What current injustices are women fighting against in America today?

[Levgreee]

I know there are some... but I want to know what every one thinks, exactly.

Let's skip loaded language in the media, and a lack of respect for now. I agree there is some, and honestly I don't want to discuss it. It is important, but because it is often subtle it takes great concentration, close study and analyzing examples, to understand accurately. This forum and this post isn't a good place to do it.

Talk about the more concrete things, the rules, the ways women are held back, etc., in America. If you are a women, discuss the ways you have been limited in your life, the lack of opportunities you have had. Have you been held back financially, or educational? Faced discrimination?


Also, what do you think would be changed if Hillary was president, if you support her? Here is her statement from the debate yesterday, perhaps you could say what it means to you.

"Obviously, I am thrilled to be running to be the first woman president, which I think would be a seachange in our country and around the world. And would give enormous hope, and you know, give a real challenge to the way things have been done, and who gets to do them, and what the rules are".


I am not trying to call Hillary supporters out or undermine women's rights... I want a discussion. I am all for identifying and destroying injustices/inequalities, although I do also think having an educated, and accurate opinion, is important also.

[Cant trust em]

1. You probably could have posted this in women's rights

and saved a GDP post. They're very valuable these days. Maybe they could be bartered for something.

[Levgreee]

3. It is an issue related to the campaigns, and the primary. It has been a hot issue here lately

I think it's worth discussing here.

[Cant trust em]

2. I find it interesting how much sexism is voluntary

or at least how gender roles aren't questioned more often. My sister is a stay at home mom with two kids. There's nothing wrong with that. Feminism is about choice. Rock on, Sarah. That being said, there was never any question of whether it would be her husband who stayed home or not.

Any thoughts?

[DURHAM D]

4. The DU is not a safe environment for a female to respond to this query.

However, you might get a few responses from posters who claim to be female but clearly have a Y chromosome.

[Cant trust em]

5. Jeez. It's been a war zone in here, hasn't it.

I have a Y. Am I allowed to have input?

[DURHAM D]

6. Well sure - you owned your Y. eom

[Cant trust em]

35. Awesome! I love having credibility.

Post #2 is mine.

[mirrera]

7. Really it is about child care for me.

In the two decades I spent raising my children, I had to choose between starting at the bottom of the ladder and paying someone else to raise my babies, or staying home with them and working from home. I chose the latter. I think to ask a woman starting out to earn so little and give up so much is unreasonable. Back then My pay would have amounted to around $2.00 per hour by the time I paid for child care. In the long run maybe I would have had a high paying job by now, but I just couldn't do it. So Child care issues are big with me. No matter how enlightened our men are, after you have been the one who for 9 months grew this life, then again your body is needed to feed this life, it takes an extraordinary couple to not fall into the old fashioned pattern of women=child care. Even now that I work, if a child's needs arise it is always assumed that my schedule will adjust, because in order to make things work, my lovely artistic husband became a 40 hour per week worker.

One of the things i loved about Obama's book Audacity of hope was his understanding that Michelle has carried the burden of this same expectation. With resources! They both understand that without the resources you can barely keep up.

Reading Hillary's book, i was struck by how kid friendly she made her staff's job and space. They always had cookies, etc.

The only other area as a Woman that the experience is really gender specific, is safety. I am never nervous at dusk if I see a female walking toward me. Males on the other hand have proven over the course of my life to be a little scary at times. I would definitely put my keys in my knuckles approaching my car at dusk with a guy around.

[goodgd_yall]

36. Similar thoughts here

I first thought child care. We need to help women be able to have affordable child care, or our work places need to do more to help women in this area. I don't have children and have never had to deal with this, but I hear enough about this to know it's a big problem.

Safety is an issue too. It always has been. Women are victims of rape and assaults just because they're women.

[Barack_America]

8. There are inequalities, but no one candidate owns the solutions. n/t

[LisaM]

9. First of all, I don't think it's entirely fair to eliminate sexist language

since language colors action, and language also colors perception. Whoever coined the phrase "words will never harm" was wrong.

I can give you, however, a concrete example. In the Seattle area, up until a few years ago, there was a (female) judge who insisted that women lawyers wear skirts or dresses to court. As any women can tell you, this is one of those things that seem minor on the surface, but that then involve a series of other small inconveniences, such as making sure you have matching stockings, shoes, extra stockings in case the first ones run, a jacket or something that has enough pockets so that you can run to the restroom, etc., without toting a bunch of bags.

Dry cleaners charge about four times as much for a woman's blouse as they do for a man's shirt.

