Hormones

I was having dinner with some friends last night when I mentioned the NuvaRing, a birth control alternative that releases a steady flow of hormones, much like The Pill. I only just learned about this handy device and I'm particularly interested in it because you can make it work so you never have a period. Hallelujah! This is a Goddess-send to someone like me - a newly single bi girl, nearly 40-years-old, who plans never to have children. I mean, what's the point of menstruating for a woman like me?

But my friends, who are health-conscious sorts like me, were appalled by the idea. They find the artificial hormones to be too scary. Doctors say the NuvaRing is safe as can be. But is it a bad idea to play chemist with one's own body chemistry? I've been doing so for years with other medication so I guess I'm just not that freaked out by it.

I'm curious to hear from readers on this. Send us your hormone stories, birth control preferences, rants and raves...
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Guest Post: Local Election Results!

This is from Guest Blogger Zora Neale Hurston:

Power to Teton County, Wyoming! Do you know that Teton County had the nation's first all-woman town and county governments? In the early 1900s every town and county official from Mayor to Sheriff was a woman. Finally, some thoughtful, strong, sensible women are stepping up to the political plate to help fix local politics. Not one, but two great advocates for my home town have advanced to the general election in November. Louise Lasley is Public Lands Director at the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. Her participation on the Town Council is critical during the current Master Planning cycle.

Claire Fuller, a 24-year-old 3rd generation Wilsonite, couldn't be a better advocate and example to women of all ages. Fair, intelligent, and motivated, Claire will carry her ideas and values into the world. Her grandmother is one of my heroes. Ginny Huidekoper taught me how to drive a tractor on the ranch she homesteaded at the base of Teton Pass. With views of the valley from the bench, huge granite boulders dot her hay fields like a Wyoming Zen garden. Ginny's an author, homesteader, pilot (the first woman pilot in the state), entrepreneur (she started one of Jackson's news paper on a dare received at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson), Olympian, and a no-nonsense liver of life.

If Claire has been smart enough to pick up one iota of the magic possessed by the women in her family (her mom, Zadie, is an outstanding musician and fantastic educator), then we'll be in damn good shape for her term of office. And I know she has been.

"To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world - that I am able to change it in positive ways." - Maxine Hong Kingston
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Daily Reflection

Oh, the glory of growth, silent, might, persistent, inevitable.
To awaken, to open up like a flower to the light
of a fuller consciousness.
-Emily Carr

I love this quote for the day. Emily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

The Importance of Solitude

Privacy is essential not only to the souls of painters and poets, who thrive in solitude, but to the rest of us too - individuals whose canvas is our lives.
- Sue Halpern

Good luck to all for whom solitude is going to be the state of existence for a while. May you find it nourishing and the building block for increased integrity.

Skulking

Look at this man's posture. He's positively skulking! Could it be that he actually feels a tinge of shame over the fact that he votes in this county even though he only spends a few weeks here a year? Could it be that the 90,000 (!!!!) civilian deaths in Iraq are finally weighing heavy on his shoulders?

Nah.. his bones are just brittle. Leave it to gravity to be the force that finally brings this man to his knees.

In defense of bikinis?

The other night, the Cowgrrls joined up to watch the Olympics women's beach volleyball competition. I, being a sports luddite, was surprised to find that the uniform of choice for the players is a bikini. Actually I suppose it's the official required uniform. Whatever. My question is, why? They're not exactly sexy bikinis - the top looks more like my sports bra than a cleavage enhancer. And the bottom is just a little snug triangle, nothing special. Still, each time I saw one of the players tug a bikini wedgie out of her bum, I had to wonder what the advantages to this outfit are. Could someone enlighten me? What would be so wrong with shorts? Bad aerodynamics? Bad ratings?

Meanwhile, over in Kanab, Utah, the City Council has been fighting bad press about the ban on bikini's at the new town pool. These sort of paradoxes really try my feminist filosophies. On the one hand, I want the Olympians to wear something more appropo of Olympic standing; on the other hand, I want the good Mormon girls of Kanab to be free to flaunt all the flesh they care to without the town getting its panties in a twist.

Oh, if all women's issues were so breezy to puzzle over...
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Anthrax Suspect Suicide Was Antiabortion

Yesterday, NPR ran a story about Bruce Ivins, who is accused of sending out deadly anthrax letters post 9/11/01. Ivins killed himself last month.

There was some speculation that Ivins had targeted Daschle and Leahy because he saw them as holding up funding that would have helped pay for his research into an anthrax vaccine. Now, officials close to the investigation say another possible motive could have been that Ivins saw the senators as bad Catholics because of their votes in favor of abortion rights.

This news dovetails with what I'm reading in Jennifer Baumgardner's excellent new book, Abortion & Life. She notes:

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, abortion providers were struck with a sick recognition: They had already been receiveing death threats from fundamentalists on a regular basis. Innocent people had been murdered and stalked, letters that claimed to contain anthrax had been sent.

Wish some of those "Homeland Security" dollars could go to protect clinic workers and patients..
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Paris Does D.C.

I'm a latecomer to this whole McCain v. Paris Hilton wrangle. I just read up on the face-off on The Nation, and I watched Paris Hilton's comeback to McCain's put-down of her. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but, I *heart* Paris Hilton!

XY Games

I heard a very interesting story on Talk of the Nation this morning about gender testing at the Olympics. For years, all female Olympians were subjected to a pretty degrading physical examination to determine whether or not they were in fact women. Male Olympians were not subjected to testing. I'll infer that the organizers believed that men would disguise themselves as women in order to compete against "lesser athletes" and have a better chance of winning but that women would not disguise themselves as men. This value judgment does not strike me as entirely valid. I imagine there have been women that wanted to compete in events that were not open to women and therefore disguised themselves as men. Moreover, there are many events were men and women can compete on an equal footing, I'm sure. For instance, would women competing in equestrian events be subjected to testing? I think male and female equestrians compete against each other. I digress. The point is, in China, they plan to perform genetic testing on some female athletes if their gender comes into question. The 'genetic test' label gives the results the appearance of scientific authority. However, apparently gender is not always black and white. There are certain syndromes that cause individuals to test positive for some markers of the opposite gender. These people have no knowledge of this condition. They told the story of an Indian marathoner who "tested" male but was a woman. She looked like a woman and had always identified as a woman. Nonetheless, she was stripped of her medal and demonized in the media. This phenomenon whereby some people may appear on a genetic level to not be 100% female or 100% male was fascinating to me. I'd love to learn more about it.

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Good News: A Step Toward Pay Equity!

Via The Gavel:

House Passes the Paycheck Fairness Act

July 31st, 2008 by Jesse Lee

The House has just passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 1338, by a vote of 247-178. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wage discrimination remains a problem for women in the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that this wage disparity will cost women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages. Furthermore, loopholes created by courts and weak sanctions in the law have allowed many employers to avoid liability for engaging in gender-based pay discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay.

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Stuff that's not in the recruiting ads....

Women in the military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than to die in combat. Only 8% of reported sexually assaults are referred to courts martial. An 'army of one' shouldn't mean defending yourself from other US soldiers.


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Back assward

Haiti just ratified Michele Pierre-Louis as prime minister. She is the second female prime minister in the country's history. Haiti has had two female prime ministers. Haiti. Sigh.


