. . . Here is a compelling discussion highlighting the matter of social enfranchisement and equity as the core reasons why laws against same-sex marriage must be overturned  and discouraged . . . Let us know your thoughts . . .

    ". . . Some progressive folks equate gayness with experimentation in sexual freedom or lifestyle innovations, and see gay marriage as assimilation into a repressive society of cookie-cutter families. To these friends, we have two answers: First, middle age happens. With or without legal marriage, many LGBT folks are, like us, already focused more on mortgages, health care and children than on lifestyle experiments.

Much as we admire some of our less traditional friends, if we are in fact settled and faithful, why not let that be recognized as it is for straight couples? Second, old age and death happen, and with them concerns about survivor benefits, hospital visitation, inheritance and end-of-life wishes.

Feminists who came of age during the 1970s look askance at marriage as the embodiment of women's subordination. And it is true that marriage has at times meant women as property, wives obeying husbands, and women losing the right to own assets. Some of our closest friends are committed heterosexual couples who have foresworn legal marriage, not just as allies to gay couples, but also to avoid sexism.

But between two women, the meaning of marriage is different. And as E.J. Graf writes so eloquently in What Is Marriage For?, feminists have already transformed the institution of marriage in an egalitarian direction, into a non-compulsory bond of love between equals.

Same-sex marriage pushes the institution irretrievably farther in that direction. Social conservatives are right to be threatened by gay marriage. It doesn't threaten families based on love, but it does threaten their ideal of compulsory female subordination. All women will be freer when gay marriage is a universal option.

There is a cult of coupledom in this country, and we are not true believers. Most happy people have more than one person they can turn to for support, despite what pop songs say. And in the face of President Bush's $1.5 billion proposal to encourage low-income people to marry, it's important to say that marriage is not a cure-all for poverty, especially with so many men unemployed or in jail.

Women need the option of living independently, via family wages and a welfare safety net. Going back to some imagined "good old days," with husband breadwinners and unpaid wives who cared for children and elderly and disabled family members without need for government assistance, is not a realistic social policy.

"Marriage promotion" is a futile attempt to privatize more human services into families. Gay activists have sometimes played into this right-wing agenda by extolling marriage as the most important building block of society . . . "

To  read the entire article please click here. 

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. . . Here is a lovely example of how caring people can reach beyond barriers of fear & difference to mindfully share age-old remedies and home-grown systems of health-care that actually WORKS for those of us who often fall between the cracks social support-wise . . .

by: Joel K. Bourne Jr., from: AARP Bulletin | September 3, 2010

 In Honor of Wimmin's Herstory Month . . .

A 1 Hour Special – Uprising.Radio.org Re-Broadcast  

       & Related Info . . . .        Published 16 Mar 2011, 10:04 am | 

March 25th 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the terrible tragedy that sparked a movement: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York.

The deadliest industrial accident in the history of the city resulted in the deaths of 146 young, mostly immigrant women. It marked a moment that transformed labor relations in America, and strengthened unions and labor laws.

Given the recent uprisings in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and many other states, against the Republican and corporate attacks on workers rights it is apt that we revisit the story of the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory Fire in this re-broadcast of the show from Labor Day in 2003, just weeks after Uprising was launched.

GUEST: David Von Drehle, author of Triangle: The Fire that Changed America

EVENT: LA Laborfest presents the 100th commemoration of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire with a series of events that began on March 13th going through April 21st. On March 25th, the actual 100th anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire, there will

be a benefit for the Los Angeles Garment Workers Center with an evening of music, theater, spoken word, and film at the Echo Park United Methodist Church, 1226 N Alvarado St in Los

Angeles.

Listen to the entire program.  

Please support public radio . . .KPFK is a proud media sponsor.

More info at www.laborfest.net and 310-704-3217.   

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"For Women's History Month this year, thousands of people around the country are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Fire. On Saturday, March 25, 1911, flames engulfed a sweatshop just off of Washington Square, in New York City, where women's shirtwaist blouses were made. One hundred and forty-six workers, mostly young Jewish and Italian girls, were burned to death by the fire or jumped to their deaths to escape.

Doors were locked and the fire ladders couldn't reach the top floors of the burning building. Women died at their sewing machines, but they didn't have the right to vote in elections. The fire was an historic turning point for the country. The movement for social justice took on new urgency. Workplace safety legislation became a reality, the union movement gained momentum, and eventually women won the right to vote.

March is a time to celebrate the progress that women have made since the Triangle Fire, but there is also reason to pause and consider the fight that continues. We need only turn to Wisconsin. Governor Walker's outright attack on unions is, indeed, a fundamental attack on working women. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over half of state workers and 61% of city workers are women.

Thirty-one percent of state workers and 42% of local government workers belong to unions. They earn better wages than those who are not union members and the pay gap between women and men is smaller among union members.

These employees are our elementary school teachers, university professors, nurses, social workers, secretaries, and administrative assistants. They are women who are critical to making our cities work and who help turn our towns into livable communities for our families. Through their unions they have secured decent wages, reasonable benefits, ways to resolve grievances, and some security for their retirement. Yet they are being criticized and their rights taken away for economic problems they didn't create."   

                                                                       ~ Brigid O'Farrell  Independent scholar

 

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