Friday, October 5, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

The perils of female promiscuity: a cautionary tale

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 08:30 AM PDT

We all know that women only really enjoy sex within the safe, legally bound confines of the marital bed, right?

And now, thanks to the Daily Mail and Cornell University, USA, we have unequivocal proof.

Reporting on a study by Cornell University into happiness and longevity in intimate relationships, the Daily Mail states:

"A study of hundreds of couples found those who waited to have sex were happier in the long-run. Women particularly benefited from not leaping into bed at the first opportunity".

So there we have it ladies; hard evidence to back up what we've always been told. We're just not cut out for shenanigans of the pre-marital kind.

Only, when we take a closer look at the research, led by Sharon Sassler and published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, the findings are slightly more complex.

"The association between relationship tempo [the speed a relationship develops] and relationship quality was largely driven by cohabitation” the report explains.

So is early cohabitation or early sex the key factor that seemed to determine the quality of the relationship?

Thankfully, Psychology Today offered up a more nuanced reading of the research, noting:

"It's not so much the sex, however, but the cohabitation itself that leads the couple to slide, unthinkingly, into wedlock (or continued cohabitation).

“When couples are led by sexual desire, financial need, or an unexpected pregnancy to get married, they are less likely to stop and examine whether they share similar life values, goals, compatibility, and emotional intimacy"

The Daily Mail has an enduring fondness for interpreting research to endorse conservative values and this is a pretty standard example. It's only surprising that the newspaper article didn't come with readily perforated edges, so readers could tear it out and waggle it in the unsuspecting faces of any pubescent teen or immodestly dressed female that crossed their path.

But the Daily Mail's treatment of the research was positively measured when compared with the Indian Express, which seems at pains to include orgiastic sentiments of slut-shaming:

"Couples who delay sex until marriage, rather than leaping into bed on the first date, are more likely to have happier and longer relationships, according to a study…. The evidence suggests an open-legs policy is not so rewarding after all."

Thus the  research is used as a cheap vehicle to shame and deride women who practice this "open legs policy".

So what started out as research conclusions about the complex development of intimate relationships and the benefits of decent decision-making has been usurped by the press and turned into (yet another) warning about the devastating effects of female promiscuity.

It's that age old cautionary fairytale created to control female sexuality and repeated ad infinitum by pop culture, parents and social commentators: easy girls wind up unhappy and alone, with only themselves to blame.

Women are reminded that it's their responsibility, not men's, to guard against the corrosive effects of early sex, to preserve the sanctity of their relationships, to keep their legs closed.

The province of promiscuity is a place where men have everything to gain and women have everything to lose. This considered, is it any wonder if women are regarding early sex in their relationships as a source of anxiety?

Cooch Watch fights abortion clinic closures

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT

US anti-choice campaigners have not outlawed abortion, but women still have difficulty accessing abortion.

While anti-abortion legislators have failed to outlaw abortion through extreme personhood amendments, in some states abortion could soon be almost impossible.

Such is the case in Virginia where Stephanie Arnold, a medical student and former abortion clinic worker, has launched the website Cooch Watch as a satirical challenge to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's relentless efforts to close down Virginia's existing abortion clinics.

Cuccinelli, whom Cooch Watch has dubbed "The Cooch," has a long record of trying to restrict access to abortion in Virginia.

Arnold founded Cooch Watch on 17 July 2012, the day Cuccinelli announced his refusal to certify Virginia’s Board of Health regulations aimed at exempting existing abortion clinics from closure under new legislation.

Legally requiring abortion clinics to provide the same facilities as hospitals is medically and practically unnecessary, given that the procedures carried out in abortion clinics are very different from those carried out in hospitals.

The real aim of the legislation is to close down abortion clinics, many of which cannot afford to meet the costs of remodelling. 17 out of Virginia’s 21 clinics are in this position.

Unfortunately, due to Cuccinelli's tactics, Virginia's Board of Health effectively shut down the state's existing abortion clinics.

Last month the Board voted to reverse their decision to exempt existing abortion clinics from the stricter regulations.

It emerged that Cuccinelli had written to the members of the Board advising them to do so, threatening that they could be personally liable for legal fees if they were sued after ignoring his legal advice.

