Gloria Steinem Compares Abortion Lobby to NRA

Feminist and political activist Gloria Steinem spoke to a packed house at a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania on April 16. Steinem, the founder of Ms. Magazine, was heartened at the future of feminism by seeing “so many in the room that were not even born when I first published Ms. Magazine.” She gave all the men in the room a “free pass on the sins that they have committed or might commit in the future.”

Steinem, who recently celebrated her 79^th birthday, shocked the room with this chilling statistic: “More American women have died at the hands of the husbands or boyfriends since September 11, 2001 than the total of Americans that died on 9/11 and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

She explained why this concerns all of us.

“Studies have shown that societies that mistreat women are more likely to breed terrorism,” she said.

Steinem touched on local concerns by voicing her disappointment with the gender gap in Pennsylvania politics.

“Pennsylvania has very few women in the legislature. We need more women at the table because they concentrate on issues that are of concern to all of us such as health and welfare.”

Pennsylvania ranks 42 nationally for number of women elected to political office in the state.  Although women are a majority of the registered voters in this state, they make up only 17.8% of the General Assembly. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz is the lone woman that represents Pennsylvania in Congress. 

She graciously ceded to former Pennsylvania State Senator Connie Williams, who made an emotional plea for the women in the audience to run for office.

Steinem took aim at the Pennsylvania legislature, which spent 1/3 of their last legislative session debating abortion.  The legislature has passed through committees in both houses bill that would prohibit insurance companies from paying for an abortion except in the case of rape and incest. An abortion, which is needed to save the life of a mother, would have to be paid out of pocket by the woman.

“We have a problem with the Pennsylvania Legislature,” she said. “The abortion lobby is similar to the NRA. Both are controlled by extremists that do not represent the views of the majority of the members.”

Steinem is not surprised that the battle over legalized abortion and birth control continues even though many feminists thought it was settled in the 1970’s.

“It should be a women’s health issue,” she emphatically declared. “Instead it is about a need to control, racism, nationalism, and cheap labor. America did not have a problem with birth control until the Europeans came over with their monotheistic religions. “

Steinem poked holes in the current GOP attack line against abortion, victims of rape can’t get pregnant. She stressed that the promulgation of this falsehood during the 2012 election cycle was not about a lack of anatomy knowledge.

 “This Republican line of attack mystifies feminists the most. It is all about blaming the victim. If the women does get pregnant that means she wasn’t raped.”

Meeting Gloria Steinem in person, you realize why she has stayed relevant for this long. She is humble and modest about her achievements. A greeting of “it’s an honor to meet you” is returned with “It’s an honor to meet you.”

In an interview before the event, Steinem took sides in the feminist debate du jour over Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.” This is not surprising because Steinem’s brand of feminism, as opposed to Betty Friedan’s, has always been inclusive.

“Former Planned Parenthood CEO and President Gloria Feldt wrote a similar book, “No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power” and was not criticized,” she noted. “Sheryl is being attacked because she is successful. In order to maintain the unequal gender roles, if we are women we have to be persuaded that we will not be loved if we are successful. If we are men, we will not be loved if we are not successful.”

She dismissed criticism that Sandberg’s approach was too elitist by noting “domestics in New York are forming “Lean in” circles. She specifically endorsed her idea of co-parenting.

“Couples should not agree to have children unless the man agrees to parent equally,” she said.

Steinem’s latest project, Women Under Siege Project  hearkens back to her Jewish roots, which may surprise many that do not think of Steinem as a Jewish feminist.

“My father was Jewish,” she said. “When someone says something anti-Semitic, believe me I am Jewish. I have attended a feminist Seder for thirty years. I believe in spirituality not paternalistic hierarchies. I attended a regular Seder once and was shocked at what I was reading.”

We had a good laugh that the 4 sons not sons and daughters ask the questions in the Passover Haggadah.

The Women Under Siege Project is attempting to chronicle the accounts of victims of sexual abuse during war or military conflict starting with the Holocaust and extending to present day conflicts in the Congo, Egypt and Syria.

