Back to the Coat Hanger or Not?

By: Rich Polley

In Mississippi, Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the only clinic proving abortions and is facing potential foreclosure.

Mississippi House Bill 1390 requires that all physicians who perform abortions have admitting privileges at a local hospital and be board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. Current physicians have no problem being board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, because they all are. The piece of missing rail road is that only one physician has admitting privileges at local hospitals.

To increase the problem these local hospitals have the right to refuse admitting privileges to physicians and to top it off two hospitals in Jackson Mississippi have Christian affiliations. So I don’t think anything including the subject of abortion will be very supportive in the hospitals.

Many fear the return of basement or back-alley abortions with the dreaded coat hanger. “I find it terrifying when I see politicians like Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant working to cut off women's access to abortion by shutting down the health centers that safely provide them to women,” wrote Tamara Tuine, writer for the Root. 

State Ordered Rape

By: Rich Polley

7 states mandate that an abortion provider perform an ultrasound procedure in which a probe is inserted into her vagina. Each woman seeking an abortion is required by the provider to offer the woman the opportunity to view the image.

Alabama state senator Linda Coleman said, "If you look up the term rape, that’s what it is: the penetration of the vagina without the women’s consent." Which is exactly what the state is doing.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett dished out a solution for women who were going to be forced by the government to undergo a completely unnecessary ultrasound against their wills, "You can't make anybody watch, okay? Because you just have to close your eyes."  This doesn’t stop the fact that it’s still considered rape. Even if you changed the term of rape, the lone star state of Texas requires that each abortion provider must display and describe the image of the ultra sound.

Several Steps Back: Body Image - The Devil Came Back

In 2010 a study was done by Marika Tiggemann and Jessica Miller titled "The Internet and Adolescent Girls’ Weight Satisfaction and Drive for Thinness."

The title is self-explanatory. The study sampled 156 adolescent students from Australia, having them complete a questionnaire on their exposure to the internet and their perceptions on female beauty and body image. The results were disheartening. To quote the study: "Regression analyses indicated that the effects of magazines and Internet exposure were mediated by internalization and appearance comparison. It was concluded that the Internet represents a powerful sociocultural influence on young women’s lives."

In other words: the plague of body dysmorphic disorder, an issue that was only recently crusaded against in the realms of old media and magazines, has infected the internet as well.

The trouble here is not that body dysmorphia caused by media exposure is a persisting issue. It's fairly common knowledge that an obsession with body-aesthetics is an intimate part of today's media-infused culture. The danger is the new source of weight obsession: the internet.

Viewing mass media is a much more passive experience than web browsing. The negative influences of ads, magazines, and television can be countered by placing positive media right along-side it. But when it comes to the internet, the web surfer is a very active information consumer. An adolescent may expose him or herself to whatever negative imagery of misinformation they wish, and can even circumvent any attempts at informing or countering the negative stimuli entirely. In Tiggemann and Miller's study, there was found to be a correlation between negative body image and internet exposure, but not television viewing.

What is clear, then, is that this issue of body image isn't simply a case of the dead coming back. This is an entirely new abomination. To counter this new insurgence of anorexic culture, awareness organizations and support groups will have to establish a sharp presence on the internet. But the thin-ideal culture has already settled in, and its exorcism will be a very long, difficult process.

War on Women: Repeal of Equal Pay Enforcement Act

By: Rich Polley

Last Fall Glenn Grothman, State Senator of Wisconsin, brought forth a bill to repeal the Equal Pay Enforcement Act. On April 8, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation that repeals the states Equal Pay Enforcement Act.

Former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk told the Huffington Post, Walker has "turned back the clock for women across Wisconsin." Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's campaign said Walker's "ideological civil war includes a war on women, and repeal today of this protection against pay discrimination is a major step backwards for Wisconsin values and basic fairness."

Equal Pay Enforcement Act, a 2009 bill, offered legal repercussions for employees/victims discriminated against based on gender, race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.

Grothman stated that companies are bombarded with false accusations; the Daily Beast also reported that Grothman doesn’t believe in the gender wage gap. He thinks it all a myth.

