The dubiousness of this "study" is obvious from the get-go, since it was performed by the British equivalent of Spike TV and only polled 2,000 people, but I'd also argue that women don't want what the survey called "waxed and coiffed metrosexuals," despite the fact that men think they do. My concept of being a "real man" is fulfilling responsibilities (though I suppose that goes across gender — that's my concept of being a real woman, too), and just because those responsibilities are shifting towards domesticity doesn't have any bearing on their "manhood."

The same survey says that "63 percent of women recognize that men are struggling to meet the demands made of them," and to that I say, so fucking what? Women have been struggling to meet the demands of work and home life forever, so it's good that men are bearing some of the load of that difficult balance. Maybe the British men in this survey would feel more manly if they stopped being such pussies and stepped up to the same set of issues women have been dealing with for at least thirty years.

Modern Men Feel Emasculated, Study Claims [Telegraph]

As the head of the the Eagle Forum, a self-proclaimed "leading pro-family organization," Schlafly and Co. put out a press release condemning the U.S. government's "endorsement" of International Women's Day, because "IWD serves to advance radical feminism in the form of promoting pro-abortion and pro-gay rights legislation, ratification of ERA, affirmative action for women, Title IX, government babysitting services, and government wage control, commonly camouflaged as 'pay equity' or 'comparable worth.'" Oh man, all the lesbian bonerkillers are certainly making so much progress in the Bush Administration with their commie agendas. Schlafly should be worried!

The agenda promoted by IWD is especiallly relevant in places like Saudi Arabia, where, despite plans to lift the ban in the future, women are still not allowed to drive without a male accompanying them. Wajiha Huwaidar, an activist who has been agitating for the right to drive, posted this video on YouTube on Friday, showing herself riding nonchalantly though the Saudi countryside in honor of International Women's Day. (Any readers out there who speak Arabic and can translate her dialogue, drop us a line!).

And Saudi Arabia isn't the only country where the status of women is often in peril. The Toronto Star named the ten worst countries for women, and in addition to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Nepal, the Sudan, Somalia and Mali also made the list. The best countries for women include Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada, Japan and Sweden. Anyone have any ideas as to why the U.S. wasn't on that list?

[Image via Global Center for Woman's Politics.]

IWD Ignored By News [WIMNs Voices]
Talking Politics, Power On Intl. Women's Day [NPR]
International Women's Day: Code for 'Advancing Radical Feminism Around the Globe' [Earth Times]
Wajeha Al-Huwaider For Women's Day 2008 [Youtube]
Saudi Woman Defies Driving Ban To Mark Women's Day [Breitbart]
Ten Worst Countries For Women [Toronto Star via Jules Crittenden]

Are they hoping to trick society into believing their daughters are equipped with these attributes — by giving them traditionally masculine names? And do parents doom a son to a life of failure by giving him a "girl name"?

Masculine names are often associated with success, for instance, which might explain why parents historically chose androgynous names for girls. As for boys, [UCLA psychology professor Albert Mehrabian] says that today "some traditionally feminine characteristics may be seen as desirable in men, like caring and giving." Given the desirability of those traits, at least for some, parents may be less shy about naming a boy Brooke, Taylor or Morgan than in previous decades, when the "feminine" connotations of those names might have come at a social cost — the potential loss of status, jobs or friends. Or as Aileen Nilsen, the Names Society co-president, puts it, "It's not a disgrace to be a girl anymore."

What's In A Name? [NYT]