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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2016)
December 14, 2016 Page 7 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. O PINION Being Treated as Human Beings That Matter Why we still need feminism J ill r ichardSon From his campaign rhetoric to his tran- sition appointments, our next president has placed himself squarely in a con- servative movement calling itself the “alt-right.” That movement, the Los Angeles Times reports, “generally em- braces and promotes white na- tionalism, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny.” As a privileged, white, and heterosexual woman, I’ve nev- er considered my rights under attack to the same degree as the other groups in that list. But to this incoming bunch, feminism is a dirty word. For instance, Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon — a leading figure in the “alt-right” media — called feminists “a bunch of dykes.” Maybe it’s time to review what feminism is, and why it emerged in the first place. Odds are that most of us have no idea how bad women once had by it. And men, before you check out, let me assure you that this is no man-hating screed. I have a hunch we’ll be on the same page, actually. No doubt, you probably know that women couldn’t vote until 1920. And that women were once expect- ed to be homemakers in- stead of pursuing careers. But what else are those up- and voted for the both of them. And he had a legal right to her body. This is what the first feminists opposed. Through their agitat- ing, married women first won the right to own property in 1848. The right to vote followed in 1920, but marital rape wasn’t il- legal in all 50 states until 1994. Consider that. Just 22 years ago, a Texas man could still le- wasn’t one of them. In much of the country, neither was domestic violence. Once married to your spouse, you were stuck with them unless they committed adultery, more or less. If your husband beat you, that was your problem. Women who wished to work were relegated to “women’s jobs” like teaching, nursing, and secretarial work, and those jobs Through their agitating, married women first won the right to own property in 1848. The right to vote followed in 1920, but marital rape wasn’t illegal in all 50 states until 1994. pity women whining about? For starters, there’s the right to own things — like our own bod- ies. At the founding of our nation, women were bound by some- thing called “coverture” — the idea that a married woman’s legal identity was subsumed under her husband’s. He owned property gally rape his wife as often as he chose. How dare those crazy man-hating feminists demand they not be raped! But wait, there’s more. Until 1970, states only per- mitted divorce when one of the spouses was found “at fault.” Only certain reasons were al- lowed — and falling out of love paid less than “men’s work.” With men doing all the science, it took until 1966 for the “dis- covery” that women actually have orgasms. Married couples couldn’t le- gally use birth control until 1965. Since abortion was also illegal in much of the country, and since a man could have his way with his wife as he chose, women had no control over the number of chil- dren they had. (Unmarried Amer- icans only gained the right to use birth control in 1972.) Over the last two centuries, those are the issues feminists have fought for. So why does feminism still exist? Because women still earn less than men for doing the same work. And because our bodies still don’t enjoy the full protection of the law. To put a finer point on it, the Stanford rapist served just three months in jail for raping a girl behind a dumpster. Feminism isn’t about hating men or burning bras. It’s about women wanting to be treated like human beings who matter. So when the white national- ist website Breitbart, under the management of Bannon, asked, “Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?” the correct answer is outrage that such a question is asked at all — or that the one who asked it is al- lowed anywhere near the White House. OtherWords columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Rec- ipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It. Legal System Fails Girls When They Need Help And then punishes them for the result n ia n yaMweya In every state in the country, the right to self-defense is considered a mitigat- ing factor in criminal prosecutions. If you use violence to defend yourself in an extreme situation, most Americans believe, the law should treat you gently. But not everyone gets to enjoy this right. Just ask Bresha Mead- ows, who was arrested earlier this year for allegedly shooting and killing her father. She was just 14. Advocates say that prosecutors failed to account for Meadows’ home situation. Her father, they argue, was a violent and abusive man who terrorized her family and threatened to kill them. “In the 17 years of our marriage,” her moth- er wrote in a court complaint, “he has cut me, broke my ribs, fingers, the blood vessels in my hand, my by mouth, blackened my eyes.” She went on to warn: “I am 100 percent sure he will kill me and the children.” More troublingly, the evidence suggests authorities had failed Bre- sha and her family at earlier moments of crisis. Bresha herself cried out for help to family members and repeatedly ran away from home to escape her situa- tion. Yet law enforcement never questioned Mead- ows without the presence of her father and sent her home ev- ery time she tried to escape. Now 15 and detained in Trum- bull County, Ohio, Meadows fac- es charges for aggravated murder. Denied pre-trial release, she’s been locked up away from family, friends, and school for months. In October, she was placed on sui- cide watch. Unfortunately, Meadows’ case is not unique. In fact, 84 percent of girls in ju- venile detention have experienced family violence. And the number of girls in juvenile jail is rising, especially for black girls. Even as a national conversation around mass incarceration and racial pro- filing gains momentum, black girls like Meadows are often left out. That sends a harmful message “Countless black women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people face similar matrices of interper- sonal violence and state violence,” the advocacy group Love and ...84 percent of girls in juvenile detention have experienced family violence. And the number of girls in juvenile jail is rising, especially for black girls. Even as a national conversation around mass incarceration and racial profiling gains momentum, black girls like Meadows are often left out. that they aren’t valued. The Meadows case is one of many examples in a larger trend of policies that criminalize girls and leave trauma unaddressed. These systems fail young girls when they need help the most, and then pun- ish them for the result. Protect explained in a statement. “Many, like Bresha, are criminal- ized for choosing survival.” Worse still, the juvenile justice system doesn’t work to rehabilitate anyone. Instead, it’s often damag- ing and re-traumatizing, especially for people who come from violent homes. Affordable, communi- ty-based solutions that prioritize assessing family security needs over sending teens that lash out to prison would be far preferable to incarcerating traumatized children. Each day Bresha spends in prison is a reflection that the law doesn’t apply to everyone. “We should be worried about Bresha,” says Mariame Kaba, the founder of Love and Protect. “With the charges they put on her, it could be 25 years to life.” Though incarceration rates are rising, violence against black girls isn’t new. Our justice system has been failing them for a long time. A petition is circulating calling for prosecutors to release Bresha Meadows and drop her charges. Like all victims of domestic and family violence, she deserves support. Meadows’ release from detention would send a different message: that black girls’ lives are worthy of defense. Nia Nyamweya is a Next Lead- er with the Criminalization of Poverty project at the Institute for Policy Studies. Distributed by OtherWords.org.
