Does society trivialize women?

If I were looking for Gather points I might have posted this question in a more controversial way, but I am beginning to think that somebody needs to tell society-at-large what we women REALLY want. I warn you here that this is a political article, so those of you who wish to go elsewhere, do it now. 

What got me so aggravated about this subject? An article I happened upon in wired.com from last year about some of the features on a 'She-Phone' that designers were contemplating.  It is just a mild example of the same old crap that confines women and compartmentalizes us and keeps us from fully participating in society.

Just for the gag effect, here are some of the features they were considering:

1. A condom dispenser

2. A mirror and compact

3. A pill dispenser (for Xanax, Birth Control, or What?)

4. A vibrator (not the kind for silent notification of a pending phone call)

5. A mace dispenser

And all in a pink phone.

Honestly, after I put away my calculator (yes, I love math) and logged off the rest of the Wired science blogs I had been reading (yes, I can also comprehend scientific theory) I screeched out loud.  Doesn't anybody get us after all these millenia?

When are corporations going to realize that not all women in their employ speak for all women not in their employ. First of all, why not ask us what we want in a phone? I would like a one-button panic (or even voice activated) with a GPS locator so that whether I am having a heart attack or being attacked by some Kreton, I can quickly call the cops or an ambulance.

Pink? You have got to be kidding. I love black and red and intense greens and blues, as do most of the women I know. Three-year-olds like pink, guys, not grown women with cell phones. 

Secondly, I would like a phone that doesn't break every time I drop it.

Yes... Sprint, who refused to replace my phone even though I had insurance because I had replaced it too many times... I want a phone as resilient and tough as I am.   So what if I broke that last butt-ugly, slippery phone you claimed was meant for military use.  The minor detail you neglected to mention, of course, was that the reception was so bad I would avoid using it.   No one I called could hear me through all that warbling.

From the new phone designs I assume the designers haven't noticed  how much crap we are simultaneously carrying around already.  Grunts may have sixty pounds of gear, but at varying times I've got 40 pounds of five-year-old, four grocery bags, my over-stuffed ten pound purse, my briefcase, my yoga mat, my keys and my cell phone. These things are not easily folded up, compacted and slung across one's back.  Then again, these are minor, meaningless details in the modern world, aren't they?  So let's get serious.

Nobody seems to understand what we want from society either, or if they do, nobody's talking.  Things have changed so much in the last 100 years that our roles are all mis-matched.  We do not need you to support us anymore (although it is lovely if you choose to do so), and you don't need us to cook and do your laundry (although you can imagine our delight when this is expected from us).

Heavens, we can choose a turkey baster to be the 'no legal rights' father of our children, and you haven't needed to marry the cow to get the milk (horrible cliche) for over a generation.  Then again, many of us still are set on having one of you under any conditions.  No matter how intelligent, we have some who will go to almost any lengths to keep you, no matter what you've done.  Yes, I know forgiveness can be a spiritual blessing to all, Hillary, but some things should be unforgettable at least.

As long as we are talking about women and the trivialization of our power, however, I must bring up the subject of our blessed soldiers in Iraq.  All the women I know are very much against this war.  One must then ask, if we are 51% or 52% of the general population and 61% of the voters in the democratic primary in South Carolina were WOMEN, why are we not using that power to bring our courageous troops home?  The Iraqis are now using us and our fire and manpower for their own slimy power grabs. 

I'm sorry, but our soldiers are much too valuable to be exploited by politicians, whether they are ours or theirs.  I'm not trying to create a divide where there isn't one, but the majority of Americans finally realize the war is wrong.  We get beaten down because we don't stand up.  We will always get ignored if we don't speak forcefully and with authority. 

The women I know who are not political cringe when we're making our holiday wreaths or together for a baby shower or other event if they think I am revving up.  I don't blame them.  If I was doing nothing about something so important, I would feel badly too.  I know these women feel powerless, but nothing is ever hopeless unless we fail to even try to change it. 

We have so many enduring problems in this country.  Look at New Orleans and the devastation of families, neighborhoods and their economy.  Look at all the things Bush did not mention in his State of the Union address.  Poverty's up.  Crime's up.  School drop outs are up.  Infrastructure of the bridges, roads, sewers and water systems is falling apart.  Border security is diminished and more illegal immigrants are crossing the borders than ever before.  Port security has been cut.  Grants to cities and towns across the nation have been cut.  Social services, government or private, are struggling to try to meet even a fraction of the need. 

The only thing that is grander than before is the number of troops sent to the middle east to try to contain that horrendous mess while Bush and his cronies steal their oil resources and/or tie them up for the next century.

We really do have a lot of power, ladies, and all of us have to stand up and start acting from our heads and our hearts.  We need to integrate those two organs.  We know what is right but we focus on our families and our friends while the world goes to hell in a hand basket.  This is not role modeling for our young.  It serves no one to be quiet about our views, even if there is going to be some blowback that is unpleasant and hostile. 

Yes, we've come a long way, baby, but are we still reluctant to stand up and be counted?  Are we still letting ourselves be influenced by leaders who drag our children into wars that our forefathers would abhor?  The Iraqi killing field is a disgrace and if we women sit home or go to work with blinders on because it makes us feel ill to really consider the 300,000 innocent civilians who were killed by our military and the almost four thousand of our own who have died... shame on us.

Obama has committed to bring the troops home and Edwards has dropped out of the race as of this morning.  Call the Obama campaign volunteers in your area and get on the phones.  Let's stand up and be counted.  I am no longer satisfied with living a trivial life.  I hope you won't be either.