Amy Williams

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By Amy Williams • 13 years ago

Where are San Francisco’s Lady Chefs?

That’s the question that several readers had on their mind after the publication of the San Francisco Chronicle’s latest Star Chef issue which featured six male Bay Area chefs in its “class of 2011.” (The class of 2010 had a similar look).

Food critic Michael Bauer responded to reader hackles with the following in a recent blog article:

“We realized we lacked female talent when we compiled the list. We wracked our brains, asked around and tossed around several names, but in the final analysis the candidates we identified simply couldn’t compete with the men we chose. It’s not that we’re insensitive, because male voices are in the minority on the Food & Wine staff. Everyone agreed that it wouldn’t be right to put in a lesser talent just because the person under consideration was female.”

Bauer speculated that the long hours and physical demands of being a chef may have the effect of keeping women out of the kitchen. “Hours are long and work is mostly at night; it can be a problem if you want to raise children.” But I suspect that sexism in the restaurant business is playing a larger role.

When reflecting on the dearth of lady-chef award winners in the New York City, chef and restaurant owner Amanda Cohen wrote the following in 2010:

“I see women working in restaurants all over the city, so why aren’t they winning awards and being celebrated by the press? Why don’t more New ...

By Amy Williams • 13 years ago

Sexism, Virgin Mobile Style

Audiences love stories of bridezillas, black widows, man-obsessed stalkers and other unhinged women. In Virgin Mobile latest commercial, we get to see an attractive young woman threatening to come undone over “Brad,” a man whom she has just gone out on a date.

The woman hides in a tree outside of Brad’s window and says:

Brad and I just had the best first date . I think he’s the one! And now with my android powered phone … I can email the pics I took to my mom … I can go through his Flickr stream to make sure I’m hotter than his exes, follow his Twitter feed to see if he’s mentioned me yet. I can even watch his four-square ...

By Amy Williams • 13 years ago

Revisiting “Love’s Labor”

Eva Feder Kittay’s groundbreaking book, Love’s Labor: Essays on Women, Equality and Dependency, was written more than 10 years ago but it is still a must-read for any serious feminist. Kittay calls into question some common-sense ideas about what it means to be “independent” and truly “equal.” What does true “equality” for all women look like?

Here’s an excerpt from a book review of Love’s Labor that I wrote for a graduate seminar last year:

One of the best things that can be said about Eva Feder Kittay’s Love’s Labor is that it strives to push the limits of dominant Western political thought and seeks to explore the ways in which the liberal egalitarian tradition, exemplified by John Rawls, has functioned to ...

By Amy Williams • 13 years ago

It’s Still Not OK to be Gay in the U.S. Military

If you thought that senate’s 65-31 vote in December to repeal ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ officially put an end to the military’s 17-year old ban on openly gay and lesbian troops serving in the U.S. military, you’re wrong – but probably not alone.

The New York Times recently reported that ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ won’t officially end until 60 days after the Department of Defense tells Congress that the military is ready for openly gay soldiers:

“The bill passed by Congress did not actually repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ but only created a mechanism for doing so. The policy will not end until 60 days after the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the

By Amy Williams • 13 years ago

Hey Boehner: Women are “People” Too!

I keep hearing the phrase “the American people” sounded off by conservatives like John Boehner and others who claim that “the people” want to sack Planned Parenthood, outlaw abortion and eliminate public assistance programs that help millions of low-income women.

Here’s what Boehner recently said in support of a bill that would eliminate all federal funding for abortions:

“A ban on taxpayer funding of abortions is the will of the people, and it ought to be the will of the land. The current law, particularly as enforced by this administration, does not reflect the will of the American people. Last year, we listened to the American people through America Speaking Out. They spoke on this issue loudly and ...