1) If you live in Bryan/College Station Texas area, please consider volunteering as an escort at the clinic. 40 Days of Harassment is a protest that happens twice a year in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic. Anti-choicers sign up for shifts to harass women, men, and children–anyone entering the clinic for ANY reason AT ALL. As an escort, you provide a friendly, supportive face to the clients. It’s not only extremely important work, it’s also extremely rewarding. Email Brandi.Taylor (at) ppgulfcoast.org to sign up.

2)Planned Parenthood in Austin was recently stripped of its funding. The clinic is unable to provide valuable services to the community. Donate here  to Stand with Planned Parenthood and help the thousands of clients that need your support.

3) It’s late notice, but I just found out about NARAL TX Celebration of Choice this evening in Austin, TX. Come out, have a cocktail, and chat with like-minded individuals. The tickets are $55 or $25 for students, and the funds support the important political advocacy that NARAL undertakes on our behalf. If you make it, be sure to come say hi to me!

The Supreme Court decided today that Wal-Mart is Too Big To Discriminate. I previously wrote about the Wal-Mart v Dukes case, but I’ll summarize: The case was originally brought by 6 female employees 10 years ago, and today the Supreme Court has decided not IF the women were discriminated against, but rather IF the women can proceed with the lawsuit as a class-action suit (representing multiple people).

As NWLC‘s Fatima Goss Graves remarked on a  conference call, what’s at stake here isn’t if these women were discriminated against–it’s “whether and how people can challenge broad-scale discrimination practices.”  This isn’t just about sexism–it’s about discrimination of all kinds. Wal-mart pointed to hid behind a corporate anti-discrimination policy to evade responsibility for its employees’ discriminatory practices.

As we know, organizations themselves are gendered and raced, which means that discrimination is embedded in and created by the structures, practices, communicative acts, people, and artifacts of an organization. Sexism and racism are systemic, structural problems, not (solely) the result of individual biases. But Wal-Mart argued that they as a corporation couldn’t be held responsible for the fact that individual managers refused to promote women, made sexist remarks, and paid them less. In reality, the corporate suits of Wal-Mart designed the system that resulted in discrimination, and, it seems, did not respond to internal allegations of discrimination.

Wait–Wal-Mart has the same right to free speech as a person, but can’t be held accountable for its actions because it’s not a person, it’s a super huge company? It’s ludicrous that hundreds of employees were discriminated against and Wal-Mart won’t be held responsible because it is a BIG company.

Class Action–who cares?

NWLC’s Fatima Goss Graves, VP for Education and Employment, explained why class actions status is so important in discrimination lawsuits. First, class action suits about pay are important because women rarely know how much money they make compared to men. Many companies even have policies against discussing pay, and can retaliate against employees who do so. Class action lawsuits “lift the veil by subjecting an employer’s practices to judicial scrutiny.” As a class, the women of Wal-Mart would be able to gather information to see if there is a “systemic pay disparity,” she noted.

Second, class action lawsuits make it easier for employees to come forward without fear of retribution or public scrutiny. Third, class action status makes it financially possible for those making lower wages to bring a lawsuit. Attorney fees and time away from work are prohibitive  for many working class people, thus justice is de-facto denied unless they can be part of a class action.

*It’s important to note that the merits of the case itself have not yet been heard–even after 10 years of fighting.*

So, what now?

The fight itself is not over. These women have options and thankfully, the courage, to continue to go after Wal-Mart.  But a message has been sent–if your corporation can hide discrimination within discreet practices, then you won’t be held accountable for it.

Read the NWLC’s statement.  Rally in solidarity with the women of Wal-Mart in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, or Rally at the Supreme Court. Urge your congressional representatives to support paycheck fairness. Also, donate to Emily’s List.

Thompson gave a speech of personal privilege attacking the authors of the flier about HB 2093 that explicitly pictures a child breastfeeding with the words “Don’t expand the Nanny State” printed in large black letters over the photo. Thompson seems pretty calm at first, but erupts into loud indignation when she declares that “We get elected just like you do!”

Representative Alvarado spoke up along with a coalition of women “Behind me, there’s a bipartisan group of women…this piece of propaganda is a below the belt  political tactic. We have had almost 50+ amendments and or bills that have come across the floor this session that I think have demeaned women, but this one takes us to an all-time low.”

