Journalism: ENDA Vote to Come Soon

How sad is it that I wrote this article in 2007 and ENDA STILL hasn’t passed? :( 

(Originally published in Broadside on October 1, 2007)

The Employee Non Discrimination Act, a bill addressing discrimination in the workplace towards members of the LGBT community, is coming up in Congress soon, the third time such a bill has been brought before the floor of congress.

“It’s still legal in 31 states to fire someone because of their sexual orientation and in 39 states to fire someone because of their gender identity,” said Brian Walton, associate counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. The Human Rights Campaign is a self-described civil rights organization which advocates on behalf of LGBT Americans.

In its original form, ENDA, which was sponsored by openly gay Representative Barney Frank (D-Ma.), would have added on to Title XII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protections against discrimination determined by sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace. Last Thursday, Frank and House leadership determined that ENDA would be split into two bills, one for protections on sexual orientation and one for protections on gender identity.

“In the crunch the official Whip count taken in contemplation of the bill it became very clear that while we would retain a significant majority of Democrats, we would lose enough so that a bill that included transgender protection would lose if not amended, and that an anti-transgender amendment would pass,” said a statement released by Frank.

Numerous LGBT-rights organizations that helped create the original wording of the latest ENDA bill spoke out in protest of the taking out of the transgender provisions.

“The breaking news that the House has decided to move forward on a non-discrimination bill that is not inclusive of gender identity is devastating,” said Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement. “The Human Rights Campaign remains dedicated to the fight for full equality for our entire community and, in light of this new reality, continues to consult with members of Congress and our lobbyists to determine how we can achieve that goal.”

“If the Democratic Congress takes the gender identity and expression clause out of ENDA, they’re a bunch of cowards for not realizing that any discrimination is all discrimination,” said George Mason University alumna Allison Medwin, who identifies as queer. “It’s wrong. Either they’re committed to stopping discrimination for those who face it or they’re not.”

“I believe that it would be a grave error to let this opportunity . . . pass,” said Congressman Frank in his statement.

In its original form, ENDA had 117 co-sponsors, including Virginia’s own James Moran (D) and Bobby Scott (D). It was the first bill with gender identity protection language included.

“Most people don’t get that it’s still legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Ric Chollar, the Associate Director for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Resources at Mason. “Building recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity in the federal law is crucial.”

The first legislation that tried to protect sexual orientation with federal civil rights laws was introduced in 1976, 12 years after the Civil Rights Act was passed. In 1994, the first bill known as ENDA was introduced. Two years later, ENDA came within one vote of passage in the Senate, during the backlash to the Defense of Marriage act passed under President Clinton’s administration. The last major legislative action on ENDA was taken in 2002, when the Senate Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on ENDA and favorably reported the bill to the Senate floor.

ENDA would have been the first legislation of its kind. The way ENDA is drafted, before the taking out of the gender identity clause, it is designed to act as a leader on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and would work to prohibit discrimination based on the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity of an employee or applicant. It would not allow employers to use quotas with regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, would not require employers to provide domestic partner benefits and would not apply to employers with under fifteen employees. ENDA also does not apply to private membership clubs, the armed forces, or religious employers. While religious groups are not permitted to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity, they can exercise a preference for co-religionists and require employees to conform to the religion’s tenets and teachings.

“ENDA is really important to us because we need people to be informed. This affects us our entire lives; with the so called marriage amendment it was really an issue for people who wanted to get married,” Alex Gant, co-chair of Mason’s Pride Alliance, said. “This is going to affect everyone our entire lives. It’s about working – everyone has to work – everyone at some point in their lives will have to work somewhere where they’re probably going to be discriminated against.”

Several cases citing workplace discrimination against employees because of sexual orientation or gender identity have been brought forward in several states, with few finding recourse because of the lack of legal protection in most states. Only 17 states ban sexual orientation-based discrimination and seven bar bias against transgender employees. The District of Columbia currently has laws in place protecting against discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity in the public and private sectors. Virginia has no laws on the subject.

Currently, Mason includes sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policy. Also, the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, along with Arlington and Fairfax Counties prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The addition of gender identity and gender expression to the existing non-discrimination policy at Mason is under discussion. However, at the state level, the Commonwealth of Virginia does not include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression in its anti-discrimination laws.

“There’s a little bit of judgment for what you can and cannot do. They can see you doing retail, but other work is different,” said Dan Odom, a junior and Broadside staff reporter.

Bush has not yet commented on the ENDA bill or said how he would approach it if it passed in Congress.

