Happy Anniversary!

Today marks the 160th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention. Susan B. Anthony, one of the most renowned women from that time said, "It was we, the people, not we, the white male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union." Amen, sister!

We've certainly come a long way from that time, baby - we have the right to vote, e are CEOs, doctors, lawyers, priests, rabbis, ministers, accountants...And we continue to make up a large percentage of nurses, teachers, retail help...Our sports are now funded on a par with the boys thanks to the diligent work of women in the 1970's to raise up girls and women in sports. And we now have women represented in the US Senate and House, not to mention a number of governorships. The most qualified candidate in the presidential field this year was a woman, and she got more votes than any other candidate EVER. That is pretty remarkable.

Bill Kristol said, "White women are a problem, that's you know - we all live with that." And so it is that in the 21st century, while we may have come far, we have men yelling at a US Senator, a Former First Lady of the US and Arkansas, "Iron My Shirt!" You have college kids wearing t-shirts that claim, "Bros before hos!" You have TV newscasters calling the same senator a whore, and her daughter a pimp, on national television, and when he is rebuked for it, other male commentators lash out in anger. You have a network selling nutcrackers with the female senator on top, another station having an organization on - twice - whose acronym is an incredibly derogatory term for women. You have major party candidates making sexist statements to not only his fellow candidate, who is older and far more accomplished, but to reporters and other women. And it is brushed aside. You have rampant sexism, even misogyny, eminating from newspapers, magazines, television, and rallies. You have the female speaker of the U.S. House claim she is too busy to document the sexism that has gone on during the campaign, dismissing it, and her female colleague, out of hand.

Women athletes have to sue the Olympic Committee for not having their sport represented, though their male counterparts have theirs. But in Canada, where the Olympics will be taking place, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex.* O, Canada! You rock!

Boston now has an operation designed to reduce the number of sexual predators on its subway lines with cameras, as well as involving the people to help stop these abusers. Way to go, Boston!!*

And, there is still a disparity between girls and boys in math and science in countries that do not offer equal access to education.*

There's an "abstinence-promoting" magazine for high school girls, as well as one for boys, that presents inaccurate information as "facts," and suggests the girls should dress "modestly."* (*Facts taken from skirt.com, July 2008 Issue.)

So, yes, baby - we have come a long way, but we have a long way to go yet before that glass ceiling is truly good and shattered, before women are seen as full, equal human beings to men, before women stop being measured AGAINST men, with men being the standard (Anna Quindlen writes about that beautifully), before women do not have to fear for their safety when walking alone, whether in broad daylight or nightfall, before women no longer have to endure sexist jeers and attacks by our own media. Yes, we have a long way to go yet, but at least we are on the road. Thanks to women like Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Bloomer, Lucretia Mott, and many, many others, for getting us going. Thank you for the struggles to the women in the early 1900s, some who sacrificed their very lives for us to be able to vote. To the women in the '70's who pushed against the restrictive standards, who fought for equality, who showed women as capable human beings who were more than the sum of their parts, I thank you. And to the men who supported us as we broke through some of the barriers. We have more work to do, my sisters and brothers. Much, much more work to do, as this primary has shown us. But together, YES, WE CAN!!!!