Reality Women…Really?

I believe, like many other feminists, that we are experiencing a backlash regarding the image of women in television. Our young girls get a lot of information regarding the image of women from television.

Our family doesn’t watch much television so I’m not really up to date with current, positive images of women on TV. But, since we were all off for spring break, we got quite a bit more exposure than typical.

I was surprised by the amount of reality TV shows and the role women played. Here are just a few examples just off the top of my head…

• The Bachelor-Women desperately fighting for and doing anything for a man.

• American Idol’s Paul Abdul- Is she drunk, high, or just bizarre being the only professional on the show who can’t provide constructive criticism.

• America’s Next Top Model- The title says it all.

• Platinum Weddings- Women planning wedding ceremonies that cost approximately one-million dollars or more...seriously.

• Bridezillas-Now I appreciate strong, opinionated women, but there really needs to be a respectable balance here...embarrassing!

• Little Miss Perfect-Pageants for young children and their mothers.

• 17 Kids and Counting-The example here is that you should have 18 children, birth all of them, home school them, and be full of grace…definitely not my reality.

• Flavor of Love- This one makes my skin crawl…I don’t know what else to say.

• The Real Housewives of (pick a city)- Is this really reality?

• Say Yes to the Dress- A show dedicated to the drama of picking out your wedding dress.

• Who’s Your Daddy?- Need I say more?
• The Girl's Next Door- This is a show about the Playboy Bunnies.
  

• Nanny 911/Super Nanny-Even the women who stay at home with the children can’t handle their own kids and have to be “rescued”!

What messages are we sending our girls? What message are we sending our adult women? Is this really reality for America’s women? I hope not!

Where are the shows with the strong, intelligent, leading women?! If I am missing them, please send them to me (I don’t watch as much television as I did as a youngster). I asked my family and they could only come up with the following: Hannah Montana, iCarly, Medium, The Closer, and Mariska Hargitay on Law and Order SVU. My concern is that with just these few shows listed, there is a big hole in the programming for our pre-teen and teenage girls (they don’t watch the Nickelodeon shows and probably don’t view Medium, Law and Order SVU, etc.). I also wonder what our young men’s concept of women’s roles are? Do they think this is what real women are all about? If so, they’re in for a rude awakening.

I recall growing up in the 1970s with The Bionic Woman, Cagney and Lacey, Charlie’s Angels, Maude, Murphy Brown, Mary Tyler Moore, etc. And these leading ladies were a big, positive change compared to June Cleaver and I Dream of Jeanie, etc. We made tremendous progress and now here we are in 2009…what happened?!

I feel like we’re slipping here with our prime time TV image. We need more positive role models for our girls and our women in television. We need to pressure the television executives to portray women in better, more respectable roles. We need women in prime time TV roles that really reflect real women.

Think about it. We don't want this to be our reality.

More on EC and Rape Survivors

Now that we have educated ourselves a bit regarding EC in the last post, did you know that many hospitals do not provide EC as an option to rape survivors! Why is that? Why doesn’t emergency room staff discuss it or at least inform the woman of the option?

It seems that many of the hospitals that refuse to even discuss or provide Plan B are religious hospitals, such as Catholic hospitals. But it has been reported in other hospitals as well. It seems that morality is the reasoning behind not providing and/or not discussing EC.

A rape survivor has a lot of things on her mind and she ought to at least be able to weigh all of her options and act on them, to include information and the use of EC if she chooses. Many times, bills have been filed on the national level to make hospitals provide the option and the medication if the rape survivor chooses to take EC. Each time the bill never passes. Why is this? My searches come up empty. I'm guessing it is the power of the religious right? Some states have been successful in passing bills in their own state, such as Washington and Ohio.

If you would like to see a change on a federal level to end this kind of oppression, you may learn more at NARAL.

Pardon Me, Do You Carry EC?

There is a great deal of confusion surrounding EC (emergency contraception). EC is sometimes known as “the day after pill”. The brand name is called “Plan B”. EC is NOT an “abortion pill”. EC is simply another type of birth control. It is FDA approved and can be purchased over the counter. You don’t need a prescription, but you do need an ID. You must be 18 years old to purchase the medication. If younger, you can obtain the drug with a prescription.

EC is a responsible way to prevent pregnancy (and abortions). Sometimes things just happen such as forgetting to take your regular birth control pill, the condom breaks, date rape, you realize you made a big mistake, etc. Sometimes you need a Plan B.

In order to be effective, EC may be used up to 120 hours after having sex, the sooner the better! Plan B basically works like a typical birth control pill, only it is a larger dose of hormone. It stops ovulation which prevents fertilization. Again, this is not the abortion pill or RU-486, which is only administered after a pregnancy has been established…that’s not what we are talking about here.

EC is a wonderful thing if women can purchase the drug and do so in the short amount of time necessary. The last couple of years it has been a fight for women to obtain the medication. In Maloney’s book , she gives specific examples of women being turned away when trying to obtain the medication. Even one rape survivor could not obtain EC and had to have her physician obtain it for her. Remember, time is of the essence here. Maloney also illustrates in her book the case regarding Wal-Mart in which the big business was eventually forced to provide the product.

