Monthly Archives: March 2012

The Duchess Of Cornwall Backs Feminist Rally

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There has been a lot of focus on Kate Middleton as the “royal to watch,” but the Duchess of Cornwall is starting to steal her thunder – at least when it comes to feminism. The duchess launched the inaugural Women of the World (WOW) Festival last year and welcomed this year’s guest speakers to lunch at the Clarence House.

With regard to supporting her fellow woman, there are talks about Camilla possibly opening one of several planned spin-off events being planned around the world. Jude Kelly, artistic director of the Southbank Centre (which opened the second WOW), said the royal backing had been “quite something,” as feminism still remains a touchy topic. “It’s still a toxic subject,” she said. And Ms. Kelly isn’t the only person raving about the duchesses support – Rosie Boycott, former newspaper editor and founder of the early feminist magazine, Spare Rib, said that it was “really great” that the duchess has gotten involved: “I think she uses her time and patronage very carefully. She gets what this is about,” says Boycott.

The duchess came under fire many years ago when it was reveled that she was Prince Charles’s mistress during his marriage to Diana, and since then, Camilla has tried to keep a low profile, but this is just another feather in her cap! She has been very active in charities and supporting women’s rights throughout the world and in the UK.

Still remember her as The Other Woman?



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Rush Limbaugh Declares Feminism Dead, Credits … Danica Patrick?

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Oh, did you hear? Rush Limbaugh declared the death of feminism. On his show he said, “This is about expanding the reach and power of government into your womb, if you’re a woman. This is about the Democrat Party wanting more and more control over you. What was early feminism all about? Emancipation, individuality, freedom, liberation, all of these things. Now here comes Danica Patrick out and she says, ‘I’m perfectly comfortable letting the government make my health decisions for me.’ Well, folks, I’m gonna tell you: Right there, that’s the death and the end of feminism.”

Personally, I don’t think the birth control mandate says anything about women having to be on the pill, though it does say that the government does have to pay for it. Why? Well because birth control is a medical necessity in many cases. Would you withhold insulin from a diabetic? I thought not.

Back to Limbaugh, however, his stance on this mandate is – at best – misinformed. Second, when did Rush Limbaugh become part of the feminist movement anyway, let alone a voice of authority that can declare it dead? To lambaste Danica Patrick as a “anti-feminist” and, in fact, use her personal comments as the death blow is absurd. I won’t go into all the ways Danica has impacted feminism (which have all been positive), but I will comment on the fact that she specifically said, “I leave it up to the government to make good decisions for Americans.” Quite different than what Rush was peddling on his piddling show, yes? She reaffirms that she will leave it up to the government to make decisions regarding government policies for Americans, and wow. Such blasphemy, right? Danica dodged a hard and sexist question – a question not unlike ‘Where do you stand on abortion’, but yet, not one other Formula One driver was asked what he thought about birth control. Why? Well, I’ll let you determine that. Furthermore, last I checked, Danica’s expertise isn’t in gynecological matters, or governmental policies, it’s in driving cars really, really fast. Perhaps next time journalists should maybe focus on why they’re are actually their, you know, jobs and doing them properly, lest they be confused with politicians.



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Are Women Second Rate Citizens To Conservatives?

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I’ve written two pieces about Rick Santorum and his offensive quotes about women, but he’s not the only culprit of misogyny in the 2012 election. There has been a slew of right-wingers coming out saying really sexiest things. On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh called a law student a “slut” for testifying in the birth control mandate. He went on to say a few choice things about her and the other students that had partaken in this event.

When Mitt Romney, who is *also* running for President, was asked what he thought of Limbaugh’s quote, Romney said, “I’ll just say this, which is, it’s not the language I would have used.” And that’s just it. Even Newt Gingrich condemed Limbaugh for name-calling, but yet, one of the front runners for the 2012 Presidential Election simply says,”it’s not the language I would have used.” What would he have used? It’s hard to imagine that this is actually an issue in the year 2012, but here we are.

My stance on birth control has been clearly stated: it’s a blessing. I need it for medical reasons, and the fact that I probably can’t get pregnant on it is just a plus. I take birth control even when I’m not having sex because again, I medically need it. So, would I still be a slut because I need birth control? Guess so.

Are Rush Limbaugh, Romney, and Santorum so ignorant to the fact that a pill that has been around since the 1950′s (with the knowledge since the 1930′s that hormones prevented ovulation in rabbits) can do more than just let women have sex without pregnancy? These statements are ignorant and extremely irritating – the fact is a women who cares about herself, her health, her career, her needs, would be considered less than a respectable woman. To call someone a slut because they’re not ready to be a mother is dismissive. It’s a way of saying “you’re not the woman I want you be, so there for you are trash.” These are the men running for President and broadcasting this hate and ignorance through our radio-waves.

Encouraging, isn’t it?



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Girls V. Boys: Should It Matter?

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Ariel Koren was elected the 2015 Class Board President at Penn University. Subsequently, Koren has found herself in the middle of a feminist heat storm because she made the comment that students should “stop worrying about the female leadership issues [within school politics] and do their own thing.”

The reason there was a “female leadership issue” at Penn was that when Koren was elected, she was identified as “female,” and not by her given name. “The female that won the competitive election,” as if that was so rare. The fact that a female could take charge in a competition and come out ahead, didn’t anyone tell Penn that females are strategy thinkers? We play to win.

The problem lies in the fact that some students think that to achieve gender equality we need to be more critical of the barriers to success that women face on campuses. Still others say that gender equality will be reached when there is no longer any need for front-page news to recognize the accomplishments of a woman as a leader simply because of her sex. For Koren to come out and say being female is not a big deal cuts both ways. It says to some that she is turning her back on feminism and to others it says she’s embracing that male or female the best person won.

Feminism is about women being seen as equals so is the best way to acknowledge that we do the same things as men (and some time beat them)? Or should we just act as if it’s not a big deal and this is the way the world works, sometimes you win sometimes you loose and what’s between your legs shouldn’t make a difference? There’s no clear cut road, but what is clear is it is a very long road ahead.



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