I found this below on the web the other day. Its from a website about health for teenagers:

The menstrual cycle doesn’t have to be a drag, it actually shows how complex your body is and a sign that it is functioning properly! Congratulations, you are a woman and being a woman is terrific!

Reuters reports that “Painful sex common after giving birth”

A year after giving birth, many women are plagued by urinary incontinence, pain during sex and other problems, UK researchers report.

Eighty-seven percent of mothers who responded to a survey complained of at least one health problem. Problems were particularly common among women who had delivered with the assistance of forceps.

Anyone else not completely shockec by these findings? But curious as to why we haven’t really heard about a study like this in mainstream media?

HILARIOUS story in the NYTimes about dating and apartments:

All these things have proved detriments to love, but none so effectively as his sheets. Mr. Podell likes the ones from the ’60s and ’70s that tell a story: sheets with intergalactic battles or pink hippopotami or the Beatles. Since these are no longer available in adult-bed sizes, Mr. Podell’s sheets are now 30 to 40 years old. The fading is such that a person who saw one in a Salvation Army bin, having lost everything she owned in a fire, would remind herself that there was no reason to be desperate. The fading, however, was apparently not the reason that the sheets became a deal breaker.

“I was dating this very nice woman, I thought,” says Mr. Podell. “I was ready and she was ready to do the big deed. I take her to my apartment, go into the bedroom, and fling back the sheets, and she said, ‘My husband had these sheets and he was a mean-hearted son of a bitch and you must be like him and I’m leaving.’ ”

‘’It’s terrible, because these are students who are working very hard to pay for their tuition and books at a time when tuition costs are edging up as well,'’ said Linda Lekawski, director of the university health center at Texas A&M, where the old price for birth control pills of about $15 per month is expected to triple. ‘’This is one thing they’ve been able to benefit from for years.'’

A few weeks ago, I took my nieces shopping at a mall back home in the Midwest.  As we walked through the shops, I noticed a few teenage girls wearing mini skirts and flips flops when it was snowing outside.  We ended up in  Hollister, a store geared toward teenagers with low lighting and lounge chairs with magazines.  My nieces lurched toward the clearance rack while I took a gander of the sort of clothes they sold.  I saw a mother dissuading her daughter from buying a shirt that said “I want a boyfriend.”

I looked up Hollister on the net and yes I went to wikipedia’s entry.

Hollister Co. is a California-inspired apparel brand that attracts patrons ages 14-18 for not only its colorful clothing, but also its moderate prices which were meant to compete closer with, but still not as inexpensive as, other brands such as American Eagle Outfitters and Old Navy. Hollister stores have a worn and washed out impoverished beachside boardwalk theme, the façade resembles a dump-front shack made from driftwood, and dimly lit interior with surfboards mounted on the storefront wall and a wood floor that looks like aged western red cedar shingles.

Not only did I feel so much older next to younger people rifling through the sale items, but I didn’t get the “point” of the store.  All of the saleswomen were wearing tiny little outfits, some with thongs hanging out.  Of course, I think role models for young women today aren’t that impressive with barely there outfits (no underwear!) I don’t think stores that sell provocative clothes should be shut down and banned.

I DO think that clothing stores in addition to advertising and marketing companies should reevaluate the images they are selling to young men and women.  Sex does sell but it also opens up all sorts of questions to younger people about what they’re wearing.

I remember when I was in middle school and shopping at Urban Outfitters.  My mom saw a shirt that had a little girl and a birthday cake with the words BLOW on top near the breasts.  I was embaressed because I knew it referred to fellatio.  My mom just rolled her eyes and we kept on looking at other clothes.

Thankfully I didn’t have to explain any overtly sexual sayings or innuendos to my nieces though I’m sure they’ll want to know some day.

I got this question from the Imagination Prompt Generator (check it out!)
Who do you miss the most from your past?

The person I miss the most from my past is my Grandmother Veronica.  She passed away when I was 20 years old (two weeks shy of my 21st birthday.)  I had just returned from studying abroad in Cork, Ireland where my grandmother’s family is originally from.  When I returned to the States, I was excited to start learning more and reconnecting with my family.

I was on a Fourth of July trip with my family when my grandmother became sick and had to be hospitalized.  She passed away within days.  What followed was a very difficult period of my life but during that time I decided to do a M.A. in American History.

My grandmother Veronica encouraged my love of history: American history, Irish history, and our family history.  She always made sure I knew what our family did to help establish the town that she, my grandfather, my fathers and aunts grew up in.  It wasn’t an ownership pride but the type of pride in knowing that you and your ancestors are part of a much larger picture than the present.

I’m sad when I think that my grandmother didn’t see me graduate from college or receive my M.A.  I wish she was there when I called my grandpa to tell him when I was engaged.  I wish she was there for my wedding shower that we had in the house she was born in.  And I wish she could have seen her son walk me down the aisle at my wedding.

But nothing replaces the love of history that she encouraged.

I’ve been a horrible blogger these past few days (I had to go out of town at the last minute.)

This story “Duke rape case still splits faculty” about Duke University’s reputation after the rape story (scandal) broke out got me thinking.

Some questions that came to my mind:

• If something similar happened at my university (and it surely did), would I have been protective of the school if questioned by the media?
• Would I be defensive in public but critical in private mediums such as internet threads where one can post anonymously (except to the webmasters.)
• Would I want to bring it to the attention of the media?

I don’t have an answer right now but I hope to reach some conclusions.

And let me state here that I believe any unwanted sexual advances toward either sex is a crime.  Any sort of forced penetration is rape.

In 1977, when the women who would establish the National Women’s History Project began planning a women’s history week, March 8th, International Women’s Day, was chosen as the focal date.The selection was based on wanting to ensure that the celebration of women’s history would include a multicultural perspective, an international connection between and among all women, and the recognition of women as significant in the paid workforce.

Women’s History Week, always the week that included March 8th, became National Women’s History Week in 1981 and in 1987 National Women’s History Week became National Women’s History Month. The expansion from local to national and from week to month was the result of a lobbying effort that included hundreds of individuals and dozens of women’s, educational, and historical organizations. It was an effort mobilized and spearheaded by the National Women’s History Project.

From National Women’s History Project 

I thought this blog did a great job of talking about the birth of Women’s History Month in the United States.

As word spread rapidly across the nation, state departments of education encouraged celebrations of National Women’s History Week as an effective means to achieving equity goals within classrooms. Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Oregon, Alaska, and other states developed and distributed curriculum materials all of their public schools. Organizations sponsored essay contests and other special programs in their local areas.

Also I think I need to write a MUCH longer post about motherhood, pursuing a career, and feminism.  Its always seems to be a contentious issues amongst feminists and women in general.

I want to gather my thoughts before I approach that.

Don’t no why WHM has got me thinking of this but….

Some people make assumptions about my opinions since I pursued a graduate degree in women’s studies

(1)  I hate men.

Answer: Well yeah I hate men but NOT because I took a few women’s studies courses.

(2) I *MUST LOVE* the fact that Senator Clinton is running for president.

Answer: Having any sort of opinion on her candidacy means someone will try to argue against your ideas until you see it his or her way or at least pretend to.  Or if you don’t have an opinion, it’ll look like you’re uninformed.

I voted for Hilary in the last two senatorial elections because she was the best option. Will she be the best option for president–as of now I don’t think so but time will tell.

(3) I abhor pornography and female strip clubs.

Anyway I answer this will get me trouble so NO COMMENT.

(4) Women who pursue graduate degrees but choose to stay home and raise their children are wasting their lives and educations.

Answer: NOT!

(5) President Bush isn’t doing much if anything at all for women.

Answer: DUH!