Unfortunately, under the law, pharmacists can still not provide Plan B claiming moral reasons. But, they must refer a woman to another pharmacy that does provide Plan B. It is my understanding that the referral doesn’t always happen and many women don’t realize that the pharmacist is obligated to provide the referral.

We must be vigilant regarding all of our health care needs. So I called my pharmacy to make certain that they do provide Plan B. The Walgreens here in Springfield carries Plan B in all of their stores. I thanked them for it. I also called the Wal-Mart on Independence. They also carry Plan B in that Wal-Mart and all of their other Springfield stores. Again, I thanked them for it. I suggest you do the same and only support pharmacies that meet all of our health care needs.

Let's Put It All In Writing

When I look at the United States in comparison to other countries on human rights, I think our country is a great nation. We have finally passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act so that women should be more likely to receive equal pay. But why did it take so long to get it in writing? While women enjoy many human and civil rights that are not enjoyed by women abroad, why can’t we get it in writing with the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment? The United States seems to have a problem with putting human rights in writing. Why is that?

When reviewing UN Conventions, I was shocked and quite frankly embarrassed that we have not signed two of the Conventions. I wrote President Obama and his staff this morning about these very issues (and congratulated him on the great work he has done to date). I requested that he support and sign the two UN Conventions below.

• UN Convention, Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. This resolution declares that the enslavement of women and children subjected to prostitution is incompatible with the dignity and fundamental rights of the human person. The convention describes procedures for combating international traffic for the purpose of prostitution, including extradition of offenders. It also prohibits the running brothels and renting accommodation for prostitution purposes.
Member States that have signed, ratified, and implemented this convention are preventing prostitution by moral education and civics training, in and out of school, eliminating discrimination that ostracizes prostitutes and makes their reabsorption into society more difficult, curbing the pornography industry and the trade in pornography and penalizing them severely when minors are involved, punishing all forms of procuring in such a way as to deter it, particularly when it exploits minors.

• The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law.

There are eight guiding principles that underlie the Convention:
1. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons
2. Non-discrimination
3. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society
4. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
5. Equality of opportunity
6. Accessibility
7. Equality between men and women
8. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities

I hope that the United States signs on and supports these Conventions. It is the right thing to do and I think it might help enhance our country's image, our stand on human rights. Please consider letting President Obama and his staff know how you feel regarding these issues.

We Have Equal Rights...Right?

Wrong. The majority of Americans believe that women have equal rights. Remember the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), women’s lib, and all that. Most believe the ERA is in our constitution, but unfortunately, it’s not.

Please allow me to summarize what happened…Alice Paul wrote the ERA in 1923. Ms. Paul was an incredible suffragist leader and founder of the National Woman’s Party. These incredibly strong, courageous women felt that the ERA was the next logical step since they won the right to vote, the 19th Amendment.

The ERA was introduced into every session of Congress between 1923 and 1972. It was then passed and sent to the states for ratification. The ERA passed but it was never ratified. America, just 37 years ago, was only able to get 35 states to ratify the amendment (we need 38 to ratify the amendment). It is now 2009 and we still cannot get the ERA ratified. How can this be? We only need three of fifteen states to ratify (and of course one of them is Missouri). Shame on these fifteen states.

So, I ask…what is the problem America? Why is it that American women do not have equal rights in the constitution? We need this amendment, to preserve the rights we have fought so hard to obtain and to not lose them. Let’s get this ratified! I wrote my state legislators and the incredible Senator Claire McCaskill so that they all know what my thoughts are on this. For more information, check out these links and write your state legislators as well.

The National Council of Women’s Organization has formed an ERA Task Force, that links to a great website, hosted by the NCWA and the Alice Paul Institute, summarizing the situation and what we need to do to make a change.

The Creation of Diana’s Wisdom

I am a champion for human rights – specifically for the rights of the disabled, women, and the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Questioning) community. For entertainment, I greatly enjoy documentaries and non-fiction books about politics and human/civil rights.

For a few months, I’ve been in search for a good read regarding women and politics. In college, I read Susan Faludi’s, Backlash, and I haven’t found a book yet that has met my high expectations until now. I am excited to share a recommendation for you liberal-thinking folk regarding women and politics.

Rumors of Our Progress have been Greatly Exaggerated is written by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. This book shines the light on our current situation when it comes to gender discrimination, and is a quick, easy, and worthwhile read. Each chapter focuses on a topic and at the end of each chapter, Representative Maloney provides a Plan of Action for each reader to consider. This book has motivated me to make a difference for myself, my daughter, and all of my sisters.

Consequently, I have developed a plan of my own to enhance our progress as women. As I move forward with the plan, I will share the things I’ve done and thought about. I will also note things in the media that I find interesting in my work toward human rights for women and for all.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts…Diana’s Wisdom.