For years now, Rush Limbaugh has been at the front of the Republican lines. He has his own talk show, has published several books, and has been shoving conservative agenda down the throats of Americans for quite a while. He’s spoken out many times against feminism, whether it’s by referring to us as “feminazis”, or deducing that “Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.” Plain and simple, he’s an outspoken misogynist. Howsoever, recently, he got himself caught up in a bit of a scandal. As you’re probably aware, the government has been dealing with the very broad issue of contraception. Republican leaders held a forum on the issue, during which there were no women speaking. When Democrats hosted a meeting later on, they included Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, who gave a testimonial about women who need birth control for medical reasons. She specifically talked about how some women who attend Catholic universities have to spend close to $3000 out of pocket on birth control, and that’s on top of their school health insurance. However, Rush Limbaugh didn’t exactly hear that. Instead, he went on the attack mode; “It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception. So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.”  (Source: Krystal Ball of the Huffington Post). Obviously, Rush missed the overall point of Ms. Fluke’s statement. She was talking about women who medically use birth control, and yet, he simply used it as a jumping point to further put the female gender and our sexual actions on the chopping block. Nobody deserves to be called a slut simply because they demands equal access to a form of health care. Nobody should be publically humiliated because they speak out on the behalf of an entire group of people. To show his support of Sandra, President Obama gave her a phone call, and thanked her for “”helping to amplify the voices of women across the country,”. Truly, that’s all she was doing. She wasn’t requesting to be paid for her sexual endeavors, nor was she inviting Rush Limbaugh to make disgusting comments about her body and what she chooses to do with it.

There’s been so much public turmoil about the issue that many have called upon Rush’s advertisers to pull their ads from his show and website as a result of his sexist words. Today alone, three of Rush’s biggest advertisers, AutoZone, Sleep Train, and Quicken Loan did just that. This is a huge victory for the issue, but there are still plenty of his fiscal supports who need to hear from us. If you yourself would like to get involved, the hash tags on twitter are going out as #BoycottRush and #StandwithSandra. Or, here’s the link to an online petition: http://leftaction.com/action/boycott-rush

The following blog post was written by WSAC’s secretary, Sam Hurley!

With the 2012 Summer Olympics approaching fast, the Committee is trying to make last minute changes without causing too much controversy. Sadly, they are doing a terrible job. The most recent fiasco began when all twenty six sports were made available to men and women alike. While that sounds like a progressive step forward into gender equality, it isn’t. Sure, adding women’s boxing to the list of sports made the number of available sports to both men and women equal. However, the number of inequalities in boxing alone is far too high. Women’s boxing only includes three weight classes while the Men’s has ten. Men also have a whopping two hundred and fifty fighters while women have a meager thirty-six. Plus, women’s rounds will also be an entire minute shorter than those of their male counterparts. Shortly after the inclusion of women in boxing was announced, Cuba announced that they would not have a women’s team because, “Cuban women should be showing off their beautiful faces, not getting punched in the face.” If this wasn’t disgusting enough, the Amateur International Boxing Administration (AIBA) made it mandatory for female fighters to wear skirts in the ring. The President of the AIBA said the decision was considered because he believed with players wearing head-gear; it was difficult to distinguish between male and female boxers in the ring. After international petitioning took place, the decision morphed into a choice. Now, female fighters will decide for themselves whether they’ll wear skirts or shorts in the ring. Although it was a step in the right direction to make all sports available to men and women, it is still nowhere near what it should be. Thousands of people should not have to protest the objectification of a group of people in order for it to cease. Committees ought to follow rules of equality without being instructed to do so by the international community. Men and women should be treated equally no matter the sport, and dress-code should follow the same protocol of equality.

I’ve often heard that we as individuals make extreme changes to our appearances for the benefit of the gender we’re attracted to. This comment is often pointed towards women, both cis-gendered and transgendered alike. Unfortunately, we do tend to dress for others without thinking about ourselves. We, as women, dress as an attempt to impress other people, and very rarely do we give thought to personal comfort or how we feel about our appearance. However, this doesn’t just apply to our eyeliner and heels, but to our hair as well. Typically, American women are expected to have shiny, flowing hair. But what we don’t talk about is how much time we spend making every last hair stay perfectly in place. We spend countless hours and dollars in an attempt to tame our curls, dye our greys, and straighten unruly waves. Not to mention, we don’t think about the healthiness of our hair that we essentially destroy with all of the heat and chemicals. I myself had had enough. Before deciding to change my attitude about my hair, I had wavy hair that extended past my shoulders. Every day, I’d wake up an hour earlier than necessary just to do my hair. I would blow dry it, flat iron it, and then put tons of product in it. After realizing that my that my sleep cycle wouldn’t allow me to continue devoting such a huge portion of my precious morning time to my hair, I decided it was time to chop it off. When I told my friends, a few of them were extremely concerned. Their number one concern was not that I might regret my hasty decision, but rather that “People are going to think you’re a lesbian.” To which, I simply thought to myself “How is my sexual orientation going to be displayed via a hair-do?” I then realized I didn’t care what others thought about my hair, because it was mine. This was for my own benefit, and nobody else’s opinion mattered but my own. If I wanted to do this for myself, then why should society’s beliefs intercede? Why was I allowing myself to participate in a stereotype?

