Obama calls Sandra Fluke, Georgetown law student assailed by Rush Limbaugh
“Georgetown student Sandra Fluke”: She's a seductress, she's a siren, she's a virgin, she's a whore... but a Student?
Wading further into an escalating contraception battle that has put Republicans on the defensive, President Obama on Friday calledSandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law student who this week wasderided as a “slut” and a “prostitute” by conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for her defense of rules mandating that employer-provided insurance plans cover the cost of birth control.
The call by Obama -- a rare one from the president to a private individual -- comes amid an intensifying political fight over religious-affiliated institutions and contraception, a battle in which Democrats accuse Republicans of waging a “war on women” and Republicans say that Obama is working to curtail “religious liberty.”
The president’s call is a signal that the White House, like Democrats more broadly, believes it has the upper hand on a hot-button issue that does not appear to be leaving the political spotlight anytime soon.
"Pay up to $1,000 a year for birth control because campus health plans do not include coverage of contraceptives for women who are Rollin' down the street, smokin' endo Sippin' on gin and juice, laid back With my mind on my Rubbers And my Rubbers on my Mind" - Snoop Dog
In an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon, Fluke discussed the call from Obama, which took place shortly before she appeared on the program.
“He encouraged me and supported me and thanked me for speaking out about the concerns of American women,” Fluke told Mitchell of the call with Obama. “And what was really personal for me was that he said to tell my parents that they should be proud. And that meant a lot because Rush Limbaugh questioned whether or not my family would be proud of me. So, I just appreciated that very much.”
White House press secretary Jay Carney said, “The president called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke because he wanted to offer his support, express his disappointment, that she was the subject of an inappropriate personal attack and thank her for exercising her rights as a citizen to speak out on public policy.”
Carney said they spoke “for several minutes. It was a good conversation. Like a lot of people said the personal attacks directed her way are inappropriate. The fact that political discourse has become debased in many ways is bad enough. It’s worse when directed at a private citizen simply expressing her views on a matter of public policy.”
Asked what Obama thought about Limbaugh’s comments, Carney said, “They were reprehensible. They were disappointing. It is reprehensible that those kinds of personal and crude attacks could be leveled at someone like this young law school student who was simply expressing her opinion on a matter of public policy and doing it with a great deal of poise.”
Democrats had originally tapped Fluke to testify at a House hearing earlier this month on the Obama administration’s decision regarding religious-affiliated employers and contraception coverage.
But Republicans had said at the time that Fluke’s name had been submitted too late to appear at the hearing; they also argued that the hearing was about religious freedom more broadly and that Fluke could not testify because she was not a member of the clergy.
Last week, Fluke delivered testimony before a House Democratic-convened panel on Capitol Hill on the cost to female students of birth control that is not covered by health plans provided by some religious-affiliated institutions.
Fluke said in her testimony that some students at Georgetown spend as much as $1,000 per year out-of-pocket on contraception since birth control is not covered by the university’s health care plan.
Then, on his radio show, Limbaugh took aim at Fluke, who he called a “feminazi” and a “slut.”
“If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it,” Limbaugh had said. “We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.”
The comments by Limbaugh led to a media firestorm. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has called Limbaugh’s remarks “inappropriate,” and Georgetown University President John DeGioia issued a statementon Friday defending Fluke.
“She was respectful, sincere, and spoke with conviction. She provided a model of civil discourse,” DeGioia said of Fluke. “And yet, some of those who disagreed with her position – including Rush Limbaugh and commentators throughout the blogosphere and in various other media channels – responded with behavior that can only be described as misogynistic, vitriolic, and a misrepresentation of the position of our student.”
In her interview with MSNBC’s Mitchell Friday afternoon, Fluke cited DeGioia’s comments as “an example of what kind of model we should look to in our national discourse, because clearly the president of the university and I disagree about the issues, but we’re both able to handle this in a civil manner.”
