Get It, Girls

"The girl and the woman, in their new, individual unfolding, will only in passing be imitators of male behavior and misbehavior and repeaters of male professions. After the uncertainty of such transitions, it will become obvious that women were going through the abundance and variation of those (often ridiculous) disguises just so that they could purify their own essential nature and wash out the deforming influences of the other sex. Women, in whom life lingers and dwells more immediately, more fruitfully, and more confidently, must surely have become riper and more human in their depths than light, easygoing man, who is not pulled down beneath the surface of life by the weight of any bodily fruit and who, arrogant and hasty, undervalues what he thinks he loves. This humanity of woman, carried in her womb through all her suffering and humiliation, will come to light when she has stripped off the conventions of mere femaleness in the transformations of her outward status, and those men who do not yet feel it approaching will be astonished by it. Someday (and even now, especially in the countries of northern Europe, trustworthy signs are already speaking and shining), someday there will be girls and women whose name will no longer mean the mere opposite of the male, but something in itself, something that makes one think not of any complement and limit, but only life and reality: the female human being." Rilke

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My girl! On Sheryl Sandberg focused on her place as a female role model even during the huge Facebook IPO announcement: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/sheryl-sandberg-of-facebook-staying-on-message.html?_r=1&hp Sandberg sees herself as more than an executive at one of the hottest companies around — more, too, than someone who will soon rank among the few self-made billionaires who are women. She sees herself as a role model for women in business and technology. In speeches, she often urges women to “keep your foot on the gas pedal,” and to aim high. Her call isn’t simply about mentoring and empowering. It is also about business strategy. A majority of Facebook’s 845 million users are women. And women are also its most engaged users. So Ms. Sandberg is playing to a powerful and lucrative demographic, as well as to the advertisers who want to reach it. Inside Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., she is considered a not-so-secret weapon for recruiting and retaining talented women as well as men. 

My girl! On Sheryl Sandberg focused on her place as a female role model even during the huge Facebook IPO announcement:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/sheryl-sandberg-of-facebook-staying-on-message.html?_r=1&hp

Sandberg sees herself as more than an executive at one of the hottest companies around — more, too, than someone who will soon rank among the few self-made billionaires who are women. She sees herself as a role model for women in business and technology. In speeches, she often urges women to “keep your foot on the gas pedal,” and to aim high.

Her call isn’t simply about mentoring and empowering. It is also about business strategy. A majority of Facebook’s 845 million users are women. And women are also its most engaged users. So Ms. Sandberg is playing to a powerful and lucrative demographic, as well as to the advertisers who want to reach it. Inside Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., she is considered a not-so-secret weapon for recruiting and retaining talented women as well as men. 

Again, Kelle Hampton is such a gem, such a 10, such a woman. I think of different women who each best exemplify the many characteristics that define “woman” to me. When I think of true, strong, empathy and compassion, I think of Kelle. She is youthful and alive and soft in the fierce and strong way a perfect woman is. And the current reason she is one of my women crushes is this video.

Kelle’s daughter, Nella, has Down Syndrom and Kelle and her family are crusaders for DS research and advocacy. For Nella’s first birthday, Kelle and her team raised over $100,000 for the National Down Syndrome Society. They’re aiming for $200,000 for Nella’s second birthday and are damn close.

Watch the video, read Kelle’s blog (as if you won’t be convinced by the video), and then donate here. My broke, unemployed ass donated $20, so I’m sure you can scrounge up something.

I don’t think this fits the blog just because Kelle is sweet and the children are adorable (both true). This video shows what Kelle lives, and what I believe, and what this blog is about, and what is contained in the quote to the left, and what a woman is: Kelle sees possibility and love and good things in Nella beyond what the label of Down Syndrome predicts. Kelle works despite medical and societal prognoses, and the video shows that her hope is merited. I think she’s sees in Nella what a man’s world would not necessarily see. Kelle’s intuition and bravery and warmth beat back cynicism and even practicality. Get it, girl.

Truth.

Truth.

(Source: cool-storyybro, via fuckyeahyoga)

Women Legislators in the Next Elections

Women in the Senate:

  • 17 women in our 100 person Senate representing the female 52% of the U.S. population
  • Only 64 women in both houses of Congress
  • Women and the economy: we are more often heads of household and own a growing portion of small businesses
  • Fewer women run for office
  • Women’s issues discussed in recent and relevant legislation: Medicare (women live longer than men), head of household deductions, job creation (women are regaining jobs after the recession at a rate of 9% compared to 27% for men), healthcare coverage for women’s health issues

I’m not saying it’s not possible for an overwhelmingly male legislature to adequately advocate for and ensure women’s rights and needs, but I’m saying I’d feel better if we were repping ourselves. Is there a reason we shouldn’t be 52% of Congress?

Women Photographing Men

Never thought about it. Interesting perspective. Something about the power structure between the photographer and the photographed.