Posts by Gloria Feldt
Nobel Laureates Fight Sexual Assualt
My grandmother used to say: “The rich suffer too but they suffer in comfort.”
Apparently for the wealthy deposed IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, suffering in comfort won’t come easy. He has been denied the right to live in one comfortable NY apartment after another as a consequence of his alleged sexual assault upon a hotel maid.
Without making judgments about “DSK” who will soon enough have his day(s) in court, I take this shunning as a positive sign that the world is awakening to the dirty big secret of sexual abuse, which is almost always perpetrated by men against women they perceive as less powerful than themselves.
As further proof of this awakening, this week, Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, and Mairead Maguire are leading a conference to addresses sexual violence in conflict regions at the Nobel Women’s Initiative Conference. The conference is entitled Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict and includes over 120 leaders from around the world.
The highlight of the conference will be Thursday’s online day of action, which will seek to target governments and pressure them to give sexual violence the attention it deserves. The link provides several ways for women around the world to participate, and I would love to hear if any of you, Heartfeldt readers, take part.
I’m hoping that in light of the many kinds of sexual abuse, harassment, and just plain bad behavior that has dominated the media in the last few weeks, these influential Nobel Laureates will address a broader range of abuse issues than those that occur in areas of conflict, and will use their platform to connect the dots among the various ways sexual violence and harassment are used to maintain gender inequality.
You can also follow each day of this important event by following Feministe writer and author of Yes Means Yes, Jaclyn Friedman, as she live blogs about the event.
No one, rich or poor, should have to suffer the pain and indignity of sexual abuse.
Read MoreSex, Power, Irony, and Why Maria Shriver Will Be Back
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has put all his movie projects on hold, including one called “Cry Macho.”
Oh the irony of that title. Let me get him a hanky so Mr. Macho himself doesn’t douse those phallic cigars he puffs on with his tears.
There’s also a yummy irony in the fact that the woman who brought down this powerful man is near the bottom rung of social power, a household worker. Sexual hubris and belief in their own entitlement to whatever they want whenever they want it, including women’s bodies…Are these men like babies who think people can’t see them when they have blankets over their heads?
Read MoreFriday Roundup: April Was Sexual Abuse Awareness Month but May Brings It Front and Center
I’ll get to Arnold Schwarzenegger later. For now it’s enough simply to observe that over the past few weeks, the world has been cracked open to reveal–and we hope come to revile–the sexual hubris that has enabled so many men to feel entitled to power over women’s bodies. I’ve made the “power over” versus “power to” distinction in No Excuses. What more direct way to rob women of their power to?
There are many kinds and facets of sexual abuse and assault. This week’s roundup is a sampling of recent news about some of those facets. Why do I feel hopeful? Because now there are names for this abuse of power. Because when you name it you can fight it. Because young women know it’s wrong and they aren’t going to take it any more. That’s what’s cracking the world open. It’s not just the way things are any more.
IMF Head Arrested for Sexual Assault: What Happened, What it Means.
Military Veteran Opens Up About 1970s Sexual Assault.
Wear jeans for more than comfort.
Peace Corps-50 years, more than 1,000 rapes?
And let me end with a particularly heartwarming success story from Hollaback, an organization that fights street harassment around the world:
Back to Arnold…Nah, I’d really rather think about Maria Shriver, his wife.
Read MoreKate Swift Obit: The Language of Power and the Power of Language
Have you ever heard of Barbara Peabody Smith, who went by her nickname Kate? I hadn’t until I read her obituary last week. Her story is an inspiring reminder of how we can define our own terms. Defining terms by making language nonsexist changes everything–how people think and therefore how people act. Little wonder that this daughter of journalists understood the power of language. But what was groundbreaking about Smith’s life work is that she translated her understanding into the language of political power to secure gender equality laws in her home state.
Guest post by Rosalie Maggio reprinted with permission of the Women’s Media Center.
Award winning author and creator of WMC’s “Hot Button Words” series Rosalie Maggio recalls the journalist and activist who alerted the modern women’s movement to the dangers of sexist language.
Nonsexist-language pioneer Kate Swift, 87, died early Saturday morning after a brief encounter with abdominal cancer. Her generous legacy to the world includes her revolutionary influence on our language as well as her productive activism (she helped effect Connecticut’s marriage equality act, protect prochoice legislation, promote progressive candidates, protest the war on Iraq, and conserve the environment). She also leaves numerous admirers who all somehow numbered themselves among her closest and best friends.
Barbara Peabody Swift, always known as Kate, was born in 1923 to parents who were newspaper and magazine journalists, and she obtained her own journalism degree from the University of North Carolina in 1944. Thereafter, she worked as a newswriter, science writer for the Museum of Natural History, editor for the Army’s information and education department, public relations officer for the Girl Scouts of America, press liaison for the Hayden Planetarium, and, in 1965, director of the news bureau of the school of medicine at Yale.
Read MoreGraduation Round-up
Last week my husband and I had the parental gratification of cheering two daughters as they received Bachelor of Science in Nursing pins. The commencement speaker took as his theme their college’s tag line “Find your purpose.” It’s a lofty rhetorical exhortation and the newly minted nurses seemed inspired by it.
It also set me to thinking about the importance of taking the next step–after finding our purpose we must embrace our power to achieve it.
College graduates today are often most worried about very practical matters like whether they can find jobs of any kind, let along jobs that represent the fulfillment of their purpose. Fortunately, for that one graduation day, or at least for a few hours, they can immerse themselves in the joy of accomplishing something significant, and they can feel unlimited. My wish for them is to hold onto that feeling and actualize in their lives as they go forward.