The first cut was definitely the hardest. I watched helplessly as bountiful chunks of my hair fell lifelessly onto the floor of the salon. Half-way through, I found myself clutching to the little hair I had left, and wanting to cry out to the stylist “Stop! Stop! My hair…you’ve taken my precious hair away from me!” But I didn’t. I took a deep breath, and braced myself for the final look. An hour and eight inches later, I was finished. I wanted to cry. I looked beautiful. I had never felt so gorgeous in my entire life. I did it just for me, and it felt incredible.

Unfortunately, not everybody in my life rejoiced in my decision like I did. I called the guy I had been dating for a little over a month, only to listen to him say “Wow…it’s, uh, certainly is short…” A week later, he broke up with me, claiming he needed someone more “mellow”. Apparently for him, my haircut was a sign of a deeply rooted rebellious nature that he found unacceptable. He felt like I had stripped a piece of my femininity, thus making him uncomfortable in our relationship. I’m just thankful that he broke up with me before I realized what an insecure misogynist he was.

I don’t regret my decision to cut my hair at all. It has honestly been the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I implore everyone out there to do something exclusively for themselves. Whether it’s chopping off your hair, or going on a mini-shopping spree, take some time for yourself! It doesn’t have to relate to feminism, although I think that my choice ultimately did. I felt free to express myself in a new way, and I didn’t need my long hair to make me any more of a woman than I already am. Below is a before and after picture, and to be honest, I prefer the second picture.

What makes a leader?

This is a question that has haunted me most of my undergraduate career. When I first began working with the Women’s Student Action Coalition I questioned my ability to lead and I worried that other students would question my competence. Peter Parker’s uncle once said, “With great power comes great responsibility” (excuse my Spiderman reference, it works here. I swear.) I always feared being a terrible leader or using my leadership position in a way that would cause no change. Eventually I learned that leadership styles differ and I am an individual in all that I do, this includes my ability to lead the Women’s Student Action Coaliton. 

I realized that I was competent and able only through opportunities where I was a leader. I was thrust in front of groups of students and expected to convince them that I was a suitable President. I was expected to hold the floor at meetings and to give my opinion. A student once approached me asking my opinion about an issue concerning students at the time, and I remember thinking Oh crap, I don’t know how I feel about this, I’m representing the group! But these experiences taught me that I was able to lead group discussions and that speaking in public wasnt as scary as I’d thought. But more than anything leading gave me confidence, and I began to witness myself transform. I became less concerned with the way people felt about my opinions and was proud of myself and my accomplishments. I believe that this is where true change can occur and we can empower women and girls. Telling women that they are strong, intelligent, and capable does not suffice. We must let them show themselves. Always accept an opportunity to become a leader or support a fellow leader. If that’s in a simple way like leading a class discussion, running for class president or voting progressive women into office. Take it. Realizing that you are able is empowering.

 It is my humble opinion that Trinity is filled with inspirational and intelligent young women.  I see so many of my classmates and I think Wow, Jane is so talented, or Rita, is such a great speaker. What’s sad about Jane and Rita is that usually they doubt their abilities. What’s unfortunate about Jane and Rita is that they don’t want to be leaders because they are afraid. This is not a problem I see in young men. The world is missing out on great female leaders. I am pleasantly frightened at the amount of power we could harness if we acknowledged and used the power within us. That’s what the women of our generation are lacking, the knowledge of their own power and competence. So, the next time you hear a young woman doubt herself, remind her that she has all the tools she needs to be effective within her.

This blog was written by Samantha Hurley, the secretary for the Women’s Student Action Coalition!

