Paradigm Shift

LWC, Togather and 92YTribeca host conversation on modern advocacy, entitled “Hearts on Fire: Social Activism Today:”

Recently, the Supreme Court has been taking on cases that could rock civil rights and turn back the clock. Soon, we will hear the ruling on Fisher v University of Texas. This case challenges the affirmative action programs of UT. Fisher, a white woman was not accepted into the university and claims that part of the reason she didn’t make the cut was because the schools policies favor less qualified students based on the color of their skin.

UT’s affirmative action policy includes admitting all Texas students in the top 10% of their graduating class no matter what school they attended and beyond this they allow race/ethnicity to be a plus in admission decisions. Therefore, race is only one factor of many that is considered in the application process.

Affirmative action often strikes up heated conversations and controversy every time it is mentioned. Many revert to calling it “reverse discrimination,” however this is sometimes because it is misunderstood. Affirmative action is NOT a quota system, but it is a way to give employers and universities motive to put in a “good faith effort” to foster a diverse workplace/campus.

I’m personally saddened that this case was brought by a woman. Despite the high number of women in higher education, women still earn less than men and face many challenges in the workforce. Affirmative action programs help increase professional development that leads to more women being promoted, hired and respected in their careers.

The main conversation that has come out of this court case is whether programs that target socioeconomic status would be more effective in diversifying campuses with higher quality students. Beyond the irony that there is a level of racism embedded in this suggestion, it also assumes we live in a culture that is actually color blind. However, a lot of evidence proves otherwise.

While researching this blog, I came across a debate published in the New York Times about this case. Patricia J. Williams’ piece speaks to the fact that although many think economics will solve racism,  it is not that simple.

“The latest attestation to its miraculous salutary power is the assertion that African-Americans who would but barricade themselves within a wall of middle-classness will be structurally exempted from racial resentments. According to this logic, when comfortably situated black people move into all-white areas, the neighbors will be delighted… the neighborhood watch will not follow them about and demand to know their business.”

Now, it is the unfortunate truth that minorities (in particular women of color) tend to face more economic hardship in this country due to historical and social reasons. However, programs that focus only on SES don’t go far enough in promoting racial diversity and ultimately equality.

It is my hope that the Supreme Court rules in favor of the university.  We are not ready to strike down affirmative action programs in this country. I wish we were, but we still have a lot of history to overcome and cultural norms to challenge before these programs will be truly unnecessary.

On April 21^st, along with 250 of my closest pro-choice buds, I headed over to Bowlmor Lanes to participate in a bowl-a-thon in support of the New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF). This event was part of the 4^th annual nationwide fundraiser organized by the National Network of Abortion Funds and the event I attended raised $85,000. But before I regale you with stories of my bowling failures (of which there are many) let me give you some background on NYAAF and the basics of abortion funding.

NYAAF is an all-volunteer run organization that works directly with clinics in the New York area. When a clinic has a patient who is in need of financial or transportation assistance, they turn to NYAAF to help cover part of the cost. NYAAF, funded by individual donations, supports anyone who is unable to fully pay for an abortion and lives in (or is traveling to) New York State. I make this distinction because NYAAF has served women in need who have traveled from a bunch of neighboring states (including my lovely home state of New Jersey). Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, and Maryland are all on that list and NYAAF has granted access to safe, clean abortion facilities to women who have traveled from Texas, Utah, and Bermuda.

Abortion funds are a great example of grassroots organizing. Abortion funds get money directly to women in need of reproductive care and, in many cases, these individually raised funds are a woman’s only support as they struggle to find the money to pay for abortion procedures. This is what I love about abortions funds (overlooking of course, that they became a necessity due to legislation like the Hyde Amendment and our country’s increasingly restrictive bans on abortion). Most abortion funds across the country come from grassroots organizations that work directly with the women they are supporting, with some going as far to open their homes to women who are traveling from different states to receive care. From paying for the procedure itself, to covering transportation costs, to providing childcare during the procedure, these funds work to make what seems impossible, possible. In addition to abortion care, these funds offer access to emergency contraception and options counseling. In a time where more teens are being taught irresponsible, dangerous (I feel so many adjectives about this) abstinence-only education, these funds help to educate and empower women. With the introduction of the Hyde amendment in 1977, a woman’s funding for abortion procedures are less attainable today than they were at the inception of Roe. V. Wade. Abortion funds fill the increasingly widening gap within our healthcare system and, in short, they pick up the slack.

Along with a number of volunteers across the country, abortion funds become a reality due to the generosity of individuals. I was overwhelmed by the amazing response from all my friends and family members after I initially sent out my “give me money to fund abortions, please!” email. This was the first fundraiser I had participated in, and at first, it was a bit intimidating. When I originally signed up and saw that the suggested fundraising goal was $350 I thought, “Well, that’s a stretch” and lowered my goal to $300. However, after a round of emails and some very enthusiastic Facebook posting (some of which may have involved me posting photos of cats bowling) I exceeded my goal. So, feeling gutsy, I raised it to $400 and a few days later I exceeded that, too. I was thrilled, especially because I knew every cent given to NYAAF went directly to a woman in need.

