Ok, so this is probably OBVIOUS from that shiny ad over there, but I didn’t want to be all sneaky about it and I wanted to explain WHY.

1. I heart BlogHer. For those who don’t yet know it, BlogHer describes itself as “the community for women who blog; you say it, we share it.” I went to my first BlogHer conference in 2007 and loved it from the first shalom. I learned a ton and credit the organization for helping me take all this blogging to the next level. I’ll be at BlogHer 2009, hopefully, this year too - it’s in Chicago, my hometown. And it’s their fifth anniversary this year!

2. I appreciate the mojo of the women who started BlogHer, and share their mission: increased visibility, support, and tools for women seeking to get their messages out there, via blogging in this case. I also appreciate their entrepreneurial spirit. Full disclosure: BlogHer and their bloggers share any ad revenue that comes in.

3. I’ve watched the trend of ads at political blogs unfold and have totally made peace with it. Many if not most of the progressivey bloggers I know and admire have incorporated ads on their sites over the past year. At first, I was hesitant, but I have come to feel that it is a-ok to try to earn a little extra from blogging, even when blogging is not itself commercially motivated. You won’t see the content change in any way, shape, or form. I promise. Except, of course, for this post.

4. We’re bringing on interns to help us develop now that we have gone group and there’s a whole lot more going on. And currently they are working for free. We’d like to change that.

If you have questions, comments, concerns, I do hope you’ll voice them in comments. And we here at GWP are more than happy to answer any questions! We are all learning as we go.

Speaking of learning as we go, a few preliminaries:
-Some ads are flash right now, but we’re opting for static, so that should change soon.
-We can also opt out of certain campaigns, so if you see an ad for Barbie or anything, know that I’m on it.  Of course, “or anything” is relative, but if you see something, say something, and we will definitely check it out!

It’s hard to know these days whether to see the glass half-full or half-empty: Obama won a historic election powered by the youth vote and women.

On the other hand, it’s hard to know when the economy is really going to hit bottom.

Maybe we should be relieved that we’re heading into this season of gratitude. To be sure it may take us all a little longer to count our blessings this year, or to figure out what counts as a blessing these days, so here are some thoughts from my Girl Talk perspective.

I’m thankful for:

1. Blue Sex—Margaret Talbot has a fascinating analysis of some recent and forthcoming research about teens, sex, and religion in the New Yorker. Talbot takes her title, “Red Sex, Blue Sex,” from sociologist Mark Regnerus’s research. I can’t do justice to the full article here, but I was especially struck by what Regnerus identifies as a new “middle-class morality.” According to Regnerus middle-class, well-educated young women “are interested in remaining free from the burden of teenage pregnancy and the sorrows and embarrassments of sexually transmitted diseases. They perceive a bright future for themselves, one with college, advanced degrees, a career, and a family. Simply put, too much seems at stake. Sexual intercourse is not worth the risks.”

This is great news for middle-class, well educated young women (and their parents).

But I’m even more excited about what it suggests for young women who are not middle-class, and for those of us who do education and advocacy work to support all girls and young women, because we can work together to create the potential for a “bright future.” I know that the Girl Scout Council of New York has just such plans in mind for its career exploration program that will be launching in Bronx middle schools.

2. Sasha and Malia Obama—My eight-year-old daughter was already a passionate follower of the Presidential campaign and the election itself; she and her best friend bet a quarter on the election outcome (my daughter came home with an extra quarter in her pocket on November 5), and she participated in a mock-election at her YMCA camp on election day. Now that she has peers in the White House, I’m willing to bet that national politics will stay on her radar screen, even if our attention is on the possible first pet or how the girls will get to school for now.

3.  The Little House on the Prairie Series—Reading is part of our family routine every evening, and we finished the Little House on the Prairie book series with my daughter about a year ago. I am especially grateful for the hardy, adventurous, strong-willed Laura Ingalls character now that our reading as turned to the offensive My Weird School series, with its sex-stereotyped characters, from the brainy, obnoxious girl to the bored and distracted boys. I’ve used these books as a way to talk about sex-stereotyping, and the ways it hurts girls and boys, but surely we can do better than this!

So GWP readers, do you have any tween books to recommend? Help me out and I’ll add those to my gratitude list too.  And I’m eager to know: What’s on your gratitude list these days?

One of the most exciting things coming off of election night was watching gangs of teenagers running through my neighborhood banging pots and cheering about Obama’s win. I’d never seen anything like it. Courtney’s here to talk concretely about the youth turnout in this election and what that may mean for the future of American politics. –Kristen

There was a lot of skepticism leading up to the election about young people. Many pundits talked about the usual pattern regarding youth enthusiasm about politics…it starts out with a bang and ends with a whimper. In other words, young people usually talk a big game, but then don’t actually show up to the polls in expected numbers.

