Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/24680
letters POETS WHO LOVE WOMEN Milestones in the Summer 2009 issue lists Carol Ann Duffy as Britain’s first woman poet laureate, an out lesbian. Serving in the same year, as poet lau- reate of the United States, is Kay Ryan, also an out lesbian. What a his- toric moment of “poetic justice.” —Judith Ebert Brooklyn, NY LET GIRLS TALK I am a 16-year-old high school student and am concerned that the newly cre- ated White House Council on Women and Girls [“Keeping Council,” Spring 2009] does not include any girls on it. As a young advocate for girls I cannot help but feel that I, and the 36 million other young women in the U.S. under age 18, have been overlooked. We are a unique demographic, and one cannot address our country’s gender gap without also considering the generation gap. The women of the Obama administration, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Valerie Jarrett to name two, inspire the girls of my generation and provide us with positive female role models, but they cannot speak for us. We have our own voice and our own perspective and we are eager to be heard, aching to be respected. I can promise you that we have far more to bring to the table than a discourse on the Jonas Brothers, lip gloss and Facebook. —Erin Bilir Denver, CO WISE LATINAS Thank you for printing Carolina Gonzalez’s article “What a Difference a Latina Makes” [Spring 2009]. We, Latina students in the Texas University system, proudly appropri- ate the comment made by the newest U.S. Supreme Court judge [that a “wise Latina” will “more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male”]. This statement asserts that in addition to being an educated Latina, she also embodies the many life experiences that shape her multi- ple identities and how she interprets the world. As Gonzalez’s article states, in June 2009, only about a quarter of active U.S. federal judges are women. Moreover, only 7.5 percent of the federal judges are Latino, which sig- nifies an even lower Latina presence. The extreme underrepresentation of Latinos, especially Latinas, is why the Latina perspective on the U.S. Supreme Court is a necessity, espe- cially when Latinos are now the [largest] minority in the country. We have chosen to voice our stance via a T-shirt [that says] WISE LATINA [available at] www.wise latinas.blogspot.com. We would like to say de puro corazón that Judge Sotomayor is one of our meras, meras role models. All of her accomplish- ments inspire us to continue in our own journeys. —Irma Rosas and Magda García University of Texas, San Antonio Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social BMW, WTF? Ms. reader Marian G. Schmidt wrote BMW North America to complain about an ad for used BMWs featured in Ms.’ “No Comment” section (Winter 2009). It showed a woman in a provocative position, with the tagline “You know you’re not the first.” Here’s an excerpt of the reply Schmidt received from BMW: Dear Ms. Schmidt, On behalf of BMW, please accept my apology. This particular ad was developed by BMW Greece some time ago. BMW of North America did not participate, nor did the ad ever run in the United States. We never in- tend to offend our BMW owners and admirers. The BMW Ultimate Drive for Susan G. Komen for the Cure program just completed its 12th year. Since the program’s inception in 1997, the event has raised over $11 million dollars for breast cancer re- search, education, screening and treatment programs. —Sandee Barrowclough Communications Specialist BMW North America BASEBALL FOR ALL Thanks for noting in the summer issue that Justine Siegal, who has 8 | FALL 2009 www.feminist.org