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Gender
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Gender-Benders
This month a couple of interesting ads float up from the sea of heteronormativity that is the women's magazine. The new Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign, appearing in Lucky and elsewhere, features male model Cole Mohr in a variety of rather cute frocks. Missoni also plays with gender in its spread in this month's Elle — see it, and one unfortunately familiar pose, by clicking on the dude in the dress.
Leftovers
domestic disturbances
Britain: Making It Easier For Women To Stay Home, And Reinforcing The Stereotype That They Should
As if there hasn't been quite enough said about the work-life choices women get to make, Nicola Brewer, the chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in Great Britain, ignited a debate about maternity leave and its effect on women's careers this weekend that has landed her in a spot of hot water. Recently, the government decided to change the laws on maternity leave to require employers offer mothers up to a year off instead of the current nine months, which sounds totally great on the surface but for one thing: men get 2 weeks paternity leave. What that means is that the government is sanctioning the expectation that women will be the primary caregivers, making it nearly impossible for men to share in those responsibilities (or to take them over) and doing nothing to advance the cause of actual equality. More »
Leftovers
Numbers Of Young Women With Skin Cancer Rises β’ LadyMag Editor Neutralizes "Men At Work" Signs
Melanoma cases in young women continues to rise (they have yet to adopt the fear-the-sun attitude of ladymags) due in part to increased outdoor activity and indoor tanning. β’ A well-preserved statue of Venus (from the late classical Greek tradition) was found in Macedonia. β’ Napoleon's penis is currently in the basement of a New Jersey WASP, just thought you would like to know. β’ Trend pieces that will never die: spas for kids! β’ Cynthia Good, the founding editor of Pink magazine, convinced the city of Atlanta to make their "Men At Work" signs gender neutral. More »
jezenomics
Ma'am, That Uterus Will Cost You Extra
It used to be that insurance companies justified charging women more for health insurance because they could get pregnant and be more expensive, but then someone pointed out the business fallacy that many insurance plans didn't cover birth control, either, so they came up with insurance plans (like mine) that don't cover pre-natal care if you get preggers. Unfortunately, now they're charging more for those plans, too. Their excuse?
"Our egghead actuaries crunched the numbers based on all the data we have about healthcare," explained Tom Epstein, a Blue Shield spokesman. "This is what they found."
But once you exempt pregnancy, what do men and women do significantly different? Men die young more often, and women seek preventative care (which is supposed to lower the cost of health insurance in the long term). Naturally, that's a problem.
More »
weird science
Why Women Are Opting Out Of The Hard Sciences
American women are few and far between at the upper levels in the "hard" sciences, otherwise known as physics and chemistry as opposed to biology and medicine. A new group of studies suggest that women — who, according to the Boston Globe constitute "20 percent of the nation's engineers, fewer than one-third of chemists, and only about a quarter of computer and math professionals" β are rarities in these fields because they are opting out of them, not because of the paucity of opportunities available. "Substantial numbers of women - highly qualified for the work - stay out of those careers because they would simply rather do something else," the Globe's Elaine McArdle writes. In countries where women have fewer economic choices, like the Philippines, Thailand and Russia, the disparity between men and women in the hard sciences is far less substantial. More »
All the freaking out about the "boy crisis " in public schools, i.e. the notion that boys are under-performing academically, is apparently over nothing: a new study reports that "both sexes have stayed the same or improved on standardized tests in the past decade," according to the Washington Post. The conclusions made by the American Association of University Women, which analyzed data from the past forty years, are that girls score higher on reading assessments but that the gap is narrowing; boys generally do better on math tests, a gender gap that has remained constant; and students from low-income families ($37,000 or less) do the worst on standardized tests, regardless of gender. However, girls still have higher GPAs, and 57% of bachelor degrees earned since 1982 have been awarded to women. Men continue to out earn women though — regardless of race or class. That superior GPA is doing us a lot of good in the workplace! [Washington Post]
gender benders
Gentlemen Are A Dying Breed. And Whither The Ladylike Ladies?