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A Good Read

Who, being loved, is poor?
-Oscar Wilde



I read a beautiful short story by Annie Proulx in the June 9 edition of the New Yorker yesterday called "Tits-up in a Ditch". It tells the story of a young mother from a small town in Wyoming who enlists in the Army and goes to Iraq. As are many of Proulx's tales, it is heart-wrenchingly sad, realistic, and subtle. The main character is tragically unloved, and therefore dreadfully poor by Wilde's estimation. I highly recommend revisiting anything by Oscar Wilde and this new piece by one of my favorite authors.

There's a sad story in Planet Jackson Hole today about the declining ranks of abortion providers in the West. This lack of access has driven some women to do some very scary things in order to terminate their pregnancies on their own.

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Plan B in Wyoming

Planned Parenthood of Wyoming, NARAL Pro-Choice Wyoming Education Project, and the Wyoming Health Council have just published a brochure listing all the pharmacy locations in the state where you can get Plan B emergency contraceptive. Here are the local resources:

KMART PHARMACY 739-1164
SAV-ON PHARMACY 733-9223
SMITH'S PHARMACY 733-8746
STONE DRUG 733-6222
WESTERN WYOMING FAMILY PLANNING 732-1694

If you're not familiar with Plan B, here's the scoop:

Plan B is an emergency contraceptive that can help prevent pregnancy after contraceptive failure, unprotected sex, or sexual assault. When taken within 120 hours, it can substantially reduce the risk of pregnancy. Plan B will not work if you are already pregnant. For more informaiton visit www.go2planB.com.

Copies of the brochure are available upon request. Call 1-800-584-9192.
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A Sad Day in South Dakota

Scary stuff happening in our eastern neighbor state:

South Dakota Abortion Law Takes Effect

South Dakota abortion providers are now required to recite a script telling patients that the procedure will "terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being." They must then warn the woman of a supposed increased risk of suicide.

The law additionally requires that doctors tell a woman seeking an abortion that there is "an existing relationship" with the fetus that "enjoys protection under the United States Constitution" and that, by having an abortion, "her existing constitutional rights with regards to that relationship will be terminated," reports to the Washington Post.

The law came into effect last Friday, after a 2005 court order that prevented the enforcement of the law expired. It will affect the Sioux Falls Planned Parenthood, the only recognized abortion provider in the state.

(from Feminist Daily News Wire)

A history of tough, independent women

The NY Times had a fascinating article yesterday on the history of northern Wyoming. In the early 1900s, there was a movement to lop off the top half of the state and join forces with a part of Montana and South Dakota to form a separate state: Absaroka. While not specifically a women's history, the story does feature a few tough ladies:

“It was 90 miles of dirt road to the county seat,” said Helen Graham, who was a teenager in 1930s South Dakota, a daughter of struggling homesteaders.

And a modern-day ranch woman:

Jill Havert stirred 40 eggs for the guests and crew in a cast-iron pot as the gas burners hissed under the canvas and the creek rippled outside. Ms. Havert, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, is being “initiated,” as she put it, into the Kerns family. Her boyfriend, Tyler Kerns, 20, is one of Ken Kerns’s grandchildren and a junior in architectural engineering at the university. He has been making cattle drives since childhood; she was on her first, and dark-before-dawn breakfast duty was part of the drill.

“This is a sink-or-swim family,” Ms. Havert said. “But I’m holding my own.”

I *Heart* My Vagina

Our house painter - and new best friend - is the kind of guy we wish we could clone. Instead of buying himself a monster truck and tailgating us to show off his macho prowess, he hangs a demure little sign from the rear view mirror of his Toyota: "I *heart* my penis."

Is it just me, or would the world be a better place if more men had this kind of sense of humor and sense of confidence about their masculinity?

Our friend tells us most women who see this sign want one of their own - specific to their own genitalia, of course. I told him, send them to The V-Store. There, you can get all the gear you need to become a Vagina Warrior. If you don't yet know about Eve Ensler and The Vagina Monologues, you need to check this site out and get on board in this global effort to end violence against women. "V-Men" welcome too!

Massachusetts leading the way

I'd like to take the opportunity to give a shout-out to my home state of Massachusetts. Was proud to hear that the State legislature repealed a century old law that prohibited non-residents from getting married in the State. This opens the door for lesbian and gay couples from other states to be married in the Bay State, where same-sex marriage is no longer illegal. The Catholic Church, naturally, opposed the measure. Like anyone should be looking to the Massachusetts Diocese for guidance on morality.

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Action Alert: Bush attacks contraception as a form of abortion

This from NARAL Pro-Choice America:

We found out some truly disturbing news.

Just hours ago The New York Times reported that the Bush administration is proposing a new regulation that could discourage doctors and health-care clinics from providing birth control to women who need it.

Pro-birth-control members of Congress are calling on the Bush administration to reconsider this terrible idea. Please let your members of Congress know that you strongly oppose this attack on birth control!

This proposed regulation deliberately confuses the definitions of contraception and abortion and could seriously jeopardize state laws and policies that protect women’s access to birth control. For example, state laws that require hospitals to provide sexual-assault survivors with access to emergency contraception could be jeopardized.

This issue makes it all the more clear why we must elect pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama as our next president. Sen. John McCain has repeatedly voted against allowing women to obtain birth control and there’s no doubt he will carry on Bush’s anti-choice legacy. Sen. Obama has a consistent record in strong support of women’s access to contraception and is the chief sponsor of legislation to make birth control more affordable.

Come hear some of the best women in the music biz!

Targhee Fest is this weekend! This is my favorite event of the summer and this year promises to be as great as previous years if not better. The fantastic lineup includes several female musicians of note: Emmylou Harris, Susan Tedeschi, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Carrie Rodriguez.
Emmylou Harris needs no introduction. Susan Tedeschi is a blues-oriented guitarist and singer and her last cd, Hope and Desire, proved that she's got a voice to match her 6-string skills. Grace Potter played at the Moose over the winter and the show rocked. Her sister is a local artist. Carrie Rodriguez is a fiddle player who originally joined forces with Chip Taylor, a veteran singer-songwriter, and is now touring on her own. Her lovely drawl and gorgeous playing always brings my thoughts to Texas, the home state for both of us. She captured my attention on her first cd with Chip and continues to keep me coming back for more.
Of course, there are some fantastic men in the lineup as well including Lyle Lovett, Derek Trucks, Taj Mahal, Martin Sexton (another great live performer), and Tony Furtado. All in all it should be a great weekend.
I'll be the one down front showing my appreciation to these performers by dancing my ass off. See y'all there!

Friendship and Inspiration

The brave man is not he who feels no fear,
For that were stupid and irrational;
But he, whose noble soul its fears subdues,
And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from.
- Joanna Baillie

Joanna Baillie (1762-1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist who was well know during her lifetime for both her literary talent and for her sweet disposition. She never married, gave 1/2 of her literary earnings to charity, was intelligent and observant.

I had the good fortune of having spent the morning with a similar woman and her partner.

Concerns with Gardasil

Gardasil, the relatively new vaccine for HPV, is under fire after complaints that several young girls that were administered the vaccine suffered paralysis. This is a disturbing development, if true, that requires further study and review. The makers of Gardasil have been campaigning for the FDA to approve the vaccine for boys - since men are often carriers of HPV.

