Take Action on Equal Pay Day!

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Equal Pay Day is today, and while I would wish you a happy one, its not a holiday for being happy. Equal Pay Day is a symbolic date when women's earnings into a second year finally catch up to the salary made by men in the previous year. While there's been some narrowing of the gap between men and women's pay in the last decade or so, it's unfortunately more attributable to more static salaries for men than increases for women. Over the course of her lifetime, the average women could loose out on over $700,000 or more in pay due to this inequity, an amount that makes a significant real world impact on things like retirement security, mortgage foreclosures, and quality of life, particularly as a woman gets older.

The good news is that the Paycheck Fairness Act is currently pending in the Senate, and you can help pass the Paycheck Fairness Act by writing to your Senators. Do it today!

Happy International Women's Day!

Today, March 8th, has been designated as International Women's Day by the United Nations, with the goal of drawing attention to the political and human rights of women. I am especially grateful this day to the women I know who have fought in ways large and small to make the world a better place for women and girls. I hope if you, like me, know one of those women, you will thank them today.

The ONE organization, a group at the forefront in the fight against extreme poverty, launched a Women One2One campaign today to help women empower each other around the world. Here, they share a video of one girl's story of the urgent need for health care around the world. Watch it, and get involved!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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From all the ladies of WOW to you, a very Happy Valentine's Day! We hope that your day is filled with love of family, friends, pets and perhaps a special valentine too!

While St. Valentine's day has come to be a day celebrating romantic love, the origins of the holiday relate to a Roman Catholic priest who was a political prisoner and martyr. According to legend, just before he was sentenced to death, St. Valentine performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer, and wrote her a letter which he signed "from your Valentine".

While St. Valentine lived hundreds of years ago, today there are still many political prisoners around the world who need our help. I've always believed that the best Valentine's Day tribute is to write a "valentine" of support for a prisoner somewhere in the world. To that end, I encourage you to take a few minutes to visit the easy to use online action center at Amnesty International, where there is a long list of women who are currently imprisoned around the world for speaking out for women's rights. Your voice can make a difference!

Primary Election Day In Illinois - Get Out The Vote!

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Just a reminder that today is the primary election in the state of Illinois, so get out there and vote! For information on your polling place, visit http://www.chicagoelections.com. The polls are open from 6am to 7pm, and if you are in line at 7pm you are legally allowed to vote.

I often think of my grandma on election days. She was a diligent voter in every single election, large or small, that ever happened in her life, and was the first person to advise me the first time I voted at age 18 - all else being equal, she said, vote for the woman, and if there's not a woman, vote for the one with the Irish sounding name. Still, I think, pretty good advice. When she was born in Iowa in 1913, women did not yet have the right to vote. Her own mother, my great-grandma, wasn't able to cast a vote until she was almost 40 years old. So I consider my voting every election day another way of honoring them. And speaking of honoring other great women, take a look at the photo above you of Afghan women lining up to vote at the polls, at great risk of violence from extremists. Surely we can brave a few snowflakes today to honor those who have in America's past, and in current day around the world, chosen to brave so much more that just bad weather for the right to vote.

Happy Women's Equality Day!

Today we celebrate Women's Equality Day, an annual commemoration of the day, August 26, that the 19th Amendment was passed in Congress, granting women the right to vote. Women's Equality Day was the invention of New York Democrat Representative and feminist Bella Abzug, who introduced the idea for the first celebration in 1971.

It's interesting that as we celebrate how far women in this country have come today, we learn about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, the "Liberal Lion". While Kennedy had been often criticized for his dealings with women in his private life, there's no doubt that throughout his long political career he was one of the strongest supporters of women and feminist issues, particularly health care, education, college sports equality, racial equality and reproductive rights. Without his policies that became law throughout the years, the American woman's world would be a very different place, so we thank him.

The question that now arises on this day, who will be the "next" Ted Kennedy? It seems that since Bella Abzug left Congress in 1977, there hasn't been another powerful feminist Congresswoman since, and I think that's a shame. It's time for the next generation to take up the call of Women's Equality Day, and of the legacy of the Liberal Lion, and move American women forward into the next century! What will you do to help?

