Journal Entry #8
Given this weeks readings on the #MeToo movement, I wanted to address the recent sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden. Pictured below, Tara Reade was a staffer in Joe Biden’s Senate office in 1993.
The article I read by Business Insider contains the most up-to-date information regarding Reade’s allegations, and the many witnesses that can corroborate her story. Most recently, one of Reade’s former neighbors came forward shared that Reade had told her a detailed account of the assault in 1995. Former colleagues, a video of a woman (Reade’s mother) calling in the CNN’s Larry King Live, and other friends and family members all give credibility to her story. What upset me though, is that in sharing her knowledge of Reade’s assault, her neighbor Lunda LaCasse, shared she still supports Biden and will vote him into the presidency.
This makes me MAD! I am also voting for Biden because, well the alternative is deplorable, but how can we elect public official after public official into office who has, on record, assaulted women. It makes me angry that a woman’s life can be upended by the aftermath of an assault, and a man can face no repercussions at all. Part of me doesn’t want this to become a bigger deal in public discourse because I don’t want there to be any more reasons not to vote for Biden, but I also think Reade deserves acknowledgement from her assaulter. I admire Reade’s decision to come forward, knowing that her case would likely go no where and that she could face misogyny. Women like Reade pave the way for a world where men are held accountable for their actions, regardless of their political power.
https://www.businessinsider.com/former-neighbor-corroborates-joe-bidens-accuser-2020-4
Journal Entry #7
I wanted to include some positivity in my journal considering this week’s readings on misogyny in politics and all the chaos in the world right now. A few days ago, I read an article on Forbes by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox titled “What do countries with the best coronavirus responses have in common? Women leaders.”
There have been years of research timidly suggesting that women’s leadership styles might be different and beneficial.
Wittenberg-Cox writes that these women are teaching the world a lesson in politics, including the importance of truth, decisiveness, technology, and love. I was pleased to see such a positive representation of female leaders in a time when our country’s own female leaders have been criticized and disparaged by those in the highest roles of power. These women are leading the way for a generation of children who will grow up looking up to their female political champions.
Journal Entry #6
In light of our readings this week on misogynoir and trans-misogyny, I wanted to honor Monika Diamond (34), a black trans woman who was killed in North Caroline a few weeks ago.
On March 18, 2020, Monika was shot and killed in the back of an ambulance (which was called to offer her medical treatment for shortness of breath). Last year, 26 gender non-conforming people where killed in the United States. The amount of violent hatred against trans-women, specifically trans-women of color, in America is underreported and incomprehensible.
This hate crime, along with the many accounts of black trans-women we read this week, are evidence that our country needs to improve its legal protection of LGBTQ folx.
https://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-monika-diamond-black-trans-woman-killed-in-north-carolina
Journal Entry #5
Nothing fits the theme of state based violence as well as our lovely president using misogynistic language to attack a governor and justify withholding aid from her dying people. Today I will be writing about Malaika Jabali’s article “If Your State Needs Help With Coronavirus From Trump, Don’t Be a Strong Woman Governor,” on The Intercept website. Jabali’s article describes Trump’s response to Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer’s request for aid. Michigan has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, and still, our President is choosing to disparage their female leader rather than give them the PPE and financial aid they need.
Trump’s comment is just one of many examples of him trying to discredit a woman in power at the expense of people’s health and livelihood. In addition, as Jabali writes, his continued misogyny towards elite females makes it likely that the 2020 political campaign will be a battle of Trump’s sexism and the optics of a female Democratic Vice Presidential candidate.
Journal Entry #4
In her article “Legal Sex Workers And Others In Adult Industry Denied Coronavirus Aid,” Alanna Vagianos shines a light on the injustices of the coronavirus economic stimulus package, and how it discriminates against sex workers. Vagianos writes that on the first page of the online application anyone in sex work is deemed ineligible. Not only is this unfair to the many sex workers who pay taxes to our government without gaining any of the civil liberties that should come in return; targeted sex workers disproportionately affects women and could be seen as a misogynistic.
