Access to Education

The United States is fortunate enough to have grown throughout the years to recognize women as equal to men but in countries around the world, the reality of life is not so kind to women. The US recognized at a very young age that it is important for everyone to be educated. Through views such as Republican Motherhood, a woman would receive the same education as a man to educate her children and raise them with good moral, principles and strong views backing democracy. This gave women an opportunity to have a valid voice that was backed up by the idea that their ideas were not less than a man’s because she was just as educated as the men around her. In other countries, women are not even being given a chance. It is estimated that in developing countries, one out of every four girls had not received their primary school education. Without an education girls cannot so easily acquire a job to make money and support herself. She can not adequately teach her children. She is not aware of all the things going on around her and is not aware of the opportunity available to her. In developing countries, women are estimated to work two-thirds of the amount that men do but receive one-tenth of what men  make. In these same countries women are struggling to family plan. There are about 74 million unplanned pregnancies every year ultimately resulting in 36 million abortions annually. One in three women are also estimated to be victims of sexual violence in the form of sexual trafficking, rape, domestic abuse, or gender based violence. Another shocking piece of evidence is shown through the statistic that 140 million girls will be married to older men while they are children between the years 2011 and 2020. These are issues plaguing the women of the world and these are issues we should be concerned about.

Women in the Military

In the 1700s, women had little role in war or in the military. The extent of their involvement came from being laundress, nurses, or cooks after proving to the commanding officers that their presence would be beneficial. Due to women not being allowed to fight in the U.S. military, during the Revolutionary War, Deborah Sampson disguises herself as a man and fights in the military until she is injured and discovered to be a woman. She was honorably discharged and given a pension from the Continental Congress in following years. Many women did this throughout the years. For instance, Elizabeth Newcom in the Mexican War and many in the Spanish-American War. Women were given more responsibility in the war effort during the Spanish-American war with 33,000 acting as spies and support staff and 400 nurses die in the line of duty. It was not until 1948 when Congress passed the Women’s Armed Service Integration Act that granted women permanent status in the military and allowed them to recieve from veterans benefits. In 1991, Congress authorized women to fly in combat missions and in ‘93 authorized women to serve on combat ships. Since then, we have seen a great amount of change. In 2008 16,000 women were serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Germany, and Japan. Today it is agreed that everyone should have equal opportunity in succeeding in the military and though not all women meet those qualifications, the opportunity is present.

Gender roles

A common theme in society today is the misconception that for women and men to be equal, they need to be the same. In short, the misconception that gender roles need to be destroyed for women to succeed. Gender roles are a vital part in the success of a society and differences in sex are real and should be acknowledged and celebrated rather than looked at as a weakness. Males and females are genetically engineered differently and have strengths and weaknesses parallel to each other. On gendermatters.org, the website’s authors do a great job breaking down the importance of gender roles by explaining the differences between men and women and addressing their differences. It explains that women are genetically built to be mothers and it is well known that children do better with a mother figure and men are genetically built to be fathers and children also do better with a father figure in their lives. While it is important that people live freely and the way that they want to, it is also important to address the importance of gender roles as a natural trait in humans.

Value Human Life

Out of all the arguments made in regards to the feminist movement, one of the most controversial is the topic of abortion. Both sides of the argument bring forth valid points in addressing concerns of both sides of the issue. My personal opinion is that abortion is morally wrong and while that may be considered an insensitive and naive stance to hold on a topic with such depth, I will explain why and hopefully defend myself against inevitable accusations of intolerance.

In 2012, almost 700,000 lives were taken in the form of abortion (cdc.gov). The ratio stands that per every 1,000 live births, there were 210 abortions (cdc.gov). After the freedom of slaves, the 14th Amendment was ratified forbidding states from denying anyone the inalienable rights of “life, liberty or property without due practice of law.” It took until 1868 to make the final decision that all people have a right to freedom and life. Previous to ratification, people truly and thoroughly believed that they should have the right to own slaves due to their own convenience, similar to abortion now. In one of the GOP debates, Marco Rubio stated that in years to come, our children would look back on the legal stance of abortion similarly to the way that we look at slavery’s stance in our ancestor's society. I would like to think that may be true and that we will take initiative to address the fact that 700,000 lives are denied every year in a country that promotes freedom, equality, and life for all.

With that being said, you cannot legally instill morality in a society. This is shown time after time in history in times of slavery, prohibition, drug restriction, and same-sex marriage. It is a lesson that we have yet to learn. So while morally, I am against abortion, I am not sure that I agree with what Marco Rubio had said as much as I would like to. I am not sure that as a society we will look back to see abortion as a flaw in our country’s character as much as a landmark of further freedom. As stated in a previous entry, “The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens” (Jimmy Carter Jr.). Who would be more helpless than the lives of unborn children who cannot vouch for themselves? Women should not be able to take the life of someone else away and the fact that it is so easy to do so just instills in society how invaluable human life is becoming in this country.

