Air America Radio host to speak Tuesday

3:14 p.m., Sept. 29, 2004--Laura Flanders, author and host of The Laura Flanders Show on Air America radio, will give a lecture, titled, “Feigning Feminism, Fueling Backlash: GW's war on gender equality and what women can do to decide election 2004,” at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 5, in 206 Kirkbride Hall.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, will focus on her recent book, Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species.

“Laura Flanders will challenge people to think about the ways in which gender plays a role in our electoral and political processes,” Jessica Schiffman, assistant director of UD’s Women's Studies program, which is sponsoring the talk, said. “As we approach the upcoming presidential election, I hope that voters will attempt to understand how the use of gender and gendered interests are motivated by the principles and ideologies of the candidates.”

Flanders said she is expecting good questions and a lively conversation with her audience.

“We are seeing in the polls that women voters are the most critical voters in this election, particularly unmarried women like [many of] those at the University of Delaware,” Flanders said. “If there are women out there who are thinking of voting for W [Bush], as the polls have been telling us, I hope that they can come and we can have a good conversation with them, too.”

The Laura Flanders Show, heard weekends, from 7-10 p.m., on the nationally syndicated Air America Radio network, is heard on about 30 stations across the country and on satellite radio. Flanders also is co-host of Your Call a weekday show on public radio, KALW 91.7 FM, in San Francisco, and on the Internet.

Laura Flanders

Flanders writes regularly for AlterNet.org, Common Dreams, Tompaine.com, the Nation, Ms. Magazine and Znet. Her op-ed pieces have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers. She also is the author of Real Majority, Media Minority: the Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting and editor of The W Effect: Bush's War on Women.

Flanders was founding director of Women's Desk at FAIR, a media watch group, and for more than 10 years she produced and hosted Counter Spin, FAIR's nationally syndicated radio program.

“The speaker's strong views on the current administration will, no doubt, encourage reflection and response from the audience. I expect a provocative discussion,” Schiffman said.

Article by Martin Mbugua

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