Women's Issues // Current

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3 days ago

Should breast-feeding while drunk be a crime?

Police responding to a domestic disturbance arrived at Stacey Anvarinia's home to find the mother breast-feeding her... more

AwesomeJosh
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Pregnant and displaced

There are some 35,000 pregnant women among the 3.5 million IDPs (internally displaced people) who will deliver in the next seven... more

TravG73
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Daily Show on the burka ban: Jon is our own personal Sarkozy

The Daily Show takes on Sarkozy's threat to ban the burka... and some disturbing images of mayonnaise.

catchiecoo
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All Men are Secretly Gay: Amazing Conservative Christian Views

"Beliefnet writer David Klinghoffer has a theory why women should fight societal acceptance of homosexuality: in a world... more

catchiecoo
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More Creepy Ads: Fertility is our Birthright

"The moment we pass from womanhood to motherhood, we cross a threshold. For many of us, that step is filled with wish and... more

catchiecoo
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What would a Rap Video Look like if it objectified men?

From Jezebel.com: "The new video for "Just Got Paid" by Millionaires reverses sexist rap video cliches, with women... more

catchiecoo
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Journalist skewers confessional journalism about boobs.

Guardian journalist Hadley Freeman rants about women who rant about themselves... especially boob jobs. A selection:... more

catchiecoo
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Stuntin' Magazine: Hip-Hop Pin-ups (say that 3x fast)

Oh there is nothing I love more than making fun of Hip-Hop, be it R.Kelly lyrics (I guess he's technically R&B, I take... more

catchiecoo
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Bad Ad: Gutting women/ fish

Wha? Sweet. Nothing quite like using violence towards women in advertising- even for progressive causes. This ad is just... more

catchiecoo
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Time to throw out an old stat. 40 is the new 30, mein Brides!

Remember the old statistic? A woman over 30 is more likely to be struck by lightning than get married? WELL, IT IS NO LONGER... more

catchiecoo
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Ross Douthat: Feminism is making us all miserable

I culled this commentary from from Jezebel.com about an article orginally written for the New York Times by Ross Douthat (weird last name) about his thesis which is: feminism is the root of all women's unhappiness and it causes martial failure and and infidelity.

Basically, some of his points boil down to ... we just don't have enough wild sex. I agree. No one does. More please! However, that doesn't mean I have to conform to old fashioned notions of gender does it? Wild Sex only in the shadow of the patriarchy, hmmm?

Douthat places his argument in the context of a plea for a return to passion- but it just sounds dumb.

Here are some highlights

Douthat:

"The difficult scramble up the meritocratic ladder tends to discourage wild passions and death-defying flings. For bright young overachievers, there's often a definite tameness to the way that collegiate "safe sex" segues into the upwardly-mobile security of "companionate marriages" - or, if you're feeling more cynical, "consumption partnerships."
....
Our meritocrats could stand to leaven their careerism with a little more romantic excess. (Though such excess is more appropriate in the young, it should be emphasized, than in middle-aged essayists and parents.) But most Americans, particularly those of modest means, would benefit from greater caution and stability in their romantic entanglements."

Jezebel.com's critique:

"Ok, so, let's make sure I understand this correctly. Feminism (and safe sex) make for boring relationships designed only for upward social mobility, which is good for society and bad for relationships; but sexual freedom has empowered the lower class to make poor decisions about marriage and having a bunch of unsafe sex that Douthat doesn't like in the first place? So, he likes feminism, but he hates it? Is feminism Douthat's mom and does he have an Oedipal complex?

Douthat's got a solution to the problem he's yet to define really well, but which seemingly boils down to the fact that smart, career-oriented women don't have enough wild sex (possibly with Ross Douthat) and dumb sluts have too much."I culled this commentary from from Jezebel.com about an article orginally written for the New York Times by Ross Douthat (weird... more

catchiecoo
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14 days ago

Men Have a Bad Day, Women are just Emotional

This really bothers me. I have bad days- I'm not emotionally unstable.

From Jezebel.com:

A study found that when people looked at photographs of men and women who looked sad, angry, or scared, they thought the women looked that way because they were "emotional," but the men were probably "having a bad day."

Although the photos included captions explaining the cause of the expressions (such as "buried a family pet" or "was threatened by an attacker"), participants still attributed the women's emotions to internal character, while only the men's were a response to external stimuli. Newsweek's Sharon Begley writes,

In other words, he's angry because of context: he was cut off by another driver, for instance, or because he was elbowed in an elevator. She's angry because of disposition, personality, temperament - she's emotional. And he's fearful because he's reacting to the situation - he found a rattlesnake in the house, say, or was trapped in a burning building. She's afraid because that's her nature.

Even though there may be no difference between men's and women's actual facial expressions, people still view women's responses as emotional outpourings from within (read: irrational) while men's stem directly from outside situations (read: appropriate, even logical). Study authors Lisa Feldman Barrett and Eliza Bliss-Moreau say this may explain why "women continue to be under-represented in positions of economic and political power that require a level head and a steady hand. Jobs that require rational decision-making and high levels of performance in demanding circumstances would presumably be unsuitable for those who cannot keep their head under pressure." It may also explain why women who cry at work are viewed more negatively than men who do the same thing.