 Transgender Bathroom Use

Prior to writing this blog, I knew little about the transgender population in the United States. It’s recognition in the United States social hemisphere has brought it to the attention of Americans all over the country. Some claim that it’s relevance is unnecessary due to how minimal populations of transgender citizens there are. According to livescience.com, there are 700,000 transgenders in the US, accounting for only .2-.3% of the populations entirety. While I, to an extent, question why so much attention is being given to such a small percentage of the population while we have so many other social obstacles to overcome and focus on, I also cannot help but recall a quote that states “The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens” (Jimmy Carter Jr.). So this validates the relevance of this topic and while we have other obstacles to overcome, because it is so heavily discussed and debated, I will address it.

A question that has been posed, in regards to the transgender population, is whether or not they should be allowed to use any bathroom they would like whenever they would like to. Public places such as Target have openly addressed concerns by stating that their policy will allow any gender to use any gendered bathroom they prefer to make sure transgender customers are comfortable while shopping at their stores.

While many have attended to the store’s new policy by boycotting it due to the fact that they fear for the safety of themselves, their wives, their daughters, their friends and their sisters, I believe that this is a small point to make. The point does not take into consideration the people who the policy change was concerned for and makes the false accusation that transgender women will pose threat to a normal woman using the restroom. Realistically, transgender women using the bathroom are doing just that; they are just using the bathroom. I could not imagine that they would want to pose harm on anyone around them more than they just want to use the bathroom and be comfortable with their self-identification in peace. The point does address a valid concern that men will be able to use the women’s bathroom and who is to say they cannot? If confronted, who is to say that they are not transgender? Posing a whole other problem. Target has taken a toll from the boycott and the effects are so deep that they are putting 20 million dollars into single stall bathrooms in stores nation-wide.

While I personally believe that it truly does not matter what bathroom someone uses, I do believe that the media so heavily covering the topic has turned it into an issue much bigger than it needed to be. I also believe, contrary to popular belief, that this is a slippery slope to moral decay. With room for opinion and disagreement, I conclude this entry.

In the United States:

The “Wage Gap”

During the 2008 election, Obama made a remark in a campaign ad that is now used often in the modern day women’s rights movement and has been used as a tool to capture women’s votes in the democratic party ever since. He noted that women were paid “77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men.” While this is a valid statistic, it leads people to believe something that is not entirely true. This statistic includes all women and all men in the country, employed or unemployed. Due to traditional gender roles, it is inherent that many women will stay home with their families and children more often than men will. This alone puts female income as a whole at a disadvantage statistically in comparison to men. In addition, there are fields where women dominate and men are less likely to get hired and less likely to be found working in such as receptionists, nurses, and elementary and middle school teachers. This is not a result of discrimination as men are also more likely to work a job such as an electrician, a construction worker, or a truck driver. Often these occupations pay more than women dominated occupations and while down on paper this may look like a societal prejudice that women are making less than men, this is more due to gender and personal preference than to flaw in our government or society. Gary Burtless, an economist with the Brookings Institution made said “If more men tend to be employed in occupations that pay higher wages both to men and women, then men may enjoy an overall earnings advantage even if all women in each occupation receive exactly the same hourly pay as the men who are employed in the occupation." When looking at the income of men and women working in the same fields, the wage gap is much smaller than if you are looking at it as a whole such as the statistic presented by President Obama. Stating that women are making 77 cents to every dollar a man makes for doing “the same work” is implausible.

The World Around Us: Women in the Middle East

The World Around Us:

Accepted Abuse of Women in the Middle East

In the 1920's, the United States made history by passing the Nineteenth Amendment allowing women to vote, a right that was previously foreign in all 50 states. This was the first time that society in the US validated that women are intellectually equal to men and were able to make an educated decision without male representation. We have made strides since then and our society, arguably, is non discriminative when it comes to gender. That is not the case all over the world. When one thinks about the places where gender is most unequal and when one thinks of where women are treated the most unfair, they may think of the Middle East. Middle Eastern population takes up about 3% of the entire world's population and their dominating religion, Islam, represents almost a third of the world's population at an astounding 31%. So Middle Eastern/predominately muslim countries are often the point of focus when presenting the notion of gender inequality which is exactly why it needs to be addressed. 