The government’s decision to prevent legal sex workers including strippers, porn performers, directors, producers, and sex toy manufactures from recieving aid at this time stigmatizes an entire field of our society. Marginalization from the government encourages acts of violence against such workers and creates a national environment where it is seen as illegitimate or sinful to perform such work. Sounds a little bit like Gilead…..
“‘It’s so dehumanizing…They’re asking all of us, who work legally, to feel ashamed about what we do. They are actively making life harder for sex workers in this crisis.'”
Jacqueline Frances, a stripper, comedian, and author
The government is dehumanizing a group of people based on their choice of work, not stopping for a second to consider who else this affects. For many of these workers, it is their children and family who will suffer from the lack of aid–not just themselves.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/legal-sex-workers-denied-coronavirus-aid_n_5e86287ac5b6d302366ca912
Journal Entry #3
After failing to find any news noteworthy of a journal post, I headed over to twitter to check out what was happening regarding #InternationalWomensDay. Boy oh boy was I (not) disappointed! Below, you can find a screenshot of one man’s “Ode to Women” on this day.
At first glance I thought “Wow, that’s so great that this man is acknowledging transgender women on a day that they are often left out.” Then I read the tweet again…and then I saw the photos. Happy International Women’s Day to all the men out there that DECIDED to become women.” I am sorry, WHAT??? Last time I checked, transgender people are born in the wrong body…they don’t decide to change genders. Also, the women in these photos are not all transgender. The third photo is of South African runner Caster Semenya who is intersex and has always identified as a woman. To say that she was once a man is false and misogynistic. I was not surprised to discover that J Owen Shroyer is part of the Alt-Right movement and hosts Infowars, a leading fake news and American conspiracy theory website.
Journal Entry #2
On Saturday, February 15th, I came across an article on Huffington Post titled “Kate Middleton Talks About Struggle with Mom Guilt in Candid Interview.”
The readings this week discussed “Momism,” and the pressure that our society places on mothers to be solely responsibility for the well-being of their children. Although these articles described experiences of women in the mid-1950s, society today still has unrealistic expectations for mothers.
In her interview, Kate discusses the perpetual mom guilt she experiences. In other words, she shares that she feels inadequate as a mother as she cannot solely commit herself to her children. Kate Middleton, being a part of the royal family, is extremely busy, therefore making it unrealistic (as it is for any mother) to be a full-time domestic child-rearer. I found the quote below particularly surprising:
“Her two oldest children had expressed disappointment that she was unable to drop them off at school that morning.”
Yes these are princes and princesses with high expectations, but it does not seem fair to make their mother feel guilt for having commitments other than parenting. In addition, having a parent drop you off at school everyday is quite the privilege. Regardless, one thing is clear: mom guilting has not gone away in the past 70 years and it doesn’t seem like it is going away any time soon.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kate-middleton-interview-mom-guilt-podcast_n_5e482a5bc5b64433c6172902
Journal Entry #1
This week I am highlighting a photo essay I found featured on the Washington Post wesbite, in which Martina Albertazzi gives voice to the growing field of female magicians. The article points out that women only make up 5% of the magician world population today. Even fewer female magicians have gained access to prestigious magic clubs. As Albertazzi shares in the quote below, women have often been dismissed in the field of magic as sexualized props to be used during a show. The state of women in magic, as well as their struggle to break out of the role imposed on them by men, is emblematic of the post-war misogynist readings from this week. Early female magicians were dismissed as witches or hysterical, as many women were dismissed when aspiring to claim their own destiny. I chose this series of photos as it shows radical resistance in a field that has yet to achieve any sort of gender equality.
““During the ‘Golden Age of Magic’ (1880-1930), men ran the show while young, scantily clad women waited to be cut in half. It all served to give the male magician a sense of power and control on stage.”
Martina Albertazzi, “Break a Thread”
Find the link to the article below: