The Decline of Women in America?

[SunsetDreams]

We are mothers, sisters and daughters. We are multi-taskers, leaders and advocates. We are care-takers, Governors and executives. We are 51% of the population. Yet still, in 2012, women are seeing vicious attacks on basic (some might say "unalienable&quot rights. How did this happen? How, in the 21st century, are we having conversations that move the debate further away from equality?

The current generation of young women has often been told that our mothers and grandmothers did the fighting for us. Because of their determination, we have the right to vote, we have access to contraception and abortion is legal. We grew up thinking that the fight was over and that we could live our lives in equality. We believed that after decades of effort and sacrifice by brave women who came before us, that being a woman would no longer be the reason we couldn't do something. Sadly, in just one day, there were more than enough examples to tell us that our fight is far from over.

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, five middle-aged men in Congress held a hearing about our access to birth control. No women were allowed at the table, and no women who support birth control were allowed to testify. This travesty of misrepresentation ignored the fact that 98% of women in the United States use some form of birth control. Congress was proposing to make decisions about our bodies, but no one thought to ask what we thought.

Meanwhile, just a little to the south, the State Legislature in Virginia passed a law requiring that women receive a trans-vaginal ultrasound, which includes inserting a probe inside of the woman, if they want to get an abortion, even if it is against their will. Put another way: this past week, the Virginia State Legislature approved state-sanctioned rape.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nomiki-konst/the-decline-of-women-in-a_b_1289367.html

[Raven]

1. Actually, I think it is the RISE of women

that has brought this on. Women have become more independent and successful and this threatens these neanderthals.

[IndyJones]

34. I agree with you. But let's take this further and really make it a rise of women

and be a united front on these issues. I am so completely offended and angry that we are having these discussions in 2012 and women are not even invited to the table.

I can appreciate that WOMEN democrats walked out of the meeting with Issa, but why didn't the men?

Maybe before men buy viagra or cialis, they should have to provide financials and a written contract that states if they get a woman pregnant, they will have to pay a certain amount, sort of like a sexual prenup. And they should also have to go through a bunch of expensive testing they have to pay for to prove they really need it. It's not something that should be between them and their doctors, but them and everyone. Let's get the government involved in their ejaculations at every level possible. After all, every sperm is sacred, right?

[Demeter]

2. GOP Men have a choice

They can get their heads out of their patriarchy, or wait to be replaced by frozen sperm and/or parthenogenesis.

We aren't going back. They can be "left behind" in the hell they created for everyone else.

[shcrane71]

3. 73% of graduates from journalism schools are women; yet well over half of all news rooms are male.

The number of female political leaders in the US is on the decline. The number of large corporate CEOs or corporate board seats occupied by women has never opened up.

In 1845, Sweden enacted a law that women had to have the same inheritance rights as their brothers, and parents weren't allowed to disinherit their children. Sweden is the best place for women on the planet. I fear for the US.

[TwilightGardener]

4. With all the challenges and problems we face as a country today, how fucking depressing

is it that we have to fight the same stupid gender battles from the 60's and 70's all over again? I mean, access to BIRTH CONTROL--are they fucking serious??

[SunsetDreams]

5. I know it's crazy

The Republicans want to take us back to the "dark ages".

[Beacool]

6. In 2008 young women had the chance to vote for a woman for president.

And not just any woman; a woman that had been fighting for women and children's rights since her youth. Instead, young women voted for the "cool" candidate.

Women are 51% of the population, but are very poorly represented in politics, particularly in Congress and in governorships. We have less representation in Congress than any industrilized nation and many other countries, including Muslim nations.

So much for women's equality in the US......

[SunsetDreams]

7. I don't ever vote for someone merely because they are the same gender

nor would I ever. By your reasoning, if Michelle Bachmann were to win the Republican Nomination for President, and going up against President Obama...I guess women should all line up and vote for her because she is a woman. Never mind that her policies would not be good for women, but she's a woman, so it's ok.

[Beacool]

8. What did I write?

I said that she was a woman who stood up for women and childrens' rights since her youth. Did I say just vote for any woman?

[SunsetDreams]

11. Perhaps it was your statement "so much for women's equality"

I get that you were a Hillary supporter, and really wanted Hillary to become the 44th President of the United States. Even though I did not support her in the Primaries, I would have voted for her if she were to have won the Democratic nomination.