The ENDA bill without trans-inclusion will be marked up by the chamber's Education and Labor Committee next Tuesday so that it can be sent it to the House floor for a vote.

rehearsal

I’m at rehearsal now, surrounded by happy chaos and clamor. I can hear at least four separate conversations, voices blending and separating excitedly, echoing slightly in this drab downstairs church basement, with pistachio-vanilla gelato tile floors that remind me of Rome and the endless giant plastic ice cream cones on sidewalks. The exit sign glows vaguely and from its center, as if tired and unable to go on. I feel the cushion beneath my ass, the pain in my neck, my jaw, my knee, my soul.

Journalism!: Kids campaigning before they can vote

Originally Published on UWire’s Youth Vote ‘08 in 2008. The website was shut down shortly after the presidential election and thus, I do not have the exact date on which this article was published.

This election season, more young people are getting involved in politics than ever before. Here's the twist though - a lot of these student volunteers are so young that they work for an election without actually being able to vote for a year or more.

Thomas Senecal, 15, a student at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Maryland, first became involved in Democratic politics at the young age of 8.

"[In 2000], my [third-grade] teacher saw my interest in current events, and even had me writing letters to the Supreme Court to express my opinion on Bush v. Gore," Senecal said. "I started volunteering for Sen. Kerry during the 2004 presidential election, primarily because I wanted to keep President Bush from having a second term any way I could. Plus, I had by that point developed an interest in all things political (and especially Democratic politics), so it seemed like the only logical thing for me to do."

Senecal, though raised in a "stoically Democratic family," said he ultimately came to his decision to be a Democrat through issue-by-issue research on topics such as economic growth, education, energy policy and national security. Senecal worked in multiple campaigns in 2006 in Maryland, helping in races for the U.S. Senate, state Senate and Governor. All of his candidates won. He founded Teens for Clinton in support of Sen. Hillary Clinton's run for the Democratic presidential nominee. Currently, he is working as a volunteer with on Sen. Barack Obama's youth campaign.

"I have mostly been providing feedback on the best strategy to reach high schoolers and what I call their 'senior network' - that is to say, even though most high schoolers can't vote, most have a large network of older friends, parents, and trusted adults to lobby and convince to support Senator Obama," Senecal said. "I've been suggesting what may and may not work based on what I observed with Teens for Clinton and just from a high school standpoint, which is surprisingly more unique of a standpoint in national politics than you may believe."

Seventeen-year- old Republican Daniel Tillson, a senior at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Virginia, also was brought into politics by a teacher.

 "Back in middle school, I was lucky enough to have Brian Holoubek, former lobbyist and Hill staffer, as a teacher," Tillson said. "One day he pulled me aside and told me he thought I had a talent for politics. With a little push and some guidance, I quickly got involved in campaign life."

 Tillson now has worked in every part of a campaign from volunteer to consultant, and ran his first local campaign at the age of 15. More recently, he managed the campaign of Republican Mark Ellmore, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia's 8th district.

 "Up until last month, I was the youngest campaign manager for a federal campaign in the country," Tillson said. "I had the distinct privilege to manage a campaign for the Republican candidate in Virginia's 8th District, Mark Ellmore. With my senior year in high school coming up, I decided that it would be best for me to take a break from the day-to-day management activities."

Tillson figured out his political preferences while working on a campaign.

 "When I was just beginning campaign life, I only had a very broad general idea of what I believed in," Tillson said. "After knocking on literally thousands of doors and hearing people's stories, I have become well connected in the community and have been able to formulate my own opinions based on everything I've learned."

 Though neither boys will be old enough to vote by the time November rolls around, both take heart in the effect they are having on the election.

 "Sometimes I forget that I'm still technically a minor, especially when I'm supposed to phonebank and explain 'Why I'm voting for Hillary Clinton,' " Senecal said. "Though I would really like to vote, I reconcile that simply by convincing many more people to vote for my candidate in place of me."

 Tillson thinks the best way a student can have an impact on an election is to influence the voters around them.

 "Think about it, candidates themselves only count for one vote but in reality, the winner often has tens of thousands of votes. The best way to have an impact on an election is to influence the voters around you," Tillson said. "As a 17-year-old, I won't be able to vote in this historic Presidential Election but I'm not disappointed because there are a lot of undecided voters in my immediate community that can be persuaded to vote one way or another."

 Mike Connery, the writer of Youth to Power, names two reasons he believes young people under voting age are getting involved in politics.