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She's all that

As us Cowgrrls know, there is at least ONE female deejay in town, who Planet JH failed to mention. I'll give a shameless plug for my sweetheart, Zanne deJanvier, who will spin on Tuesday, July 29 at the Natl. Museum of Wildlife Art, 6-8 PM. Don't let the desolate windswept image on the Museum's email promotion fool you. Zanne will be serving up samba, bollywood, afrobeat, and all manner of sizzlin' tunes. I promise you won't hear her collection of danceable world tunes anywhere else in town.

If you know other female spinners in town, let us know!
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Wonen Rocked the Writers Conference!

It was a powerhouse year for women at the Jackson Hole Writers Conference, June 26-29. I was beside myself with anticipation of my favorite mystery writer, Elizabeth George, one of the keynote speakers. (She's second only to P.D. James in my mind.) George gave a humble and inspiring talk about her journey from high school English teacher to self-taught mystery crime writer to international bestseller. I've started reading her latest book, Careless in Red, which finds our hero Thomas Lynley walking the English coast and grieving a terrible loss that took place in George's With No One As Witness. I'm already captivated!

My favorite talk was by Jane Hamilton. I totally adored her perspective on sorry market for literary fiction in America. She described meeting a woman on a plane who, when she learned that Jane writes fiction, asked if Jane writes "thrillers." Since Jane considers reading great fiction to be "thrilling," she answered yes. The woman got really excited and asked if Jane wrote "smutty thrillers." Jane said that since her mother considers the sex scenes in Jane's books to be rather racy, she thought it wasn't too much of a stretch to say yes again. "Really, really smutty thrillers?" the woman next to Jane replied, nearly apoplectic. Jane "decided to go the distance" and said yes. It was hilarious and we were all laughing.

The biggest crowd-pleaser was local writer Alexandra (Bo) Fuller, who had us laughing and crying with her presentation about her latest book, The Legend of Colton H Bryant. All reports say its a run-don't-walk must-read.

I was really moved and inspired by another local talent, Laurie Gunst of Dubois. Gunst spoke about "the stories that tell us," and described her experience writing nonfiction journalism and a memoir of being raised white and Jewish in the South by an African-American nanny.

Gail Tsukiyama also gave a great talk about becoming a fiction writer and her experience being Asian-American - and often wishing she could just tell American stories, and not be pigeon-holed into "ethnic" literature.

Several of the male presenters were great too, and I appreciated Tim Cahill's nod to the original female staff of Outside magazine and their talent and vision.
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Free EC in Scotland

Here's a good news story about a country that's taking a proactive public health approach to unwanted pregnancy and other sexual/reproductive health issues. According the Feminist Daily News, Scotland is now providing free Emergency Contraception (EC) at all community pharmacies.

EC is often referred to as "the morning after" pill. Read more about it here.
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Local Issue - Suicide

Hi everyone. It's not a feminist issue per se, but in light of recent suicides in the valley, including the death of Snake River Brewery baker Mike Webb on Tuesday, I wanted to offer some resources for survivors and for people struggling with depression. The Brew Pub is a favorite meeting spot of the Cowgrrl Up crew, and I think I can speak for us all in sending our love and thoughts to Mike's family and friends.

On a personal note, I lost one of my best friends, Stephen, to suicide four months ago. It's been utterly devastating. I didn't know before Stephen died that there is a name for those left behind after suicide: we are known as suicide survivors. At first I thought this term referred to those who had attempted suicide but had not succeeded. In fact, it's for those of us in this "club nobody wants to join," people who have lost love ones to suicide.

I HIGHLY recommend the monthly suicide survivor support group that meets at St. John's Medical Center the third Thursday of ever month. It's held from 6-7:30 PM in the Eagle classroom, downstairs. For more information, please contact the Jackson Hole Community Counseling Center at 733-2046. There is no charge for the group.

If you need help for depression or suicidal thoughts, call the Jackson Hole Community Counseling Center at 307-733-2046 or by calling 911. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is also available at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).

If you are a suicide survivor, I recommend Carla Fine's book No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One.

Also, these websites have information for survivors:
www.save.org
www.afsp.org
Wyoming Suicide Prevention Initiative

There is a lot more information out there, so please know that you are not alone. There are many caring individuals and professionals in our community who want to help.
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And Your Point Is? Right to Life of TC ad - Planet JH 6/25/08

I'm not sure why we continually need to be informed when the fetal heart starts beating, or when blood begins to flow, etc. Should this make a difference to me? The fetus, tiny body, mass of cells, whatever you want to call it, is living inside someone else's body. Forcing the woman to continue to carry it when she does not want to is completely offensive to personal freedom.

The whole "tiny babies" thing is getting really old for me. Lots of folks have latched onto this turn of phrase lately, including that wingnut Dobson from Focus on the Family. His critique of one of Barack Obama's recent speeches was terribly judgmental for a professed Christian.


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More Good News

Montana citizens have proven to be a sensible bunch by saying "ix-nay" to a ballot measure that would have banned abortion by defining a fertilized egg as a person. Read all about it here.

Alexandra Fuller Reading Tonight

She's an incredible memoirist and local activist and she's kicking off the JH Writers Conference tonight. Alexandra Fuller (aka Bo Miller) will read from her latest book, "The Legend of Colton H. Bryant."

Fuller's new nonfiction novel tells of a Wyoming Everyman – his life, his family, his community, his world – and his end in an oil-field accident. The New York Times said the book contained "sentences that are as beautiful as anything you'll read in contemporary fiction."

Jackson Hole resident William Broyles Jr. will introduce his fellow Teton writer. The evening also will include a slideshow of a recent Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) conducted by the International League of Conservation Photographers in Sublette County, where much of Fuller's book takes place. The purpose of the RAVE is to shed light on pressing conservation issues in specific areas, and to bring the to the attention of the media.

Tonight at 7 at the Center for the Arts.

More Brilliance from Barbara Ehrenreich

From The Nation:

About ten years ago, for example, a friend and I rented a snug, inexpensive one-bedroom house in Driggs, Idaho, just over the Teton Range from wealthy Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At that time, Driggs was where the workers lived, driving over the Teton Pass every day to wait tables and make beds on the stylish side of the mountains. The point is, we low-rent folks got to wake up to the same scenery the rich people enjoyed and hike along the same pine-shadowed trails.

But the money was already starting to pour into Driggs--Paul Allen of Microsoft, August Busch III of Anheuser-Busch, Harrison Ford--transforming family potato farms into vast dynastic estates. I haven't been back, but I understand Driggs has become another unaffordable Jackson Hole. Where the wait staff and bed-makers live today I do not know.

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Mother-Daughter Schism

In case you haven't heard, the latest buzz in feminist circles is about an ongoing spat.. or shall we say war -- between Rebecca Walker and her famous mom, Alice.

