Wear jeans for more than comfort

By Gloria Feldt | April 27, 2011 |

 

Did you know that today you can turn your favorite pair of jeans into a powerful statement against sexual assault? That’s because today is Denim Day, part of the week-long Sexual Assault Week of Action being observed across the globe.

Denim Day was started in response to a 1998 Italian Parliament decision overturn a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans at the time of her assault. Believe it or not, the court’s official statement on the case read: “it is a fact of common experience that it is nearly impossible to slip off tight jeans even partly without the active collaboration of the person who is wearing them.”

It’s no wonder that the decision prompted an international movement. By the next year Denim Day was observed in California, and has grown to be a worldwide protest against victim blaming and rape apologism.

The movement is yet another example of the power of feminist activism. Visit the Change.org site to learn how you can get involved.

Be sure to check out the wonderful poet and musician Brooke Elise Axtell telling her personal story and why she is committed to nurturing healing through feminist leadership as she speaks on Fox TV in Austin TX.

 

 

 

 

I am wearing jeans, what about you?

 

 

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Book signing at Brazos Bookstore

By Gloria Feldt | April 26, 2011 |

On April 26th I returned to Houston’s Brazos Bookstore to read from No Excuses. I was lucky to also have a chance to sign copies and connect with those in attendance.

The coolest thing about this event was how it brought together disparate parts of my history…

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Equal Pay Day 2011: Are Republicans in Congress Trying to Make Women “Barefoot and Pregnant” Again?

By Gloria Feldt | April 12, 2011 |

Check out the fair pay flash mob on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:

Arkansas State Senator Paul Van Dalsem got a roaring laugh in 1963 at the then all-male Optimist Club when he railed at women from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) who were lobbying to improve educational opportunities. He said his home county’s solution would be to get an uppity woman an extra milk cow. “And if that’s not enough, we get her pregnant and keep her barefoot.”

Sounds quaint, doesn’t it? Not so much, though.

Fast forward please to April 11, 2011—the day designated as Equal Pay Day by the National committee on Pay Equity to call attention to the pay gap between men and women. Women currently make about 20% less than men even when the numbers are controlled for education and experience. In other words, the pay disparity does not stem from childbearing as is often assumed, but rather from deeper systemic biases that are reflected in women’s own lack of skills and confidence in negotiating for their pay and promotions.

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Going National: Health and Sexuality

By Gloria Feldt | April 10, 2011 |

New York, NY Sun. 4/10 @ 3:40 pm
Women’s Liberation & Jewish Identity: Uncovering a Legacy of Innovation, Activism, and Social Change
Panel Discussion on Going National: Health and Sexuality, with Paula Doress, Susan Brownmiller, and Ros Baxandall
The Goren-Goldstein Center for American Jewish History, New York University

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March Women’s History Madness: Thanks for a Month of Inspiring Guest Posts

By Gloria Feldt | April 8, 2011 |

I’ve been delighting as I’ve reviewed the rich and inspiring Women’s History Month guest posts here on 9 Ways and invite all 9 Ways readers to read or reread them to get the full spectrum.

Thank you Beverly Wettenstein, Kathy Groob, The Population Institute, Kathy Korman Frey, Anna North, Emily Jasper, Bonnie Marcus, Emmily Bristol, Deborah Siegel, Suzan St. Maur, Sara Messelaar, Liz O’Donnell, Linda Brodsky!

Read on and enjoy each tasty morsel…

A huge “thank you” shout out to each generous contributor–you know who you are, so please take a virtual bow.

Some of the guest posts give new insights about women you’ve heard of, while others tell stories of women neither famous nor infamous, but whose lives touched the writers in profound ways. Enjoy each tasty morsel of women’s history! And as always, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Or just check in to say “thanks” for a story that moved, inspired, or surprised you.

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