A story in today's Times Of London asks, "Are gentlemen a dying breed?" The author, William Drew, writes that when his grandfather died, people remembered him as a "true gent." "The act of being a gentleman transcends conventionality and surely goes some way beyond basic good manners," Drew claims. "My grandfather was not only impeccably polite, he was genuinely interested in others, whatever their place in society, and frequently made people feel quite special through his attention." What's interesting about the concept of a "gentleman" is that (in my opinion) when a girl is told to be ladylike, it means "shut up and look pretty." Whereas "acting like a gentleman" is a wonderful thing. But there is something to be said about being polite, about treating your fellow humans with respect. Is being a "gentleman" the only way? More »
leftovers
Thai Long-Neck Women Part Of "Human Zoo" β’ Jewish Prayer Book Makes God Gender-Neutral
Thai officals approve a "human zoo" with the famed long-necked women, many of whom are refugees from Myanmar. β’ Indian sex workers can now get life insurance, but their profession remains illegal. β’ Snickers, Doritos, and Peanut M&Ms are the most popular vending machine snacks. β’ A child who formed in her mother's liver turned 5 today! β’ A new prayer book for Reform Judaism makes God gender-neutral. β’ Teens aren't giving oral to "preserve" their virginity mostly because they are just having intercourse instead. β’ Plans for a Sound of Music hotel sparks fierce protest from Austrian fussbudgets. β’ Same sex couples are common in wild animals because, duh, sex is fun! β’ Adelaide "Sun-Lin" Young, a female explorer of China in the 1930s, died at 96. β’ Oh great! Recent female college grads make $2.92 less than their male counterparts. β’ Social and religious reasons are behind the lack of female directors in the boardrooms of Arab corporations. β’ However! There are more women in the boardroom in Kuwait and Oman than Italy and Japan. β’ Peeping Tom cases in public places are getting thrown out due to "unreasonable expectation of privacy" by the peeped. β’ Carme Chacon, Spain's first female defense minister, gave birth to a boy today. β’ 3 in 10 men experience domestic violence with an intimate partner, although it goes largely unreported.
transamerica
Controversial Treatment Allows Transgender Children To Delay Puberty
Yesterday's NPR report two transgender boys and the different ways they were being raised was accompanied by another story, this one about a controversial treatment known by some as the "Dutch protocol" that allows preteens with gender-identity issues (like transgender memoirist Jennifer Boylan, at left, once had) to delay the onset of puberty. According to NPR, "...kids who meet the criteria for gender identity disorder are given monthly injections of a medication that blocks their bodies from releasing sex hormones. This means that while the children continue to grow taller, for the three or four years they are on the medication, they are kept from maturing sexually." That's the first stage of the treatment, which occurs between ages 10-13. The second stage starts around age 16; at that point the teen is allowed to choose which gender he or she wants to become. More »
transamerica
Parents Of Transgender Boys Take Different, Provocative Paths
There is a fascinating story up on NPR's website about two little boys who wish they were girls, and the different approaches their parents are taking in dealing with their gender confusion. Basically from birth, both Bradley and Jonah favored girl things. Bradley wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz for Halloween when he was 2 1/2, and insisted on wearing his Dorothy hair (made out of a tea towel) for months after; Jonah, according to NPR, "was 2 when his father, Joel, first realized that no amount of enthusiasm could persuade his child to play with balls." (Heh, balls.) But seriously, folks. Both these boys wanted to be little girls pretty much from the moment they could express the desire, and while Bradley's parents have tried to force him out of it — by taking away his Polly Pockets and Barbies and encouraging interaction with other boys — Jonah's parents have allowed him to embrace his desires. At this point, Jonah's parents refer to him as "she", and she herself tells people her name is Jona. More »
chit chat
Race Relations: What's So Wrong About A Rich White Woman Interested In "Africa"?
