Let me just say that I am always happy to see the bigots get screwed. (Hey KKK! Once you’re done digesting SPLC’s latest successful lawsuit against you for beating up a child, get a taste of THIS!) I am also happy to see President Obama [1] shatter yet another barrier of Kyriarchy [2] around the most powerful job in the world.
And, in the spirit of the day, I will join the blogular trend of disguising a rant as a letter addressed to the new President: [3]
Dear President Obama,
As you savor your inauguration day, and take in the view from above the color ceiling, please don’t forget the other half of humanity. Women, of any color, have never reached that place where you are now. Please stretch a hand behind you and help them climb to the heights that you have reached.
And if you think you are high now, you should see the heights at which the American people have placed you. Many a feminist has already placed an astronomical amount of hope in you:
I wish I could share in their optimism, but already I see things that trouble me.
I see the political gains that women made alongside your own being all but erased by your administration. The election of 2008 was a groundbreaking for both African-Americans and women, yet Hillary Rodham Clinton’s White House bio ignores her historic run as the first major-party female candidate for President. Despite her massive campaign debt, Hillary has already dedicated herself to your administration as Secretary of State. Your presidency will not be weakened by acknowledging the existence of Hillary’s political capabilities. Give Hillary the dignity of acknowledging her historic run, and promote her as a role model to women who wish to engage in public service at a higher level than wife or canvasser.
With the mantra of change surrounding your presidency, I was dismayed to see the same old (mis)treatment of first ladies in your administration. Michelle Obama, the love of your life, spent the day next to you freezing and in heels, while all of her lifetime accomplishments (save the Patriarchally-acceptable ones of wife and mother) were marginalized [4] on the White House website. Michelle Obama should be allowed shine next to you. You must fight back against the handlers who say that the only place for a first lady is in your shadow. Hillary Rodham Clinton charted a new path for first ladies, and that path should be open to Michelle Obama as well.
Speaking of charting new courses, please call the fashion dogs off of Michelle Obama. The sadistic fashion industry has mandated that women must wear miniskirts and too-small-to-close coats this winter season. You and Michelle Obama must resist this awful fashion ‘trend’, for the sake of all women and for the sake your daughters. No parent wants to see their children frostbitten [5], so please stop the rabid fashion designers now before they get to Malia and Sasha in a few years.
Despite all that I see, I hope that Ms. Magazine is right: having just broken through your own oppressive ceiling, perhaps you will remember the glass ceiling that still hangs over women. Fortunately, you are in an excellent position to help women right now. The Equal Rights Amendment [6] lies just three states shy of ratification, and it has not yet been ratified by your own state of Illinois. In 2003, the Illinois House (but not the Senate) ratified the ERA. With your leadership, perhaps women can come one state closer to enjoying the same legal rights that you do.
There was a time when women were ridiculed for wanting to ratify the 19th Amendment which guaranteed them the right to vote. Women were stoned, imprisoned in rat-infested jails, and force-fed for going on hunger strikes. It took decades for women to win the right to vote, and only last year did the White House become an actual possibility for a woman.
Sound familiar?
So stretch your hand back, and help the rest of humanity climb with you.
Sincerely,
Jay
From Daisy PukeYes, this concept had occurred to me too.You and Violet from Reclusive Leftist, are laying bare the reality of this last election, when it got down to gloves off, the bones laid bare of the 2 issues – patriarchy or women’s rights – with the 2 main democratic contenders.What was so obvious also, was the inclusion of the “race” factor with the male contender. Had the female contender been black, well, that would have presented another interesting conundrum. What transpired with the Oba tactics, and subsequent treatment of Hillary just proved that men unite as one, under the patriarchal umbrella, whatever colour. Snoop Dog and Hef shaking hands with the smug smile of entitlement on their faces. (None of the selections on the down-arrow menu for choosing a name for yourself, in such-and-such category, in order to post a comment, worked for me, so I chose anon, but am declaring myself – insane as it happens)
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From Daisy Puke”I live in Boston, so believe me when I tell you that women are loosing skin to the cold in pursuit of “beauty”.”Sorry – I hope you don’t mind me saying this- this is one of my niggles – the word is “losing” as in “I’m losing it”. “Loosing” is not really a word. I am on a campaign to stop this rot ….yeah, I’m a sad loser. Did you get how I did that? I should write more for Urban Dic.And yes, on this topic, I live in the UK, and the clothes for summer are just a tad skimpier than the clothes for winter. I had problems finding normal winter clothes this year, not that I shop that much, but occasionally you need a new coat or sweater. I noted that, if you innocently go to buy a sweater, you will need to buy other shit to go with it, or it will look a bit odd. Does no one else see how this is working? The dressy shoes in stores are also meant to be worn in lapdancing clubs, where there, at least the women wearing them get to support themselves by holding on to a pole and other props. But “real life” women are expected to walk around in them in icy conditions which can be hazardous at the best of times. I have done stints in lapdancing clubs, and over the last few years, I could see this shoe thing coming. Next it’ll be those fetish Ballet shoes and/or foot binding, and, women will be volunteering to have this done, as opposed to “obvious” oppressive regimes, where they are required to do things dress-wise by law. You get what I’m saying? We can have our “freedom”, but it’s not really freedom, as we are still expected to conform, to shut up about it, and all non-conformers are shoved to one side. So, window-dressing freedom(scuse the expression), which hides oppression just as misogynistic as other forms…Same Oppression, Different Way of Dishing it Out. As yet, I have not seen many wearing these contraptions of torture, but I’m sure many do wear them in offices, of which I no longer have to be part of. I would freak. I left one job because this woman with huge silicone breasts, who all the guys would ogle at, pissed me off so much, I left. This is an expample of what is happening – self-regulating, by default, elbowing out all the objectors, and leaving the ones who conform to pat standards in place. I say “real life women”, I forgot that the pat will not be happy until “real life” becomes what they see in their heads, on the internet, and in said lapdance clubs. It’s happening…you can see it reflected in ordinary clothes stores at a mall near you.
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Thanks for the spelling catch, Daisy Puke. Spellcheckers are a crutch of mine.And you are absolutely right about the shoes. The US version of foot binding is already underway, as women amputate toes to fit their feet into pointed shoes.
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