“There’s been some highs and some lows,” Fluke said of her past several weeks in the media spotlight. “Yes. So, it’s been quite a journey. And I’m just happy that what seems to be happening in the process is that America is hearing the voices of women affected by lack of contraception coverage and who will benefit from this policy. And that’s what’s really most important to me; that’s why I’ve been working on this for years, honestly.”
Asked by Mitchell how her parents responded to the controversy and Limbaugh’s comments, Fluke said that they were “certainly hurt” but also “very proud of me.”
“They’re actually of a different political persuasion than I am, so I think that is emblematic of the fact that broadly Americans agree that women need access to basic health care that’s important to prevent medical disasters and to prevent pregnancy. ... I would certainly say it’s been a learning experience. I recommend hands-on experience for law students. Not all of this experience I would recommend,” she said.
The 2012 GOP presidential contenders did not immediately weigh in on Obama’s call.
Asked by a reporter about Limbaugh’s comments on Fluke, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said at a campaign event in Chillicothe, Ohio, that he’s “not for anyone calling someone a bad name.” But he did not elaborate on the controversy.
It wasn't long ago that being called a "slut" meant social death.
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Rush Limbaugh calls Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a ‘slut’ for advocating contraception
Rush Limbaugh. (Win McNamee - GETTY IMAGES)Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called a Georgetown Law School student a “slut” and a “prostitute” this week after she argued that birth control should be covered by health insurance at religious institutions.
Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student, testified about Georgetown’s policy on contraception during an unofficial hearing last Thursday that was led by House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Pelosi arranged for Fluke to testify after she was excluded from an official Congressional hearing on the contraceptive mandate in the nation’s health-care law. Republicans who ran the hearing said Fluke’s name was submitted too late (Democrats disagree). None of the women who testified at the Congressional hearing spoke in favor of the mandate.
At Pelosi’s hearing, Fluke said her fellow students at Georgetown, a Jesuit university, pay up to $1,000 a year for birth control because campus health plans do not include coverage of contraceptives for women.
Pay up to $1,000 a year for birth control because campus health plans do not include coverage of contraceptives for women who are Rollin' down the street, smokin' endo Sippin' on gin and juice, laid back With my mind on my Rubbers And my Rubbers on my Mind
http://youtu.be/bakWKHj051I
“What does that make her?” Limbaugh said on his show Wednesday night. “It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute.”
“She wants to be paid to have sex,” Limbaugh continued. “She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception.”
On Thursday, Limbaugh expanded on his thoughts but offered no apology. Referring to controversial remarks by Foster Friess, a supporter of former Sen. Rick Santorum, Limbaugh said, “I will buy all of the women at Georgetown University as much aspirin to put between their knees as they want."
Thursday night, Fluke appeared on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show,” calling Limbaugh’s comments “outside the bounds of civil discourse.” source:
"women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised".
SlutWalk is not sexual liberation
Women need to take to the streets to condemn violence, but not for the right to be called 'slut'
It wasn't long ago that being called a "slut" meant social death. No "nice" boy would take you home to meet his parents and no "good" girl would ever be your friend. At the same time, refusing to submit to sex meant you were a "prude" or "frigid". In short, there was no right way to be. Things have improved a bit in that young women are more insistent on their right to sexual autonomy, but sexually active women remain vulnerable to harsh social judgments even as the mass media celebrate and encourage such behaviour. And research shows that the label "slut" still has long-term negative consequences, especially for younger girls.
Nevertheless, a group of activists organised an event called SlutWalk, that took place on Saturday in Boston. It followed on the heels of a similar event in Toronto earlier this month, where women rallied in response to a comment made by a representative of the police that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised".
To be sure, such a comment from law enforcement is highly offensive in suggesting that some victims of rape are responsible for the criminal acts of their attackers. Rather than admonishing women to dress a certain way, police should be warning potential offenders that they should "avoid assaulting women in order not to go to prison".
