Last night, Republicans led a successful fillabuster that prevented the Fair Pay act from going to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Apparently, from what McCain said, they are too concerned about uppity women folk clogging up the courts with lawsuits. It’s all their fault they don’t get paid the same, and all they need is more training and education.

Seems wrong that this happens the same week as Take Our Daughters (And Sons) To Work Day, which happens today actually. The origin of the day:

The Ms. Foundation for Women developed the project more than a decade ago to address the self-esteem problems that many girls experience when they enter adolescence. At school, boys often receive more encouragement in the classroom, especially in math, science and computers, the academic fields that tend to lead to the highest salaries.

Women receive on average only 73 cents for every dollar that men are paid, and remain vastly underrepresented in top executive positions and technology fields. The fastest-growing occupations require advanced computer skills that many girls are not acquiring. Take Our Daughters to Work Day aims to give girls the confidence and inspiration they need to develop successful careers, particularly in non-traditional fields.

What a message to send those girls! Sure, you can grow up and be whatever you want to be, but if you encounter pay discrimination, you can’t legally do anything about it! Not to mention the glass ceiling in many work fields, sexual harassment, misogyny, etc.

Oh, and about TOUASTWD… This was originally a feminist initiative, which tried to show girls that they could have a career in any field, and to give them role models in the professional world. It was in 2003, 10 years after the start of the program, that boys were included. Some “men’s rights advocates” got all whiny saying that “If you are for equality, then you need to include boys. It’s not faaaaiiiir!”

But see, boys don’t really need to have shown to them they can be anything they want, or shown role models. As one of my friends said:

There has never been any history to my knowledge of males not being encouraged to have careers or there being a lack of role models from the work world for them. They’ve had all that from Day 1. They are still overrepresented in executive positions. They still make more for comparable work, and I believe that holds true controlling for everything else like race or education level or what-have-you. Why include sons? It’s not like they’ve ever been discriminated against so that they have little choice than to be dependent on someone else for their livelihood. Societal norms are very clear about men being encouraged to have careers, believe it to be their divine right to advance rapidly, and bring home a high salary. I admit things are changing for women—but more out of economic necessity than society finally understanding how valuable women’s contributions can be.

Exactly. I’m fortunate that in my job I don’t face pay or gender discrimination, but I still want something in place to give women who do have it a way to get their fair pay and treatment. After seeing all the misogyny that has come to light during the primaries against Hillary Clinton, it’s very obvious that women still aren’t as equal as we should be. Granted, we have come a long way, even since my mothers era, but we still have some work to do.

Technorati tags: feminism, equality, take our daughters and sons to work day, discrimination

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you should be able to guess I’m a feminist. I’m not ashamed of that word (nor the word liberal, for that matter) and see it as a good thing to be. Glancing at my blogroll, you’ll see Shakesville, which is one of the larger feminist blogs, and where I read a post on Friday that made me think a lot. (Ok, made me think more than what she usually does.) Both about women characters in writing, and how I am personally. Here’s the part that gave me pause:

…women’s stories don’t get told, at least not like men’s do, and/or that women are much more infrequently cast in roles that, by any accounting, could be filled by either sex.

(There’s also the “token strong woman who’s segregated from other equally strong women” phenomenon about which I’ve written before—see: Eowyn, Leia, Trinity, Hermione, Sarah Connor, Ripley, et. al.—which reinforces the ideas that girliness is bad and that women must compete for coveted roles as tokens among men…)

Wow. This is one thing I struggle with in my writing. As a woman, I want to put females in the stories I write, but I don’t want them seen as token. It’s amazing how much societal influence makes all my characters male by default, and that I have to create female characters to fit into the story. Why do I feel the need to do this? Why can’t I just make a character one or the other, regardless whether he or she will be seen as token, special, or just plain ordinary?

What makes me agonize over character creation so much is how I remember feeling when I was younger, and what Melissa talks about in her previous post:

But even though Leia and Eowyn were both great heroines, it seemed to me as though girls who were smart and tough were always segregated away from other women. Images of women who are smart and tough and the only female in a group of men are, in fact, so common, that it serves to teach smart and tough little girls that girliness is bad. Only silly girls hang out together in their giggling little gaggles; smart girls hang out with boys—a sentiment reinforced over and over as I played girl-less video games and watched films and read books with a token girl. A second girl only meant a rivalry, never a friendship.

It’s become ingrained in me that a strong and cool chick isn’t girly. That it’s much better to hang out with the guys, because otherwise you’re just silly &/or the romantic interest. Plus, growing up during the 70s & 80s, there was a surge of “See? There’s a female character! We’re not being sexist!” going on, that definitely ties into the second post. In reality, there often were other females around, but they were always secondary characters in the background.

(Unless of course you are telling a woman’s story, then it’s “chick lit” and *groan*. Admittedly, I don’t like the traditional Lifetime type movies & stories, which I feel help to perpetuate the typical female roles and stereotypes. There’s also the idea that feminine & liking traditional “girl” stuff is somehow bad or at the very least not what a feminist does, but that’s another topic all together which was covered well at the first post above.)

So what did this all do, rattling around my brain over the weekend? From what I’ve figured out so far, it’s made me want to make sure the female characters in my stories are just like women in real life. Strong, cool, tough, but at the same time, sometimes girly. Guess that’s why I could relate and accept so well the Riot Grrrl movement of the early 90s. Which is where, incidentally, I take calling my daughter Baby Grrl.

I’ll be looking at my story’s characters, and will probably be making some changes, but I hope it ends up for the better.

Technorati tags: feminism, writing, female characters

It’s the same old sex & violence in video games issue again. But after reading this story last week, I had to make some kind of comment. Seems that people who answered a poll on What They Play (a neutral site for parents to visit and get info on video games) said that a man and woman having sex is the most offensive thing to them in a video game. More offensive than a severed head!