Read about it here.
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Film Fest Wrap-Up

My friend Shannon attended the special screening of "Don't Fence Me In" during last weekend's JH Film Festival. The documentary about Wyoming women and girls was made by Bonnie Kreps and Charlie Craighead. After the screening, there was a panel discussion on Wyoming women and activism. I asked Shannon to share her reflections:

I had a great time at the screening of the homegrown film "Don't Fence Me In" at the film festival on Saturday. I was inspired by the quality of the film from the cinematography, to the audio to the editing, and mostly I was inspired by the stories of the women featured. Hearing the story of a young women elected county commissioner on the reservation, or the first female black legislator, or the rancher from Powell, or the rural doctor, or the young environmental activists from our neck of the woods, was a reminder that Wyoming does have diverse landscapes and experiences that shape women's lives. The discussion with the film makers afterward allowed the point to be made (thanks to Mickey Babcock) that this film was made because Wyoming is the Equality State (NOT!) and it is important that women's stories be told so that folks can take action to support equality. I hope this film gets good play time. Kudos to all of the folks involved: Bonnie Kreps, Amy McCarthy, Mickey Babcock, Charlie Craighead, and the cinematographer/editor (I can't remember her name, but she did a fabulous job). PS Charlie said this was the first time he worked with an all women crew and that the approach to movie making was very different and that he loved it!

Affordable Housing and Women: A Conversation with Anne Hayden-Cresswell

Cowgrrl Up! recently spoke with the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust's Executive Director, Anne Hayden-Cresswell about how affordable housing issues impact women in our area. This is the second in an occasional series of conversations with women leaders about women and housing in Jackson Hole.

CU: We've heard that a lot of the affordable housing goes to single women or female-headed families. Do you know any stats on this?
With respect to the Housing Trust only, 56% of all current homeowners are single people, 53% of all active applicants are single. I don't have any data that tracks single/female heads of households.


CU: Do you know if stats on Jackson's commuter workforce are broken down by gender?
I know that the Housing Needs Assessment found 33% of our workforce commutes to work each day.


CU: More generally, do you think affordable housing in Jackson is a women's issue? If so, how?
Generally speaking, I find social service issues and non-profit work to be dominated by women. The Board of the Housing Trust is made up of a near even split of men/women.

CU: What can women do to advocate for themselves as Jackson moves forward with its comprehensive plan?
Anybody and everybody needs to engage in the conversation. Affordable housing as an issue, in my opinion, has matured in Jackson over the last 15 years. We actually know a lot about what works and what doesn't work. Given the stage of development/growth we are in as a community, it is no longer helpful to have 30,000 foot conversations about where we build affordable housing and how we are going to make it happen. At this point in time, we need to be solution oriented and the solutions need to be practical. We have to understand that private property rights limit a lot of the opportunities that are discussed. Financial realities make many suggested solutions to affordable housing impossible. The conversations that I have been hearing, related to the comp plan in general and affordable housing in particular, seem to be framed in a bubble. I see a real lack of appreciation for the complete picture that needs to be discussed-the practical realities and the immutable truths that are simply left out of the conversation. It is not helpful to simplify the situation. We need to have a comprehensive dealogue that incorporates the trade offs of each option/alternative.

Ultimately, there are two ways to address the affordable housing problem: density or dollars. And there are real hurdles to both. We need a balance of both, we need to work together, we need to be really respectful of everyone at the table, and we need to think outside of the box; we need to be willing to try (and to fail!) at new ideas. The status quo is not an option.

CU: Do you think town and county leaders need to take women's issues into account as they move forward with Planning? (Wage differences, occupational demographics, need for proximity to health care...)
Absolutely. Women are an asset in the workplace and in elected office. We typically bring an entirely different skill set to the table that can't be recreated in any other way.

The barriers to entry for working women in Jackson (high cost of living) and working women with children (day care!) make it prohibitively expensive to run for office (or even remain employed when day care is as expensive and volatile as it is). I am a strong believer in mentoring and taking full advantage of the phenomenal women we have in this community to help us negotiate our way through life and through the workplace. We need to support each other and encourage each other to get involved, because our voices bring different perspectives nearly every time.

Anne Hayden-Cresswell can be contacted at anne@housingtrustjh.org for continued conversation.

Cowboys and Prairie Fairies

Gotta love the title of this article posted on The Huffington Post:

Cowboys, Prairie Fairies, and Mother Earth: The Political Psychology of Gendering Nature Female

... written by Stephen J. Ducat, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist from the San Francisco Bay Area and author of The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity.

Newsflash (In Response to Last Post)

I want to have sex with my husband. Often, in fact. I don't want to have kids. I'm going to take birth control to prevent pregnancy and it's none of your damn business. With all the crap going on in this world can't these wingnuts find something better to dedicate their seemingly endless amounts of energy and enthusiasm to rather than saving the "pre-born"?

Anyone see Hamish Tear's Letter to the Editor in this week's N&G? Right on!! He is a cowgrrl at heart!

Who the Heck Was Jerome LeJeune?

In last week's Planet Jackson Hole, Right to Life of Teton County had an ad quoting Dr. Jerome LeJeune. "After fertilization has taken place, a new human being has come into being," reads the quote. Dr. LeJeune is credited in the ad with receiving "the world's highest award for work in the field of genetics."

I was dubious. Especially with all those creepy salamander feet imprints on the border of the ad.

So I decided to investigate. It turns out Dr. LeJeune was a real person and indeed a celebrated French geneticist who discovered the chromosome abnormality in humans that causes Down syndrome.

He was also staunchly "pro-life" and a friend of Pope John Paul II, who appointed LeJeune to the Pontifical Academy for Life. If we assume the "world's highest award" to be the Nobel Prize, LeJeune was never awarded it, though many thought he should have been.

If you google Dr. LeJeune's name, you'll come up with a host of anti-abortion websites and blogs. He appears to be THE scientist of the anti-choice movement. He set the groundwork for other anti-choice physicians to manipulate science to fit their own world view, and with disastrous consequences. Case in Point: the "The Pill Kills" campaign by the American Life League which will stage protests across the nation on June 7. They campaign is designed to frighten young women into thinking they are "killing" "pre-born" babies when they take a contraceptive pill. Based on Dr. LeJeune's logic that a human life begins at fertilization, the American Life League has worked out a twisted logic that the Pill prevents fertilized eggs from attaching to the uterine wall, thereby "killing" the "human" that zygote would be. According to Planned Parenthood, there is no evidence that the pill works this way. It works the way we've always known it to work, by preventing fertilization in the first place. Basically the whole "The Pill Kills" campaign is directed at the rare "breakthrough" pregnancies that can occur while taking the Pill. Once again, the anti-choice movement is trying to chip away at women's reproductive rights by creating hysteria around rare events (as they did with late-term abortions.)

In any case, I really hate this debate over when life starts anyway. It's beside the point. American women have the constitutional right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy and just like we have the constitutional right to use the Pill. Join in on Planned Parenthood's June 7 celebration of the landmark Supreme Court decision to protect the use of birth control. They'll be taking a giant Pill to Capitol Hill!

And read this excellent Feministing post for more info on why the Pill Kills campaign is a load of horseshit.

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Affordable Housing and Women: A Conversation with Melissa Turley

Cowgrrl Up! recently spoke with Jackson Town Council member Melissa Turley about how affordable housing issues impact women in our area. This is the first in an occasional series of conversations with women leaders about women and housing in Jackson Hole.

CU: Do you think affordable housing in Jackson is a women's issue? If so, how?

