Can you fix the link to the sumo story? I clicked and got the British book list. Thx!

"Can you fix the link to the sumo story? I clicked and got the British book list. Thx!"

Speaking of women and sumo:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04EEDE1239F935A35752C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

"...To improve sumo's chances of being accepted by the Olympics, the amateur sumo federation is also starting a women's league this month. There is only one problem -- sumo tradition forbids women from setting foot on the dohyo, the raised clay sumo ring. So women will wrestle on plastic mats instead..."

Lately I've seen some articles on maternal deaths and sexism:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7049598.stm
(it links to related articles but I've noticed that posts with more than 2 URLs don't get through)

The proposed birth control method interferes with gene expression, not the genes themselves. You can only evaluate whether it's "better" or "worse" if there's an actual drug that exists. There's no "principle" by which you can evaluate whether a targeted inhibition of gene expression to block fertilization is scientifically, medically, or morally better than hormonal contraceptives.

Just thought this was interesting

Dumbledore is Gay.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h…nt/7053982.stm

Sumo link fixed now. Apologies for that.

And thanks for the explanation, Pup.

I thought the Dumbledore news was interesting too. I was pretty disappointed at how some of the fans reacted. A central theme of the series is tolerance, yet I have heard many comments along the lines of "Eww, did he try to rape Harry? I won't read them anymore!"

If raping a sex worker is "theft of services," then so is beating the shit out of a person who happens to be a boxer. Bogus.

Here's another article I just saw:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101601513.html?hpid=topnews

"Tradition says if a wife eats before moonrise during Karwa Chauth, her husband may die. Not that any of these modern, professional women believe that, but still...

"...As for my once-bewildered husband, he's now an eager participant. He finds it romantic that I dress up just for him. He also dresses up, wearing his Indian kurta and jeans (he has his limits) on that evening just for me. I'm charmed that he also fasts. He says that if there is any truth to this sacrifice, it would be nice if we were both alive together..."

Benazir Bhutto is one of the most fascinating and inspiring women to read about. Part of it is her leadership that needs no excuses. Part of it is continually coming back against all odds in an Islamic state that is not known for its woman-friendly policies.

And part of it is how she is an imperfect person with her own demons. The corruption charges from the 90s appeared to have had at least some basis in fact.

It's really a powerful story.

Here's a link to the
Women's Review of Books'
review of some new books on childbirth in the U.S. that have come out recently.

I just finished reading Jennifer Block's Pushed (one of the books reviewed here) and had trouble eating or sleeping for several days. Not that it's anything terribly new . . . but that's the problem. Didn't our mothers (and fathers) fight the battle over over-medicalized childbirth so we wouldn't have to?

Most importantly, the medical trends Block describes seem to be pointing toward a frightening loss of agency for pregnant women and their families.

Thank you for posting the link about Dolly. A lot of the time, I feel like a lot of the people on this site trash women who don't completely hide the fact they have tits. I love Dolly in all her kitschy glory.

fatsweatybetty-- I've personally been impressed- the majority of fans seem to be taking it well.

And I bet the slash fanfic community is giddy with glee.

Genetic_Mishap -

Oh definitely, I agree that the majority of fans responses have been overwhelmingly positive. But I am constantly surprised at how ignorant and intolerant some people can be. I think I just want to give people too much credit sometimes.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WEEKLY POLL
http://www.votenic.com
Results Posted Tuesday Evening.

That article about the Karwa Chauth was beautiful, Mina. I'd never heard of that tradition before, and it's interesting to read about how some women are reclaiming it.

annajcook

The link didn't work for me, but whenever I here talk of "overmedicated" births I have to add that the goal should be giving women greater choices in childbirth as opposed to simply a natural one. A lot of women want to have medical intervention so they can deliver with less pain. My mother chose a c-section her second time around because labor was so difficult the first time(even though she had to have a c-section in the end). I'm not saying anyone here as said this, but there does seem to be a mindset among many that every woman should deliver drug free with the help of only a midwife. I'll take an epidural and an ob-gyn myself. I think the important thing should be allowing the woman to choose which course is best for her as long as she's informed.

"He gets it wrong that Midwestern gals are somehow more meek or quiet."

Yes we are. From an Indiana girl transplanted to NYC, I can say this with recently regained authority. I cannot tell you how frequently people are confused when I apologize for my existence.

"The link didn't work for me, but whenever I here talk of 'overmedicated' births I have to add that the goal should be giving women greater choices in childbirth as opposed to simply a natural one."