[Zalatix]

14. Me, too. I'm in it for Elizabeth Warren in 2016.

[chrisa]

13. Or, people didn't want another Clinton in the Whitehouse

After electing another Bush. People didn't vote for Obama because he was "cool" - they voted for him because they believed that he was the best candidate.

I agree with your second paragraph.

[Arugula Latte]

15. In case you missed it, it's the Republicans, not Obama, who are waging war on women.

[Beacool]

18. Yeah, he's a fearless defender of women's reproductive rights.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/obama-administration-refuses-to-relax-plan-b-restrictions/2011/12/07/gIQAF5HicO_story.html

[Arkana]

21. Yes, the President who just made Catholic institutions provide birth control under their insurance

plans is just such a woman-hater. You got it.

Seriously, what's it like being you? Does your rage at the fact that it's no longer the 1990s keep you warm at night? Hillary Clinton lost in the primaries, and I think she's taking it better than you are.

[Beacool]

29. You have no clue.

So you can save your personal attacks for someone else.

BTW, I never said that Obama was a woman hater, nor do I believe him to be so. But, he's no great defender of women's reproductive rights either.

[Arkana]

32. You never said Obama was a woman hater?

Re-read your previous post.

And there are plenty of reasons to personally attack you on this particular subject as far as I'm concerned. You show nothing but contempt for the President and the people who voted for them, and you never miss an opportunity to mock them or put them down in some way--even in threads like this, where Hillary wasn't even the discussion topic.

[Summer Hathaway]

19. "Instead, young women voted for the "cool" candidate."

So you're saying that young women are too stupid, too ill-informed, too prone to voting for candidates they think are "cool" rather than voting for who they think is the better candidate?

As you say, "so much for women's equality" - especially when their fellow females declare that they are incapable of voting based on any criteria other than some perceived "coolness", and are so obviously swayed by its allure.

Maybe we should stop young women from voting altogether, given their inherent inability, being females, to support a candidate based on anything other than who's cool and who's not.

[Number23]

22. The irony punches you in the gut and kicks you in the teeth, don't it?

With one hand, this poster discusses women's equality as if it is something admirable and important. (It is.)

In the SAME BREATH, the same poster wants to bemoan that women had the nerve (the NERVE!!) to vote for a candidate of their choosing instead of another candidate because she was a woman.

If we are apparently so stupid that we will vote for someone merely because they are "cool," then why in God's name would she or anyone who thinks like her be saying that we need to have equality? Apparently, women are MUCH too stupid to have actual equality unless of course, "equality" means supporting Hillary Clinton and nothing else beyond that.

And it's sad but I honestly believe that's exactly what the poster means by "equality."

[Summer Hathaway]

23. The irony is pretty jaw-dropping, isn't it?

Please keep in mind that I am only replying to you because I think you're "cool".

Being a flighty female, "coolness" is the only thing I capable of responding to - or voting for.

[Arkana]

20. Holy shit you're bitter.

She lost. Get over it.

[Beacool]

27. Oh, please...........

Get over yourself!!!

[Liquorice]

26. The way Hillary Clinton was treated in that primary

really opened my eyes. I learned that America is way too misogynistic to accept a woman as president, and that there is widespread sexism within the democratic party. But probably the most disheartening thing I learned is that some of the sexists and even misogynists are WOMEN. For example, my next-door neighbor at the time, a young woman, told me she would never vote for a woman for president because women are too emotional and can't make good decisions.

I also remember a lot of women saying they wouldn't vote for a woman "just because" she's a woman, as if it was a badge of honor to go against Hillary if you are a woman--they would say it with great pride and determination, as if NOT supporting a woman was an empowering thing, and many men really seemed to like this attitude. I never understood it. Instead of feeling pride and gathering to support the first viable female presidential candidate, (the way so many black people did with Obama), women stood AGAINST her. And that spoke volumes about American culture and the way girls and women are socialized in our country.

We have such a long way to go in this country before women will have equal representation.

[Beacool]

28. Thank you.

That was mostly my point. I worked the 2008 campaign and I remember enough internal polls to last me a lifetime. Obama's main demographics were the youth (male AND female), AA and those making over 150K.

We had enough young volunteers to know how they were treated by their peers for not supporting the candidate of the youth, Obama. So, whether it offends some or not (I really don't care), Obama WAS viewed as being the cool candidate by most of the young.

