I thought this might be interesting to read about. It is a women’s issue and it seems to be a problem. I got the information below from here.
Stalking Facts and Information
10 Things You Need to Know About Stalking
1. Stalking is a crime.
Stalking is a course of conduct directed at a specific person that places a reasonable person in fear for her or his safety. It is against the law in every state. Stalking across state lines or in federal territories is illegal under federal law.
2. Many people are stalked.
1 in 12 twelve women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetimes. 1.4 million people are stalked every year in the United States.
3. Stalking can be very dangerous.
76 percent of women killed by their intimate partners were stalked by these partners before they were killed. All stalkers should be considered unpredictable and very dangerous.
4. Stalking is harmful and intrusive.
Stalking victims often lose time from work or never return to work, and some even relocate to regain a sense of safety. Many suffer from anxiety, insomnia, and severe depression as a result of being stalked.
5. Anyone can be stalked— not just celebrities.
The vast majority of stalking victims are ordinary people. Furthermore, most stalkers are not strangers, but are known by their victim.
6. Stalking can occur during a relationship, after a relationship, or in the absence of a relationship.
Stalking often begins during a relationship. Stalkers may keep the victim under surveillance or threaten her or him. Others begin stalking after the victim has ended the relationship, and the stalker feels desperate to maintain or regain control. Still others become fixated on a victim without ever having had any relationship with the person. All forms of stalking are unpredictable, and all should be considered dangerous.
7. Technology can be used to stalk.
Although newly-developed technology enhances our lives, it can also empower criminals. Cell phones, computers, and surveillance equipment are just some of the technologies stalkers now use.
8. An effective response to stalking includes the entire community.
Police, prosecutors, advocates, educators, reporters, neighbors … everyone can and should play a part in stopping stalking. Working together, we can make victims safer.
9. You can make a difference.
Visit www.ncvc.org/src to learn more about stalking and how to fight it.
10. Help is available.
If you or someone you know is being stalked, call 1-800-FYI-CALL for assistance.000 M Street, NW Suite 480, Washington, DC 20036, Tel. 202-467-8700, 1-800-FYI-CALL / TTY: 1-800-211-7996, www.ncvc.org,
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by the National Center for Victims of Crime. This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice.
If Your Or Someone You Know Is Being Stalked
If You Are Stalked
These are common reactions to being stalked. You are not to blame for a stalker’s behavior. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. These are common reactions to being stalked. Stalking is a crime.
These are common reactions to being stalked. You might:
• Feel fear of what the stalker will do.
• Feel vulnerable, unsafe, and not know who to trust.
• Feel nervous, irritable, impatient, or on edge.
• Feel depressed, hopeless, overwhelmed, tearful, or angry.
• Feel stressed, including having trouble concentrating, sleeping, or remembering things.
• Have eating problems, such as appetite loss, forgetting to eat, or overeating.
• Have flashbacks, disturbing thoughts, feelings, or memories.
• Feel confused, frustrated, or isolated because other people don’t understand why you are afraid.
If Someone You Know is Being Stalked, You Can Help
Listen. Show support. Don’t blame the victim for the crime. Remember that every situation is different, and allow the person being stalked to make choices about how to handle it. Find someone you can talk to about the situation. Take steps to ensure your own safety. For more ideas on how you can help, call 1-800-FYI-CALL.
Stalking is unpredictable and dangerous. No two stalking situations are alike. There are no guarantees that what works for one person will work for another, yet you can take steps to increase your safety.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Trust your instincts. Don’t downplay the danger. If you feel you are unsafe, you probably are. Take threats seriously. Danger generally is higher when the stalker talks about suicide or murder, or when a victim tries to leave or end the relationship.
Contact a crisis hotline, victim services agency, or a domestic violence or rape crisis program. They can help you devise a safety plan, give you information about local laws, refer you to other services, and weigh options such as seeking a protection order. Develop a safety plan, including things like changing your routine, arranging a place to stay, and having a friend or relative go places with you. Also, decide in advance what to do if the stalker shows up at your home, work, school, or somewhere else. Tell people how they can help you.
Don’t communicate with the stalker or respond to attempts to contact you. Keep evidence of the stalking. When the stalker follows you or contacts you, write down the time, date, and place. Keep e-mails, phone messages, letters, or notes. Photograph anything of yours the stalker damages and any injuries the stalker causes.
Ask witnesses to write down what they saw. Contact the police. Every state has stalking laws. The stalker may also have broken other laws by doing things like assaulting you or stealing or destroying your property. Consider getting a court order that tells the stalker to stay away from you.
Tell family, friends, roommates, and co-workers about the stalking and seek their support. Tell security staff at your job or school. Ask them to help watch out for your safety. Stalking is a series of actions that make you feel afraid or in danger. Stalking is serious, often violent, and can
escalate over time.
A stalker can be someone you know well or not at all. Most have dated or been involved with the people they stalk. About 75 percent of stalking cases are men stalking women, but men do stalk men, women do stalk women, and women do stalk men.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by the National Center for Victims of Crime. This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice.
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
On Being A Punk Woman
The article below was written by Jeannie Gynarchy and can be found here.
On Being A Punk Woman
It sucks to be a punk woman. Yeah I’m sure you’ve heard that one before. But for reals, it fucking blows. Most, if not all, record stores are male-oriented. They only have a limited selection of female punk bands. Not that male punk is bad at all, but there are so many good female bands that are hard to get a hold of. It becomes virtually impossible to buy girl punk unless we want to hassle with mailorder labels and distros, which is a pain in the ass.
It’s also hard to find clothes that fit right because we have to wear men’s pants (that is if we want to) and men’s shirts unless we want to wear baby tees and dresses. Not too long ago I bought a handmade bondage skirt and when I put it on the shape was so odd, come to find out a guy made the skirt and obviously didn’t have a woman around to try it on. It was so awkward I had to cut it to fit my body. Look at t-shirts, most are made of 100% cotton, which means they don’t stretch like baby tees do. Regular t-shirts look odd on women with large breasts because the front is considerably higher than the back. Not like baby tees which stretch to fit the woman’s breasts. Even if we try to ignore it, women’s bodies are made completely different than men’s. Take a look at Dogpile bondage pants. The waist and hip is the same size, the legs are straight and thin. Now take for example, my body, having a smaller waist and larger hips, larger thighs and smaller calfs. Some parts of my pants are too big, some are too small. I just look retarded wearing them. Granted it’s my choice to shove my ass into these plaid pants. But, after deciding I really liked them and I really wanted them, I couldn’t pick the woman’s version made for my shape. Being a woman of the ‘90s and a lazy fuck I never learned to sew my own clothes so I guess I should learn to make my own clothes and quit bitching right? Yeah fuck you, make clothes that fit us.
