New President - New Chances for Women?

The Obama team have launched a new website, Change.gov, outlining their proposals and offering the American people a chance to have their say. Excellent! My inner sceptic is reminded of the UK version, allowing us to send online petitions to the government, which rarely seems to make much impact, but here's hoping that it's more than just an empty popularity-generator. Certainly there's a lot of positive stuff in there!

Naturally, I went straight over to the 'Women' section of the agenda, and it makes me smile. Headings such as 'Empowering women to prevent HIV/AIDS', 'Fixing the nation's healthcare system' and 'Supporting stem cell research' jump out - and for all the pro-choicers out there, here's the reproductive rights section:

REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE

Supports a Woman's Right to Choose:

Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case.

Preventing Unintended Pregnancy:

Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.

Oh my. Along with the recent pro-choice voting going on over the pond, this new load of sensible speak is a breath of fresh air after all the 'Zygotes=fully-formed cute babies in miniature' rhetoric. See, if all this comes true, the USA may have a chance of shaking off the unfortunate 'idiotic bigot-rich power-crazed backwater' image that it's been building up under Bush. I can't find anything on LGBT rights though, which brings back my reservations. Considering the recent successes of motions like Prop 8, what's in store when Obama is finally the president? Hopefully it'll be positive too, but there's no mention. More progressive action, please!

Election night in another country!

But it could affect us over here and it WILL affect other countries threatened by war and relying on US aid, so damn straight I'm getting excited! Here's a little vintage humour. This is, incidentally, exactly how us Brits see politics.

I always imagine Ron Paul as Kevin Philips Bong.

I recall someone describing the difference in attitudes to political matters between the UK and USA. In Britain the situation is hopeless, but never serious, whilst in America the situation is serious, but never hopeless. And that's why we have a lot of satirical programmes such as Yes, Minister and across the pond they have drama like the West Wing.

Quick Hit - Dismissive Doctors

Over at Ramblings of Today's Yoof we have a trio of posts about doctors being dismissive because of gender, i.e. treating men with dignity and women as hypochondriacs when both present with the same symptoms. All three bloggers have had negative experiences which we think were influenced by our sex - alongside my suspicions that the GP was brushing me off, there's Becca's history of being told her problems are psychosomatic and being prescribed ineffective treatments as she sat crying in front of the doctor and, disturbingly, Curly Sue's visit to hospital where her life was put on the line as the doctors wrote off symptoms of a ruptured appendix as 'minor issues' such as constipation or 'bad period pains'; meanwhile, a young man with the same symptoms got surgery quickly.
Check them out, and please, if you have had similar experiences of your own, feel free to tell your own stories.

Feeling Spooky!

I'm not 100% healthy, but I'm rested and ready for some scary shenanigans. So, to everyone who's been sending me well wishes, I thankyou very much, and to all, I wish you a VERY happy, safe and fun Hallowe'en, hopefully free of sexism and racism.

I'm not the type to dress as 'Sexy ____' for anything, but on Hallowe'en I can take a 'sexy nurse' outfit and twist it to my own needs:

An Apology

I'm sorry I've not been posting recently. I've not been well.
I started studying medicine at the end of last month and, a few weeks in, I started feeling really tired all the time. Not just a bit stressed, a little worn out due to the sudden onset of work where before there had been none - more a complete lack of energy, and inability to concentrate, a struggle to stay awake whenever I sat down for even a moment, hours spent staring into space, mind blank. No matter how well I slept each night I'd wake up feeling like I was crushed under a sack of rocks, then I'd carry those rocks around until my classes ended, at which point I'd go straight home and into bed because there was no way I'd be able to concentrate on the books full of jargon that all medical students must peruse on a regular basis, let alone carry on with all the other things I loved like my hobbies, working with the Glasgow Feminist Network (who are back after a summer break! Hopefully I'll be actively involved with them again soon) and, of course, posting to this blog.
This all reached a head a few days ago when, trying to study the immune system within the context of transplants and being unable to absorb any information no matter how hard I tried, I just broke down and sobbed. A bit alarming for me, considering I've never cried outwith the context of death, extreme pain or heartbreak.
Anyway, it's finally pushed me to go and see a doctor. Last time I visited the GP he put me off the place entirely so I've arranged to see a new one in a different practise. Hopefully they'll be able to help me out there. In the meantime, I'll do my best to think of something interesting to say upon my return.

