West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Telling West Virginia's Story
Throughout history, men have been seen as the dominant gender. Why is this? Some assume the model goes all the way back to the primitive cave man. Others believe the gender pecking order was commanded by God.
In this episode, Trey speaks with John Biewen and Celeste Headlee about their “Men” series for the “Scene On Radio” podcast. In this episode we dive deep into how, when and why men invented the patriarchy, and how it hurts everyone.
Merriam-Webster declared that the word for 2017 is ‘feminism.’ The term was the most-looked-up on their online dictionary, and there were 70% more searches for the word this year than in 2016. Trey feels this couldn’t be more timely because this year, he’s seen women effecting a change in the balance of power in ways that he’s never experienced before. In a way, he sees the whole thing like an earthquake that’s been a long time in coming.
He’s trying to wrap his mind around what the New Year might hold for the sexual misconduct “tsunami” the earthquake has unleashed. To try to get a handle on all of this, Trey sits down with his friends Lauren Schiller of the *Inflection Point *podcast and Nancy Giles of the CBS Sunday Morning Show and The Giles Files podcast.
From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and PRX, this is “Us & Them,” the podcast where we tell the stories about America’s cultural divides. Subscribe to “Us & Them” on Apple Podcasts, NPR One or wherever you listen to podcasts. Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @usthempodcast or @wvpublic, or leave a comment on Facebook.com/usthempodcast. This episode is part of a series made possible with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. And if you enjoyed this episode, join our community and sustain “Us & Them” with a pledge of support.
Dozens of women marched topless through the streets of Charleston recently to protest the objectification of women, and norms that discourage breastfeeding in public.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones called it “a naked spectacle” and asked marchers to stay clear of a street fair going on nearby.
West Virginia state law does not specifically prohibit women going topless. But the uproar around the march shows that it continues to be controversial.
On this week’s Front Porch podcast, we debate nudity (male and female), our reaction to it and what it says about us as West Virginians.
We also talk about the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, and the crucial role of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
And, is it possible to change someone’s mind? A social media site is rewarding open-mindedness. How open minded are you?
Welcome to “The Front Porch,” where we tackle the tough issues facing Appalachia the same way you talk with your friends on the porch.
Hosts include WVPB Executive Director and recovering reporter Scott Finn; conservative lawyer, columnist and rabid “Sherlock” fan Laurie Lin; and liberal columnist and avid goat herder Rick Wilson, who works for the American Friends Service Committee.
An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available at wvpublic.org and as a podcast as well.
Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org
The Front Porch is underwritten by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Gazette-Mail. Find the latest news, traffic and weather on its CGM App. Download it in your app store, and check out its website: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/
About 2,800 people gathered outside the Capitol in Charleston on Saturday, Jan. 21, to show their support for women’s equality one day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The march was one of roughly 600 “sister marches” to the Women’s March on Washington in Washington, D.C., which was organized as a march for women’s equality as well as for other marginalized groups. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the Women’s March on Washington.
More than 1,000 people RSVP’d to the Charleston march online. According to event organizers, approximately 2,800 people participated in Saturday’s march at the West Virginia State Capitol.
The event was organized by several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, the West Virginia Citizen Action Group and West Virginia Focus on Reproductive Education and Equality.
"I'm here so that my daughter has what she needs to have a good life. Everybody has the right to love who they want to love and raise their children the way they want to raise them to be healthy and safe." -march participant Jessica Ball.
“Everything that we’ve been fighting for for years I think is at stake here,” said one of the marchers, Mary Bolton, who lives in Institute, West Virginia. “As an African American mother and grandmother, I’m concerned about the state of affairs in our country. I’m concerned about the rhetoric, and what our current president has unleashed in our society. And I am determined to have a voice and to educate and to help other women, men and children turn this tide around.”
Although most of the marchers were women, men also participated in Saturday’s march, saying they were there to support women’s rights, and equality for all people.
Many women brought their children to the march, including Jessica Ball, of Barboursville, West Virginia, who marched with her 12-year-old daughter, Ireland Grace Ball.
“I’m here so that my daughter has what she needs to have a good life,” Ball said. “Everybody has the right to love who they want to love and raise their children the way they want to raise them to be healthy and safe.”
Ball is a social worker, and she said she would like to see people be able to keep their health care under a Trump presidency.
Many women at West Virginia’s march also said affordable health care was a major issue for them. Other issues that brought women to the event were concerns for a safe and healthy environment for their children, and fair rights for LGBT individuals.
West Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman Belinda Biafore also released a statement on Saturday.
“They always say you never know someone’s struggles until you walk a mile in their shoes. While today marks an unfathomable act of togetherness, we need to be sure we’re bringing this energy, determination and fight home with us,” she wrote in an email. “We need to grab our clipboards, our walking shoes and we need to fight for the future of West Virginia. We can’t give up and we can only do the most good for West Virginia and her people if we do it together.”
According to the Associated Press, more than 1 million people rallied at women’s marches in the nation’s capital and cities around the world on Saturday.