Like many other punks, I write a zine. But we don’t interview the band of the day or call out posers and smash the state all at once. We write about women’s issues from a punk perspective. Sounds rad if you are a woman : feminazi dyke shit. If you’re a guy perhaps, but think of it this way, you might actually learn something. It’s hard for us to get our zine out because we are women and we deal with women’s issues so men are scared away like they might catch something from it. The only thing they will catch is a better understanding of women. But I guess that’s a bad thing. Printing, writing, interviewing, etc. is no problem for us, it’s just getting the zine out to people who are afraid of the content. If you don’t think it deals with you and yourself, think again. You might figure out that your girlfriend is tired of being the wind beneath your wings and wants to be a part of the scene directly, whether it’s a zine or a band or opening a shop or label, whatever. Maybe your girl is sick of being shoved back at shows, expected to sit on the sidelines while the boys act like boys. Here’s a little secret, she wants in the pit right along side you.
Along with my zine and a billion other wastes of time, I am a photographer. That means I go to shows for free and take a bunch of pictures so that bands coming through town can have their pretty little faces in the newspaper. You know how many times I’ve been asked for someort of background, like some previous band, actual pictures, what classes I’ve taken, who I even work for? Not once. All I do is flash a smile and I’m in. Pathetic isn’t it? Yeah maybe it’s easier for me now but fuck, I want to earn my photo pass and paycheck, not just smile at the tour manager and have my pass handed to me on a silver platter.
So I’ve spent all this time bitching about how my life as a punk rock girl sucks (boo hoo poor me) So how do we go about changing things so it doesn’t suck? Well there are a million and a half ways... There probably aren’t many female bands around unless you live in D.C. or Washington State. Simple solution : start your own band. We need more girl bands! Pick up a guitar or a set of drum sticks and knock out some good ol’ punk rock. If you have no musical talent, that doesn’t really matter because that’s what punk is all about. But seriously, if you puke in front of large crowds or you can’t sing to save your life, write a zine. Just what we all need, a new zine, eh? But fuck it, go ahead and do it anyways. Write about shit that pisses you off. Take action. Don’t let people knock you down cause you’re a woman, fight back! If you failed freshman English or you dropped out before that, you can always pick up a silkscreener or button maker. Make patches. Make clothes. Make pins. Make shirts for some local bands. Even though your name won’t be on every piece of work you do, you still made it. You get the benefit of seeing someone in a shirt you made and screaming “I MADE THAT!”. Get a job at the local record store and order some good girl bands to sell. You’d be amazed at how quickly it all sells. If you can’t get a job at a record shop, bug the hell out of the people that work there until they start carrying some girl punk records.
There are simpler ways of letting those silly punk boys know they aren’t the only big shots. Take a stab (metaphorically only, please) at the pit. Instead of hiding behind that hunk o’ burning love of yours, dive in and smash some skulls. It really doesn’t hurt after a while. Shove your way up front. Do it by yourself. Hang out with the other yummy yummy punk rock girls around. Form groups like Women for Direct Action or a riot grrrl chapter or a feminist discussion group if you want, some place where all you ladies can get together without the guys and have a good time.
OK so this didn’t go as well as I had hoped for, but I think I somewhat made my point. I know there are a lot of punk women who do all this shit and I am way down with that, but we need more of them. Everywhere. We can’t keep fighting along side the boys if we can’t even find a pair of pants that fit right.
On Being A Punk Woman
It sucks to be a punk woman. Yeah I’m sure you’ve heard that one before. But for reals, it fucking blows. Most, if not all, record stores are male-oriented. They only have a limited selection of female punk bands. Not that male punk is bad at all, but there are so many good female bands that are hard to get a hold of. It becomes virtually impossible to buy girl punk unless we want to hassle with mailorder labels and distros, which is a pain in the ass.
It’s also hard to find clothes that fit right because we have to wear men’s pants (that is if we want to) and men’s shirts unless we want to wear baby tees and dresses. Not too long ago I bought a handmade bondage skirt and when I put it on the shape was so odd, come to find out a guy made the skirt and obviously didn’t have a woman around to try it on. It was so awkward I had to cut it to fit my body. Look at t-shirts, most are made of 100% cotton, which means they don’t stretch like baby tees do. Regular t-shirts look odd on women with large breasts because the front is considerably higher than the back. Not like baby tees which stretch to fit the woman’s breasts. Even if we try to ignore it, women’s bodies are made completely different than men’s. Take a look at Dogpile bondage pants. The waist and hip is the same size, the legs are straight and thin. Now take for example, my body, having a smaller waist and larger hips, larger thighs and smaller calfs. Some parts of my pants are too big, some are too small. I just look retarded wearing them. Granted it’s my choice to shove my ass into these plaid pants. But, after deciding I really liked them and I really wanted them, I couldn’t pick the woman’s version made for my shape. Being a woman of the ‘90s and a lazy fuck I never learned to sew my own clothes so I guess I should learn to make my own clothes and quit bitching right? Yeah fuck you, make clothes that fit us.
Like many other punks, I write a zine. But we don’t interview the band of the day or call out posers and smash the state all at once. We write about women’s issues from a punk perspective. Sounds rad if you are a woman : feminazi dyke shit. If you’re a guy perhaps, but think of it this way, you might actually learn something. It’s hard for us to get our zine out because we are women and we deal with women’s issues so men are scared away like they might catch something from it. The only thing they will catch is a better understanding of women. But I guess that’s a bad thing. Printing, writing, interviewing, etc. is no problem for us, it’s just getting the zine out to people who are afraid of the content. If you don’t think it deals with you and yourself, think again. You might figure out that your girlfriend is tired of being the wind beneath your wings and wants to be a part of the scene directly, whether it’s a zine or a band or opening a shop or label, whatever. Maybe your girl is sick of being shoved back at shows, expected to sit on the sidelines while the boys act like boys. Here’s a little secret, she wants in the pit right along side you.
Along with my zine and a billion other wastes of time, I am a photographer. That means I go to shows for free and take a bunch of pictures so that bands coming through town can have their pretty little faces in the newspaper. You know how many times I’ve been asked for someort of background, like some previous band, actual pictures, what classes I’ve taken, who I even work for? Not once. All I do is flash a smile and I’m in. Pathetic isn’t it? Yeah maybe it’s easier for me now but fuck, I want to earn my photo pass and paycheck, not just smile at the tour manager and have my pass handed to me on a silver platter.
So I’ve spent all this time bitching about how my life as a punk rock girl sucks (boo hoo poor me) So how do we go about changing things so it doesn’t suck? Well there are a million and a half ways... There probably aren’t many female bands around unless you live in D.C. or Washington State. Simple solution : start your own band. We need more girl bands! Pick up a guitar or a set of drum sticks and knock out some good ol’ punk rock. If you have no musical talent, that doesn’t really matter because that’s what punk is all about. But seriously, if you puke in front of large crowds or you can’t sing to save your life, write a zine. Just what we all need, a new zine, eh? But fuck it, go ahead and do it anyways. Write about shit that pisses you off. Take action. Don’t let people knock you down cause you’re a woman, fight back! If you failed freshman English or you dropped out before that, you can always pick up a silkscreener or button maker. Make patches. Make clothes. Make pins. Make shirts for some local bands. Even though your name won’t be on every piece of work you do, you still made it. You get the benefit of seeing someone in a shirt you made and screaming “I MADE THAT!”. Get a job at the local record store and order some good girl bands to sell. You’d be amazed at how quickly it all sells. If you can’t get a job at a record shop, bug the hell out of the people that work there until they start carrying some girl punk records.