Oh! Another thing! I'll also be co-blogging with Becca at Ramblings of Today's Yoof! I'll be doing my normal feminist ranting but also hope to go into other things that interest me, such as health, society, science and silly little things that get me through the day. Becca's already kicking off with some interesting articles that she's found, so do go over and have a look.

Thankyou, Feminism.

Feministing has the 'Friday Feminist Fuck You/Yeah' now, where they either vent their anger about a particular anti-woman person or group or praise someone who has helped the cause. In a sense, this is a bit like that. I'm saying thankyou, on a Friday... but not to any one person, not to an organisation. I would like to thank Feminism.

"What for?", you may well ask. "There are lots of positive things that can be attributed to the feminist fight, are you grateful for ALL of them?" Well, yes... but today, there's one particular reason at the forefront of my mind.

My virginity.

To those of you who find this strange, sit tight, let me explain. I know there has been a lot of inaccurate criticism of feminism in this area. The suggestion that telling girls that sex isn't sinful and need not be marriage-linked will turn them all into raging sex-addicts who have 15 pregnancies and 9 STDs and 100 partners under their belt by the time they reach the grand old age of 13 has been flung around a lot recently; I've lost track of the number of times I've read about the spread of abstinence-only education, or seen yet another book being published about how wonderful it is to be a virgin because having sex will RUIN YOU, or scrolled through another thread full of people expressing the view that a girl's sexuality is the property of first her father then her husband (REMEMBER THAT LESBIANS ARE SINFUL), and how all of these things are seen as good and the only way to have a healthy sexual attitude.

This, my friends, is rubbish.

I am 19. I have had 3 boyfriends, in relationships ranging from 6 months to 2.5 years. I also have vaginismus, a fact I have known about but initially could neither name nor understand since I hit puberty. There have been several situations where I could have been pressured* into penetrative sex, where I could have ignored the fact that I knew I could get hurt because 'losing your virginity is supposed to be painful'. Where I could have been pressured into a whole range of things before I was ready. Currently I am on the path to overcoming my condition (yay all-month swimming!) but am still refraining from The Big Sinful Act That Will Make Me Worthless And Un-Marriable through choice - I don't feel that I'm ready yet. I'm perfectly fine with this decision, I'm happy with my choice, and my current partner is fully supportive of it.

To whom do I owe my ability to say no and not feel guilty about it? What helped me stay a virgin until I'm ready?

The people who define sex as a sin?
The idea that sex must be saved for the man I marry?
Being fed scary misinformation, such as 'condoms don't work at all'?
Modesty, trying never to excite a man's sexual desires by covering up everything below the neck?
Purity pledges?
A big ceremony where I tell daddy that I will never have sex before marriage?
Never being told about sex?

No.

I had a flawed but still comprehensive sex education at school. I filled in the gaps with information from sites like Scarleteen and from groups like the Sandyford Initiative, and was so impressed by these people that I too hope to be able to help others in the realm of sexual health in the future. Religion played no part in my upbringing, and my parents were always honest whenever I had questions to ask. I knew that condoms have a high success rate when used correctly and can protect against a range of STDs. I have no dreams of marriage, and don't want to turn my sexuality into a bartering chip. I HAVE WORN SKIRTS ABOVE THE KNEE! I also think that purity pledges do nothing, and statistics have reinforced my opinion that abstinence-only sex-ed doesn't work at all - and can be harmful.

What I do have to thank:
Being told that my body is my own, as is my sexuality.
Being told that it's okay to say no.
Being told that no-one has the right to force me into anything.
Being told that, whilst sex can be a good thing, it should only happen when both me and my partner are ready, and it is not a bad thing to ask someone to wait if they are but you're not.
Being told that there is nothing shameful about my body - allowing me to seek help and find out about my vaginismus instead of hoping it'll go away and never understanding it.

