The Future is Female

“WHEN THE BLINDFOLD FALLS,” by Kim Schulz

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

From the beginning of time, masculinity has hustled and muscled its way forward with total disregard for the feminine.  From the beginning of time we were told how Eve tempted Adam with an apple.  The more likely reality is Eve was the forbidden fruit and Adam couldn’t keep freakin’ his off of her.

And then came Jesus and Mary; Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles.  She was one of the first disciples, and the first apostle to witness the risen Christ, and the first messenger to announce the resurrection of Jesus, which makes Mary Magdalene the first evangelist of Christianity.  When she told the other eleven apostles (all men of course) that Christ had risen, they blew her off altogether.  Paul even went as far as to exclude Mary Magdalene entirely from his letters to the Corinthians, which were written approximately 20 years after the crucifixion. 

It wasn’t until 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified providing women the right to vote in the United States.  And still, it wasn’t until the late 1960’s and early 70’s when women began stepping out of the kitchen burning bras in protest and demanding a place within the American workforce with their male counterparts.   Before the Women’s Liberation Movement most women were denied the privilege of taking out a loan to buy a house of their own.

In 1972, John Lennon released a song called, “Woman Is the Nigger of the World.”  The lyrics echo the reality of that moment in time -

“If she’s real, we say she’s trying to be a man.  We make her bear and raise our children, and then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen.  We tell her home is the only place she should be, then we complain that she’s too unworldly to be our friend.  We insult her everyday on T.V., and wonder why she has no guts or confidence.  When she’s young we kill her will to be free, while telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being dumb.  We make her paint her face and dance.  Woman is the nigger of the world, yes she is.  If you don’t believe me take a look at the one you’re with.  Woman is the slave of slaves.  Yes she is, if you believe me, you better scream about it..” – (John Lennon & Yoko Ono)

Fast forward forty-six years later and women still are demanding equal wages for the same job as their male counterparts.  And it gets even darker.

 Every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted in the United States.  Domestic violence is the number one cause of injury to women; “more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.”  In the United States more than 3 women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends daily.  And that’s not counting the 55% to 98% of the women who never reported a violent act to the police.[1]

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice compiled homicide statistics between 1980 and 2008 and found that “males were convicted of the vast majority of homicides in the United States, representing 90.5% of the total number of offenders. Females were most likely to be victims of domestic homicides (63.7%), and sex-related homicides (81.7%).”[2] 

Speaking as a victim of domestic violence, I can tell you personally that calling the police was anything but helpful. The police would come, and my husband would say I hit him too, and even though there wasn’t a mark anywhere on his body, I was told if I wanted to press charges, they (the police) were going to arrest me as well. 

One time my husband hit me so hard that the entire left side of my face was black and blue, and my eye was swollen shut.  And this all occurred in public on the back of a motorcycle; I ended up walking four miles or so to get home.  When I arrived home, he was passed out on the floor.  I thought long and hard about taking a ball bat to his head, but I adored my freedom more than prison.  So after I debated for an hour or two, I decided to wait for the day when I could afford to live on my own. 

I was 2,000 miles from home at that time; I knew no one.  I felt my only option was to make more money so I could survive on my own.  So I gambled on my life for a year.  And when that day came, when I made enough money to support myself, I kicked him out, with a little help from some new friends.  I was one of the lucky ones.

According to the Center for American Progress (2008), “Over half of the 37 million Americans living in poverty today are women.  And women in America are further behind than women in other countries – the gap in poverty rates between men and women is wider in America than anywhere else in the Western world.” [3]

“The poverty gap between women and men widens significantly between ages 18 and 24 – 20.6 percent of women are poor at that age, compared to 14.0 percent of men.  The gap narrows, but never closes, throughout adult life, and it more than doubles during the elderly years.”^

According to the Shriver Report (2014), “More than half the babies born to moms who are under 30 are born to unmarried mothers and most of them are white.  And even though women outnumber men in higher education, men still make more money than women who have the same level of educational achievement, from high school diplomas to advanced graduate degrees.  And in 2011, men with bachelors’ degrees earned more than women with graduate degrees.[4]