There are simpler ways of letting those silly punk boys know they aren’t the only big shots. Take a stab (metaphorically only, please) at the pit. Instead of hiding behind that hunk o’ burning love of yours, dive in and smash some skulls. It really doesn’t hurt after a while. Shove your way up front. Do it by yourself. Hang out with the other yummy yummy punk rock girls around. Form groups like Women for Direct Action or a riot grrrl chapter or a feminist discussion group if you want, some place where all you ladies can get together without the guys and have a good time.
OK so this didn’t go as well as I had hoped for, but I think I somewhat made my point. I know there are a lot of punk women who do all this shit and I am way down with that, but we need more of them. Everywhere. We can’t keep fighting along side the boys if we can’t even find a pair of pants that fit right.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
DIY: Recognize Cervical Cancer Symptoms
How to Recognize Cervical Cancer Symptoms
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
All women are at risk for cervical cancer. Over 90% of all cervical cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). With regular screening tests and follow-up, cervical cancer is the easiest female cancer to prevent. It is also highly curable when detected and treated early. This article will help you recognize the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer.
Steps
- Know if you are at risk. Contracting HPV is not the only risk, other things can increase your chances of getting cervical cancer as well. They include:
- Not having routine Pap tests (also known as Pap smears).
- Not returning to see your doctor if you had an abnormal Pap test result.
- Having HIV.
- Smoking.
- Not having routine Pap tests (also known as Pap smears).
- Understand that cervical cancer does not cause signs and symptoms. However, there are signs and symptoms as the cancer advances. Look for:
- Unusual bleeding, such as bleeding after sex or between regular menstrual periods.
- Pain during urination.
- Pelvic pain not caused by menstruation.
- Unusual vaginal discharge.
- Unusual bleeding, such as bleeding after sex or between regular menstrual periods.
- See your doctor immediately if you experience any of the listed signs or symptoms.
Tips
- The vaccine, Gardasil, can prevent 4 types of HPV infections, including the infections that cause most cervical cancers.
- 6 out of 10 cervical cancers occur in women who have never received a Pap test or who have not had testing within the past five years.
- At minimum, half of all sexually active people will have HPV at some time in their lives.
- There are steps you can take to lower your risk of contracting HPV.
- Practice abstinence.
- Use a condom.
- Limit your number of sex partners.
- Choose your sex partners wisely.
- Maintain a mutually monogamous relationship with someone who has had few sex partners, and who has been tested and found to be free of HPV or other STDs.
- Practice abstinence.
Warnings
- The Gardasil vaccine does not protect against all cancer causing types of HPV.
Sources and Citations
- http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/gynecologic/gyn_overview.htm
- http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/
- http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/basic_info/
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Recognize Cervical Cancer Symptoms. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
prepared by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the
earth a position different from that which they have hitherto
occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature's God
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires
that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a
course.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are
instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse
allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new
government, laying its foundation on such principles, and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence indeed, will
dictate that governments long established should not be changed for
light and transient causes and accordingly all experience hath
shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they were accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design
to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw
off such government, and to provide new guards for their future
security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under
this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains
them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled.
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and
usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove
this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the
elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which
she had no voice.
He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most
ignorant and degraded men--both natives and foreigners.
Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective
franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls
of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.
He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.
He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she
earns.
He has made her, morally, an irresponsible being, as she can commit
many crimes with impunity, provided they be done in the presence of
her husband. In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to
promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and
purposes, her master--the law giving him power to deprive her of
her liberty, and to administer chastisement.
He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what shall be the
proper causes, and in case of separation, to whom the guardianship
of the children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the
happiness of women--the law, in all cases, going upon a false
supposition of the supremacy of man, and giving all power into his
hands.
After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single,
and the owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government
which recognizes her only when her property can be de profitable to
it.
He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from
those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty
remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and
distinction which he considers most honorable to himself. As a
teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known.
He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough
education, all colleges being closed against her.
He allows her in Church, as well as State, but a subordinate
position, claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the
ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation
in the affairs of the Church.
He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a
different code of morals for men and women, by which moral
delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only
tolerated, but deemed of little account in man.
He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as
his right to assign for a sphere of action, when that belongs to
conscience and to her God.
He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her
confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to
make willing to lead a dependent and abject life. Now, in view of
this entire disfranchisement one-half the people of this country,
their social and religious degradation--in view of the unjust laws
above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved,
oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights,
we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and
privileges which long to them as citizens of the United States.
In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small
amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we
shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our
object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the
State and National legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit
and the press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be
followed by a series of Conventions embracing every part of the
country.
(Lucretia Mott, Thomas and Mary Ann McClintock, Amy Post, Catharine
A. F. Stebbins, and others, discussed these resolutions, which were
later adopted.)
WHEREAS, The great precept of nature is conceded to be, that "man
shall pursue his own true and substantial happiness." Blackstone in
his Commentaries remarks, that this law of Nature being coeval with
mankind, and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in
obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all
countries and at all times; no human laws are of any validity if
contrary to this, and such of them as are valid, derive all their
force, and all their validity, and all their authority, mediately
and immediately, from this original; therefore,
Resolved, That such laws as conflict, in any way, with the true and
substantial happiness of woman, are contrary to the great precept
of nature and of no validity, for this is "superior in obligation
to any other."
Resolved, That all laws which prevent woman from occupying such a
station in society as her conscience shall dictate, or which place
her in a position inferior to that of man, are contrary to the
great precept of nature, and therefore of no force or authority.
Resolved, That woman is man's equal--was intended to be so by the
Creator, and the highest good of the race demands that she should
be recognized as such.
Resolved, That the women of this country ought to be enlightened in
regard to the laws under which they live, that they may no longer
publish their degradation by declaring themselves satisfied with
their present position, nor their ignorance, by asserting that they
have all the rights they want.
Resolved, That inasmuch as man, while claiming for himself
intellectual superiority, does accord to woman moral superiority,
it is pre-eminently his duty to encourage her to speak and teach,
as she has an opportunity, in all religious assemblies .
Resolved, That the same amount of virtue, delicacy, and refinement
of behavior that is required of woman in the social state, should
also be required of man, and the same transgressions should be
visited with equal severity on both
man and woman.
Resolved, That the objection of indelicacy and impropriety, which
is so often brought against woman when she addresses a public
audience, comes with a very ill-grace from those who encourage, by
their attendance, her appearance on the stage, in the concert, or
in feats of the circus.
Resolved, That woman has too long rested satisfied in the
circumscribed limits which corrupt customs and a perverted
application of the scriptures have marked out for her, and that it
is time she should move in the enlarged sphere which her great
Creator has assigned her.
Resolved, That it is the duty of the women of this country to
secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.
Resolved, That the equality of human rights results necessarily
from the fact of the identity of the race in capabilities and
responsibilities.