As for the sexism, the party leadership was mute until after Hillary dropped out in June. The MSM seemed to have lost any semblance of objectivity in 2008, particularly MSNBC. The most disappointing aspect of the whole thing was the behavior of some of the women journalists, just as sexist as their male colleagues. That was an eye opener. People here mostly have no idea want really went on behind the scene at the DNC. Suffice it to say that I became an Independent that summer. I'm now not beholden to either party, nor will I help with anyone else's campaign unless I personally know them.

[Whisp]

31. so I gather you think Margaret Thatcher was all that and a bag of chips.

please.
I resented being called a traitor to women here because I didn't see Presidential qualities in Hillary.
If she couldn't even run a campaign how could she possibly run all the mess left from the repugs?

I'd support Elizabeth Warren in a heartbeat - honest, no rattling skeletons to watch constantly which ones she may inadvertently bring to life, knowlegeable, confident and trustworthy. All these things plus being a woman is very nice. But all those things in anyone is worth voting for. The woman part is just a really really nice bonus.

[Liquorice]

33. You misunderstand me. In the same way that

most black people did not support Herman Cain, I would not have supported Margaret Thatcher. Herman Cain does not have the best interests of the black community and therefore they did not support him. I would not support Thatcher or any republican woman running for president because I don't agree with them politically.

What I'm talking about is women not supporting the first viable woman candidate in their own party, and proudly telling everyone they don't support her "just because" she's a woman, as if that's a badge of honor. That is the issue here. That is what was so disturbing about the primary, and I believe it happened because of the way girls and women are socialized in America. Sexism is very pervasive here, and cultural biases against women can be seen in the attitudes that both men and women have about supporting a woman for a position of power.

And I'm sure you would support Elizabeth Warren, but would you have supported her over Obama in 2008? Many of the women during the 2008 primary would not have, and they would have had the same argument they did about Hillary Clinton--the argument that they weren't going to support her "just because" she is a woman. When in fact, I think the truth was they wouldn't support her BECAUSE she is a woman. There's little doubt that the 2008 primary would have turned out the same with Warren losing the nomination to Obama because women are taught not to support women "just because" they're women. As a result, they wind up not supporting women at all.

[Whisp]

35. Warren Vs. Obama

Now that is an interesting yummy thought.

I don't know! But what a nice choice to have, like: would you like your favourite dish or your other favourite dish?

I can only speak for myself but I did not see Hillary as capable of the job, just that simple. But I did have a lot of friends and family that DID support her just BECAUSE she was a woman. Til I straightened them out that is, and they thanked me eventually.

[Liquorice]

37. That's exactly what I'm talking about. You didn't see

her as "capable of the job." That sounds very biased, especially considering her vast experience and the fact that she was in the senate longer than Obama was. She was clearly more than capable.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a democrat supporting a fellow democrat because she is a woman. What could you possibly find wrong with women getting enthusiastic about a female candidate for president and putting their time and effort into getting that woman elected? Millions of black democrats did that with Obama, and they shouldn't have been "set straight" for it anymore than a woman supporting Hillary Clinton should have been. What a shame that you succeeded in making your friends and family feel they had been wrong to support a woman. What a shame.

[Whisp]

38. no it's not biased.

it was a fair comparison between 2 candidates. wtf, everyone who voted for Obama or thought they didn't like Hillary's policies (like her vote on the war in Iraq) are Biased against women?

and I will say again I did not see she was capable because of things like this:

and that beyond stupidity Tuzla scenario. and the Shame on You, Shame on You. good lord.

See, that's where I blank out. I just don't understand how her actions and words are to be overlooked because she is a woman. You'd have to have endorsed Michele Bachman then and ...

I think I'm done with us - I don't know how to further explain the obvious.

[treestar]

9. We need to learn not to blow off off year elections

That's what this boils down to.

Taking things for granted - never good.

[RockaFowler]

12. 100% correct

[Skidmore]

10. "51% of the population and birthed 100% of the population"...heard that

statement from someone on the teevee yesterday (can't remember who) and it stuck with me.

[AmazingSusan]

17. Yes!

[AmazingSusan]

16. Invisible, Discounted and/or abused. Unacceptable!

My research shows no rise, continued decline is what I see.

http://amazingwomenrock.com/invisible-women-where-is-half-the-worlds-population

The fight is far from over...

[JNathanK]

24. The mandatory vaginal probing bill in Virginia says it all

[Whisp]

36. that just totally knocked me out.

I am still reeling.

wtf.

[Rex]

25. ...

[Sparkly]

30. It's "Backlash," and the campaign to make Feminism unfashionable.

As in, "I'm for equal rights, but I'm not a Feminist."