Gender Disparity

"Every year, Planned Parenthood offers services to more than five million men, women, and adolescents. In that year, they offer nearly one million Pap tests and more than 850,000 breast exams, provide provides more than 3.3 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, and estimate that their services prevent as many as 621,000 unintended pregnancies. Many locations offer prenatal and postpartum care. In addition, they offer safe, affordable abortions." - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

For Pro Lifers they seem to have a very narrow understanding of the term "pro life" because they see no harm in killing an abortion doctor. Hypocrites, all of them! (They are the ones who should be chemically castrated, IMNSHO!) - Rene Wirtz

"Women are undergoing surgery to create perfect genitalia amid a "shocking" lack of information on the potential risks of the procedure, a report says. Research published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology also questions the very notion of aesthetically pleasing genitals. Operations to improve the appearance of the sex organs for both psychological and physical reasons are on the rise." - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

Dislike - Christopher Chung

I decided to share this in the US Politics thread, as well, because from my perspective it is a subject that should be discussed. The current health reform bill debates are hotly discussing abortion, with the understanding that the next item on the chopping block is contraception (at least from certain groups *sigh*) -- but funny this...vasectomies were not mentioned. While this article is informative in nature, the political question was one that I continued to ponder from a different scope than I addressed within the article. - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

I strongly suspect that is a greater likelihood, actually. Birth control, like everything related to pregnancy, has pretty much been consigned to women since the dawn of time. *shrug* Funny, though, how little a vasectomy actually changes *anything* in a man...(pun unintended)...the ONLY thing it changes is sperm-ability to escape the body...lol - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

"The assault on women's reproductive rights continues with a vengeance. As Congress struggled to pass health care reform to improve the lives of America's families, anti-choice forces took advantage of the situation to mount yet another assault on abortion. They were willing to sacrifice health care reform -- even though millions of people would now be able to receive coverage, even though the bill would finally begin to lower health care costs, even though lives would be saved -- to enact anti-abortion provisions to take away reproductive rights from millions of women." - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

Please join my group Custom Nutrients! We can explore various health routes together! - Carol OConnor

On Friday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met with leaders in the House of Representatives in their bid to eliminate women's access to abortion care under health care reform. And it WORKED. Opponents of legal abortion and health care for women are emboldened by Saturday night's vote and ready to bring their ban on abortion to the Senate floor. - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

I'm sure there will be some technicality by which they (both sides) will "excuse it" -- *rolls eyes* -- but to answer your question, I believe it is a violation of church & state, yes. - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

The very first time. And it is the first federal law to explicitly protect transgender people. Oh happy day! :) - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

10 years of GOP rule didn't help matters. - Joe Silence is not dead

Looking at this chart...and given the population of Europe (in terms of variable demographics), I can't help but wonder, what is the "real" argument in the United States by anti-choicers? - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

I guess part of my being perplexed is less to do with abortion itself - because everyone has feelings on that subject...and my only feeling is that if a person is against abortion, then they shouldn't have one but otherwise stay out of other people's lives since nobody has any right to dictate morality for anyone else -- but the *other* services, that are *live-saving* that clinics like... more... - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

From triple t: "I am here today because of a conversation I had last June when I was voting," Spooner says. "A woman at my polling place asked me, "Do you believe in equal, equality for gay and lesbian people?' I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her, 'What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach?' I haven't seen much, so much blood and guts, so much suffering, much sacrifice. For what? For freedom and equality. These are the values that give America a great nation, one worth dying for." - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

"I knew they were coming, but I didn’t expect to see this many people. On Saturday, 250 protesters showed up at the Fannin Health Center in Houston, Texas, to harass Planned Parenthood clients. They called the day’s protest the “March of the Surviving Youth,” and circled around the health center seven times in a “Jericho March” intended to collapse the walls of the health center, like the story of Joshua in the Old Testament. No such luck." - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

