Save the Date: Walk a Mile in Her Shoes 2009

Save the date for the 2009 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, to be held September 22, 2009. More details will be posted here and in all the other usual places (Facebook, website, Twitter).

In the meantime, take a look at the video from last year's Walk:

Food Abuse = Rape?

Obesity is one of the most serious health issues in America today. This is what has prompted anti-obesity activist MeMe Roth to crusade for a lighter, thinner population. Unfortunately, her attacks on obesity not only seem poorly aimed, they are downright offensive.

In an article by Observer journalist Gaby Wood, Roth says she's never been anorexic or on a diet. She encourages people to avoid obesity by eating more nutritious food. Yet when questioned, she sheepishly admits she doesn't eat breakfast at all, and may not eat lunch until almost dinner time. These hardly seem to be healthy eating habits. So what exactly is Roth petitioning for - healthiness, as she says, or just anti-fatness? She seems to feel that there is more to be won from shaming "fat" people than to educating people about healthy eating choices. Is this really the route to health we want to take?

In addition to this, she compares obesity to rape:
"The defence has been made in the case of sex criminals that there is pleasure on the part of the victim. The same is true with what we're doing with food. We may abuse our bodies with food, but it's incredibly pleasurable. From a food marketer's point of view, when your quote unquote victim is so willing and enjoying of the process, who's fighting back?"

I find it appalling that she would actually refer to a defense of "pleasure on the part of the victim" as if it's valid. Does she really believe that people enjoy being raped? And can you even possibly begin to compare food abuse (which is something we do to ourselves) with a crime as serious as rape (something completely out of the victim's control)?

Jezebel has also taken offense to Roth's comparison in a post about this same Observer article.

While I'm certain much of this is meant as a planned Ann Coulter-like publicity attempt, I find her comments and rationalization to be inappropriate, harmful, and downright offensive. Your thoughts?

Women's Liberation = Unhappiness?

First, apologies for our lack of posting over the last month. The end of the semester was crazier than usual and the blog got lost in the shuffle, but we're back. We will likely have a lighter posting scheduled over the summer, but promise to try not to disappear for almost a month again.

The New York Times one of the frequent targets of my ire as regular readers of this blog know) published an op-ed piece today titled "Liberated and Unhappy," in which NYT columinist Russ Douthat argues that the "achievements of the feminist era may have delivered women to greater unhappiness." While he does avoid drawing conclusions, ultimately he seems to agree that if women are unhappier now than they were in the 1950s, it is indeed due to feminism.

Personally, I think that is the wrong conclusion and would argue that IF women are indeed unhappier now than they were before (and that's a big if as self-reporting is always suspect and it's very possible that women in the 1950s studies said they were happy because they felt they were expected to be), that it's due to too little feminism rather than too much -- while things have changed in regard to women's workforce participation, things at home still far too often to women. It's hard to be happy when your liberation is only halfway completed. What do you all think?

Thinness and Women

Via Jezebel, comes an interesting piece from The Daily Mail on thinness and women just in time for equal pay day (since the author argues that the thin obsession is one possible reason for the gender pay gap). While  agree with Jezebel that the body-shaming bits are unfortunate in an otherwise good piece, I also whole-heartedly agree with the premise with that the time wome spend obsessing about our bodies keeps us from doing other great things. Case in point: a while ago, I was at a meeting with a group of accomplished, professional women, but the conversation nonetheless revolved mostly around their collective attempts to lose weight, and the feelings of guilt that come when they don't achieve their "weight loss goals" (a phrase I seriously hate). And I kept thinking to myself "What could these amzaing women accomplish with all the time they spend worrying about what they're eating, if they're exercising enough, if they're *bad* for having had the cheesecake, etc., etc.?" Truly, it breaks my heart. Healthy is fine, healthy is good -- but obsessing is not. I wish we could learn to just let it go and change the world with all the extra time we'd have on our hands.

Square Butts for Kids?

