Last night Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the first woman to become the presidential nominee for a major political party. Love her or hate her - I am firmly in her camp - this is an historical moment. Women haven't even had the right to vote for a century, and Hillary - again love her or hate her - has overcome many obstacles to get to where she is today. To acknowledge the progress women have made, and the progress to be made, today's digest is dedicated to feminism...and the upcoming 2016 rendition of Ghostbusters!
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading.
This Day in History
1984 - The iconic film Ghostbusters is released in theaters. A comedic and cult classic, Ghostbusters was a memorable part of my childhood. I remember having a nightmare about the movie when I was young, which seems laughable after watching the movie as an adult, but so it goes.
Ghostbusters is being re-released this summer with an all female cast of comedians. I'm excited to see it!
Stigma and Shame
There has been justifiable outrage in the wake of the light sentence just handed down in the case of Brock Turner, the Stanford rapist, who was found guilty of three felony counts of rape, but only given a six month prison sentence after he was found on top of an unconscious girl behind a dumpster months ago.
Sadly, Turner's sentence was harsher than many, as rape is often ignored by the police altogether (from Buzzfeed). It's hard to punish the perpetrator when the victim is dismissed or shamed. A national conversation on this issue is long overdue. The culture and preconceptions that enable rapists and too often allow them to get away with their crime will not go away unless we address them directly by holding ourselves - MEN - accountable.
Equality on All Fronts
What does true gender equality look like? It's easy to imagine in many scenarios, and Hillary's ascent to the front of a major political party makes is strongly symbolic, but how does it play out on a macro level and effect the most traditionally gender-separate roles of warfare and parenting?
On the one hand the American military is increasingly incorporating women into important roles, although slowly, and not without serious issues of sexual misconduct. On the other hand, men are taking on more parenting and household responsibilities, although still leaving a disproportionate share to women.
Envisioning equality in these two realms - again, traditionally reserved almost exclusively for one gender - is not easy, and requires honest and uncomfortable conversations: for women, about the realities and rigor of military service, for example should women be required to register for Selective Service (from Medium)? for men, this means recognizing the necessity and obligation of sharing parenting responsibilities equitably in order to benefit everyone (from Jezebel).
No Way, Jose
Most people are familiar with the concept of the "yes man," a vapid sidekick who flatters his patron by rubber stamping all his ideas. Less familiar is the stereotype of the "no woman," the negative, nagging yen, to man's positive, empowering yang (from NYMag).
For a glaring real life example of how this plays out, we can turn to the democratic primary, in which Bernie Sanders plays the "yes man" (not a suck up, but a doer of deeds), and Hillary is the timid "no woman," somehow left being the advocate for incrementalism despite her impressive track record.
Personally, I think this exposes both the depth of the stereotypes, and the mythology underlying them. Historically, great leaders - both men and women - have shown prudence, judgement, and foresight. They have considered all options. When necessary they seized initiative, but they did not rush into every scenario guns blazing. That we now discard the necessity of prudence, and imbue it with a negative feminine quality, is a bad sign for our society.
A Mother, a President, a...Baker?
For most women the biggest barrier to professional success is - ironically - something that for many women is an extreme moment of personal joy, the birth of a child. Both the demands of the child and the cultural expectations of gender and motherhood make it difficult for women to be parents and professionals.
But difficult should not and does not mean mutually exclusive. I hope that as we dissolve many gender stereotypes, and men become more involved in parenting, that we will see how families and society will be better off when the personal and professional roles are shared and split.
Perhaps some people prefer a more traditional model in which the mother is responsible for parenting, and the father the breadwinner, and if that is the case, then so be it. It is not up to me to determine what is best for a family. But even if you are more traditional, I think we can all agree that it is ludicrous to hold the First Lady to the expectation of having a cookie recipe,* because THAT isn't about the innate pull of motherhood, that's about keeping women in the kitchen (from Salon).
*The author loves cookies, and supports the right of men, women, and elves to bake them. We are non-discriminatory and happily consume cookies baked by...anyone.
Snazzy Gingersnap-y
From North Carolina comes Gingersnap, an adorable Shih Tzu mix! Gingersnap, seen here giving her best "curious" pose lives in North Carolina with her human Peggy. As you can see, Gingersnap has access to a nice back porch, and can often be found sitting near the rails, staring longingly at squirrels and questioningly at the shapes in the clouds. It's little wonder Gingersnap was wearing her "curious" expression when this pic was snapped. Big thank you to Peggy for sharing Gingersnap!
Will's Weekly Trivia!
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IF you choose to answer the question, respond to staton.will@gmail.com with your answer. Please note that by competing you are giving me permission to publish your first name in the trivia leader board each week.
TRIVIA!
Last Week:
1. John Calhoun was a Senator from which southern state? ONE POINT
2. The winner of November's election will become president number ?? in American history? ONE POINT
3. What is the largest landslide victory in presidential history based on electoral votes? ONE POINT for the winner and ONE point for the loser
Answer:
1. John C. Calhoun was a Senator from South Carolina
2. The next president will be the 45th president.
3. The largest landslide victory in presidential history was FDR over Alfred Landon in 1936 by a split of 523-8 electoral votes, and narrowly edging out Ronald Reagan's 1984 victory over Walter Mondale by a split of 525-13.
This Week:
1. What was the name of the friendly green ghost in Ghostbusters? ONE POINT
2. Which country was the first to allow women's suffrage? (Hint: it's not in Europe) ONE POINT
3. Which constitutional amendment gave women the right to vote? What year was it ratified? ONE POINT APIECE
LEADER BOARD The race for first is tightening! Check your spot on the leader board HERE on Willful Intent.
