Yesss! Rain! Four years living in LA has really made me go through some rain withdrawal. Walking home from the bus stop the other day, I took a big whiff and really appreciated the nice CRISPNESS of the Fall air. I miss the days of layer up into a nice big jacket with a nice chill overcast weather. Yeah, talk about getting in touch with my darker self, huh? Nevertheless, I was curled up in my two blankets last night and I slept like a BABY!!
Catching up on my Bay Area news/events, I stumbled on an article about KTVU Channel 2′s Leslie Griffith. I remember a few months ago, I turned to my 10 o’ clock news to not see my ultimate news duo! Some new chick was on and I just brushed it off since I figured Ms. Griffith was off that day or something.
Where’s Leslie?
October 25, 2006 — http://sfist.com/2006/10/25/wheres_leslie.php
For months, the entire Bay Area has been flummoxed by one question, one mystery so confounding that it’s all everyone, or at least several people, have been talking about– where’s Leslie Griffith of KTVU?
Sometime a few weeks ago, Dennis Richmond’s co-anchor stopped being Dennis Richmond’s co-anchor and was nowhere to be found. For weeks, the word from KTVU had been only that she was taking a break and that she’ll be right back. For her own part, Leslie wasn’t talking.
Rumors spread. Did she get fired? Did she quit? Did they Elaine Corral her?
Anyway, reading this article was kinda interesting and even made me think back to the time when Elaine Corral used to work for KTVU too. Which made me think about how awesome Dennis Richmond is! I mean, the way he says “San Francisco” always makes me smile! Saaannnnnnnfrancisco! (Did you know Dennis Richmond is a Vietnam War veteran?) I also read up on some details about an anonymous Oakland Tribune opinion article that undermined Griffith’s qualifications as a news anchor, suspecting that she probably only got the job because she’s blond and attractive looking. And then that REALLY made me think about the sexist stereotypes that are still perpetuated today. I mean, people are never happy, huh? Some women are asked to be more “presentable” and to dress more feminine when they go to work, and when they do like nice, they’re intelligence and experiences are put into question since “they probably got the job because they’re good looking.”
Doesn’t everyone realize that all of this is all related to gender? Don’t people realize how much of our habits, beliefs, and values are built on the idea of maintaining gender norms?
It’s almost the year 2008. And it ‘effin SUCKS that some people have to constantly defend and justify themselves just because of how they look or dress. Recently, a woman was thrown out of a women’s restroom because the restaurant’s bouncer didn’t care if she was really female or not, didn’t bother to look at her ID where it clearly says she’s a female, and continued to discriminate her solely because “her appearance did not comply with society’s norms concerning gender identity.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that all this stuff PISSES. ME. OFF!! How can people sit with this kind of unequal treatment?
In Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins, the court held that Amy Hopkins, a senior female accountant, could sue under the gender discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act after her proposed promotion to partnership in the firm was dropped because she was overly aggressive, did not dress appropriately for her sex and otherwise did not fit into the feminine stereotype.
Although highly praised for her work, Hopkins was advised that if she wished to become partner, she should “walk more femininely, talk more femininely, dress more femininely, wear make-up, have her hair styled, and wear jewelry.”
From an SF Gate article
If there’s anything I could ever pass down to all my girls, it’s the power to be able to stand up for their rights as women, and to have the knowledge and strength to empower themselves to not put up with stuff like this! One of the best reads I’ve ever had, which greatly correlates with the Griffith story: Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth. On the topic of women in the workplace…
Marco: “So how’s your new job? Are you getting paid more?”
me: “Yeah”
Marco: “You’re sleeping with your boss, aren’t you, you little strumpet!”
Oh how I love him so.