My original title for the book that became No Excuses was in fact Unlimited. Because honestly I believe women are now–or can be–unlimited in every way. So this week’s roundup highlights commencement speeches that emphasize those messages. I’ll start with a few current and past here:
Megan Seely to Sierra College-2010
Gloria Steinmen to Smith College-2007
Ursula LeGuin to Mills College-1983
AAUW’s pick of best graduation speeches-2010
And since it’s still commencement week, would you please share below links to any speeches you hear–or hear of–that inspire you to be unlimited? I’ll add them to the post as they come in.
Read MoreEmerge Arizona Event
Phoenix, AZ Fri. 5/13 @ 6:00pm
Keynote and book signing, Emerge Arizona Event
“Power Unused, Power Useless” in Women’s Financial Choices, Says Jacki Zehner
Among the many impressive women I interviewed for No Excuses, Jacki Zehner stands out. The youngest woman and first female trader to become a partner at Goldman Sachs in 1996, Zehner is a founding partner of Circle Financial Group. She matches her business acumen and success with her strong commitment to philanthropy, including the Women’s Funding Network and Women Moving Millions groups that focus on women and girls.
But Jacki Zehner doesn’t stop with making and giving money; she’s on a mission to gain gender parity in the financial industry where women in leadership roles have traditionally been few, and to encourage women to invest their money in ways that help other women get a fair shake in the business world. We both spoke at the Women’s Funding Network conference in New York in April. I was honored when she subsequently quoted my belief that “power unused is power useless” in her blog.
I had a chance to talk with Zehner about her latest endeavors to advance women through financial power. Here’s what she had to say:
GF: Women have obviously always worked–whether at home or in the paid workforce, but our work has not always been valued accordingly. Now that we are 50% of the paid workforce, what are the most important one or two things women should do in your opinion to make sure their work is valued at the same financial level as men’s work, individually or collectively?
JZ: Though we are now over 50% of the workforce, we are still the vast majority in lower paid jobs without benefits and make on average only 80% of the male wage. Women at all economic levels have to become more active players to create a better collective financial future. How they can do that varies dramatically – from organizing locally to advocate for change, to funding organizations that fight for our rights in courts, to at the most senior level women CEOS and executives taking the lead in their organizations to finally, truly, drive for talented women to be represented in critical mass. (30%) We have power, we are just not fully using it. (No excuses…right Gloria??)
Read MoreAAUW Keynote
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Phoenix, AZ Tues. 5/10 @ 6 pm Keynote and booksigning AAUW Phoenix Chapter Beatitudes Campus |
Mother's Day Round-up
This week’s roundup not surprisingly centers on Mother’s Day. The links are to a small selection of posts I liked because each has a special take on honoring our mothers by living feminist values, proudly and with no excuses:
Viva la Feminista Gift Guide. Viva la Feminista. (Veronica Areola)
Mother’s Day should last all month. The Pink and Blue Diaries. (Deborah Siegel)
A Mother’s Day Gift: A future without violence. Ms. Magazine. (Carol King)
Make your Mom a star: send a customized video. Moms Rising.
“Its Her Choice”–Really? Heartfeldt Blog.(Ann Crittenden)
Have you written a special Mother’s Day post? Feel free to share the link in the comments section.
Have you read a Mother’s Day post that you particularly liked? Please share that too.
Read MoreGabourey Sidibe, Jane Fonda: Two Courageous Sisters Employ Every Medium
The Women’s Media Center Board and special guests. From left to right: Jodi Evans, Jewelle Bickford, Jane Fonda, Gabourey Sidibe, Julie Burton, me, Carol Jenkins, Robin Morgan, Marlo Thomas, Gloria Steinem, Jamia Wilson, Michaela Monaha.
Before she began her remarks at the podium, Jane Fonda pointed her digital camera at the 500 women and a few men packing the Paley Center auditorium on April 20th. We’d all paid somewhere between $50 and $5,000 to see D. A. Pennebaker’s 50-year old documentary Jane.
The film tracks Jane’s dismal flop in her first Broadway play at age 23. Afterward, we were to hear the actress discuss women’s self image with Precious star Gabourey Sidibe in a panel moderated by feminist star Gloria Steinem.
But first, Jane’s blog had to be fed, so she snapped her photo. She does her own blogging and a good bit of her own tweeting, and those social media are always hungry for content. I could relate. After posting at least daily during Women’s History Month, I have not been feeding my 9Ways blog properly. Today I begin anew with a promise to post at least twice a week so we can keep the conversation about women’s relationship with power that was started with the launch of No Excuses going.
But back to the evening’s program…Widely divergent in age and race, Jane and Gabourey found their key differences to be in their relationship with power, the locus of their power (inside versus looking outward for affirmation), and their concern about body image. Most notably, Gabby expressed love for herself whereas Jane still obsesses about her weight and appearance.
As Jane reported in her blog afterward: “Gabby was really amazing. I wish I had recorded some of the things she said. So wise and strong.”
The screening and panel discussion were a benefit for the Women’s Media Center, a nonprofit dedicated to making women visible and powerful in the media. Women currently make up only 16 percent of the expert “talking heads” on news and public affairs shows, and 3 percent of the top level positions that decide what the stories will be. I’m honored to serve on the WMC board to support women employing every medium to get their messages out and change those dismal statistics to 50/50.
What stories about women do you see in the media you watch or read?
How has the prevailing media narrative affected your self-image and sense of power?
I’m interested in your thoughts. Please share them here.
Read More