Video: Herman Cain's 1986 Sexual Harassment Training ~ A satire of how bad sexual harassment can be.

Then and Now: Where are we?

This CBS video suggests that in today’s changing society, the recession defines the roles in our everyday lives. Since Russ Long lost his job last year, him and his wife Laura are both taking on new roles in the house and out in the workforce. It is not uncommon to see the women become the “breadwinner” in the relationship anymore. Laura is maintaining a full time job while Russ takes care of the children, the house and his wife.

 As the recession began in 2007, the unemployment rates were equal between men and women, both at 4.4 percent. By September of 2007, women’s unemployment rate in America was at 7.8 percent while men’s were at a shocking 10.2 percent. Because of these numbers and change of gender in the workforce, it naturally results in a change of roles at home as well. The CBS news video suggests if there is change in the workplace, there is change at home.

Then:

There has been a complete change in women’s equality in the workforce since Muller vs. Oregon in 1908. This court case suggests that in Oregon, women are unable to work over 10 hours a day, which was not favored by many women because men were allowed to.

 Now:

In United States vs. Virginia in 1996, the Supreme Court ruled against Virginia’s Military’s Institute 7-1 that held a male-only admission policy.

Even though women only make 77 cents to every dollar that the male makes, women’s unemployment rate is significantly lower than men and it is very common and honored to see successful women in the workforce.

Women Teaming Up

Nowadays there are organizations and services that bring women together in support and recognition of their daily hardships. Women with similar issues come together to discuss their ongoing problems and address them, many of them hosting events and creating publications especially for women.

 Women of the Workforce (WOW) is an organization that provides strategies that addresses women's everyday challenges in the workforce.  Women from all across New York State meet to study and recognize organized labor, government, community based organizations, female veterans, immigrants and refugees and the education community. WOW plans the focus of regional events that helps to address these issues.

Some of these issues are as follows:

·         Challenges Women with Disabilities Face in the Workforce: Overcoming Barriers; Sharing Abilities

·         Women's Leadership: Empowering and Supporting Women
December 3, 2011

·         Filling the Gap: Programming for Female Veterans

·         Finding Affordable, Accessable, High Quality ChildCare

Just two of the hundreds of women’s empowerment and workforce groups are www.femanist.com andwww.womenforwomen.org. These organizations also discuss the greatest need  for realizing women's empowerment:

(1) technology use

 (2) social norm change

 (3) economic resilience

In 2012, it is not uncommon to come across these kind of groups on a regular basis. You would not typically see this kind of recognition for a men’s group because it is the women who succumb to unequal treatment and discrimination.

The Favored Sex: What's so Great About Men Anyways?

                Even in today’s modern and developed world, research data such as surveys continue to reveal that parents still prefer to give birth to a male versus a female. These hopes stem from the belief that the male will grow to be an economic provider for a family and their parent’s old age.  It is time to rethink this, as women are becoming a better investment.

            In the 21^st century, women typically accumulate better grades in school than boys which in turn allow them to be more equipped for new jobs that are developing. In countries such as Britain, a significant amount of women as opposed to men are now training to be doctors. Surveys are showing that women consistently achieve higher financial returns than men do.

            The increase in the employment and success of women within these past couple decades has been the driving force of economic growth in the United States as well as several other countries. According to an article in the Economist in April 2006, it is impressive that even with their duties at home, “women have still managed to contribute more to global GDP growth than have either new technology or the new giants, China and India.” Although there is still obvious continuous success of men in the community, they typically do not take on duties at home like women do, such as taking care of household duties, children and their husbands. Later on in this article, the Economist explains that yes, even with the economic boost due to women’s accomplishments, they still do receive an unfair paycheck as compared to  men in the same field, doing the same job.

                                                           

What this article surprised me about is that they claim that women continuously complain about gender exploitation in the workforce. However at the same time women are not exploited enough. What does this mean? It means that the women is the worlds most underutilized player in the game of business, where, as quoted directly from the Economist, “getting more of them into work is part of the solution to many economic woes, including shrinking populations and poverty.” This basically leads to the fear that by utilizing working women, it may lead to negative social outcomes or a lower birth rate because women will be out in the field rather than at home.

