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letters SPRING 2011 · VOLUME XXI · NUMBER 2 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Katherine Spillar MANAGING EDITOR Michel Cicero SENIOR EDITOR Michele Kort ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jessica Stites GLOBAL EDITOR Robin Morgan MONEY EDITOR Martha Burk BOOK REVIEW EDITOR Mary Ellen Strote CONSULTING EDITOR Gloria Steinem COPY EDITING Camille Hahn COLUMNIST Donna Brazile PROOFREADER Miriam Jacobson STRATEGIC PLANNING/MARKETING ADVISOR Kathy Bonk MS. IN THE CLASSROOM MANAGING DIRECTOR Ina Coleman INTERNS Kyle Bachan, Matthew Burgoyne, Dahlia Grossman-Heinze, Stephanie Hallett, Amanda Litman ART DIRECTION: Brandi Phipps EDITORS EMERITI Suzanne Braun Levine, Robin Morgan, Marcia Ann Gillespie, Elaine Lafferty FOUNDING EDITORS Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, Mary Peacock, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Gloria Steinem ADVISORY BOARD Justine Andronici, Linda Basch, Ph.D., Kathy Bonk, Martha Burk, Ph.D., Gaylynn Burroughs, Nohelia Canales, Helen Cho, Ina Coleman, Abigail Disney, Kim Gandy, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Ph.D., Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, Dolores Huerta, Lisa Lee, Ph.D., Camryn Manheim, Rielle Montague, Kathy Najimy, Amy Richards, Alix Ritchie, Lorraine Sheinberg, Eleanor Smeal, Jane E. Smith, Ed.D., Katherine Spillar, Ronnie Steinberg, Ph.D., Gloria Steinem, Jenny Warburg, Evelyn White, Jacqueline Woods, Peg Yorkin, Helen Zia COMMITTEE OF SCHOLARS Chair: Bonnie Thornton Dill, Ph.D., Women’s Studies/Consortium on Race, Gender & Ethnicity, U. of MD; Linda Basch, Ph.D., President, National Council for Research on Women (NCRW); Kum-Kum Bhavnani, Ph.D., Gender and Third World Development, UC Santa Barbara; Nohelia Canales, M.S., Life Sciences, ELAC; Jennifer Cognard-Black, Ph.D., Women Novelists and Feminist Theory, St. Mary’s College of MD; Irasema Coronado, Ph.D., Border Politics, College of Liberal Arts, U. of TX, El Paso; Norlisha F. Crawford, Ph.D., English/African American Studies, UW Oshkosh; Kelly Brown Douglas, Ph.D., Religion, Goucher College; Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Ph.D., Comparative Women’s Studies, Spelman College; Carol Hardy-Fanta, Ph.D., Gender, Race/Ethnicity and Politics, UMass Boston; Valerie Ann Johnson, Ph.D., Africana Women’s Studies, Bennett College; L. S. Kim, Ph.D., Film, Television and Digital Media Studies, UC Santa Cruz; Allison B. Kimmich, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Women’s Studies Assoc.; Kimi Lynn King, J.D./Ph.D., Political Science, U. of N. TX; C. Nicole Mason, Ph.D., Women of Color Policy Network, NYU Wagner; Irma McClaurin, Ph.D., President, Shaw University; Gwendolyn Mink, Ph.D., Government, Smith College; Layli Phillips, Ph.D., Women’s Studies, Georgia State U.; Barbara Ransby, Ph.D., African-American Studies and History, U. of IL, Chicago; Ronnie J. Steinberg, Ph.D., Sociology, Political Economy of Inequality, Vanderbilt U.; Nayereh Tohidi, Ph.D., Women’s Studies, Women in Islamic Studies, CA State U., Northridge; Funded by the Ford Foundation Ms. (ISSN 0047-8318) is published quarterly by Liberty Media for Women, LLC (GST # 897165296RT), which is wholly owned by the Feminist Majority Foundation, 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 801, Arlington, VA 22209. Vol. XXI, No. 2, Spring 2011. Publications Mail Sales Agreement No. 1571516. Periodicals Postage Paid at Arlington, VA, and at additional offices. Copyright © 2011 by Liberty Media for Women, LLC. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, in English or other languages, prohibited. All rights reserved throughout the world. Ms. is a registered trademark of Liberty Media for Women, LLC in the United States and other countries. SEND EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO: 433 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Ms. community regular membership fee: $45. Send change of address or membership fee to: Ms., P.O. Box 97313, Washington, D.C. 20077-7049, or call (866) MS AND ME (866.672.6363). Please allow six to eight weeks for deliv- ery of first issue. Postmaster: Send address changes to Ms., P.O. Box 97313, Washington, D.C. 20077-7049. Ms. is printed on recycled, processed chlo- rine-free paper. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 6 | SPRING 2011 letters PELOSI GLOWS Bravo! Nancy Pelosi’s glow on the cover of the latest Ms. magazine [Winter 2011] lifts the gloom hover- ing over U.S. politics and puts to shame the newsweeklies that cowered from celebrating her achievements in the same way (though they were quick to feature John Boehner even before he took up the speaker’s gavel). Whether or not she is the best speaker “ever,” her determined intelli- gence and fierce tenacity should en- courage all women and men committed to justice for all, not only in the U.S. but every place on earth where the struggle for inclusion is urgent. —Dr. Ruth Chojnack Chicago, IL Thank you for speaking the truth about Nancy Pelosi [“Most. Effective. Speaker. Ever.”]. It was Pelosi [who] got Obama’s agenda done. Republicans know this. The GOP didn’t take on Obama; they took on Pelosi. When they vilified her in every ad, in every state, you knew whom they feared the most. —Judy Rembacki Georgetown, KY STILL LISTENING As a longtime supporter of Ms. mag- azine, I continue to be more than impressed by your continued support for women’s needs in every aspect of society; your voice continues to be strong and committed, and there are millions of us out here listening. I was so anxious [to receive] your current issue [Winter 2011] with Nancy Pelosi and also an article on Elizabeth Warren [“The Woman Who Won the Debate”]—two women who are making a positive difference for each of us, female and male. Thank you for being there; Ms. is a real gift in this world of concern. —CJ Brewer Oregon City, OR HAITI BY HAITIANS Thank you, thank you, thank you for coverage of Haiti written by an actual Haitian [“Rising From the Dust of Goudougoudou,” Winter 2011]! I am so weary of so-called in-depth reporting on Haiti, which in fact cov- ers the perceptions of U.S. citizens “brave” enough to tough it out in Haiti for a month or two of service. Ms. [Gina] Ulysse’s article was indeed all about the women of Haiti and their pursuit of justice in spite of imposed invisibility. Rather than awestruck middle-class Americans peering into a window at Haiti, we have the writer and her subjects opening wide their own windows, exposing us to an authentic message on their actions on behalf of sisters in their homeland. —Martha D. Garcia Via email DON’T FORGET FGM Your article on Ethiopia, “Heart and Soul” [Winter 2011], cited improve- ments in women’s health due to female health-care workers. However it failed to discuss a major cause of maternal deaths: female genital muti- lation (FGM). If a girl survives the cutting away of part or all of her cli- toris and/or the labia, scar tissue grows and reduces vaginal flexibility. This often causes painful intercourse. In childbirth, scarring obstructs the vagina [leading to tearing]; both mother and baby sometimes die. Despite the work of many people, the problem continues. —Amy Bollenbach Homer, AK FOLLOW THE LEADERSHIP Thank you for “A Road Map for Leadership” [Winter 2011], which outlined the need for leadership classes as a core element of women’s studies programs. As a women’s stud- www.feminist.org