And here’s another little tidbit in regards to the sexes, men carry more credit card debt then females.  According to a 2017 study by Value Penguin, Inc., “the mean credit card debt held by men is $7,407, whereas women tend to hold 22% less, with an average of $5,245.  Men tend to be big credit card spenders; 19% of men surveyed would spend $2,000 + per month, compared to just 8% of women.”[5]

They don’t call it a man’s world for nothing.  And if you think women have equal say in how this country is run, think again.  According to Wikipedia there have been a total of 51 women who have served as Senators, since 1789.[6]

The first woman Senator was Rebecca Latimer Felton.  In 1922 she was appointed senator for one day, representing the State of Georgia.  She is the only woman to ever serve as Senator from that state.[7]

The first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Caraway, in 1932, from Arkansas.  And not only did she serve a full term, she actually presided over the Senate, and she was the first woman to chair a committee.[8]

It wasn’t until 1978 that there has been at least one woman in the Senate.  As of January 3, 2018, there are currently 22 female senators; an all time high.[9]

It is evident that the scales are still tipped towards masculinity within the government.  There are 535 people in Congress; one hundred of those make up the Senate.  Women basically only have a 22% say in how this nation conducts its business, within the Senate.   There are 84 women who hold seats in the House of Representatives.  That’s 19.3% of the 435 member House.[10]

In February 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren, was shut down at a Congressional hearing when she attempted to read a 1986 letter Coretta Scott King had given to her in opposition of Jeff Sessions appointment as attorney general.  Yet hours later, a male Senator, Jeff Merkley was permitted to read the same letter, to no one’s objection and uninterrupted.  That’s how one-sided our Senate is.[11]

America Divided aired a segment called “Washington’s War On Women,” on Epix, where news anchor, Gretchen Carlson reveals a culture of sexual harassment in Congress. Carlson explains that until 1995 Congress was exempt from Federal Labor Laws; the same laws that had been in place, for everyone else, since 1964.  Sexual harassment is so common in Congress that a few of the women interviewed stressed concerns regarding entering an elevator with certain members of Congress.  Apparently groping and rubbing up against women staffers is daily occurrence.  And if a case of harassment ever was to reach the point of a settlement, the funds come from the U.S. Treasury, meaning you and I pay for it, and all the while the harasser/Congress member remains anonymous.[12]

Representative John Conyers (D-MI) retired in 2017, after being accused of sexual harassing female staffers and demanding sexual favors; he settled with one accuser for more than $27,000 of taxpayer funding.  And Texas Republican Representative Blake Farenthold spent $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle a lawsuit with a female staffer in 2014; he resigned in 2018.  Another law maker, Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) announced his resignation in 2017 over sexual misconduct as well.  Then there’s Representative Ruben Kihuen (D-NV) who didn’t make it through his first term in Congress without making sexual advances; he refused to resign, but he did not run of re-election in 2018.  And we can add Senator Al Franken (D-MN) to this list as well.  Franken resigned in 2018 after allegations of sexual misconduct.  According to The Daily Caller, the Congressional Office of Compliance secretly paid the victims of harassment $17 million dollars in taxpayer funding in the past decade alone.[13]

Clearly there is a lack of respect for women within our government, when four members of Congress are forced out of office, due to the fact they can’t keep their hands to themselves. 

Although there has never been a woman president, there have been five women who have campaigned for the office of the President.  Victoria Woodhull ran in 1872, before women were even allowed to vote.  Gracie Allen ran in 1940, Shirley Chisholm ran in 1972, as well as Linda Jenness.  Jill Stein ran for office in 2012, and 2016.  And then there’s Hillary Clinton.[14]

Patriot, Hillary Rodham Clinton competed for the Democratic nomination in 2008, against (then) Senator Obama.  Hillary had the momentum and was leading the race early on, winning primaries in Michigan and Florida, but because those two states moved their primaries to January (versus February); they were stripped of their delegates.  In other words, the Democratic Party determined that those votes would not count.  That is until the day before the convention began, but by then the momentum had swung in Obama’s favor.[15]  

Eight years later, Hillary won the Democratic nomination and ran for president in 2016.  She won the majority of votes, but I’ll be damned if she wasn’t shut out again.   According to Wikipeida, Hillary won the popular vote with 2.7 million votes more than Trump.  “She is the 5^th presidential candidate in U.S. History to win the popular vote, but lose the election (due to an Electoral College System).”[16] 

