If you've ever hopped from job to job looking for decent pay, or if you were used and discarded by a number of employers, this governmnet site may list pension funds you can claim.
"All too often, works by women, and resources about women writers, are hard to find. We attempt to provide easy access to available on-line information. The Celebration provides a comprehensive listing of links to biographical and bibliographical information about women writers, and complete published books written by women . .
"We are also actively involved in extending those resources. A major focus of the Celebration is the development of on-line editions of older, often rare, out-of-copyright works. We choose works from a range of areas to indicate the variety of interests of women writers..."
Skeptics sometimes make the mistake of 'battling a straw man', by attributing to one feminist the beliefs of another. There is no single feminist belief system. In a 1986 Congressional exit poll conducted by ABC News, 57 percent of women who'd voted described themselves as "feminist", apparently in the generic sense. They weren't organized around any particular leader, nor buying into any particular ideological platform. Individual feminists tend to pick and choose among available ideas. The "feminist movement" these days is synonymous with the larger womens' movement, which is primarily a leaderless demographic movement into the workplace, and a pervasive cultural shift brought about by greater economic independence. Feminism originally meant "pro woman". Today it has come to mean a commitment to achieving equality. Feminist writings can be anything written from a woman's perspective, or anything written from a nonsexist perspective by women or men.
Equity feminism means "pro womens' equality", i.e. equality of opportunity based solely on merit. Equity feminists may be male or female. Many fathers for example want equal opportunity for their daughters and working spouses. A radical feminist is anyone who believes that only radical social change can bring about equality of the sexes. A non-sexist is anyone who prefers equality. Contemporary feminists tend to be highly skeptical of gender myths and gender stereotypes, which are equally damaging to men. Feminists actively oppose irrational gender barriers to achievement, including protectionist laws. The term militant feminist does not necessarily imply hostility toward men, but rather determination to tear down gender barriers on a timescale shorter than a lifetime. No minority has ever obtained equality of opportunity just by asking for it, without some degree of militancy.
Feminism, and to a greater degree womens' studies,
includes the study and analysis of sexism, which is analogous to racism..
Sexism is prevalent in both males and females ( e.g. "All men are emotional
and governed by hormones" ). The terms "male chauvinist"
and "female chauvinist" refer to persons who form exclusionary
groups, either because of prejudice, tradition, or lack of experience in
forming working relationships with the opposite sex.
Womens' issues have been heavily politicized and propagandized.
For example, consider alarmist rhetoric about sweeping federally mandated
affirmative action at the expense of men. In reality, the recent
Supreme Court decision in Adarand, requires "strict scrutiny" by the courts to
ensure that federal affirmative action is only used as a remedy for past
discrimination, , where the fallout from that discrimination would otherwise
persist for years. Affirmative action to the point of reverse discrimination
is not legal, as was established in the Bakke case, won by feminist attorney
Gloria Allred, to prove that legal equality can work both ways given competent
legal representation and familiarity with the constitutional guarantee e
of equal protection under the law ( 14'th Amendment ). The courts
have since moved toward that ideal by setting bounds on affirmative action.
Terms such as "eco-feminism" denote approaches
to ecology and whatnot arising within the womens' movement, or by those
who believe that women have a different cultural perspective on these subjects.
Others think it's important to have a separate womens' pipeline for perspectives
which might otherwise get buried in an uncaring male-dominated culture.
Male domination" refers not to a battle of wills, but rather to the
observed predominance of males in positions of control. Some feminists
believe that Western culture would be very different if women ran it, although
women in power can be just as ruthless as men ( e.g. Queen Elizabeth ).
Claims of innate superiority by either gender rest mostly on conjecture.
All gender issues benefit from rational thought, as
do other forms of social change. Reasoned approaches are especially
important concerning legal rights and achievable goals of legislation, since
the prime mover of womens' rights is the focus on legal reform and legislation.
Principles of law are susceptible to reasoned analysis and debate, outside
the courtroom as well as in it. Rational feminists have the
same problems making themselves heard as other critical thinkers, and use
the same techniques as other types of skeptics to advance critical thought.
Rational feminist dissent, like other forms of dissent, has benefited greatly
from personal Web publishing and linking power. As with other forms
of civil rights and civil liberties, the ability to work effectively within
the system and within the culture hinges on access to empowering information
and communication tools.
Principles of equality are equally applicable
to both sexes, although men have not developed the systematic approach to
equality that organized women have. Men can however adopt and utilize
the same principles of equality of rights. Rational analysis of equality
is central to sound law and public policy for both men and women.
It's important to realize that no-one speaks for all
women or for all men -- just as no-one speaks for all skeptics.
The womens' movement has been greatly influenced by free speech, which has
led to a mix of evolving ideas, some more well-thought out than others.
Hence the value of online dialog and information.
In addition to the womens' movement per se, there
is also the potential for non-gender-specific nonsexist dialog. Two
of the South Shore skeptics operated a rationalist Non-Sexist SIG on the
Cleveland Free-net from 1991 to 1999, when the free-net closed. The
degree of civility and rationality exceeded our highest expectations, in
frree-speech debate which included radical feminists, fathers' rights advocates,
rape activists, and equal rights activists of both sexes. Similarly
rational viewpoints are frequently evident elsewhere on the nets, and can
be facilitated by linking to them. The range of rational feminist
thought is considerable, as is the range of scholastically valid womens'
studies.
Womens' studies programs range from excellent to mediocre, like any other academic program. The better ones set higher standards of historical accuracy, legal information about specific rights, and insightful literature from various periods of history, including historical quotes and writings illustrating sexist and non-sexist views and prevailing views in various subcultures.
This information supplants negative stereotypes,
and empowers women and men to "attack issues, not personalities".
Students learn to network around discrimination, choose strategic targets
of social change more effectively, and understand the cultural roots
of gender myths, as well as the dynamics of social change and how to expedite
it. The work product of those activities sheds light on other rationalist
thought, increasing both the demand for rationalism and the perceived feasibility
of rational approaches. An important message here is that
rationality need not be switched off when dealing with personal working
relationships. While not all human beings of either sex are rational,
one can relate to those who are rational, b establishing a common ground.
-- J.K.
"As water turned to steam drives the mighty engine, so our anger transformed shall move the world." -- Gandhi [who understood media politics]