Women, to a much greater extent than men, depend upon services paid for by the government. With tax cuts promised by both candidates, the increase in the deficit may affect the revenues needed to fund those programs vital to women.
At Stonestreet Studios in the heart of the Flatiron District in Manhattan, performers will read almost 600 letters that reflect a spectrum of responses to McCain’s vice-presidential choice.
Augmenting McCain’s commitment to overturn Roe v. Wade, Palin ratcheted up the discourse with her position of no abortion exceptions in the case of rape or incest. “She can’t keep the women’s vote if they actually know what she is suggesting,” was the popular wisdom. Yet, there were a lot of female voters who weren’t clear about her record. That’s when a core group of women, using new media and an approach that has defined the 2008 election, jumped in to present another point of view.
Feminists have often been accused of not having a sense of humor (How could they survive without one?), but this relaxed event had laughs to spare. Before the eight female stand-up comics strutted their stuff, I asked several people what they had found funny in 2008. They had to think hard.
With the understanding that women do not getting their narratives adequately told – if told at all – the need for a fresh playing field is palpable. In the new media, women have an opportunity to create their own communities and their own brands.
Carolyn M. Byerly, Associate Professor at Howard University, questioned if the press was “meeting its social responsibility” to provide coverage of issues and events that affect women’s status. She emphasized, “You can’t underestimate the invisibility of women.”
Telling the audience, “I don’t fear being black or being female,” she identified herself as being willing and able to “tell the truth to power.”
"The Jump Rope Line" by Marcia G. Yerman is included in the Seal Press anthology Dancing at the Shame Prom.
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