Female wages still don't equal men's. There are areas in which they do, but women still don't earn, one on one, $1 to $1 what men do.

A woman can't join all the same clubs men can. Again, this might seem minor. But say you have a client who loves to golf. If you are a man, you can join Augusta National, take your client as your guest, and write off the membership and business costs from your taxes. A woman can not join Augusta National and enjoy these same business advantages (my solution to this is to say fine, limit it to men only but they can't claim entertaining there as a business expense - I think they would allow women within the hour).

That is a very, very tiny sampling.

[progressive_realist]

12. Golf club memberships and usage fees are not tax-deductible

Minor point, but it relates to my job, so I'm fairly certain about this. According to Publication 463 of the IRS:

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch02.html#d0e2617

Club dues and membership fees. You cannot deduct dues (including initiation fees) for membership in any club organized for:
Business,

Pleasure,

Recreation, or

Other social purpose.

This rule applies to any membership organization if one of its principal purposes is either:
To conduct entertainment activities for members or their guests, or

To provide members or their guests with access to entertainment facilities, discussed later.


The purposes and activities of a club, not its name, will determine whether or not you can deduct the dues. You cannot deduct dues paid to:
Country clubs,

Golf and athletic clubs,

Airline clubs,

Hotel clubs, and

Clubs operated to provide meals under circumstances generally considered to be conducive to business discussions.


Entertainment facilities. Generally, you cannot deduct any expense for the use of an entertainment facility. This includes expenses for depreciation and operating costs such as rent, utilities, maintenance, and protection.

An entertainment facility is any property you own, rent, or use for entertainment. Examples include a yacht, hunting lodge, fishing camp, swimming pool, tennis court, bowling alley, car, airplane, apartment, hotel suite, or home in a vacation resort.

[LisaM]

17. Our company has luxury boxes for client entertainment at sporting events

Are you telling me that they can't write off any portion of that?

Besides, even if they can't write it off, it still gives an unfair business advantage, and I'm guessing they can write off some costs associated with it.

It's not a minor point, though, and I'm glad you gave me the citation.

[spooky3]

21. You're citing a publication re: individual (1040) deductions

but the rules for deductions on business returns are different.

This article may be of interest:

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=1786

[Occam Bandage]

10. Apparently, the sad, tragic years

of Hillary Clinton not being in the White House. Fortunately, Hillary Clinton has a plan for all Hillary Clintons that could lead to Hillary Clinton having unprecedented levels of Hillary Clinton in the White House.

[DURHAM D]

11. Nice OB -

Did that make your laptop swell with manly pride?

[Occam Bandage]

27. And this is exactly what I'm talking about. Hillary Clinton's candidacy is not a

gender-identity movement, and opposition to it is not by necessity founded in a broken dependence on patriarchal heteronormativity/misogyny, nor is recognition of the preceding two clauses evidence of the same.

(Note: Your comments are appallingly sexist.)

[Jamastiene]

13. That made no sense to me whatsoever.

just for clarification, what did you mean by that?

[Occam Bandage]

26. Well, sure.

"Obviously, I am thrilled to be running to be the first woman president, which I think would be a seachange in our country and around the world. And would give enormous hope, and you know, give a real challenge to the way things have been done, and who gets to do them, and what the rules are."

White female voters are the last bloc she's holding on to, and the bloc she'll need to keep loyal if she wants to win Ohio. She's casting her candidacy an ersatz female-empowerment movement. I find this to be self-serving at best; there is little substantive reason to believe that Hillary Clinton's gender would be in any meaningful way a boon to women.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occam Bandage]

28. How sexist of you.

[cd3dem]

29. did I hit a tiny nerve?

[Occam Bandage]

31. And, again. I find it somewhere between sad and entertaining

that your best response to a claim of misplaced sexual-identity politics in a thread about the evils of sexism is a sexist attack.

[cd3dem]

37. perhaps you are mistaken... I said nothing! you must have a complex of the sorts!

Having a degree in Psychology, may I guess if you had better relationships with women, you would not feel a need to attack them!

Strong secure men, like strong women!

[stillcool]

14. It is ingrained in our society..

what the ideal woman is, and how one measures up to the standard. It's part of a women's identity, and where her place is in society. I think we learn at a very early age what works, and what doesn't. What is expected, and what is taboo. There are double standards everywhere, and there's lots of 'shoulds'. It is really difficult to put in the hours of work necessary to climb the ladder, while keeping up with family and the image. It's enough to make you crack.

