Ecofeminism in action: Green products that really work

One of my ongoing goals is to replace my toxic household cleaners with environmentally-friendly products.

Yet, there is an issue of cost, availability and performance of some of these products.

I believe that by replacing the products I use frequently, and targeting the most toxic products, I can positively impact the environment.

Toilet bowl cleaner is very toxic. If you've ever gotten a drop on your hands while cleaning the bowl, you know it burns. So, I replaced the brand I've used for years with Green Works toilet bowl cleaner. It works great, it's affordable and it's widely available ($2.39 at Target.)

Dishwasher detergent is another product I use frequently.

My biggest challenge was finding a brand that cleans effectively.

Well, Eureka!

Enter Seventh Generation automatic dishwasher detergent. As dishwasher detergents go, it is a little pricey ($5.39 for 75 oz. at Target,) but I believe the results and the reduced environmental impact are worth it.

Chris put this product to the test this morning with a bowl containing the dried, crusty remnants of Cream of Wheat -- sound appetizing? Anyway, we were amazed when it emerged from the dishwasher sparkling clean with no trace of the cereal left and no detergent residue.

I've also notices my glasses becoming clearer with each successive wash. My old detergent left them covered with residue that the Seventh Generation product seems to remove over time.

I love the company's credo from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

The company claims that, "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one box of 75 oz. automatic dishwashing detergent containing phosphates with our phosphate-free product, we could save 100 million pounds of phosphates from entering our rivers and streams."

While the mainstream detergent industry decided to voluntarily ban phosphates in its products in July, Seventh Generation has been working for 20 years to develop environmentally-friendly formulas.

According to Clean Water Action of Michigan, phosphates encourage algae bloom that kills fish and aquatic plants that clean and balance our ecosystems.

Seventh Generation is also chlorine-free. And while I'm not negating the efforts of the detergent industry's efforts, nobody is saying anything about chlorine, which is basically a pesticide used to kill living organisms and has its own list of associated health risks including cancer and heart disease.

I urge you to try environmentally-friendly products and make substitutions whenever you can. Every little bit helps.

And that's ecofeminism in everyday action.

New airport security measures carry risks for women

From examiner.com:

There has been much discussion this week as the new TSA airport security measures were unveiled; airline passengers do have a choice, but both options of airport security measures present health concerns for certain groups of women. Pregnant women, cancer patients and women with other health problems have concerns about the radiation risks of the new airport scanners; in addition, women who opt for the alternative “pat down” may feel uncomfortable, an invasion of privacy or, in some instances, humiliated or threatened.

The health implications of airport scanners

The new airport scanners introduced under the TSA airport security measures require that you step into a booth with your arms raised above your head. In order to produce a photo image of your body, the airport scanner will either use electromagnetic waves or low energy X-rays, depending on the type of scanner used.

Although official guidelines indicate that the amount of radiation emitted from the airport scanners is “minimal”, some people may feel that the risk is not worth it. In addition, women who are pregnant, have/had cancer or other associated health problems are more vulnerable to the perceived risks than others.

TSA airport security pat downs: Why some women will fear them

The alternative to the airport scanner is a “pat down” by a member of airport security. The “pat down” has sparked debate because of its “intrusive” nature of the patting down of “private parts.” Women may find this more distressing in certain instances. In addition, for women who have been a victim of abuse, or raped, the whole process of the “pat down” could be more than she could endure.

Women's health and airport security measures

Airport security is of utmost importance but the new TSA airport security measures may cause health problems, either physically or emotionally, for many women. Flying suddenly got a whole lot more “risky” in terms of women's health – if you suffer from the problems mentioned. Learn as much as you can about the new TSA airport security measures before taking a flight this holiday season.

World AIDS Day is coming Dec. 1

AIDS is still with us.

We all know what it is, but for the record, AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

It poses a threat to men, women and children around the world. The vast majority are from lower- and middle-income countries.

Wednesday, Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day. The theme for this year's event is "Universal Access and Human Rights."

World AIDS Day started in 1988 with the goals of raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education.

Oakland University is hosting a series of events on campus:

• "Safer Sex Seminar" 12 - 1 p.m. in the Oakland Room in the Oakland Center.
• "Positive about being positive: A conversation with Todd Heywood About Living with HIV" 5-6 p.m., Oakland Room.
• HIV/AIDS awareness event "Rogue 3" 8 - 11 p.m. in the Gold Rooms.

Wear a red ribbon to show support.

Related Links:

Avert.org -- claims to be the world's most popular AIDS website

An economy based on feminized labor?

Feminism has been played by the corporate elites of the world to power their neoliberal, capitalist economic and political systems.

And what's worse -- most feminists don't even realize it.

That's the message of Hester Eisenstein's book, "Feminism Seduced: How Global Elites Use Women's Labor and Ideas to Exploit the World" (2009)

Eisenstein is a Professor of Sociology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She explains the title of her book:

"I entitled this book "Feminism Seduced," because I felt that in the process of selling globalization, corporate leaders and other elites have been systematically trying to seduce women into embracing the expansion of capitalism ... corporate media publicize the achievements of women in high places. All of this has seemed to me to be an overall effort to smoothly fold feminism and feminist ideas into the corporate embrace."

