Dispatch #102 White Lesbian Age 71 Considers War on Women Narratives

April 6th 2023 

775 Days Since Inauguration of First Woman Vice-President

320 Days Until the 2024 Presidential Primaries Begin 

288 Days Since Supreme Court Ruled Women’s Human Rights Don’t Exist

I began these dispatches almost seven years ago in November 2016.  During these past few months, I took time to redesign my website.  This redesign work required reflection in this moment -- 288 days since the Supreme Court ruled that women don’t have human rights -- about how my dispatches can contribute to dismantling the War on Women.  

I am thinking about the insidious narratives whose power creates and maintains the systems of oppression dominance.  How various forms of public discourse carry, embed, and glorify these narratives.  How language shapes beliefs and perceptions to ensure differences are dangerous, and hierarchies are necessary safe harbors. A prominent narrative establishes the inherent goodness of American values.  Calling out actual behaviors can recast our imagined American values, e.g.:

• Misogyny is an American value. 

• Dismissing and Demeaning Women is an American value.

• Sexualizing Girls & Women is an American value

What are the counternarratives?  How do we create new narratives?  Women’s History is Global Capitalism’s History? Can these new narratives dismantle dominance and create liberation?   Stay tuned. 

The New York Times front page top of the fold April 4^th featured this picture of astronauts celebrating their selection to staff the next space mission.  

Looking at this image, you might wonder whether the woman off to the right, Dr. Christina Koch, is one of these astronauts. She is applauding the three taller men high-fiving their appointments. Or you might wonder whether she is a very junior member, along for taking notes and appreciating the boys.  In fact, Dr Koch, a highly-accomplished 44-year-old flight engineer and veteran astronaut of 6 space walks, holds the record for continuous days in space by a woman: 328 days. An electrical engineer who helped develop scientific instruments for multiple NASA missions, she holds numerous awards for her scientific work. 

So yeah, Christina Koch is the most qualified and experienced of the four, but you wouldn’t guess this from the picture.  

News of my new website is coming soon! In the meantime, consider this picture.