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As a parent of two young daughters, I am constantly exasperated. It is increasingly difficult to find positive images in the world around us for my daughters. Dora the Explorer seemed to be a relative beacon of hope in a sea of Barbie and Minnie Mouse. That is, until now.

I’m not saying that Dora was perfect, far from it. At least she wasn’t as limited by the stereotypical depictions of female and feminine. But, alas, they’ve given her a makeover, complete with plastic surgery. The image above shows you what they’ve done to her. Gone is the short haircut, the sneakers, the clothing most appropriate for her passion (exploring) and the magic backpack that allowed her self-suffiency. How will she ever carry the tools of her trade – sticky tape, socks and canoe paddles?

What concerns me the most is the way she’s being marketed, as tween Dora. It seems to insinuate that young women can go through their “tomboy” phase, but the expectation is that they grow out of it. I know some people will say that its good for Dora to grow up so that young women who grew up with her can still relate to her. However, if young women relate to this new Dora, isn’t it just because she is almost indistinguishable from the stereotypical image young women are shown and sold? So what if the Bratz dolls were more overly sexualized, this new Dora is a not so distant cousin. What’s next for Dora – a makeup bag instead of a backpack so she can apply foundation whenever necessary? Who needs sticky tape when you can attract a man – hey, it’s apparently never too early to start. Besides, we all know that men always have duct tape with them wherever they go, this way Dora won’t have to carry it herself. (In case y’all don’t know me that well, that’s sarcasm – pretty much all of it!)

Okay, so the new Dora isn’t carrying a makeup bag, and she doesn’t have a boyfriend yet, that I know of, but what are my daughters going to think? How can they not feel the expectations of them as young women restricting, at least as far as image goes? How do you think it might impact the thinking of all youth, regardless of gender identity?

As my daughters get older and struggle to define themselves, I want their options to broaden, not be constrained to a narrow view of what women should look like. Where are the positive images out there? Anyone!? Help!

Break the Cycle recently released the 2009 State-by-State Teen Dating Violence Report Card.

The report card is a review of each state’s civil domestic violence protection order laws and their impact on teens seeking protection from abusive relationships. This year, the report includes a revised scoring system to better assess the impact of state laws on teens seeking protection orders, information on changes to protection order laws and recommendations for improving state laws and policies to better protect teen victims.

Texas earned a B on the report. Not bad, but we’ve still got work to do! Are any of y’all high school students or do you have children who are? What do you see happening in Texas schools?

To commemorate Women’s History Month, Girl w/Pen has posted a women’s history blog quiz. Test your knowledge, then repost the quiz on your own blog AND add one question of your own. Click “read more” for the answers. Good luck!

1. In 2009, women make up what percent of the U.S. Congress?
A. 3%
B. 17%
C. 33%
D. 50%

2. How many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are female?
A. 12
B. 28
C. 59
D. 84

3. Who was the first First Lady to create her own media presence (ie hold regular press conferences, write a daily newspaper column and a monthly magazine column, and host a weekly radio show)?
A. Eleanor Roosevelt
B. Jacqueline Kennedy
C. Pat Nixon
D. Hillary Clinton

4. The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress in:
A. 1923
B. 1942
C. 1969
D. 1971

5. Who was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
A. Phyllis Wheatley
B. Alice Walker
C. Toni Morrison
D. Maya Angelou

6. What percentage of union members are women today?
A. 10%
B. 25%
C. 35%
D. 45%

7. When did the first rape crisis centers open in the U.S.?
A. 1955
B. 1964
C. 1972
D. 1983

Read more

During spring break my daughter (7 years old), nephews (13 and 9 years old) and I journeyed to Book People. While perusing, my 13 year-old nephew inquired, “Was Jesus really a Feminist?” He was referring to a book in my stack titled Jesus Was a Feminist by Leonard Swindler. “What does feminism mean to you?” I asked. “Girls who are mean to boys,” he replied. I asked the same question to the others. “I have no clue,” answered the 9 year-old. “The President!!” answered my daughter (an ardent Hillary supporter). She followed up with, “someone who is nice and fights for freedom.”

