I Was a Teenage Feminist - Screening Jan. 16

In case you missed it, here's another chance!

An Afternoon at the Movies
National Council of Jewish Women
See "I Was a Teenage Feminist," winner of the Ellie Award for Best Film in the 2006 Jewish Women's Film Festival. Light lunch will be served.

Why is it that young, independent, progressive women feel uncomfortable identifying with the F- word? Armed with a video camera and an irreverent sense of humor, Therese Shechter talks with feminist superstars, rowdy frat boys, liberated Cosmo girls and Radical Cheerleaders, all in her quest to find out whether feminism can still be a source of personal and political power.

Screening in NY January 16th @ 12:30pm

Eleanor Leff Jewish Women's Resource Center
NCJW NY Section
820 Second Avenue (bet. 43rd & 44th)
New York NY

212-687-5030 x10
info@ncjwny.org
$15/members, $20/non-members

Writing Workshop Intensive with Savvy Ladies

Calling writers near Berkeley! Brooke and Krista are from Seal Press, and I imagine this workshop will be pretty amazing.

CREATIVITY WORKSHOP FOR WRITERS with KRISTA LYONS-GOULD and BROOKE WARNER

Sat., January 26, 2008 10am to 5pm
At Northbrae Church in Berkeley, CA

For more information, click here. To Register: b.warner@earthlink.net.

Friend Plugs: Upcoming Events

I am freakishly proud of--and inspired by--my two friends:

Film Premiere!

Praying with Lior, a film by filmmaking genius Ilana Trachtman, opens at Cinema Village in NYC on February 1st. I saw Lior at the Margaret Mead Film Festival in November and, like the rest of the sold-out crowd, was moved to tears. The film has inspired standing ovations, sold out screenings, Audience Awards for Best Documentary, op-eds and rave reviews. Ilana will do Q & A at all evening screenings opening weekend. Cinema Village is at 22 E.12th St. Buy Individual Tickets here. Group tickets: Joe or Minos, CV 212-924-3364.

On January 15, the Jewish Museum will screen Praying with Lior at 3:00 and 6:30. Lior's parents will do Q & A after the 6:30 show, followed by panel on disability in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Distinguished panelists are William Gaventa, M.Div, Editor of Religion and Disability, Rabbi Dan Grossman, Adath Israel Congregation, and Sarah Lawrence Professor of Islamic Studies Kristin Zahra Sands. NYU"s Professor Faye Ginsburg will moderate. My mom and I will be in the audience too :) Tickets.

Lior is also playing at film festivals around the country--Atlanta, L.A., Minneapolis, Tampa, Denver, San Diego, Houston, Hartford, Ithaca, Seattle, Cherry Hill, West Orange, Westchester, and Boston. And Caracas! Dates and tickets. You can watch the trailer here.

CD Release Party!

Superstar Sarah Ann Corkum will be jamming on tambourine with her band Corduroy Days tonight at R Bar (218 Bowery). The night starts off at 7 with an open bar (until 8pm) and the band goes on around 9. Of course, if not in NYC you can check out the music at their website and get your groove on, too.

Who Voted Their Gender? (take two!)

In case you missed it here, Virginia Rutter's guest post, "Who Voted Their Gender in Iowa?" (hint: it wasn't women) is now up over at AlterNet. Please feel free to go there and comment away!

Of (Young) Men and War

Ok, so clearly I'm on an image raid this morning. This is the cover of a new collection of short stories that circle around the themes of contemporary masculinity and war, which Courtney reviewed. Says she, these "stories explore domestic violence, rape, thwarted love, miscarriages, familial relationships etc. Basically there isn’t a hot button issue concerning masculinity and violence that this volume doesn’t touch, although always in an artful, complex way." I think this just became the book I'm reading next. (Thanks, C!)

Sexism is a Bitch

And while we're on the topic of images (see post below), this just in, from feministing's Hillary Sexism Watch. Very original, dudes.

New Blog on the Block

I recently discovered a very cool new blog called Sociological Images, run by Professor Lisa D. Wade at Occidental College. Sometimes, images speak more than a thousand words. Much, much more, here. (Thanks, Virginia, for the heads up!)

New in Cause Marketing - Go Woodhull!

