Mary Wollstonecraft

You know who was an amazing writer? Mary Wollstonecraft. She wrote the book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (full text available) in 1792--can you believe a woman could publish a feminist book back then? I read part of it for my Woman Studies class and I was blown away by her eloquence and her fire. She is so blunt about the subjugation of women and she doesn't hold back in tearing Rousseau and other philosophers' writings concerning women apart. It's such a breath of fresh air and it's still relevant today. She talks about socialization and education and lots of topics we still struggle with. Other women who I think deserve applause today: Phyllis Wheatley and Anne Bradstreet.

Argentina doesn't get it right

Last year Argentina finally passed a law prohibiting trafficking in persons! Yes! But...there is a stipulation in it that required that trafficking victims over the age of 18 prove that they did not consent sexual exploitation, which implies that women may consent to being trafficked. I really don't care whether she was kidnapped (rare), lured by promises of a job, or even knew she was going into prostitution. Trafficking is wrong--PERIOD. It takes advantage of women no matter how they become ensnared. Some women's and human rights groups asked President Cristina Fernandez to partially veto the law, which otherwise looks good. I'll have to do some looking and then update.

Link to the news report: http://www.wunrn.com/news/2009/02_09/02_23_09/022309_trafficking.htm