According to a UN report, 99.3% of women report being sexually harassed with 96.5% of them saying that the harassment was physical. Being in public is much more dangerous and unwelcoming for women in the Middle East and in Northern African countries than it is for a woman in the United States. Women are often accompanied in public with their families and are often seen going out alone; it is said that persuading women to stay home is for their own protection. Ironically, while they are home, women face the most danger. More than 40% of women reported abuse in their own homes and due to the laws set, they have little ability to press charges against spouses who may be abusing them. In situations of rape, women are looked down upon. Not only are they often blamed but they can even be punished under law and encouraged to marry the man who inflicted the heinous act. 

The United States:

Hillary Clinton, Women, and Why I'm Not With Her

    Hillary Clinton made history this election by becoming the first woman to be a major parties nominee for the position of United States President. There is immense power in this position and her candidacy has limitless benefits through obtaining this title. Clinton has reaped every benefit she possibly could and wasting no time doing so. Looking at hillaryclinton.com, it is clear and evident that Hillary Clinton is a voice for women across America. I mean she plaster's all over her campaign that she is an advocate for women who have been trampled by male dominancy in this country. She shares that as secretary of state she assisted in the founding Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and recently as Senator from New York she "championed access to emergency contraception and voted in favor of strengthening a woman’s right to make her own health decisions." Due to her involvement in the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, she prides herself in "making women's rights a cornerstone of US foreign policy." All seemingly admirable, right? 

        Looking back into Hillary's past, controversy arises. Her motives are unclear and her new found passion for women's rights leads to mass suspicion. In her previous campaigns she had openly spoke of being opposed to same-sex marriage stating that marriage is meant to be between a man and a women. She was openly opposed to abortion in her past as running for the republican nomination and now whole heartedly supports "a women's right to choose." While she had the audacity to say that in situations of rape, a woman had the "right to be believed" she, when multiple accusations of sexual assault were made against her husband, threatened and tormented the women. According to The Washington Times, Eileen Wellstone accused Clinton of sexually assaulting her in 1969. According to the Daily Caller, legal secretary Carolyn Moffet accused Clinton of sexually assaulting her in 1979. Elizabeth Ward Gracen originally told friends that Clinton had sexually assaulted her in 1982. Flight attendant Christy Zercher, who worked on Clinton’s plane in 1992, allegedly accused Clinton of exposing his genitals to her and grabbing her. Sandra Allen James, a former DC fundraiser, allegedly said Clinton invited her to his hotel room and then sexually assaulted her in 1991. Paula Jones famously filed a sexual harassment claim against Clinton after he allegedly exposed his private parts  to her and demanded that she “kiss it.” Hillary is reported to have stated during Bill Clintons 1992 presidential run "Who is going to find out? These women are trash. No one is going to believe them." Would a serious advocate for women belittle a sensitive topic such as sexual assault? Private investigator Ivan Duda claims that after Bill lost his second race as governor, Hillary told him, "I want you to get rid of all these b****** he’s seeing . . . I want you to give me the names and addresses and phone numbers, and we can get them under control.” Hillary was reported thereafter to have taken matters into her own hands and did just as she said she would. In 1993, Kathleen Willey allegedly reported Bill Clinton for sexual assault. She claimed shortly thereafter that detectives hired by Hillary had throated her, her children, and killed their cat. Juanita Broaddrick who accused Bill of raping her also claimed to have been harassed by Hillary. Hillary's consistent record of despicable behavior should lead to questions about her reliability. 

       While she claims to have made  women's rights a cornerstone of US foreign policy she has accepted tens of millions of dollars from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman which all have laws against women's freedom and even against LGBT rights. 


       So is Hillary really a true advocate for women, or is she using the delicate subject of gender inequality to drive her campaign to victory? Would having her in office be a step in the right direction for the women's rights movement or would it be an impulsive, uneducated and bias decision to put such a corrupt person into office? These are decisions that citizens of the United States need to make, and women need to put extra thought into.

Entry One

When discussing who dominates the world: men or women, it is easy to agree that the notion that men are considered superior to women in most cultures is widely accepted. Gender is a social topic that currently has a commanding influence on the media. From controversial matters in the United States such as same-sex marriage, the male to female wage gap, and transgender bathroom policies to much more radical circumstances like women not having the right to drive or get an education, being punished for being sexually assaulted, and ultimately sharing very few of the rights given to men as shown in middle eastern countries, we deduce that gender is a critical subject in our day and age.

 When I think about the topic of gender, I generally distinguish two subtopics in my mind: what is going on in the United States and what is going on in the world around us. Over the course of this semester, this is how I will address this matter. I will also attend to the effect that it has on the world we live in today and my views on the conversation at hand. 

About the author...

My name is Joanie Howland, I'm a senior in high school and have a great love for all sports. I have three siblings, 2 brothers and one sister. My friends and sports take up my free time. I'm always energetic and smiley.