All these things - bodily freedom, integrity and autonomy, openness about female anatomy, the belief that women are worth something and can make the right decisions for themselves when given all the relevant information (as opposed to being told what is and isn't right or blatantly mislead) - these are all championed by feminists everywhere, every day. I know more about myself through talking to other women in a frank and open way than I would from being told not to touch that thing there, it's bad. I have been able to help myself. I have been able to make a choice and have the courage to stick by it, because I know there's nothing wrong with abstaining - but I also know there's nothing wrong with not being a virgin, either.
As a bonus, thanks to all those progressive types out there who don't demonise normal human behaviour, I also know a good deal about safe sex. When I'm ready, I'll be ready.

So, thank you Feminism, and all forward-thinking groups, for allowing me to be happy with my hymen. And to all those who still think that feminism forces girls to sleep with everything with a pulse - don't let the door hit you on the way out.


*they never intentionally tried to force me into anything, but due to a combination of misguided thinking and a few other things the problem still arose. I'm on good terms with my exes, they ain't bad guys - if anything, they've learned what is and isn't acceptable now. Had I been unable to express myself, however, things would've turned out very differently.

Interlude

I'm currently in my final week of preparations before I start university and start learning about exciting new things involving facts, instruments and bits of the human body I was previously unaware of.  So, in the spirit of broadening one's horizons, I present to you a video with nothing to do with feminism, which is quite good for a bit of mind-boggling during one's ten-minute study break.  Things start to get a bit odd by the 5th dimension.  Enjoy!

Via: Video Blog

Just want something fun and cheerful? Never fear, for here are the guys who made diet coke and mentos into something infinitely more spectacular than we could have imagined, doing the same thing to post-it notes.

Women Against Sarah Palin

Proof that we don't just vote for vagina-owners.  A few e-mails asking for women's opinions of the American Vice Presidential nominee generated thousands of responses.  Here you will find lifelong Republicans who are withholding their votes, conservative and liberal women alike horrified by the policies and views expressed by Palin and McCain.  Go read it.

Phyllis Schlafly Sexism Watch

Inspired by the multiple sexism watches for Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton that have been running over at Shakesville, here's mine.  On Point Radio has a post on a call made about Ms. Schlafly's comments calling Democrats as 'pro-abortion' as opposed to pro-choice, and saying that all democrats would abort a child if it had Down's Syndrome.  The host didn't call her out for this, but an hour later a caller did.  Phyllis' reasoning was that there's a 91% abortion rate for children with Down's Syndrome in the USA, but of course this statistic doesn't say what the political affiliations of the women having the terminations are.

Now there are a lot of things I could say about Schlafly.  She is anti-choice, anti-feminist, opposed to the Equal Rights Amendment and a firm believer that all women should abandon any thoughts of careers and stay home making babies, unless those women happen to be her (she is a lawyer, editor and activist).  She shouts down the very movement that fought for the privileges she now enjoys.  She will also support a woman in a public role if they happen to have almost exactly the same views as her, as shown in her support for the ultra-conservative Palin.  She is, in short, the kind of person I despise.  HOWEVER!  That doesn't mean that the following comments are valid or warranted:

Phyllis Schlaffly [sic] is an ignorant, bigoted slut - a total warrior whore for the Republican party.

I'd say she was ignorant and bigoted, both descriptions are as justified as they are harsh.  But... 'slut'?  'Whore'?  Translation: Oh hey guys, there's a woman, and the worst thing a woman could do is have sex with people.  For money, no less!  Let's denigrate women everywhere along with the subject by demonising female sexuality and equating prositution - something that millions of women worldwide suffer through every day and try to escape from - with 'women saying things I don't like'.  And you know, a male politician saying the same thing would not have such gendered insults hurled at him.  Criticise the remarks and context, criticise the politics and speaker, but do NOT insult her gender - it has nothing to do with what she said.  Insults like this show possibly as much ignorance as Schlafly's comments.

76 and counting!

The bloglist at the side is getting longer by the day.  To your right you will find radicals, liberals, activists, theorists, columnists, different religions, nationalities, skin colours and, importantly, views.  It's not entirely representative of the online world of feminism but hoepfully it'll get better with time.  As always, if you spot a feminist blog (or even a blog which ties in with the issue without being devoted to the subject) then drop me a line and I'll check it out and, most likely, have it up shortly.