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Healthcare Reform and Women’s Rights

March 3, 2010

While we’ve been away and busy so many interesting things have transpired. So today, a roundup. One of the things that had me occupied last week was my health – nothing serious just the standard end-of-winter cough, fever, chills - and I had to visit the doctor and take medicine. My appointment was the same day as President Obama’s healthcare summit, and as I watched the proceedings on C-SPAN I was grateful to be insured and to receive timely treatment when I need it. It turns out Erin Kotecki Vest, aka Queen of Spain, was grateful too. Her story is more dramatic than mine and a highly recommended read on the need for healthcare reform. Speaking of healthcare, there is a heartbreaking and blood-boiling story out of Nicaragua. A pregnant woman, with metastasized cancer, is not getting treatment. The reason? Chemotherapy or radiation might harm her 10 week fetus. Under Nicaragua’s draconian abortion laws, doctors are prohibited from doing anything to help her. Abortion, even when the mother’s health is in danger, is against the law in that country. This woman is the sole caregiver of her 10-year old daughter. While the government protects the rights of the unborn, who protects this 10-year [...]

How to Help Chile

March 1, 2010

The American Red Cross has information on how to help earthquake victims in Chile. Click here.

Ignorant Male Legislator Week

February 24, 2010

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? [...]

This is Ignorance: Updated

February 23, 2010

(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 [...]

Fashion Week

February 18, 2010

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

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 [...]

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2010

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

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

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 [...]

Super Bowl Backlash

February 9, 2010

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 [...]

Happy Friday

February 5, 2010

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

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 [...]

Super Bowl, Super Hypocrisy

February 3, 2010

As you have probably heard, there is a major controversy brewing around one of the Super Bowl ads scheduled to run this year. CBS has accepted an ad from Focus on the Family featuring college football player and Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother Pam. While living in the Philippines and pregnant with Tim, Pam Tebow says she was counseled to have an abortion because she had been taking harmful medication to treat dysentery. Pam chose to keep the baby and the result was her football star son. Focus on the Family describes itself as, “a global non-profit Christian organization with a vision for healing brokenness in families, communities and societies worldwide through Christ. The purpose of the ministry is to strengthen, defend and celebrate the institution of the traditional family and to highlight the unique and irreplaceable role that it plays in God’s larger story of redemption.” In January the group issued a press release about the ad. “The 30-second spot from the international family-help organization will feature college football star Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. They will share a personal story centered on the theme of “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” The Women’s Media Center (WMC) has called [...]

Happy Groundhog Day

February 2, 2010

Happy Groundhog Day. Great news. Over in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow this morning, indicating we have six more weeks of winter. Who doesn’t love winter? Hats and coats and boots. Faux fur and cashmere and suede. Lilly’s are great, but winter is wonderful. In other news, a woman won the PBA title (bowling, who knew?). Read about it at Spare Candy.

At Your Cervix

February 1, 2010

This. Is. Not. Okay. Pelvic exams performed on unconscious women by medical students. The women haven’t consented. The exams are performed so that medical students can get experience. Outrageous that a woman is treated like a lab rat without her consent while in the care of a medical professional – and she may not even be told after the fact. You can read about the practice here or here. This article disputes the claim stating new guidelines were set up in 2006 to prevent unauthorized pelvic examinations. That’s not that long ago ladies! There is a documentary about the practice called “At Your Cervix.” View the movie trailer here. Be aware. Be outraged. And remember, advocate for your own health and safety.

Celebrating Lilly

January 29, 2010

It’s January 29 so today we are honoring two women named Lilly. The first, Lilly Ledbetter, a brave woman who fought against pay discrimination so that all women would have a better chance at earning a fair salary. Jan. 29 is the anniversary of President Obama signing the Lily Ledbetter Act into law. Thank you Ms. Ledbetter. We know your work is not finished. So ladies, please take a moment and send a message to your Senators telling them to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. Despite all of Lilly Ledbetter’s hard work, the wage gap has widened. Women earn, on average just .77 cents for every dollar a man earns. Women of color earn even less. January 29 also means it’s cold here in New England. There is snow on the ground, the temperature is 18 degrees F, and the wind is gusting to 28 mph. It’s the kind of day that makes us long for summer on Cape Cod. And it’s impossible to think about the Cape without thinking about the unofficial Cape Cod uniform – a Lilly Pulitzer dress. Lilly Pultizer was a New York Socialite who moved to Palm Beach with her husband in the 1950s. Although she never had to work [...]

