INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

TODAY (Tuesday March 8th) IS THE 100^th ANNIVERSAY OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

And before any of you close this window because you think it's some feminist bogus not worth your time, there is also an international men's day, so have no fear. We fight for equality, not female superiority. 

What does International Women's Day mean?

There is no country in the world where men and women are equal, and that needs to change. There are women and men all over the world who are trying to change the world, and make a difference, but there needs to be more people taking action.

100 years ago when this day started, there were only two countries in the world where women could vote, and now that right is nearly universal—which is what it should be.

The head of the new U.N. women's agency said that “there has been "remarkable progress" since International Women's Day was first celebrated ...but gender equality remains a distant goal because women still suffer widespread discrimination and lack political and economic clout.”

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (who I got to hear speak at the UN two weeks ago) said in a statement marking the 100th anniversary that the pioneering women who launched the commemoration to promote better working conditions, the right to vote and hold public office, and equality with men, would probably look at the world today "with a mixture of pride and disappointment."

It was discrimination against women that brought over one million women and men from the socialist movement onto the streets for rallies in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on what was originally called International Working Women's Day on March 19, 1911.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming this to be a day for women's rights and international peace.

"The last century has seen an unprecedented expansion of women's legal rights and entitlements”, but Bachelet, who founded a brand new organization called of UN Women, said that despite this progress, "the hopes of equality expressed on that first International Women's Day are a long way from being realized."

“Girls are still less likely to be in school than boys, almost two-thirds of illiterate adults are women, and every 90 seconds a woman dies in pregnancy or due to childbirth-related complications despite the knowledge and resources to make births safe, and women continue to earn less than men for the same work and have unequal inheritance rights and access to land.”

One thing to work towards is getting an equal representation of men and women in government positions. Only 28 women are heads of state or government and just 8 percent are peace negotiators.

We need to work to give women the same tools and resources as men, including better access to education, land, technology, financial services, and markets.

We need to work to at drawing the line between tradition and harm, with things like child-brides, female genital mutilation, and girls not being aloud to attend school, or sometimes leave their own house without a man.

There are many organizations that you can be a part of to help with gender equality worldwide. Even just passing this email on to spread awareness is a step in the right direction,

remember, women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights. Let's make these rights a reality for HUMANS everywhere.

Young women put back 90% of their income into their household, but men only give back 30-40%. http://www.plan-uk.org/pdfs/Girls_report_YOUTH.pdf

1 in 6 adults cannot read or write; 2/3 of them are women. http://on.fb.me/eIVMNi

Watch and/or read Secratery Clinton's remarks on the 100^th Anniversary of Int'l Women's Day: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/03/157647.htm

CSW 55 Part 1!

Nicole Jordan Webber and I arrived in New Jersey at four in the afternoon on Saturday, February 19th. We were welcomed by my Uncle John and the most adorable kid ever -- my little cousin John Michael. After catching up with the family and lletting Nicole fall in love with JM and his clever antics, after a few riveting rounds of Uno and one delicious taco dinner, we headed out to Julie’s house. Julie is one of the heads of Girls Learn International, the organization that I represented at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 55. Julie, her comic loving fiance Matt, and their indescribable beagle Simon, warmly greeted and welcomed us into their lives and home for what would be the next week. We chatted and played Lego Star Wars Wii long into the night, and then found soft comfort in our beds. I slept wonderfully, but not long enough, a recurring pattern for us that week.

On Sunday morning Matt drove the three of us to the train station. We arrived in New York City at Pace University where we met another GLI staff-woman named Georgia, along with dozens of other women and girl delegates of the CSW. Aside from the registrar first thinking that Georgia was a minor, and then thinking that she was my mom, everything went smoothly.

The key note speaker on Sunday’s event of Girls Stand Up was a previous president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. She was the first and only (so far) female president of Chile, and many other countries (including the US who claims to be so progressive) hasn’t had one yet. She talked primarily about the group that she’s starting called UN Women, which is all about raising awareness and taking action for gender equality. Many of these women are seen as staunch feminists, which is often thought of as women who think of their own sex as superior to that of men, but actually they just want equality. They want to be neither better nor given more opportunities than men, and no matter what some people say there is no country in the world that has complete gender equality yet. Ranging from issues like access to education, to equal pay, to how gender is portrayed in the media, women and girls all over the world face discrimination. Ms. Bachelet, along with many others believe that the UN’s goals haven’t covered women and girls enough as they should, and UN Women will do finally do that.

At CSW55 we talked primarily about girls and women in relation to the STEM field; that is science, technology, engineering and math. We discussed why girls and women aren’t as common in these fields as men, and what we can do to change that. The review theme was violence, so we talked about sex-trafficking, child brides, and other forms of violence against girls and women that is seen worldwide. In both the review theme and the primary theme we talked about boys and men, and how they played into these themes. I was grateful to hear many women say that they knew men weren’t the only perpetrators of violence or discrimination, and that boys and men are also victims. Through the next week I participated in writing the Girls Statement that was presented to the UN General Assembly. I made connections with girls and women alike, and heard many wonderful speakers. But through all of this I didn’t meet one single person that thought that women deserve any more rights than men, which is a common misconception about this type of “feminist” or “female-dominated” events. We just want gender equality and if men and boys ever start to receive less opportunity or respect than women and girls, we will all start attending a Commission on the Status of Men. But for now it’s the women and girls’ rights that have yet to be fulfilled that we need to bring to everyone’s attention. The main thing that GLI does is to help provide an equal education for girls worldwide, which is the main human right that is violated based on gender. There are others as well, and if you are interested please enlighten yourself, or talk to me, or anyone else in GLI or involved in gender equality and human rights.