It’s doesn’t take a genius (or even a feminist) to notice that the TX legislature is anti-woman in the laws it passes– but Rick Perry’s recent priorities should clear things up.

This kind of overt sexist attack is, like they said, a new time low. It’s not a surprise that a misogynist climate permeates the TX leg, but it’s a shock that the woman-haters would be so blatant.

Watch this video, and please remember the insulting actions of the Texas Civil Justice League the next time you vote, donate, or volunteer. The Texas leg is an old boys club who has been caught hiding the “no girls allowed” sign behind its back.

Check out Thompson here:

“As currently written, HB 15 would require a woman to receive a sonogram and listen to a description of the fetus. The woman could choose or refuse to view images and hear the heartbeat of the fetus….Women 100 miles or more from the nearest licensed abortion provider, or who live in counties with populations under 60,000, only have to wait two hours, rather than 24 hours, after the sonogram to have an abortion. Victims of rape or incest are now excepted from the law.”

This is another instance of the government butting into women’s private lives, and insulting them in the process. This bill is an affront to women’s intellect everywhere, as it is based on the assumption that if a woman *really* knew what it meant to be pregnant, she would not have an abortion. Good thing the law was written and passed by a bunch of men, who obviously have the inside track on being pregnant. This bill is a slap in the face– a reminder of the time when women weren’t allowed in classrooms or voting booths because of their uteri. This bill envisions that a woman goes to a clinic to get an abortion without understanding what she’s doing– so it must be explained to her, and then it mandates time for her to “think.”

I’m wondering when the TX house will create legislation that mandates men to “think” before doing, oh, anything.

I’m sure women across the state will be crying out: “Oh my gosh my ladybrain! It makes it SO HARD to think! Thank goodness I had extra time to consider the decision!”

Donate to protect abortion rights here or here.

So seriously though, things are pretty crazy with all the upcoming changes–all though they are all welcomed! I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to keep your head up when so much stress swirls around you, and I have a few thoughts.

First, some people are not going to get how stressed you are. I have had conversations with people where they compared my getting my PhD to them planning a wedding (before we were engaged). Now that we are also planning a wedding, I can attest for CERTAIN that writing a dissertation is NOTHING like planning a wedding, and WAY HARDER. So if you’re at that point where you’re about to pull your hair out, trust a few people close to you with your stress, let them comfort you, and don’t worry about everyone else’s input.

Second, put out the closest fire first. It’s really tempting for me to spend endless time online trying to find a new place to live, or pick wedding part attire, but what I actually need to do the most to help with the wedding and move is to ignore those things entirely, and work on my dissertation. I am incredibly concerned about where I will live, work, and trade vows with my partner, but I have to accept the fear, and go back to work. The best thing I can do for my future, including my marriage, is to finish the diss.

Third, get over the guilt. This might speak to a lot more graduate students than anything, but in times of serious changes and serious stress, you hang out less with people. You can’t make it to your friend’s play. You miss a phone date. You forget to send a birthday card. Again, your good friends (and family) will understand, and everyone else can just get over it. I love hanging out with friends, but I love having a place to live more, and finishing what I came here to do more, and making time to acknowledge the changes in my suddenly more serious relationship more. It’s not that friends don’t matter–its that your priorities sometimes shift for a while, and sometimes forever. This is why I don’t give friends with kids a hard time about hanging out; I have no idea what that life is like. So people are doing the best they can, and when you’re stressed, don’t make it worse by feeling guilty that you’re not out at the bars with the other grad students like you used to be. You can be there again someday, and make the bartender call you doctor (though you probably will have to tip well for that).

Fourth and final, find a mantra. For me, when I am stressed, I make a list of the things I know. For example, when stressed about the dissertation: “I know I love my topic. I know I am a good writer. I know this will get done. I know my advisor will help me stay on track. I know this will one day be over.” Or, about the wedding: “I know I love my partner. I know I love his family. I know my family is happy about our relationship. I know my friends are happy for us.” Sometimes the list is shorter, e.g. “I know we can find a place to live, even if it isn’t perfect.” But for me, this activity helps. I catch my breathe and count the things I know.

Anyway I’ll be back soon with come current event-y stuff, but I wanted to process these events with you, my dear 5 readers.

I believe that we need an aggressive campaign to remind people that the ballot box has a direct tie to women’s pay checks. How, you ask? Well let me ‘splain.