The battle between “plus-size” and “skinny” has been going on for years but recently it has found itself at the forefront of media attention. Magazines, designers, and modeling agencies are all trying to revamp their image by adding plus-size models to their repertoire. The show America’s Next Top Model is known for pushing the envelope; the producers, as well as Tyra Banks herself, are avid supporters of all body types, and on season 10 they crowned their first ever plus-size winner. Whitney Thompson became a role model for women everywhere, showing that “beauty” comes in many shapes and sizes. She recently filmed a commercial for her new on-line dating cite, titled TheBigandTheBeautiful.com, hoping to get a slot on Super Bowl Sunday. However, NBC rejected the commercial stating that it “needs to be completely reworked for our air.” Now when I first read this comment I was outraged, thinking that they wouldn’t air it because it featured plus-size women. But upon watching said commercial, my opinion changed drastically.

Now let me back track and just start with the name of the website, TheBigandTheBeautiful.com. I do not think dating sites, or any website for that matter, should be specific to any body type. The title implies that big is beautiful, which I am in no way saying that it’s not, but does this mean that average is now not beautiful, and that skinny is now ugly? My frustration grew when I viewed the commercial that was filmed as if it were a soap opera. The line, “I’m sick of these women that are too skinny and too sexually experienced,” is infuriating. Not only is it targeting a specific type of women but it reflects poorly on the image Whitney worked so hard to build. NBC was completely justified in turning down the commercial and it does not belong on the air. It should not matter if you are plus-size, skinny, athletic, curvy or average. Every women of every body type should be treated with the same amount of respect and this commercial promotes the exact opposite.

Below, you’ll find a link to a blogging site where both another interpretation and the video can be accessed:

http://fashionista.com/2012/01/whitney-thompson-antms-first-ever-plus-size-winner-accuses-nbc-of-plus-size-bias/

Note: This blog, like every student organization blog, is an expression of my own opinion. It does not represent the views or opinions of Trinity Washington University in any way.

Women have unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, and some women choose not to continue with these pregnancies. Such facts have been part of women’s history, and will continue to be part of our future. However, 39 years ago, women in this country didn’t have the safe and legal option of termination that we do today. Instead, desperate women attempted to terminate the pregnancy themselves, or were forced to obtain an illegal “back alley” abortion. Hospitals were not surprised to see a vaginal burn from bleach douches, or a woman bleeding severely from inserting a clothes-hanger into her cervix. Some hospitals literally had wards dedicated to treating injuries and complications from botched abortions. These wards all but disappeared after the supreme court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion.

Regardless of your moral position on abortion, it’s literally impossible to deny that Roe v. Wade has saved countless lives of women. There were abortions before Roe, and taking away the right to have a legal one won’t stop them.

While I have never known an America in which a safe and legal abortion wasn’t accessible to me, it is unmistakably apparent in an election year how much our right to choice is being threatened. This past December, 4 candidates seeking the Republican nomination pledged to add a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Although abortion is legal right now, we saw in the last year how far some leaders are willing to go in order to take reproductive choice away. Some states go out of their way to make it difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes downright humiliating for a woman to terminate her pregnancy. In Texas, the Sonogram Law signed by Gov. Rick Perry mandates that a woman who seeks an abortion must first view the fetus, and listen to its characteristics described in detail, before having the procedure, to “ensure women are fully informed.” Many states have holding periods, where a woman must wait 24 hours before actually having the procedure, and some states require that a woman makes 2 separate trips to a clinic before the procedure . (As if a woman hasn’t thought for long enough before making the decision to ask for an abortion.) It is so important to be aware of these regulations, and voice your opinions to your representatives. These are your rights–don’t allow them to be taken from you!!

I’m so grateful for all who fought to give me the right to choose for myself. It’s because of them that I have always known I could access a safe and legal abortion if I needed one. Happy Anniversary Roe!

If you’d like information about abortion laws in your state visit: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_OAL.pdf

Bobby Montoya is your typical seven year old. She spends her time playing with dolls, wearing dresses, and causing a nationwide controversy. In late October, her mother took her to their local Girl Scout troop to start participating. They were denied membership, because even though Bobby lives and “acts” like a young girl, she was born a male. The director told a heartbroken Bobby that since she was born with “boy parts”, she couldn’t join in on the crafting and cookie selling. Just this past week, Bobby’s case was reevaluated by the troop leaders, who have decided that there is no valid reason to deny this little girl her dream of “doing a good turn daily”.

 
In a response to this decision, a California teenager, known only as “Taylor” has made a YouTube video, urging mothers to protect their children from transgendered individuals. How? Simple, she says, ban Girl Scout cookies until the GSUSA (Girl Scouts of the United States if America) stops allowing children like Bobby to participating in their activities. After public outcries of disappointment and anger, the video was taken down by the girl. It turns out that she is the daughter of an anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) group known as Honest Girl Scouts, whose sole purpose is to damage the reputation of this century old organization (as well as Planned Parenthood) simply because they give all females all of their rights. Most of the bigoted video can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TD41W5mIWmY#!

