Friday Femme Fatale: Advertising, Economics and Anti-Feminism

by Jen Nedeau · 2009-01-30 15:48:00 UTC
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What a week in the world of women's rights. Not only did the Lily Ledbetter Act get signed into law, but SCHIP also passed in the Senate. President Obama felt the sting of partisanship when he conceded the proposal for contraception within the economic stimulus plan, only to find that not a single Republican voted on the bill.

Here are the other major stories that occurred in the feminist-o-sphere this week that you don't want to miss:

This October, more than 6,000 women gathered in Chicago for the True Woman Conference '08: a stadium-style event to promote what its proponents call "biblical womanhood," "complementarianism," or -- most bluntly -- "the patriarchy movement."

Women gathering to support the patriarchy movement? It's evangelical counterculture at its most contrarian.

  • Marcia Yerman prepares for Fem 2.0 coming this Monday to Washington DC with the post, The Pink Elephant In the Tent, talking about how feminists often spar over points of view, thus losing the intentions of equality they propose:

As we gear up for the Fem2.0 Conference in Washington D.C. - and strive to develop   an inclusive outreach - it is important to pay attention to the goal of widening the tent.

The future strength of women's advocacy lies in the ability to be more tolerant of different points of view.  Fissures in sisterly solidarity were much in evidence during the Democratic primary, when Clinton and Obama supporters took sides, pointed fingers, and matters veered off into a very unpleasant zone.

We're not all going to agree. So it would be best if we could "agree to disagree" in a fashion that isn't toxic.

"This child's future is a broken home. He will be abandoned by his father. His single mother will struggle to raise him. Despite the hardships he will endure... this child... will become... the 1st African-American President ." It ends with the tag line: "LIFE: Imagine the Potential." 

"Women initiate most domestic violence, yet out of a thousand cases of domestic violence, maybe one is involving a man.  And this has made a victim of culture out of women."

Yikes. I certainly hope that desperate times don’t call for desperate advertising, but after this week it is starting to look that way.

Jen Nedeau Jen Nedeau is a media relations professional and a writer based in New York City.
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