The Honorable Carol Moseley Braun, the first African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, recently announced her candidacy for Mayor of Chicago! Moseley Braun has served at every level of government — local, state federal and international. Her lifelong commitment to public service continues now as she works for a new vision for her hometown of Chicago.
We all know that crying is considered “girly” behavior, and not very “leaderly,” and something that should be done in private rather than public. Crying is associated with “there’s something wrong with you,” “you need some help.” So often psychological states coded feminine are considered something to be treated medically rather than taken at face value.
Militarism perpetuates a chronic state of insecurity. As long as we accept that there will always be an enemy and something to fear, we will not be able to find genuine security, and women will continue to be attacked and disadvantaged.
As I type, the Washington State Board of Pharmacy is considering whether to repeal a 2007 rule that prevented pharmacies from refusing to dispense medication. As reported in RH Reality Check, “two of the three women on the board support keeping the rule as-is (ie, ensuring that pharmacies cannot refuse to dispense medication) and three of the four men support changing it to allow pharmacies to refer women elsewhere.”
There has been a lot of discussion within feminist circles about the lack of choices for Halloween costumes for women and girls. Almost every female costume is sexy — whether it’s sexy kitten, sexy cop, sexy nurse, or sexy ________ fill in the blank. There is nothing creative about these costumes that encourage women to fulfill male fantasies.
