Why are the Major Women's Rights Coalitions not supporting US FEMALES

[KoKo]

anymore....What happened? I see some legislation...and NARAL is "trying" to do stuff against Bush because "Move On.org." is supporting all efforts.

As a "Southern Female" I feel that NARAL and "Emily's List" has let me down. I can't actually say why I feel this..and was thinking if I posted this that my fellow "Feminists" would come after me with "Pitchforks and Torches" ...but yeah...I feel VERY LET DOWN by "Women's Movement."

Does anyone remember when so many females were empowered by Margo Thomas's "FREE TO BE YOU AND ME?" What the Hell has happened here?

Why are we Females Whimps? Was it because our ORGANIZATION became the AFL/CIO when they "Deep Sixed" Jimmy Hoffa? Did NARAL and Emily's List become TOOLS?

I feel that...I don't think they are speaking to me, this female..in this time frame, today.

:-(

Here's link to NeoCon and his view of "Human Rights" as related to NeoCons view of human rights....for females, anyway:

Women's Social Rights are NOT essential to the development of Democracy

[lvx35]

1. How could they speak more for you?

I'm not a woman, but I'm curious about your experience. What would be more along the lines of what you would like?

[kilo]

3. I'm with lvx35

What would you like more attention to be paid to?

I'm not a woman (in case I didn't put that in my profile), but I would think that the big issues for women these days would be:
*Keep the barriers from getting an abortion low so that women will be able to maintain control over their own bodies.
*Keep the trial lawyers from being able to sue abortion doctors out of business / existence by limiting punitive damages to $250,000.
*Something about making sure the woman doesn't end up having to pay huge amounts of alimony if the husband gets the kids.
*Giving whistle blowers of sexual harassment claims as much protection as whistle blowers who report financial misreporting (from the Sarbanes Oxley act).
*If a woman and a man are working side by side with all factors being equal, neither of them earns more than the other. (That really gets me steamed when I hear about how people didn't feel you needed to pay women as much because "they should get married and have their husband support them").
*Isn't there something like you can treat the genders differently if you have a compelling reason, but you have to have an even more compelling reason to be able to treat people of different races differently. Maybe we could move gender up to whatever qualification race is.

Again I'm on the outside looking in. What are you (or other DU women) looking for?

[FloridaPat]

4. My 2 cents:

1. Abortion - how about helping with the prevention too. Let health insurance companies pay for The Pill. Free birth control. And like the rest of the world - free delivery of babies. That's on top of keeping abortion.
2. Trial lawyers - this is happening? Sorry, I can't keep track of everything.
3. This comes down to equal rights. If she has the money and he gets the kids, she should pay. Sorry, can't support that one.
4. The whistle bloers of secual harassment claims do have as much protection as those reporting financial misreporting - pretty much none. There may be a law or two, but they still never get a job in their profession again. All whistles blowers should be the ones that don't get a lifetime punishment. Not sure how to enforce that.
5. Yes - equal pay! YES YES YES

I would like to see repect for women's choices. Whether a mother or a CEO. We have come this far with only half the brain power of the population involved. Imagine what we could do if all of us could contribute to the advancement of civilization. Look at the people who ruined this country and led us into war - white old men. Pretty much except for Powell and Condi.

And I would like to see respect for women. The movies today - very few women and most are sexual objects there for the naked body shots. I look at movies from the 20's to 50's and there are lots of women with good parts in there, and they discriminated against women then like crazy. I am tired of the disrepect we get.

[kilo]

12. Those were just my ideas

the thing about trial lawyers isn't happening (at least that I've heard of) but picture this:

Woman gets an abortion.
Some pro-lifer gets ahold of her.
Convinces her that abortion was (insert your own pro-life motto here).
Convinces her to sue her abortion doctor even if nothing bad happened.
Abortion doctor goes out of business because his malpractice insurance is incredibly high.
Communicty is deprived of a doctor.

I guess I'm just paranoid.

[FloridaPat]

13. Nowadays paranoid is normal.

[KoKo]

15. well said.....when did women stop being Three Dimensional....we are

either sex objects, pawns or weepy, teary victims...and then there are the murders and "runaway brides."

It's hard to find images in the media of dedicated women, teachers, homemakers (who aren't fundie or Martha) activists, volunteers, physicians who are working with the disadvantaged, engineers, lawyers (who aren't in the Corporate Whore Mode ..but who are actually trying to do good out there in society. Not all women are Martha, Condi, or Carly Fiorina (former head of Hewlett-Pakard/Compaq) or high powered Stock Brokers appearing on CNBC or famous Talk Show Hosts.

Most of us do our ordinary jobs in whatever we were trained in to do our best. The same for men who aren't in the MEDIA HIGH PROFILE...it goes to all of us...but the Right Wing hates Women the most, it seems or that's what they are after this time..they've already attacked men who don't drive SUV's and are members of the NRA and wear either cowboy boots like Chimp or "Pin Stripe Suits and flag pins like Larry Kudlow.

