A Gender Reversal On Career Aspirations?

The Pew Research Center reported in April that young women now top young men in valuing a high-paying career:

“Two-thirds (66%) of young women ages 18 to 34 rate career high on their list of life priorities, compared with 59% of young men. In 1997, 56% of young women and 58% of young men felt the same way.”

This is great, but will there be careers awaiting these women after graduating from college? If not, that pans out to a lot of dissatisfied women.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/04/19/a-gender-reversal-on-career-aspirations/

So the NRSC came through for Rep. Todd Akin after all

The congressmen responsible for the infamous “legitimate rape” remarks during the 2012 campaign against Claire McCaskill ended up benefiting from the Republican Party after their firing-squad like disavowal.

Late Thursday night, USA Today reported the NRSC “pumped $760,000 into the Show-Me State” in the closing days of the Senate contest.The NRSC money went to the Missouri Republican Party’s federal campaign committee in two installments of $360,000 and $400,000 each, on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, USA Today reported:

The state party reported paying almost exactly that amount — $756,000 — to Strategic Media Placement, an Ohio firm that Akin had used to buy his TV ad time, on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. The state party’s FEC report shows the funds were for “W. Todd Akin.”

Despite the last ditch effort, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) managed to defeat him by nearly 16 points.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/dems-slam-nrsc-for-underhanded-and-dishonest-dealings-with-todd-akin.php

Women! Surrender to your femininity and let men surrender to theirs.

So I found this oped by Suzanne Venker of FOX News particularly amusing. Here are the best parts:

“It’s all so unfortunate – for women, not men. Feminism serves men very well: they can have sex at hello and even live with their girlfriends with no responsibilities whatsoever.

It’s the women who lose. Not only are they saddled with the consequences of sex, by dismissing male nature they’re forever seeking a balanced life. The fact is, women need men’s linear career goals – they need men to pick up the slack at the office – in order to live the balanced life they seek.

So if men today are slackers, and if they’re retreating from marriage en masse, women should look in the mirror and ask themselves what role they’ve played to bring about this transformation.

Fortunately, there is good news: women have the power to turn everything around. All they have to do is surrender to their nature – their femininity – and let men surrender to theirs.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/24/war-on-men/#ixzz2EfvTytDc

Politics of Reality & Class Activity

The Politics of Reality makes a clear argument for the power of words on society. Our society’s definition of sex does not allow for the legitimacy of the lesbian relationship.

I paralleled this article to our class activity in the positions the three groups were placed in. While I was on the desk illuminated by the projector light, I was less talkative and at ease. When the roles were reversed and I was on ground level observing others on the desk, I realized I was in a position where I could scrutinize what the others wore and how they acted. After reading the article, I’m most struck by the separation the three groups felt simply by space.

As Lugones noted in her article Loving Perception (handed out in class), there was more room for arrogance instead of togetherness. Maria Lugones argues for our perception of each other to extend and towards one of love. She quotes Frye that asserts that the loving eye is “the eye of ones who knows that to know the seen one must consult something beyond one’s  own will, interests, fears, and imaginations. She defines love as a profound dependence on others without having to be subordinate, their slave, or their servant. The point that struck me the most was the juxtaposition between love and arrogance, and how we view minorities with more of the latter than the former. 

I’m proud to be a woman because…

Why are you proud to be a woman?

I’m proud to be a woman because my mother is a woman.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

I want to graduate and go to grad school, where I will study communications and public policy. Afterwards, I want to work for the Democratic Party on messaging public policy, particularly immigration.

Who is your favorite political woman candidate for the 2012 elections and why?

Tammy Baldwin. She ran a brilliant campaign, and I’m certain it isn’t always fun to be her. She managed to run an issues-centered campaign as an openly gay woman in Wisconsin and defeat a man with high name recognition. That’s impressive.

Fast Company

This article was in Fast Company this month. I was shocked how many key industries lack even one woman on their board of directors, and the gains they stand to make if they would change it.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3001764/empowered-women-hold-key-businesss-success

Malala Yousafzai

I was impressed by her courage and perseverance. I think this article is indicative of a larger trend going on in the Arab community. Civil uprisings have been occurring more often in the past 5 years, and I think over the next 20 years we will see theocratic governments of these nations begin to change their tactics with the new generation. Along with efforts like those of Greg Mortenson, education is the catalyst to advances in society.

On Sex Education and Latinas

Lisa brought up sex education and I started preaching on a tangent, so I’m making a post about it.

I’d say easier access to birth control would help to correct the larger part of a massive problem, but for any progress made to be sustained we need sex education that extends beyond abstinence and that it needs to be offered bilingually. For the largest minority in the U.S., Latinos, birth control isn’t the silver bullet with Latinas, it’s better sex education AND birth control.

I personally can attest to this in Latino culture. My father is 100 percent Mexican and a Pastor. I attended a Christian school through elementary and middle school. My mother’s attempt at sex education was taking me to a Cracker Barrel (for breakfast…appetite eliminated) and flipping through an illustrated book she borrowed from the church. My sex education was essentially reading a borrowed copy of Cosmopolitan magazine under the covers with a flashlight at night (PITY ME). Sex does not exist in the Latino household.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center Study,  Latino parents aren’t discussing sex or birth control. “Just over half of Latino youths (53 percent) report that their parents talked to them about sex when they were growing up. A smaller share—39 percent—report that their parents talked to them about birth control.” Young Hispanics are having about the same amount of sex as other kids their age, but for some reason Latinas end up pregnant far more often than other races and ethnicity. I draw a parallel between the lack of transparency surrounding sex and the 51 percent of Latinas that will become pregnant before the age of 21, and one-fourth (26 percent) of Hispanic females that will be mothers by the time they reach age 19. Now, luckily for me I’ve never been pregnant. If I had, I probably would not find myself among the 32 percent of Latinos that have attained some level of a college education.

In summary…easier access to  birth control is a fantastic stride, but bilingual sex education that extends beyond abstinence is vital in sustaining any progress we make. Also, Cosmo Magazine does not get enough credit. Yes, they preach a very nasty shade of lipstick feminism and the sex tips are often ill-advised…but they taught me how to use a condom 🙂

The Female Vote and the 2012 Presidential Election

That is quite a gap. This is taken from the Pew Research Center, but the better poll is at TPM which I couldn’t get to embed in this post.

Army Tests Body Armor Tailored For Female Soldiers

Summary:

Members of a female engagement team from the 101st Airborne Division deploying to Afghanistan will field test the first Army body armor that is shorter and better tailored specifically to fit women’s physiques. These women will be directly interacting with Afghan women during the coming deployment, and they have been equipped with the female prototypes of the newest generation of Army tactical vests.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=161385426