As Hillary put it, in an interview with The New Yorker, she won “more votes for President than any white man” in American history.[17]

But yet here we are with a leader who will forever be marked by this 2005 recorded comment, “Grab ‘em by the pussy.  You can do anything.”  This video recording was introduced to the American public before the Presidential Election, and Trump still won.[18]

Apparently this is common behavior for Trump.  In a 1991 interview with Esquire, Donald was quoted as saying, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what (the media) write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”[19]

No respect for women what-so-ever.  Trump is like a cartoon character with one hand pounding on his chest, while the other waives a gun in the air, flipping his lid every time he sees a pair of boobs as if he has so self-control at all.

And now Trump is creating a hostile work environment within the Senate.  CNN reported, on December 13, 2017, that Trump actually tweeted that Senator Kristen Gillibrand “would do anything for (money) campaign contributions.” 

Senator Gillibrand told NBC’s Today Show, “It was certainly just a sexist smear intended to silence me, and I’m not going to be silenced on this issue.  I have heard testimony of many women, numerous accusers.  I believe them and he should resign for that.”[20]  

Women worldwide protested Trump’s inauguration in 2017, with the Women’s March, on the day of Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States.  

In addition, the #MeToo Movement sprung into action in October 2017, on the social media platform, as a way to bring attention to the pervasiveness of sexual assault and the harassment often attached to such behavior.  Millions of women tweeted and Facebooked their story of sexual assault, accompanied with the hash-tag, demonstrating the magnitude of disrespect towards women.

And on January 20, 2018, one year after Trump’s inauguration, millions of women gathered a second time to rally in opposition of the Trump administration. 

In case you haven’t figured it out yet America, the tides are turning and the future is female – “Let the uterus rage!” 

Clearly women are not as violent as men, yet women have proven to be quite capable of handling an M-16 and other manmade weapons of destruction.  CNN reported in January 2013 that there are more than 200,000 active-duty women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, 69 of which are generals and admirals.[21]

Women are not weak, by no means, and they most certainly can lead troops into battle, and sacrifice their lives bravely right along with their male counterparts.  On October 1, 2012, Staff Sergeant, Donna R. Johnson, U.S. Army Reservist, was killed, in Afghanistan, by a suicide bomber.  She is only one of 44 women who died as a result of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), in Afghanistan alone.   There are more.[22]

G.I. Jane will not be silenced!    

Regardless of the sacrifice, some men have real issues with able-bodied women.  There is a term men like to use when they come across a strong, out-spoken women in this country, and never has it been used so much as when Hillary Clinton ran for President. 

According to Vice, the word “Bitch didn’t become popular until the 1920’s, appearing in newspapers and other literature.”  It was prompted by “that Susan B. Anthony bitch,” founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association.  Susan’s activism paved the way for the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote.  And men were furious.  From there on it has become fashionable to refer to “annoying” women as bitch.[23]

When Hillary Clinton was running for president, it just broke my heart to hear other women viciously tearing her apart.  It’s one thing if you do not support a candidate, but for a woman to publically degrade another woman with words like, bitch and the C word just because you do not agree with her political views is just plain hateful and disgustingly ugly.  It was like witnessing the witch-hunts of Colonial North America, in the 1700’s.  Many women within my circle agonized over this manly public display of unadulterated resentment, by other women.

Take a hint from Betty Davis, ladies “When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man.  When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.”

Bitch is a derogatory word created by men as means to put a woman in her place.  Ladies, please keep this in mind, when a woman musters the bravery to step into the spotlight again.  

In the words of the late great Maya Angelou (American Poet & Author), “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” 

Hillary Clinton, whether you like her not, most certainly has paved the way for other women when it comes to politics.  Hillary Clinton was the first woman partner “at the oldest law firm in Arkansas; the first woman to chair the national board of the Legal Services Corporation; the first woman Senator from New York; the first woman to be nominated for President by a major political party, and the first woman to win the national popular vote.”[24]

Wow! And how can we forget, Hillary was First Lady too.  “What a bitch!” 