MT: Across Wyoming, we know that seventy-one percent of single parent households are headed by women, and thirty-eight percent of these families live in poverty (Department of Family Services - 2003). We also know that Wyoming’s wage gender gap is the worst in the nation: women in Wyoming earn 66 cents to every dollar earned by men. (Status of Women in Wyoming - 2004). But in Teton County, affordable housing is an issue that impacts a large cross-section of our community - it certainly impacts single female heads of household to a great extent, but it also impacts families with two heads of household, singles, and the whole range of economic levels, ages, and careers. So while I understand that affordable housing is one of many challenges that is more difficult for female heads of household, it is definitely not an issue that is limited to women.

CU: What can women do to advocate for themselves as Jackson moves forward with its comprehensive plan?

MT: It's important for all members of our community to get engaged and make their voices heard through the comprehensive plan update. I hope people will visit the comprehensive plan website, www.jacksontetonplan.com, or Town Hall, to learn more, and let us know what's important to them. This process will define how we want our community to grow for the next five to ten years, and we need to hear if people value more affordable housing, or better public transit, or so many other things!

CU: Do you think town and county leaders need to take women's issues into account as they move forward with planning? (Wage differences, occupational demographics, need for proximity to health care..)

MT: I would hope that as our community's local elected leaders plan for our future, they are creating a plan that supports a vibrant community for all citizens. I think our current leaders have been very supportive of social services that serve women and children, but they would appreciate hearing from women in the community about other steps they can take to support women's issues. Please contact them!

Melissa Turley serves on the Jackson Town Council. She is the owner of the consulting firm m.e.t. solutions; she serves on the boards of Equality Initiatives and Girls Actively Participating. She is the proud owner of a Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust affordable home.
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Women's Art Openings This Weekend

Check it out! There are not one but two openings of art exhibits by women in the valley this weekend.

Tonight, drop by Shades Cafe from 6-8 PM and see the “Women of Wax" exhibit of encaustic paintings by Chris Wimberg, Meggan Stordahl, Micah Richardson, and Elisa San Souci.

Tomorrow, attend the reception for “A Collection of Female Contemporary Artists,” 6-9 p.m. at Ciao Gallery, 1921 Moose-Wilson Road, featuring artists Kari Hall, Dalia Chako, Michele Walters, Kristi Kapolka, and Nichole Welch.

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Portland Shout-Out

I just returned from a long weekend in Portland, Ore., aka the left coast feminist Mecca. Portland has a rich history of progressive politics. Recent years have seen an influx of feminist artists, activists, musicians, writers, and small business owners blossoming in the City of Roses. Here's just a brief list:

Bitch Magazine
Ariel Gore and Hip Mama Magazine
In Other Words Womens Books & Resources
Sarah Dougher
The Blow
Rock n Roll Camp for Girls
2 Grlz Quarterly
Portland State University Women's Studies
Soapstone Women Writers Retreat

And that's just to name a mere few of the fabulous and interesting women's community highlights in PDX. If only it wasn't so damn rainy soggy cloudy and gloomy there! You think it's been bad around the Jackson area lately? Yikes. The way the clouds and the barometric pressure pressed down on my eyelids, cheeks, and mood was nearly unbearable. No wonder the coffee shop per resident ratio is nearing 1:1! No wonder I moved out of there a few years ago!

I welcome any additional feminist tips about Portland, as well as any tips on how the hell to survive a grey-sky visit there.
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Feminist Foremother

A bit of humor from Mary Tattlewell (a pseudonym), who wrote The Women's Sharp Revenge or an answer to Sir Seldom Sober that writ those railing Pamphlets called the Juniper and Crabreee lectures, etc.

Moreover, women were so chaste that, though they did marry and were married, it was more for propagation of Children than for any carnal delight or pleasure they had to accompany with men. They were content to be joined in Matrimony with a greater desire of Children than of Husbands; they had more joy in being Mothers than in being Wives. For in the old Law it was a curse upon Women to be Barren; and surely if there had been any lawful way for them to have had Children without Husbands, there hath been, and are, and will be a numberless number of Women that would or will never be troubled with wedlock nor the knowledge of man. Thus good and modest Women have been content to have none or one man (at the most) all their whole lifetime, but men have been so addicted to incontinency that no bounds of Law or reason could restrain them. For if we read the Story of the Kings of Judah, there we may find the wisest that ever reigned, Solomon, had no fewer than three hundred Wives and seven hundred Concubines, and that his Son Rehoboam had eighteen Wives and sixty Concubines by whose he begat twenty-eight Sons and three-score Daughters. There have been some good women that, when they could have no Children, they have been contented that their Husbands should make use of their Maidservants, as Sarah and Rachel and Leah did. But I never heard or read of any man that, though he were old, diseased, decrepit, gouty, or many and every way defective and past ability to be the Father of any Child, hath been so loving to his wife as to suffer her to [be] made a Teeming [pregnant] Mother by another man. There was once a Law in Sparta amongst the Lacedaemoninas that if the husband were deficient for propagating or begetting of Children, that then it was lawful for the wife to entertain a friend or a Neighbor. But the women were so given to chastity that they seldom or never did put the said Law in practice, and I am persuaded that the Decree is quite abolished and out of use and force all the World over.

What an inspiration to know that women in the seventeenth century were thinking, writing, and laughing about many of the same things were are today.

What eight years of abstinence-only education gets you....

Numerous media outlets are reporting soaring STI rates among women, particularly young women. In fact, the CDC now estimates that one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. Right to Life of Teton County even noted this in a recent ad. However, RLTC continues to promote abstinence as the solution. Umm, haven't we tried that for the past eight years? The result is a staggering increase in the number of women with sexually transmitted infections. Some of these infections could lead to infertility. How is this pro-life?

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New: Blog of Rights

Check it out!

The ACLU has just launched the Blog of Rights, to keep you up to date on the latest threats to and victories in our civil liberties.

The Rights are organized by category - of particular interest to Cowgrrl Up! readers are Women's Rights and Reproductive Rights, not to mention LGBT Rights, Immigrant Rights, Racial Justice, U.S. Supreme Courts, and more!
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Go Mama, Go!

My friend Amy just published a new book. She's so cool! I'm sure they'd love to order it for you at the Valley Bookstore.

Click on the graphic below to read a great interview with Amy at Salon.com.

Wage Gap Blues

As we know, Wyoming women suffer the worst gender wage gap in the nation. But just in case you're raising a daughter who you hope to have better luck elsewhere when she graduates from college, think again.

According to a recent Economic Policy Institute report, recent women college graduates made, on average, $2.92 less than their male counterparts in 2007. Gee, makes the 44 cents difference in Wyo. sound like a bonus.

Check Feminist Daily News for more on this issue.
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Equality Rights

The great English poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), wrote

"Happy are all free peoples,
too strong to be dispossessed.
But blessed are those among nations
who dare to be strong for the rest!"

While Browning's causes were women's rights and slavery, her words can be applied to the marriage equality issue of the 21st century. Blessed are the influential and progressive citizens of California who are showing strength for and support of same sex couples who are interested in marriage. I am confident that the daring ruling in California will empower other states to find ways to foster freedom for all of their residents.

Marriage Equality!

I've got to shamelessly gush here. The state of California has pushed the nation one step further in marriage equality for all, which is to say full citizenship for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. This is a huge step! I was particularly excited to see Jewelle Gomez and Dianne Sabin in this NY Times photo (that's them on the right, about to kiss.) We met them when we lived in SF, and they are the warmest, most wonderful women. Jewelle is a writer and Dianne is a chiropractor. They were plaintiffs in the case.