 "A lot of the issues that are driving people to get involved politically in the past few years- the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina- are affecting these kids as much as those over the age of 18," Connery said. "Age isn't really a discriminating factor. Also, the tactics the Obama campaign uses to get people involved equally reach people under 18. The political process is talking to them in a way that it hasn't before. There are more mechanisms to reach these kids now that weren't available in the past."

 Senecal believes the youth vote this year will have a strong impact on the outcome of the election.

 "I think that there is a definite potential for the youth vote to be the tie breaker this season," he said. "It's particularly difficult to poll young voters (pollsters can't call cell phones), so its hard to tell how big turnout will be, but given the upswing from 2004 and the youthful excitement that surrounds Senator Obama, it is very clear that youth will play a major role in electing Senator Obama President in November."

 Tillson thinks the youth involved in politics are often the ones that can push for greatest change.

 "Of the voters that do show up to the polls on Election Day, the youth are always the ones with the biggest drive and passion to make a difference," Tillson said. "There is no doubt that the turnout for people our age will be large enough to make a difference and it's very important that the candidates pay attention to us."

 Both boys hope to be involved in politics for many years to come.

"I'm only beginning my career in politics," Tillson said. "As I get older, I'll do my best to do the same thing that my history teacher did for me in middle school and give someone else with the same talent that push and motivation they need to get involved."

Throwback Thursday: Poetry Which is Hilariously Emo in Retrospect

Written June 19, 2007. OMG 19-year-old Rachael, who hurt you.

-i try not to get depressed
and not to get sad
and not to give up hope-

i hope that i made a difference
and that it wasn't all bad

i hope that some time we shared
is uncolored by me
and still black and white and 
good

i hope you remember me
and smile
even if it's bittersweet

i hope you think of me
and think of something good
even if you hate me now

i hope that someday
you and i can start over again
and be the friends
we should have been
before i
messed it
up

but most of all
i hope that you are happy with your life
no matter what or if i'm ever in it again

i hope that you stay hopeful
and don't give up on anything
because of me

i hope that you grow old
and joyful and still stay
childlike and innocent

i hope that you make a difference
painted in bright colors and brilliant lights
and that every part of it is good

and i kindof
hope that you
forget completely
about me someday

because i wish that i could
forget about me
completely
too.

My Articles on Buzzfeed!

I mean, they are both community articles that the staff hasn’t bothered to review yet or give any promotion, but it’s up!

First one is about Celebrities who took their Spouse’s last names. I’d like to put together some historical and trivia based ones, but I decided to start with something fairly easy first. However, putting it together took a lot more work than I imagined (oh, the fun of dealing with content management systems again), so - Go check it out here!

Second one is on Celebrities who added their spouse’s last names to their own. You can read it over here!

Throwback Thursday: A Litany by Candlelight

I wrote this on April 17, 2007 after attending a vigil at George Mason University remembering the victims of the Virginia Tech Shooting. A lot of students from my school knew people there, so it was a really emotional event.

“Times like these, we need to count our blessings,” said a Mason student wearing maroon and orange. After she suggested that those present name the things that they’re thankful for, there was an initial silence, and then an outpouring of thanks.

“Parents.” “Strength.” “Family.” “Love.” 

Male and female voices called these out from all corners of the crowd. 

“I’m thankful that on a night like this we can gather together. God is here.”

Some shouted loudly, others were barely audible.
“That the world cares.”

Some shook with the cold and others rang out with confidence. 
“Unity.” “Resiliency.” “Compassion.” “Charity.”

But all of them named these things with grateful hearts, taking heart in finding the good still left.

“Sisters,” one girl said as she gathered her friends closer to her.

“That it ended when it did.” A sentiment greeted with sighs of agreement.

A sense of community spread throughout the crowd as more and more chimed in. Once, two spoke at once, but then stopped, letting the other speak.

“I’m thankful for all of you.”

“For the health care workers,” one said. “The Red Cross,” followed right after.

Many of the thanks were touched with a solemnity earned by worry. 

“That my brother still has a future.” The crowd silenced briefly.

“For every mom that called their kid today.” 

“For Facebook and Cell phones,” greeted with laughter. However, the sentiment was accepted as truth- Many Mason students today reached their friends at Virginia Tech through these mediums to find that they were safe.

“I’m thankful that even though there’s evil in the world, we know that there’s still good,” a man cried from the back, his voice breaking.

“For the men and women in uniform.” Those that helped today. 

“To be able to go to a university.” Since so many around the world cannot.

“For tomorrow morning.” When the sun will rise.

“I’m glad that the story isn’t over.”

No it’s not. The healing is just beginning.