A few weeks ago, Latoya Peterson, editor of the blog Racialicious, emailed me to proffer compliments over the success of the site and talk about Jezebel's coverage of racial issues, which, she explained, she wasn't particularly thrilled with. After a few email exchanges, I called her, and we talked for what seemed like hours. We did the same the following day. And, (if I remember correctly) a few days later. Although I didn't always agree with her assessment of our content and the intentions behind it, I found her and her commentary to be intelligent, charming, sensitive and, of course enlightening... so much so that I decided to recreate part of our conversation over email so that commenters could weigh in. After the jump, Latoya and I discuss reader complaints, accusations of colonialism, coverage of Third World countries, and how to deal with issues of "the patriarchy" abroad without being patronizing. More »
it takes a village
If Hillary Won't Write A "Gender Speech," We'll Do It Ourselves
After Barack Obama's stunning, revelatory speech on race, many feminists wondered if Hillary Clinton could give a similarly rousing speech on gender. We already figured that Clinton wouldn't be the one to give such a speech, which is why we were so heartened to see that the Huffington Post is taking matters into its own hands. Blogger Marie Wilson thinks we need to "open up the conversation on gender in America," and invites HuffPo commenters to make contributions to a speech on gender. We thought that was a phenomenal idea, and so we are asking you, our fearless Jezebel peanut gallery, to do the same. More »
leftovers
Avril Thinks It's All About Her; Men Are The "Vanilla Gender"
β’ Avril Lavigne teaches young girls the importance of narcissism. β’ Indianapolis is the most sexually satisfied city? Uh, okay. β’ France's only female 3-star chef is opening a cooking school in Valence. β’ Scientific breakthrough! Sexually inhibited women have a harder time getting off. β’ Men are the "vanilla gender" and are what female job performance is based on. β’ Women are often "being cheated" by microfinance programs, according to Time. We still gave to Kiva. β’ Prozac may cure lazy eye. β’ Accused rapists will not be prosecuted because the mentally disabled woman and alleged victim is not a "reliable" witness. β’ Almost 3,000 websites produce the bulk of child porn on the internet.
Horton Hears A Tale Of Gender Inequality
NPR's Peter Sagal took his wife and three "excited and happy" daughters to see Horton Hears A Who and left super pissed. The number one-grossing film of the year so far caused Sagal to be "irritated by something even more annoying than Jim Carrey's tics." See, the filmmakers added a subplot to the Dr. Seuss story. Now the mayor of Whoville has 96 daughters and one son. Says Sagal: "Guess who gets all his attention? Guess who saves the day?" Ugh, yeah, it's the son, of course. Sagal's commentary (as a father with daughters) is only three minutes long but so full of ire and rage it's totally worth listening to. [NPR]
gender trouble
Boo-Hoo: Some Men Are Afraid Of "Bossy" Women
We spend a lot of time here discussing the state of Womanity, but what about the disenfranchised men we're furiously displacing with our quest for equality? According to a survey commissioned by a British men's TV network called DMAX (home to such fare as Mega Mutt and Star Munchies), the majority of British men say they must live according to "women's rules," the Telegraph reports. In addition, 33% say they feel "handcuffed" by political correctness and are unable to speak their minds, and an equal number of men are afraid of bossy women. The Telegraph says that British men are thirsting for a return to "traditional" manliness, which they say American scholars have termed a "menaissance." More »
clips
Watching Women Talk About Sexism In The Workplace Is Sort Of Like Sexism In The Workplace
Joanne Lipman, the editor of Portfolio, went on CNBC this morning to discuss that story about how women have altogether stopped making progress on the "gender parity" front in corporate America and I was keen to watch since I knew that she used to actually work with two of the anchors, Becky Quick and Carl Quintanilla, at the Wall Street Journal. My thoughts: Shit, Joanne looks good. Almost as good as Becky. Has she had work done? Probs. What time do you think she had to get up to look that good? Oh look, now Carl is talking, about how some problems (ahem) are "more challenging" than sexism. (How much time did you spend getting ready this morning, Carl?) And Joe Kernen, the jokey shlub in the corner who is usually my total fave: why does it not surprise me that you have nothing to say about this, Joe?
A U.S. District Judge has dismissed a female professor's claims that she was fired unlawfully from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's School of Theology. Leaders at the seminary maintain that women should not have authority over men, referencing an epistle in the Bible where Paul states: "I permit no woman to teach or have authority over a man" (1 Timothy 2:12). The professor, Sheri Klouda, says she is not surprised by the judge's ruling: "Generally speaking, federal courts try to avoid becoming entangled in matters dealing with religious institutions." The problem is that although there are anti-gender discrimination laws, religious institutions can protect their practices, even if they are discriminatory with regards to women. Of course the real question is, if this case involved another religious institution and not the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. (and the religion of our President—and Britney!), would the outcome, and media attention, have been different? [CBS News]