Practice What You Preach

Joan Baez diffuses right wing protest at Idaho concert

An excellent article on Joan Baez and the politics of peace, courtesy of Daily Kos.

"He's my pride, he's my joy, he's my one and only Jimmy boy..." *

Jimmy Carter leaves Southern Baptist Convention due to church's sexism and subjugation of women.

An excerpt:

"... My decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief - confirmed in the holy scriptures - that we are all equal in the eyes of God."

Carter is currently throwing his considerable energies behind a group called The Elders, "an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity." For more on their views on equality for women and girls around the world, click here.



* With a nod to The Girlfriends.

United For Neda

If you've been watching the television news coverage of the election crisis and protests in Iran, perhaps like me you have been struck by the powerful images of women, many conservatively dressed and in headscarves, protesting in the streets. We in the West think of women in conservative Middle Eastern countries as being powerless and oppressed, without a voice - and to a large extent, that's true by most standards. In Iran, for example, polygamy is legal, women cannot run for president, arranged marriages for girls as young as 13 is permissible and fewer than 13 percent of Iranian women have paid jobs outside the home. Rampant discrimination in the legal system hurts women in divorce, custody, property rights and financial cases, and feminist political leaders are often arrested. Less serious, but relevant to this blog, women are forbidden from singing or releasing music. However, despite their circumstances, women in Iran have shown their political power, and continue to risk their safety and lives every day with continuing protests in the streets featuring seas of women in the crowds.

One such woman caught in the crossfire is the now famous Neda, who was shot and killed by the Iranian authorities during a protest. Video of her death has been circulated around the globe, and she's already being called a martyr. Now, her story has been memorialized in song by Iranian ex-pats who have released "United For Neda".

Video Friday:Pride Turns 40!

Well, sort of. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Starting the evening of June 28, 1969 and lasting for three days, young gays and drag queens rioted outside of the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York City's Greenwhich Village. The riot began following a police raid on the bar, which was patronized by gay men and drag queens. The raid was under the guise of busting the club for having alchohol without a liquor license (the club was a "bottle club", run by the Mob, which had no liquor license and required that patrons sign in at the door), but police had been raiding and abusing gay bars and their patrons for years. Historians of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement frequently discuss the gay rights movement in terms of "Before Stonewall" and "After Stonewall" (and there are two documentaries by those names) because it was such a crucial event. Following the riots, gay activist groups sprung up around the nation, and a year later the first offical pride parade took place in New York.

It is often cited that Judy Garland's death and funeral, which happened a few days prior to the raids, fueled the patrons at the Stonewall Inn to fight back against the police. While historians will argue that the patrons at Stonewall were not the "Garland" kind of crowd due to their youth and lower class status, registries from the bar that show that many of them signed in to the bar using Judy Garland as a pseudonym prove otherwise.

In a year that had both incredible defeat and victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, we have much to celebrate - and much more work to do. Happy Pride 2009!

Fallen Princesses

From Fallen Princesses, a photography project by Dina Goldstein:

In the artist's own words: "These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.... I explored the original brothers Grimm's stories and found that they have very dark and sometimes gruesome aspects, many of which were changed by Disney. I began to imagine Disney's perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues."

While I do question the inclusion of a rubenesque Red Riding Hood as a "fallen" princess (Goldstein claims it to be a "personal comment on today's fast food society," but I smell mixed messages about beauty and body-image for women*), I am nevertheless intrigued by her work. It reminds me a lot of Dulce Pinzon's The Real Story of the Superheroes series, which examines the everyday heroism of Mexican immigrant workers in New York.

I'm not knocking fairy tales, but for better or for worse, they've had an undeniable effect on the construction of gender and gender roles. (Although if you ask me, there's a lot of "worse"... the perpetuation of the "damsel in distress" stereotype, the necessity of a Prince Charming to save, redeem, and/or complete a princess's life, the emphasis placed on beauty as a woman's most important asset, the negative portrayal of older women as crone/evil stepmother/wicked witch, etc.) Either way, anything that takes a closer and more critical look at the cultural mythology we're passing on to our kids is a-ok in my book.



*To make up for it, I give you the brilliant and oddly empowering Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog.

