March 2010
The Primitive Stirrings of Motherhood
There were years when, as a young teen, I dreamed of having six children. I had their names all selected, and I knew I was going to raise them all to change the world and make a huge difference.
I also had to raise my two sisters, often alone with them all day except for an hour or two, while my parents worked. One was eight years younger than me, the other six. Sometimes they even called me “Mom.” I bathed them, taught them to read, cooked for them, and sometimes even posed as their mother for school phone calls, signatures, and enrollment periods when my parents simply couldn’t take time off work to do such things. I suppose this is why people often thought I was much older than I was.
Then, in college, I discovered the facts about how overpopulated the planet is—and how many children are left parentless, in dire need of adoption. I vowed to never produce my own child, and to simply adopt, foster, or do both with children when I got older.
WSJ Discovers That Some Knitters Are Men
Ada Lovelace Day: Jane McGonigal
At first I wanted to pick a historical example, to show that women have been instrumental in science learning since the very beginning (they have been, you know). But then I decided it would look like I couldn't find any contemporary examples, or that they were somehow less worthy than a woman in ancient Greece.
Annie Oakley, Unlikely Feminist Icon
At the time, the women's suffrage movement was working hard to gain traction in the public's mind. Annie Oakley, as an independent, spirited woman, was theoretically the perfect candidate to put that public face on the fledgling women's rights movement. If anyone could convince people that women deserved to be allowed to vote, you would think it would be Annie Oakley.
The Abortion Scam: Why Pro-Choice is Really Anti-Woman- Why the Feminist Argument is Really Sexist.
It is hard to find a political debate in which the abortion issue does not get raised. It is easily the most heatedly argued issue in the United States and one in which most people are very passionate about and it has been heralded as the quintessential women's rights issue of the modern age; however, is abortion really a women's rights issue or is it in fact one of the most sexist, anti-woman ideas in history? Typically, the abortion issue centers around the baby in question, and while there are certainly some very valid and important arguments to be made there, I want to challenge you to step away from those arguments, regardless of which side of the fence you are on, and to look at the role between women's rights, societal views of women and abortion.
Surprise! It's Botox! But You Knew That Already.
The Abortion Scam: Why Pro-Choice is Really Anti-Woman- The Physical Assault on Women
Leg Lengthening In China: When Does It Go Too Far?
A few days ago, on Oprah, (yes, I'm male, and do on occasion watch Oprah), I watched an episode on beauty. One of the segments brought to life a brutal beauty practice by some in China. The process is called leg lengthening, and is done by sawing in half the leg bone below the knee cap. The legs are then equipped with a metal device, that involves hammered in nails, which stretch the gap between the bones, and forces the body to regenerate bone to close the gap. This results in the lengthening of the leg. This horrific practice requires many surgeries, is beyond painful, and takes at least a year to recover.
How To Look Smart, According To Woman's Day
First Female Director Wins Oscar
Doesn't it seem like in the year 2010, it should be pretty hard to find anything where someone could be the "first female"? Something as high profile as the Oscar awards should certainly be ashamed to be cracking the "first female" label. It's trite to point out that the Academy is an "old boy's club" to end all old boy's clubs, but still! People! IT IS THE FUTURE.
Only three other female directors have been nominated for Best Director in the past. According to the Los Angeles Times, the list is: