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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 13, 2009
17 Adar 5769
Women's Work Is Never Done
By
Suzanne Fields
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Barbie, believe it or not, is 50 and still a dish. A doll is only a
doll, but Barbie illustrates how over the past five decades women have
become a touchstone for judging what freedom really means. How women are
treated in different countries tells you a lot about the politics and
culture of where they live.
The doll that every little girl wants enables tots to test the
possibilities in role playing, giving them a glimpse of what they might
be when they grow up, whether to be frivolous or serious (or both). But
in many countries that's not an option. Saudi Arabia has banned Barbie,
and you don't have to look very far over the toy chest to see that women
confront limits on their freedom greater than merely choosing clothes
for a doll. A woman still can't drive or go out publicly without an
abaya to cover most of her forbidden flesh. Even a liberated plastic
doll threatens the men in charge. Poor Barbie must go.
In America, she represents the swiftly changing roles of women. Barbie's
fun to tease, but she's as American as miniskirts and pantsuits in her
flexible identities and her "growth" from sexpot to astronaut. Some of
her critics say she's still a bad influence because she's too skinny and
encourages anorexia, that she has run through too many "feminine" or
"feminist" stereotypes, that she lends too much significance to the
fantasy stages of child's play. But Barbie in the Muslim world lives no
fantasy. The prosecutor general of Iran warns that Barbie is merely the
moll of Batman, Spider-Man and Harry Potter in the "invasion" from the
West.
In her memoir, "Reading Lolita in Tehran," Azar Nafisi tells how after
the Islamist Revolution in Iran women were no longer allowed to freely
express themselves in clothes or speech; even their understanding of
great literature was inhibited. "They have never been told they are good
or can think independently," says a university professor in Tehran,
explaining the poor performance of women on tests measuring their
comprehension of subject matter. The author, who meets with a small
group of bright young college girls in a clandestine class in her
private apartment, encourages them to throw off their dark robes and
headscarves for a transformation to the Barbie look of colorful
t-shirts, jeans and bright red nail polish.
But as they begin to talk freely about the meaning of Nabokov, Henry
James, Jane Austen and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the teacher must stand
constant guard. Repression has narrowed women's ability to make both
moral and aesthetic judgments.
Women in the democracies of the West are the most privileged in the
world, and sometimes it's easy to be unaware of how those less fortunate
suffer in ways both large and small. When women in the Third World say,
"Women's work is never done," they're not talking about keeping a neat
house. By the reckoning of statistics gathered by International Women's
Day 2009, women in undeveloped countries must typically carry home 10
gallons of water every day, often in buckets balanced precariously on
their heads, for four miles or more.
International Women's Day began as a communist holiday to liberate women
to do the work of a man. A popular 1932 Soviet poster, depicting women
escaping the drudgery of the home, declared, "Down with the oppression
and the narrow-mindedness of household work!" (Then it was on to
cement-mixing and road-building.)
When the Iron Curtain collapsed in 1989, the holiday was transformed in
many countries into a kind of Valentine's Day, where gents were expected
to bring gifts and flowers to the ladies. Barbie, moving from the
sublime to the ridiculous, inspired a doll-revolution movement. When a
Teen Talk Barbie was programmed electronically to say, "Math class is
tough," she was regarded as a bad stereotype. Guerrillas of the Barbie
Liberation Organization (B.L.O.) stole microchips from G.I. Joe, a
popular toy for boys, and gave Barbie a chip transplant. The liberated
Barbies across toyland soon cried, "Vengeance is mine."
That would have frosted the beards of every mullah in Riyadh. The Saudi
Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,
something of an Islamic Nice Squad always on the lookout for moral
offenses, decreed that Barbie is a symbol of decadence and perversion.
She was also said to be Jewish, naturally, and now Barbie is big on
black markets across the Middle East.
President Obama saluted International Women's Day this week, saying that
"women are vital to the solutions" for global warming, poverty and
conflict. That's a tall order, assuring that women's work will truly
never be done. We've come a long way, baby, with a long way to go.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Suzanne Fields' column by clicking here.
Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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