I’m not really surprised though, since it was simulated sex that sparked the whole Mass Effect scandal, but I really wish the USA would get over its prudishness and phobia about sex. And the belief that if a kid sees nudity or sex, they will be scared for life. (Remember when Janet Jackson’s boob popped out during the Superbowl? How many of the kids who saw it are having problems? Or even remember it for that matter.) I won’t go off onto another rant, since I’d be rehashing what I said before, but I always bring up this example:

Just like the kid who was with his dad (uncle maybe…guessing dad though) watching Sin City, sitting in front of me at the theater. He was probably 10 or 12 maybe. The dad didn’t say a word during the violence. But as soon as the clothes started coming off and the sex happened, he covered the kid’s eyes with his hand and told him not to watch. When the same woman was lying dead, and many others getting their heads chopped off, he had no problem with him watching.

I do applaud parents who want to know what their kids are playing, that’s what every parent should do. But the original article makes an excellent point:

While depicting rampant or casual sex may be seen as devaluing humans by turning them into objects, I would argue that allowing violence while avoiding sex in many ways achieves the same goal of dehumanizing the characters in games. While there may be some merit to both views, we need to think carefully about which images are actually harmful to young minds, and why. Black-and-white thinking on sex in games might be appropriate for young kids, but it may also prevent adult gamers from experiencing the full power of the interactive stories games can tell.

When it comes to Baby Grrl, she is a sensitive, tender-hearted thing. If someone looks like they are hurt or sad, even in cartoons, she will get worried and ask “OK?” until she sees that they are OK. I don’t want her to get used to seeing violence and loose that compassion she has. So if you asked me, the most offensive thing when it comes to what Baby Grrl sees is definitely a severed human head. But then I’ll be choosing what she sees and will avoid violence until she is much older. Seeing people kiss and have sex? She’s still a little young, too young to explain it well enough for her I think, but I’d much rather her see that than any type of violence.

Technorati tags: sex, violence, parenting, video games

Usually I scoff at the extra money video game publishers want for a “collector’s edition”. There hasn’t been a game I’m that fanatical about to spend an extra $20+ just for artwork or a special box. Enter Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition:

For $20 more than the normal edition ($79.99 console, $69.99 PC), you’ll be receiving the much-coveted Vault Boy bobble head in all its encephalitic glory, a hardcover Art of Fallout 3 book, a Making of Fallout 3 DVD, and the game itself. All of this comes neatly packaged in a completely customized Fallout 3 lunch box.

Retro Fallout 3 lunchbox?!?!? Oh yeah, I’m getting one. Kotaku received both the bobble head and the lunch box from Bethesda during E3, and it looks sharp!

I’m looking forward to Fallout 3, and have been for many years. I’m a big fan of both Fallout and Fallout 2, and hope Bethesda does the series justice. If only it wasn’t going to take until October to find out!

Technorati tags: fallout 3, collector’s edition

Yesterday, Streak talked about the news story where the Bible was claimed to be the favorite book by Americans. I left a comment, and saw it being used in a follow up post.

My earlier snarky post on the Bible as America’s favorite book elicited some great responses from Anglican and Jessika, and actually spurred me to think a little more about it. To a certain degree, I suspect that Jessika is correct, that a great many people choose the Bible because they think it makes them sound righteous. But it could also be, as Anglican notes, that people don’t actually read much and so can only think of a few.

I think that Anglican’s point is excellent. Everyone knows the importance of reading, but when it comes to reading for fun…well, people don’t really do that much. There’s always something on TV, from American Idol to Top Chef, to any number of crappy reality shows, to numerous sporting events. Not to mention movie channels, Netflix, first run theater releases. We’re never short on entertainment options, and for those who work or go to school full time (or both!), it’s often easier to turn on the TV while eating dinner, or even just sit and do nothing while unwinding from a busy day.

Those who truly enjoy reading will make time. Many of my friends always have one (or a few) books they are reading right now. I, on the other hand, am a bad reader when it comes to books. I admit it, go ahead and *tsk* at me. I use convenient excuses like I’m busy and too tired with work and Baby Grrl. But I really could take even just an hour or so right before bed and read. Instead I try to get extra sleep, or on the weekend I do other things like watch a movie or play Mass Effect and Rock Band. I’ve said for way too long that I need to catch up with my books. (Including comic books/graphic novels.)

I do want to make the argument that I DO read. All the time. At work, if I’m at my desk working, I have my RSS feeds going all the time. They would be considered non-fiction though, since most of them deal with news of some sort, be it tech, geek, feminist, or what have you. But when it comes to fiction, I do get that fix with podiobooks and podcasts. Currently I am working on JC Hutchin’s 7th Son Trilogy, just about to start the 3rd book. After I’m done with that, It’s back to Scott Sigler to catch up with his latest one, Nocturnal. I’m still getting the story, I still have to use reading comprehension, yet I still feel like I’m coping out somewhat by NOT holding the physical book in my hand and “reading”.

That’s not to diminish what the next wave of authors are doing with fiction. I’ve raved before about using technology this way, and I think it’s just me being an old-fogy and still getting used to interacting with this new way of ingesting fiction. However I do want to pick up Sigler’s Infected and read it. I listened to the podiobook version, and want to see what changes were made. I have the free PDF download that was offered before the book release, but after reading so much on the computer screen all day, sometimes my eyes need a rest.

But now after reading about reading, I really do feel the desire to start on my stack of books I keep meaning to get to. I think I’ll finally look at finishing World War Z before the movie gets underway.

Technorati tags: books, reading, podiobooks