Since its launch, Cooch Watch has run a protest campaign that informs unaware citizens about Cuccinelli's activities.

"Keeping an eye on the Cooch" has involved updating their website and twitter feed, organising protests in Virginia and creating pro-choice versions of popular songs, such as "Hands Off, Crazy” (adapted from the song we’ve all heard as “Call Me, Maybe”).

The value of campaigns like Cooch Watch is that they raise vital awareness of challenges to women's reproductive rights in a way that is humorous and accessible but very direct.

Cooch Watch hopes that by tracking Cuccinelli's actions they can help block his bid to become Virginia's governor in 2013.

Cooch Watch is pertinent not only to Virginia.

The practise of mandating abortion clinics be subject to new regulations in an effort to close them down has become common practise from extreme anti-abortion politicians.

Mississippi's sole remaining abortion clinic may close, while legal restrictions might prevent the sole clinic in Wichita, Kansas from opening.

Women's legal right to abortion in America may be relatively safe for now. Their access to a safe abortion clinic looks very much in doubt.

Lobby Parliament for women’s rights

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 03:23 AM PDT

Lobby your MP for women’s rights at the Houses of Parliament on 24 October 2012.

Join activists and organisations from across the country at a feminist lobby of parliament in London and call on MPs to stop eroding women's rights and start driving forward women's equality.

Reproductive rights are under attack, women's economic independence is being eroded by the cuts and age-old inequalities such as violence against women persist.

Equal rights campaign group UK Feminista is organising a mass lobby of parliament which aims to see constituents meet 100s of MPs and lay out the facts and outline the action needed to tackle violence against women, access to justice and economic equality for women and women's representation in politics.

UK Feminista will be making a lobby pack for you to download from their website  – or pick up on the day – with the calls for action and all the facts and figures that you can use and give to your MP.

Come along.

From 11:00 – 13:00 there is a rally and training event at the Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU.

This will be packed with talks and short films on the issues in question, and there will be a short training session so you can get all the info you need on how to lobby your MP and find out what will happen once you get inside parliament.

Then from 14:00 – 16:00 you lobby your MP at the Houses of Parliament.

To find and contact your MP – and find out what they have done and said so  – far click here.

You can also email your MP to arrange a meeting through UK Feminista's website on the sign up page.

For more details of the lobby on 24 October, visit – and keep an eye on – the UK Feminista website.

Valuing Maternity: a guide to women’s rights

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT

A new campaign aims to tell working mothers their rights

The Valuing Maternity campaign has launched a new video offering advice to working women who are pregnant or new mothers.

More than 30,000 women lose their jobs each year after becoming pregnant and a further 200,000 face unfair treatment as a result of their pregnancy.

In this seven-minute video, solicitor Camilla Palmer, and advice worker Roz Hampson, explain what maternity discrimination is and how you can fight it.

Rebecca Raven, a former teacher who lost her job shortly after announcing she was pregnant, also tells of how she took her employer to an Industrial Tribunal.

"Any unfavourable treatment of a woman who is on or has been on maternity leave is unlawful," says Palmer in the video.

Palmer believes maternity discrimination is on the increase due to the recession and that employers are often using redundancy as an excuse to get rid of women who are pregnant.

It is, says Palmer, increasingly seen as acceptable for employers to say; "Why would I employ a woman of child-bearing age because of the inconvenience to my business.”

Raven tells how she was handed a letter from the Headteacher of the school she taught at, terminating her employment just three days after she announced she was pregnant.

"At three months pregnant the last thing you expect is for someone to turn round and tell you they are taking away your income and your main source of stability," she says.

"It was a very harrowing time and not something I would want anyone else to go through.”

Raven also tells of how she lost weight during her pregnancy, and of the long wait for the industrial tribunal.

Hampson advises women to make sure they know their rights before telling their employer they are pregnant. Women should also prepare for problems and make sure they put everything in writing, and ask for written agreements from their employer.

She also urges women to join a union and check their home insurance policy to make sure they have legal cover to cover legal expenses and seek advice quickly.

"Women should join the Valuing Maternity Campaign. 

“We at Maternity Action can give individual women advice about their problems, but we know that with the recession maternity discrimination is getting worse and the government should do something about it.  Now is the time to act," she said.