<^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> ........Catt's Claws # 178 ... April 25, 1999......... ........ A Feminist Newsletter by Irene Stuber......... istuber@direclynx.net is solely responsible for its content Archives are found at http://www.undelete.org <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> Recently six men who ?imported? young women as young as 14 to the U.S. from Mexico were convicted of various charges and ordered to pay the 17 women and girls $1 million. A common enough story. But why? Why is the kidnaping of girl children common? Why is there such a sex market for young girls? What kind of men find it necessary to PAY for sex with YOUNG girls - girls so much younger than themselves? Why aren?t the MEN who paid for the girls? sex slavery being hunted down and punished? Remove the profit and the crime will disappear. Why is the male society so much in control of our thinking that we accept the punishment of the ringleaders without pointing a similar contemptuous finger at those who found it necessary to pay for sex with obviously too young, unwilling girl-women? What?s wrong with this picture: If a WOMAN has sex - consensual or not - with a underage male student she goes to jail. (Re the Seattle schoolteacher and her male student.) But if a man PAYS for sex with an underage girl who is held hostage for purposes of prostitution, HE GOES FREE to dig into his wallet to support the next pimp. Verily, we are not only raising our boys wrong, we are allowing the ?justice? system to be the pandering slave of the perverted. Hurry up, you women who are in law school. Our laws defining what is wrong behavior have to be changed so they reflect the ?other? 53% of the population whom the macho laws regularly stigmatize and defraud of their human rights. There is a movement, long overdue, for Congress to put extra penalties on men who entice women to the U.S. and use them for prostitution. That such a law is JUST being *considered* shows how entrenched macho thinking is in our legal system. But the new law still wouldn?t address my point: Men who have engage in sex with underage women (or women who are obviously unwilling) should be turned into pariahs. Consenting sex is one thing - prostitution is another. And child rape is beyond decent description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In an episode of the popular TV series Xena, Warrior Princess, Xena portrays Cinderella in a storytelling sequence: The Prince shows up offering the Cinderella character (portrayed by Xena) the legendary slipper, ?If it fits, I can promise you a happy ending,? he says seductively. With the tip of her sword Xena gently flips away the offered slipper, then slips her arm around the Prince?s shoulder in a confidential manner and says: ?No offense. You look like a really nice fellow. So I?m going to make this very simple for you. ?I don?t need you or any fairy god?s mother or anyone else to give me a happy ending. That?s something I?ll get or I won?t get all by my own self. So I suggest you peddle that shoe to someone else.? Is it any wonder that Xena has become so popular with feminists? It is not just that she is the equal (better actually ;-O) than the men in each episode whether in sword, hand-to-hand combat, or reasoning, but it is that she is an independent woman who only depends on herself (and Gabrielle). You know, after living a long life of being exposed to outsized MALE heroes in movies and on TV who accomplished the impossible and improbable with ease, seeing a woman who can stand on her own is marvelous. The Profiler series had the heroine turning into a nebish; Nikita is portrayed as a lovesick teenager over a rather ugly man even though she handles gun and explosives with penache. Men heroes go through a series of women and affairs, but almost every woman character on TV MUST have a SINGLE controlling man in her life. (Oh, Murphy Brown, we miss you.) There are some who object to the violence on the show. They are often the ones I call the ?blessing? people because of their way of signing off with ?blessing? as if they are so godlike that they can bestow blessings on others. Life is violent, children - and life in the era depicted in Xena was more violent than most can ever imagine. For one example, a woman?s life was worth NOTHING. A woman was raped with impunity if she stepped outside the boundaries set by men whether it be home or occupation and then cast away by society. A woman of the Greek era where Xena is based - whether wealthy or poor - had no civil rights, not even a smidgen of the few that the common man called his. Those who object to Xena often spend their money on macho fun movies that made violence a fine art and men like Demi Moore?s adulterous husband and Maria Schriver?s rightwing husband very rich men. John Wayne became an American icon playing himself over and over again in one violent movie after another. Yet Xena is condemned by those same people who revered Wayne. Verily, Wayne?s heart was pure. But then Xena?s heart is just as pure (after a rocky beginning). Surely the difference can?t be that Wayne was a man and the Xena protrayer is very *much* a woman. Nah. And the moon is made of green cheese. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IF you have any doubts about the aim of ?justice? in this country, note that a man who is allegedly disseminated false information about a stock security if up for a LOOONG prison term but someone like Matt Drudge who slanders and gives new meaning to the words ?false witness? is given a lucrative news contract by Fox network! Isn?t it strange that there wasn?t a big stink over the false stories that Drudge passed around with clarion EXCLUSIVE regarding the causes of the Littleton tragedy (and we noticed Jerry Falwell threw a couple of his well-known views about gays supplanting satan in his brand of christianity). It turns my stomach to see these men lining their pockets with money in self aggrandizing efforts to increase their market value by false and misleading statements dipped in blood. The horriuble tragedy at the high school in Littleton was as senseless as an earthquake or a tornado. The causes can be known but the prevention is beyond us. I weep for the victims - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Several years ago Catt?s Claws was blowing a gasket about an 11-year-old GIRL who was convicted of murder in Texas and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the beating death of 2-year-old Jayla Belton.. She was originally up for the death penalty but not even the rightwing Texans who revere that Bush family could stomach that so they *just* put her away for half a lifetime. Well, finally the appeals court reversed the conviction and sent the matter back to JUVENILE COURT. The girl was coerced by the police into making statements, she was tried TWICE, and all, in all, very much abused by the system. ?The ruling came despite a plea for caution from Jayla's mother, Judy Shaw, who urged the judge to ``protect the safety of our community,'' and testimony from a caseworker at the Texas Youth Commission facility who said Lacresha had become more disruptive while in custody.? In custody translates to when Jayla was 11 to 13 years of age! If Jayla is such a disruptive and dangerous child, why isn?t she in a mental or hospital setting? The news reports goes on, ?(Toddler Jayola Beltone) died May 24, 1996, of massive internal injuries after spending the day in the home Lacresha shared with her grandparents and five brothers and sisters. The family often baby-sat for Jayla and other children.? Is Lacresha a murderously dangerous child-girl? Such things happen. There is a right to this and we need the more subtle approach than is offered in today?s prosecution system. If 13-year-old Lacresha is a sociopath who is capable of murdering again, she should be CARED for. She should be given a chance at rehabilitation. Our newspapers are full of grown men who rape children and even of husbands who kill their wives and children who are out of jail, free, in 4-6 years - IF they spend any time in prison at all. But here we have an 11-year-old who was originally going to be EXECUTED and then sentenced to 25 years on the basis of a forced confession ... Something ain?t right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With more and more men using Viagra for ?recreational? purposes (as opposed to what???), the horror stories of what can happen to them increases. Death ... heart attacks ... Bob Dole becoming a sex symbol ... However, out of Singapore comes a horny teenagers wildest day dream - a three day erection, known to doctors as a priapism. The happy times turned to misery and it took surgery to undo the situation. Now the man appears to be impotent. The pill was allegedly obtained on the black market. (Maybe running for president is Elizabeth Dole?s way of getting out of the house now that Bob doesn?t have a regular job anymore. Can?t think of any other reason although at her age she can afford to have an anti-reproductive freedom for women even with a husband who is ?high? on a ?performance enhancing product.? But, according to all reports, the ?couple? never spent a lot of time together, not even in the same state.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For the millennium, fathers have been blaming mothers for ?making *my* son gay,? and now some Canadian ?scientists? are trying to prove it through an alleged ?gay gene? that is inherited from mothers. The drive in many sectors of the ?scientific? community to make male homosexuality a biological fact and not ?choice? is being pushed by certain gay men who apparently are so ashamed of being gay that they want to blame someone else - and then continue to live the gay lifestyle without any ?blame.? Well, that?s balderdash. Being gay or lesbians is a perfectly good way to live. The problem with such research it that is begs the different actions and makeup of the feminine homosexual males and their more ?macho? partners. And the idea COMPLETELY ignores lesbians. Isn?t science wonderful? Just deals with facts, not prejudices. And the moon is made of green cheese. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ken Starr tried to lift the stigma of having his legal ass kicked in the Susan McDougal trial by saying the Little Rock jurors were somehow prejudiced because the Starr vendetta reflected badly on the state. Au Contraire. Arkieland has its own sense of humor. A Little Rock night club owner was charged with letting dancers show too much skin. The club owner had the dancers show up at the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission hearing. The women dropped the front of their dresses to show that the pasties they wore did indeed cover the offending nipples. The five-man MALE commission agreed. OFFENDING NIPPLES? OH MY GAWD! When will this nation grow up? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Let?s see now, the owner of Domino?s Pizza is setting up a new law school to teach Roman Catholic ethics in an attempt to change U.S. law - as Robert Mellon Scaife is doing with Pepperdine law school to return the U.S. to the human rights standards of the Stone Age. There are others, of course. How far this ?let?s go back to the Stone Age philosophy? is reflected in recent actions at the University of St. Thomas when it banned date-rape counseling. Seems that the date-rape counseling in the area is under the umbrellas of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota-South Dakota - a group that sometimes does abortions. Last fall, Dease forced the move of Partners Internship Program away from St. Thomas by demanding the group not sponsor any internships with groups that might by involved in pro-choice. Charges are being made that the action was directed by by bishops and the pope in a drive to return ?Catholic universities to 'true values.' ?It's happening all over the country," one spokesman said. (TRUE VALUES always seem to translate to take human rights away from women!) The Rev. Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas, recently added to the controversy by vetoing a female undergraduate from taking an internship at PP for credit. H said, ?... my feeling is that by granting credit, we would be endorsing her being mentored by an organization whose values and mission is, in one sense, antithetical to ours." (Bet Dease sees to it that the college accepts tax dollars from the state and federal governments whose legal system on the rights of humans disagrees with his.) Dease downplays talk that this is some sort of effort to turn back the clock. Though about 60 percent of the undergraduate population is Catholic, diversity of ideas and backgrounds is valued at the school, he said."... here's a case of two sets of values [academic freedom and the church]: How can we be faithful to both?" A Planned Parenthood spokesperson said, "The student indicated to her faculty adviser what she wanted to do," he said. "She was completely aboveboard, but then she was told she was not going to be given credit for a course that was required for her to graduate. All agreed that this was an appropriate program for her, but then it was stopped by Father Dease. Wherein does the ability to teach, academic freedom, give way to the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church?" "These are issues that people of good will disagree on," said Dease. But the disagreement always seems to be on the backs of women. The school will REQUIRE all entering students to read a book about a gay man?s acceptance of the death of his partner to AIDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For some reason (sic!) the ancient methods of human fertility control has been suppressed, in fact so suppressed that women don't even use logic to combat the absence of such knowledge. We know, for example, that the basic break in woman-to-woman information (oral tradition) occurred during the burning of the witches, i.e., the murdering of women who held knowledge and power such as the herbalists, and the midwives during the 14th into the 16th centuries. The caregivers (women) were also the large scale victims of the Black Death plague. But the information was recorded in manuscripts and books that were not destroyed. They have remained, hidden by HIStory that had no use for such things, until recently unearthed by MEN scholars. What we don't understand is why feminist scholars of today don't attempt to further unearth the old knowledge and disseminate it to modern women. We'll let women?s past inability to find such knowledge pass by. As John Riddle wrote in an article in _Archaeology_ magazine in 1994, "In ancient times, contrary to what historians have been telling us for the past several centuries, many women practiced birth-control with little interference from religious or political authorities. The knowledge of the plants that allowed them to do so and the lapse of that knowledge by the time of the Renaissance is a story that is only now emerging with clarity." For example, Soranus in the 2nd century A.D. suggested avoiding intercourse during a woman's fertile period, inducing sneezing to expel sperm, wiping out the vagina and drinking something cold. He also suggested smearing the cervix with a mixture of olive oil, astringents, and gums of certain trees such as juniper, cedar or balsam, to close the cervix before intercourse. Many of the things suggested by Soranus for use as vaginal suppositories have been found to be spermicidal by modern chemists. (Question to the fertile women readers: do YOU know what substances are spermicidal?) To read more about ancient anti-fertility methods, read John M. Riddle's _Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to Renaissance_, and _The Control of Late Ancient and Medieval Population_ by Josiah C. Russell. We recommend women buying copies of the books to be put away for the just-in-case future. The religious right is aiming at the presidency and control of the U.S. Congress. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Women's rights are young and tender and we must protect them from the plagues of holy hypocrisy and newts. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> Send your ideas, comments, and news to istuber@undelete.org for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter. This is NOT an interactive discussion but an exchange of information. Catt's Claws is NOT sponsored by any organization. We are accepting *limited* donations (only what can be spared) to help offset the online costs of posting Catt's Claws and archiving them. Copyright 1999, Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902, email istuber@undelete.orgt<<<< To receive Catt's Claws by email, send to and in the body of the note We thank Jennifer Gagliardi for handling the madding subscription list through her listserv and extend a deep bow to Barbara Wilson for her outstanding work with the WiiN/Undelete web site going way beyond devotion to a cause. To view the Catt?s Claws archives and LOTS of women information, got to .