"Protesters: 250 -- I am Emily X. I am Planned Parenthood." - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

This is funny, cool, and utilitarian...wow! If the war comes home to u.s. - at least ladies are "covered"...lol... - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

DNA, Radioactivity, Polio Immunization, Gas Mask Bra??? (Think the Nobel has lowered standards?) - Stephanie Segel

"Joy Behar humanizes Ann Coulter, denies being a Marxist, and defends Whoopi Goldberg on her "rape-rape" comment." - and now has her own gig separate from "the view" - Richard ¿digame? Walker from Bookmarklet

after this week involving my dad undergoing surgery because it turns out one of his testicles contained a small tumour, this subject kinda jumped to the foreground of my mind. I need to point out something this article doesn't mention - tumours in the testicles typically affects males in the 20 to 40 age range, tho it can happen when older (as in my dads case, who is in his mid-50's). - alphaxion

Good point - and there is a link within the article I posted that goes to an in-depth site about testicular abnormalities and possible cancer concerns. The only area I noted age was the risk of cardiac issues (which jumped out at me, for some reason). Because my focus in healthcare has consistently been women's health for so long, I realized I needed to place some attention on men's health also. *nod* There are several issues that men (unfortunately) disregard. I will update more as I write more. :) - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

"Winstead is hilarious. I'm glad she responded to Hitchens' ridiculous claim. Besides, he may not have meant what he said; he's usually very noticeably drunk... reechard added this video and said "Rachel Sklar talks to Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead about the dearth of women working behind the scenes on shows like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. Winstead says it’s not a purposeful exclusion, and that when she was originally staffing The Daily Show, only 3 of the 150 writer submissions were from women, and none of those three women had the chops to write for the show. However, Winstead emphatically refutes Christopher Hitchens’ provocative claim that women aren’t funny. “I’m funny, so he’s wrong. By being funny, his whole theory is disproved.” via http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a..." - Richard ¿digame? Walker from Bookmarklet

"Some sociologists argue that gender (as opposed to sex) is really more about performance than it is about our bodies. That is, we do gender and, when we do it in ways that other people recognize, everyone feels satisfied. This is, perhaps, what Caster Semenya’s handlers were hoping for when she submitted to a makeover for South Africa’s YOU Magazine: Notice that Semenya carries the same body into this photoshoot, but she is properly adorned with make up, feminine clothing, jewelry, a passive pose, and a pleasant and inviting facial expression (because to be feminine is to be accommodating). Perhaps more importantly, the copy and the interview tells the reader that Semenya likes dressing up and looking pretty, another important indicator of both femininity and non-masculinity. The cover says: WE TURN SA’S POWER GIRL INTO A GLAMOUR GIRL – AND SHE LOVES IT! (Notice, too, the implication that power and glamour are opposed.)" - April Russo (app103) from Bookmarklet

"The figure below, borrowed from U.S. News and World Report, shows that the wage gap between women and men, for nearly all age groups, has narrowed significantly between 1979 and 2008. It also shows that the wage gap is smallest for men and women aged 20-24, grows for men and women aged 25-34, grows even further for men and women aged 35-44, and remains steady after that." - April Russo (app103) from Bookmarklet

I really don't want to search for it, but there is a picture of an overweight man with a thin woman (both wearing swimwear) captioned "How to spot a rich man". I'm not sure if it has anything to do with this. I'll try to form a coherent thought on this post later. :) - Heather

So this is a result...boiled down...attributable to marketing? - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

It would be highly discriminatory and illegal to forbid 2 people of the same gender from entering into a contract for something like providing landscaping for a homeowner. Could you imagine if it were illegal for a male homeowner to hire and sign a contract with a landscaping company owned by another male? Could you image in any way that it would be fair or legal to force him to find a female owned company to provide services? How about the EULA in software? Could you imagine a world where end users could only use software and agree to the EULA if the software was written by a member of the opposite sex? How about renting an apartment? Imagine if it were illegal for a female property owner to rent an apartment and sign a lease agreement with a female tenant. So why is it fair or legal to forbid 2 people of the same gender to enter into one specific type of civil contract? Marriage. It is a civil contract, a legally binding agreement between 2 parties, no different than any other type... more... - April Russo (app103)

