World Wide Women

July 17, 2012

Truvada approved by FDA as first HIV-prevention pill

I think this is a medical victory everyone can celebrate about.

Research showing Truvada may prevent HIV transmission first arose in 2010, when a government study found it cut infection risk in healthy gay and bisexual men by 42 percent, when accompanied by condoms and STD counseling. Another study found the pill may reduce HIV risk by 75 percent among heterosexual couples in which one partner is infected with the virus. Some doctors had already been prescribing Truvada off-label for HIV prevention.

Unfortunately, it has not been shown to be as helpful or protective in women, but it is still a major milestone in the war against HIV/AIDS.

6:39am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvPXEB-L

July 14, 2012

Anonymous asked: Men and women are equal. However, "equal" does not mean "same." Men and women are equal, but they are NOT the SAME. There are some things men are usually better at, and some things women are usually better at. That's all there is to it. For example, men usually have higher physical ability and strength, so they have their own sports teams and we have ours. That's FAIR, not UNFAIR, because it lets us women play each other, which keeps the game on a much more EQUAL level. Just sayin'.

I’m not quite sure what post you’re responding to. I am quite aware of the biological differences between men and women.

Actually I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say at all. I acknowledge that we are different. What I have an objection to is having that difference being used against us and limiting our freedoms and rights. I may not be able to play in the NFL, but I’m just as capable of solving a math problem.

I’m a fencer, I fence competitively on a team of women, against women. When I fenced one team that incorporated men I was upset. (Experienced) Men are generally better fencers than women. That does NOT mean they are always better. What I want is women to have an equal opportunity. If a woman is good enough at fencing to compete with the boys, I want her to have a chance. If a woman wants to go fight on the front lines for her country, she should be able to.

I don’t want our differences to limit us. Just like I don’t want people of different races, cultures, and sexualities to be limited either.

I hope that answers whatever this message is about.

9:01pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvPMsWvd

July 14, 2012

sparksandfires asked: I'm sorry but I don't know what view of Islam you have but it is NOT a patriarchal religion. What you're getting confused here is the culture that surrounds the religion and the actual religion itself. Islam gave women rights that were unheard of at that time in life. Its the people who interpret some things wrong that give the religion a bad name. However, if you have any questions about real Islam and women's rights, I'd be happy to help you out or point you in the right direction.

I’m not quite sure where I blamed Islam religion in itself, I do know that it granted revolutionary rights to women when it first came around. If I ever blamed anything directly on the religion and not the culture surrounding it then I apologize deeply. It’s the same with Christians who go around and harm people with their close-mindedness and misinterpretations of the Bible. I apologize again, sometimes I get worked up when writing about articles.

8:53pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvPMquT1

July 14, 2012

the current conscience

I haven’t had a chance to look through this site yet but it appears to be very feminist-oriented, so I thought I’d post the link to it for people who are interested in going through it themselves.

If I’m not terribly hungover from going clubbing in D.C. tonight I’ll try and go through and find some of the more interesting and meaningful articles tomorrow.

8:50pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvPMq9Fk

Filed under: the current conscience

July 14, 2012

Jackson Women's Health Organization, Mississippi's Sole Abortion Clinic, May Not Survive

If I was a woman who lived in Mississippi, I would move immediately. I hate how pro-life groups try and hide their anti-choice agenda under claims of “improving women’s health and safety.”

That’s such a lie. They don’t care about your health. Do you see them standing up or lobbying for women’s rights or equality in women’s health insurance?

Nope.

They hide behind a noble guise, but in reality all they’re trying to do is force their beliefs on you.

8:47pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvPMpWna

(Notes: 1)

Filed under: Mississippi Abortion Women Woman RIghts

July 9, 2012

I CALL MALE CHAUVINISM AND MISOGYNY!

A woman would make a much better president then most men, particularly you, Mr. Pat Buchanan. A woman knows how it feel to be under-appreciated, a woman is more empathetic, a woman has more tact.

It’s your kind’s sexism that’s holding the country back, preventing it from growing socially and economically.

If we could just get you and your generation out of politics and the media, the country would be in much better place right now.

7:24pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvP1DVQ5

(Notes: 2)

Filed under: Pat Buchanan female President McLaughlin Group chauvinism misogyny women woman sexism

July 9, 2012

Polling memo: Planned Parenthood's anti-Romney ads leave a mark

This makes me very happy. It’s a short article so I’m posting the entire thing. I really hope it makes an impact in Virginia. Our Republi-can’t governor and Attorney General are ignorant, biased, sexist, homophobic, big-business politicians.

Women are far more likely to support President Obama and voice doubts about Mitt Romney after being exposed to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s recent anti-Romney ad campaign, according to a survey commissioned by the women’s health and abortion rights group.

The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates and shared with POLITICO, tested female voters in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Des Moines, Iowa, to gauge the impact of the PPAF ads.The group announced at the end of May that it was spending over $1 million on an initial wave of commercials hitting Romney in Florida, Iowa and Virginia.

