In the next two weeks, it will be my honor to talk to actress, author, and activist Calpernia Addams for an upcoming podcast! Please submit your questions, comments, and thoughts to guide the interview in the comments section.
Born genitally male, Ms. Addams served for four years as a field medical combat specialist (HM 8404) in the Navy and with the Marines during the first Gulf War. Upon her return as a decorated war veteran, set out to become one of the top showgirls in Tennessee. During one of her popular performances at a nightclub in Nashville, Calpernia met Pfc. Barry Winchell. Winchell was one of those exceptional human beings who truly loved a person for who she is, not what her physical manifestation dictates. According to an an article in The New York Times:
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Call for Questions - Podcast Conversation with Calpernia Addams!
Feminism and Cultural Relativism
The caption on the photo accompanying the May 13th New York Times article, "Love on the Girls' Side of the Saudi Divide," read, "Shaden, who is veiled at 17, spoke with her father as her younger sister looked on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2008." As I ate breakfast, I stared at the picture. My initial look revealed only a girl who was maybe nine or ten years old wearing a white shirt and black sweater and an older man with a silver mustache wearing white. Where was Shaden? I squinted, pulled the paper closer to my face, and finally noticed her. Covered in the shapeless black fabric of an abaya, I didn't see Shaden at first because to my Western eye she is an utter non-entity, a black void that fills the space between her dad and younger sister. Immediately, I felt sorry for Shaden for her lack of presence. Then I wondered how a different culturally trained eye would see the photo. Would someone from, say, Saudi Arabia notice Shaden first, then her sister and father? (And if so, does that make it OK that Shaden is not allowed to show her face in public, under any circumstances, ever again, because people there still "see" her?)
Mothers: Inspiring Feminists and Other Human Rights Activists in Many Ways
Like nearly every holiday in the United States, Mother's Day seems to be as much about getting people to indulge in commercialism (Buy Mom this! Buy Mom that!) as it is about honoring your mother. While I am very happy to give my mom and mother-in-law cards telling them how awesome they are and give them a small token of my appreciation, I also like to celebrate all the mothers who have birthed social progress and given me the gift of more human rights. Make no mistake about it: many of the bravest, loudest, pushiest social reformers were moms. They thought about their lives and their children's futures, and they knew that to give their kids the best chances for success, barriers had to be broken.
Wall Street, Sexism, and Journalism: The Case of Zoe Cruz
Was Zoe Cruz, the most powerful woman on Wall Street, fired from Morgan Stanley because she is female? An article in New York Magazine tried very hard to prove so. Long story short: Three weeks prior to asking Cruz to resign, CEO John Mack indicated that she was his first choice to replace him. As people (i.e. - men) jostled for power within the bank, Cruz earned supporters who appreciated her abrasive, upfront style, and enemies who thought she was in over her head. She made many power plays and helped oust many other powerful men, such as Vikram Pandit, the man who currently has the job title she was promised (updated to clarify that he is the CEO of Citigroup), during her tenure there. In her work, she backed a group that was playing games with the mortgage market. When that market started to fall apart, she tried to staunch the flow of losses. When the shit hit the fan, would Mack take the fall or would he leave his heir apparent holding the bag? Thanks to pressure in part from from arch-enemy Pandit, Cruz solely took the heat. Some say it is because she is a woman, but I think it is much more complex than that.
Genocide, Childlessness, and Female Guilt
My initial idea for a topic for today didn't originally have to do with women who chose to not have children. Originally, I was thinking about today's date. Although Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Rememberence Day) is officially on May 2, because it falls on Shabbat, it is being observed today in Israel. Thus I decided that it would be a good time to write about what women are doing to stop genocide around the world now. This is a very important issue to me as the grandchild of Holocaust survivors.