April 19, 2009 |
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Women’s rights are
human rights?
Stephen Henry Lewis,
United Nations’ envoy for HIV AIDS in Africa, 2006, said:
“[Women’s rights have] never been made real, and so long as men control the levers and bastions of power… it never will be real. The demeaning diminution of women is everywhere evident… where freedom from sexual violence, the right to sexual autonomy, to sexual and reproductive health, social and economic independence, and even the whiff of gender equality are barely approximated. It’s a ghastly, deadly business, this untrammeled oppression of women in so many countries on the planet.”
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President Barack Obama nominated Melanne Verveer for the new post of Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.
According to a White House press release on key State Department appointments, the position “is unprecedented and reflects the elevated importance of global women's issues to the President and his entire Administration.”
This new post serves under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Refer CARE.org.
WomenCount is a political organization founded by women, operated by women, and dedicated to helping women make their voices heard in politics. They support women candidates for public office, raise public awareness about political and social issues that affect women, encourage our government to protect women's rights and women's interests, and fight back against gender bias in the media. |
It’s the Little Things That Count
The smallest words in the English language are one letter long. Like “a” as in “a flower.” Or like “I” as in “I am a female.” Barely a blip of ink or lead or pixel on a page, the tiniest of words can be monumental in scope, power, and meaning. Or in some cases, they can be permanently demeaning.
Peevish Pronouns
One of my pet peeves that I have had to deal with almost every day since I learned to read and write is the replacement of feminine pronouns with the favored masculine pronouns supposedly encompassing both genders. In this quote, for example:
The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.
~ Orlando Battista
Evidently sometime long ago and somewhere far away, some male professor of language or literature decided to save his and other males’ energy by using the masculine pronoun “he” to indicate both genders. Perhaps the shorter word he in lieu of her was necessary when the symbols of communication were chiseled into stone or wood or metal for mass printing. But last I heard the Stone Age is over. And it still peeves me off to be left out of the language of humanity most of the time.
I remember during the ‘60s sexist language came under scrutiny, and there was a genuine effort to discontinue its use. Lists of words were disbursed to corporations and other organizations with the revised gender-inclusive preferences of the day. For instance, mailman became mail carrier. But it seems virtually impossible to eliminate centuries’ worth of lingo favoring the male man, and the annoying practice keeps smacking females in the face on a daily basis.
FYI: Girls Aren’t Guys
Today’s equivalent slang for males and/or females is “guys,” whether you’re a guy or not. This practice may seem benign, but a few decades of these linguistic shortcuts have invaded my psyche to the point where I’m no longer certain if I’m included in terms like mankind.
Does it really take too much time and energy to say, read, or write “he and she,” instead of the substituted “he” alone? For instance, in Orlando’s quote above, it could save time, tempers, and energy expended in thought processes, because in this case, his unintended exclusive arrogance overrides the intended importance of his message.
My first reaction to Orlando’s quote was, “Whoa!” In this statement, “a parent” is obviously the father because of the pronoun “his”—his children—his time—and his ability to pass his property to his heirs. Talk aboutchur possessiveness and exclusivity! And only a man would likely claim that “a few minutes” could qualify as a gift bestowed upon a child and could further be deemed “the best inheritance.” Did I stop to think that “his” also represents “her” investment of time and attention? Well, no! Obviously Orlando didn’t think the implied other parent was worth mentioning in the form of a three letter word of her own—her. No wonder many women lack self-esteem! Will we forever be the unmentioned other?
And yet, when females bring this sexist language grievance to the attention of males, they’re often scoffed at or labeled as petulant bitches for complaining. After all, we have such an honored position in this man’s world. Yeah, right! Well, I’ve taken to setting the record straight whenever I have the chance. For instance if I’m in a restaurant with another person and the waiter or waitress says something like, “What can I get for you guys?” I smilingly respond with, “I’m not a guy, I’m a woman.” (I don’t think my hair is so short they couldn’t tell.)
Blast from the Past
It has been said that the emergence of complexity leads to consciousness. So please, guys, can we have a little more emerging in linguistics before I develop a serious inferiority complex? Perhaps if you stretch your vocabulary and use definitive words to depict the opposite sex often enough, females will actually begin to be seen and heard! From these simplest forms of acknowledgment, women might someday be fully included in this man’s world as your valuable counterparts.
I think it’s time to revise or replace some time-worn words in the English language, particularly those “sleepers” we subconsciously absorb day after day, year after year, generation after generation. Words that are derivatives of man, male, mister, he, his, e.g., management, woman, female, Mrs., abdomen, history, just to name a few. Here’s another quote that appears harmless but is profoundly caustic in my opinion:
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.
~ Stacia Tauscher
This statement, heard or read by a male, probably has much more meaning to him than if heard or read by a female. The favored male gender has long been conditioned to believe he is someone. All too often, females wait for confirmation of their existence and worth from the favored ones. “A child,” regardless of gender, is someone every minute of every day of their entire life.
All human blastocysts start off as female—a highly complimentary fact of evolution—before becoming male. Is that not enough to warrant and deserve our own pronouns rather than be shrouded by his? Just as a pebble buried deep within a glacier can carve and create a permanent groove in the earth, it’s the little things that count in determining a lifetime of self-worth.
#0057 Albeit Rantler
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