Sexism in Oklahoma

Posted on Moondogs: November 29, 2009

In Oklahoma, Women Mayors and Representatives the exception, not the rule

I was struck today by two different articles in the Tulsa World opinion pages. 1 2 They weren’t written by the same reporter, but were eerily similar in their expressions of how women are treated in Oklahoma.

Is Our State Full Of Wicked Women?

Seems there are more wicked women in Oklahoma than any other state in the union — Or maybe not.

According to the Oklahoma Department Of Corrections 3 Oklahoma prisons are #1 in the incarceration of Women in the US, but then the state is also #4 in the nation in the number of incarcerations overall, so maybe it’s all relative.

Tulsa Ranks Last as Healthy Place for Women!

Tulsa? Really? This “bastion of liberalism” which recently cut its police force because of budget cuts? Apparently this is so.

According to a study commissioned by SELF magazine, 4 Tulsa has been ranked as the least healthy place in the nation for women. One of the many statistics was most telling. Compared to the national average, “women in Tulsa are more likely to be a victim of rape or other violent crime”.

My View from the Porch

Has respect for our wives and daughters gone completely out the window? Are our womenfolk supposed to walk ten paces behind and simply submit to their husbands and fathers? Are they supposed to just stay home, barefoot and pregnant?

Oklahoma is a conservative state, with all the wonderful Mayberry things that this means. But our attitudes toward our wives and daughters should be updated. If you want to get religious, our wives are supposed to be our helpmates, not our whipping posts.

Our wives and daughters are raising our children and grand-children. Supporting and respecting them is only superseded by protecting them. Oklahoma can do better.