Well this year was different. Plain and simple. Pew Research Center has just released a report titled, Young Voters in the 2008 Election and it’s chock-full of exciting news about the ways in which young people walked their talk this unprecedented election season. Some of the highlights:

• This year, 66% of those under age 30 voted for Barack Obama making the disparity between young voters and other age groups larger than in any presidential election since exit polling began in 1972.

• Among voters ages 18-29, a 19-point gap now separates Democratic party affiliation (45%) and Republican affiliation (26%).

• Just 62% of voters age 18-29 identify as white, while 18% are black and 14% Hispanic. Four years ago, this age group was 68% white. In 2000, nearly three-quarters (74%) of young voters were white.

There is all sorts of intriguing data coming out of the November 4th showing of young people, but perhaps most exciting is the inkling that a whole generation is shifting left like never before. There is real evidence that young people who have been galvanized by an Obama presidency are poised to concretize a real, solid progressive youth movement.

I’ve written about this before, but it bears saying again. In order to capitalize on the exciting youth movement that has been ignited by Obama’s presidency, progressives need to put some serious money behind a youth-directed, Democratic political machine. It’s as if we’ve all been given a golden opportunity—an inspiring leader who understood the importance of grassroots and netroots organizing. Now it’s time to run with our blessing.

Word on the street is that The American Prospect Online is working on a big story on how to transfer the Obama enthusiasm into a sustainable youth movement. Stay tuned for the link and analysis…

–Courtney Martin

This just in: The Daily Beast released a poll this morning that reveals the depth of women’s anger in the aftermath of Hilary Clinton’s and Sarah Palin’s campaigns. “The Barrier That Didn’t Fall” (downloadable) summarizes and analyzes survey results from 1,000 U.S. voters, coming on the high heels of “the first-ever presidential election with two high profile women candidates who ran but did not win.”

The stats:

• By an overwhelming 61% to 19% margin, women believe there is a gender bias in the media.
• 4 in 10 men freely admit sexist attitudes towards a female president. 39% of men say that a male is “naturally more suited” to carrying out the duties of the office
• Only 20% of women polled are willing to use the word “feminist” about themselves. Only 17% said they would welcome their daughters using that label.
• 48% of women thought Hillary Clinton received fair media treatment and only 29% believed Sarah Palin was treated fairly. In contrast, nearly 8 in 10 voters thought the press gave fair treatment to Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
• More than two-thirds of women said they were being treated unfairly in the workplace (68%)

In the words of a very articulate dear friend of mine: BLURGH.

(Thanks to Anna for the heads up.)

Many have asked me about the Progressive Women’s Voices program sponsored by the Women’s Media Center, and basically, I can’t sing its praises enough. In the program’s first year, they intensively media trained 33 women (including moi!) who have gone on to earn over 1000 media hits year to date. With the WMC’s stellar training and ongoing help, in 2008, our PWV women wrote Op Eds in the Washington Post and The New York Times, features for Elle and New York magazine, were quoted in USA Today, Forbes, Variety, Mother Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Slate, Salon, The New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, on the Associated Press and Reuters wires, appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, CBS Nightly News, Fox News, ABC News, CNBC, The Tyra Banks Show, PBS’s “To The Contrary,” Bill Moyers, on numerous NPR shows, and in hundreds of other significant media outlets.

And they’ve just posted their 2009 dates and deadlines, so for those of you who are considering this, I say GO FOR IT! The time is now. Here are deets:

2009 PWV Class 1 Schedule:
Dec 15: Application Deadline
February 6-7: First Training in NYC
March 6-7: Second Training in NYC
April 3-4: Third Training in NYC

2009 PWV Class 2 Schedule:
March 10: Application Deadline
April 24-25: First Training in NYC
May 29-30: Second Training in NYC
June 26-27: Third Training in NYC

2009 PWV Class 3 Schedule:
June 1: Application Deadline
July 24-25: First Training in NYC
August 28-29: Second Training in NYC
September 25-26: Third Training in NYC

For much more info, including how to apply, click here. Feel free to tell them you heard it here. And please do pass it on!

After that last post, I thought I owed you all an upper. So here are three things that cheer ME up:

1. The Happiness Project, a blog based on a forthcoming memoir about the year Gretchen Rubin spent “test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah” ; The Happiness Project (just the name makes me happy!) gathers these rules for living and reports on “what works and what doesn’t.” On this daily blog, Gretchen recounts some of her adventures and insights as she grapples with the challenge of being happier. Happy that, Gretchen!

2. These cool fora (as in plural of forum, not as in “flora” with a typo) that I’ve been working on for the National Council for Research on Women’s new blog:

3. GWP’s new intern, Melinda Parrish, aka formerly Girl Sailor, who you will be hearing more about/from soon.  Welcome, Mel! We’re so excited to have you here!!!!

(Note, I did not say my kitten. Oops, I guess I just did. Hopeless am I.)

And, yes, given the economic meltdown, for everyone’s no doubt.  But here are a few items that caught my eye:

In technology…

According to an article in Saturday’s New York Times, women are veering away from computer science in droves.  The stat:

• Twenty-five years ago, more young women in colleges and universities were drawn to computer science than today.