In both Des Moines and West Palm Beach, voters appear to have shifted toward Obama after seeing the ads. Obama led by 11 points among West Palm Beach women who did not recall seeing the ads, but by 28 points among women who did recall seeing them. In Des Moines, Obama and Romney were tied at 39 percent among women who didn’t recall seeing the ads, but Obama led by 28 points among women for whom the ads left an impression.

The ads have gained significant notice in the markets tested in the poll: half of women in West Palm Beach and 55 percent of women in Des Moines say they definitely recall seeing the commercials. Those women have moved away from Romney.

It’s possible that women who were likely to remember the ads were also more likely to be sympathetic to Obama, to begin with. Still, we’re talking about a significant gap in perceptions of Romney and Obama, suggesting at the very least that the ads are having an impact.

The Hart Research poll shows that Romney’s overall image has shifted in a negative direction among women since the ad campaign began. The percentage of women saying Romney is “out of step with my opinions” on issues affecting women went from 51 percent to 62 percent in West Palm Beach, and 49 percent to 60 percent in Des Moines.

“The data make clear that the key themes raised by the ads not only break through with these women voters but also stay with them to form a lasting impression,” the Hart Research polling memo concludes. “Nearly half of women voters in each market report having heard things in the past few weeks that make them feel less favorable toward Mitt Romney, and without referencing PPAF’s ads their volunteered responses reiterate the ads’ key points.”

The memo continues: “In fact, three of the five most frequently volunteered responses are criticisms of Mitt Romney that come directly from the ads (specifically his desire to overturn Roe v. Wade, his stand on women’s issues including equal pay, and his intent to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.”

The seven-figure sum that PPAF has spent on the ads is modest in the context of a national race, but as of this weekend they’re also not the only group delivering that message: theObama campaign is up with swing-state commercials saying Romney would “cut off funding for Planned Parenthood.”

You can read the full Hart Research memo for PPAF here.

7:11pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvP1A9g8

Filed under: Planned Parenthood polls anti-Romney ad campaign Hart Research Associates female voters Florida Iowa Virginia Obama Romney abortion equal pay

July 9, 2012

Code Is Power: Girls Who Code

Written by the creator of craigslist, this article praises and focuses on the contributions women have made and will make in the world of technology.

Craig emphasizes how technology, and being able to use it and create your own, gives people a voice and an influence on society.

Girls Who Code is a nonprofit that teaches under-served girls how to computer program, funded by Google, eBay, GE, and many others. These folks know code as a form of expression, the 21st century way of expressing yourself and your identity. The girls are creating apps to communicate with each other and their communities.

7:02pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvP17-YR

(Notes: 2)

Filed under: Girls Who Code craigslist technology internet code coding

July 9, 2012

The Women of Tahrir Square Fight Back

A 2008 study by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) found that 83 percent of Egyptian women reported being sexually harassed at some point in their lives. Perhaps even scarier, 62 percent of the men surveyed admitted to having participated in acts of harassment. (ECWR activists have since created an online map to track harassment cases.)

Both numbers are absolutely terrifying, but the percentage of men who have admitted to sexual harassment may disturb me even more.

Do you know what that high number means?

It means that those men don’t see anything wrong in committing sexual harassment. It means they feel they have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to hide.

In America, (physical) sexual harassment is nothing to casually admit to, be it anonymously or not (with the exception of trolls). It’s taboo. You don’t talk about it, you don’t brag about it.

Of course, America is stock full of verbal sexual harassment and degradation. One of the hardest issues in overcoming this problem is: Verbal sexual harassment is still not largely considered true sexual harassment, nor is it considered as serious. It is often chalked up to the woman being “oversensitive,” or “misinterpreting” what someone said.

Back to the article.

It talks about a protest being held on last Friday at Tahrir Square, a symbolic center of sexual harassment of women (and of the rebellion that overthrew Hosni Mubarak).

7:33am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZGzLSvO_-uf3

Filed under: harassment sexual harassment Egypt Women Men abuse Tahrir Square Egyptian

July 7, 2012

“It’s a man’s world…” or, Romantic Misogyny

Most infuriating ring-back tone ever. Particularly to a hardcore feminist like myself.

Yeah, it’s supposed to be a sweet and romantic song. It’s not.

It basically says: “Men control the world, tough luck sweet cheeks. But don’t feel too bad, you can still have a place on my arm. Because you know, you don’t have a place anywhere else or any purpose but to ‘complete me,’ if you know what I’m saying. Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.”

When I heard that while calling a patient to remind them of an appointment, I very much wanted to say, “Well you had an appointment in three days, but since you’re a misogynistic, misguided man, you can just consider that cancelled and can sit and suffer. I don’t even care if you need refills for your blood pressure medication.”

Just kidding. But seriously.

Keep your “romantic” misogyny. I’m my own person and I don’t need a man to be complete. I don’t need to be on a man’s arm to have a purpose.

I can stand up next to men and say, “These people are my friends, my equals. And we should be treated as such.”