my Thinking spot: feminism

10 October 2006

feminism

i just read this fantastic piece over on shrub.com entitled feminism is about choice. combined with anthony's brilliant posting of the morning exploring the pay inequality between men and women today (STILL), my brain has been hard at work. they are related pieces, in more ways than one.

what follows is my response to the choice article:

great piece and discussion! i've been thinking about choices a lot lately, as i have a 18 month old that i have decided to stay home with. ask me how many people have said to me over the last several months, "wow, kara, that's not very feminist of you!" (?!) i'm always blown away by that. as if am i any less a feminist than i was before. gimmee a break. my choice was to be with my baby. i think i make a nice example for my son. :)

in all seriousness, one friend did tell me that there needed to be more women like me raising boys - i hope i don't fall short. and a part of me thinks she was right. but i digress. the thing that keeps eating at me, is this: in making this choice, i realize the lack of choice that all mothers simply don't have, "working" or not (but that's a whole 'nother conversation in and of itself).

it's rough, on many levels. we live fairly simply, but with one of us in a money earning scenario, we barely make it. i'm isolated - this culture gives great lip service to children and elders and falls horribly short. friends have disappeared. and none of these choices seem to address the lack of choice that making one choice leaves us with. the system still rages on, with the pretense that all of these choices are available, should we just try a little harder - but that is simply exhausting. my partner is falling over tired most of the time, he is truly an amazing person.

i look at my other choice - to re-enter the work force and work for some corporation that doesn't care whether i exist or not as long as i meet their standards - and still earn far less than my male counterparts. not to mention, what dirty business i'd be supporting by my labor. and then i would miss my bebe desperately. choices, huh? hrmpf.

your commentary on how we are inundated with gender roles from birth also resonates deeply with me. i wrote a lengthy paper a few years ago for school exploring these gender roles via clothing, advertising, and children's television programming. it was mind-boggling. but i didn't sink in until i perused the clothing selections for babies after i got pregnant. boy=blue, girl=pink. and then there's a hidious shade of yellow for those who choose not to go with the status quo. all made in sweatshops, i'm certain. no choice.

i wish i could find it now, but there was a social-psychologist that made a conscious effort to raise her children sans the typical gender role affliction with great success and published her findings... i think about this daily.

p/s - bebe has a doll that he adores. he "reads" to her, hugs her, kisses her, waves her little hands, changes her "diaper," tuckes her in for her "nap"...

Name: supergirlest

"if you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito." ~african proverb

View my complete profile

the spot is best viewed with mozilla firefox

get firefox!

syracuse cultural workers

Your Power Bird is an Owl

You are beyond wise. You are so smart, you're almost prophetic. Your inner voice always speaks the truth, and you take the time to listen to it. You are good at seeing who people are... including the darkness of others. As a result, you tend to have a rather dark - yet realistic - outlook on life.

What's Your Power Bird?

Get your own calendar

Global Voices Online - The world is talking. Are you listening?

IRAQBODYCOUNT

Cost of the War in Iraq

(JavaScript Error)

To see more details, click here.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE!

Q: What causes global warming?

A: Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution -- they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.

Q: Is the earth really getting hotter?

A: Yes. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Scientists say that unless we curb global warming emissions, average U.S. temperatures could be 3 to 9 degrees higher by the end of the century.

Q: Are warmer temperatures causing bad things to happen?

A: Global warming is already causing damage in many parts of the United States. In 2002, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon endured their worst wildfire seasons ever. The same year, drought created severe dust storms in Montana, Colorado and Kansas, and floods caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Texas, Montana and North Dakota. Since the early 1950s, snow accumulation has declined 60 percent and winter seasons have shortened in some areas of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington. Of course, the impacts of global warming are not limited to the United States. In 2003, extreme heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1,500 deaths in India. And in what scientists regard as an alarming sign of events to come, the area of the Arctic's perennial polar ice cap is declining at the rate of 9 percent per decade.

Q: Is global warming making hurricanes worse?

A: Global warming doesn't create hurricanes, but it does make them stronger and more dangerous. Because the ocean is getting warmer, tropical storms can pick up more energy and become more powerful. So global warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a much more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the destructive potential of hurricanes has greatly increased along with ocean temperature over the past 35 years.

Q: Is there really cause for serious concern?

A: Yes. Global warming is a complex phenomenon, and its full-scale impacts are hard to predict far in advance. But each year scientists learn more about how global warming is affecting the planet, and many agree that certain consequences are likely to occur if current trends continue. Among these: 1. Melting glaciers, early snowmelt and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages in the American West. 2. Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern seaboard, in Florida, and in other areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico. 3. Warmer sea surface temperatures will fuel more intense hurricanes in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. 4. Forests, farms and cities will face troublesome new pests and more mosquito-borne diseases. 5. Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.

Q: Could global warming trigger a sudden catastrophe?

A: Recently, researchers -- and even the U.S. Defense Department -- have investigated the possibility of abrupt climate change, in which gradual global warming triggers a sudden shift in the earth's climate, causing parts of the world to dramatically heat up or cool down in the span of a few years.

Q: What country is the largest source of global warming pollution?

A: The United States. Though Americans make up just 4 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning -- by far the largest share of any country. In fact, the United States emits more carbon dioxide than China, India and Japan, combined. Clearly America ought to take a leadership role in solving the problem. And as the world's top developer of new technologies, we are well positioned to do so -- we already have the know-how.

Q: How can we cut global warming pollution?

A: It's simple: By reducing pollution from vehicles and power plants. Right away, we should put existing technologies for building cleaner cars and more modern electricity generators into widespread use. We can increase our reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and geothermal. And we can manufacture more efficient appliances and conserve energy.

GLOBAL WARMING LINKS:

message moi!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We have posted it here in an effort to advance the understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social justice and other issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The material in this site is provided for educational and informational purposes only.

my Thinking spot

10 October 2006

feminism

About Me

but wait! there's more! blogs i heart

active interest links

good biz

daily a-musings...

as we speak...

OUT OF IRAQ BLOGROLL

send me email?