grrrly news 1/9/05
America's obsession with fat is increasingly colonizing the cultural imagination, and not just on sadistic reality-TV diet shows like The Biggest Loser. There's also been a lot of fat on the New York stage lately. Neil LaBute's devastating new play, Fat Pig, offers thwarted love between a fat woman and a thin man with really mean friends; in The Good Body, Eve Ensler's one-woman show, the audience is treated to the self-loathing feminist equivalent of a money shot: Ensler yanks her blouse up and waistband down, and there in all its naked shame is her dirty little secret, a small pot belly.
9 Arrested Protesting Morning-After Pill Plan
Nine women protesting the Food and Drug Administration's position on the emergency contraceptive Plan B were arrested yesterday when they blocked entry to the agency's Rockville headquarters.
The women, part of a noisy protest in favor of making the morning-after pill available without a prescription, were taken away by officers of the Department of Homeland Security and charged with disorderly conduct.
Legislative Sentry: HB1677 - Have Miscarriage, Go to Jail?
It sounds preposterous to talk about criminalizing women who suffer miscarriages, but one Virginia legislator is proposing just that. HB1677, “Report of Fetal Death by mother, penalty” is a bill introduced by John A. Cosgrove (R) of Chesapeake. Cosgrove’s bill requires any woman who experiences “fetal death” without a doctor’s assistance to report this to the local law-enforcement agency within twelve hours of the miscarriage. Failure to do so is punishable as a Class 1 Misdemeanor.
The battle for the “soul of the Democratic Party” has begun, with the opening skirmishes over Howard Dean and reproductive rights.
NOW Honors Guts and Glory of Shirley Chisholm
The National Organization for Women is saddened by the loss of a true feminist trailblazer and a founder of New York NOW, the organization's first chapter. Shirley Chisholm spoke fearlessly for women and people of color throughout her 80 years and it is an honor to recall a few of her accomplishments.
Review of Silicone Implants Tentatively Scheduled
Two breast implant manufacturers, Inamed Corp. and Mentor Corp., both based in Santa Barbara, Calif., announced in December that they have been notified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that their applications for marketing silicone gel-filled breast implants will be reviewed at a tentatively scheduled meeting of the agency's General and Plastic Surgery Devices Advisory Panel this April. In addition, Inamed Corp. said that the company has submitted a pre-marketing approval (PMA) application for a "cohesive gel matrix implant."
Egyptian Women See Divorce as Religious Right
Women's struggle to change Egypt's divorce law show how women's rights advocates here are relying increasingly on Islam to advance their arguments for gender equality.
As Tsunami Recedes, Women's Risks Appear
Women in countries hit hardest by the tsumani face heightened risks of rape and other forms of violence and unmet health needs. Advocates are launching fund-raising appeals and relief efforts to help them.
Christian, Jewish, Muslim: We Share Feminism
n a season of heightened religiosity, Women's eNews approached three wise women--thinkers, feminists and practitioners of different religions--and asked how their faith fits with feminism. Here's what they said.
Study: Access to Plan B Does Not Increase Risky Sex
A study released today finds that easy access to emergency contraception does not promote risky sexual behavior. The FDA will decide later this month whether to approve the drug for over-the-counter sale to women 16 and older.
Seven Who Harness the Energy of Women
Emilienne de León, Wangari Maathai, Helen Miller, Miriam Nelson, Lynn Paltrow, Lydia Pilcher, Dr. Mary Lake Polan
Seven Who Tap Power to Provoke Change
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Jane Randel, Vicki Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Sharon Sopher, Rev. Carlton Veazey, Meredith Wagner, Olivia Wang.
Zarkova Continues Crime Fight, Despite Acid Attack
Anna Zarkova is an investigative journalist who was attacked with acid six years ago for covering organized crime, including forced prostitution and trafficking networks in Bulgaria. She continues to press for reforms and equal rights for women.
West Catalogues Black Society in Harlem
January 1939: Dorothy West celebrates the New Year in Harlem.
It may be strange to weigh two recent incidents – Susan Sontag's death and the Asian tsunamis – against each other. But Sontag's comments allow us to examine the terms in which news and images are delivered to us.
There's no reason to be stuck with a nationality that doesn't reflect the real you! Apply now for a country appropriate to your personal tastes and values!
G8 crackdown for eight-year-olds
Police will issue ID cards to eight-year-olds as part of security measures at next year's Gleneagles G8 summit.
Arkansas judge strikes down ban on placing children in homes with a gay person present
A judge struck down a state ban on placing foster children in any household with a gay member, ruling that the state agency enforcing the rule had overstepped its authority by trying to regulate "public morality.
Obesity a new problem for Arab countries
Obesity has become a significant health issue for Arabian Gulf nations.
Bahraini girls are among the heaviest in the world and overall obesity levels range from 30% to 60% in Gulf countries, according to a recent study.