You vote for a politician–>he (so far) gets elected president–>he chooses Supreme Court judges–>they rule on pay gap issues

You vote for a politician–>she serves in the house–>she decides whether to approve the nominations for the Supreme Court–>they rule on pay gap issues

You vote for a politician–>he serves in congress–>he decides to vote for or against the Paycheck Fairness Act

Let’s start a battle between pay gap deniers and pay gap activists–you should easily fit into one camp or the other. This applies whether you are female/male/cis/trans– because the gap in pay affects every family in America. There is a problem with every family in America’s income–somewhere a woman is contributing, and she’s getting stiffed. Worse in a bad economy, and worse if she’s not white.

A colleague recently bemoaned the fair pay fight with a comment about “middle class white women complaining again.” You’re damn right I’m complaining–because I have the privilege to complain, to raise my voice, to cause a fuss about this issue. The same gendered pay gap exists in board rooms and at WalMart. And those of us who can take time off work to write a blog, letter, or opinion piece about the pay gap must do so. We owe it to our sisters, as well as our daughters. So which are you–a pay gap denier or an outraged pay gap activist?

Helpful links:

Ask your congressional member to co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The New York Times reviews the gender pay gap by industry

Check out this awesome vid from NWLC:

And, for a laugh-sigh…

“Check out page 240: FLOOR AMENDMENT BY: Christian

An institution of higher education shall use an amount of appropriated funds to support a family and traditional values center for students that is not less than any amount used to support a gender and sexuality center for students focused on gay, lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, transsexual, transgender, gender questioning, or other gender identity issues.”

Yes because, as we know, Texas is short on “family and traditional values” and overrun with GLBT services. What the heck?

Oh, and there’s this case of extreme university meddling from p. 245

“Using funds appropriated by this Act, not later than August 1, 2012, each public institution of higher education receiving appropriations under this Act shall submit to the Higher Education Coordinating Board a study of the costs of making available online four of the institution’s most popular degree plans, as determined by the institution. Each institution’s reported cost study must include the methodology used for the cost study and an explanation for each expense listed in the study. The coordinating board shall use new and existing data, including performance measures, ongoing research studies, and survey data, to evaluate probable student outcomes for online degree plans identified by the institutions. The coordinating board shall: analyze and compare all reported cost studies under this section and corresponding student outcomes to determine the most efficient and effective of the proposed online degree plans among those institutions generally; and (2) notify each institution of its conclusions.”

So, we have to study the possibilities of offering our 4 most popular degrees online for the purpose of offering entire online degrees a la University of Phoenix? I wasn’t able to find a TAMU source, but according to one website, the most popular majors at TAMU are:

·  Business/Marketing: 19%

·  Engineering: 13%

·  Agriculture: 11%

·  Interdisciplinary Studies: 9%

So, they want us to train Ag students without having them interact with animals, business students without evaluating presentations, engineering students without working in a lab, and interdisciplinary students without observing them in any setting?

Seriously TX leg, What about having a (generally really old) college degree qualifies you to decide how universities are run? These are amendments in the BUDGET, mind you.  This only serves to remind the citizens of Texas that their legislature is working overtime to butt into university business where it DOES NOT BELONG.  Not creating jobs, not funding health care, not even living out the “small government” promises made to the constituents.  I’m sure we will have more comments on this as well all sort through the huge document, but you can follow the action here.

The Supreme Court will decide this week whether the lawsuit can move forward, making it the largest employment discrimination civil action lawsuit ever, or whether it is unfair to Walmart for the complaints to be pursued as class-action. The group claims to represent between 500,000-1.6 million women who “have described how male workers with less seniority were promoted and paid more and have talked of a culture of female stereotyping, of being called “Janie Qs” and told to wear cosmetics and “doll up.“  As the SF Chronicle reports, “One of the plaintiffs, Chris Kwapnoski, says she asked a supervisor at the Sam’s Club in Concord, what was holding her back from promotion. She recalls getting a curt reply: “Blow the cobwebs off your makeup and doll up.”

USA Today reports that the lead attorneys for the women highlight startling statistics:  “While women comprise over 80% of hourly supervisors, they hold only one-third of store management jobs and their ranks steadily diminish at each successive step in the management hierarchy.” Further, the lawyers say “statistics show that women’s pay lags that of men in every major job in each of the company’s 41 regions. The NWLC, NAACP, and ACLU have filed briefs supporting the women.