It's upsetting that women as well as men in the study bought into the "emotional/bad day" double standard. If, as Begley says, "what we believe determines what we see," then we need to remember that women are no less rational than men, and their emotional responses no less valid. Otherwise we'll keep living in a world where people look at a woman who "was threatened by an attacker" and just see a fragile scaredy-cat.This really bothers me. I have bad days- I'm not emotionally unstable. From Jezebel.com: A study found that when people... more

catchiecoo
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15 days ago

Never to Young for an LV Training Bag,

Aggggggggg! This is so weird and upsetting! "My Pretty Learning Purse is for babies 6 months old and comes with a dollar... more

catchiecoo
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2 responses

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15 days ago

Travel Ladies: Tips for Women traveling alone

A male travel writer interviews Beth Whitman about traveling alone. Is it just me or is too many shoes not your biggest fear?... more

catchiecoo
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15 days ago

Post-it Note Empowerment for Women

Catlin, a blogger from Florida, realized the ways in which women's insecurites were publicly displayed though advertising, so... more

catchiecoo
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2 responses

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17 days ago

Sarkozy says Muslim burqas are 'not welcome' in France

President Nicolas Sarkozy lashed out Monday at the practice of wearing the Muslim burqa, insisting the full-body religious gown is a sign of the "debasement" of women and that it won't be welcome in France.

The French leader expressed support for a recent call by dozens of legislators to create a parliamentary commission to study a small but growing trend of wearing the full-body garment in France.

In the first presidential address in 136 years to a joint session of France's two houses of parliament, Sarkozy laid out his support for a ban even before the panel has been approved - braving critics who fear the issue is a marginal one and could stigmatize Muslims in France.

"In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," Sarkozy said to extended applause in a speech at the Chateau of Versailles southwest of Paris.

"The burqa is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement - I want to say it solemnly," he said. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic."

In France, the terms "burqa" and "niqab" often are used interchangeably. The former refers to a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with only a mesh screen over the eyes, whereas the latter is a full-body veil, often in black, with slits for the eyes.

Later Monday, Sarkozy was expected to host a state dinner with Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani of Qatar. Many women in the Persian Gulf state wear Islamic head coverings in public - whether while shopping or driving cars.

France enacted a law in 2004 banning the Islamic headscarf and other conspicuous religious symbols from public schools, sparking fierce debate at home and abroad. France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, an estimated 5 million people.

A government spokesman said Friday that it would seek to set up a parliamentary commission that could propose legislation aimed at barring Muslim women from wearing the head-to-toe gowns outside the home.

The issue is highly divisive even within the government. France's junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, said she was open to a ban if it is aimed at protecting women forced to wear the burqa.

But Immigration Minister Eric Besson said a ban would only "create tensions."

A leading French Muslim group warned against studying the burqa.President Nicolas Sarkozy lashed out Monday at the practice of wearing the Muslim burqa, insisting the full-body religious gown is... more

retro_Syl
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17 days ago

Bacardi's tip for looking hot: Get an ugly girlfriend

Well this is a new form of misogyny. Apparently all you need to look amazing this summer is a couple of Bacardi Breezers and... more

abbym0308
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4 responses

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18 days ago

Mitchell and Webb do one for the Ladies

Comedy duo, Mitchell and Web take on advertising aimed at women. Scarily accurate!

catchiecoo
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1 response

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22 days ago

Wife Camp!

A little f---ed up, eh?

From original article:

The goal of Make-over Camp is to instill poise, grace and confidence in girls between the ages of 10 and 14. For two weeks, they will learn to improve their posture, voice, table manners, conversation skills, wardrobe choices, makeup application, hostessing skills and music appreciation. "We see a lot of young ladies who can benefit from a makeover program," said Angela Chan, director of Lambda and co-creator of the camp. "They need to develop their presence." Marc McCreavy, an industrial designer and interior decorator, will teach the girls how to host events and decorate a table. "It's important to learn about appropriate topics of conversation and appropriate attire," he said.

From Jezebel.com:

Okay, bashing this ludicrous camp is almost too easy, so I'll save you the virtual ink. And here's the thing: a lot of what this camp teaches is important. Manners, social skills, poise - these are life skills, and ones that help increase self-confidence. The accomplishments that Song seems to have admired in that French girl - that of a young woman who can hold her own with adults, engage with them, look them in the eye - had next to nothing to do with "makeup application" or "table settings."

It's tragic that the only time we hear about stuff like manners or confident interaction with adults, they're being lumped in with such retrograde silliness, and approached in such an offensive and old-fashioned way. Because not only do these undermine the real lessons girls could be learning, but they allow people to dismiss this silly program out of hand, and ignore the few very real good things it emphasizes. This camp is at best silly, at worst offensive, and thanks to its charm-school absurdity, and its equation of "confidence" with "50s-style polish," pretty much wholly irrelevant. But it seems to me sad that genuine manners and social skills, which aren't silly, are being lumped in with it, and as a result dismissed. In essence: Song is totally wrong. But within that, there's a little right, and now no one will see that.A little f---ed up, eh? From original article: The goal of Make-over Camp is to instill poise, grace and confidence in girls... more