Resolved, therefore, That, being invested by the Creator with the
same capabilities, and the same consciousness of responsibility for
their exercise, it is demonstrably the right and duty of woman,
equally with man, to promote every righteous cause by every
righteous means, and especially in regard to the great subjects of
morals and religion, it is self-evidently her right to participate
with her brother in teaching them, I both in private and in public,
by writing and by speaking, by any instrumentalities proper to be
used, and m any assemblies proper to be held; and this being a
self-evident truth growing out of the divinely implanted principles
of human nature, any custom or authority adverse to it, whether
modern or wearing the hoary sanction of antiquity, is to be
regarded as a self-evident falsehood, and at war with mankind
Resolved, That the speedy success of our cause depends upon the
zealous and untiring efforts of both men and women, for the
overthrow of the monopoly of the pulpit, and for the securing to
woman an equal participation with men in the various trades,
professions, and commerce.
Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
prepared by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the
earth a position different from that which they have hitherto
occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature's God
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires
that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a
course.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are
instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse
allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new
government, laying its foundation on such principles, and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence indeed, will
dictate that governments long established should not be changed for
light and transient causes and accordingly all experience hath
shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they were accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design
to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw
off such government, and to provide new guards for their future
security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under
this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains
them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled.
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and
usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove
this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the
elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which
she had no voice.
He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most
ignorant and degraded men--both natives and foreigners.
Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective
franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls
of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.
He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.
He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she
earns.
He has made her, morally, an irresponsible being, as she can commit
many crimes with impunity, provided they be done in the presence of
her husband. In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to
promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and
purposes, her master--the law giving him power to deprive her of
her liberty, and to administer chastisement.
He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what shall be the
proper causes, and in case of separation, to whom the guardianship
of the children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the
happiness of women--the law, in all cases, going upon a false
supposition of the supremacy of man, and giving all power into his
hands.
After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single,
and the owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government
which recognizes her only when her property can be de profitable to
it.
He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from
those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty
remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and
distinction which he considers most honorable to himself. As a
teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known.
He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough
education, all colleges being closed against her.
He allows her in Church, as well as State, but a subordinate
position, claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the
ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation
in the affairs of the Church.
He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a
different code of morals for men and women, by which moral
delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only
tolerated, but deemed of little account in man.
He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as
his right to assign for a sphere of action, when that belongs to
conscience and to her God.
He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her
confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to
make willing to lead a dependent and abject life. Now, in view of
this entire disfranchisement one-half the people of this country,
their social and religious degradation--in view of the unjust laws
above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved,
oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights,
we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and
privileges which long to them as citizens of the United States.
In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small
amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we
shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our
object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the
State and National legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit
and the press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be
followed by a series of Conventions embracing every part of the
country.
(Lucretia Mott, Thomas and Mary Ann McClintock, Amy Post, Catharine
A. F. Stebbins, and others, discussed these resolutions, which were
later adopted.)
WHEREAS, The great precept of nature is conceded to be, that "man
shall pursue his own true and substantial happiness." Blackstone in
his Commentaries remarks, that this law of Nature being coeval with
mankind, and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in
obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all
countries and at all times; no human laws are of any validity if
contrary to this, and such of them as are valid, derive all their
force, and all their validity, and all their authority, mediately
and immediately, from this original; therefore,
Resolved, That such laws as conflict, in any way, with the true and
substantial happiness of woman, are contrary to the great precept
of nature and of no validity, for this is "superior in obligation
to any other."
Resolved, That all laws which prevent woman from occupying such a
station in society as her conscience shall dictate, or which place
her in a position inferior to that of man, are contrary to the
great precept of nature, and therefore of no force or authority.
Resolved, That woman is man's equal--was intended to be so by the
Creator, and the highest good of the race demands that she should
be recognized as such.
Resolved, That the women of this country ought to be enlightened in
regard to the laws under which they live, that they may no longer
publish their degradation by declaring themselves satisfied with
their present position, nor their ignorance, by asserting that they
have all the rights they want.
Resolved, That inasmuch as man, while claiming for himself
intellectual superiority, does accord to woman moral superiority,
it is pre-eminently his duty to encourage her to speak and teach,
as she has an opportunity, in all religious assemblies .
Resolved, That the same amount of virtue, delicacy, and refinement
of behavior that is required of woman in the social state, should
also be required of man, and the same transgressions should be
visited with equal severity on both
man and woman.
Resolved, That the objection of indelicacy and impropriety, which
is so often brought against woman when she addresses a public
audience, comes with a very ill-grace from those who encourage, by
their attendance, her appearance on the stage, in the concert, or
in feats of the circus.
Resolved, That woman has too long rested satisfied in the
circumscribed limits which corrupt customs and a perverted
application of the scriptures have marked out for her, and that it
is time she should move in the enlarged sphere which her great
Creator has assigned her.
Resolved, That it is the duty of the women of this country to
secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.
Resolved, That the equality of human rights results necessarily
from the fact of the identity of the race in capabilities and
responsibilities.
Resolved, therefore, That, being invested by the Creator with the
same capabilities, and the same consciousness of responsibility for
their exercise, it is demonstrably the right and duty of woman,
equally with man, to promote every righteous cause by every
righteous means, and especially in regard to the great subjects of
morals and religion, it is self-evidently her right to participate
with her brother in teaching them, I both in private and in public,
by writing and by speaking, by any instrumentalities proper to be
used, and m any assemblies proper to be held; and this being a
self-evident truth growing out of the divinely implanted principles
of human nature, any custom or authority adverse to it, whether
modern or wearing the hoary sanction of antiquity, is to be
regarded as a self-evident falsehood, and at war with mankind
Resolved, That the speedy success of our cause depends upon the
zealous and untiring efforts of both men and women, for the
overthrow of the monopoly of the pulpit, and for the securing to
woman an equal participation with men in the various trades,
professions, and commerce.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
DIY: How To Defend Yourself
How to Defend Yourself
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
The difference between walking away and becoming tomorrow's newspaper headline is how well you are prepared to protect yourself in a bad situation. By keeping this information in mind you will know what can be done before and during an attack.
There are various types of confrontations:
- The 'wind-up', the argument before the fight erupts,
- The 'duel' an arranged meet to resolve a dispute between conflicting parties or the ambush.
- The brawl will usually be only after the verbal "woofing" has been exhausted and someone throws a punch.
- An ambush is usually premeditated and one or more assailants will attack when they feel the timing is right, usually after distracting the victim with a question e.g. "Have you got the time?".
Steps
Preparation
- Think about potential situations in which you will need to defend yourself. No two attacks are the exact same, so think about what you could do if attacked from different sides or in different situations (large numbers of people, alone, at night or at day, assailant is armed or not armed, size of assailant, assailant's intentions). By thinking about it beforehand, you will not be as likely to become shocked and panic during the real thing.
- Take a self-defense course. Actually being able to run through potential situations and consult with an expert will help you immensely. Try taking a form of martial arts.
Confrontations
- If you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, try to leave the situation. In an uncomfortable social situation, this can be as simple as firmly asserting yourself ("Back off right now!"). Take all verbal or directional paths to non-confrontation; actual physical confrontation should be your last line of defense, although sometimes it may be the only.
- Try to stay standing with a wide base, both left-to-right and back-to-front, so that your feet are diagonal from each other (a typical martial arts fighting stance). This will lessen your likelihood of getting knocked or pushed over.
- Assess your potential assailant: tall/short, stocky/thin, male/female. Look at their hands. If they were about to attack with their hands, they would have their hands out. However, if they are concealing a weapon, they will have them hidden or at their side.