Sita Sings the Blues

Breaking up, as the song goes, is hard to do. Some people find solace in the music and literature of those who have come before, others exorcise anger through their own art and writing. Nina Paley, the filmmaker behind the brilliant Sita Sings the Blues, did both.

Sita Sings the Blues is a modern retelling of the Ramayana, a classic epic poem from India. Paley focuses primarily on the relationship between Prince Rama and his wife Sita, and tells it from a distinctly feminine perspective. The film relates Sita's devotion to her husband, his doubts regarding her purity after she is kidnapped by a rival, and the anguish this rejection causes her. Sita, however, is given a contemporary (and dare we say, feminist?) twist by Paley's use of a soundtrack by American torch singer Annette Hanshaw. The narration, provided by a chatty trio of traditional Indian shadow puppets, further serves to both modernize and humanize the characters of this ancient text. Woven throughout and supported by Sita's tale is Paley's own story of a distant spouse and a doomed relationship, bringing the Ramayana fully up to date for today's audience.

Oh, and did I mention that the entire film is animated? Gorgeously, lushly, intricately, animated?

Unfortunately, upon completion of the film, Paley ran into copyright issues with the Annette Hanshaw recordings. The songs were public domain when Paley started work on the film, but apparently the composition of those songs, as well as the lyrics themselves, are still protected by copyright. (Since the main character is drawn singing the songs, the film was found to be in violation.) After much deliberation and negotiation with the copyright holders, Paley borrowed $50,000 to license the rights and decriminalize the songs for use in the film. She has since released Sita Sings the Blues under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, and is distributing freely through the Sita website.

For more information, as well as links to download the film, please visit sitasingstheblues.com. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer:

Dr. George Tiller, 8/8/1941-5/31/2009

Yet another doctor has been murdered for his choice to support and protect a woman's right to choose. This morning Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed as he attended Sunday morning church service. Dr. Tiller provided abortions, including late term abortions, in Kansas and had an attempt made on his life sixteen years ago. The identity of the shooter is unkown at this time, but incoming reports state that Kansas police may have a suspect in custody.

Dr. Tiller is the fourth provider to be killed in the United States since 1991. He was one of the few providers in the United States who provided late term abortions, predominantly for patients whose lives were in danger due to complications with pregnancy. He leaves behind a wife, four children, ten grandchildren. His death is a significant loss to women seeking safe abortions. I hope that soon we will live in a country where women, and doctors, can exercise freedom of choice without fearing harm and death.

For more information on how you can protect a woman's right to choose, please visit NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Prop 8: WTF

Last week, the California Supreme Court issued a 6/1 decision to uphold Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to amend the California constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman that passed on November 5, 2008. The issue before the court was not whether or not marriage should be limited to heterosexual couples - the Court had already held that marriage rights should be extended to all couples in California - but whether or not the initiative was the proper way to amend the state Constitution. Those challenging Proposition 8 argued that adding this to the constituion was such a significant change, especially because the state had just legalized marriage equality months prior and had already issued 18,000 marriage licenses - that it should be considered a revision instead of an amendment, and thus could only be passed through a constitutional convention. The state, represented by Ken Starr, argued that it was merely an amendent and thus could be passed through a popular vote. The Court, unfortunately, agreed.

In its opinion, the Court stated that this was merely a procedural issue. That gays still have rights and that in "every other area but marriage" those rights would be protected using strict scrutiny (that they would be considered a somewhat protected class). Unpacking that phrase - "every other area but marriage" - means this: every other area but survivor rights, remedies for loss of consortium, hospital visitiation, free name changes, tax free insurance benefits and on and on and on. The idea that this is merely a narrow issue of the nomenclature of a relationship is simply not correct.

This opinion is additionally problematic because it implies that, in California, ballot initiatives can be used to avoid the protections afforded by the constitution's equal protection provisions. If a popular vote is all that is needed to amend the constitution to reduce civil rights that have already been granted, that means any number of other rights can now be infringed upon.

For the reasons listed above, this opinion has set of a wave of anger and upset in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Not to be left off the bandwagon, the attorneys who were on opposite sides of the Bush v. Gore case have filed a federal law suit challenging the Court's decision. This is a highly risky move. Neither of the attorneys have a history of same-sex litigation. They haven't been on the front lines or part of the decades long strategies that have been put into place. Bringing this lawsuit could, should it not succeed, create federal precedent that would set the movement back in a significant way. In short: this suit could be highly destructive. Thanks, dudes, for using our movement for your glory.