A rapid rise in living standards is to blame, concludes the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research. Before oil wealth, Gulf Arabs typically ate bread or rice with fish, vegetables and fruit - and meat only rarely.
Contraception omitted from Justice rape treatment guidelines
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued its first medical guidelines for treating sexual assault victims — without any mention of emergency contraception, the standard precaution against pregnancy after rape.
Evolution debate spills over into legislature
Two proposed bills would tackle the debate over teaching evolution from both sides of the issue, with one bill giving schools more authority to teach alternatives to evolution while the other would reaffirm the state's support for the scientific theory.
Strip Club Ordinance Challenged
Two strippers, identified in court documents as "Jane Roe I' and 'Jane Ros II' today filed a federal lawsuit against the city of San Antonio, demanding that the city's controversial new 'stripper label law' be declared unconstitutional.
Battle over health care ends up in courts
Now that a judge has ruled Manitoba must pay for abortions at private clinics, it's a matter of time before patients with other medical conditions take governments to court to get better access to health care, says a constitutional expert. "You have the courts as a major player in the administration of Canada's most important public program," said Bryan Schwartz, a University of Manitoba law professor.
Couples turn to 'fertility tourism' as crisis hits IVF
DESPERATE couples could be forced to seek fertility treatment abroad as new rules lead to a dramatic drop in egg and sperm donations in the UK, say experts.
From April, egg and sperm donors will lose their right to anonymity, meaning that any offspring they help produce can find out their identity once they are 18.
With many clinics already reporting severe shortages of donors, doctors fear that the situation can only get worse.
Experts are now warning that "fertility tourism", where women go to countries such as Spain for treatment, could become the norm.
Palestinian Women Win Big in Elections
Women faced pressure not to run as candidates in the Palestinian local elections. But they did — and they won, with more than half of them defeating their male opponents in this conservative, traditional Arabic society.
Palestinian women won 51 seats in Thursday's elections, 32 of them winning their place outright without having to claim a seat reserved for women by Palestinian law.
More charges against abortion protesters tossed
A judge dismissed loitering and obstructing public places citations against eight Allentown abortion protesters Tuesday, adding to the list of charges thrown out since a federal judge issued a controversial ruling in August.
U.N. peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo exchanged eggs, bread and a few dollars for sex with girls they were meant to protect, according to the U.N. watchdog agency.
US diocese makes $100m abuse deal
The Roman Catholic Church in California is to pay $100m (£53m) to the alleged victims of sexual abuse by clergy members, a US judge has announced.
Church Ad Campaign in Oregon Seeks Abuse Victims
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland will launch an advertising campaign this week to encourage people sexually abused by priests in Oregon to come forward, according to a church spokesman.
Press Image of Gun Owner Not Far Off, Except for All Those Women
A Gallup Poll released this morning reveals that the average American owns 1.7 guns, with the average gun owner possessing 4.4 of them. The press is quick to promote stereotypes of the average gun owner as a white male, most likely Republican, living in a rural area or the South. But how well does reality match the image? The new Gallup Poll shows that the stereotype is not that far off, but with several twists.
Symposium: Gender Apartheid and Islam
Does Islam have the keys within itself to liberate women within Muslim social structures?
Jesus votes for stem-cell research
Whatever it portends for Americans elsewhere, for California the year 2005 promises pure excitement. Starting Jan. 1, the Golden State will lead the world in embryonic stem-cell research.
THE NEWS about men in the year just past was dismal. A high-profile court case saw a husband (Scott Peterson) convicted of murdering his pregnant wife. CEOs at Enron and Worldcom stand accused of defrauding employees and investors. NBA players waded into a crowd, fists flying. Then, to put the icing on this poisonous cake, the Department of Labor reported that the working woman spends twice as much time, on average, as the working man on household chores and care of children.
Feminism isn't about burning bras
My Webster's Dictionary defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes." This is hardly a radical plot by bra burners. In fact, some of the most interesting and dedicated feminists I have known and with whom I have worked for four decades are male. Few of them own bras!
: Lesbians raising sons; got a problem with that?
"Brian, a bright and personable third-grader, brought home from school a form that frustrated him: his family tree, complete with empty spaces for mother, father, and four spaces for grandparents. Brian's parents are a lesbian couple; his father is an unknown sperm donor. Brian's mothers worked to persuade their son that nothing was wrong with this family -- instead, something was wrong with the school form."
Does affirmative action produce more black lawyers?
A new and provocative study on affirmative action, which will appear in the Stanford Law Review this month, is attracting such attention that there is a special click-through on the publication's website to field questions about it. The conclusions of the study, that racial preferences at law schools produce fewer rather than more black lawyers, is already generating controversy that is sure to only increase.
T REALLY is brains not brawn that women look for in a man. An exhaustive study of people from primary school to middle age has proved that clever men are much more likely to marry than those with lesser intelligence.
But for female high-flyers, the reverse is true. Their chances of walking up the aisle are considerably lower than those of classmates who left school at 16.
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