We, as a society, put way too much pressure on the gender roles of children. For example, In Boy Scouts, boys go camping in the woods, they fish, and tie knots, whereas Girl Scouts may have museum sleepovers, do arts and crafts, and (of course) sell their famous cookies. Why should the interests of children be determined by their born sex? Better yet, what gives us the right to allow only certain children to participate in certain activities? We live in day and age where gender isn’t black and white, but rather, a rainbow of possibilities and it’s high time that we accept it.

We’ve all heard the expression “Chivalry isn’t dead”, but, what does that declaration actually mean? According to dictionary.com, chivalry is “qualities such as courtesy and courage” or “medieval knighthood”.  Personality traits and jousting aside, we as a modern culture know it to have an entirely different connotation. For us, we think of it as a male figure going out of his way to ease the everyday burdens of a female figure. A perfect example can be found daily in the world of public transportation. Often times, men will refuse to sit down if there appears not to be enough seats for all of the female passengers. Others will offer their seats to those women who they deem worthy of receiving them. Personally, I understand giving a seat up for an elderly individual, or person with young children or disabilities. However, I don’t find it appropriate to assume that women are incapable of standing up on a moving train, thus offering them your seat.

Most common examples oft come out in the dating world, where men open doors, pull chairs out, or even pay the bill at a restaurant, all under the guise of chivalry. You, as a woman, might say “Well, it’s a nice gesture”, when in actuality, it’s a clear example of sexism. Subconsciously, this is that person’s way of exhibiting your inadequacy as a woman to perform even the simplest of tasks. They’re displaying their strength over this weaker party who can’t seem do anything at all without male assistance, all while assuming this will make the aforementioned party and others view him as a gentleman, thus, respecting him. What’s worse is that this sort of primitive behavior is unconsciously accepted and condoned by our society. For example, I’ve noticed that when I go to a restaurant with a male friend or male date, the bill is nearly always placed in front of (if not directly handed to) the man I’m with. That person waiting the table doesn’t make a conscious choice, or think to themselves: “Gee, I bet that woman is incapable of paying this…I should probably give it to her boyfriend.” That only makes the scenarios more upsetting, because it’s sad that this sort of senseless thought process is simply embedded into our minds. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.

When I go out with another person (regardless of their gender or our relationship), I expect to be treated as an equal. Of course I appreciate when people hold doors for me, but it shouldn’t be because I’m a woman. It should be because I’m walking behind you, and you don’t want to give me a bloody nose. Same goes for spotting the check when we go out to dinner. If you want to pay, it should be because you know I just had to buy $400 worth of textbooks, not because you were “raised that way”.  These “chivalrous” gestures are only appreciated if they’re performed on a premise other than gender.

I don’t know about you, but I spent a majority of my childhood idolizing Disney princesses. From singing like Ariel in pools to wanting to have fairy godmothers like Aurora (better known as Sleeping Beauty), I just couldn’t wait to grow up and blossom into one of these perfect women.  Turns out, it just wasn’t in the cards for me. I sit here now typing this as a plus sized feminist, and although I’m perfectly content with that, most of the women we spent our adolescence worshipping fit neither of those categories. Okay, the former part of that sentence is way more obviously un-Disney, and more noticeable.  The Disney culture concept of perfection has nearly always lain in a size two, pale woman. But, that’s not what this blog posting is about. It’s about the fact that these women were purposely created and fitted to the female gender-role stereotypes of the day. Howsoever, one could argue against the latter, saying that beloved Belle or inspirational Mulan were the epitomes of feminists. They went against their societies to prove that women were worth more than just a pretty face. Unfortunately, that isn’t all that goes into feminism, and therefore just isn’t the case.

I’ll start with Belle, who due to her quirky charm, was my favorite princess growing up. I admired the fact that she knew how to read (a skill and pastime abandoned by all other Disney franchise women) and did so actively, despite what her peers thought. From a feminist perspective, seems like we’re off to a great start with an empowered young woman such as this. Moving right along, she is told by local beau Gaston that they are to be married at once. Nope, she says, I don’t think that you’re a good person despite the fact that you’re stunningly gorgeous. Wow, you think, what a good decision by Belle. But, then you examine at her relationship with Beast. He yells at her, physically intimidates her, keeps her as his prisoner, and his overall behavior is simply appalling. By standard definition, she’s trapped in an abusive relationship, on both emotional and physical grounds. No worries though, since Beast apologizes time and time again, he’s forgiven and the whole situation is completely diffused. It isn’t until Beast becomes overwhelmingly jealous and murders Belle’s other love interest that she accepts him as her love. Basically, it’s okay if he’s abusive, as long as he apologizes and is your only option.