- The best tactic in any confrontation is to RUN.
Preparing for a confrontation
One simple step to judge when a confrontation has passed the point of a verbal exchange is when the person starts to invade your personal space. To mark this, you put up a fence. A fence is simply putting your hands in front of you in a conciliatory/peaceful gesture (palms out). If the assailant tries to move past your fence, you are entering a physical confrontation - what other reason would they have for getting closer?. The general (but unpalatable) consensus at this point is you have to end the fight as quickly as possible by striking first, striking hard, and striking as many times as you can, then escaping. This goes against the oft quoted 'bushido' or warriors code and our innate civilised sensibilities, however not many assailants care for either of these.
Defending yourself from the front
- If the attacker is trying to punch you or grab you from the front, put your hands on your forehead in a "Not in the face!" sort of gesture and your arms tight on your body. This may look like a weak defensive position, but that is to your advantage since it brings your opponent's guard down. In addition, this position protects your face and your ribs, two places you'll likely want to protect.
- From your "Not in the face!" position, when you are close in on your assailant, lift your elbows into your opponent's lower ribs or right below his pectoral muscles. These are sensitive spots and can cause a lot of pain.
- If your assailant's upper body is far from you but you are still at risk (e.g. your opponent is choking you), attack their legs. This is especially effective on larger attackers because the bigger he/she is, the more stress he/she has on his/her legs and knees. Do not deliver a typical Karate Kid style kick; instead, kick his/her shins soccer-style (with the instep of your foot). This is a quick and painful kick. In addition, if his/her legs are close enough, lift your knees into their inner leg (femoral nerve), outer leg, knee, or groin. These will break down your attacker and may disable him/her, as only 12-16 pounds of pressure are needed to break a knee.
- If your opponent has his/her head in reaching distance (which is often the case when you attack his/her legs), you will want to attack it. Try to poke or press on the eyes, as no one can resist an eye poke no matter how big he/she is. Clapping on the ears can stun or, if done perfectly, breaks the eardrums. Striking the cheekbones can cause bruises or broken bones. Striking the nose causes nosebleeds and temporary blindness.
- In some cases you may also want to attack your attacker's neck (usually open when the head is). To effectively choke someone, do not do the typical Hollywood "hands around the entire neck," but instead just put your thumb and fingers around his/her trachea (especially easy to find on men with large Adam's apples). Also, right below his/her trachea is a notch in his/her neck. Dig, drive, and sink your fingers into this notch and they will experience intense pain and probably fall down.
Attacks from behind
- If an attacker tries to attack you from behind to choke you, press his/her forearm against your collarbone instead of trying to pull it directly off (which doesn't work well). Put one hand above his/her elbow (on the forearm) and one hand below it (so your hands are on both sides of the elbow). Then, in one strong and determined movement, step and swing your entire body around like the arm is the hinge to your body acting as a screen door. This will get you out of his/her choke and leave his/her head, ribs, and legs wide open to your counterattack. (Also note that, when your attacker is behind you, his/her shins are right behind your legs and primed for your stomping and raking.)
- If the attacker is trying to pick you up from behind, drop your hips quickly and violently as if you were plopping down on a love seat. This will make you harder to pick up and give you an extra moment to attack them and fend them off (stomp on their shins).
- If the attacker is trying to choke you by wrapping his arms around your neck, bring the ball of your foot forward, as if you just kicked a soccer ball, and fast and FORCEFULLY, slam it into the area of their leg between their ankle and mid-leg. This will, (if done hard enough) break their leg.
Other potential situations
- If you fall, try to fall on top of your attacker. While falling, keep the pointy parts of your body pointy (your knees and your elbows) and aim for your attacker's groin, ribs, and neck.
- If your attacker is wrestling with you on the ground and has you pinned under him/her, grab his/her body by unlocking his/her arm joints, or pin a hand to the ground. Then, put one leg firmly on the ground, push off of it, and swing your hips over. This will have you falling on top of your opponent, which should be done with a good amount of pointedness.
- If an attacker attacks with a weapon, know where the weapon is effective. If he/she has a knife, try to stay out of stabbing range, and if he/she has a gun, don't count out running and dodging left to right. Also, note that the attacker invests him/herself on that weapon and can leave him/herself open to grabbing/pinning the weapon hand or a different attack.
- If you get a chance to leave safely, go for it. Be sure that you're safe from your opponent when you decide to stop defending yourself.
Tips
- If someone is attacking you, you are right and the other person is wrong. Their motivation is probably wanting your money or possessions or body, while yours is self-preservation. This means that you can fight without rules, since your cause is "righteous". In all likelihood, there will be a point in time, somewhere between the knees to the groin, elbows to the ribs, and strikes to the nose, that whatever he/she wanted before isn't nearly as important as stopping the pain you're dishing out.
- In a self-defense situation, take a "not me" attitude: don't let yourself be the one they see in the paper the next morning. This starts before the fight, since experienced rapists and muggers will choose their victims not by what they are wearing or who they are, but how they act. If you are confident, you will not be the one they target.
- If you get the opportunity, talk with your friends about how one would defend one's self in a dangerous situation. If possible, run through potential situations and where to target on someone's body and what seems to work and what doesn't.
- If you think that you may be entering "a bad neighborhood" or any place where an attack could possibly happen, keep some pepper spray with you. This could be an invaluable lifesaver. Never keep a potentially lethal weapon such as a firearm or a knife with you as you may turn a mugging into a fight to the death, especially if the assailant is armed.
- Threatening an assailant with a weapon like a knife or firearm is a bad idea unless you fear for your life. It is not worth going to jail for murder, manslaugter or getting killed over your wallet. Remember, the assailant is most probably stronger and more experienced in fighting than you or he would not have chosen you.
- If this is any sort of domestic situation, you may be wondering at what point it becomes bad enough to warrant you defending yourself. By legal standards, any unwarranted contact is an assault. It doesn't matter if he/she "only" pushed you, it's still an assault, can still be dangerous, and you still deserve to defend yourself.
Warnings
- Don't get in fights over trivial things like disagreements in a bar about beer/girls/sports teams. Be the bigger person and walk away. You're better than that.
- Don't comply with someone who has you under duress (in other words, if the attacker says, "Get in the car," don't get in the car. The attacker wants to move you probably because he/she doesn't want to do what he/she intends to do in your current situation. You have a much better chance of surviving if you resist as soon as possible, however, if you do not escape at that moment, the attacker will probably kill you and take the keys.
- In many cases, you can end the situation immediately by giving the attacker your wallet. This is a logical choice, especially if at knife- or gunpoint. Your life is worth much more than the cash and cards you have on you. toss the wallet away from you and run.
- This plan does not cover every situation, but it's rather a brief overview of what you can expect. By no means are you completely safe; however, after reading and understanding this you have a better mindset if a situation does arise. Above all, remember that you are right and you can decide if you're not going to be the victim.
- Only carry a weapon if you have sufficient training to use it legally and effectively.