Several Leaps Forward, With Several Steps Back - Bibliography

Working Bibliography:

Adamczyk, Maria. "Forum For The Ugly People - Study Of An Imagined Community." Sociological Review 58.(2010): 97-113. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

A study on the nature of "Ugly" as a self-label, using a popular Polish internet community. Criteria for the label "Ugly," the stigmatic nature of the self-label, and behaviors of self-exclusion are explored by the author. Of particular interest is the discussion on body-image, and how communities like these can help alleviate low self esteem and despair.

Albright, Julie M. "Sex In America Online: An Exploration Of Sex, Marital Status, And Sexual Identity In Internet Sex Seeking And Its Impacts." Journal Of Sex Research 45.2 (2008): 175-186. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

A study on the demographics that search for porn (based on race, gender, and sexual identity) and the psychological effects of seeking out pornography. For women and gay men, negative body image was a frequent consequence of exposure to internet pornography.

Brown, Jane D., and Piotr S. Bobkowski. "Older And Newer Media: Patterns Of Use And Effects On Adolescents' Health And Well-Being." Journal Of Research On Adolescence (Blackwell Publishing Limited) 21.1 (2011): 95-113. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Explores positive and negative effects of internet and new media on adolescents.

Duggan, Scott J., and Donald R. McCreary. "Body Image, Eating Disorders, And The Drive For Muscularity In Gay And Heterosexual Men: The Influence Of Media Images." Journal Of Homosexuality 47.3/4 (2004): 45-58. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Explores how internet forums and internet pornography both harm and help the body image of gay men.


Fox, Jesse, and Jeremy Bailenson. "Virtual Virgins And Vamps: The Effects Of Exposure To Female Characters’ Sexualized Appearance And Gaze In An Immersive Virtual Environment." Sex Roles 61.3/4 (2009): 147-157. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Explores how rape culture stereotypes can not only persist but also easily be reinforced in a virtual environment, simply based on the appearance of a virtual 3d character.

Jones, Matthew T. "Mediated Exhibitionism: The Naked Body In Performance And Virtual Space." Sexuality & Culture 14.4 (2010): 253-269. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Explores a new phenomenon of amateur nudity distribution (such as sexting), and how this trend actually helps to alleviate the negative effects of a poor body image.

Miller, Evonne, and Jamin Halberstadt. "Media Consumption, Body Image And Thin Ideals In New Zealand Men And Women." New Zealand Journal Of Psychology 34.3 (n.d.): 189-195. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Studies how new media affects self-perception and body image, using undergrads at a New Zealand university campus as the experimental group. Women were shown to be the most susceptible to attaining a negative body image.

Richardson, Niall. "Flex-Rated! Female Bodybuilding: Feminist Resistance Or Erotic Spectacle?." Journal Of Gender Studies 17.4 (2008): 289-301. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

Shows how the sport of female bodybuilding is confined to two polarized stereotypes in internet and new media discourses: a political and feminist act, and a queer spectacle of sexual exhibitionism. Consideration of female bodybuilding as a legitimate , non-political, non-sexual sport is minimal.

Tiggemann, Marika, and Jessica Miller. "The Internet And Adolescent Girls’ Weight Satisfaction And Drive For Thinness." Sex Roles 63.1/2 (2010): 79-90. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

A study on female adolescents and effects of internet use on their body image.

Women Makin' the Law

Between the years of 2009 and 2010, women made up 47.2 percent of law students in the United States. With these figures slowly but surely growing since, women are now creating their own law firms and are becoming more and more successful in doing so. It comes to a surprise to many because women have never been prevalent to the law. Now that women are becoming more educated, they are also becoming more of an asset to the economic structure of the United States. In 2011, women were 45.4 percent of all associates, and 19.5 percent of all partners.

