Monthly Archives: February 2010

Ignorant Male Legislator Week

February 24, 2010
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This week Hello Ladies is observing “Ignorant Male Legislator Week.” Yesterday, we took note of Virginia Delegate Robert G. Marshall, and his outrageous comments about disabled children and abortion.

Today, we focus on Rep. Carl Wimmer of Utah, who sponsored bill HB12 which ”amends provisions of the Utah Criminal Code to describe the difference between abortion and criminal homicide of an unborn child and to remove prohibitions prosecution of a woman for killing an unborn child or committing criminal homicide of an unborn child.”

Here’s the problem. The bill states, “A person commits criminal homicide if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, with criminal negligence, or acting with a mental state otherwise specified in the statute defining the offense, causes the death of another human being, including an unborn child at any stage of its development.”

Define “recklessly.” This bill could turn women who have miscarriages into murder suspects. Take me, for example. I slipped on the ice when I was pregnant. Was leaving my house between November and March reckless? I was in a fender bender when I was pregnant. Was driving reckless? I ate a salad with gorgonzola cheese in it when I was pregnant. Was eating one serving of blue-veined cheese reckless? If I had miscarried during that pregnancy, should I have been prosecuted? Will miscarriage become the new rape? Blame the woman and put her on trial for her poor choices and bad behavior?

It’s not that far-fetched. We’ve already seen a case where a woman was jailed for falling down the stairs while pregnant. Then there is Samantha Burton who was ordered by the court to remain in the hospital while pregnant. And don’t forget the woman who was jailed for being pregnant and HIV positive.

Wimmer also sponsored HB200, informed consent legislation that makes ultraounds available to women prior to having an abortion. Too bad he didn’t work to make more ultrasounds available to women as part of their prentatal care.

This is the same Wimmer who opposed a ban on cell phone use by under-18 drivers. On that topic he was quoted in The Salt Lake Tribune as saying, ”Government does not need to mandate every good idea…We are a free people.”

Men like Carl Wimmer claim to value human life. Sure they do, as long as that life doesn’t belong to a woman who has already been born. 

So, who should we feature tomorrow?

This is Ignorance: Updated

February 23, 2010
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 (Update: Click here for video of Marshall making his remarks.)

A Virginia legislator, while protesting funding for Planned Parenthood, said disabled children are punishment for aborting  firstborns.

Virginia Delegate Robert G. Marshall (R) said, “The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.”

“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”

You can hear the remarks  here.  

Marshall has since apologized, saying his comments were “misconstrued.” From his website:

“A story by Capital News Service regarding my remarks at a recent press conference opposing taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood conveyed the impression that I believe disabled children are a punishment for prior abortions. No one who knows me or my record would imagine that I believe or intended to communicate such an offensive notion. I have devoted a generation of work to defending disabled and unwanted children, and have always maintained that they are special blessings to their parents. Nevertheless, I regret any misimpression my poorly chosen words may have created as to my deep commitment to fighting for these vulnerable children and their families.”

I don’t think I misinterpreted what he said about people with disabilities being “vengeance” and “punishment’. And his reasoning about first borns was absurd. How ignorant.  

But then again, this is the same man who supposedly  opposed abortion in the case of rape and incest because “sometimes incest is voluntary”.  And he is the same man that compared a budget bill to slavery.

Fashion Week

February 18, 2010
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It’s Fashion Week in New York and it’s school vacation week here in Boston. But for the ladies it’s been work, work, work. So while we pay the bills, here is a little fashion fun for the rest of you.

The Peabody Essex Museum recently hosted an exhibit titled “Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel” featuring  more than 80 ensembles from the personal collections of style icon Iris Apfel. Apfel is an interior designer who once worked at Women’s Wear Daily. She is best known for her eclectic style and uncanny ability to mix “junque” store finds with haute couture.

Although the exhibit has moved on, the museum still features a fun, interactive web page where you can style an Iris paper doll. Check it out here. Forget the over-hyped, over-marketed looks under the tents this week. Get creative and experiment with your style on these paper dolls. But be careful, we are now obsessed with finding the perfect turquoise statement necklace (or six).

Enjoy!

Gender Parity at the Olympics? Not Yet

February 14, 2010
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My five year old had the stomach bug this weekend which meant she spent most of the last two days lying on the couch, snuggling her Daddy and watching the Winter Olympics on TV. How sweet. Not really. Why? Because the Olympics are just one more piece of evidence for my little girl that women are not equal; that she can’t grow up and be anything she wants to be. At least not yet.