Because unlike other contracts which are simply between two individuals, this one includes the oversight of a third party, the state. You can't be legally married without the license, the recognized official and the other legal trappings. Two people agreeing to be married doesn't by itself make a legally binding marriage contract recognized under state law. So you have to look to state and federal anti-discrimination and civil rights laws instead for the challenge. - Martha

Do you think it's possible that gay men have, in any way, benefited from our traditionally male-dominated society? - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

Personally, I believe that to overcome the b.s. - several things must happen...and I doubt they will happen in my lifetime. First, the responsibility for equality/egalitarianism is everyone's - and because of that, *genuine* egalitarianism will likely never be achieved. Because we live in an essential binary, there will likely always be an adversarial stance one way or an other (because... more... - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

seems to depend on the couple in question. - Joe Silence is not dead

*chuckle* As I've since learned, there is an enormous difference between European/French feminism and American feminism. I understand why/how the extremes came into play (with the face of Gloria Steinem as poster child - even while her expressed views are far from unreasonable) - given the history involved, and how many women fully take for granted how far the women's movement has come... more... - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

Hmmm...I'd guess getting a part of you cut off might create some resentment - but I wonder why more men don't share that sentiment? I'd also be curious as to sexual response in men (dunno how many there are, but there must be *some* out there) who were circumcised in adulthood AFTER becoming sexually active - and if the level of pleasure is any different. - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

hehehehe...almost as fun as clitorides... - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

It *is* Lady Branson. Rather ugly in drag, I think! - Richard ¿digame? Walker

*relieved* :-) - Richard ¿digame? Walker

"Marital rape and starvation of wives have government approval in Afghanistan.  This article in the UK Daily Mail describes a new law allowing husbands to starve their wives for refusing sex.  The law has passed just days before Thursday’s presidential election, in which current president Hamid Kazai hopes for re-election, according to the Mail. I don’t know where to begin with this.  Shall I mention my personal mainstream media beef, pointing out that the article barely touches on the issue before changing subjects?  Shall I point out that the writer, having written a lead statement that a new law permits a husband to starve his wife for refusing sex, still finds the need to attribute a statement that the law is repressive to “critics?”  I’m pretty sure we all can agree that torture for sex is repressive.  But to maintain “objectivity” the writer attributes the criticism." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet

Well said, Steven. - Michael W. May

Steven, good coverage of the story criticism. I just thought of a blog you might find interesting, it does incisive analysis of religion news and how it is covered by the media. http://www.getreligion.org/ - Micah Wittman

So...here's where I am curious as to perspective. Ironically, my dad is the person who told me he thinks Selective Service should be open to *both* genders - but feels that pregnant women should not be in the military. *blink* If a woman in the military is pregnant, does that answer change, if only temporarily? - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

http://www.writing-world.com/interna... here's a fun one. :D - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

On a similar note - should there be, then, a limitation on conscription if the woman is pregnant when she discovers she's been drafted? Should there (and this one is tough for many women) be a requirement for some sort of mandated form of birth control for women who are drafted? (insofar as increased risk of sexual assault &/or STDs - that much is gender-neutral because it's a risk endemic to the subject, based on stats - though you & I agree on it.) - ProsePetals (aka Denise)

And I happen to agree with your point there...I'm just saying that if an average military man (branch regardless), the typical response is protectionary. In *that* sense, there is an inhibiting factor in *practice* - whereas in theory it shouldn't matter except where physical limitations of the 2nd half of the 2nd trimester and the entire 3rd would be physically impossible. - ProsePetals (aka Denise)