Indeed. For example, there's a huge difference between giving birth without medical attention because you'd rather give birth unassisted than with an obstetrician or midwife...and giving birth unassisted because your in-laws would rather pay your replacement's bride price than the local clinic's or midwife's fee.

Ava,

Sorry about the link. Try this one if you're still interested in the article:

http://www.wcwonline.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1401&Itemid=38.

Block's point about medical interventions in childbirth is that most are not evidence-based and many have proved to make the woman and child's health WORSE, rather than better, and yet they're used more and more. While given women choices is important, it's also important that women be given all the information available about medical interventions, and the studies Block cites show that many women were not informed and many had actually had procedures done to them against their express wishes. So it's not as simple as saying, "women should have the choice" to have X or Y intervention.

The Economist has an incredible little article looking into a study done on abortion rates world-wide, finding that rates were about the same whether abortions were legal or not (they were just much more dangerous, obviously, in countries were it was illegal). The one thing that helped lower abortion rates? Greater access/use of contraceptives!

link: http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9989951&CFID=17877628&CFTOKEN=15171631

It's the Oct 20-26 edition, pg 75.

"He gets it wrong that Midwestern gals are somehow more meek or quiet."

He does. I'm a Minnesotan and I am not meek and quiet (speak for yourself La Fille). I don't know if this has to do with me NOT being from Scandinavian stock, but I'm tired of this stereotype abounding. I am also so tired of seeing the words "Norwegian" and "Swedish" in regards to Minnesota. Memo to my fellow Minnesotans and others: There is not a majority of Scandinavians in Minnesota. There are more Germans, not to mention all of the other groups that are forgotten (Somali, Polish, Hmong, etc).

Sorry, mini-rant about the stereotypes of my state.

Thanks for the links. I'm wondering if anyone has yet read the AP article about the two female shuttle commanders? Within the story it is mentioned that two previous female commanders have resigned from NASA. "Both have children. Melroy and Whitson {the current commanders} are married to scientists, and neither has children."

No mention of how many male astronauts have children, of course. WTF?

The Economist claims that we have proved man to be naturally polygamous:

http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9982969

Eh, so what? Naturally we eat our food raw and die of smallpox. I find those kinds of articles so silly.

I find the Economist's cultural coverage so charming :).

Nowhere do they mention how LARGE a life-span difference we're talking about. And they also don't talk about the fact that although females of many species may live longer, they aren't necessarily reproducing all that time. So in that sense, wouldn't both the males and the females be working against a similar time restrictions?

These last couple of days, I've been following the media coverage of the appointment of Norway's first minister with an immigrant background. Manuela Ramin Osmundsen, originally from Martinique, has just been appointed head of the ministry for children and equality. There's been quite a bit in the newspapers here about it, but not too much in English. http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2055661.ece covers it, though - there's a bit about her at the very end of this article. In a country where most of the media focus on immigrant in general, and immigrant women in particular, tends to focus on problematic issues only, it's wonderful to see an immigrant woman assume a central post in the government.

Xana, I agree. I'm from Indiana, and I'm not meek or quiet. I get really tired of the stereotype.

That book list was absolutely disgusitng. I wasn't at all surprised to see that three of the books on the "boys' list" - His Dark Materials trilogy, Brave New World, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - were some of my favorite books ever, whereas the girls' list had only one I liked.

This also bothers me because most English curricula still contain way more male authors than female authors. My junior year I had a great English teacher who had us read Chocolat - one of those "girl" books - and then we openly discussed as a class what it was like for the guys in particular to read a book about "female" topics. The guys didn't really have a problem with it! If only everyone were that forward-thinking...

One thing I found really funny, Raginfem, was that Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett are both very good at writing brave, smart young heroines -- and yet the author of that curriculum list assumed that women wouldn't want to read them, and that men wouldn't be interested in reading a "feminine" perspective.

KMP, et al:
As a midwesterner and former NYC resident, my take is that because there are so many people there the culture is generally more assertive and less caught up in politeness because that's just what's required to get by and get yourself heard day to day. But Midwesterners as a group being more timid? I think not. Same goes for Midwestern cities like Chicago.

I've also heard from British people that Midwesterners have softer-sounding accents than people out east, so that could be part of the misconception too.