Iowa Is For Lovers!

On Friday, April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court held that a 1998 law that limited marriage to heterosexual couples was unconstitutional. The case, Varnum v. Brien, originated when two women applied for an Iowa marriage license and were denied because they are a same-sex couple - instead of just walking away, they decided to sue.
The Court's unanimous decision declared that the law violated the equal protection rights of the state's gay and lesbian couples. People across the country expressed disbelief that Iowa, a heartland state, was one of the first to fully legalize gay marriage. However, Iowa has a long history of taking first steps in civil rights work. They were first state to allow women into the practice of law, and were among the first to allow interracial marriage and strike down segregation.

Cheers to the six plaintiff couples who were part of the case from beginning to end, allowing their lives to be scrutinized, and to the many Iowans who showed their support of the LGBT community.

This is a tremendous step in the continuing battle for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights.

Below, two of my favorite clips about this historic decision. First, a clip from Iowa Public Television of the press conference held directly after the decision came down. Second, a homemade video from a very thankful Iowan.

Book Review: Getting Off

When I heard that Robert Jensen was speaking at my campus, I decided to finally read his book, Getting Off. I had heard mixed things about it, but the premise - a self-defined feminist man's take on pornography - sounded like it could have potential. Instead, Jensen has re-packaged classic anti-pornography arguments in a text that adds little to the conversation, and does many of the things he claims he is trying to prevent.

Jensen's main thesis is this: heterosexual, industrial pornography, largely in the United States, is becoming more violent in terms of the sex acts performed on women, which leads to the objectifiaction, degredation and abuse of women. This argument is essentially everything Andrea Dworkin ever said or wrote, and while he gives her some credit, the bulk of his book is comprised of her theories stated in a male voice. The idea that women in the United States are objectified, discriminated against and harmed in astonishing numbers is not radical, or something I disagree with. I don't even disagree with Jensen on the point that pornographic movies are becoming more degrading and that watching them could, potentially, desensitize men to seeing women as, you know, people. That said, I found his book to be borderline misogynist, unclear on its points and all around a bad read. Here's why:

First, Jensen believes that he has the unique ability to enlighten women about sexism. In one of the opening chapters, he discusses having female friends who stated to him that they use pornography themselves and don't find it all to be offensive. In response to this, Jensen describes one of the films he has seen, one which he claims is "tame" (but, in my assessment, is not tame by industry standards), to which his friend reponds "That wasn't fair." About this, Jensen writes "....it wasn't fair to push it...if I were a woman, I wouldn't want to know that. Life is difficult enough without knowing things like that...[that] you are something to be fucked and laughed at and left on the side of the road by men. Because you are a woman...Pornography forces women to face up to how men see them (pg. 15)."

He writes this as if being seen as an object is news to women and his graphic description of pornography is the only reality check his female friends, or women in general, will get about it. That we are in the dark about sexism and if we just ignore porn, we can ignore our frequent status as second class citizens. Because surely the cat calls from men on the street, requests from judges that female attorneys wear skirts to court, and "ladies nights" at bars didn't give us a hint at all. To summarize: according to Jensen, women cannot genuinely enjoy consuming pornography or even have an opinion on it that deviates from his. Women who do state things contrary to his beliefs are only saying such because they do not want to "face" sexism. Got it. Check.

Second, Jensen uses his status as a "feminist" to also become a psychic and to speak for all women. Getting Off is noticeably without much commentary from women involved in the industry. I can only assume that this is because the book is intended to focus on men and their involvment. When Jensen does speak of female performers (there is next to no mention of female directors or producers), every quote is bookended with a statement similar to this one "When pornography performers speak in public they typically repeat a standard script that emphasizes tha they have freely chosen this career....[a performer stated her career was chosen....as an exploration in sexuality] this framing of participation as a feminist act of women taking control of their own lives is common....whatever the reality of [their] description of [their] own life (pg.122)" and a claim that he respects what these women are saying and they have the right to their opinion.

