The Success of Feminism in 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/10/-sp-jennifer-lawrence-emma-watson-feminists-celebrity

This will be my last post for a little while, but I hope to continue my work with this blog. Whenever I look for current developments in women's rights throughout the world there is always an abundance of pressing issues. This is convenient for my blog but also incredibly sad. Will there ever come a time when the newsfeed will be flooded with elected females and feminist strides, instead of sexism and injustice?

Well here is some good news. Even though I've talked a lot about the bad in this blog, there is also quite a lot of good going on in the world of feminism. Mic.com recently released "The 39 Most Iconic Feminist Moments of 2014." Feminism is once again hitting the spotlight. But it's possible it may stick around for a long time. 

The list included a wide variety of people and events. Here are some of them:

• Malala Yousafzai accepted the Nobel Peace Prize
• 13-year old Mo'ne Davis pitched her team to the Little League World Series.
• Emma Watson stunned audiences when she gave a speech to the UN as an official Goodwill Ambassador. She is telling the world that Hermione Granger is so last decade. Now she is inspiring all her young fans to embrace equality.
• Columbia University senior, Emma Sulkowicz carried a mattress everywhere she went in protest. She would do this until her rapist was expelled. 
• Even though the Democrats took a terrible beating during the midterm elections, a record of 100 women will serve in Congress. 
• Transgender actress, Laverne Cox, has helped open doors for transgenders to come out into the spotlight. She has created a safer platform in which everyone can discuss what it means to be transgender.
• Celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Beyoncé and Ellen Page have become feminist and gay-rights role models. Even though some people have issues with celebrities getting involved in activism, I say why the heck not? Why not have those who already have the spotlight use it to spread words of love and equality? 
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has stood up for women in the courtroom. In an interview with Katie Couric, she stated that she would prefer all of the Supreme Court Justices to be female. 
• The TV-screen is starting to see more diverse and complex female characters. The character of Olivia Pope on the hit show "Scandal" come out as a feminist. 
• Women activists are taking a stand in the Ferguson protests. Women are at the forefront of activism in response to the shooting of Michael Brown. Even though they have not been widely represented in the media, they are the ones doing the actual work on the ground.

This is just some of the many other successes in 2014. But there is more that has to be done. Women have grabbed the world's attention. Now we need to use it properly in order to bring about change.

Sources:

• http://mic.com/articles/105102/the-39-most-iconic-feminist-moments-of-2014

Another Threat to Pregnant Women

http://prn.fm/womens-rights-workplace-100614/

A few blog posts ago I discussed the arrest of pregnant women on suspicion of intended fetal homicide. This is not the only issue that many pregnant women are facing in the United States. A woman's body, pregnant or not, has always been a subject of public spectacle and argument. Women, we all know, reproduce. Pregnancy is part of human life and allows for the human race to grow and well, exist. So it would make sense treat our pregnant women with care and respect right? I mean the fate of humanity literally rests in their uteri.

Hundreds of countries around the world provide women and man with paid maternity leave. Sweden provides the best package, giving women 420 days (over a year) with 80% paid wages. The United States is by far one of the worst countries, giving women 12 weeks leave with NO pay. According to the Huffington Post, "Maternity leaves aren't simply a matter of time off for childcare--they can also strongly impact the rest of a child's life. According to a report by non-governmental organization Save The Children, in countries with longer periods of parental leave, children were found to be breastfed for long er and their life expectancy was higher." So here is yet another reason why we all have to move to Sweden. But I digress.

There is a significant Supreme Court case in the works right now that we must pay significant attention to. On December 3rd, the Supreme Court had a hard time understanding what duty employers have to pregnant women under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), in Young v United Parcel Service (UPS). This case came as a result of a UPS driver, Peggy Young, who became pregnant in2006. Young therefore requested "light duty", which was a temporary pass from lifting 70-pound packages. She could still perform all other duties while pregnant. But the company rejected her request stated that their pregnant workers were not included in the categories of eligible alternate assignments. Young then got unpaid leave and lost her pension and health benefits. This was in 2006, and since then, young has spent eight years trying to sue UPS for violating the PDA.