The Wedding Toast I Never Gave

So I wrote this toast to give at our wedding and then never managed to read it, as I was tipsy due to a very strong margarita and didn’t think I could manage it. But I came across it today and here it is. I meant every word that I didn’t actually say.

I found John when I wasn’t really looking for a life partner. I had looked for years and had failed and was kinda sick of the whole thing and just ready to concentrate on my career by the time I met him. I certainly had no intention of dating anyone I went to law school with, who was in Section A with me and thus, in literally all my classes.

But then John showed up, during my first semester of law school in a new city and state i had just moved to, ready to shake things up and try a new city and career. I realized he was interested me when i was volunteering at the Phi Alpha Delta auction; he hung around afterward. Someone asked who he was waiting for and I poked my head out, saw him standing there, and was like, “maybe...me?” We ended up having drinks that night at the auction after party, then went on a date the next day, and have been together ever since.

It’s hard to believe 5.5 years have passed since then. We survived law school together, studying for the bar together in the same tiny apartment in wicker park, searching for jobs after law school, that time i got laid off from a job i loved; we even did long distance for a while after i moved to the DC area for my current job. Fortunately John found his dream job out in DC about 6 months later and was able to join me.

I am so happy I found my best friend and love when i wasn’t even looking for him. As William Shakespeare says in The Tempest (a play I will be appearing in in July out in the DC area, actually), “I would not wish Any companion in the world but you.”

My toast is to y’all. Thanks y’all so much for coming. Thank you so much for my parents for graciously giving us this wedding and going along with all our crazy ideas. Thank you for loving and supporting us and our relationship.

What Do the Majority of Hetero Married Women in Your Country or Culture Do?

I keep finding interesting articles and mentions here and there about how other countries and cultures handle surnames post marriage. The New York Times survey article sum-up quoted one woman as stating that most women in China don't change their names upon marriage. The NYT dedicated an entire article to that subject here: For Chinese Women, a Surname is Her Name. The article states:

But in China, as in other Asian societies shaped by Confucian values, including Korea and Vietnam, women traditionally retain their surname at marriage. This is an expression not of marital equality, Chinese feminists are quick to note, but of powerful patriarchal values. A married woman continues to be identified by her father’s lineage.

Chinese folk art painting of a wedding

The article noted that as a result, women were often left out of genealogical records. But in 1930, China gave women the legal right to take her husband's name at marriage in the new Civil Code.

In contrast, in Japan, all married couples are legally required to use one surname. 96 percent of women assume their husbands' name. Another NYT article (really, New York Times, way to go on the top notch name change coverage lately!)--In Japan, More Women Fight to Use Their Own Surnames--discusses the December 2015 decision by the Japanese Supreme Court that held that the law did not violate the Constitution or place an undue burden on women. 

I'm working to create a Google Sheets file tracking all the laws and traditions of various countries and cultures just so I can start to get a handle on it all. It's accessible here if you'd like to look at it or contribute!

Kitsune no Yomeiri – The Fox Wedding (Learn more about the story behind this painting here - https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19/kitsune-no-yomeiri-the-fox-wedding/)

Why are So Many Media Outlets and Journalists Reporting this Out of Date Stat?

Okay I can’t believe I have to say this again (I’ve talked about it on my Facebook page several times now), but there are at least 3 or 4 media outlets who are now reporting the “70% of Americans think women should be required to take their husband’s names” thing as if it’s current.

These reports are all based on a 2017 article which includes a tiny reference to this "required by law" statistic, which is from a 2011 study that is /based on/ data from 2006. And that statistic based on 2006 data is what is getting blown up into a big issue and pissing everybody off, but really, it's seriously outdated, and I sincerely doubt it is true anymore?

I know this because I literally emailed the author of the 2017 article and she very kindly gave me a copy to read. And then I read the 2011 study (which I found online).

Check your sources, y'all; conclusions based on data gathered in Bush's second term as president are PROBABLY not accurate anymore.

I utterly refuse to post any of these totally inaccurate articles and give them any click throughs. I tried to post a picture of my cat instead but the blog isn’t letting me now so you’ll just have to make do with text-only instead.

Journalism: Sex Workers’ Art Show Comes to Mason

(Published on George Mason University student website Connect2Mason.com on Feb. 4, 2008. This story was also published in Mason’s weekly student newspaper, Broadside.)

Despite funding cuts and controversy, The Feminist Ninjas will bring the Sex Workers’ Art Show to George Mason University’s Fairfax campus this Tuesday.

Annie Oakley has directed the show since its inception 11 years ago in Olympia, Washington, where it grew out of her own frustration towards the responses she received from her friends upon telling them of her job in the sex industry. This is the show’s 6th annual tour.