After his disclaimer, he will launch into an anaylsis of their quote, or flim clip, or even just facial expression, always coming to the conclusion that they are not telling the truth and that if they were to be alone with a feminist like him, the real story would come out. Jensen's degrees in media and journalism have, apparently, also given him the ability to discern the real meaning behind women's statements and to attach his own interpretation to them as the Truth. It was disturbing to read in a book that is proclaiming that all women have the right to say "no" that we do not have the right to say "yes". Afraid to sound like the misgynists that he so loathes, Jensen gives lip service to women being able to have their "opinions" and then launches right back into his real meaning: women cannot think for themselves, and need an educated male to tell them what they are really experiencing and how to be an appropriate feminist. Your "yes" doesn't count in the academy just like your "no" doesn't count in the bedroom.

Finally, the book is just plain poorly written. The tone of the book is smug and self-congratulatory, with anecdotes mixed in about his "weeping" over the destruction of women and his bravery in standing up to a man he felt was inappropriate because the man's girlfriend wasn't saying anything (once again, needing to be the voice for a woman). His chapter on casual sex as another tool of the destruction of women is simplistic and heterosexist, as is his call to feminists to stop using pornography entirely. The start and finish of the book, where he depicts men at the Adult Entertainment Expo as being either a mob of rapists or pathetic fools, is histrionic and essentialist.

Men's voices are certainly needed in the feminist and anti-violence movement. Most of the perpetrators of violence against women are men, so they need to a) stop hurting us and b) tell their friends to cut it out, too. What we don't need, however, is another man telling us what we think, how we should behave or how to be a feminist.

Feminist Bruhaha

Media outlets in the United Kingdom are in a tizzy over Amanda Palmer's "Oasis" single. I won't recap the situation, but instead will encourage you to check out her blog post and the comments that follow over at Huffington Post.

Dance, Dance Revolution

Revolutionary acts. They can be big or small, personal or public. And they can come out of the most unexpected places.

For me, a body revolution has come out of burlesque dancing. Yes, it is that kind of dancing. Bump and grind, booty shakin', striptease dancin'. When I enrolled in the class, I heard the cries from activist friends and family that what I was doing was anti-feminist. I've found it to be anything but.

Like many women in the United States, I've battled both an eating disorder and survived an abusive relationship. I began keeping a food journal at age 8, took my first diet pill at age 12 and was in a controlling, violent relationship for a year in my early twenties. By the time I hit 21, my relationship with my body was detached, complicated and disjointed. I did not associate my mind or my spirit - "me" - with my actual physical being. It felt as though my body existed only for others and had very little to do with me.

I was aware of the disconnect, partly from really being aware and partly from reading literature on eating disorders and abuse. Aside from a few failed attempts at yoga, however, I never conciously tried to fix it. In fact, I don't think I ever realized how deep it ran until I started my burlesque classes in August.

Burlesque is a lot of what you would imagine: a bump and grind here, a hip thrust there, lots and lots of tease. But it isn't just about the sexy stuff. It requires a fair amount of athleticism or, at least, some strength. Ulitmately, it is the combination of what our bodies can do, our creativity and the aesthetics of our physical selves, no matter what the physical self looks like.

This combination has been incredibly powerful. It is the first time that I've realized what combining my "me" and the parts I live in can do when they are joined. Seeing and feeling my body grow stronger has shown me that it can do so much more than just be a shell for others to look at and appreciate or criticize. This is due in no small part to the instructor of the class, who will encourage us to do just one more crunch or hold a balance for a few seconds longer not because we have to but because she wants to show us that we
can.

These classes are, quite literally, the only time in the last ten or so years that I have been physically active and have not been concerned with how I look to others. Weird, I know. It would not be an unfair assumption to think that the exact opposite would occur - the tease is ultimately meant for an audience. But that's the thing about burlesque. The tease element is really all about the dancer. I get to decide when and how and where anything is removed, all the while getting to embrace my creativity, femininity and strength. It isn't about just appearance or the audience at all.

So, while it may not be the most obvious form of feminism, burlesque has cauterized some old wounds and taught me to love and appreciate my body which, in my opinion, is a hell of a revolutionary act.