The event itself was fantastic. I think my best game was a 63 and am fairly certain that is well below the national average, but thankfully, whatever talent feminists possess for raising money and just generally kicking ass, does not translate to the bowling alley. Looking around I was relieved to see that everyone was pretty terrible. But getting to drink wine at three in the afternoon with some lovely feminists I know and admire kind of makes up for the collective lack of skill, and while the wine does not in any way improve your game, it does make you care less. But one skill that was definitely not lacking that day was the ability to craft the perfect pun. Anyone who says feminists do not have a sense of humor must not enjoy puns. Because we are so good at those. A few examples of amazing team names from the event I attended include: Roll v. Wade, Just Roe with it, Nuvablings, Planned Spare-nthood, and my personal favorite, The Dia-Frames (I literally cannot type that one without chucking). So, after about two hours of bowling and scavenging the free food left out for us (fried mac n’cheese!) the event was over and we were told we had raised $85,000. So, as I walked out of Bowlmor Lanes that afternoon, I did it with a huge grin of success, as the proud team captain of the mighty Plan B-owl.

And on that note, let me promote another fundraiser NYAAF is holding! On May 24^th, they are hosting punk rock karaoke, which means with a measly $8 donation at the door you are just minutes away from drinking scotch and pretending to be Stza as you belt out Choking Victim songs in front of a bunch of feminists. What could possibly be better than that?

Currently I am almost out of undergrad and I am completely terrified.  I am obsessed with my hipster college and cannot imagine what it will be like to be in a world where people don’t drink tea 24/7 and give me 3 hour super deep play analyses after all of my play readings.  My school has been my own , a female dominated home.  My school is 75%(ish?) female and therefore I almost feel like I go to an all girls school with a few random foreign exchange students aka men.

Going to a school with so many women has been incredibly interesting and not at all like I’d expect.  My mom warned me about the perils of a female dominated environment and I was slightly terrified little girls with fangs would bite me as soon as I got to college.  But mainly it has been pretty supportive.  I feel comfortable with women anyway and love being able to rant about my period at mostly any time of the day.  I also love being able to write plays with all women and having way too many talented and ferocious actors to pick from.

The hardest part of this” all girl land” has been the hetero dating scene.   There are hardly any men, so suddenly garden gnome random guys become the new Chad Michael Murray; any guy who can walk suddenly has a large sexy target on his back.  This makes for an unprecedented amount of competition and a feeling that if you start to have a crush, you have to go for it before some other  hipster gets in there first.  There is also a major hook-up culture that can leave a lot of people feeling used.  It seems like a lot of girls can get stuck not pursuing what they really want and just hooking up because that seems like the only option.  The dating scene can be incredibly discouraging for woman and can make us feel as if we are disposable.  I personally have struggled with some body image issues, and the constant arrogance from certain guys on campus was incredibly difficult to swallow.

I will miss this little hipster haven.  I will miss seeing so many women I feel like I’m in a radical feminist commune.  I will miss going braless and looking like a hobo for days on end and not caring.  I will miss the feeling that anyone whose anyone understands feminist theory.  But I will not miss odd and awkward hookup culture and guys that are too cocky for their own good.

As we move through our days, thousands of words slip from our tongues, filter through our ears, and brush past our eyes. With such constant besiegement from the media, text messages, e-mails, and many other sources, it is easy to discount the power and importance of the words around us. As a person interested in creating and fostering an equal world, language automatically sets a precedent and creates a tone. How can we, as people in the process of creating a new way of being, use language in a positive way?

Take, for example, this letter that I received in the mail in February. As you can see, my mother got to it first and marked it up. Coming from the National Association of Professional Woman, I expected more. This was my first impression of their organization and, I must say, it left much to be desired. Using sexist terminology does not create equality, instead it encourages stereotyping and implies that women are expected to fit in to a “business world” rife with phrases and expectations relating only to men.

As we look more carefully at the language surrounding us, many common words have shifted in the past hundred years. A great example is “Doctor” and “Doctoress”. In 2013, how would a female doctor feel about being called a “Doctoress”? A woman sculptor being called a “sculptress”? These words originally had gender specific forms that were later changed in search of equilibrium. The gender specificity, in many cases, has faded into the past and the new gender neutral has turned to what was traditionally used to specify a male. While I understand the importance of those shifts in terms of women’s rights and the feminist movement, I question the continuity of this language. Examining other languages, especially Neo-Latin languages, grammatical gender differences are used to reference men and women separately. What feels more equal, a shift to one side, allowing for two parts of a whole, or creating new gender-neutral terminology?

Since 2007 Washington State has been working on a series of bills to change gender-biased terminology in their state laws. Even though a 1983 mandate required that all laws should be written in gender-neutral terms unless a specification of gender was intended, it has still taken extensive effort and more bills to create forward motion. Washington State is the fourth state in the nation to eliminate gender boas from its official language, following Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois. Seven other states have passed constitutional mandates and at least nine others are currently considering changes. While it is a challenging and painstaking process, it is heartening to see that there are people working hard to make changes.

We are in a new era. The world has shifted and we must work to create positive change. How can we foster a celebration of differences rather than accept a complete shift to one side?

ALSO SEE http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/23/us-usa-gender-neutral-idUSBRE93M00V20130423