The sudden spark of female independence and management has become an asset to society and a mind pleaser to the women of the United States. In a book titled The Road to Independence: 101 Women's Journeys to Starting Their Own Law Firms is the Bible to the women in the field of law. This book is a collection of letters from different women who have been courageous in taking the leap into creating their own law firm. Some women are in it alone while others are entering with a partner. The several women in this collection discuss the key themes they have been faced with on a daily basis, such as creating a work/ life balance, accelerating into the recession and gender discrimination. A review of this book is as follows:

[ At once inspirational and practical, The Road to Independence is a must-read for any woman considering taking the plunge and starting her own practice. It is filled with useful tips and proven techniques from amazing women who have done so successfully and who, in their own voices, are willing to share their lessons and experiences. The advice given is insightful and encouraging. It's a great resource for any lawyer, young or old, considering making that move, as well as a great read for those just curious to hear the stories of those who have.]

Mary E. Sharp, President, National Conference of Women's Bar Associations, 2010-2011

Women are beginning to see spectacular success in the field of law and it has become a tremendous asset for employment purposes considering that women employ on average 40 percent more people than men. It is only to wonder how the big shot executives who typically are not the number one fans of women successes are taking their independence and credibility.

Are Women Taking Over?

Sexism in the workplace is exposed during a National Public Radio (NPR) Interview with Nancy Gibbs, Editor-at-Large Time Magazine written in October 2009. It was approximated that by the end of 2010, women will "likely" make up the majority of the workplace, however still dealing with significant cases of inequality. The fingers are not only pointed at women, however also at men, pinpointing the fact that what employees seek the most is flexibility in their working schedule.

A quote from Gibbs surprised me, stating "Well, I was surprised that after at least a generation of having this argument about, you know, the battle of the sexes and women's place and where is it, that both men and women essentially say, that's over." If you ask a man if they think they lost the battle of the sexes due to the amount of successful women now emanating throughout society, they will say no. Since 2009, both men and women have seemingly begun to team up and agree that employers are not accommodating to those who have families at home, and having a flexible schedule is now a days a rarity. Employers assume (d) that women typically would not work if they have a family because they are the gender that in history, stayed home with their children. The assumptions of women’s roles in the workplace are unfathomable, yet shocking to say the least. Who knew that they were thought to make up the majority of the work place?

An article in Collegetimes.us. exposed some alarming statistics on a women’s place at work. Some of these are as follows:

• Women make 77.5 cents of each dollar a man makes, doing the same job. As women are becoming more educated and dual incomes become more of a norm, the gap is slowly decreasing making income more fair.
• Women in professional specialty occupations were found to earn just 72.7 percent of what men in the same position earned. Sadly, women who have a higher end position with more responsibility earn less than men in the same position because those jobs are usually what men work (72.3 percent). The average is 77.5 percent.
• According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, women on average work three years longer than men in a teaching position in order to become a principle of a school. Some studies claim that it is due to different management strategies each gender possesses, while others suggest that it is gender-based biases.
• Women business owners employ up to 35 percent more people than all Fortune 500 companies combined, while women own 40 percent of businesses. Most times credit is not given when due because these numbers suggest that women are clearly professional, businesslike and can hold their own.

Pushed to the Bottom of the Barrel

 By: Rich Polley

The GOP in Ohio had launched another attack in their “war against women.”

On Tuesday, April 17, GOP member of Ohio House Finance and Appropriation Committee amended one of Gov. John Kasich’s mid-budget review bills to place Planned Parenthood and other independent health clinics at the bottom for federal money.  

If unaware, Planned Parenthood provides services from abortion to actual family planning, to simple sex advice. A utopia for questions and answers, that holds a large female clientele. 

Last year, the 32 Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio received $1.7 million of the $9.7 million given to Ohio for federal family planning.

The bill lays out that flow of money from federal family planning will start with public health departments, to federally approved community health clinics, and then private community health clinics (Planned Parenthood). Although it is unknown how much these clinics at the bottom of the barrel would receive, if any.

Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, made it clear that this was a move against abortion. Gonidakis said, "Ohio's abortion industry will no longer feed at the taxpayer trough," he said. "Instead, these dedicated health-care funds will be offered to those entities where a vast majority of low-income women and their children seek responsible and life-saving services."