I was thoroughly disappointed to receive such an insulting and sexist email written for women with the words “Ugly Ducklings Need Not Apply” as soon as I opened it.

“Studies show pretty people make more money, and now a new beauty-based job board looks to take plain Jane’s out of the running altogether. Will a ‘plainness penalty’ keep the average unemployed?”

Underneath that quote was also a link to a quiz titled: “Do You Need a Makeover?”

I considered not clicking the link, but wondered if it was a joke or meant to be ironic. Or, better yet, I would discover that plain or not, we could all channel our inner Peggy Olson and the secrets to modern day upward mobility.

Again, not today.

The author, Career Diva, began with statements about disregarding the assumption that attractive people get better jobs, however, the article contradicted these claims by linking to other Excelle features on how to dress better and why appearance matters.

Next, Career Diva brings up a website that connects companies who want attractive prospective employees (and gives them ratings on their looks) because “[u]nderstanding our dark side is the first step in overcoming it, I always say.”

Even though she attempts to explore sexism in the job market and investigate the website, she mainly quotes stats from studies in Florida and the U.K. affirming that good-looking people do receive better pay and job titles, even when intelligence is in the mix.

Instead of feeling proud to be a woman, she cheapened the “career-minded” site with this article that lacked the intelligence and feminism I look for in these newsletters.

The article ended with this quote: “According to the Florida university study: ‘people who were rated good-looking made more money, were better educated and were more confident.’ Maybe there should be a site called ConfidentJobSeekers.com.”

Isn’t the very process of applying an act of confidence? Why not offer something more to women who seek techniques for improving their current position or cultivating new skills?

Everything about the article made me feel like my success is dependent upon something superficial and totally subjective — not something real like education, experience and excellence.

To add insult to injury, when I googled “Woman CEO” to link an image to this very blog post, I got a photo of Heidi Klum spread eagle and bikini clad (and my search filters are set!). Really Google? I know she’s a Victoria’s Secret model, but she’s also the Executive Producer of a hit TV show! There aren’t any pictures of her dressed? And, aren’t there other powerful women in business? (Hello, Sheryl Sandberg!)

Curious, I clicked the image which took me to a feature about the “25 Hottest Women in Business.” Again, to my disgust, “sexy” photos of women leaders posing for FHM, or simply looking like sex objects, with vacant stares and fishnets tights, filled the page.

Instead of showing the talent, importance and successful methods hard-working women use to attain their dreams, like the 50 Most Powerful Women in 2009 by Fortune, that list and Excelle reduce women to “hot” bodies and “pretty” faces. I refuse to believe that women’s worth will always be dictated by the way we look — it’s unfair, unkind and completely short-sighted by men and women alike.

We are leaders, we can earn high pay and we are powerful.

Will I continue to subscribe to the Excelle newsletter — whose name is also stupid — why gender a word, anyway? We’ve been trying to avoid gendered terms for decades — that’s not empowering — not today.

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The Misconceptionist: Bristol Palin

Bristol Palin By Bryan Bedder

May is National Teen Pregnancy Month and the Candie’s Foundation has several public service announcements and campaigns “educating” youth about teen pregnancy. As the child of teen parents, I feel very strongly about sex education and teen pregnancy awareness, but I completely disagree with the approach the foundation — and many American schools — have taken recently.

The U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rate in developed nations, despite today’s 50th anniversary of the birth control pill. “In 2006, 750,000 women younger than 20 became pregnant,” reports the Guttmacher Institute. With all the access to birth control methods and freedom of speech we have, it’s absurd that we do not provide better sex ed resources to tweens and teens.

To top it off, young celebrity moms like Jamie Lynne Spears and Bristol Palin glamorize the problem. Bristol Palin is not a valid spokesperson… for anything. She needs to focus on taking care of her child and getting an education, not doing public service announcements for the Candie’s Foundation (then going clubbing after the premiere).  She shouldn’t be exploiting her son Tripp on People covers repeatedly, while talking about abstinence and then making appearances on the Today Show and The View as a role model for young women.

As you may have seen, she tells teens to “Pause before you play,” in the Candie’s PSA. “Play” what? Play house in a condo paid for by parents, like you? Play sex games? Foreplay? What exactly is she talking about? She never even says, “sex.”

My other problem with the PSA (please see below) — aside from its vague message — is the organization’s choice of Bristol Palin as the face of their advocacy. She makes it look fun and easy to be a teen mother, yet she has more help than the average mom — at any age — let alone teens in poverty who need education about sex, STDs and pregnancy.

Candie’s plays off the fact that she DOES have things easier and it sounds like she’s bragging about being better off than other young moms. She might as well said: “Hi, I’m Bristol Palin and if you aren’t rich and famous like me, being a teen mom would really suck. Thankfully, it doesn’t for me, but it could for you.”

Plus, there are behind the scenes videos that make Palin look like a movie star at a photo shoot as she smiles happily for the camera and her cute baby coos.

