Daughter of No Comment -- October 2006

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As Virginia's crucial election nears we must be informed about what Virginia politicians are trying to do our basic civil rights. I would be as ashamed to live in a state which enshrines discrimination in its constitution as one which leave half of its citizens out of its constitution. In fact the marriage amendment does not change Virginia law. However by placing the issue in the state constitution the issue is removed from the courts and legislative change. The unintended consequence in states that have passed very similar laws is that domestic violence committed by unmarried people is automatically reduced to a much lesser charge. The proposed change simply does not pass the smell test. In a recent Domestic Violence Hotline survey 4 million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12 month period. More than three women are killed by their husbands and boyfriends every day--That is nearly 5,500 since 9/11. This problem transcends religion, wealth, class and culture. Men still believe they are superior to women and they get more money for comparable work and they will continue to do so as long as women are treated as sexualized commodities whose power and influence flow directly from their appearance. There is a reason that cosmetic surgery is now a 15 Billion dollar business and may even be considered an epidemic or addiction. After all, getting re-virginized (labiaplasty) and other genital cosmetic surgery is one of the most rapidly growing areas on the field. This is a form of self hatred similar to the eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia and eating disorders are the leading cause of death of young women ages 16 to 24. Remember Virginia religious icon, Pat Robertson, who said in 1992 that feminism is a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians. And what are the current crop of Christian Fundamentalists saying today about the place of women? I always thought that progress was glacial but now glaciers beat progress. We are seeing how legislative gains are being eroded in so many areas critical to women's empowerment. Organizing and being very focused on our goals is essential to finding our strong voices so that we are heard loud and clear. Voting is very important. If you don't vote, you can't complain and we have a lot of work to do to begin to see our input in the legislative process.