What the California ruling means for Wyoming is that we will likely see another bill proposed that would bar the state of Wyoming from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states (there was one like this last year). To enshrine such a measure in the state Constitution is overkill to say the least because if Z and I got married in Calif., our rights & benefits already don't travel across state lines. Also look for a state ban on same-sex marriage altogether.

For a run-down on Wyoming's laws regarding LGBT people, check out Human Rights Campaign's excellent website. The Equality State is not at the bottom of the barrel -- the sodomy law was repealed in 1977, same-sex partners can establish power of attorney to make medical decisions for one another -- but amazingly the state still doesn't have a hate crimes law, it's still legal to discriminate against us, and LGBT students are not protected from bullying and harassment.

But all that bad news aside, I'm focused on the great victory in California! I'm so excited I can barely sit still. I want to tell everyone I see! I want to buy a tuxedo and rush to San Francisco with my sweetie on my arm. Femmes look great in tuxes, you know.

Women and Housing in Teton County

Dear Readers,

We Cowgrrls are launching a series of themed posts discussing the housing crisis/issue in Teton County and how women are impacted. Check back frequently in the next several weeks for interviews, anecdotes, and opinions on this as yet undiscussed aspect of this very hot topic in our valley.

In the meantime, I wanted to pass the word that if any of you are having trouble paying your property taxes due to crazy increases, there is help. Check Rep. Keith Gingery's site for a full listing. He mentions specifically:

The legislature did pass the Property Tax Refund Program this past session that refunds ½ of your property tax bill if your income does not exceed 2/3 of the median gross income for Teton County. If you think you may be eligible, I would urge you to call our local county assessor, Cathy Toolson, (733-4960) and talk to her about these programs.

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A report on the WAGE Project in Wyoming

News from the Wyoming Women's Foundation:

The WAGE Project WAGE works to promote gender equality through instructional workshops. These $tart $mart workshops were held statewide, including Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper, Powell, and one session through video conferencing. Anne Houle led these workshops and traveled statewide with Richelle Keinath of the Wyoming Women's Foundation, and Sarah Mikesell-Growney from Equality Initiatives, two Wyoming organizations concerned with the wage gap. Attendees were able to gather information on the wage gap, and learn, through role play, how to negotiate a salary. This is one crucial step in shrinking the wage gap. To put this into perspective, the wage gap cost women $17,000 per year in 2006 according to the Wyoming Council for Women's Issues. Over a lifetime, this compounds to a difference of approximately $1.2 million dollars less for women than equally qualified men.

The workshops also provided an opportunity to become a workshop facilitator, in order to further disseminate information and education on the wage gap and how an individual can address it. Hopefully, WAGE has brought one tool Wyoming can use to decrease the gap, which is the worst in the nation.
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What has stopping global warming got to do with feminism?

Both efforts imagine a hospitable planet for all people, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, or geography.

I just read the latest dispatch from conservationist Bill McKibben and it made me more frightened than I've been yet about the course this planet is on. If you care about our future too, please visit Bill's new campaign 350.org. Let's plan a 350 action here in Teton County! If you have ideas, please post a comment here.

Thanks for reading.
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What's in a name?

I asked my friend C to write a guest post after I read this article about a California couple who sued the state so that the husband could take the wife's last name without extra fees. C's husband took her last name, with much less fanfare, in Hawaii 10 yrs ago. Here is her story:

It it with sorrow and surprise that I recently read about a California couple's struggle with trying to change their last names to the wife's last name rather than the husband's. I say this, because my husband took my last name with no legal difficulties when we married ten years ago in HI. This option was known to us only 48 hours prior to the ceremony, after we obtained and read our license and realized we would not have hyphenate. Had we known earlier, we would have created an entirely new last name as that was also an option, but one we could not invent in a mere 48hrs.

Many people have assumed my spouse is a feminist...he is not, not by a long shot. But, we did want to share a last name as that is one of the things that defined us as a new family (we are not fond of wedding bands), and would also facilitate international travel to places where unmarried couples can not sleep together (another unfortunate issue altogether). Ultimately, pragmatism led us to settle on my name as I would have had many more documents to change than my husband, who led a fairly uncomplicated life at the time of our wedding.

Little did we know that our families would read much more into our rather casual decision. My husband's friends were all a bit surprised, and while none really said so out loud, I am certain that they assumed that I had him in shackles....after all, taking a woman's last name carries with it a negative stigma of weakness and the like.

I have occasionally sensed that my husband felt some regret about his decision. He never missed his last name, rather, he has found it odd having to always explain why he has a name that clearly sounds like it is from the same country as his wife originally came from.

It is my sincere hope that some day, all states, and nations will allow lovers to keep, or change their names, including the creation of new ones at the time that they decide to create and distinct family. Ironically, neither one of us exists in my native country, in spite of passports bearing our names, as they do not recognize such name changes, even when they are official in the U.S.!
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Mother's Day

As one of the moms in our group of bloggers, I've been asked to blog about Mother's Day. This will be, in fact, my second Mother's Day as a mom. Last year I celebrated by taking my newborn home from the hospital.
I have gained a whole new appreciation for my mom and all mothers from my fairly new perspective as a member of this group. Now I understand why my mom didn't want me to ride my bike further than a block away and why she always waited up until I was home. I understand why she still feels the need to give me advice and warnings.
Having a child means a piece of your heart has been yanked out of your body and placed in a delicate little person who will do stupid things, make you worry, and eventually leave you. I didn't care much for babies or kids before I had mine. Now the thought of someone harming any child sickens me and brings out my momma-bear instinct. I love my little cub more than anything, and my goal is to raise her to become a strong woman who knows no boundaries or restrictions on what she can do with her life.
When I was pregnant, I asked my husband if our impending parenthood changed his feelings about abortion. He said it didn't. I agreed. If anything, experiencing the ups and downs, the stresses and joys of being a parent has only enforced my feelings that no woman should be forced to keep a pregnancy. Pregnancy and parenting are hard and should only be undertaken by those who desire it.
So, this Mother's Day, tell your mom you love her and appreciate her. She's done alot for you, and while I'm sure she was happy to change your 3rd poopy diaper of the day, it's nice to be appreciated. The first time my daughter smiled at me made me forget the previous month of meconium, spit up, and very little sleep. She doesn't ever really need to buy me flowers or a card. As long as she keeps smiling, that's enough for me.

Boys will be boys. Still?

If you pay any attention to the world of sports, you've probably heard about the dust-up surrounding the Chicago White Sox and their creation of a weird shrine involving blow up dolls and strategically placed baseball bats in a misguided attempt to change their clubhouse juju. Let's just say they're doing pretty poorly so far this season and have lost six in a row. A lot of people are defending their behavior, even though it was in an area of the clubhouse open to reporters, with the usual "boys will be boys" banality. Mike and Mike of ESPN Radio however, took the much more enlightened view that defending this behavior clearly discriminates against reporters of any gender that would be made uncomfortable by this inappropriate display. In response to listeners' comments that people were being "too politically correct", Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg argued that this was purely a matter of basic decency. If you want to argue, as some did, that female reporters should just "suck it up" or find a new job, clearly you're willing to accept a certain level of discrimination in sports reporting or that female reporters should be willing to deal with what would amount to actionable sexual harassment in any other workplace. Should we be telling young girls that they can be anything they want to be - except sports reporters, unless they're willing to quietly accept offensive behavior? Would you tell your daughter, niece, etc., that?