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Defend Yourself. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
What You Can Do With A Women's Studies Degree
Transform The World
by Nikki Anyanna Stewart
a) Become the first woman president of Harvard University
b) Win a Rhodes Scholarship to study sexual civil rights
c) Advocate for domestic-violence survivors while starring on TV’s Survivor
d) Teach the next generation
e) All of the above, and more
It's a typical question from parents, fellow students and even faculty: What can you do with your college degree? In an era of conservative impediments to progressive liberal arts education, a field such as women’s studies seems a particularly common target for that query.
Recently, we have had at least one excellent role model to point to: Drew Gilpin Faust, the first woman president of Harvard. She may have earned her Ph.D. in American civilization, but she was formerly chair of the women’s studies program at the University of Pennsylvania and founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Under her leadership, Radcliffe—Harvard’s former women’s college—has become an interdisciplinary research center supporting “transformative works,” with a special commitment to studying women, gender and society. In a simlar fashion, many women’s studies majors tend to intermix their fields of concentration in order to craft distinctive careers aimed at transforming our world.
How many women’s studies grads are we talking about? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2003–2004 academic year U.S. institutions of higher education granted 1,024 bachelor’s degrees, 135 master’s degrees and five doctoral degrees in women’s studies. These statistics, however, are suspect, given that the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) has documented 750 active undergraduate and graduate women’s studies programs in U.S. colleges and universities.
“It is very difficult to get a picture of women’s studies as a field,” says Allison Kimmich, executive director of the NWSA and a Ph.D. in women’s studies from Emory University, “particularly the number of graduates now out in the workforce and the kinds of career paths those graduates have taken. Women’s studies has not historically collected that data on itself.” A clearer picture of women’s studies programs should begin to emerge, however, as NWSA has embarked on a Ford Foundation-funded project to map women’s and gender studies in the U.S. In the future, the association hopes to collect data on graduates’ career paths.
Earlier studies of women’s studies graduates, such as that by Barbara F. Luebke and Mary Ellen Reilly in their 1995 book, Women’s Studies Graduates: The First Generation (Teachers College Press), were similarly concerned with documenting the value of such degrees. They found that the fact that women’s studies majors and graduates were persistently asked what could be done with their degrees reflected a continuing ignorance about women’s studies as an academic discipline. In their study, Luebke and Reilly were also able to document a unique set of skills learned through women’s studies programs: empowerment, self-confidence, critical thinking, building community, and understanding differences and intersections among racism, homophobia, sexism, classism, ableism, anti-Semitism and other types of oppression.
Moya Bailey, a B.A. in comparative women’s studies at Spelman College (the first historically black U.S. college to offer a women’s studies major) and now a Ph.D. student in women’s studies at Emory University, has already been able to use some of her women’s studies skills in community action. While at Spelman, Bailey participated in “The Nelly Protest,” a nationally publicized demonstration against misogyny in hip-hop music and videos.
That and other protest actions were so meaningful to her that, as a doctoral student at Emory, she has studied how “intentional communi-ties”— like the nurturing spaces often created by women’s studies programs— assist marginalized groups to develop much-needed critical and political perspectives. Within 10 years, she hopes to be teaching women’s studies at a historically black college or university, “adding gender, class and sexuality as important pieces of the conversation within an African American community context.”
Similarly, Harvard undergraduate Ryan Thoreson hopes to develop a career focused on the intersection of multiple concerns. As a dual major in government and women/gender/sexuality studies, Thoreson believes that women’s studies will enrich his planned practice of international sexual civil-rights law. “In my government courses I learned about political theory, but I found the political theory I learned in my women’s studies curriculum to be much more broadly applicable,” says Thoreson, a Rhodes Scholarship winner. “If I had only majored in government, I would not come to legal and policy questions as thoughtfully, wanting to understand the social and cultural context of groups affected by the law.”
Maria Bevacqua, associate professor and chair of the Department of Women’s Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato, believes that women’s studies has carved out a niche in the area of applied theory and practice. Like many programs, Mankato’s women’s studies curriculum includes internships in feminist organizations and collective action projects for course credit. Bevacqua —who has her own women’s studies Ph.D. from Emory—has seen her program’s graduates do everything from working in human service agencies to opening feminist businesses. Moreover, women’s studies graduates act as “ambassadors of feminism, bringing the women’s studies perspective into the rest of the world.”
Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding di-rector of the Women’s Research and Resource Center and professor of women’s studies at Spelman, has increasingly seen students take women’s studies into the public sphere. “In the early years, women’s studies graduates tended to work on gender-specific issues, getting jobs in battered-women’s shelters and rape crisis centers,” she says. “But more and more we have students going into public health, international policy, journalism, electoral politics, film-making, K-12 education and other careers that allow them to effect large-scale change.”
Guy-Sheftall has also seen students increasingly desire to be public intellectuals and media producers, so much so that Spelman has incorporated digital media production into its women’s studies curriculum. “I think we are going to see many more women’s studies graduates going into film and television, and many of our students already produce documentaries— even if they choose to do something else as a career.”
Deborah Siegel, author of the forth-coming book Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild, has noticed the same thing. She observes that in the 1970s, “women’s studies was about bridging the divide between scholarship and activism. This current generation is bridging scholarship, activism and media.”
Becky Lee is representative of this new generation. After acquiring a B.A. in women’s studies from the University of Michigan in 2000, Lee went on to law school and then worked as an advocate for domestic-violence survivors. While doing this work, she was approached to audition for the popular reality TV show Survivor. Thinking it could serve as a good platform for her cause, she joined the cast, and while she found that most of her statements on domestic violence got left on the editing floor, she has used the Survivor experience to expand her advocacy.
“I came in third and used my $75,000 prize to found a fund for domestic-violence prevention with a special focus on immigrant women from marginalized communities,” she says. “Now when I make public appearances for the show, I talk about the fund as a way to raise the issue of domestic violence for mainstream audiences.”
So what can you do with a degree in women’s studies? Perhaps transform enough minds through feminist education that this question is no longer asked.
by Nikki Anyanna Stewart
a) Become the first woman president of Harvard University
b) Win a Rhodes Scholarship to study sexual civil rights
c) Advocate for domestic-violence survivors while starring on TV’s Survivor
d) Teach the next generation
e) All of the above, and more
It's a typical question from parents, fellow students and even faculty: What can you do with your college degree? In an era of conservative impediments to progressive liberal arts education, a field such as women’s studies seems a particularly common target for that query.
Recently, we have had at least one excellent role model to point to: Drew Gilpin Faust, the first woman president of Harvard. She may have earned her Ph.D. in American civilization, but she was formerly chair of the women’s studies program at the University of Pennsylvania and founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Under her leadership, Radcliffe—Harvard’s former women’s college—has become an interdisciplinary research center supporting “transformative works,” with a special commitment to studying women, gender and society. In a simlar fashion, many women’s studies majors tend to intermix their fields of concentration in order to craft distinctive careers aimed at transforming our world.
How many women’s studies grads are we talking about? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2003–2004 academic year U.S. institutions of higher education granted 1,024 bachelor’s degrees, 135 master’s degrees and five doctoral degrees in women’s studies. These statistics, however, are suspect, given that the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) has documented 750 active undergraduate and graduate women’s studies programs in U.S. colleges and universities.