I don't know how many of you have seen the new Burger King commercial advertising Spongebob Squarepants kids meals, but after seeing it for the first time the other day, I have to say I'm appalled that Burger King thinks this appropriate marketing - to kids or adults. For a quick view of the whole video, click the link - only part of this is shown on the commercial, but even that part is offensive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nopKDuydRo

I'm not sure what's worse on this video - the actual video or some of the comments responding that it's not offensive and they can't understand why some people think it is.

Not only is it inappropriate, but it's really sad when the majority of people still don't see a problem with marketing to kids by sexually objectifying women. Dressing fully grown women in school-girl like attire and short shorts (even if they do have bricks in the back of them) and having them dance around with their butts facing the screen is just one more way we tell boys and girls how women are viewed in our world.

I think I could write forever about how I feel about this, but I hope someone else will share - what are your thoughts on this?

Support the Women's Center -- Buy Raffle Tickets!

During the month of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the UMKC Women’s Center will be selling raffle tickets to benefit the UMKC Violence Prevention & Response Project. Tickets will be $1 each or six for $5and can be purchased at one of our Sexual Assault Awareness Month information tables throughout the month, or at the Women’s Center during the hours of 9 - 4. The drawing will be held on Thursday, April 30th and winners will be notified by email or phone. 

Prizes include a one-year family membership to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, a Vera Bradley “Kensington” Travel Set, original framed art by a UMKC student, gift baskets from Three Dog Bakery, a Creative Coaching session, a book and CD gift set, and knitted hats from a UMKC student. 

The UMKC Violence Prevention & Response Project provides anti-violence programs such as Take Back the Night, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, and V-Day to the UMKC and Kansas City communities. The mission of the Violence Prevention and Response Project at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is to strengthen the University and community response to gender-based and sexual violence through victim support services, advocacy, training and education/outreach to the campus and community. In support of this mission, the VPR Project has the following goals:

• to unify campus resources through the coordination of existing services which address the issues of sexual violence,
  
• to provide a safe place, referrals and information to those affected by sexual violence;
  
• to assess campus needs for information and activities addressing sexual violence and;
  
• to participate in the creation and coordination of educational prevention programs about sexual violence.
  

The project is a collaboration between various campus and community offices.

Buy your tickets now!

More Sexual Assault Awareness Month Activities

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the UMKC Violence Prevention and Response Project, along with the UMKC Women's Center, and our campus and community co-sponsors will be hosting several events next week to mark the month. Please plan to join us at the following events:

SAAM Informational Tables. Monday, April 20; Time: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Location: University Center walkway (Volker campus) and Wednesday, April 22; Time: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Location: Health Sciences Building (Hospital Hill campus). The UMKC Violence Prevention and Response Project will host informational tables at various locations throughout April. There will also be items for sale to raise awareness for sexual assault. Proceeds will benefit the Violence Prevention and Response Project.

Breaking the Silence: A Community's Response to Domestic Violence. Thursday, April 23; Time: 7:30 a.m.- noon; Location: UMKC University Center, Pierson Auditorium, Holmes Street. $10 for Students, $20 for Professionals (Training hours available and CNEs pending approval). Keynote Speaker: Sandy Barnett, Executive Director, Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence. For more information, contact Kimberly Paul at 913-378-1545 or kpaul@safehome-ks.org. Co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Family Violence Coalition.

Denim Day. Thursday, April 23; Time: 12 p.m.; Location: UMKC Quad by the Women's Center. On Thursday, April 23, the UMKC and Kansas City communities are invited to wear jeans in honor of Denim Day. Denim Day ishonored to protest an Italian High Court ruling that overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing jeans. Enraged by the verdict, women of the Italian Legislature protested the decision by wearing jeans to work. For more information on Denim Day, visit http://www.supportdenimday.com/. Join us for a celebration of Denim Day at noon at the UMKC Quad!

Speaking Out: Empowerment Through Spoken Word. Wednesday, April 29.Time: 7:30 p.m.; Location:YWCA of Greater KC, 1017 N 6th Street, Kansas City, KS. Co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) and YWCA of Greater KC. For more information, visit www.ywca.org/kansascity