It is indeed a seductive economic, social and gender-based tango on the domestic and international stage.

Here at home, Eisenstein traces the changes in the United States as the economy was radically restructured away from manufacturing and towards a low-wage, unorganized service sector where big corporations take advantage of a vast pool of predominantly female labor.

Need proof?

As of May 2009, statistics show fifteen jobs accounted for more than 25% of U.S. employment, but only three of those had mean wages above the U.S. average of $20.90 per hour, or $43,460 annually*.

Of those 14 jobs, nine would be considered feminized labor, or woman's work. I've ranked them by annual pay, highest to lowest:

Bookkeeper, accounting, auditing clerk, $34,750
Customer service rep., $32,410
Secretary, except legal/medical, executive, $31,060
Office clerk, general , $27,700
Retail Sales Person, $24,300
Stock clerk/order filler, $23,460
Waitperson, $20,300
Cashier, $19,030
Food preparation, fast food, $18,120

There are two feminized exceptions*:

Registered nurse, $66,530
Elementary school teacher, except special ed., $53,150

What Eisenstein refers to as mainstream feminism -- basically the liberal feminism of the 1960s and 1970s has affected gains for women, but it's a good news/bad news scenario. Eisenstein says:

" ... the good news for women as the result of the long and hard struggles by unions and by anti-discrimination lawsuits, was the opening up of access to virtually all areas of work. The bad news was that with overall economic restructuring, wage levels stagnated for decades.

"... government officials were quick to use feminist ideology, interpreted as women's rights to paid employment, as a way to gut the welfare legislation of 1935, thereby removing a crucial safety net that had helped to provide a floor for wages."

How clever was that?

We see a similar perpetuation of this same mindset around the nation today as more states -- including Michigan -- continue to overturn parts of their affirmative action laws.

The latest hot spot is Utah -- where a proposal would overturn affirmative action laws, not just as they apply to universities, but to public contracts and state employment as well.

You'll want to listen to this segment from "The Takeaway."

"So Long to Affirmative Action in Utah?"


*Sources (courtesy of the Detroit Free Press:) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. The third job exception is General operations manager, $110,550.

The transgender community: Invisible victims of violence

When it comes to violent crimes, there is one sector of the population that is virtually invisible. There are no statistics for the crimes committed against them and they often do not receive media coverage.

They are the transgender community.

I recently met Michelle Fox-Phillips, of Transgender Detroit during Oakland University's Anti-hate Week, which ran in conjunction with Transgender Remembrance week.

She says it is often hard to get local, mainstream media to attend conscious-raising events focused on violence towards LBGTIQ community.

Why the phobia? The reasons are many and range from simple misunderstanding, to prejudice to pure hatred.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines transgender as:

"of, relating to, or being a person (as a transexual or transvestite) who identifies with, or expresses and gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth."

I don't know if I necessarily agree with the inclusion of transexual or transvestite, but there are different thoughts on the issue -- and they are complex and personal.

In my mind, gender refers to roles men and women play in society. Sex refers to a person's biology. So in this context, perhaps the difference between transgender and transexual would be between someone who decides switch roles as opposed to someone who wants to undergo changes either through hormone therapy or surgery.

Perhaps my view is incorrect, or over-simplistic.

I think transgender activist, writer and web designer Gwendolyn Ann Smith puts it beautifully:

"I'll gladly admit that I did not grow up like many other women. I have a history that some would regard as incongruent with the gender I inhabit today. As such, I have an adjective -- transgender -- that sits in front of the word woman. It's a modifier for the modified, I suppose, but it does not diminish the value nor the importance of the word "woman" in my life.

I absolutely love the Wikipedia entry for transgender and encourage you to check it out. It is well documented, although the neutrality of a couple of sections is in dispute.

Yet, the bottom line should be nonjudgment -- that is unconditional acceptance or at least an attempt to understand. After all, we are all human beings.

Related links:

Gwendolyn Ann Smith's website
Gwendolyn Ann Smith's essay, "Transmissions: Ain't I a Woman?"
Transgender Detroit's website

http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=16423

New avatar Cherie

I decided my avatar needed an update for the next phase of my life after my upcoming graduation from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

So, here she is -- same attitude, different hairdo.

You can make one too. I'd love to see it.

Just go to www.mywebface.com

Happy Tofurky Day -- a new tradition

Chris and I are getting ready to celebrate our third meatless Thanksgiving.

Don't worry, I'm not taking any shots at the carnivores out there -- this time.

In Carol J. Adams book, "The Sexual Politics of Meat," she says family dinners where meat is being consumed might not be the best place or time to aggressively advocate vegetarianism.

I agree. Pick your time and place carefully, especially where friends and family are concerned.

But why not think about starting a new tradition?

Here is the meatless, cruelty-free menu for the Wyatt-Rolfe family:

• Tofurky vegetarian feast pack complete with gravy and "wishstix."
• Mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.
• Green bean casserole
• Sweet potato-cornbread stuffing (from Whole Foods Market)
• Whole Foods Holiday Salad.
• Vegan pumpkin pie -- also courtesy of Whole Foods.

Yum! So delicious -- and nobody gets killed.

Have a happy and peaceful Tofurky Day.

Blessed be.