“It is very difficult to get a picture of women’s studies as a field,” says Allison Kimmich, executive director of the NWSA and a Ph.D. in women’s studies from Emory University, “particularly the number of graduates now out in the workforce and the kinds of career paths those graduates have taken. Women’s studies has not historically collected that data on itself.” A clearer picture of women’s studies programs should begin to emerge, however, as NWSA has embarked on a Ford Foundation-funded project to map women’s and gender studies in the U.S. In the future, the association hopes to collect data on graduates’ career paths.
Earlier studies of women’s studies graduates, such as that by Barbara F. Luebke and Mary Ellen Reilly in their 1995 book, Women’s Studies Graduates: The First Generation (Teachers College Press), were similarly concerned with documenting the value of such degrees. They found that the fact that women’s studies majors and graduates were persistently asked what could be done with their degrees reflected a continuing ignorance about women’s studies as an academic discipline. In their study, Luebke and Reilly were also able to document a unique set of skills learned through women’s studies programs: empowerment, self-confidence, critical thinking, building community, and understanding differences and intersections among racism, homophobia, sexism, classism, ableism, anti-Semitism and other types of oppression.
Moya Bailey, a B.A. in comparative women’s studies at Spelman College (the first historically black U.S. college to offer a women’s studies major) and now a Ph.D. student in women’s studies at Emory University, has already been able to use some of her women’s studies skills in community action. While at Spelman, Bailey participated in “The Nelly Protest,” a nationally publicized demonstration against misogyny in hip-hop music and videos.
That and other protest actions were so meaningful to her that, as a doctoral student at Emory, she has studied how “intentional communi-ties”— like the nurturing spaces often created by women’s studies programs— assist marginalized groups to develop much-needed critical and political perspectives. Within 10 years, she hopes to be teaching women’s studies at a historically black college or university, “adding gender, class and sexuality as important pieces of the conversation within an African American community context.”
Similarly, Harvard undergraduate Ryan Thoreson hopes to develop a career focused on the intersection of multiple concerns. As a dual major in government and women/gender/sexuality studies, Thoreson believes that women’s studies will enrich his planned practice of international sexual civil-rights law. “In my government courses I learned about political theory, but I found the political theory I learned in my women’s studies curriculum to be much more broadly applicable,” says Thoreson, a Rhodes Scholarship winner. “If I had only majored in government, I would not come to legal and policy questions as thoughtfully, wanting to understand the social and cultural context of groups affected by the law.”
Maria Bevacqua, associate professor and chair of the Department of Women’s Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato, believes that women’s studies has carved out a niche in the area of applied theory and practice. Like many programs, Mankato’s women’s studies curriculum includes internships in feminist organizations and collective action projects for course credit. Bevacqua —who has her own women’s studies Ph.D. from Emory—has seen her program’s graduates do everything from working in human service agencies to opening feminist businesses. Moreover, women’s studies graduates act as “ambassadors of feminism, bringing the women’s studies perspective into the rest of the world.”
Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding di-rector of the Women’s Research and Resource Center and professor of women’s studies at Spelman, has increasingly seen students take women’s studies into the public sphere. “In the early years, women’s studies graduates tended to work on gender-specific issues, getting jobs in battered-women’s shelters and rape crisis centers,” she says. “But more and more we have students going into public health, international policy, journalism, electoral politics, film-making, K-12 education and other careers that allow them to effect large-scale change.”
Guy-Sheftall has also seen students increasingly desire to be public intellectuals and media producers, so much so that Spelman has incorporated digital media production into its women’s studies curriculum. “I think we are going to see many more women’s studies graduates going into film and television, and many of our students already produce documentaries— even if they choose to do something else as a career.”
Deborah Siegel, author of the forth-coming book Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild, has noticed the same thing. She observes that in the 1970s, “women’s studies was about bridging the divide between scholarship and activism. This current generation is bridging scholarship, activism and media.”
Becky Lee is representative of this new generation. After acquiring a B.A. in women’s studies from the University of Michigan in 2000, Lee went on to law school and then worked as an advocate for domestic-violence survivors. While doing this work, she was approached to audition for the popular reality TV show Survivor. Thinking it could serve as a good platform for her cause, she joined the cast, and while she found that most of her statements on domestic violence got left on the editing floor, she has used the Survivor experience to expand her advocacy.
“I came in third and used my $75,000 prize to found a fund for domestic-violence prevention with a special focus on immigrant women from marginalized communities,” she says. “Now when I make public appearances for the show, I talk about the fund as a way to raise the issue of domestic violence for mainstream audiences.”
So what can you do with a degree in women’s studies? Perhaps transform enough minds through feminist education that this question is no longer asked.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Ain't I A Woman?
The article below was taken from here.
Written by: Sojourner Truth
Delivered 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio
Ain't I A Woman?
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of
kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North,
all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's
all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted
over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into
carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?
Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into
barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and
eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And
ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to
slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me!
And ain't I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member
of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with
women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours
holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure
full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as
men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did
your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down
all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it
right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to
say.
Written by: Sojourner Truth
Delivered 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio
Ain't I A Woman?
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of
kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North,
all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's
all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted
over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into
carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?
Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into
barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and
eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And
ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to
slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me!
And ain't I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member
of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with
women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours
holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure
full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as
men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did
your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down
all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it
right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to
say.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
DIY: How To Do A Breast Self Examination
How to Do a Breast Self Examination
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Breast cancer is the most common disease and the second leading cause of cancer death among women. This year more than 211,000 new cases of breast cancer are expected in the United States. Of this number, 1,600 will be men, and 400 are predicted to die from the disease. Seventy percent of all breast cancers are found through breast self-examination. When breast cancer is detected early the five-year survival rate is 96%. By performing the following self-examination steps, you may detect any changes in your breasts early.
Steps
In The Shower
- Fingers flat, move gently over every part of each breast. Use your right hand to examine left breast, and left hand for right breast.
- Check for any lump, hard knot or thickening.
- Carefully observe any changes in your breasts.
In Front of a Mirror
- Inspect your breasts with arms at your sides.
- Raise your arms high over your head. Look for any changes in the contour of each breast, such as a swelling, a dimpling of skin or changes in the nipple.
- Place your palms on your hips and press firmly to flex your chest muscles. Your left and right breasts will not exactly match - few women's breasts do.
Lying Down
- Place a pillow under your right shoulder, place your right arm behind your head.
- With fingers of left hand flat, press right breast gently in small circular motions, moving vertically or in a circular pattern covering the entire breast. Use light, medium and firm pressure.
- Squeeze nipple; check for discharge and lumps. Repeat these steps for your left breast.
Tips
- Breast tissue is found all the way from the nipple to under the armpit. Be sure not to neglect checking along the side of your chest, as well, as it is still, technically, part of your breast.
- If you are wondering what to include in an early detection plan, here are some tips.
- Do monthly breast self-exams starting at age 20.
- Have a breast exam at a medical facility every three years from age 20 to 39 and every year from age 40.
- Have a baseline mammogram by age 40.
- Depending on the results of the mammogram, women 40 to 49 should have one every 1 -2 years.
- Women 50 and older should have a mammogram every year.
- Keep a record of your self examinations, mammograms and doctor visits.
