Welcome back Chaise Lounge readers and a happy new year to all! Like many of you, I hold out hope that 2022 will offer us some respite from both the challenges to our government and coronavirus, but I am not holding my breath. Given that today’s newsletter marks the one-year anniversary of the insurrection, we will give that somber day some attention by focusing on the effect it had on the women in Congress. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so please comment away!
Many female members of Congress do not feel safe
The 19th newsletter published an excellent piece where they interviewed thirty-eight female members of Congress regarding their feelings of safety. While lawmakers have always had to be careful and receive threats, the level of threats coming at them in the wake of the insurrection has multiplied. In 2021, there were 9,600 threats against lawmakers. Threats against the women frequently mention their gender and for women of color, their race is a major target. While there have been arrests and convictions of people involved in the insurrection, the threats still come. And no one has been arrested for the pipe bombs that were planted that day, nor is there an explanation for why the panic buttons were removed from Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s office. The Congresswomen also cite the fact that many of their Republican colleagues encourage this behavior only contributes to the problem. It’s no wonder they don’t feel safe.
The upside of having a vasectomy
A recent article in the Washington Post discussed the trend of men having vasectomies as an “act of love.” The article focused on the increase in the desire for vasectomies in Texas after the passage of SB1, but went on to discuss the double standards present in attitudes toward women’s reproductive health versus men’s. It was refreshing to read quotes from men who identified that once they are done having children, it is up to them to make the sacrifice to have a small procedure. I know that I was especially thankful when my husband stepped up to the plate when we decided that we were finished having children. I could go off birth control pills and we could continue to have sex without a condom. That’s a win-win in my book!
Female doctors untitled
You may recall that in one of last month’s newsletters, Sexism Among Doctors Quantified, I discussed the lack of fairness in pay between male and female doctors. Another issue that crops up fairly regularly for female doctors is being untitled. At conferences and on grand rounds, female doctors find that male doctors introduce other male doctors by their titles but then introduce female doctors by their first names. Whether the practice is intentional or due to unconscious bias, the practice undermines the female doctors’ expertise and authority among patients, hospital staff, and peers. Dr. Esther Choo who has experienced patients regularly untitling her has found that she needs to repeat her title three times and give two visual cues before her patients actually process that she is their doctor. For doctors who are women of color, this issue has even more resonance. Like Dr. Choo, Dr. Yumiko Kadota is frequently untitled. She had the ridiculous experience of being labeled a “freelance beauty therapist” for a television spot featuring her new practice. In spite of being very clear with the journalist that she was a medical doctor, she was still untitled.
“History is an edit war”
We all know that consulting Wikipedia for factual information can be problematic. I remember one time I was looking at the entry for Senator Lloyd Bentsen at some point when he was very much alive but the entry said he had died. I was shocked and looked for news clips discussing his death, but it was a hoax. The site is developed by the public, and people have all sorts of reasons for posting information that is not necessarily true or holds bias. Why someone wanted to declare Bentsen dead before his time is beyond me, but it happened.
What you may not know is that there is a huge gender gap in terms of the number of female editors on the site. A recent article in Wired discusses the lengths that one woman, Ksenia Coffman, went to in correcting articles on the site that glorified Nazi battles and officers. As Coffman researched dubious claims and corrected the articles, she began to get pushback from other Wikipedia editors, mostly males. Fortunately, Coffman was undeterred and ultimately won the battle as the Wikipedia governing board upheld her changes. A worthwhile read.
Rest in Peace, Sarah Weddington
Sarah Weddington, who successfully argued the Roe v. Wade case at the Supreme Court at the ripe age of twenty-six, died on December 26. She had a successful career as a state legislator in Texas for several terms and then became the general counsel for the Department of Agriculture and then advised President Jimmy Carter on women’s issues. I cannot help but think that she had to be crushed to see what the Supreme Court is doing to her legacy.
One Year Later and We Are Still Living With the After Effects