Tag Archives: Social Change

Let’s extend the deadline to ratify the ERA

Ask Senator Schumer to co-sponsor the extension

ERA Button

The ERA, as you know, is not dead. Nor has it been ratified.

Last year Tammy Baldwin (WI) submitted a resolution to remove the seven year deadline. This spring my Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) submitted SJ Res. 39 to remove the deadline. Recently he was here at my retirement community and spoke eloquently about the need for ERA and that he believes the deadline can be removed. The Resolution will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee in a few months. Florida is working furiously to ratify.Earlier this year the House in Virginia ratified.

Getting the three states is not out of the question.

WHAT WE NEED: Sen. Schumer is on the Judiciary Committee and has not signed on as a co-sponsor. We need calls to his office 202-224-6542 as soon as possible.

– Susan Hoover, AAUW NYS Public Policy Chair.

The ERA was written in 1923 by Alice Paul, suffragist leader and founder of the National Woman’s Party.  She and the NWP considered the ERA to be the next necessary step after the 19th Amendment (affirming women’s right to vote) in guaranteeing “equal justice under law” to all citizens.

bullet Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
bullet Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
bullet Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

“Who Needs Feminism?” Microbloggers Answer the Question

Microblogs and internet memes are not often the medium of choice for social commentary. More often, they host flighty trends like this year’s “Breading Cats,” last year’s “Batmanning,” or the antique (at least in internet years), “Socially Awkward Penguin.” Still, the Arab Spring proved to the world how effectively social media, including microblogs, can be used to effect social change. So it’s not surprising that 16 Duke University undergrads took to Tumblr when assigned a final project focused on social change in their Women in the Public Sphere class.

The students started the Tumblr blog, “Who Needs Feminism?” as a platform to discuss gender equity and a “PR campaign” to rehabilitate the word “feminism” in the Duke Community. In an interview with Mashable, senior Amy Fryt said, “[w]e discussed this extensively and concluded that there is a disturbingly apathetic sentiment toward feminism, both on campus and on a broader societal scale.” The blog was started as a way to “aim to challenge existing stereotypes surrounding feminists and assert the importance of feminism today.”

“Who Needs Feminism?” took off, spreading fast and far. A diverse audience contributes to the wide array of posts which range in scope from very personal and individual issues to systematic and international matters. It is definitely worth reading, sharing, and maybe even contributing to. And, for a more tongue-in-cheek feminist Tumblr, you should also check out “Feminist Ryan Gosling.”