“To put it generally, the show is to demystify sex workers,” Oakley said. “The sex industry is a really huge industry with millions of people in the US working in it but we’re mostly not allowed a voice in mainstream industry. Sex workers are considered inhuman or nymphomaniacs or drug addicts or too stupid to do anything else. The goal is to show sex workers as multi-faceted, in an effort to humanize us.”

The show is set up in cabaret format, with a number of short acts performed in different mediums. Oakley said that these acts all have different moods and perspectives, with writers doing straight-up readings of their work, burlesque performers performing political burlesque, monologues, musical theater pieces and multimedia performances.

As to the content of the show itself, Oakley says that the show can be altered according to its venue.

“We have had to censor the shows according to the needs of each school. There are acts where people have been topless, with or without pasties. There is never a straight-out strip tease,” Oakley said. “There’s not really anything that you couldn’t fucking see in a PG-13 movie.”

Oakley said she did not know if nudity would be allowed in the George Mason show or not.

“I got contacted by the show the second week of January,” Feminist Ninja member Whitney Gecker said. “Right away, that cut my options for student funding.”

Gecker went to a few of the campus offices for help. The Women’s Studies Research & Resource Center and Student Health Services were originally planning on helping sponsor the Mason event, but had to change their plans this past week when they heard word of potential consequences that might occur if a campus office helped financially support the event. According to an e-mail sent out by Gecker, this consequence could be the potential cutting of funding from the state to Mason.

“It’s hard to figure out how we support the students who want to do it, without incurring perhaps broad-reaching, unintended on our part, consequences,” Dr. Nancy Hanrahan, the Director of the Women's Studies program said. “The best thing to do is what other universities have done. The event has gone through as a student event.”

The Women’s Center is only providing emotional support at this point, without any funding or backing for the event.

“We have been legally advised, and I think I have to honor that, that this should be a student event,” Hanrahan said. “The message came across to us pretty clearly that this might have consequences far beyond what we might intend. And we needed to be mindful of that.”

With the funding cut from the show, the only funding now will come from the sale of $5 admission tickets. Gecker said that even if all the seats in the JC Cinema were filled, only $1500 of the $2800 fee the show normally charges could be raised. The show has agreed to take on a financial loss to come to Mason, according to Gecker.

According to Oakley, the controversy surrounding the show’s appearance at universities had not occurred elsewhere.

“Virginia is the only state where this is happening,” Oakley said. “What’s been happening here is incredibly disgusting and unprecedented in 6 years of touring and after touring this show on over a hundred college campuses.”

The show also recently caused controversy at other schools in the state. College of William and Mary president Gene Nichol tried to encourage students to hold the event at an off-campus venue, but ultimately allowed it to stay on campus due to first amendment rights.

"My views and the views of others in the community about the worth or offensiveness of the program can provide no basis for censoring it," Nichol said in an InRich.com article. "Censorship has no place at a great university."

“The shows have been [at William and Mary] two years in the past without any incidents of obscenity- the sky didn’t fall,” Oakley said. “For some reason, the right wing in Virginia has taken the show on as a personal crusade. You can read a lot of things on the Internet about us and the show calling us immoral and perverts and deviants, saying that our show causes people to rape each other.”

Oakley also says that she has not been contacted by many of the media outlets covering the show.

“For all of the hundreds and hundreds of blog posts and articles in various newspapers and TV spots, I’ve been contacted by maybe five or six Virginia news organizations,” Oakley said. “The legislature has never contacted me to find out what’s in the show. A college administration has never spoken directly to me. It seems both intellectually irresponsible and irresponsible for what their jobs are.”

According to the Virginia Gazette, Del. Brenda Pogge (R-96th) sent a letter to Nichol on Friday asking him to stop Monday’s show at William and Mary and has also asked that city police attend the show to determine if the show violates a state obscenity statue.

According to the article, Pogge wrote in the letter, “I have received more calls and e-mails regarding this performance than any other in my brief tenure as delegate. They have been universally opposed to this performance. I believe that a show of this nature definitely violates the standard of decency that the citizens of this area uphold and wish to maintain.”

“It’s disgusting,” Oakley called the reaction to the show. “It’s beyond me. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

In addition, the tour will not be stopping at VCU, despite previous plans. According to the same Virginia Gazette article, VCU’s associate vice provost and dean of Student Affairs Reuben Rodriguez, said the cancellation was because the tour failed to contact officials in a timely manner.

The Sex Worker’s Art Show will take place Tuesday Feb. 5, at 5 p.m. in the J.C. Cinema. Tickets will cost $5.