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Marketing Mom's Day to Progressives

If I get one more "do it for Mom" solicitation email from one of the progressive organizations I belong to, I'm going to scream! So far, I have received Mother's Day fundraising pleas from:

1 Sky (climate change)
Planned Parenthood
Code Pink
Amnesty International
Feminist Majority

I like these organizations. I understand they need money. But I really hate it when they jump on the bandwagon of turning holidays and meaningful tribute days into "shopping" days, like Kmart or Victoria's Secret do. It's great to be part of the tribute & celebration of moms. Just don't pull on my progressive guilt strings. I don't need a tie-in to contribute -- I'm much more apt to give to a specific campaign than a feel-good exploitation of mothers.

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Race v. Gender redux

I wanted to share this excellent analysis by Betsy Reed (The Nation) of the way Hillary Clinton's campaign has used race as a wedge issue against Barack Obama.

Reed deftly looks at many sides of the race/gender divide -- and implicates Hillary in helping to create that divide, which was not a major issue at the beginning of the primary race. She gives voice to my own misgivings about Hillary, as well as my suspicion that some men support Obama because they are more comfortable with his gender.

The support Obama has seen in Teton County is revolutionary. Growing up here in Jackson, I heard tales of one black resident being roped and dragged on his bicycle through town. My 8th grade buddy, Colin, lasted only a year here in 1983 before his family decided it was too isolating. (I don't know the specifics about racism they faced, but I imagine it was significant.)

So we've come a long way, and I'm proud of Jackson for that. Still, in such a macho town, I have wondered if some people are dismissive of Hillary because she's female. Or perhaps the overriding issue is that her being an east coast, Washington insider doesn't play well in the libertarian-leaning West. Obama has certainly built bridges and found ways of reaching westerners along with people all over the country.

Your thoughts?

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In Honor of Olive

In my post-"Little Miss Sunshine" fantasy world, girls would not be evaluated for "prettiest eyes" or "most photogenic" -- the way girls as young as 18 months were judged last weekend at the Little Miss Wyoming Pageant -- but by "most imaginative dance moves," "funniest jokes told," "soccer prowess," "community leadership," "kindest to her friends," and other actual meaningful indicators of good character.

Thought experiment: If every year we asked boys to parade on stage, baring shoulders and knees, trying to out-smile, out-"personality," and out-rouge-application one another, there would be a national uproar. Because, you know, boys are supposed to be out there doing things like winning hockey tournaments, learning chemistry, riding BMX bikes, and learning that their value in the world has to do with their minds and actions.

Little Miss Wyomings deserve a pageant that allows them to show of their real human worth, not their dimples.

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Women's Conference on Sustainability THIS WEEKEND!

I wish I was going to be in town for this event. The Equipoise Fund and The Nature Conservancy, the first-ever Women's Conference on Sustainability is happening right here in Jackson starting Friday night, May 2. The conference features keynote addresses by Melinda Karmaer, founding director of Women's Earth Alliance, and Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal.

I was particularly impressed by what Jen Simon of the Nature Conservancy Greater Yellowstone program said about the need for this kind of conference:

"Women seem to be talking about conservation and sustainability in a very different way than men. It seems to be tied to everyday decisions they make: where to eat, what to buy, how to spend their money, how to raise their children.

"In particular, I looked at women like Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt Movement and Melinda Kramer and noticed their projects don’t just address the environment; they address all facets of people in the community.

"These projects include economic empowerment and social justice as a necessary component of a sustainable future. And that's a particularly inspiring idea: that you could use conservation to remedy a whole host of systemic issues.

"The other unique factor is the increasing ability of women to make financial decisions. And because women approach conservation differently than men, such decisions will become an increasingly important driver in whether and how sustainable products are distributed and developed in the coming years."

For more info and to register, go to The Nature Conservancy page here.

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Jon Stewart takes on Abstinence-Only Sex Ed

Thanks to Feministing for posting this clip from Comedy Central.

BTW, have you seen this hymen graphic from the abstinence-only camp?
















And here's the prettier version with a tag line fit for real women and girls: "May all who enter here be invited, respectful, and pleasure-giving!"

No Comment

"The most dangerous place in America today is in a mother's womb!"

- Elaine Kuhr, Right to Life of Teton County, April 25, JH Daily

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Native American Woman Honored

I'm glad to share some good news, good news born out of tragedy, that is. The first-ever Native American woman to die in combat on foreign soil, Lori Piestewa, has been honored by renaming a mountain in Arizona after her. Fittingly, the peak once called "Squaw Peak" is now Piestewa Peak, a big step forward in undoing racism and celebrating courageous women.

Feministing has a great post about this.

Some of you may be familiar with Lori's name. She's the soldier that media/govt. victim Pvt. Jessica Lynch credited with being the true hero of the day when Lynch's unit came under attack.

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Fair Pay Action Alert

This just in from the ACLU:

Don't Let Employers Get Away With Pay Discrimination

Last May, the Supreme Court ruled in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that employees who have suffered years of pay discrimination cannot have their day in court if they don’t discover the discrimination within 180 days of their employer’s initial discriminatory pay decision.

The Ledbetter decision not only reversed years of employment law, it also ignored the realities of a workplace. Often employees don’t know what their co-workers are paid. Further, expecting that they learn that information within the first 180 days of a pay decision is unreasonable. Unless Congress intervenes, companies will be able to discriminate for years and unjustly profit from paying women, minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities, as long as it keeps the discrimination secret for a few months.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to correct this problem, and to ensure employers do not profit from years of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability, simply because their employees were unaware of the discrimination for 180 days. The bill clarified this wage discrimination is not a one-time occurrence, but rather, that each discriminatory paycheck an employer issues represents an ongoing violation of the law.

A similar bill, the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S.1843), is now before the U.S. Senate. The time has come for the Senate to correct this wrong and let American workers keep their hard-earned dollars.

Click here to take action.

Right to Life Ad - Jackson Hole Daily 4/14/08

Mommy, what's a safe abortion?

A safe abortion is the kind you have when abortion is legal.

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different kind of leadership

An article posted on the Girl Scout site offers an interesting perspective about feminine leadership styles. Check it out at http://www.girlscouts.org/news/news_releases/2008/different_kind_of_leadership.asp

The one hand trying to wash itself is a pitiful spectacle, but when one hand washes the other, power is increased, and it becomes a force to be reckoned with.
- Maya Angelou

2008 Penis, Ahem, I Mean, Pulitzer Prizes Announced

Last night I watched Margaret Cho's "Revolution" for the first time. (A must-see along with "I'm the One that I Want"). She does a piece about confronting a fellow driver in L.A. whose car boasts a bumper sticker proclaiming, "This car was made with tools not chopsticks." Margaret pulls up alongside the other car and just screams at the driver. "Aaaaaaaah!" The scream goes on and on, until, Margaret says, the other driver was forced to take a left turn against the light just to get away from her.

"I don't want to rise above," says Margaret. "I want to sink down to their level."

