Valuing Women First, Reducing Abortion Second

Watching all the coverage of the anti-abortion protesters gathering at Notre Dame before the President's commencement address I can feel the anger in me rising.

It is not that I am pro-abortion, or disagree with the freedom of speech and the right to protest, and yet I can feel myself getting a little crazy!

Abortion is undoubtedly a very emotional issue, and I suspect this is because we wrap a number of other issues and deep seeded feelings up in this debate.  Investigating my opinions on abortion reveals less interest in the medical procedure of abortion, and more interest in the issues it symbolizes. It seems much hurt and devaluing of women has come from both my religion and my country.  

Men beware, it might just be easier to agree to give women a choice, rather than open the space for this much larger debate...

Has Christianity Left Women Behind?

Watching the protesters at Notre Dame placing the signs on their graduation cap of a cross with two baby feet on either side, enraged me.  This symbol reminded me of the way I have felt disenfranchised from traditional Christianity. 

Apparently God is male, first fail for women.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... I count three whole parts there, couldn't we have gotten even 33% representation in the trinity? It sure makes it harder to be God-like when you are born the wrong gender to begin with. The one main female role model in the church is both a virgin and a mother (a very hard standard for most modern women to live up to). And let us not forget in Catholicism as well as some conservative protestant traditions women just aren't equipped (read smart enough) to teach men.

And it is not only what we aren't.  It is the incredibly small box of expectation of what we are. In many traditional Christian settings women are seen to be primarily baby factories. Somehow the issue of abortion seems to imply that the Church doesn't trust women's ability to choose whether they want to fulfill that role, as if that decision was pre-determined for us when our eggs were formed.

A Country Where All Men are Created Equal

I appreciate that abortion is legal in this country, but the way this debate is often framed rips away at the equality women feel.

Women are so often portrayed as the monsters in the abortion debate when so many factors lead to the situation of an unwanted pregnancy with at least one factor that is always present, a man!

Another factor rarely discussed is the lack of health insurance for women. Did you know that less than half of American women can get health insurance through work?  Keeping that in mind did you know that a 22 year old woman can be charged 1 1/2 times the premium of a 22 year old man in the individual insurance market. Yes, that is because it is expensive for the insurance company if that woman gets pregnant.

So until America decides to value the health of a woman and offer fair and equal health care for all women, I have very little patience for your debate as to whether women should have a choice to have an abortion or not. Without first the basic respect for a woman's health, this issue can quickly make women feel like property rather than people.

Working for Solutions

Let me be clear, I am not saying that pro-lifers hold these views that I have articulated anger me so. I am trying to convey why this issue is such a hot button issue for me.  I believe there is much that needs to be done to bring feminism to Christianity and equality to America.  I would love to spend more energy on these issues, less on fighting about the fetus, and together from a place of high value and regard for women I believe we could work very effectively to decrease unwanted pregnancies.   

and she whispered... I Am Powerful

Thursday, March 5, was International Women's Day.  I had the opportunity to participate in nationwide screening of the film, A Powerful Noise which was shown at 450 theaters and was followed with a live panel discussion, featuring Madeleine Albright, Nicholas Kristof, and other experts on poverty and women's empowerment.

The film began was some startling statistics:

• Of the world's 1 billion poorest people, 60 percent are women and girls.
  
• Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, yet earn only 10 percent of the income.
  
• Women produce half the world’s food, yet own only 1 percent of its land.
  
• Women make up two-thirds of the estimated 776 million adults worldwide who cannot read or write; and girls make up 55 percent of the 75 million children not attending school.  
  

The film followed the stories of three women walking into their own power to create profound change in their communities.  I am so fortunate to have been born in a society where I do not face the extreme discrimination and hardships these women have had to endure. I have been well educated and given amazing opportunities.

And yet, just before the film began as they panned the audience and the camera focused on a woman in the crowd wearing a shirt with the tag line from the film "I am Powerful" and I felt a surge of emotion.

What does it mean to be a powerful woman in our culture? Sometimes I am surprised that I don't have it remotely figured out yet. It is easy in times such as these for all of us to feel that sense of vulnerability and powerlessness. The economy seems to be in a free fall, completely out of our control, yet impacting our lives in a very personal way.

I have found in our culture that women have a unique relationship to power. Women tend to be rewarded for being polite and appropriate. The more we work skillfully within the structure of our society, conforming to certain social norms, and following the rules the more accolades we receive. We learn quickly how to play many different roles, when we embrace our sexuality and when we diminish it, when to embrace our intelligence and when to let a man think it was his idea, when we take the lead and when we choose the role of the cheerleader and supportive one, and when we learn to allow others to feel they have power over us even as we feel we are secretly in control. 

Skillful women are faced with these choices everyday, and to some degree it is always empowering to have a choice. These tactics, manipulations, etc when done effectively can have a huge impact on a woman's success.  And countless women have used these skills to bring about tremendous good in the world.  But I am left asking the question, does a woman feel powerful when using her feminine tool box of tricks?

When thinking of purchasing one of the "I Am Powerful" t-shirts to support work CARE is doing to create opportunities for women around the world, I must admit, I had some strong reservations to wearing a shirt with those words on it. Yes, this feminist had some reservations.  