When are we going to look at America as AVERAGE folks...who have a VOICE, too?

[wellstone dem]

5. Hmmm

I have never heard putting a limit on punitive damages as a part of the feminist agenda. Considering that one of the leading opponents to the punitive damages cap is a woman who had the wrong breast removed, I would be surprised to find out that is a part of the agenda. Also, most feminists just want equal alimony laws, they aren't worried that where there is a basis in law and fact a woman might have to pay alimony.

[KoKo]

2. Neocon Says:Women's Social Rights are NOT essential to the development of

Women's Social Rights are NOT essential to the development of Democracy.

If EVER there was a Clarion Call to Females..this does seem to be IT!

Women's Social Rights are NOT essential to the development of Democracy

And...do we need to go back to "coffee clatches" maybe at "Starbucks" to remind Females about how the "Suffragettes" worked so hard to get the Women's Vote...to even HAVE a "Women's Vote" against all the Male Dominance of "that time" which looks like "Male Dominance" of THIS TIME.

Hasn't Democratic Underground been moved forward with FEMALE DONATIONS and POSTERS who "hit their identities" lest the MALES (ALPHA MALES) would route them out and HIT THEM?

How many DU'er are Females who should be TOTALLY OUTRAGED by "Meet the Press's Comments?" Or, are we so "brain dead we sit and wait for "others" to take up our cause? I don't, the Hell Know...enlighten me?

[mixedview]

17. the type of social rights women have in the West are not essential

to the development of democracy - that is indeed true. As long as they have basic rights - right to vote, etc - the others will come in time.

Our own country started out without rights for much of the population. What our founders did is plant the seed of freedom - selling the idea was more important than creating an instant result.

Only a libertarian democratic country would've allowed marginalized peoples (the poor, women, slaves) to even have the CHANCE to fight for their own rights. An authoritarian country with an authoritarian ideology/constitution would have simply used violence to put down any resistance (think Stalin, Hitler, etc).

[FloridaPat]

6. When the job market and economy gets tough, rights go out the

window. Also, the message from Washington the * is you can shit on women and put them back in their places and no one is going to put you in jailo for it. This is the real trickle down theory.

[KoKo]

7. So True...those who "might have supported us" are now "Walmart Greeters"

and feel Glad/Happy they have a JOB in today's economy...So...who am I to critize folks who do what they have to do about their own "life situations."

I really don't know..I guess that some would say: "you gotta do what you have to."

I would say...WHY? Why Can't you vote for folks who could work to help you?

And..they would say.."Where have you been all these years when MY JOB was going OFFSHORE? Who are YOU to tell me, today, what to do with MY LIFE when Democrats were involved in this, too?"

How could I anser this...I really don't have an answer. :shrug:

[wli]

8. because the reich wing has neutered them

Like all of the other causes for the benefit of the people.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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

[KoKo]

10. Am so surprised and puzzled by your reply...I don't have an answer for

you here that wouldn't look like I was promoting a flame war. I have to assume you haven't read most of my posts...but who has the time to read every DU'ers posts on every subject.

I feel sad that you would attack me like this here. I will PM you with my counter.

[Cleita]

11. I feel let down too. I really feel we ought to form militias.

I'm really not liking my man dominated life these days.

[KoKo]

14. It's the right wing. Someone posted a great article here this week about

how if you are IN THIER Power circles...like Condi or a CEO Type they will accept you...but if you are not, you remind them of their "wife or mother" as a nag.

Given how many of our High Powered Millionaires and Politicians are on their second or third or beyond "wives" it kind of makes sense.

Not saying that anyone who has gone through a divorce for very legitimate reasons is sexist...but talking about what might appear to be "trophy marriages," or instances where it appears that Money and Power were at the root of the destabilization of a partnership.

And, I've known many folks who have had marriages dissolve through no fault of their own. But, the Right Wings constant applause for folks like Coulter, Malkin and the others who push forth anti-female rights does make one wonder.

The Women's Movement doesn't seem to be addressing "grassroots female issues" and has drifted more to DLC Corporate Issues in the last couple of decades. But, obviously some would disagree with what I say. Considering a poster here who thought I was anti-female in my post.

[Cleita]

16. My parents were Republicans.

I was well treated and loved, but the message they always gave me was that to be an outstanding woman you just had to be better than all the men. Like if you wanted to go to medical school, your grades had to be better than any of the men to be accepted and in my day this was true. If you made into the elite place you still had to fight for recognition.

In other words, you were doomed to be uneducated and poor unless you married the right person, but if you really wanted to be where the boys were, you had to be three times better than them to find a little place on the bottom.

I just don't feel like I have to be more outstanding than the jerk who got my place because of his gender, his race, his family and his country club. I used to work for boys who couldn't spell and yet when I corrected their spelling so they wouldn't look like asses, I was told that I didn't type what they wrote.

So right now, I am feeling very militant.