“Sexual violence is a weapon of war. The judges at Nuremberg would not allow the testimony of women that had been sexually abused by the Nazis in the courtroom. The proceedings were horrific enough. They did not want tears in the courtroom,” said Steinem.

Gloria Steinem Compares Abortion Lobby to NRA

Feminist and political activist Gloria Steinem spoke to a packed house at a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania on April 16. Steinem, the founder of Ms. Magazine, was heartened at the future of feminism by seeing “so many in the room that were not even born when I first published Ms. Magazine.” She gave all the men in the room a “free pass on the sins that they have committed or might commit in the future.”

Steinem, who recently celebrated her 79^th birthday, shocked the room with this chilling statistic: “More American women have died at the hands of the husbands or boyfriends since September 11, 2001 than the total of Americans that died on 9/11 and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

She explained why this concerns all of us.

“Studies have shown that societies that mistreat women are more likely to breed terrorism,” she said.

Steinem touched on local concerns by voicing her disappointment with the gender gap in Pennsylvania politics.

“Pennsylvania has very few women in the legislature. We need more women at the table because they concentrate on issues that are of concern to all of us such as health and welfare.”

Pennsylvania ranks 42 nationally for number of women elected to political office in the state.  Although women are a majority of the registered voters in this state, they make up only 17.8% of the General Assembly. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz is the lone woman that represents Pennsylvania in Congress. 

She graciously ceded to former Pennsylvania State Senator Connie Williams, who made an emotional plea for the women in the audience to run for office.

Steinem took aim at the Pennsylvania legislature, which spent 1/3 of their last legislative session debating abortion.  The legislature has passed through committees in both houses bill that would prohibit insurance companies from paying for an abortion except in the case of rape and incest. An abortion, which is needed to save the life of a mother, would have to be paid out of pocket by the woman.

“We have a problem with the Pennsylvania Legislature,” she said. “The abortion lobby is similar to the NRA. Both are controlled by extremists that do not represent the views of the majority of the members.”

Steinem is not surprised that the battle over legalized abortion and birth control continues even though many feminists thought it was settled in the 1970’s.

“It should be a women’s health issue,” she emphatically declared. “Instead it is about a need to control, racism, nationalism, and cheap labor. America did not have a problem with birth control until the Europeans came over with their monotheistic religions. “

Steinem poked holes in the current GOP attack line against abortion, victims of rape can’t get pregnant. She stressed that the promulgation of this falsehood during the 2012 election cycle was not about a lack of anatomy knowledge.

 “This Republican line of attack mystifies feminists the most. It is all about blaming the victim. If the women does get pregnant that means she wasn’t raped.”

Meeting Gloria Steinem in person, you realize why she has stayed relevant for this long. She is humble and modest about her achievements. A greeting of “it’s an honor to meet you” is returned with “It’s an honor to meet you.”

In an interview before the event, Steinem took sides in the feminist debate du jour over Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.” This is not surprising because Steinem’s brand of feminism, as opposed to Betty Friedan’s, has always been inclusive.

“Former Planned Parenthood CEO and President Gloria Feldt wrote a similar book, “No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power” and was not criticized,” she noted. “Sheryl is being attacked because she is successful. In order to maintain the unequal gender roles, if we are women we have to be persuaded that we will not be loved if we are successful. If we are men, we will not be loved if we are not successful.”

She dismissed criticism that Sandberg’s approach was too elitist by noting “domestics in New York are forming “Lean in” circles. She specifically endorsed her idea of co-parenting.

“Couples should not agree to have children unless the man agrees to parent equally,” she said.

Steinem’s latest project, Women Under Siege Project  hearkens back to her Jewish roots, which may surprise many that do not think of Steinem as a Jewish feminist.

“My father was Jewish,” she said. “When someone says something anti-Semitic, believe me I am Jewish. I have attended a feminist Seder for thirty years. I believe in spirituality not paternalistic hierarchies. I attended a regular Seder once and was shocked at what I was reading.”

We had a good laugh that the 4 sons not sons and daughters ask the questions in the Passover Haggadah.