It’s disheartening. Men have been competing in ski jumping as an Olympic event since 1924. Women, however, are not allowed to compete in this event.

It’s not for lack of interest. Several women jumpers filed a discrimination suit against the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), hoping to be able to compete this year.

David Amber of ESPN asked Alan Johnson, director and coach for the men’s project X U.S. Ski Jumping team, why women can’t compete. The numbers seem to be there. From the ESPN inteview: “This season [2009-10] there are eight ski cross International Ski Federation (FIS) events, with an average of 18 competitors representing seven different nations; there are 12 ski jumping FIS events with an average of 45 competitors representing 12 nations. So you must ask yourself, if the IOC denied ladies ski jumping based on lack of numbers and development of the sport on the same day they invited in ladies ski cross, how can this be justified when skier cross is far less developed than ski jumping? It’s not even close.”

Supposedly, in 2005 Gian-Franco Kasper, president of the International Ski Federation, said ski jumping was harmful to women’s reproductive health. How can that be the reason when young girls train so hard to be Olympic gymnasts they don’t begin to menstruate until they are in their 20s? I don’t buy the IOC’s concern for women’s health.

The most convincing argument I’ve read for barring women from ski jumping was this quote from Women’s Ski Jumping Vice President Vic Method in a Wall Street Journal article. “This is a big macho event in Europe. If suddenly you’ve got these little size-four girls jumping comparable distances, the men don’t look so macho anymore.”

For more on this topic, visit the website for “Women On Top,” a documentary that follows the U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team and their quest to compete in the Olympics.

I will hold off for now on telling my daughter that girls are considered equal to boys and can do or be anything. It’s not true at the Olympics. It’s not the case at work.  It doesn’t play out on the Op-Ed pages. It’s not the case in Washington. Some people don’t even want girls to make their own medical decisions.

But I do plan on telling her someday (perhap during the next Winter Olympics). So let’s get to work and reach true parity.

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2010
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Happy Valentine’s Day.

In celebration of love, check out this great site from Zina Saunders called Love and Marriage. The site features a  series of painted portraits and interviews with long-standing gay and lesbian couples.

I wonder if any of the couples Saunders interviewed went to Smith & Wollensky’s for Valentine’s Day. I am still waiting for a reservation.

For the Ladies

February 12, 2010
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Remember that Dodge Charger ad titled, “Man’s Last Stand” that aired during the Super Bowl? The one where the man says he will drive the car he wants to drive since the woman in his life makes him do oppressive things like put his dirty socks in the hamper, clean the sink after he shaves and carry her lip balm.

Well, there is a “Woman’s Last Stand“ commercial too. And you must see it. This one, is for the ladies.

Enjoy the weekend!

The Women Are Coming, The Women Are Coming

February 10, 2010
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I read in the Boston Globe yesterday 18 New Hampshire legislators are trying to change the language in the state’s constitution so it is gender neutral. Specifically, the group wants to strike the word men and references to the word and replace them with gender-neutral words. Currently, the constitution reads, “All men are born equally free and independent.’’ It was ratified in 1783. Today, the New Hampshire State has a female majority.

From the Globe article: “We have women in leadership roles, and to have the Constitution reflect that changing status of women makes sense,’’ said Sylvia Larsen, the state Senate president.

and

“When fourth-graders come to the State House, they are amazed to hear that the Senate has a majority of women,’’ said (state Senator Kathy) Sgambati. “Those young girls should see themselves in the constitution. They shouldn’t have to try to figure out that it applies to them.’’

Fixing the language bias seems a simple enough fix. But opponents of the legislation say, no way. They say the constitution is “sacred” and changing the language would destroy it. Here’s another argument form the Globe article,

“It’s a waste of time,’’ said Charles Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy and former executive director of the state’s Republican Party. “It doesn’t help anyone. It doesn’t do anything.’’

I disagree. Language matters. We tell our daughters they can grow up and be anything they want to be. But then they read and hear about selectmen and aldermen and congressmen. What is the cumulative impact on girls as they grow up and notice their gender is invisible in news stories, job descriptions and charters of freedom? Certainly, they can’t rely on visual images to inspire their dreams. Our girls don’t see very many women running universities, or newsrooms, in board rooms or on Capitol Hill.

In the online comment to the Globe story, readers argued a change would make for “unlovely” prose and that gender-neutral language is “bland.” How sad that readability is more important than equal representation. Others argue the constitution is a historic document and should not be revised. And then there is my favorite objection –that intelligent people know the term “men” implies all humans, not just males. It’s in the dictionary, after all.

So I propose a compromise.  Leave the document as is. But moving forward, all legislation and all new editions of Webster’s will use the word “women” instead of “men.” Mankind will be written as womenkind. This compromise will maintain the beautiful prose, preserve history and more accurately reflect the U.S. population, the majority of which is female.  

Any objection, ladies? (And by ladies, I of course mean you guys too.)

Super Bowl Backlash

February 9, 2010
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This year’s Super Bowl ads revealed a common, and bizarre, theme. More jarring than even any of the GoDaddy.com spots, were the number of ads that portrayed women as controlling, emasculating and domineering. Or did they portray men as weak, pathetic and incompetent? It was hard to tell.

For starters, there was the Dodge Charger ad titled, “Man’s Last Stand.” The ad implied that because of women, men have it tough, real tough. Men (because of the bossy women in their lives) have to walk the dog, eat fruit, shave, clean the sink, take our calls, say yes when we want them to say yes, listen to our opinions and put the toilet seat down. I might have felt sorry for these pathetic creatures portrayed in the ad, if I hadn’t remembered that men do not have to do the majority of the housework, don’t take home .77 cents on the dollar in their checks every week, are occupying the corner office, and Don’t. Give. Birth!

And Flo TV’s ad “Spineless” painted an equally upsetting image of a poor man’s life. In this spot, sportscaster Jim Nantz, whose own marriage suffered when his wife lost interest in his career, informed us that Jason, the star of the spot, had his spine removed by his girlfriend. This rendered Jason incapable of watching football. Hence, the unhappy couple is seen shopping at the mall.  Nantz implores Jason to “change out of that skirt.”

Then there was the Dockers, “Wear No Pants” ad. This ad called for men to wear the pants and referred to Dockers recent online “Man-ifesto.” The Man-ifesto lamented the fact that “somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men.”

Perhaps it is because women are so horrible and overbearing that a man gladly gave away his wife in order to protect his Bridgestone tires in the tire company’s ad titled, “Future Car.” You can view all of this year’s Super Bowl ads here.

So many of the ads sent a specific message – that men are emasculated in their relationships with women and must reclaim some bizarre form of masculinity/independence. Can we blame this theme on the so-called mancession? Are men feeling insecure because they have suffered so many job losses resulting in more women on the national payroll? Are they annoyed by the statistics that show an uptick in the amount of housework men are doing? Are they feeling discomfort because more women are breadwinners? Are they threatened by Maria Shriver’s report claiming it’s a woman’s nation?  

Something is fueling a backlash. That was obvious on Sunday. And so I am left wondering:  If being in a relationship with women renders so many men impotent, wouldn’t these men have benefitted from CBS airing the Man Crunch ad? After all, shouldn’t we all have freedom of choice?

Happy Friday

February 5, 2010
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Happy Friday.

Enjoy the weekend. We will be back after the Hypocrisy Bowl.

In the meantime, enjoy this cartoon from Instapundit (sent to me by my bff Steve). It’s another commentary on Apple’s branding brilliance.

Dear CBS

February 4, 2010
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Dear CBS:

This weekend my family is going to spend time together celebrating life –we are going to watch the Super Bowl. I hope that during the event you won’t air any frightening or violent commercials for prime-time television shows like CSI or for R-rated movies. My children get really frightened when they see those ads during Sunday afternoon games in the regular season.

Actually, forgive me for suggesting you would air any inappropriate commercials this weekend. After all, I know you have gone to great lengths to protect my children. Thanks to you, my kids won’t hear the phrase “Go to hell” in any ads from Electronic Arts. That would have been just shocking. “Hell awaits” is much more family-friendly.

And I am so relieved that because of you my children won’t see two men kissing in a ManCrunch ad. Seeing that ad might have forced me to teach my children acceptance and tolerance and they are much too young for that.

Since you handled those other thorny issues so well, I am hoping you can help me with another tough parenting topic. When my young daughter asks about the half-naked, NFL cheerleaders gyrating on the sidelines during the game, how do you suggest I tackle the topic? Do you think she will respond better to a discussion about sexism, chauvinism, or misogyny?

Thank you for your help. I respect your opinion and look forward to hearing from you.

Signed,

A concerned, loving parent

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