As I sit here reflecting on that observation, I am left wondering if my fear around walking into my own power albeit by wearing a shirt proclaiming it on my chest, or through my actions and behaviors, is it centered on the fear of destroying one of the most powerful tools in my box? Would I be giving up one of the roles that has proven so effective for me in the past? 

Our world is dangerous, scary, and tough! Can my power be trusted? Will it be respected and rewarded? Will it be enough?

In times of crisis and danger, instead of praying to the male God of my past, to intervene and help me, this feminist will be heard uttering the simple truth, I Am Powerful...

This Young Feminist Stops Yelling Just Long Enough to Reflect

Livid. Insulted. Outraged. Appalled. And possibly bordering on Psychotic. These words are all appropriate descriptions of me upon hearing of John McCains choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. And with just the smallest self-reflection I could see how that intense of a reaction to a veep choice of a party and a politician that I had no intention or possibility of ever voting for would seem a little, shall we say, extreme.

I kept trying to calm myself down and gain just a little perspective. But then with every email, and every phone call I had that day, I realized I had not lost it, we all had lost it. It seemed as though most if not all of my friends were having the EXACT same reaction. Now they may not have been expressing it with quite as colorful of language as I was, but nonetheless the feelings and sediments were the same. Best simplified as “what the F$@#!”

So now, a couple days later, and still no more calm or rational about the choice, it occurred to me to ask myself, how could this possibly be this emotionally charging for me? My reaction could most obviously be compared to the reaction of millions of Hillary supporters across this nation. Women, who let’s be honest, for months now I had wanted to tell to simply “get over it.”

So why did my reaction to Sarah Palin look so much like their reaction to Hillary’s defeat?

I think these two political situations can teach us so much about the feminist movement and gender equality in our society.

I, as a self-proclaimed feminist, had absolutely no negative reaction to Hillary Clinton not winning the nomination. Would I have been proud to see the first female president, of course! But what saved me from heartache (besides my sincerest excitement and support of Barack Obama) was the expectation that the number of accomplished and successful female politicians will continue to grow and that first female president is not in fact too far off. And though I have the utmost respect for Hillary Clinton and her accomplishments, I have to admit to preferring the first female president not break through the glass ceiling in some part because she was married to a president.

So back to Sarah Palin, why was this so damn infuriating? Thinking back over my life as a young feminist of generation X/Y I realized I grew up firmly believing I could do anything I wanted to do, hold any office or job I so desired, and would never be denied success, so long as I proved myself. I never believed I would be held back by men. I knew I might have to work harder to be treated the same, but always felt that my goals were always achievable.

So to see a woman given a position that no man would be given with the same credentials seems to undermine and diminish hard-working, successful women everywhere! This only seems to drive a wedge between the genders, men won’t come out and say this in our politically correct world, but those males more qualified for the job, should be outraged too! We (women) have worked so hard to prove we were deserving of our positions and accomplishments, to have a woman promoted for simply (as a correspondent on Jon Stewart so eloquently put it) having a vagina was offensive to say the least and likely a major setback for the women’s equality movement.

Hillary and millions of accomplished hard-working women prove everyday that women have what it takes to succeed. John McCain and by association the republican party have proven that they do not believe in equality between the sexes, because clearly they view all women, qualified or not, as the same.

John McCain- This woman is insulted!

Truly ridiculous.  I cannot begin to fathom how John McCain could name Sarah Palin as his VP nominee while she has only been governor for a year and a half.  And to top that off, he doesn't personally know her, he only met with her once!  I think it is safe to say that no man would have been selected with such poor credentials.  This is so absurd, and with republicans being w so opposed to Affirmative Action, this sure does seem like the worst manipulation of it!  

I find myself as a woman being so completely insulted. There are so many intelligent, powerful, and accomplished women, in the world, we don't need this patronizing ridiculous act of fake equality. Choosing a woman not prepared to succeed and selecting her purely because of her sex is not empowering to women, it is insulting.

The difference between the democrats and the republicans has never been so stark.  The democrats (who fundamentally believe in the equality of all people and fight for equality with their policies) supported Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton not because of their race or sex, but because of who they were.  We did not seek out the black guy or the chick, no we are just a party of diversity and were fortunate to have our best candidates for office also happen to represent an underrepresented group in our country's government.

And to think that women will just blindly vote for the woman, seems to be the main reason she was selected and is the most insult implication of all, to women everywhere, and to specifically Hillary Clinton.

Clearly the republicans learned nothing with the Harriet Mier debacle.

A few of my new favorite "facts" on Sarah Palin

Why I believe she is not qualified to be a "heartbeat" away from the presidency:

• She has been a Governor for less than two years and prior to that she was the mayor of a city of 9,000 people.
  
• She has only met with John McCain twice (So McCain can't even personally vouch for her qualifications)
  
• When interviewed shortly after becoming governor, she was asked about the surge in Iraq and she admitted that she has been focused on her own state of Alaska and didn't know much about Iraq.

Why her extreme right-wing views make me fearful of her being a heartbeat away from the presidency:

• She has helped to have creationism taught in Alaska's public schools
  
• She is a skeptic of global warming
  
• She is opposed to abortion in ALL situations including incest and rape
  

As the national media begins to look into this woman, I can only imagine what else we will learn...