Earlier this month, Facebook.com teamed up with The Case Foundation to present a Giving Challenge--Facebook will award money to Causes with the most amount of unique donors. That's right, not the highest amount of money raised, but the highest number of unique donors. So even the smallest donation really, really counts. On behalf of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, I'm posting this request:

We're asking you to donate $10 and recruit your friends to do the same in the 24-hour period starting 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific on this Tuesday, January 15th through 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific on this Thursday, January 16th to help Woodhull win $1000!

If you miss those dates, you can still help us out by donating and recruiting - we can still win the 50-day challenge! Read more about the challenge here.

Remember they are interested in unique donors so the more individuals that donate $10 the greater the chances that Woodhull could get a $1,000 match for the day and $50,000 for the 50 day challenge.

Happy New Year!
Wende Jager-Hyman

To make a donation, click here.

Girls Write Now Winter Pair Reading - Jan. 18

Taking a break from election obsession to post this announcement for an upcoming event close to my heart. If in the NYC area, join me at St. John Church (44 John Street) on Jan. 18 at 7pm! Courtney Martin and I will be introducing as New York City's young women writers read, in pairs, with the women writers who inspire them.

And huge, huge thank yous to those who made end-of-year donations to this fabulous organization. Your helps makes all the difference in the world.

Sisterhood Interrupted Redux

Given all the attention this week on feminism, the age gap, and younger women's vote, I thought I'd post here an interview I did for Women's Radio that just went up. Have at it :)

Introducing: Repro Justice & Gender at AlterNet

I'm late on this one, but I'm jumping for joy that Feministe's Jill Filopovic is now a presence at AlterNet. Jill is the editor of their newly-launched Reproductive Justice and Gender section. If you haven't been there yet, GO! Go now! To whet your appetite, here's a sampling of stories included in the roundup over there today:

Hillary's Gender Is a Bigger Deal Than We'd Like to Admit
Megan Garber, Columbia Journalism Review. January 9, 2008.
An in-depth look at media coverage of Clinton's emotion.

Maribel Rosas, American Sexuality Magazine.
A young Latina woman chooses to give birth, and discovers her mother's support.
Gender Equality Cheers and Jeers. January 8, 2008.

The Reality Behind Hollywood Pregnancies
Susie Bright, SusieBright.com. January 7, 2008.
Here's some of the things you can look forward to in your unplanned Hollywood pregnancy.

Pop Culture Pregnancies, Teen Edition
Katha Pollitt, The Nation. January 7, 2008.
Teens getting pregnant: bad. Teens having babies: good. If this makes no sense, wake up and smell the Enfamil: it's 2008!

Click here to get at the links.

Class President 2008

Some levity for ya'll this morning, in the midst of all the seriosity. My friend Steve Doppelt had a great piece in the Chicago Tribune the other week, urging us to vote for the candidate we'd prefer to sit down with at lunch in the high school cafeteria. Read it, and get your funny on.

(For the record, Steve and I went to high school together. He was the Artsy Shy Guy. I was the Folksy Pom Pom Girl. Don't ask!)

Hillary, Feminism, and the Age Gap

Having written a book on feminism and the age gap, it's ENDLESSLY interesting to me the way younger women's votes are being taken as a barometer of the state of feminism. To wit, Michael Barone begins his U.S. News article, "Young Women, Feminism, and Hillary Clinton," like so:

"It's interesting that in Iowa, Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama by a wide margin among younger women. The idea of a first woman president evidently is not of great appeal to them. I think this is part of a larger story about the decline, or perhaps the maturation, of American feminism."

As Ann over at feministing notes, the reasons one chooses one's candidate are often much more complicated than that.

Regardless, anyone seen the breakdown of women voters by age in New Hampshire yet? Just curious. I know I gotta write more about this somewhere...so many things to write, so little time! Alas.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out the February issue of More for a forum I coordinated in which women in the public eye weigh in with their thoughts on Hillary. Their responses may surprise you.

Young Women for Hillary

Back in September, I posted on those Gallup polls that found younger women supporting Hillary in greater numbers than older women. Remember those polls? Dana Goldstein at The American Prospect did a nice report on younger women's Hillary enthusiasm a while ago too. In Iowa, things went the other way. Whether this trend play out nationally remains to be seen. But folks are already talking that way. Writes Gloria Steinem in today's NYTimes op-ed:

"What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age."

That older women are more radical argument--I just don't want to believe it! And today, this young(ish) woman is coming out with an announcement: I'm supporting Hillary. I join Veronica--see comments in post below. Yesterday's "iron my shirt" assholes being one--but just one--of the things that pushed me over the edge. (Addendum: And if you think those hecklers were isolates, see comments, below.)