The US Chamber of Commerce filed a brief supporting Walmart (big surprise) setting this up to be a test of the Supreme Court’s business bias–remember when corporations were recently declared to have the same right to free speech as people?

So, what exactly is at stake here? As Slate reports, the implication of the ruling is huge: “Wal-Mart’s lawyers have sought to portray the lawsuit as ludicrous, given its size and scope. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say size alone should have no bearing on the case’s legitimacy. By throwing out the case, one lawyer said it would be sending a damaging message: “As long as you discriminate against enough people, courts can’t get involved.”

These women have spent 10 years using the country’s legal resources to prove sex discrimination. If they can’t move forward, there will be a powerful message sent to the women of this country: You are worth less than men, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Who says we don’t need the ERA?

Of course, I am fascinated with politics, so it was entertaining to see the White House through the chef’s eyes. I found myself wondering how much research Hyzy did, or if it was just speculation. I’d be interested to know. Also, at the end of each book, Olivia details the recipes for the dishes mentioned in the story. I have yet to try cooking one, but it’s a nice touch.

The one criticism I have of the series is that there is never any “down time” for our heroine. In order to fully delve into the drama of a story, I need a little dose of a character’s ordinary life. I need to feel the dramatic contrast of “yesterday she was sharing wine with her boyfriend and today she is running from a killer!” What does Olivia do to relax? Granted, this may be left out because people who work at the White House don’t have time to relax.

Overall, I really enjoyed the books in the series, and hope there are more to come. If you’re interested in buying State of The Onion, check out Powell’s price.

PS: I read some of Hyzy’s other series, and had a mixed reaction. So far this one is my favorite, and I liked the Manor House mysteries.

Not a great feeling for an activist, right? I find anger to be much more empowering than sadness, but this week I just couldn’t convince myself that I could make any impact on these crises. Sure, I educate the people around me, volunteer escort at Planned Parenthood,  try to teach my students critical thinking skills, and give small amounts of money to the Red Cross, but I can’t possibly do anything to help the solve the huge problems on my mind. The problems are so huge, the obstacles so complicated, the solutions ambiguous–and I am drained.

I’d like to think we all feel this way sometimes as activists. We forget that our contributions to society (and the Red Cross!) actually do matter, even if they pale in comparison to The Problems. Sometimes I feel this way about blogging–what’s the point of WRITING about things when I should just get out there and try to DO something? I downplay, and end up downtrodden.

Apathy about world events just isn’t a state for me–I’ve tried it, even with a bottle of my favorite wine, I can’t swallow it. I am a compassionate person who is constantly concerned about current events.

On our wine tour this week through the beautiful Hill Country of Texas, we chatted with another couple. After learning about my thesis topic (anti-Human trafficking organization) and dissertation topic (Organization that works with abused and neglected children), I recited the joke I always tell to make my interlocutor more comfortable — “I guess I really like to be depressed!” “No,” she responded, shaking her head, “It takes a special person to do that, a special person.”

I had never thought of it that way before.

I work and write and agitate about tough topics because I CAN’T BELIEVE I live in a world where children are ABUSED and people are SOLD. Like I really can’t friggin’ believe it, and I refuse to accept it. It’s a compulsion– I didn’t choose this topic, these voices chose me. A professor once told me that we research that which we don’t understand, and in my case I think it’s true.

All of this is to say, that sometimes I need someone to pull me out of my “desperation place”– or that place where I believe the lie that I can’t do anything to help. This time it was another professor who commented on my status:

“Although I agree that all these folks are in sad straights, I try to keep this in mind: “Worry is energy that pretends to be useful.” Instead, I think about what I can do within my sphere of influence, and then spend my energy likewise.”

I love the idea of examining what I can do within my sphere, and acting accordingly. I don’t get held accountable to how much good  Rachel Maddow/MotherJones/NOW does, because I don’t have their spheres. I have this one, where I can stand outside Planned Parenthood and smile at protesters, where I can include a bunch of feminist writings in the classes I teach, and where I can blog about the issues that I care about, even if only a few people are reading.

So here’s to letting ourselves be disappointed, but always finding a hand to pull us up.

The question becomes, what can you do this week in your sphere?