A discussion in a class I’m taking on the un-feminist subject of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, added to the news this week, and another discussion in another class about the difference between women participating in equal numbers with men in things like work and war, and a feminist society — got me thinking about the true nature of feminism and why it is so desperately needed in the world today. Since I had volunteered to write this diary this week, I thought I might set down some of my rather incoherent thoughts on the subject.
The Tolkien discussion centered on war and the nature of victory. Victory over evil cannot come by evil means. In the book this means that in spite of the heroic battles, the victory is gained by the two characters who do not fight, but who go through great danger to destroy the evil foe’s powerful and magical weapon. Tolkien fought in the first world war and his sons fought in the second. He knew that no war can ever end all wars — that evil means cannot be used to defeat evil.
So it seemed to me that this tale of wars and mythic heroes and battles ultimately sides against the hyper-masculine glorification of most war novels. It seemed quite fitting in this week of Derek Chauvin’s trial and more police murders and mass murders and protests under attack, more stories about the January 6th insurrection, more arguing over “gun rights” (as opposed to human rights?) — and the announcement that we will finally be ending our part in the war in Afghanistan.
This country needs a strong dose of real feminism — the kind that nurtures and recognizes our interrelatedness, that values people and the common good, and rejects the worship of violence that conflates violence with heroism — it needs this if we are to survive.
Anyway, now for the news. As always, thanks to the WoW crew for their contributions. This week that includes Tara TASW, elenacarlena, mettle fatigue, officebss, and SandraLLAP.
Women’s Health/Abortion
In Venezuela, a neighbor rapes a 13-year-old repeatedly and she gets pregnant. Her mother goes to the girl’s former teacher for help, and gets pills for an abortion. After the abortion, the mother reports the rape. Six months later the teacher is awaiting trial on serious charges, the mother was in jail for three weeks, and the rapist is still at large. What’s wrong with this picture?
Abortion rights activists last month met for hours with Mr. Rodríguez, the National Assembly president, where they proposed a change to the penal code, among other ideas.
The country’s influential association of Catholic bishops responded with a letter imploring the country to stick with the status quo.
Powerful international organizations, the association said, were trying to legalize abortion “by appealing to fake concepts of modernity, inventing ‘new human rights,’ and justifying policies that go against God’s designs.”
Ms. Rosales remains in legal limbo. Six months after her arrest, she has yet to have her first day in court. The accused person is still free.
“This goes beyond being a negligent state,” she said. “This is a state that is actively working against women.”
www.nytimes.com/…
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It’s Black Maternal Health Week. Vice President Harris addressed this serious problem, and highlighted how Biden adminstration policies are part of the solution.
theslot.jezebel.com/...
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In Ohio, an appeals court upheld a law that would make it illegal for doctors to perform abortions for women who are basing their choice on fetal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, overturning two earlier decisions by lower courts. This is another kind of law meant to ban abortions bit by bit.
As my fellow Jezebel contributor Marie Solis noted, anti-abortion advocates tend to focus these “reason bans” (otherwise known as selective abortion bans) around Down syndrome in an attempt to portray themselves as disability-rights advocates, even going as far as to try to frame the issue as one of eugenics. However, in reality, reason bans can encourage providers to apply extra scrutiny to the reproductive decisions of people of color—despite the lack of evidence that race and gender are factors in their choice to seek an abortion. After all, if the real concern of “pro-life” advocates was the welfare of children with disabilities, you’d imagine they would do more to support those children and their families after they were born.
jezebel.com/…
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The Biden administration is reinstating Title X funding to clinics that also provide abortions, which the Trump administration had stopped.
In the rule released Wednesday, the Biden administration said approximately a quarter of the program's providers left due to the restrictions, leaving the program with 1,000 fewer service sites and 22 percent fewer patients served nationwide. Six states lost all of their Title X providers, while another six lost the vast majority, according to the health department, which estimated the changes led to as many as 181,477 unintended pregnancies.
www.politico.com/...
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Experiments show that there is still a gender “pain gap,” leading both men and women to underestimate women’s pain and overestimate men’s pain. This can and does lead to women’s complaints being ignored too often (see the article on black maternal health above) and can have serious health consequences for women. There are similar gaps in pain perception based on race and obesity, and of course these overlap with gender.
www.independent.co.uk/…
Other News
James Hendricks, who retired from the FBI last year, was one of the supervisors featured in a report on sexual harrassment in the FBI.
Hendricks quietly retired last year as a special agent in charge after the Office of Inspector General — the Justice Department's internal watchdog — concluded he sexually harassed eight female subordinates in one of the FBI’s most egregious known cases of sexual misconduct.
Hendricks was among several senior FBI officials highlighted in an AP investigation last year that found a pattern of supervisors avoiding discipline — and retiring with full benefits — even after claims of sexual misconduct against them were substantiated.
The FBI said it could not discuss Hendricks' case but that it “maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment and is committed to fostering a safe work environment where all of our employees are valued, protected and respected.”
Of course the eight women involved misconstrued his behavior, he didn’t find them attractive, and his feelings are hurt by the nasty things they said about him. (yawn)
www.nbcnews.com/…
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ABC named Kim Godwin as its news division president on Wednesday, making her the first Black woman to be the top news executive at a broadcast network.
Godwin has been second-in-command at CBS News, which learned Wednesday that its own division president, Susan Zirinsky, is stepping down after two years on the job.
Godwin has worked at CBS News since 2007, after running local broadcast news operations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Cleveland. She replaces James Goldston, who announced in January that he was leaving
abcnews.go.com/…
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It's a rare feat in baseball or softball to pitch a "perfect game." That happens when no opponent reaches base — not by a hit, or a fielding error, or a walk.
But pitcher Hope Trautwein of the University of North Texas made history on Sunday by pitching a game more than perfect. Through all seven innings, she struck out every single one of the 21 batters she faced from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
"I guess it's never been done before so it doesn't have a name," she told NPR's Morning Edition.
Brava Hope!
www.npr.org/...