I seized the opportunity to discuss the principles of feminism in terms familiar to them. At the end of the conversation each child had a basic understanding of feminism and how it effects the lives of BOTH girls and boys. “Why did Sarah Palin not consider herself a feminist?” asked the 13 year-old. His knowledge of politics and his ability to construct a profound query based on our brief conversation blew me away. Sarah Palin and feminism in the same sentence is a subject for another day, however his curiosity raises an excellent question.

I believe children are feminists in the making. “Girls can do anything boys can do!” is the rally cry of young girls everywhere. The desire to excel and the demand of gender respect at a young age is a not only a natural component of feminism but an opportunity to congeal the principles. I believe in feminist principles, however until last week neglected to have a detailed conversation with my kids on the subject. It is important to make clear to our young boys and girls what feminism is about in terms understandable to them. Expected gender norms and harmful messages intended to define our children must be challenged. Take a moment to observe young children during recess and class projects. Humor, talent and intelligence trump gender. Success and winning are important, whether you’re a boy or a girl is not. With that being said, how is feminism perceived by the children in your life? Ask the questions, you’ll be surprised by the answers.

A coworker – Linda Hunter – and I recently decided to compile a timeline of the history of the movements for women’s rights and to end sexual violence. We knew from personal experience and from speaking to rape crisis center staff that there is a lack of connection to and knowledge of the history of these movements. What we discovered upon compiling this timeline was eye opening. 

For example, we learned that International Women’s Day – which just passed on March 8 – was called International Working Women’s Day its first year, 1909, and that it started with the women of the labor movement in the U.S. We learned about the successes of our past, such as the ratification of the 19th Amendment (pictured above) and the formation of the first rape crisis centers in 1972. We also learned about movement failures, including the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 failing to close the wage gap for women and the Equal Rights Amendment, which has yet to be ratified. Did you know how intertwined the women’s rights movement was and is with the civil rights movement, women’s health movement and LGBTQI movement?

Many of us have a short memory of the movement. We’ve only known a time when rape crisis centers focus primarily on service provision. What is lost is the connection to a larger movement with roots that extend well back into the past. It would be like trying to understand the history of the Earth by examining the 20th and 21st centuries. It robs us of our sense of belonging, strips away a sense of how much we’ve accomplished, causes us to forget the central beliefs and goals upon which this movement were founded and effectively silences the founders of this movement.

The timeline we compiled is designed to create a place in our memories and our hearts for the history of our movement. It shows us that significant change in cultural attitudes and political gains were the direct result of the struggle of movements.  

The timeline is not a finished product. We know that there are gaps in information, and we are soliciting your help in filling in those gaps. We encourage everyone to take time to search for the whole story and to connect to the history of struggle that is the women’s movement.

What is missing from this timeline? Where can we find it?

How could you adapt the timeline for use in searching for lessons from the past in your own community or agency?

Recently I was enjoying a beer with a friend and a few acquaintances – I was the only woman in the group – and one of the men shared a joke. The punchline was “women are good for three things: cooking, cleaning and [dramatic pause] vagina.”

*Cringe* Reflexively, I laughed along with the others (though much less forcefully), but inside I was appalled. Only one of the men didn’t laugh. After a moment, he simply said to the wannabe comedian, “that’s just not funny.” He didn’t sound angry or combative, just factual. Though he didn’t directly challenge the misogyny inherent in the joke, I was glad that he at least said something, since no one else did (myself and my friend included). As the only woman at the table, I wanted to object, but knew that if I did, I would only invite ridicule.

As I reflected on the incident later, I wondered whether anyone else at the table was uncomfortable with the joke. Had any of the men thought at all about how I felt being the target of such a comment? Did anyone think critically about the joke and what it said about women, power and violence? Women are constantly the targets of so-called jokes that reinforce the idea that we should always be available to serve the physical and sexual needs of men. I guess I just don’t see the humor when we live in a world where women are routinely physically and sexually assaulted – a harsh reality that many men have the privilege of ignoring (see Tim’s recent post).

One of my ongoing personal challenges is how to react in these types of situations – when “little things” like this occur and I am faced with a choice between being agreeable and standing up for myself. When I am the lone woman in a group, it becomes even more difficult, and intimidating, to speak up.

How do you all deal with situations like this? How do you feel when you don’t speak up and wish you had? What expectations do you have for friends and loved ones when it comes to confronting sexism?

Sojourner Truth was a slave, an abolitionist, a women’s rights activist, a suffragist and a preacher who lived from 1797 through 1883. There is so much more to tell about her story, and clicking on her name can give you some of that story. I want to focus on a particular speech she gave in 1851 at a women’s rights convention in Ohio because it carries a critical message for us still today. 

Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech spoke to the division within the women’s rights movement around the issue of race. It reminded folks that, as a Black woman, she deserved the same rights as the white women in the room and in the country. Often, movements for social justice splinter or fail in their goals in similar ways. Whether it be race, class, sexual orientation, nationality or some other component of peoples’ humanity, these differences are used to separate those who are thought to deserve the rights being struggled for from “others.” Thus, the women’s suffrage movement splintered over issues of race and class, and they found that women’s suffrage did not lead to women’s equity, partially because they did not struggle for equity for all. Similarly, the civil rights movement splintered over issues of race, gender and sexual orientation. As we move forward, we must listen to the timeless lesson of Sojourner Truth (read here by the great activist and writer Alice Walker) and work for justice and equity for all as we struggle to end sexual violence. 

How do racism, classism, homophobia, adultism, etc. help create an environment where violence, including sexual violence, is more likely to occur?

How do we address issues of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, age, ability, etc. in our efforts to end sexual violence?

Check out Ben Sollee calling out the bad news of strict gender norms in this song It’s Not Impossible.

Something I failed to mention in my blog-ography is that I love me some live music. And Austin the best place to live for those of us who love hearing everyone from well-known bands to obscure new artists play in venues big and small.

Every now and again we even get to hear great artists with an unexpected message. My friend introduced me to the music of Ben Sollee a few months ago, and we heard him live last night. I had heard It’s Not Impossible on his CD but hadn’t really paid attention to it until he introduced it – talking about how young men aren’t given many options for expressing themselves and are certainly told from a very young age that they aren’t supposed to cry. This was his song about dealing with that and about the remaining options such as:

You can kick and scream
Cause a scene
Take your anger out
On someone else
Steal the car
Race the car
But don’t you dare
No don’t you dare cry

Way to break it down, Ben! He puts on a good show, overall, and sings about other pertinent social issues such as voting, politics, coal mining and mountain-top removal. Any songs that y’all are digging lately?

I’m reading Charlotte Ryan’s Prime Time Activism: Media Strategies for Grassroots Organizing and today I came across this quote, “As a rule of thumb, social movements attempting more radical changes are likely to be more vulnerable to distortion.” So, I started thinking about the ways that the anti-sexual violence movement, and the women’s equality movement more broadly, are distorted in the MSM.

Upon first glance, it doesn’t really seem like ending sexual violence is such a radical concept (people routinely ask me, upon learning where I work, “is anyone really FOR sexual assault?” and then congratulate themselves on their cleverness). When we start talking about HOW to do that, though, it becomes clear that it actually is quite radical based on mainstream societal standards.

In order to end sexual violence, strict gender roles need to be eradicated, attitudes about sexuality and power and control must be altered – these are radical concepts by most people’s standards – so, they get distorted. These ideas are sometimes painted as anti-man/anti-family; other times, prevention gets distilled down to self-defense classes and watch your drink campaigns. Comprehensive, accurate coverage of the work we do is rare.

What do you think? Is the distortion just due to the MSM’s tendency to avoid in-depth analysis and penchant for sensationalism, or is the movement singled out because of its more radical aims? Or is it something else all together?