What up?  Read the article, and do check out the amazing work that GWP’s own Science Grrl is doing on this front.  Paging Science Grrl!

And at Citibank…

In case you missed it, check out the article on how the chaos on Wall Street has cost Sallie L. Krawcheck’s career, cutesily titled  “When Citi Lost Sallie.” (Thanks to Purse Pundit for the heads up).

And in Afghanistan, a horrible blow for girls’ education.  This whole thing about the acid attacks on school girls in Kandahar makes me just weep.

Sorry to be a downer today.  I’ll be back with more cheery news, I hope, soon.

Courtesy, as ever, Rebekah at WMC:

For Women, It’s Not The Gender, It’s The Agenda

11/14/08

Boston Globe: While all eyes were focused on Palin and the “Sarah-centric” (her words) crowds that turned out for her rallies, there was a quieter “women’s story” in this race that may make the doorway a little narrow.

Summers May Be Off Of Treasury Short List

11/13/08

Politico.com: Intense backlash from women’s groups may have pushed former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers off the short-list to lead Treasury for President-elect Barack Obama, according to widespread reports circulating in Democratic circles.

Hillary Clinton Emerges As State Dept Candidate

11/14/08

Boston Globe: Sen. Hillary Clinton emerged on Thursday as a candidate to be U.S. secretary of state for Barack Obama, months after he defeated her in an intense contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Women Gaining Political Power

11/13/08

CNN: “Women are about 54 percent of the vote,” CNN contributor Hilary Rosen said. “Do we have equal representation? No. Are we closer to it? Yes.”

POLITICS-US: Feminists Say The Work Has Just Begun

11/13/08

IPS: Women’s right activists see an open door to the White House of President-elect Barack Obama, and they plan to walk right in and take a seat.

Ok, I can write that sensational headline cause I wasn’t there this time. But my fellow WGLs Courtney Martin, Gloria Feldt, and Kristal Brent Zook were, plus the amazing Maria Teresa Peterson (who stepped in for me - thank you MTP!).

For those who haven’t heard of this yet, Women, Girls, Ladies: A Fresh Conversation Across Generations is a traveling panel promoting intergenerational feminist dialogue across the land.  We speak at campuses and organizations (and are available to come to YOU! Rebecca Rosenberg, rebecca@parchitamedia.com, is our contact lady).  Here is Miss Courtney with a recap for us all:

We had an incredible experience yesterday in Kansas City. First we did a very interactive, intergenerational workshop over at University of Missouri-Kansas City where we met fascinating local women (many of them named Linda?!) from the YWCA, The American Association of University Women, the incredible UMKC Women’s Center staff and board, and so many more.

One of the big insights that came up from that experience was a question:

When do we, as feminists, confront sexism directly and when do we deal with it indirectly instead?

It seemed like so many of the experiences and anecdotes that women of all generations brought to the table were focused on this difficult negotiation. In order to get the progress we so desire, do we swallow some of our ire when a sexist guy says something inane? Or is it our responsibility as loud and proud feminists to call him out regardless of the fall out?

As if that conversation wasn’t rich enough, we still had the big event to come. Yesterday evening we had a panel in honor of Ruth Margolin, Founding Director of the UMKC Women’s Center. There was a huge crowd (300+) in the absolutely beautiful Kansas City Public Library-Plaza Branch. After wine and cheese we migrated into the newly renovated auditorium and got to hear some wonderful words about Ruth Margolin’s fiery character. Apparently she was never afraid of being a loud and proud feminist! It was so special to be having our dialogue in honor of her legacy.

The audience brought up a range of issues; everything from women in the military, pay equity, body image, abortion, Clinton’s infidelity scandal, Sarah Palin, and racial tensions within feminism were a part of the conversation.

Thanks to all who contributed your insights and questions. And thanks to everyone at UMKC, especially Brenda Bethman, for making this really exquisite event and experience possible! And a special, special thanks to Maria Teresa Petersen, who stepped in for the much missed Deborah Siegel with grace and eloquence. Maria Teresa was fantastic. Check out her organization, Voto Latino, here.

*The Kansas City Star did a great write up of the event. So did The Pitch, Kansas City’s weekly, but check out the title! “Meow Mix”? Come on people, this is exactly the point of our panel. When men disagree, it’s called a disagreement. When women disagree, it’s called a cat fight. Thank goodness we’re reclaiming the frame!

–Courtney Martin

Crossposted at WomenGirlsLadies.

It’s been a heavy week of working on my (endless) book proposal and dealing with lots of other stuff, and so I thought I’d finish the week out with a (gulp) kitten pic. Come on, I’ve been good all week! She’s just too adorable not to share.

I also wanted to send a heartfelt “welcome” to all the new commenters this week. We’re thrilled to have you here and look forward to getting to know you and your perspectives more!