To leave you with today...Ms. Bachelet ended her speech by saying that girls and boys are “not just tomorrow’s leaders, but also today’s.” Go forth and make a difference!

I'm alive! I'm here! Don't Fret!

Hey everyone!!
I'm so sorry, I've been MIA from this blog for about a year...that doesn't seem too good, does it? Well, I'm back. And just in time too! Tomorrow I will head to SF to spend the night at an airport in preparation to fly out early Saturday morning to New York City (center of the universe...)!!! I'm going back to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, and I will be representing Girls Learn International as a Girl Delegate. I will be co-leading a couple workshops, and be participating in so many amazing activities. I'm ridiculously excited!! My friend who will be taking over the GLI Chapter at my school next year is coming with me! Last year my mommy came with, which was great, but I'm ready to have this adventure with Nicole. I just talked to Nicole about how we need to stay rested, or else we will just collapse during the day--from exhaustion AND excitement. Speaking of exhaustion....i'm really just incredibly tired right now, so I should probably end this blog post right here and get ready to enter dreamland.
I will leave you with this: "For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.  As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others." -Audrey Hepburn

Late On 8

Hey folks! (don't u like my little southern vocab?)
So today my mama came to me with a very important story, that i thought i should share with you. 
She was making a delivery at one of her regular accounts and she noticed a parked car with its headlights left on. She looked at the car so as to describe it to the people in the office, and she noticed a "Yes on 8" and "McCain/Palin" stickers. She could have just letting the guys' battery run out but decided not to be petty. (btw for everyone that doesn't know, my moms are lesbian). She went inside to the guy at the desk, a nice man who she sees regularly, and says "do you know anyone who drives an older Toyota Corolla and...(pause for dramatic effect as my eyes gaze up from the desk to meet his in a locked stare) is against gay marriage?" 
"Oh! That's mine."
"...Your lights are on."
"Thank you!"
She makes her way back to her truck, and when he comes out she hovers politely to see if his car will start. It doesn't and they commiserate briefly. Linda then offers her hand to shake and say, "I'm Linda and I'm gay. I've been with my partner for 19 years and we have 2 kids. How is the way I live my life threatening to you?"
His answer: "My father is a minister and I believe every word of the Bible to be true. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met...it's nothing personal."
As Linda climbed into her truck, she thought, "'Believing every word of the Bible to be true is very personal.' It's a personal belief that dictates a tremendous amount of how one lives one's life. I know he meant that he doesn't hold anything against me "personally" but it really made me think about the obvious disconnect. For all the doubts and questions I face in life, I'm grateful for the struggle that leads me to my own beliefs rather than a set of dictates handed down to me."
When Linda asked this I asked her what he was wearing, and no I wasn't trying to see if he was a hick or something, I wanted to see what kinda of fabric her wore. Linda reported back saying that he was wearing a plain t-shirt, and jeans. So cotton and denim, I see....that's funny that he believes every word of the bible to be true...because in the bible it clearly states that one must never wear two difference types of fabric together. What now, I bet mister Yes on 8 didn't read that part of the Bible, or perhaps just felt that it wasnt a current issue. Dang right it's not a current issue, and neither should Prop 8 be one!!! I mean if you just pick and choose what you want from the Bible, that's not very Christian is it? You can interpret what you read, but you shouldn't make other people live their lives a certain way just because you are too close minded to except change. Although homosexuality isnt a change, it has ALWAYS been around. I am doing a research project in psychology class on if our sexuality is hardwired, so far it looks like it is, but I will report back with more.
suck on that... okay sorry that was a bit harsh, he is clearly a nice guy, but i just think everyone should really know what they're doing when they take away someone's rights, and really think... do they want that to be done to them? Nope! 
okay thanks for listening to this rant.. i hope you made it all the way through...this is important stuff people!!


peace, love, faith, and joy
Erin 

Welcome...Both you and me!

Bonjour! I'm Erin Butterfield, Erin Butters, Buttsey, Butters, Errie Berrie (if i get lucky enough that my bro calls me that!), Baby Butters, and whatever else people can think of...

I am passionate about basically everything in my life. I'm passionate about learning, passionate about making a difference, passionate about my friends and family, passionate about music and writing. The list goes on, but that's the basis of it.

I started this blog, thanks to my cousin Natalie! (http://www.collegehousewife.blogspot.com/) I saw her blog, and was like uhmm yah i gotta get one. I had a tumblr, but it was kinda lame...not to be a hater, but it was confusing and people just reblogged instead of creating. CREATION is the way we change, the way we survive, not redoing/repeating/reblogging...so here I am.

I hope to update this as often as possible with all sorts of stuff. Human Rights and Social Justice is something HUGE in my life, so I will of course be talking about that. I write poetry, fiction, and the occasional song, so maybe if i'm confident enough you'll be seeing some of that too. Just talk to me, i love expressing myself, and i hope you enjoy reading!

peace, faith, joy, love

erin