The fact that more than 2,000 turned out to march around Boston Common suggests that women are, indeed, hungry for sexual autonomy. But something else was at work here: many of the banners protested the ubiquity of sexual violence in the lives of women. Signs made by protesters showed that women are angry with being blamed for male violence and fed up with the failure of the culture to hold men accountable. Clearly the theme of the SlutWalk has struck a nerve, with similar events being planned around the world, including one in London in June.
The organisers claim that celebrating the word "slut", and promoting sluttishness in general, will help women achieve full autonomy over their sexuality. But the focus on "reclaiming" the word slut fails to address the real issue. The term slut is so deeply rooted in the patriarchal "madonna/whore" view of women's sexuality that it is beyond redemption. The word is so saturated with the ideology that female sexual energy deserves punishment that trying to change its meaning is a waste of precious feminist resources.
Advocates would be better off exposing the myriad ways in which the law and the culture enable myths about all types of women – sexually active or "chaste" alike. These myths facilitate sexual violence by undermining women's credibility when they report sex crimes. Whether we blame victims by calling them "sluts" (who thus asked to be raped), or by calling them "frigid" (who thus secretly want to be overpowered), the problem is that we're blaming them for their own victimisation no matter what they do. Encouraging women to be even more "sluttish" will not change this ugly reality.
As teachers who travel around the country speaking about sexual violence, pornography and feminism, we hear stories from women students who feel intense pressure to be sexually available "on demand". These students have grown up in a culture in which hypersexualized images of young women are commonplace and where hardcore porn is the major form of sex education for young men. They have been told over and over that in order to be valued in such a culture, they must look and act like sluts, while not being labeled slut because the label has dire consequences including being blamed for rape, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and self-mutilation.
Women need to find ways to create their own authentic sexuality, outside of male-defined terms like slut. The recent TubeCrush phenomenon, where young women take pictures of men they find attractive on the London tube and post them to a website, illustrates how easily women copy dominant societal norms of sexual objectification rather than exploring something new and creative And it's telling that while these pictures are themselves innocent and largely free of sexual innuendo, one can only imagine the sexually aggressive language that would accompany a site dedicated to secret photos of women.
While the organisers of the SlutWalk might think that proudly calling themselves "sluts" is a way to empower women, they are in fact making life harder for girls who are trying to navigate their way through the tricky terrain of adolescence.
Women need to take to the streets – but not for the right to be called "slut". Women should be fighting for liberation from culturally imposed myths about their sexuality that encourage gendered violence. Our daughters – and our sons – have the right to live in a world that celebrates equally women's sexual freedom and bodily integrity.
Gail Dines, a Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at Wheelock College in Boson, has published a sharp critique of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat movie. In CounterPunch magazine, Professor Dines argues:[W]hen Cohen makes misogynist jokes about rape, prostitution and incest, they feel anything but funny. Okay, so Cohen may well be trying to satirize American sexism by unveiling the dark side of American men but when the audience laughs, I feel rage because I know that some of the men in the audience may well be on the prowl that night ….Violence against women, unlike violence against Jews, is a major public health issue of our time and the costs to women makes it a very unfunny topic. In recent school shootings, girls were specifically targeted by men, though few newspaper reports highlight this. Had the killer selected only Jews to kill, there would have been a national debate on the resurgence of anti-Semitism in America …. In Borat, the jokes about women dying (his wife), being raped (his sister) or being stalked by a crazed fan (Pamela Anderson) are passed off as business as usual in the life of being a woman….I do know that the fear I feel in the world is because of my gender, not my religion. This is what separates me, a Jewish woman, from Sasha Baron Cohen, a Jewish man.
Professor Dines’ full article is available here.
Gail Dines is a feminist anti-pornography activist, author, liar, professor, and lecturer. An academic, she has also been described as "The world s leading anti-pornography campaigner" who says "men want to rape women"?
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