This is by way of introduction to how I'm feeling this morning reading the list of winners for this year's Pulitzer Prizes in Letters, Drama, and Music. Being of the literary ilk, I look forward to such announcements. But, AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH, there are 0, zero, zilch, no, none, zippo female artists, writers, poets in the winning roster. NONE. In fact, only one woman even made it into the finalist list, Ellen Bryant Voight in poetry (Go Ellen!)

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

You'd think my namesake, Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley, had never picked up pens OVER 200 YEARS AGO!

This sort of heinous and obvious sexism in a supposedly post-feminist world does not inspire me to rise above. It makes me want to sink down to their level and found women-only Pulitzer, National Book Award, New York Times Notable Books of the Year, Nobel Prize, etc., and give out awards until we've honored so many women that we have at long last given MORE awards to women than men. I'm sure this will take us until the year 2500. Or perhaps 3000. Then and only then will we consider giving men any awards, and then, only if they write about topics of interest to and/or involving women.
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God wanted this?

You've probably heard the news about the 401 Fundamental LDS children taken into protective custody by the State of Texas. The children were removed from a compound run by the family of Warren Jeffs, the "prophet" leader of the sect currently serving two consecutive prison terms of five years to life for his conviction on two counts of being an accomplice to rape. The State had received reports of abuse from former members and children inside the compound, including that a 15 year old child bride had given birth.

A brief commercial interruption: Haven't read Under the Banner of Heaven yet? Read it.

The sect is claiming the State has violated their right to freedom of religion by taking the children. What is free about forcing 15 year old girls to marry and have sex with men more than twice their age? This "religion" isn't about freedom - it's about power. More specifically, it's about men having power over women under the guise of religion. "God told me to." How very convenient that their "God" has told them to take as many wives as possible and to procreate ad nausea and to beat and molest children and threaten anyone who speaks out or complains with eternal damnation. Sounds like a pedophiliac's/sadomasochist's wet dream until you slap the religion label on it and now it's an oppressed minority just trying to "lead a righteous life". What child exposed to such hellfire and damnation rhetoric and abuse since birth could freely choose anything?

Here's hoping these children get access to some high quality medical and psychological care. They have been brainwashed and traumatized for years.

However, this brings me to my problem with religion. As a reviewer of Krakauer's book notes more eloquently than I could: "What makes one person's claim of revelation from God valid, and another's nonsense?" Exactly. Obviously most people dismiss Warren Jeff's revelation as total BS. But is that only because it is so outside the mainstream?

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Talking about Women in Wyoming

I had a mixed reaction to this recent Cody Enterprise article about the gender-based wage gap in Wyoming. The article features comments from Equality Initiatives (EI) director Sarah Mikesell Growney of Cody.

I whole-heartedly support the mission of Equality Initiatives: "What's good for Wyoming's women is good for Wyoming's communities." And I'm thrilled that the organization is putting gender inequality into the news. However, EI's mainstream approach may neglect issues of importance to some of Wyoming's women.

For instance, Mikesell Growney says, "Equality Initiatives is thankful for the oil and gas industry," because they pay women high wages. I'm not sure aligning the organization with a problematic industry is the appropriate approach. While the oil and gas industry is a backbone of Wyoming's economy, women still have a right to challenge the industry to improve its environmental stewardship. EI could acknowledge the energy sector for its good pay for women without needing to be "thankful," which to my ears sounds like "ingratiated," a stance that may not sit well with all women.

I think the issue may be one of language and talking points. When Mikesell Growney says, “When a woman suffers, the child suffers, and when the child suffers, the community suffers," I'm not following the logic. Not all women have children. Childless women who suffer should still be supported. Although children's poverty is an indicator of a community's health, adult suffering is a worthy indicator also.

My hope is that EI will work to refine its messaging as it furthers its work in our communities. Using langauge that strives to be inclusive of all women and all women's perspectives is a tall order, for sure, yet a vital one.

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Call your senators

From Feminist Newswire:

Senate Bill Targets Deceptive Advertising by Pregnancy Crisis Centers

Senator Robert Menendez introduced a bill in the Senate yesterday that would regulate the misleading advertising practices of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs). Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act would require the Federal Trade Commission to create and enforce rules to prohibit CPCs' deceptive advertising practices, such as advertising under the term "abortion services." The act expressly defines abortion services to mean "providing surgical and non-surgical procedures to terminate a pregnancy, or providing referrals for such procedures."

House Representative Carolyn Maloney introduced the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act in the House last summer.

Rep. Maloney said, "Although I may disagree with their views, many crisis pregnancy centers are forthright and respectful and they have a right to exist. Unfortunately, some take a more underhanded approach to lure in women seeking abortions by using tactics that should be illegal. Many women who face unwanted pregnancies find themselves in a very difficult, very personal situation. They shouldn't have to face the added stress of deciphering whether or not the clinic they choose offers legitimate medical services."
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Fabulous LBT Women Leaders!

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force celebrated Women's History Month in March by putting together an ever-growing list of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women who are leading the way to full equality in the queer liberation movement.

It's such an inspiring list! Check it out here.

(The photo is of Katherine Acey, Executive Director of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.)
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According to a recent study, about 1 in 50 US infants are victims of child abuse or neglect in a year.

Maybe "pro-life" organizations could put some of their funds to use, as they say, defending those that can't defend themselves? I wonder how many of those "parents" didn't plan to have a baby. Maybe some better sex education and better access to contraception could have helped them out?

Thea Astley

"The more you try to be interested in other people, the more you find out about yourself."
-Thea Astley

Thea Astley (1925-2004) was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She was a prolific writer who was published for over 40 years from 1958. At the time of he death, she had won more Miles Franklin Awards, Australia's major literary award, than any other writer. As well as being a writer, she taught at all levels of education - primary, secondary, and tertiary. Her first novel, published in 1958, was Girl with a Monkey. Her last, published in 1999, was Drylands. She published 15 novels.

Choose one person to show particular interest in today.

Right to Life Ad - Jackson Hole News & Guide 4/2/08

Today's ad informs us that "Abortion Hurts Women". On the list of things that hurt women, abortion is probably on page 10, right after lack of access to adequate sunglasses.

In all fairness, some women do regret having an abortion. Most don't. The fact that some women regret choosing abortion is not a reason to outlaw them. Some women have faced medical complications, including death, but any medical procedure can have consequences. Again, not a reason to outlaw abortion.

Poverty hurts women. Domestic violence hurts women. Rape hurts women. The wage gap hurts women. How about we address those issues before trying to legislate away free will and control of our own bodies?

Feministing news

If you don't already know about Feministing.com, it's my favorite source for feminist news, cultural/political analysis, and humor. There were two posts today about violence against women news stories that you may not hear about in the JH Daily.

First the good news:
* Wisconsin passes a progressive law to help women fleeing domestic violence.

Now the bad:
* Women in the military far more at risk for rape by fellow soldiers than dying in combat.

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Annie Sophie Swetchine

"We are rich only through what we give; and poor only through what we refuse and keep."

Sophie -Jeanne Soymonof Swetchine was a writer born in Moscow in 1782. She was remarkable for the beauty of her soul. Her intellect was lofty, quick, and penetrating. She read a great deal, and always with her pen in hand.

How can you be "rich" today?