State GOP Gives Sussex Republican Committee A Spanking Over Disparaging Remarks About Women

State GOP Gives Sussex Republican Committee A Spanking Over Disparaging Remarks About Women

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Wonder if these "rules" will apply to Dem women? Here's the Delaware Republican Party statement:
Newark, DE: Delaware Republican Party Chairman Charlie Copeland has issued the following statement regarding the release of disturbing audio tapes in which Sussex County GOP officials make offensive comments about women leaders in the Delaware Republican Party and about women in general: The recent release of audio recordings by DelawareRight.com in which Sussex County Republican leaders take aim at leaders of the Delaware Federation of Republican Women and the Sussex County Republican Women are offensive and counter to the fundamental beliefs of the Republican Party.
Forced Birth Improves The Economy? Armed “young, hot little girls on campus” Will Stop Rape?

Forced Birth Improves The Economy? Armed “young, hot little girls on campus” Will Stop Rape?

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There's just so much of this nonsense. As a woman, who's also raising a teen daughter, it's overwhelming and frightening. It's also disheartening when issues that directly impact over 50% of the country are dismissed as single-issue votes. Women do not view abortion or contraception as a "pet" issue. These issues directly affect our economy. Having a child is one of the biggest economic decisions for both men and women. If only we treated these issues with the same freak out we display when it came to a gas tax and tax cuts - and, make no mistake, abortion and contraception are a way bigger deal than things like the gas tax and tax cuts. Mainly because cutting/raising taxes won't make a damn bit of difference to a woman's (who's forced to give birth) economy. And yeah, I'm going to keep writing about women's issues, mainly because it's really all the GOP talks about. They link controlling women to every flippin' bill they pen. It's almost impossible to discuss anything the GOP puts forth without discussing women - and religion and gay people. All Republican roads lead to controlling sex.
Warning: “Choreplay” Isn’t A Cute Phrase, So Don’t Use It. Really, Just Don’t

Warning: “Choreplay” Isn’t A Cute Phrase, So Don’t Use It. Really, Just Don’t

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Even as a stay-at-home mom who handles almost all the household work, the term "choreplay" irritates me. Haven't heard it yet? Well, here's what it means: Men can get more sex if they do chores around the house. This NYT article makes a lot of good points, including the part about fathers and women's voices in business. (Note to beer and car manufacturers: I'm the one who buys most of the beer in our household. I don't drink beer, but I buy it for my husband since I'm the one who runs most of the errands. I'm also part of the car buying decision. So if your ad is sexist and I don't like it, I won't buy your product. Perhaps, you should cater to me, too. I swear, when I watch some of these commercials I know there aren't women, in positions of power, making decisions, because half this nonsense would never be aired if there were.) But here's where the NYT's article goes off the rails.....
Can You Hear Me Now?

Can You Hear Me Now?

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Last week Cassandra put up a post entitled #YesAllWomen and things got interesting.  The entire thread (and its evolution or... reduction?) is worth your time to read, but, for this post, I'm going to deal with my interactions with individual commenters - which means I'll be taking the comments out of order to highlight the individual conversations. I've debated on how to do this and decided to post comments in their entirety - which means this post will be ridiculously long, but quotes will not be taken out of context.  (FYI: I've placed the comments in blockquotes, so they can be easily identified.  Anything in blockquotes is a direct comment from the #YesAllWomen thread.  Everyone with me?)  Hey, look at this as your weekend reading! Basically, I'm going to dissect these conversations.  I am also writing this post from my point of view (and only my point of view) - how I interpreted these responses as a women. I was actually surprised by how frustrated I became writing this post, and I shudder when I think of the forthcoming comments.  Mainly because I'm not sure if we can have this discussion without getting defensive.  I'll also point out that while I am calling out certain people's comments I am doing so in a attempt to see if people can relate to my reactions to certain words, phrases, tone, etc.  Again, this post is about how I interpreted comments... and I didn't always interpret them nicely, so feel free to call me out.  But once you do that... do you think you could comment on my point; do you think there's a conversation to be had?  If you do, then after you call me out, could you address that?
Girls Rationalize Sexual Assault As… Normal?

Girls Rationalize Sexual Assault As… Normal?

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First, let me start off by saying that I've witnessed the normalization of sexual assault first hand - through my experience and now through my 16 year old daughter.  It feels like an uphill battle.  My small victory?  Everyone at the Pandora household has stopped using gender specific words in a negative, and a positive, fashion. But take a look at this study.  I doubt you'll be surprised.
Courtship Republican Style

Courtship Republican Style

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I don't get it.  Seriously, I just don't get it.  Republicans openly acknowledge that they have women issues.  They don't pretend they don't exist, so why in the world is their new "wooing women" strategy based on insulting women?  And the Republican statements over the gender pay gap give a stunning insight into how the GOP sees women.
I Fear For Our Daughters

I Fear For Our Daughters

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hen incidents like this happen a chill runs up my spine.
A Michigan woman who suffered a dangerous, painful and prolonged miscarriage when she was 18 weeks pregnant is at the center of a lawsuit that claims she was denied appropriate treatment by a Catholic hospital guided by religious, not medical, concerns.
Yeah, I know.  The new Pope is saying awesome stuff... perhaps he can back those words up with deeds? What happened to this woman is 100% unacceptable.  They knew the pregnancy wasn't viable.  They knew the safest treatment option.  They knew they were endangering her health.  And I'm sure they knew she had two children at home, because, as a mother, I can't imagine not worrying (aloud) about my children when I'm in the emergency room.  But, I'm beginning to think that these Catholic bishops, and other "pro-lifers", only consider pregnant women mothers because they seem a-okay with creating motherless children. It's as if losing a child is only okay if a woman suffers maximum pain and risks her health and life.  I can't wrap my head around that, but these incidents keep happening so that's the drill.

GOP Rape Sensitivity Training Program

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The Republican Party has sent itself to rape sensitivity school.
And it may have added new urgency to a training program that’s already being launched by an anti-abortion group — the Susan B. Anthony list — to keep candidates and lawmakers from continually making the same kind of comments that may have helped ruin Republicans’ chances of winning the Senate.
I agree the GOP needs a course in Rape Sensitivity, but that's not what this course is shaping up to be.

What’s Going On In Steubenville?

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I have been following the Steubenville rape story for a while, but I haven't written about it... until now.  This post won't be about who should face criminal charges - I don't know enough to make that call.  But what I do know is vile. If you aren't familiar with the story, the NYT has written an extensive piece.
Some in the crowd, which would grow to close to 50 people, arrived with beer. Those who did not were met by cases of it and a makeshift bar of vodka, rum and whiskey, all for the taking, no identification needed. In a matter of no time, many of the partygoers — many of them were high school athletes — were imbibing from red plastic cups inside the home of a volunteer football coach at Steubenville High at what would be the first of several parties that night. “Huge party!!! Banger!!!!” Trent Mays, a sophomore quarterback on Steubenville’s team, posted on Twitter, referring to one of the bashes that evening. By sunrise, though, some people in and around Steubenville had gotten word that the night of fun on Aug. 11 might have taken a grim turn, and that members of the Steubenville High football team might have been involved. Twitter posts, videos and photographs circulated by some who attended the nightlong set of parties suggested that an unconscious girl had been sexually assaulted over several hours while others watched. She even might have been urinated on.

Todd Akin Isn’t Alone In His Rape Beliefs

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Superior Court Judge Derek G. Johnson: “I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something, If someone doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage in inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case. "That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn’t necessarily willing, she didn’t put up a fight.”