Posts by Jessica Valenti

Jessica Valenti is the executive editor of Feministing.

Southwest Airlines Mocks Women They Harassed For Dressing Too Sexy
Posted by Jessica Valenti on September 18, 2007 at 12:00 PM.

This post, written by Jessica Valenti, originally appeared on Feministing.

You know, I honestly didn't think I could think any lower of Southwest Airlines. Then this happened.

Southwest has offered a faux apology mocking the women they harassed. Seriously. Company President Colleen Barrett released the following (obnoxious and perhaps further harassing) comment:

"From a Company who really loves PR, touche to you Kyla! Some have said we've gone from wearing our famous hot pants to having hot flashes at Southwest, but nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued Customer, and you did not get an adequate apology.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Southwest Airlines Continues to Harass Women For Dressing Too Sexy
Posted by Jessica Valenti on September 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM.

This post, written by Jessica Valenti, originally appeared on Feministing

UPDATE: For more on this story click here

Southwest Airlines, the proud sexists who nearly kicked a woman off of a flight because they deemed her outfit inappropriate, are at it again.

A second woman is complaining after an airline took issue with her sexy attire.

Setara Qassim said she was flying home to Burbank, Calif., from Las Vegas in June when a Southwest Airlines flight attendant gave her a blanket and told her to cover up.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Truck Designers Wear Skirts to Build a Better Car For Women
Posted by Jessica Valenti on September 10, 2007 at 12:00 PM.

This post, written by Jessica Valenti, originally appeared on Feministing

What better way to find out what women want in a car then to dress in skirts, heels, and throw on some fake nails?

"A few times a year we go off-site and try to have a learning exercise that is a lot of fun," said [GM vehicle line director Mary Sipes]. "We took our group to the proving grounds and broke them into teams. One guy on each team had to be Mr. Mom. We dressed him in a garbage bag to simulate a tight skirt. We gave him rubber gloves with press on nails, a purse, a baby and a baby stroller and some chores like loading groceries."

The men were then required to go through what women do routinely every day. They had to put the baby in a car seat and buckle them in, fold up the stroller, pull up the liftgate and stow the stroller, put grocery bags in the back. They then had to walk around the vehicle and step into it not using the running board. Wearing the gloves with press-on nails they had to operate the key fob, adjust the radio and then figure out what to do with their purses -- without breaking or losing a nail. Lost or broken fingernails or torn garbage bag skirts resulted in points against the final score.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Offers BA in Ladylike Submission
Posted by Jessica Valenti on August 20, 2007 at 12:00 PM.

This post, written by Jessica Valenti, originally appeared on Feministing

The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is offering a new and exciting academic program: homemaking!

Southwestern Baptist, one of the nation's largest Southern Baptist seminaries, is introducing a new academic program in homemaking as part of an effort to establish what its president calls biblical family and gender roles.

It will offer a bachelor of arts in humanities degree with a 23-hour concentration in homemaking. The program is only open to women.

Of course it is. Coursework for the program includes nutrition and meal preparation, textile design and classes on "the value of a child" and the "biblical model for the home and family."

Seminary President Paige Patterson says "We are moving against the tide in order to establish family and gender roles as described in God's word for the home and the family...If we do not do something to salvage the future of the home, both our denomination and our nation will be destroyed."

I always thought nations were destroyed by war, famine or disease. Little did I know it was actually women taking classes in anything other than ironing that determines the demise of a country.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

California DA: Witnesses, DNA evidence not enough to prosecute rape case
Posted by Jessica Valenti on May 28, 2007 at 8:19 AM.

This post, by Jessica Valenti, originally appeared on Feministing.

Nice to know that if you get gang raped and there are fucking eyewitnesses, your case won't get prosecuted.

What's the penalty for the alleged gangrape of a drunk, 17-year-old girl at a party with 10 of your buddies? Bupkus, said the Santa Clara, California District Attorney's office yesterday.

The alleged rape occurred March 3 at a wild, off-campus party hosted by a member of the DeAnza College men's baseball team in San Jose, California. Three partygoers, members of the school's women's soccer team, said they saw a young girl on a mattress on the floor, clothes around her ankles and vomit on her face, with one man on top of her and approximately 10 more looking on in a dark bedroom. Feeling "something wasn't right," the girls pushed their way into the room and rushed the victim the the hospital.

20-year old April Grolle, one of the women who intervened, said "One of the guys who was in the room said 'This is her fault. She got drunk and she did this to herself.'"

Assistant District Attorney David Tomkins said, "We looked at every shred of evidence in this case, and we used every procedural avenue available to us to examine the facts. We discussed it and decided there was insufficient evidence of any crimes being investigated."

Lovely. So no charges will be brought against the men, who were members of the De Anza College baseball team. The only punishment? Eight baseball players were suspended, and three games were cancelled. Yeah. I'm just so sick over this.

How much are moms worth?
Posted by Jessica Valenti on May 3, 2007 at 9:48 AM.

It's that time of year again ... when Salary.com lets us know how much money moms would bring in if their work were waged. This year, the company figured out that the 10 jobs moms work would bring in $138,095 a year.

The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, the company concluded, and works at least 10 jobs. In order of hours spent on them per week, these are: housekeeper, day-care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive officer and psychologist. By figuring out the median salaries for each position, and calculating the average number of hours worked at each, the firm came up with $138,095 -- three percent higher than last year's results.

Even mothers who work full-time jobs outside the home put in $85,939 worth of work as mothers, according to Salary.com.

Of course, women's unwaged labor isn't just a U.S. thing; women and girls do 2/3 of the world's work, most of it unwaged. For more information (and some cool stories) check out the work being done with the Global Women's Strike, where women across the world organize strikes to protest the lack of wages for "caring work."

BREAKING: Keroack resigns!
Posted by Jessica Valenti on March 30, 2007 at 5:30 AM.

I have it on good authority that "Dr." Eric Keroack, the abstinence-only nut and cartoon enthusiast who was appointed by the Bush administration to oversee reproductive rights funding is resigning.

More info as I get it…

Australian court: If you suck, you must f**k
Posted by Jessica Valenti on March 22, 2007 at 8:31 AM.

A court in South Australia has ruled that a man can't rape and have consensual sex with a woman in same sexual encounter.

In a 2-1 decision, the Court of Criminal Appeal erased the criminal record of a man who twice had sex with a woman in his car.

A jury had found him guilty of having forced intercourse but ruled an earlier act of fellatio was consensual.

The appeals court, however, ruled last week that the verdict was "illogical" and "unacceptable" and quashed his conviction.

Because if you say yes to one sex act, you're not allowed to say no to another. (By the way, the woman defendant says that both the oral sex and the intercourse was forced.)

Thankfully, folks seem to get that this kind of "logic" is unacceptable.

Yesterday, the State Government vowed to table new laws, wherein sex would become rape as soon as consent was withdrawn - even if the act had already begun.

But not everyone, apparently, thinks silly things like sexual assault should be legislated.

Opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Isobel Redmond warned the new laws may interfere in people's private lives.

"When reading the legislation, one gets the feeling even married couples will need to sign a contract before they have sex," she said.

"You reach a point where you're trying to legislate for every human behaviour.

I'm just speechless on that one.

But I guess now Australia and Maryland have something in common. And not in a good way.

North Dakota Abortion Ban
Posted by Jessica Valenti on March 12, 2007 at 11:36 AM.

Here we go again. The North Dakota Senate is going to hear a bill, HB 1466, which would ban all abortions in the state. And get this: the ban is even more extreme than the beaten-down South Dakota ban! There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the woman AND the ban would impose criminal penalties on women and their doctors.

The bill would allow the Attorney General to implement a ban on abortion regardless of the status of Roe v. Wade. Performing an abortion would become a Class C felony in the state.

Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, is monitoring the progress of the legislation. "North Dakotans deserve to make these personal, private decisions free from government intrusion," Stoesz said. "This bill attempts to substitute political opinion for medical judgment and endangers women's health and safety in the process," said Stoesz.

The great people at the Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (can you believe they have to cover all those places with one org?!) tell me that the bill will be heard in the judiciary committee tomorrow.

I'm waiting to hear back from them on any action folks can take.

Tennessee wants to require post-abortion death certificates
Posted by Jessica Valenti on February 15, 2007 at 10:52 AM.

This is just lovely. Proposed legislation in Tennessee would require death certificates for aborted fetuses -- creating public records that identify women who have had abortions.

Rep. Stacey Campfield, a Republican, said his bill would provide a way to track how many abortions are performed. He predicted it would pass in the Republican-controlled Senate but would have a hard time making it through the Democratic House.

The thing is, the number of abortions performed is already reported to the state's Office of Vital Records. So the only purpose of this bill is to identify women having abortions -- it would even include their social security numbers!

House Judiciary Chairman Rob Briley called this "the most preposterous bill I've seen." No fucking joke.

More at Women's Health News.

Radical Feminists out to "Kill Cupid"? [VIDEO]
Posted by Evan Derkacz, Jessica Valenti on February 14, 2007 at 12:41 PM.

Feministing's Jessica Valenti weighs in with an original commentary on the V-Day battle.

Watch the AlterNet original video to the right, then go HERE or HERE for more details and Ann's deconstruction of V-Day...

Roe v. Wade Anniversary: Trust Women, period.
Posted by Jessica Valenti on January 22, 2007 at 4:42 AM.

This guest post was written by Feministing's Jessica Valenti.

Today--on the 34th anniversary of Roe v Wade--I have a request. Instead of writing about the legislation, the rhetoric, or the politics surrounding reproductive rights and justice, let's keep it simple. Let's just trust women.

Seems easy enough, I know. But given that over 30 years after Roe women are still fighting the same battles, maybe we need a remedial course.

Trust women to know what's best for themselves and their families Many women who choose to have abortions do so out of concern for their existing children. It's time to put to bed the bullshit stereotypes of women having abortions out of "convenience" or selfishness.

Trust young women to make decisions about their future Whether it's access to emergency contraception or abortion, young women have the right to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. Not to mention, let's be logical. If we're too young to make the decision to prevent or end a pregnancy, how are we not too young to have a child?

Trust low-income women--don't punish them Sure, Roe legalized abortion--but the many laws impeding access to abortion disproportionately affect low-income women. Mandatory waiting periods are unreasonable for low-income women who often can't take more than a day off of work and for rural women who need to travel long distances to get to their nearest abortion provider. Not to mention the Hyde Amendment, which has been around almost as long as Roe and prevents federal Medicaid funding for abortion. Hyde doesn't get much attention these days--as Jill from Feministe says, "The women who are being most negatively affected by Hyde are poor women, women of color, women who rely on government aid--you know, women who just don't matter as much as wealthier white women who have the privilege and time to get out and vote, to contribute to the Democratic party, to attend the fundraisers."

Trust women to have children One aspect of reproductive justice that isn't often talked about is the right to have children. At a recent conference for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, women spoke out about the U.S.'s history with sterilizing women (especially low-income women and women of color) and punitive "fetal rights" laws. Whether women are terminating a pregnancy or want to carry a pregnancy to term--we have to trust women with their bodies and reproductive health and futures.

While waxing political about Roe is important, let's not forget that today is about women's lives--and no one is more of an expert in that than women themselves.

Related: Check out Blog for Choice Day and this classic article from The Onion.

Gays Can't Do Abstinence?
Posted by Jessica Valenti on January 4, 2007 at 8:07 AM.

It's already pretty well established that abstinence-only education discriminates against gay and lesbian students, but this takes the cake.

A Florida high school has refused to allow a student to establish a Gay-Straight Alliance as an after-school club. After being called out on their bullshit reason that the school doesn't allow any clubs (it does), Okeechobee High School is now claiming that there can't be a queer club because the school has an abstinence-only policy.

Eh? Apparently only hetero teens can abstain.

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the school on the student's behalf.

Reality Rape TV?
Posted by Jessica Valenti on December 21, 2006 at 11:07 PM.

This is the worst idea ever. The BBC is planning on airing a "reality" show about a rape trial. Basically, the show will recreate a rape trial and then have 12 celebrity jurors reach a verdict. Cause what's more fun and entertaining than rape?

Understandably, some folks are a little concerned:

…the inclusion on the jury of the likes of former MP turned perjurer, Jeffrey Archer, and Stan Collymore, the former footballer involved in well-publicised domestic violence and "dogging" incidents, has already sparked concern about the motives of the programme-makers from rape charities and support groups.

Even better is the fictionalized story the jurors are supposed to be judging:

The case involves a young woman called Anna Crane from Epsom, who goes to see the musical Chicago with her best friend in London.

After the show they wind up in a hotel cocktail bar where the friend spots celebrity footballer Damien Scott and his friend, a less successful player called James Greer. They retire to Scott's suite where one of two things happens to Anna Crane: either she has consensual sex with Scott or she is gang-raped. Both defendants plead not guilty.

Crane decides not to go to the police. Instead, her best friend sells the story of her alleged rape to a Sunday newspaper for £30,000 and covertly tapes Anna describing the assaults. This tape was played in court to the celebrity jury who have to make up their minds as to whether it is a harrowing confession or a fake tape concocted by two money-grabbing girls. (Emphasis added)

Because trivializing rape through a celebrity reality show just wasn't enough--depicting violence against women wouldn't be complete without giving credence to the idea that women make up rape charges for cold hard cash. Classy.

Complaints can be made to the BBC here, or by writing to Anthony Salz, Acting BBC Chair, BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Glasgow, G1 3WT.

IT industry is too "macho" for women
Posted by Jessica Valenti on September 12, 2005 at 3:07 PM.

The UK's IT industry is still dominated by the old-boys' club, according to recent research:

Long hours and a macho culture are driving women out of the IT profession, according to research from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and IT trade body Intellect.

The Women in IT industry research was commissioned on the back of figures from the Office of National Statistics showing a six per cent decline in the number of women employed in the IT industry between 1997 and 2005.

More than half of the 42 women surveyed had already left the IT industry and another 13 said they were thinking of leaving. The women were mainly over 45-years-old and in senior roles ranging from software developers, programmers and analysts to IT consultants, managers and directors.

The women all said the work-life balance, 'old-boys' male-dominated environment and industry culture are the core reasons why the IT sector is unattractive to women.

The report went on to say that the industry's priority should be to recruit and retain more women:

"The UK IT industry is world leading but it won't stay that way for long if we continue to haemorrhage valuable, skilled women professionals from the sector," said John Higgins, director general at Intellect, in a statement.

OK, all seriousness aside. I have to admit that this article's headline gave me a little chuckle: IT industry's 'macho culture' drives women away. Cause when I think macho, I think my IT guy. (Relax, I'm only kidding.)