I forgot Chris Matthews was sexist

January 28, 2010

I forgot Chris Matthews was sexist for an hour last night. Following the State of the Union address Matthews said of President Obama, “I was trying to think about who he was tonight. It’s interesting; he is post-racial, by all appearances. I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. He’s gone a long way to become a leader of this country and past so much history in just a year or two. I mean it’s something we don’t even think about. I was watching and I said, wait a minute, he’s an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people and there he is, president of the United States, and we’ve completely forgotten that tonight — completely forgotten it.” Here’s a clip. Wow. So does that means Matthews definition of post-racial is color-blind? A world where black leaders actually seem white – whatever that means? Oh Chris, you really stepped in it this time. And then, I was watching and I said, wait a minute, he’s a sexist guy in front of a bunch of television viewers and there he is, chauvinist Hardball host, and we’ve completely forgotten that tonight – completely forgotten it. This is [...]

Seriously, Apple. The iPad?

January 27, 2010

I find it funny that Apple named its new tablet, unveiled today, the iPad. I must be overworked or tired because every time I think about it, I chuckle. Seriously Apple, what were you thinking? A personal product that is ultra thin and you name it the iPad? Computing is not what comes to mind. Feminine protection is. I’ve worked with Apple marketing execs before and I know how much thought and research go into launching a product. But as they say in the Twitterverse, this was a #fail. Speaking of Twitter, the microblogging site has been buzzing with comments about the name. In fact the term iTampon is trending on the site as I write this. Here’s a sampling of tweets: @annfriedman “I hope the iPad has wings for extra nighttime protection.” @JillFilipovic “Can I use the #iPad if I’m in a bathing suit? If I use the #iPad, am I still a virgin?” @herbadmother “Snort! Wait until they come out with the larger version, or Max iPad. {LOL}” But this tweet, from @rachelslaj, wasn’t so funny. “The iPad: Proof not enough women work in the Apple Naming Department. //what I said.” Again, maybe I’m overworked and tired today, [...]

On Ledbetter Anniversary, Paycheck Fairness Act Gets Attention

January 26, 2010

I think I owe you some good news. Don’t you? Well here it is. I just got off a conference call with Senator Dodd, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Marcia Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center, and Lilly Ledbetter. Senator Dodd announced he has support from Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to start hearings on the Paycheck Fairness Act. As you may know, this week is the one year anniversary of President Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law. The Ledbetter law gives employees a longer window to file discrimination claims. It is an important piece of legislation, but as Ledbetter said on the call, “The work is far from done.” The Paycheck Fairness Act will strengthen the Ledbetter Act. One of the most important aspects of the bill is it will prohibit retaliation against employees who ask about or disclose their wages. Said Ledbetter, “This would have been particularly helpful to me. This policy delayed my discovery (that she was being paid less than her male peers) by decades.” The House passed the Paycheck Fairness legislation in July 2008 but the Senate has not yet acted on it. Hearings are [...]

Stop the Rape Culture (TRIGGER WARNING)

January 25, 2010

(TRIGGER WARNING) A woman was raped last week in Toledo, Ohio on the side of busy street in broad daylight. A high school student approached her as she was walking down the street and threatened her with a pair of scissors. Cars drove by and several beeped. One witness called 911 but no one stopped. According to the local police, some witnesses thought the act was consensual and some may not have comprehended what they were seeing. How could they have? This is not supposed to happen in a civilized society. Late last year, we were shocked and frightened by the gang rape of a high school girl outside a school dance in Richmond, California. Now we are sickened by a rapist brazen enough to attack out in the open in broad daylight. (Trigger warning) Over at Shakesville, there is an excellent piece on rape culture – what it is and what contributes to it. I’ve linked to it before. Again, if you can read it, I recommend it. I thought I was done writing about the Senate election in Massachusetts, but as I reread Melissa McEwan’s piece at Shakesville, I couldn’t help but reflect on our new Senator-elect. During [...]

Blog for Choice

January 22, 2010

Every year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, NARALPro-Choice America asks bloggers to blog the answer to a question. This year’s question is in honor of the late Dr. George Tiller who was shot and killed at church one Sunday morning last May. Dr. Tiller often wore a button that read, “Trust Women.” So today, we answer the question: What does “Trust Women” mean to you? Let me tell you about trusting women. I trust women because a woman gave birth to me, nursed me, cared for me and raised me. She made sure I was well fed, adequately clothed and got enough sleep each night. She got me to school on time and made sure my homework was done. She comforted me when I suffered rejection and then pushed me back out to try again. She made me feel safe when life got scary and she let me go when the time was right. I trust women, because the woman who raised me, trusted me when I moved 3,000 miles away and built my own life. I trust women because I have worked for women. Women who mortgaged their homes to sustain their business. Women who had the [...]