In my experience, people, especially young adults, do not like being treated like they are less than anyone else, or like they are stupid. Bristol Palin is as far from the average teen as they could imagine in the first place. The white T-shirt and pared down room at the end of the PSA aren’t believable.

Plus, what’s the message? They don’t even say the word “sex,” let alone useful terms for preventing pregnancy like “condoms,” or “birth control pills.” You know what’s really scary? STDs. Or giving birth. Or a crying baby that won’t stop screaming because he or she is hungry, tired or cranky. That’s a real message.

Also, Palin advocates abstinence — she’s the biggest hyprocrite. Especially since studies have shown (Palin included) abstinence is not an effective method of preventing teen pregnancy. You know what does work? Condoms!

When I was in school celebrities proudly talked about safe sex, displayed condoms in music videos and increased awareness about HIV/AIDS. In fact, the topic of intercourse wasn’t taboo and in school — we learned about reproduction, STDs and all the methods of birth control. Putting a condom on a banana was a rite of passage for freshman!

Sex makes a baby, Bristol! We know you know that — so why can’t you just be honest to teens and make an educated statement your situation, instead of exploiting it for media attention.

Here’s what Candie’s should be saying:

“If you’re going to have sex, wear a condom because you could get pregnant, or contract a highly contagious or incurable STD. Go to the Candie’s Foundation website, or your local clinic to get some free condoms or to receive a birth control pill consultation. Please see our list of resources on sex education. Think before you have sex and be responsible.”

That’s a public service announcement.

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Down with American Apparel Ads?

American Apparel Ad By Don't Buy It

Many love the eclectic mix and match clothes at American Apparel (myself included), but I think a lot of us are officially OVER those demeaning advertisements where women are reduced to sexual objects by showcasing their body parts, often without their faces.

Take this ad, an example of American Apparel’s provocative and objectifying ads — a woman bent over in front of a computer with her butt exposed. Some are targeted by region. This promo ran in Silicon Valley. Do they really think techies will start wearing 80′s g-string work out gear to work?

In Manhattan, there’s a prominent billboard on Houston near Broadway close to trendy bars and shops, where the clothing company often features a woman who looks post-coital, or just finished with dance rehearsal…half naked. Obviously, the promos get a lot of attention, but it’s not always the kind the company wants.

In 2007, someone tagged “Gee, I wonder why women get raped?” on a billboard (shown right) which featured an image of a woman bending over in American Apparel tights without a shirt. The defaced ad was immediately replaced, according to a report by Jezebel, where they also asked New Yorkers if the ads were “Sexy or Sexist?” You can view the video here.

This year, About Face, an organization dedicated to combating negative images of women, will protest American Apparel’s advertising campaign this Saturday, May 1, 2010 at the Haight Street location in San Francisco tomorrow.

Join fellow protesters for an activist afternoon, where About Face will address the founder of American Apparel, Dov Charney, directly. Since Mr. Charney has come under hot water for many reasons, including the sexual harassment charges by his employees, indecent exposure to reporters and strange, demeaning photo shoots for the company — I hope the event will be nothing short of a roast.

They’re calling it:

An Afternoon with Dov Charney (An About-Face Action)

“American Apparel is famous for its t-shirts and its vertically integrated labor. What it’s more famous for, though, is its advertising: pseudo-candid images of young women, legs splayed open, breasts exposed, butts zoomed in on, all in the name of selling tights and tube socks. We’re sick of seeing these images.

We’re sick of seeing women reduced to their body parts. We’re sick of seeing female sexuality being exploited to sell clothing. And we’re especially sick of how American Apparel attempts to dress up their particular brand of exploitation in a shroud of hipness, edge, or irony — after all, we’d like to think of ourselves as hip and edgy and we certainly aren’t down with these images. American Apparel’s ads contribute to a culture where women are valued for their bodies over their minds, and we’re working to eliminate that kind of thinking.”

To learn more about the event in San Francisco and the mobile protest, check out AboutFace.org for more info. If you don’t believe that American Apparel objectifies women, look at this blog, then tell me what you think.

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Legislation Opens to Women in India

Henna Wedding Decoration, Pune, India

Image by racoles via Flickr

The hands of government are opening and welcoming women into power with a bill that will likely pass allowing 1/3 of the legislation seats be designated for women.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the 186-1 vote to the Associate Press, a “historic step forward toward emancipation of Indian womanhood.” Given India’s history of oppression among women — from the systematic killing of female fetuses, the banishment of widows and the dowry system, the Prime Minister’s goal to improve the lives of women in India is not only bold, it’s much needed.

According to the Economist, “Women are missing in their millions — aborted, killed, neglected to death. In 1990 an Indian economist, Amartya Sen, put the number at 100m; the toll is higher now.” And, despite the awareness raised by news articles, human rights groups and documentaries like the ones featured in my post “A Women’s Work is Never Done,” change needs to come quickly.

With women working in legislation, it will happen.

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