The Women’s March in 2017, generated again some of the most negative comments by other women.  At this point Hillary was no longer in the picture; she lost the election, yet these same women were voicing their annoyance, as they casted shame upon the women who did march and those who supported them.   It was truly discerning to the heart to know that these women had become victims of a male dominated culture.

Women, we are the source of life.  We are the peacekeepers, the healers, the caretakers.  To condemn a woman for voicing her opinion is to stand in opposition of life itself.  It is so hypocritical. Like men of destruction with their guns and wars, who insist on shoving their nose up our reproductive rights, all the while advocating life. 

Nostradamus, a famous seer from the 1500’s, prophesied that the most important event of the third millennium is the, “rise and empowerment of women who will heal the world with love, compassion, cooperation and harmony.  The debilitating patriarchal world of aggression, destruction, rape and pillage will have to step aside and let them nurse humanity back to sanity.”[25]

Women are the healers the world is in need of.  And since the presidential election, 4,500 women have decided to run for office through the ‘She Should Run’ program; an organization that provides training and support to women who wish to run for public office.[26]

She Should Run has set a goal of 250,000 women running for elected office by the year 2030.[27]

Sisters, our nation needs you.  Embrace who you are.  Don’t be small, be royal!  These are good paying jobs, even on the local level, city and county elected offices often pay a decent wage. 

In the words of Sir William Golding (author of Lord of the Rings), “I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been.”  To further this thought, Erick S. Gray (American Author) wrote, “Whatever you give a woman, she will make it greater.  If you give her sperm, she’ll give you a baby.  If you give her a house, she’ll give you a home.  If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a meal.  If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart.  She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.  So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit!”[28] 

This isn’t an attack on men, but if we’re to bring America back to the grandeur it once was, then it’s going to take a woman’s touch.  The fact that women are capable of emotionally feeling the grief of others is not a weakness, but rather an indication of the powerful ability to heal the hurt.

In the words of Hillary Clinton, “Just as a household falls apart without emotional labor, so does politics grind to a halt if no one is actually listening to one another or reading the briefings or making plans that have a chance of working.  I guess that might be considered boring.  I don’t find it boring, but you might.  But here’s the thing:  someone has to do it.  In my experience, a lot of the time, it’s women.”[29] 

Look at it from this perspective, how can we design policies that reflect the realities of American lives, if women are not equally represented within the government?^

It wasn’t just women who marched on January 21, 2017 and again on January 20, 2018, men were present as well.  The African-American community did not gain freedom on their own; other races stood with them.  And women are not going to rise to power without good men to support them.  It may be a man’s world, “but it would be nothing without a woman or a girl.”[30]

A good man is one who embraces the feminine as well as the masculine.  Balance is the key.  Men bring strength to the table, women bring goodness.  Imagine the two working side by side as true equals within the government, as well as within yourself.  In case you men have forgotten, you are half female.  In the words of the American poet and author, Nayyirah Waheed, “What massacre happens to my son between him living within my skin, drinking my cells, my water, my organs, and his soft psyche turning cruel?  Does he not remember he is half woman?”

This nation as it stands today is feared by the world.  We’re even hated by some countries.  We have to bring back the goodness of what we once were.  Supporting women candidates who are running for office most certainly could be beneficial. 

When it comes to women running for office in this man’s world, you can bet on this much, it will not be a symptom of greed and destruction, but it will be women who are determined to make a change for the betterment of their community, state, and/or country. 

When a child is sick or hurt they seek their mother for comfort.  We’re a hurting nation and the answer is standing here before us.  If you truly want to bring happy back into your life, vote female and watch the world transform.

