For months I’ve been hearing from male pundits and journalists that abortion wasn’t going to be an issue in this election. Despite an overwhelming victory in the Kansas referendum in August (where polls had said we’d lose), we heard over & over again that the issue would be forgotten because of the all-important gas prices. This week, voters chose to preserve abortion rights in Michigan, Vermont, California, and even in deep-red Kentucky.
Jezebel has a handy slideshow of anti-choice wingnuts who lost after saying outrageous things on the issue (like Oz wanting decisions to be between “a woman, her doctor, and local politicians” — yes, he really said this!)
Moira Donegan noted that it was treated as conventional wisdom that there would be a red “bloodbath,” and pundits (including some Democrats) were pre-blaming feminists for making candidates focus on abortion. But, “There was no bloodbath; there was barely a paper cut.” Feminists, who brought women to the polls over abortion, played a huge role in saving Democrats’ chances.
It seems almost insultingly remedial to have to explain why this framing – the notion that somehow the midterms could either be about the economy or they could be about abortion – is so wrongheaded. Because, of course, abortion access is central to the economic prospects of working people. But to acknowledge this, you have to acknowledge something that still seems incomprehensible and out of reach for many of our most esteemed shapers of political opinion: that when we think and speak of economic and political subjects, we are speaking of women.
As always, this diary is a group effort. Thanks to mettle fatigue, officebss, SandraLLAP, elenacarlena, and the WOW crew for links & discussion.
Election:
NPR Democrat Becca Balint ends Vermont's history of never sending a woman or openly LGBTQ person to congress.
Rutgers has a recap of the gains for women in the 2022 election, including a record 12 women governors, 2 of whom are open lesbians. Al-Jazeera profiles some of the historic firsts.
Reproductive Rights:
Guttmacher: New interactive map on abortion policy state by state as of Nov 9.
From AP: Like US, Mexico faces state-by-state divide over abortion.
Violence and harassment:
Illinois judge Robert Adrian made headlines when he reversed his own conviction of an 18-year-old rapist in order to avoid giving him jail time. Incredibly, the judge was just re-elected.
For the first time in NFL history, it seems the Washington Commanders' systemic culture of sexual harassment may finally get its day in court.
Workplace Issues:
Women Are Sharing Times That Men Took Credit For Their Work, And It’s Incredibly Infuriating.
In the UK, the biggest nursing strike in NHS history could take place before Christmas after “large swathes of the country” voted for nationwide industrial action.
Union officials say that since the Conservatives took power in 2010, the pay of some experienced nurses has fallen by 20% in real terms. They are calling for a pay award of 5% increase plus inflation – a total of about 15%. But the government said the average basic annual pay for nurses would increase from about £35,600 to about £37,000 from March 2022, a rise of just 4%.
Taliban bars Afghan women from public parks, funfairs in Kabul.
"The new rule, introduced this week, further squeezes women out of an ever-shrinking public space that already sees them banned from traveling without a male escort and forced to wear a hijab or burqa whenever out of the home.
Schools for teenage girls have also been shut for over a year across most of the country."
TheConversation: Canadian senator Rosa Galvez aims to end the widespread financial backing of fossil fuels.