Justice Antonin Scalia, at Wednesday's hearing, stated that Young was demanding, "most-favored-nation status" for pregnant women. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in contrast, stated that the position of UPS put their pregnant workers in a "least-favoured nation" status. Lawyers and the Justices started bringing up examples of other potential health benefits, like a back-injury. But there should be a simple decision. Being pregnant isn't a health problem. It is a body's natural function. Questions of physical disability in comparison to pregnancy shouldn't be posed. What bothers me most is that corporations alongside many conservative republicans have been spending too much time trying to protect the rights of unborn fetuses instead of considering the rights of the women who carry them

A decision won't be made until June. Young has already waited eight-years for justice. This Supreme Court decision could impact millions of working women across the country.


Sources:

• http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/12/women-and-work
• http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/22/maternity-leaves-around-the-world_n_1536120.html

Sasha and Malia are Regular Teenagers? What a Shocker!

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/29/obama-daughters-outrage-gop-staffer-sparks-backlas/

We don't see much of Sasha and Malia Obama often in the media. That's mainly because in 2008 when President Obama took office, he made it very clear that his daughters were "off limits." Why would he have to make that clear? Well the daughters of the last few presidents have been brutally bullied by the press. Radio pundent Rush Limbaugh called Chelsea Clinton a dog and Amy Carter the "most unattractive presidential daughter in the history of the country." So you can see why Obama had to raise his voice to the press and to political opponents.

Well that line has been crossed. Last week as is tradition, the President gave his Thanksgiving speech.  As he addressed the press and the nation, Sasha and Malia were at their father's side. They looked like normal teenagers. Dressed normally and with classic teenage facial expressions. You know the kind I mean? The face that says, "Dad you're so embarrassing with your corny jokes. I really don't want to be hear right now." Who wouldn't at that age?

But GOP Communications Director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), Elizabeth Lauten felt that this was not appropriate behavior for the daughters of a president. In response, she wrote on Facebook, "Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, to a spot at a bar. And certainly don't make faces during televised, public events." She then asked them to show a "little class."

Seriously? Did you want them to dress up in ball gowns with perfect posture? They have attended this event for 8 years. All they have had to do is stand there and pet a turkey. It's a tradition that frankly any teenager would find boring. This disrespectful and frankly sexist comment (assuming that these girls should act in a certain way) is actually one of the lighter attack on the girls.

In 2010, when Malia reportedly asked her father about the BP oil spill clean up, Glenn back mocked her by saying, "Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy? Ask 'Daddy' why he hates black people so much." He continued to mock her with,  "That's the level of their education, that they're coming to-they're coming to Daddy and saying, 'Daddy, did you plug the hole yet?'" Talk about cruelty.

Last year when Obama made a statement in support of selling Plan B, a birth control product, to girls as young as 15, conservative Fox New host Andrea Tantaros pointed at the potential sex-life of 14-year old Malia: Are they gonna put her on birth control? Because he's very concerned with contraceptives and pharmaceuticals that going in the mouths of everybody else's 15-year-old daughter."

Lauten's comments sparked a media frenzy that immediately led to her resignation. She came out with a formal apology, stating, "When I first posted on Facebook I react to an article and I quickly judged the two young ladies in a way that I would never have wanted to be judged myself as a teenager."At least she apologized. Many other attackers have not. The fact that she immediately assumed something is what republican party members have become famous for. It is also speculation and no real fact. They just send messages of disrespect and hate out into the eather. Stop worrying about teenage use of the social media for a second and think about how people in government has been using it.

This will probably not be the last time that Sasha and Malia will be verbally attacked by Obama's political enemies. Lauren's comments have sparked a discussion of how a president's children, specifically "girls" should act in public. To expect his daughters to act like "ladies" and remain stoic shows that this country still hasn't opened up to the possibility that they can wear and act in whatever way they choose.

Keep being yourself Sasha and Malia! You have a right to act like any other teenager!

Sources:

• http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-girls-targeted-criticism-again-conservatives