Gloria is supporting Hillary too. Says she:

"I’m supporting Senator Clinton because like Senator Obama she has community organizing experience, but she also has more years in the Senate, an unprecedented eight years of on-the-job training in the White House, no masculinity to prove, the potential to tap a huge reservoir of this country’s talent by her example, and now even the courage to break the no-tears rule. I’m not opposing Mr. Obama; if he’s the nominee, I’ll volunteer. Indeed, if you look at votes during their two-year overlap in the Senate, they were the same more than 90 percent of the time. Besides, to clean up the mess left by President Bush, we may need two terms of President Clinton and two of President Obama."

Here's to two terms for Hillary, two for Obama. And hell, if Edwards is man enough to take back his real-politicians-don't-cry comment, two for him then too.

Hillary Is Human, and Other Issues

Yes, folks, she's a human. DUH. I was actually touched by Hillary's choked up moment yesterday (see clip above), and impressed by Obama's response: "I didn't see what happened ... [but] I know this process is a grind, so that's not something I care to comment on." And I'm so down with Rebecca Traister on John Edwards' response. Said Edwards, "I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and resolve, and presidential campaigns are tough business, but being president of the United States is also tough business." Unclassy, tough guy.

Once again, to cite research from Catalyst, if you're a woman in leadership, you're damned if you do, doomed if you don't. Def don't miss Gloria Steinem's op-ed on it all in today's New York Times, which my mother called to tell me about this morning (thanks, Mom!) and which I am now off to read.

Meanwhile, back in the land of actual issues,
Marc at Feminist Dad notes that when Take Care Net issued a survey to all the presidential candidates with questions about policy support on issues like FMLA, child care, child care workers, other paid and unpaid family caregivers, and victims of domestic violence, only the Dems responded. The Republican candidates didn't even bother. Say wha? Survey results are here.

GenderPol Continued

Don't miss Kerry Howly's op-ed in today's New York Times, titled "It Takes a Family to Break a Glass Ceiling." Howly brings an important historical perspective to the issue of Hillary being a politician's wife--the best I've read on this aspect yet.

And while we're on it, some smart and timely gender - and - election commentary from a few of my favorite bloggers:

Gloria Feldt on Hillary: "You know Hillary is no longer seen as the inevitable front runner in Iowa when Maureen Dowd (almost, at least till she gets to her punch line) writes something positive about her." Read more. Be sure to check out Gloria's "memos to Hillary" over at HuffPo.

Carol Lloyd at Broadsheet: "Obama and his mama." Read more.

And of course, Virginia Rutter here at Girl with Pen: "Mind you, seeing Barack Obama win is great for the election, because it keeps the pressure on all around. But there is something else going on, and commentators keep acting like concerns about gender are baloney." Read more. (Thank you to all who are linking to Virginia Rutter's post and helping spread the word. And thank you to those who commented--Virginia will likely be weighing in soon, with her thoughts!)

For anyone near San Diego on February 29, do check out the Eighth Annual Women and the Law Conference and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego (via Feminist Law Professors). The topic is, guess what, “Women in Politics: The Role of Gender in Political Decision Making.” I'd be more than happy to have someone who attends guest blog about it here. Any takers?

Book Pitch Opportunity

I'm back in the city after a few delicious days away (thank you, Woodhull!) and, in the spirit of catching up, wanted to share a link, courtesy of Marci Alboher at Hey Marci:

The New York Writers Workshop is hosting a two-day pitch conference for writers working on nonfiction book proposals, Friday through Sunday, February 22, 23 & 24, 2008.

PLACE: JCC of Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue (between 75th & 76th Streets)
COST: $300 for three-day workshop

At this unique conference, participants meet with and pitch book proposals to three different editors from major New York publishing houses (houses including Viking, Penguin, Random House, Scribners, Simon and Schuster, and others). Click here for more details, and how to apply.

GUEST POST: Who Votes Their Gender?

The answer, writes sociologist Virginia Rutter (pictured left), author of The Gender of Sexuality, may surprise you. Here's Virginia:

I'm pondering the results in Iowa, thinking about numbers, and continue to feel so troubled by the misogynistic responses to Hillary Clinton. When I got the idea--just recently, listening to Bill Moyers interview Kathleen Hall Jamieson on politics and the blogosphere--of how aggressive the remarks about Clinton are, I had this duh moment that reminded me (not to be too dramatic) of when my husband died.