Justice, Sort Of, For Lilly Ledbetter

President Obama signed his very first bill into law this morning, with an event celebrating the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Ledbetter was a worker at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for many years, but did not realize until she was near retirement that she was being paid less than her male co-workers for doing the same job. She sued, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but she lost. The Supreme Court determined that under current law, pay discrimination claims had to be filed within 180 days of when the discrimination happened. Because most workers don't know what their co-workers make, and because pay discrimination largely occurs in small increments over time, the current law nearly invalidated most cases. Because Lilly Ledbetter stood up and refused to let the matter die, the Democrats vowed to change the law, and named it after her. Now, claims must be filed within 180 days, but the 180 day rule re-sets every time you receive a new paycheck, making the rules much more reasonable.

The Sun Times has an account of the reception following the signing of the bill, and here's what Lilly said:

"I have spent the past two years since the Supreme Court decision in my case, fighting for equal pay for this,'' Ms. Ledbetter said. "But to watch him sign a bill that bears my name, a bill that will help women and others fight pay discrimination in the workplace is truly overwhelming. Goodyear will never have to pay me what it cheated me out of. I will never see a cent from my case. But with the passage and the president's signature today, I have an even richer reward." Crowd claps.

Goodyear will never have to make good on Lilly's claim, but it might be something for you to think about the next time you buy a set of tires, maybe?

Congrats Lilly, on behalf of working women everywhere!

Happy Inaguration Day America!

Today, America celebrates the Inaguration of President Barack Obama. The historical significance of this moment, combined with the seemingly overwhelming challenges our nation faces, is both awesome and sobering. While we at WOW celebrate the election of what I suspect may be our first "feminist" president, and look forward to seeing President Obama's work on women's issues, we are also realistic about the very difficult moment that America finds itself in today. Rampant unemployment, a healthcare crisis, foreclosures in every neighborhood, disappearing savings - these issues of growing poverty affect us all, and won't be solved after President Obama takes the oath of office this morning.

There's a saying going around that I think bears repeating -

"Rosa sat, so King could walk. King walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so that we all could fly."'

It's up to all of us to take a cue from our grandparents, members of the post-WWII "greatest generation" who found themselves in a very similar place several decades ago, and undertake large scale committments, both personal and national, to creating the change we want to see in the world. I think that one of the smartest things that President Obama has done is to put the ball back into the court of the American people, and I encourage you to listen to his latest YouTube video below.

Today, make a commitment to yourself that you will undertake one single thing this year to make the change you want to see in the world. Whether it is as small as changing your lamps to environmentally friendly lightbulbs, or as grand as lobbying your Senator for universal health care, whether it is as personal as reaching out to a lonely relative or as communal as joining neighbors in collecting items for homeless people in your neighborhoodl, whether it is as local as tutoring at the community center down the block or as global as sending pencils to schoolchildren in Iraq, make one committment to yourself today that you will be a part of this historic moment. That when you look back in ten years at today, you can say, I was a part of that. That when your kids and grandkids ask you, what was it like to be alive in January of 2009, you can tell them how you didn't sit on the sidelines of history, you were a part of the living history that is the definition of America itself. Are you with me? Leave your commitment to change in the comments section!

Day Without A Gay

Today marks the first work boycott launched by the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the United States. The mission of Day Without a Gay is to get LGBT employees to call in "gay" to work and spend the day volunteering at an organization working to further queer civil rights.
Not only will this put more hands on deck at organizations that need all the free labor they can get, it will draw attention to gay employees' worth as, you know, people and workers. Hopefully employers and co-workers will note their absence and connect the dots: "Hey, things aren't as fun/productive/smooth without Bob or Sue at work today. Wow, they are standing up for civil rights that they have been denied but I've been granted for arbitrary reasons. Gays: they really are just like the rest of us. Huh."

In an ideal situation, Day Without a Gay will create a noticable impact on straight allies and potentially change the minds of those who support hate-filled amendments such as those recently passed in California, Colorado, Florida and Arkansas. It will, at the very least, show that the community is done sitting down and accepting "tolerance" in the place of full civil rights. In other words: not being beat up (as much) and being given domestic partnerships or civil unions in a handful of states isn't enough, and we're taking action.