To make good people you need good parenting

It’s About Time–Influential Women That Time Forgot

Posted by Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network at 5:00 PM on May 6, 2008.

Once again women didn't make the cut in Time Magazine's list of the most influential leaders.

Post Tools
EMAIL
PRINT
5 COMMENTS

Share and save this post:

Got a tip for a post?:
Email us | Anonymous form

Lucinda Marshall RSS Feed

Main AlterNet RSS Feed

Well here it is, the opening salvo of the “It’s About Time” list of influential women that Time should have included in their list of 100 influential leaders. We need more names! Let’s make it clear that far more than 25% of the influential people on this planet happen to be women. By perpetuating the diminishing of women’s leadership and influence, Time deprives us of valuable insights and contributes to the toxic perception that the lives and work of women is less important than the contributions of men.

1. Barbara Brenner–Breast Cancer Action
2. Jennifer Drew–English activist working to highlight misogynist media portrayals of sexual assault.
3. Cathy Webster–1000 Grandmothers
4. Geena Davis
5. Leuren Moret and Helen Caldicott for raising awareness about the dangers of nuclear power and depleted uranium
6. Lilly Ledbetter
7. Amma
8. Alice Walker
9. Pema Chodron—Buddhist Monk, author
10. Kara Walker–artist
11. Jane Roberts–co-founder of 34 Million Friends of UNFPA
12. Yanar Mohammed–Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq
13. Medea Benjamin–Code Pink
14. Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock
15. The women’s organizations in Okinanwa that are speaking out against the handling of sexual assaults committed by US military personnel
16. The Myannmar nuns and other women who marched with the monks but got almost no notice
17. Cynthia McKinney–presumptive nominee for president of the Green Party
18. Riane Eisler
19. Frances Moore Lappe
20. Malalai Joya
21. Wangari Maathai
22. Helen Thomas
23. Amy Goodman
24. Starhawk
25. My mother, your mother, and all the women who teach in classrooms everywhere–if they aren’t influential, somebody needs to explain to me the definition of that word!

And it isn’t just Time that needs to see this list. Echidne reports that the UK Telegraph just pulled the same stunt with it’s list of top 10 important people who all happen to be male and white.

Return to Lucinda Marshall » Post Tools: EMAIL PRINT 5 COMMENTS PERMALINK

Also by Lucinda Marshall
How Effective Is the HPV Vaccine? The New England Journal of Medicine raises some serious questions about the vaccine's safety and effectiveness. August 26, 2008.	Radical Cleric Claims "Defiant" Wives Cause Spousal Abuse Southern Baptist preacher says sinful women rebel against their husbands' God-given authority. July 1, 2008.	Shifting the Blame in Gender-Motivated Violence How the media's use of the passive voice skews coverage of violence against women. May 7, 2008.	The Silencing of Tracy Barker Another case of rape by contractors in Iraq is being ignored. May 5, 2008.

Comments	Turn comments off sitewide	Give us feedback »
Comments closed. The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated.		View:
huh [Report this comment] Posted by: 23skidoo on May 6, 2008 5:28 PM Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Umm, if that is the best list you can come up with, it is understandable that Time had trouble as well. I love the "Fifth Sacred Thing", but Starhawk? Everyones mother? Are you kidding us with this crap, or what? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] You're missing the obvious [Report this comment] Posted by: drmflorida on May 7, 2008 5:56 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] If the 100 most influential people in the world (at least as far as Time sees it) are (mostly) white (mostly) males, THAT IS A FEMINIST ARGUMENT. Forcing people on the list who clearly are NOT among the 100 most influential people in the world does NOT further your cause, it provides fodder to the regressives. The fact that women are allowed to be dentists, fly planes, or have a talk show does not mean that sexism and male priveledge are dead. You are not trying to influence the world, you're trying to influence Time magazine. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Missing the point [Report this comment] Posted by: djwriter on May 7, 2008 8:26 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The women you named may be doing good and important things, but that doesn't mean they are among the 100 most influential people in the world. Heck, I wish Amy Goodman had more influence, but she doesn't. Putting her on a list claiming that she does won't make it true. As for #25, aren't you deliberately excluding the millions of men who teach? That's hardly fair, certainly not my idea of gender equality, which is what I thought feminism was supposed to be about. The fact that men dominate Time's list isn't really Time magazine's problem or fault -- it's merely a reflection of a world dominated by men. Putting more women on Time's list would only distort reality, not change it. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Glad to see Hillary, nor Pelosi nor Feinstein Nor NOW made your list [Report this comment] Posted by: Purple Girl on May 7, 2008 11:17 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The Real woman who have made a positive difference in others lives. Women I hope my daughter takes as role models, real action, real morals & ehtics -real female values! Thanks for the list! [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] To make good people you need good parenting [Report this comment] Posted by: Andrew_S on May 12, 2008 11:47 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] History is littered with women, the good , the bad and the ugly. Just as it is littered with men of similar stature. So what is the author trying to say, that the history of women be exhalted above all history. Historically woman served societies best where they are best positioned, playing the decision making and then sowing those seeds to bring out the outcomes they wanted anyway. The modern or feministic concept of womanhood is to create androgens, serve commerce, and destroy the basic unit of societal political life, with historical revision to boot. When my father died, the extended family shifted from a male led family to a female led one. This was not based on familial inheritance, it was based on merit, she deserved the honor, and so she leads in the decision making, cleverly, and wisely in the background making choices that will not be immediately felt until the wisdom of those choices becomes self evident. Just as any female deserves title by honor and merit. The fact that we as a nation do navel examinations above the common good, is a reflection of the authors naaivety, since this is all about me, I and now. As we are headlong into some very strange times, your middleclass barren whitewoman has cursed this world to servitude to a very appealing god. Nonetheless, it is profitable and very interesting for now. Some females should do well to examine the history of woman and compare it to the history of men. This modern day effeminizing of the past works to a point, but it is still patriarchy, albiet under the guise of feminazm. After all if procreation is a fundamental function of life, sexuality is a mechanism. We have some very perverse clarions for our current crop of female leaders, and as a result some very perverse societal movements whether by design or accident is subject to historical investigation . It would appear that personal hubris is unbound, and our males without the nads, are cleverly doing what was suggested, playing a very dangerous game with nature just as nature has played a very cruel trick on them. It serves the statist and commerce of people very well, but it has basically taken away liberty from us all. A legacy of future feminism that is far worse than what has ever happened in the past. Hat's off to you all. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Search: