Uppity Bitches

Sweetly Here Now

Yes, I am overwhelmed with happiness.  My belief that others in America feel the same way that I do about how we, as Americans, even exist in our day-to-day lives has been reinforced.  For the first time in 8 years I can breathe; hope springs eternal, cynicism is passe.  My arms full of cliches and my brain implodes. 

The push becomes what can I do?  Everyday I try to talk about those sticky topics that make people uncomfortable, question my privilege (and encourage others to do the same), try to save more and spend less, eat local, be green, smile at strangers and reach out to those who I can assist.  Pay off my student loans, stop gossiping at work, be a good partner to P and a good parent to our lovely pup. 

Try to love and appreciate more, hate and fixate less.  Heal and deal with the partisan politeratti view I had adopted much to my own surprise.

Find the self-awareness I see our President-elect use every day.  Celebrate.  And work.  Work hard because we have only begun to reshape our future.

2007 Femmostroppo Awards

In an effort to get myself back into the blogging community after a much-needed vacation, I provide you with Femmostroppo Awards   with tons of valuable links.

More to come tomorrow!! ---madlibpoet

Bullying vs. Sexual Harassment

An interesting new study compares the effects of schoolyard bullying - kids roughing one another up, name-calling and the like - with sexual harassment.

The results are completely unsurprising to any girl or woman who ever was on the receiving end of sexual harassment.

"Bullying was more frequent than sexual harassment for both boys and girls - just over half the students (52%) had been bullied and just over a third (35%) were sexually harassed. Almost a third (32%) had been subject to both behaviors. Girls were bullied or harassed as frequently as boys, but gays, lesbians and bisexuals – sexual minorities – were submitted to greater levels of both.

Both behaviors have a negative effect on victims’ health. After taking into account the effects of other stressful life events, ranging from parents’ divorce, moving house, falling in love and getting into trouble with the law, Gruber and Fineran found that sexual harassment causes more harm than bullying in both boys and girls. Girls and sexual minorities, however, appeared to be the most affected by sexual harassment, suffering from lower self-esteem, poorer mental and physical health, and more trauma symptoms (thoughts and feelings arising from stressful experiences) than boys."

Sexual harassment is demeaning, stressful and harmful to the psyche at any stage of one's life, but perhaps more-so when that person is entrenched in the already awkward age of adolescence and young adulthood. The last thing a young woman needs as she's just beginning to understand and come to terms with her sexuality, is to have a peer engaging in unwanted advances, lewd comments, teasing and assault. Harassment can range from seemingly "harmless" "pranks" like snapping a bra strap, or making gestures about the size of a girl's breasts, to more physically aggressive actions, like smacking a butt or brushing up against another person in an intimidating manner.

One hopes this study will accomplish something, anything to bury the archaic and damaging "boys will be boys" bullshit excuse that frighteningly is still in use today. It's a dated mentality that just refuses to die. Let's hope the people who continue to ignore the real-world consequences of school yard sexual harassment - the people who probably needed a study to point out the obvious - pay a bit of attention.