In my eyes, the basic principle of feminism has always been that a person’s gender has nothing to do with their mental or physical capabilities, nor does it in any way effect the sort of person they can be. However, in the eyes of the Disney corporation, it is clear that this is not the dictum they follow. They’re more focused upon the instinctual need for a woman to have a man to take care of her and solve all of her problems. Snow White is a perfect example of this. One of her first lines in the movie is that “Someday, my prince will come”. While that’s all well and good, she takes it to the extreme by actually putting it into practice. She is essentially brain dead in a casket, and she has to wait for a man to come and rescue her. As if that weren’t bad enough, many of us forget that they’d never ever had a decent conversation, yet they go galloping off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Or, take Mulan for example.  I mean, she starts the movie as an extremely endowed young woman by defying the gender expectations of her culture, supporting her father, and going to war. However, Mulan only accomplishes things when she is dressed as a male soldier. She can only gain respect from her peers, lieutenant, and Emperor when they think she is a man. When they find out that she’s actually a woman, they go ballistic. They cannot cope with the likelihood that a woman could possibly do something beneficial from their society, aside from “bearing sons”. She narrowly escapes execution, and goes on to save the kingdom (yet again, dressed in a “masculine” fashion).

Almost every official Disney franchise princess (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan) share one common characteristic: they all have at least one very close animal companion. While it isn’t uncommon for people to own pets, it seems that it’s a conjoint motif that these women’s pets are their best (and often, only) friends. They do everything with the princesses; they help clean cottages, they serve as emotional support systems, or even help them fight wars. Again, it isn’t wrong that these women take an interest in animals, but it’s the fact that many of them don’t have other human friends. They have to settle for some overly-anthropomorphized excuse for a chum instead of being allowed to interact with other people. Writers make conscious decisions when they’re drafting up scripts. Why did Ariel’s best friend have to be a flounder, rather than being another mermaid? Or, take Pocahontas for example. Sure, she had an actual human as a confidante, but in actuality, she kept all of her secrets from her, and spilled her guts to a raccoon and a hummingbird. It’s situations like these that show women as being incapable of having meaningful relationships, or even interacting on a deep level with other humans.

The list goes on and on. Every single Disney movie is chock full of examples like these, and next to none of the instances have to be deeply-analyzed to find them. But you know what the biggest problem with Disney movies is? Their audience. They sell these misogynistic stereotypes to children of both genders, causing a never-ending cycle of sexism. Children grow up thinking that princesses have to look and act a certain way, thus causing them to modify their desires and behaviors to fit those expectations. We, as adults, show these movies to our children in the hopes that they too will fall in love with the classically romantic storylines like we did. Instead, we end up mutilating their understandings of gender roles, and we simultaneously endorse these franchises that continue to put out sexist merchandise.

Do you remember the J.C. Penney t-shirt that read “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.”? It was marketed for young girls between the ages of 7-16, and is oh-so-ironically part of the brand “Self Esteem”.  It was pulled off the J.C. Penney website this summer, but not before customers expressed their outrage loudly enough to garner media attention.

I'm too pretty

 I was in Target the other night, and I found a birthday card where the cover read “I’m too pritty to do math”. When I flipped open the card, I was even more surprised. As a young woman, and a student, I felt degraded and outraged. As I stood there in the birthday card aisle, I couldn’t help but wonder about the kind of message this sends out to young, impressionable girls. The card not only equates being attractive to being unintelligent, but it also manages to make women look dumb and forgetful.

   

cover

inside

After some googling, I discovered a blog post made by a very concerned mother that read: “It is disrespectful to their predominantly female customers and perpetuating stereotype that’s already running rampant. There’s absolutely no justification for equating one’s appearance with one’s ability — not even a “joke.” I couldn’t agree more. It is always the assumption that women are not capable of being intellectually equal to men. Blatantly stereotypical products like these only add to the problem.

Even though studies are proving that little girls are just as competent in mathematics as boys, and women who are both attractive and smart are graduating at the top of their class at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, messages like these just continue to maintain a false dichotomy between a woman’s appearance and her intelligence.

While J.C. Penney has discontinued their “I’m too pretty” shirts, Target has not removed their card from the shelves. Want to help advocate against gender stereotyping in the marketplace?

Tell them how you feel here: http://bit.ly/sWOnIX

Or call them: 1-800-440-0680