Can we work on what unites us???
February 14, 2009
by Amy Siskind
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Yesterday, I went to my local Starbucks to buy a cup of coffee. I happened to run into three women who are very involved in volunteer work in the community where I live. Armed with my hot-off-the-press TNA business cards, I went over to tell them about The New Agenda.
One of the woman, Sally, is from the U.K. and her immediate reaction was this: “you’ll never get women in this country to work together and stick together as a team. They just don’t know how to do it. Men do it all the time in corporate America which is why they get ahead.”
We discussed this further and I told Sally and the other gals that a primary goal of TNA was to change that aspect of our society in our own small way. To work on having women and like-minded men work on what unites us, and leave what divides us aside.
When I was walking away, one of the gals said: “Amy’s right. We need a new agenda.”
What do you think?
From a guy’s point of view my suggestion is as it as been on other comments I have shared here…unite around that which you have in common and avoid divisiveness. Play as a team not as group of individuals- that’s how guys do it
What are the issues that unite us?
equal pay
ending domestic violence
let’s discuss. anyone else want to add to the list?
equal representation in politics
fair treatment of women globally
opportunities for women in small business
equal representation in government and business
Here’s my complete list:
Equal representation in government
Wage disparity (or despair-ity, heh)
Equal opportunity in business and education (including affirmative action)
Women’s history in the public schools-mandatory
Pornography
Judicial fairness, including a blind judicial eye toward family relations in so-called domestic situations. This parallel system has got to go.
I suppose we’ll have delay pornography if we want to include funfeminists. Fine, everything else is a great start.
I think we also need to define what divides us. Men, as per bruce’s post, acknowledge that separation, put it aside, and work on issues that unite us. They naturally respect each other’s view, but move on to make change everyone agrees on.
Abortion
Gay Marriage (I live in CA – this is a very hot topic!)
After I posted my last response – I do have to point out that even the most conservative of my friends do believe in gay rights – like domestic partnership, etc. In other words – there is a common ground with all women on some levels of gay rights. However, I don’t think TNA should work on those at this time because we have so much BASIC women’s issues to address.
Sharia Law (Founder of US Muslim TV network has beheaded his wife!!)
It’s funny that some women I have spoken to view the New Agenda as so radical for not including abortion on the agenda. Especially while there are so many issues that DO unite almost all women. Things we can all focus on:
1. ending rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment
2. equal representation in: government, the media and corporate and noncorporate leadership positions
3. equal pay
4. women’s history in the k-12 and college curriculums
5. 1 – 4 on the global level
Ali –
Wow – how interesting that TNA is considered “radical”. As a conservative female in CA – that is actually a very good thing. It also points out how ineffective the women’s movement as it stands today is regarding women’s issues. It usually takes a radical position to make a difference. If we look back at women’s issues over history – it took very radical (not liberal – but radical) women to make a difference. YOU GO GIRL! Amy – can we put together a history of the women’s movement and post it on this web site to show women that we continue our cause, fight for what is right, and make a difference???
Kathy
Kathy,
Go to this article,
http://thenewagenda.net/2009/0.....-fracture/
When you are done reading it, click on Anna Belle’s name at the top of the post for several more wonderful articles she has contributed regarding the history of the women’s movement.
Thanks for the promo, Thia! There will be a brand new one on Monday, too.
equal rights anchored in the constitution
womens history
suffrage movement into schoolbooks
especially alice paul, who knew that we were not done after getting the vote and continued fighting for an equal rights amendment
march the women’s month is here soon.
rape. it has has to be possible to stop rape. african americans were able to stop lynching. we have to set the goal high, too.
agree with Anna Belle on Pornography
Yes we do very much need a New Agenda. Gay rights is a fine cause, if people want to work on it they should definitely join a gay cause org. I think women’s orgs should work on causes that affect all women regardless of their sexual orientation. We also need to focus on no more than 5 causes or risk getting spread too thin, Here are my 5.
1. Equal pay and benefits for equal work.
2. Parity with men in government and courts.
3 Equal research and care for women’s diseases and medical conditions. Women’s conditions and diseases are defined as conditions and diseases that a person with an XY chromosome arrangement can NOT get. So aids is not a “women’s disease”, yes it is a disease women can get but since men can also get it we don’t need to worry, it will and has received far more than it’s fair share of funds for research.
4. Media images of females and consumer rights in regard to media. “Women’s content” is content women will actually pay to consume there is no other relevant definition and it is not any content men say is “women’s content”. There is no way the media cartel should be able to force us to subsidize expensive sports channels we don’t want or watch or crap, token “women’s channels” like Oxygen that no one but men watch because those men think they have lucked into the lingerie prancing and lotion rubbing tit and ass advertising channel.
5. Pornography, We need to offer young women refuge from pornographic images, if they want it, which is a monetized male definition of sex. We need to offer them their true and complete sexuality, especially the half where they sit on their average sweat panted bums and check out hot men, which is the half that scares the crap out of patriarchy and their institutions like Playboy. We need to reinforce that women own their sexuality and do not require male approval. I hate pornography but I like sex as well or better than the next guy. We need to offer a female heterosexual definition of sex to counter porno. Feminists should no longer be considered lesbians or asexual, not that there is anything wrong with it, it just is not an accurate description of 90% of feminists. I am fed up with the current male stereotype which you see in media where women only express their sexuality by humping a pole in public or prancing around in stilettos and lingerie. No boys. And that stereotype does not even sell.
Gay rights? This should make for an interesting discussion. I tend to align my personal activism closely with gay rights because I think homophobia comes from the same poison as sexism toward women. And I’m assuming half of gays are women…. Don’t we represent lesbian women?
Constance,
I hadn’t thought about #3. Very true! This should also be part of the agenda.
Ali, I don’t have a problem incorporating lesbian issues within our agenda, but feminism is the radical notion that women are people, not the radical notion that women must protect every oppressed class before they protect their own. Gay men are out as far as I’m concerned. Let them organize themselves.
Bruce said, “From a guy’s point of view my suggestion is as it as been on other comments I have shared here…unite around that which you have in common and avoid divisiveness. Play as a team not as group of individuals- that’s how guys do it”
I agree with what you’ve said here I haven’t seen your other comments. Could you give some more detail?. Would you suggest we choose one or two issues to work on, or the whole half dozen or so issues that most of us seem to share concern about?
Regarding lesbians. Gays have a way of insisting that their sexuality trump every other issue and every other personality trait. We need to work on issues that affect all women and their sexuality should be irrelevant. Anyone who wants to elevate their own personal sexuality to the most important thing in life can find plenty of places to go and interact. And regarding gay marriage, don’t waste my time. We are supposed to fight like mad for gay marriage and then what? Gays will then have the right to be blissfully happy in their relationships like heterosexuals….Give me a break. Then the world will be “fair” give me a break. I also think hate crime legislation is ridiculous and hypocritical. It is just as hateful to beat and kill a white hetero man as it is to beat and kill a gay black man and of course it apparently is not hateful to kill any woman based on proposed legislation. At any rate if there are people concerned enough to fight for these issues their are existing groups for them to link with. What is missing is Average Jane representation.
Constance,
I must respectfully disagree.
First with your statement “Gays have a way of insisting that their sexuality trump every issue…” You’ve got it backwards. Our laws and customs, prior to gay rights, were what made sexuality trump every other issue. For example, you could be a perfectly qualified teacher with excellent performance reviews, but if you were also homosexual, you could be fired for that reason alone. You can be a terrific, well-liked soldier, but if you are homosexual, you can be discharged for that reason. In the legal and policy arenas, gays are arguing that their sexuality should NOT trump everything else; conservatives and the ill-informed insist it should.
Further, gay marriage is not about “the right to be blissfully happy.” It is about ensuring that government does not discriminate against its own citizens – wait for it – solely because of their sexuality. There is no secular, rational reason why the government should do so. And with regard to morality – given that some religions deem homosexuality a sin, and won’t marry a gay couple, while others say its perfectly fine and will marry a gay couple, the government has no business deeming that one religious view should trump the others. The government is supposed to keep its nose out of those situations, as per the First Amendment.
With regard to hate crimes- all murders are heinous. But what makes a hate crime a hate crime is that the murderer targeted the person because of an aspect of their identity, and the crime has a terrorizing effect on the broader community. When a gang of men patrols a city looking for queers to kill, the entire queer community experiences terror, knowing that any one of them could be targeted. In response, people curtail their own freedom – don’t walk alone at night, don’t hold hands with the person of their choice, and so on. A hate crime simultaneously victimizes and individual and the relevant class of people.
Likewise, for far too long women have curtailed their own civil liberties – not walking alone, not walking in certain neighborhoods, not attending certain events, you name it – because they know that as women they are categorically the target of violence, violence that would only happen to them because they are women. Thus violence against women because they are women should be considered a hate crime, because the crime has a terrorizing affect on the broader class of people.
This doesn’t mean its “worse” to murder one kind of person than another. It means that certain crimes take on additional layers of meaning, just as blowing up a building because you hate your ex-boss carries different meaning than blowing up an American embassy because you hate Americans.
Last, I don’t know what you mean by “average Jane representation.” Average Janes come in a variety of colors, orientation, and beliefs.
Ali, you are on the right track with the relationship between feminism and gay rights.
On a fundamental level, the reason some people oppose women’s rights and gay rights is because in both cases, people are not conforming to standard gender roles. All feminists are seen as intruding on the male sphere; they do not adhere to traditional female roles and stereotypes. Feminists who are lesbians are not conforming to standard gender roles because they love other women instead of men. They are particularly derided as “masculine.” Gay men do not adhere to standard gender roles because they shack up with other men, instead of women. They are typically derided as being effeminate.
Its all about maintaining a hierarchical power structure in which everybody has distinct, separate roles. Women and men who want equality and the opportunity to make a life with the person of their choice without persecution are not behaving the way traditional women and men “should,” and they are made to suffer for it.
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