"Invisible Women"

It's been a hectic afternoon sorting through my abysmal graduate student finances, so all I've got right now are these post-election year thoughts by Prof. Susan Douglas, author of The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it has Undermined Women (my emphases):

"The high visibility of [Sen. Clinton, Palin and Ms. Obama] (each different, of course, but nonetheless successful and financially comfortable) makes it seem as if gender equality has been achieved and that sexism — except that coming from white male pundits on cable — is a thing of the past.

(snip)

That actual sexism and genuine economic discrimination might continue to keep millions of women (and their children) in their place? Preposterous. Isn’t that so 1970s?

...in 2007, the top jobs for women [were] Secretaries, nurses, elementary and middle school teachers, cashiers, retail salespersons, nursing and home health aids, waitresses, maids and housekeeping cleaners and hairdressers.

While some of these jobs provide a decent living, others pay minimum wage — or less. According to Sara Gould, president of the Ms. Foundation, two-thirds of the minimum wage and below-minimum wage work force in the United States is female. Of the 37 million Americans living in poverty, 27 million are women. The National Council for Research on Women reports that the subprime disaster disproportionately affects African-American and Latina women.

(snip)

Many mothers face discrimination at work, some of it subtle yet costly. We have the flimsiest support network for mothers and children of any industrialized country, with, still, no paid maternity leave and no nationally funded and regulated day care system. African-American and Latina women, still vastly underrepresented or stereotyped in the media, endure more poverty, brutality, crappy healthcare and disease than their white counterparts."

Oh, one more thing, if you're not reading Red Queen's blog, you should be. That's all, for now - unless you've got your own stories to share!