[cd3dem]

15. Don't kid yourself, sexism is alive and strong in America!

I have been mistreated on the job because of gender... lost my job because of gender... sexism... you are expected to look nice on the job... and act a certain way... and be cute and petite... and laugh when the boss talks to you...

a fat woman on TV is ugly...

a fat man is on TV is married to a super-model...

and women do not stick up for each other...

[ctaylors6]

16. childcare, workplace issues (sexual harassment NOT gone, obliviousness to women's needs in workplace

Not too many years ago, I was working for firm that was going to move to new building. The head of office asked some of us our thoughts on new layout (to be remodeled for our firm). He said, isn't it great that all the doors were made of clear glass so natural light could flow? I pointed out that all that beautifully flowing light would be just dandy while I was using my breast pump in my see-through office!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

18. Not Sure If This Applies, But This Is A Very Personal Eye Opener To Me About Sexism.

If you didn't already know, my wife passed away in October and I am now a single father of two young boys. I have been doing it all on my own and playing the roles of both mother and father, caregiver and breadwinner. It is more challenging and exhausting than you can imagine, but I'm proud to say I'm doing a great job with it. Having that said; along the way it started to become very clear to me the inherent sexism and expectations within our society, and it's actually bothered me quite a bit. I even ranted long and hard about it to the nurse at my work yesterday, when we were talking about things.

See, since this all happened, I've found a HUGE newfound respect for single parents who raise their children on their own. But what I've found, is that I'm treated special merely because I'm a man. Both men and women are guilty of doing this. In the past few months, after seeing how well I've been doing as a single father, I've gotten so many pats on the back for it. I've gotten such praise with things said like "Oh my god, I don't know how you do it! You are an amazing person! I couldn't imagine how hard that must be!" etc etc.. I constantly get this praise like I'm some sort of hero because I'm a single dad and doing a really good job at working full time and still taking care of the house, laundry, dishes, bathtimes, dinners, etc. I deserve that praise to a degree, because it IS that hard and I know I am doing a good job. But ya know what? ALL THE SINGLE MOMS OUT THERE DESERVE IT TOO. That's the part that's been pissing me off a bit. I can tell that I'm getting these praises, these pats on the back, these statements of awe as to how hard it must be, merely because I'm a man. But I know damn well women are not getting this same praise, and I say why the fuck not? Why does society have this bullshit perception that women are natural caregivers and homemakers, and that THEIR working fulltime while pulling all the rest of the weight should just be expected of them somehow? Is it any easier for them to do laundry? Any easier for them to do the dishes? Any easier for them to give baths, make dinner, put the kids in bed, clean the house, wake up early to get them ready for school, make their lunches, and then go to work a full day?

No, it isn't. It's every single bit as hard for them as it is for me. They struggle every bit as much as I do. They feel every bit as exhausted as I do. But do they get that same level of praise? Not by a longshot. It's almost like it's expected of them. It's treated like an "ehh, so what. She's a woman. That's what they do" kinda mentality. But they deserve the praise to every single degree in which I've received it, and I'm trying to do my part by praising any full time single mom I come across. In fact, I want to sit down and write an article praising them to Parents/Parenting magazine, because I think it's about time they get it, especially from a man.

rant off, but glad to get it off my chest a bit.

[JeffR]

20. Well said, OMC

You should write that article.

[boston bean]

22. wow, thanks OMC! that certainly says a lot about who you are.

I appreciate it, I really do!

[spooky3]

23. great post - and hope things get better for you as time goes on

[Beausoir]

32. You should write that article.

And, jeeze, I feel so badly about the horror you all went through with the illness and death of your beautiful wife. She really was a beautiful girl. I think about it to this day and hope you and those boys are doing well.


Write that article.

[spooky3]

24. people probably won't post many anecdotes here but

the social science research literature provides a lot of evidence of discrimination.

[NYPat]

25. Seeing Hillary's treatment has been eye opening for many of us

Women are respected only if they stay in their place as wife, mother, etc. This primary season has brought to the surface some surprisingly sexist attitudes of friends, family, and the media. Insulting comments that are really based on gender are insulting to all of that gender. It's not about Hillary winning, it's about a fair fight. It would seem that black men have come further than women.

[GarbagemanLB]

33. Oh please. Hillary was the media darling two months ago and during the late nineties. Don't play the

victim card, it is pathetic.

[Beausoir]

34. So true.

[cd3dem]

30. I say write them and tell them you will not watch their shows....

"Meet the Press" is off at my house!

[boston bean]

38. We continually fight against people who tell us their are no injustices, because they insist on

turning a blind eye to it.