See, my husband died 9 years ago, but my brother had died 14 years before. When my husband died, I was like, "shit I forgot that people you love can die." And when I started figuring out what was going on with Clinton, I was like, "duh I forgot just how much people hate women who lead and take charge." It is that fundamental, I am afraid to say.

The issue is gender identity politics. Not gender politics, like whether a candidate is concerned with family leave, which continues to be a concern of women more than men, for example, but gender identity politics, the politics of feeling like a man or a woman is in a role or status that we're comfortable with. When Clinton is called "that bitch" that is a good signal that it isn't about policy, but about identity politics.

Mind you, seeing Barack Obama win is great for the election, because it keeps the pressure on all around. But there is something else going on, and commentators keep acting like concerns about gender are baloney. "Get over it. 35% of women voted for Obama versus 30% for Clinton." But those numbers do not tell us anything about how voters are responding to gender. They just tell us that the people of Iowa like Obama more than Clinton. What I want to know is what are men doing. Men have gender too, you see.

So the question is this: are men (or women) more likely to vote their gender? The NYTimes provides a profile of caucus voters. I'm a quantitatively oriented sociologist who studies gender, and before I looked in detail at the numbers I thought what I was hearing was that men were voting their gender, and women were voting neutrally--that we women were as likely to vote our gender as not. But the results are a little different: men are more likely to vote their gender, and women vote their gender, too, but less so than do men.

Here's how it works. First, of course in Iowa men had more opportunity to vote their gender than women did, what with 6 men on the ballot. But if we just compare Obama and Clinton, we see that men and women voted for Obama about 55% of the time and that they both voted for Clinton about 45% of the time. (How did I get this? 34% is what Obama got and 27% is what Clinton got; if you add those two together, 55% is the share that belongs to Obama, and 45% is the share that belongs to Clinton.)

Given that distribution, here's what we know about "voting one's gender" in Iowa: Out of all the men who voted for either Obama or Clinton, 60% of those were for Obama--that is men voting for a man. Men voted their gender 5 percentage points more than we would expect if their voting weren't influenced by their gender. Meanwhile, out of the women who voted for either Obama or Clinton, 46% of those were Clinton supporters--that is women voting for a woman. This means that women voted their gender more than we would expect—but only by 1 or 2 percentage points.

What does this mean? Well these are not dramatic differences, but they are a trend. Gender identity is a factor in this election--and I believe men's hidden biases (and not so hidden in the crassly expressed attacks on Clinton) against women are playing a role. This doesn't mean that women are morally superior; it doesn't mean that Clinton is secretly the better candidate because she is a woman. It means that you should pay attention to what men are doing not just what women are doing. It means that you should speak up and say "not so fast" when commentators or your colleagues or your dinner companions dismiss gender identity politics as a meaningful factor in the democratic primaries. Because it is.

-Virginia Rutter is a sociology professor at Framingham State College (MA). vrutter@frc.mass.edu.

Join Me in Blogging for Choice on Jan. 22!

Damn. There's wireless at this here writing retreat. For the most part, though, I'm being "good." Meaning, staying offline. But I couldn't help but post this cool button below, once I signed up for Blog for Choice Day, which will take place on January 22, 2008--the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Which, as I'm watching the caucuses and primaries, seems to be a pretty important thing to continue making tons of noise about, if you know what I mean.

Men, Power, Speaking Up, and Speaking Out

I remain slightly stunned that Hillary came in not second but third in Iowa last night. And at the way she is painted the establishment candidate. And at the strength of the venom against her. More election commentary coming soon from guest poster, sociologist Virginia Rutter. In the meantime, a quick bit on two books, just out:

Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power--a new anthology edited by Shira Tarrant--compiles the voices of 40 men who explore issues of masculinity, sexuality, identity, and positive change. The book lays issues on the table that are sure to stimulate a lively debate. It's starting already at myspace and facebook. Check it.

Next up, Making Love, Playing Power: Men, Women, & the Rewards of Intimate Justice, by family therapist and organizational consultant Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, debunks superficial theories about communication styles and geder roles and, according to the book's description, "gets to the real reason so many relationships are in trouble — misuse of power." The book reveals how gender, race, sexual orientation, and money set the foundation for personal power, and how power as domination drives most conflicts whether between nations, interest groups, or individuals. Join Ken at Bluestockings Bookstore in Manhattan on February 13 for a reading...!