I can understand where the mid-west stereotype came from. I moved to North Dakota (I’m a mile from the MN border) from Colorado and it’s a culture shock. People up here tend to be more polite and can band together more easily. I apologize for everything too, so I don’t think that’s a mid-west thing. But I think the meekness thing depends on what town you’re from, I think if you grow up in a big city you’re more assertive, no matter what the state. And I think people from smaller towns are more likely to be the ones who try not to rock the boat. And I know a lot of people who are proud of “Minnesota Nice�

I also am from Indiana, now living in Chicago - small town to big city, AND i travel a lot to coastal cities and I would have to say that's such a sad blanket statement. Having been to Boston and San Diego several times (to name a few of many, but these two i have visited the most) I was still the most vocally opinionated person of those I met. Oh, and Xana, I'm Scandinavian. Still loud, still proud. I think as feminists we should avoid making blanket statements about a group of people, as that is kind of the point of feminism, right?

I don't know, I still don't buy it. I think people read what they want to into their interactions with others. From the dozens of times I've been in NY, I've found New Yorkers to be waaay more polite than most of the people you'll run into in downtown Indy. But, whatever. It's the same as assuming that British people are all stiff-upper-lip-super-proper. It's kind of silly to make blanket judgements about an entire region of people. Shameless Indy plug though: anyone who hasn't had Indiana sweet corn or tomatoes, you're totally missing out! If you have a chance some summer, they are amaaaazing. :-)

His point was that Midwesterners are in general very polite and self-effacing, especially midwestern girls. And honestly, those are just his observations.

For the people who are saying "I'm not timid!" well... we're feminists. We're used to having to stick up for ourselves and our opinions.

I got that. And as I said, I still don't buy it. I'm not saying that the comment wasn't made in good faith, I just mean exactly what I said. I won't make generalizations about people from other regions, because it's silly to do that about people from my region. And my mother, my sister, my best friend, and many of my female friends do not identify as feminist, and that's never made them less outspoken or more timid. Being a feminist came waay after I found my voice, and I've always been mouthy. Personality traits are just that, and are not necessarily dictated by where on the planet you reside. It would be just as silly for me to claim that all people from Texas like everything big. It's a stereotype, and I don't like boxing people into things. You don't box me, I won't box you.

I just found another relevant article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7057929.stm

"Is it OK for disabled people to go to brothels?

"...To Asta, the situation is stark. Sexual experiences are a vital part of life. They are hard to come by. And visiting a brothel is the right course of action, he thinks..."

"...Anna Bowden, of Eaves, a group that helps vulnerable women, including those who have been trafficked into prostitution, recognises that disabled people face 'a very difficult situation'.

"'Obviously I don't think the answer is perpetuating a form of violence against women. We reject the view that men have a right to sex.'..."

It reminded me of those other posts by guys who think they're entitled to sex with girls they find hot even when these girls don't want them...

Oh God, Mina. I just want to go bang my head against a wall.

Not getting laid is not cruel and unusual punishment. I wonder what Asta imagines disabled women do?

"Not getting laid is not cruel and unusual punishment. I wonder what Asta imagines disabled women do?"

He probably doesn't imagine them at all, even if one's flirting with him and asking him out on dates.

You know, like in the able-bodied world when a man's a jerk to women who like nice guys, a nice guy to women who likes jerks, and claims that all women want jerks (what are the rest of us, chopped liver?).

Of course, in both Asta's case and the able-bodied case, he still doesn't owe her or anyone else sex even if he does realize that she wants him. The same way nobody owes him sex.

I mean, I myself can't get laid and I'm not demanding that any market, quota, or whatever offer me a hot guy to fuck...

I just found a great reason to boycott Nerve. I always found it a little lacking when it came to feminism and this just confirms it.

They recently did a piece comparing original sex scenes to remake sex scenes. Ok, cool. One of the movies they picked was Swept Away, which Madonna remade. I didn't even get to her clip but I watched the original and I felt like throwing up.

This man and woman are marooned on an island. She's very rich and he's a poor working man and a communist. She treats him like shit but when they get to the island, she needs him to take care of her. Now that the power has shifted, he takes advantage of her, beats her and rapes her. Gross, right?

Well, this is supposed to be social commentary. Nerve's take? The scene is "subversive, upsetting, hilarious and sexy."

Oh, right. Rape! Ha!

The kicker? The director AND the Nerve commenter are female. The real kicker? The director was the first woman nominated for an Academy Award for directing.

Make a rape fantasy in the guise of social commentary and you can break through the glass ceiling. Hot!

Don't remind me, writer. My father talked up the first version to me as a "great piece of leftist criticism." Blech.

There's another neat article here:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/10/28/the_difference_myth/?p1=MEWell_Pos1

"Some kids learn best visually, others verbally; some do best in 'boot-camp' type settings, while others thrive in informal classrooms with lots of freedom. But science and aptitude surveys tell us that gender isn't a helpful way to sort students into those groups..."