Memphis Newspaper Story Says the "F" Word

The Memphis Commercial Appeal has a decent story about the 'women's rights movement.' The red state newspaper goes so far as to talk about feminism. If you don't live in this state, you may not appreciate just how rare, or revolutionary, this is.

There's a lame comment by a lone male women's studies student; he thinks the movement lacks concrete objectives. Hell, there are plenty of objectives, but who can get to them when you are always forced to fight like the devil to hold onto the rights you thought you won 3 or more decades ago? Never mind the goal of affordable quality childcare for all children, never mind paid maternity/paternity leave, or social security credits for stay-at-home moms, or universal healthcare, or equal pay, or flex time, or LGBT rights, or equal representation in this so-called democracy, we're back to fighting for birth control for gawd's sake.

But the story is worth reading; Kim Gandy answers the skeptical student with far more patience and detail than I can muster.

This is also the first time I've seen the malestream press in this state bother to mention the upcoming national NOW conference - to be held in Nashville, July 1-3, 2005. I'm betting the Knoxville News Sentinel and maybe the Chattanooga paper will carry this story before Nashville's major daily, the Tennessean, even thinks about it. The Knoxville paper, by the way, is excellent. It consistently puts the Tennessean to shame. But I hear they fund schools in Knoxville.