- Do monthly breast self-exams starting at age 20.
Other checks for women
- The other part of the body women must check is their outer genital area. It is as just as easy as examining the breasts. This area is called the vulva and there is a such thing called vulvar cancer and to report any lumps, sores or anything which aren't feeling normal or right, to the doctor no matter how little it is. Another word for the vulva is the labia.
Treatments for vulvar cancer
- Biopsy
- Surgery to remove part/all of the vulva - This is called vulvectomy. Vulvectomy comes in different types, shown below
- Skinning vulvectomy - Removal of the top layers of the vulva only.
- Simple vulvectomy - Removal of the whole vulva only.
- Radical vulvectomy - Removal of the whole vulva, plus the lymph nodes on both sides of the groin
- Partial vulvectomy - Removal of part of the vulva/one side of the vulva only.
- Radiotherapy
- Chemotherapy
- Extensive female surgeries e.g. pelvic exenteration can sometimes include vulvectomy (vulva removal)
Warnings
- Breast cancer risk is higher among women who have a mother, aunt, sister or grandmother who was diagnosed before age 50.
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Do a Breast Self Examination. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
I'm Your Period
The following poem below was written on my myspace page. I thought it was a cute poem, so I thought I'd share it.
I'm Your Period
Calling to you when you're on the rag,
to light up another fag
In the candy store of the mall,
begging you to eat a red fire ball
See me sparkle like rubies leaked onto your floor,
at all the wrong times like when you're man's at the door
I'm your period! I'm your period!
Feel me making my way through your interior,
like an elephant riding a big old roller coaster
When you get strange urges keeping you up and feeling tight,
Mickey Rourke's entire cinematic career you watch in just one night
I'm your period, honey, your period!
Cause girl, you're a woman now and you sure know how
to a make a period proud!!
And oh how proud I am of you...
HAPPY PERIODING!
Love, your period
I'm Your Period
Calling to you when you're on the rag,
to light up another fag
In the candy store of the mall,
begging you to eat a red fire ball
See me sparkle like rubies leaked onto your floor,
at all the wrong times like when you're man's at the door
I'm your period! I'm your period!
Feel me making my way through your interior,
like an elephant riding a big old roller coaster
When you get strange urges keeping you up and feeling tight,
Mickey Rourke's entire cinematic career you watch in just one night
I'm your period, honey, your period!
Cause girl, you're a woman now and you sure know how
to a make a period proud!!
And oh how proud I am of you...
HAPPY PERIODING!
Love, your period
Friday, April 24, 2009
10 Simple Ideas To Empower Women
The following has been posted all over the internet, from websites to blogs, this has been all over the web.
10 Simple Ideas To Empower Women
As a woman, here are some simple tips and how men can help.
Value yourself, and relationships where you are an equal.
In any relationship, there is going to be give-and-take as situations and circumstances change, but you should also feel that, overall, your value in the partnership is equal to that of your partner's.
Learn how to own your voice and assert your opinions.
Pay attention to how women have been socialized to defer to men in conversations. For all you men, avoid interrupting, talking over, discrediting or dismissing a woman's opinion. Studies show that women are more frequently interrupted than men. Over the course of many conversations, they get the message that what they have to say is not necessarily as compelling or valued as what men have to say.
Identify words and language that communicate gender bias.
Make an effort to consciously change the language so it draws attention to areas where bias is apparent. Two places to look for gender bias include position titles that infer gender and school/employer policies that infer gender.
Speak up about sexist jokes or sexist images.
Promote sexual harassment policies in your workplace.
Focus on the person instead appearance.
To foster a healthier self-image, compliment yourself or other woman for achievements, thoughts, and actions.
Call attention to media deception.
Expose and understand unrealistic media images for what they are: retouched, computer-manipulated photos of models-a group that makes up only a tiny subset of the population.
Learn how to ask and negotiate for wages and raises.
Know the worth of your job. Education is your best defense. Research everything you can think of to find the competitive salary for your job in your region -- employment surveys, libraries, professional organizations, peers. For a raise, you need evidence to show your boss that you deserve it. One way to document your contribution to your company is to keep a job diary. Every week, or even every day, write down what you did and how it helped meet the company's objectives. Keep lists or spreadsheets, because managers like to count things. Remember that attributes such as positive attitude, willingness to put in overtime, and quality of work, are essential. Include a few good stories about your work in the diary to illustrate what you added.
Think about, plan and prepare for career advancement.
Mentors are a great asset. If your company doesn't offer clear career ladders, research or find a seminar to help you understand your industry and opportunities.
Encourage risk taking.
People develop self-reliance when they're given the space to solve problems and make mistakes in the process.
Know and be able to manage your finances.
Start saving for retirement immediately in a career - it will grow to much more than the same amount if you wait 10 years to start saving. And keep saving - Social Security doesn't provide the equivalent of a "living wage" for retirement years. Women statistically live about six years longer than men, and run a higher risk of living in poverty as they get older.
10 Simple Ideas To Empower Women
As a woman, here are some simple tips and how men can help.
Value yourself, and relationships where you are an equal.
In any relationship, there is going to be give-and-take as situations and circumstances change, but you should also feel that, overall, your value in the partnership is equal to that of your partner's.
Learn how to own your voice and assert your opinions.
Pay attention to how women have been socialized to defer to men in conversations. For all you men, avoid interrupting, talking over, discrediting or dismissing a woman's opinion. Studies show that women are more frequently interrupted than men. Over the course of many conversations, they get the message that what they have to say is not necessarily as compelling or valued as what men have to say.
Identify words and language that communicate gender bias.
Make an effort to consciously change the language so it draws attention to areas where bias is apparent. Two places to look for gender bias include position titles that infer gender and school/employer policies that infer gender.
Speak up about sexist jokes or sexist images.
Promote sexual harassment policies in your workplace.
Focus on the person instead appearance.
To foster a healthier self-image, compliment yourself or other woman for achievements, thoughts, and actions.
Call attention to media deception.
Expose and understand unrealistic media images for what they are: retouched, computer-manipulated photos of models-a group that makes up only a tiny subset of the population.
Learn how to ask and negotiate for wages and raises.
Know the worth of your job. Education is your best defense. Research everything you can think of to find the competitive salary for your job in your region -- employment surveys, libraries, professional organizations, peers. For a raise, you need evidence to show your boss that you deserve it. One way to document your contribution to your company is to keep a job diary. Every week, or even every day, write down what you did and how it helped meet the company's objectives. Keep lists or spreadsheets, because managers like to count things. Remember that attributes such as positive attitude, willingness to put in overtime, and quality of work, are essential. Include a few good stories about your work in the diary to illustrate what you added.
Think about, plan and prepare for career advancement.
Mentors are a great asset. If your company doesn't offer clear career ladders, research or find a seminar to help you understand your industry and opportunities.
Encourage risk taking.
People develop self-reliance when they're given the space to solve problems and make mistakes in the process.
Know and be able to manage your finances.
Start saving for retirement immediately in a career - it will grow to much more than the same amount if you wait 10 years to start saving. And keep saving - Social Security doesn't provide the equivalent of a "living wage" for retirement years. Women statistically live about six years longer than men, and run a higher risk of living in poverty as they get older.
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