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[1] Domestic Violence Statistics.  Retrieved March 2, 2018.  domesticviolencestatistics.org/domestic-violence-statistics/

[2] U.S. Department of Justice, by Alexia Cooper & Erica L. Smith, November 2011, “Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008.”  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_differences_in_crime#cite_note-45

[3] Center for American Progress, by Alexandra Cawthorne, October 8, 2008, “Straight Facts on Women in Poverty.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2008/10/08/5103/the-straight-facts-on-women-in-poverty

[4] Time, by Charlotte Alter, January 13, 2014, “11 Surprising Facts About Women and Poverty From the Shriver Report.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  time.com/2026/11-surprising-facts-about-women-and-poverty-from-the-shriver-report/

[5] Value Penguin, Inc., “Average Credit Card Debt in America: 2017 Facts & Figures.”  Retrieved April 16, 2018.  www.valuepenguin.com/average-credit-card-debt

[6] Wikipedia.  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States_Senate

[7] Wikipedia.  Retrieved February 13, 2018. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Latimer_Felton#cite_note-2

[8] Wikipedia.  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_Wyatt_Caraway

[9] Wikipedia.  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States_Senate

[10] Rutgers, Center For American Women And Politics, “Women in the U.S. House of Representatives 2018.”  Retrieved March 5, 2018.  www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-house-representatives-2018

[11] The Oregonian, by Eder Campuzano, February 7, 2017, Updated February 9, 2017, “Jeff Merkley Reads Coretta Scott King’s Letter About Jeff Sessins on Senate Floor (video).”  Retrieved March 5, 2018.  www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/02/jeff_merkley_reads_coretta_scott_king_letter_about_jeff_sessions.html

[12] America Divided – Washington’s War on Women, News Journalist Gretchen Carlson, Time Inc., 2017.  Documentary

[13] The Daily Caller, by Peter Hasson, December 3, 2017, “The Four Congressmen Under Pressure To Resign For Sexual Harassment.”  Retrieved August 1, 2018.  dailycaller.com/2017/12/02/list-the-four-congressmen-under-pressure-to-resign-for-sexual-harassment/

[14] Time, by Erin Blakemore, April 12, 2015, “5 Other Women Who Ran For President.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  time.com/3771209/hillary-clinton-female-candidates/

[15] San Francisco Chronicle, by Carolyn Lochhead, February 7, 2008, ‘’Broken Dem Convention Looking More Likely.”  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Brokered-Dem-convention-looking-more-likely-3295249.php) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Democratic_National_Convention

[16] Wikipedia.  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton

[17] The New Yorker, by David Remick, “Hillary Clinton Looks Back In Anger.”  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/25/hillary-clinton-looks-back-in-anger

[18] The New York Times, October 8, 2016, “Transcript:  Donald Trump’s Taped Comments About Women.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html

[19] HuffPost, by Nina Bahadur, October 10, 2016, “18 Real Things Donald Trump Has Actually Said About Women.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/18-real-things-donald-trump-has-said-about-women_us_55d356a8e4b07addcb442023

[20] CNN, by Daniella Diaz, December 13, 2017, “Gillibrand on Trump’s Tweet: It Was a ‘Sexist Smear’.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/politics/kirsten-gillibrand-donald-trump-tweet/index.html

[21] CNN, by Staff, January 24, 2013, “By the Numbers: Women in the U.S. Militray.”  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.cnn.com/2013/01/24/us/military-women-glance/index.html

[22] Wordpress, May 22, 2015, “U.S. Military Casualties – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Names of Fallen.”  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/oefnames-of-fallen1.pdf

[23] Vice, by Arielle Pardes, September 9, 2014, “Bitches and Basic Bitches Alike, What the Hell does “Bitch” Mean Anymore?” Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.vice.com/en_us/article/ppmx3m/the-evolution-of-the-bitch-905

[24] Hillary Rodham Clinton, “What Happened” 113 (Simon & Schuster 2017)

[25] Nostradamus: Prophecies for Women.  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  adishakti.org/nostradamus/nostradamus_prophecies_for_women.htm

[26] Time, by Mahita Gajanan, December 8, 2016, “More Than 4,500 Women Have Signed Up to Run For Office Since the Election.”  Retrieved February 7, 20187.  time.com/4594114/she-should-run-women-election/

[27] She Should Run.  Retrieved February 7, 2018.  www.sheshouldrun.org

[28] Poets.  Retrieved February 13, 2018.  loldamn.com/two-men-who-really-understand-women.html

[29] Hillary Rodham Clinton, “What Happened” 136 (Simon & Schuster 2017)

[30] Song, By James Brown & Betty Jean Newsome, February 16, 1966, “It’s a Man’s Man’s World.”  Retrieved February 15, 2018.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Man%27s_Man%27s_Man%27s_World