The Women Under Siege Project is attempting to chronicle the accounts of victims of sexual abuse during war or military conflict starting with the Holocaust and extending to present day conflicts in the Congo, Egypt and Syria.

“Sexual violence is a weapon of war. The judges at Nuremberg would not allow the testimony of women that had been sexually abused by the Nazis in the courtroom. The proceedings were horrific enough. They did not want tears in the courtroom,” said Steinem.

Sixers Owner Marc Leder Fathers Love Child

Sixers Owner Marc Leder can't seem to stay out of the headlines. The host of the fundraiser where Romney made his infamous 47% remark acknowledged today the existence of a 10 month old daughter by a paramour that he had a tempestuous relationship with. (You can not make this stuff up.)

The spokesman for Leder, the multi-millionaire founder of Sun Capital, sent over this statement. 

“I became the proud parent of a beautiful little girl last January with my former girlfriend of a year. We maintain a close relationship, and are committed to raising our daughter jointly.”

Sources close to Leder say that he deliberately hid the existence of his love child while he was actively campaigning for the family values party. Even after the 47% debacle, he introduced then Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan at a swanky fundraiser at the St. Andrews country club in Boca Raton before the last presidential debate. 

Leder resisted giving much of his fortune to his baby mama. The New York Post has reported that he is providing them an apartment on W. 57th Street. 

I am much to polite to suggest that if Leder supported the party that advocated for insurance coverage for birth control that he would not be in this mess. 

Has Gawker's Blog Jezebel Lost its Feminist Way?

When the head of the Gawker media empire, the genius Nick Denton, announced that he was creating a blog for women at Jezebel.com, I was excited. Jezebel promised an irreverent look at woman's magazines and serious advocacy of feminist issues. At the time, most women's magazines wrote about a world where everyone is skinny, on a diet, having multiple orgasms, and wearing $500 Louboutin stilettos.

In the beginning, Jezebel delivered. They poked fun at women's magazines, campaigned against air brushing in ads, and took on Jon Stewart for not hiring women staffers.

Lately, they have fallen down on the job. Exhibit A in my argument is that there are 994 entries on the blog for Kim Kardashian. Yet, there are only 3 entries for the entire slutwalk movement, which is fast becoming the focal point of the third wave of feminism all across the globe. The slutwalk revolution started when a Toronto cop suggested the best way to avoid rape was not to dress like a slut.

Jezebel's lack of comment on the movement is particularly disappointing because slutwalk seemed tailor made for Jezebel.com. Most of the participants in the movement are twenty something, the average age of their readership. Some older feminists have not embraced the movement because they do not approve of the use of the word slut.

Jezebel should have been leading the movement not ignoring it. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which can hardly be classified as a feminist rag, wrote 7 stories or blog posts about the local protest.

The slutwalk is not the only example of Jezebel editor in chief Jessica Coen dropping the ball. Lately, Jezebel has been posting articles like "How to do a 30s Style Moon Manicure" or Was Pippa Middleton's Butt Padded? Instead, they should have been loudly cheering DHS' decision to provide free birth control without a co-pay to woman and booing the detractors of the decision. It is a big deal that women, who typically make less than men, no longer have the fiscal responsibility for preventing pregnancy.

Jezebel should have been at their snarky best belittling Fox commentator Dana Perino for her recent remarks about the decision. Perino gave them a free lay up to sarcasm. She said, "If you can afford a $5 Frappucino at Starbucks, you can pay your $5 co-pay.” Glossing over the Frappuccino part, her comments were simply accurate. Co-pays for birth control are not typically $5. They can run as high as $70.

They should have gone into defcon mode to attack Bill O'Reilly for saying "Many women who get pregnant are blasted out of their minds when they have sex, they’re not going to use birth control anyways.” Someone needs to explain the birds and bees to O'Reilly because it is clear by these words that he does not understand how birth control works. If a woman is on the pill, IUD, etc, it would not matter if she was drunk because the protection is 24/7.

Jezebel was completely silent during the free birth control debate. Interestingly enough, it was Jon Stewart, previously attacked by Jezebel, who pointed out the absurdity of their remarks. Who really is the feminist?