New Microbicidal Gel to Help Women Prevent HIV/AIDS

A new microbicidal vaginal gel was found to reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS contraction in nearly half the women in a study conducted by South African scientists. The study, spanning three years, helped prevent HIV/AIDS in 50% of the women after one year, and 39% of the women after two and a half years. The gel is easy to apply: once, 12 hours before sex, and once, 12 hours after sex. This gel provides great hope and promise for women all over the world--who are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than their male partners--because it provides them their own source of protection, as their partners are often unwilling to use condoms. The gel and applicator are both cheap, and will hopefully be mass produced and distributed once its efficiency is improved.

Read the article below and look for more news on when the WHO will start using it!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10691353

Haitian Women Create Their Own Security Measures to Protect Themselves in Tent Cities

Haitian women have been experiencing increased violence (especially in the form of rape) since January's horrific earthquake. Six months later, the government and aiding countries have yet to establish a reliable security system to protect the displaced and desperate people in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Watch the following clip aired on Democracynow! to learn about how Haitian women have created their own system of protection, and learn about why six months later, Haitians are still lacking access to clean water, adequate food supplies, and permanent housing.



http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/14/in_the_shadow_of_ruins_haitians

(start at minute 38 if specifically interested in learning about the women's security efforts)

Cosmo Quiz

I failed a quiz today. I scored a zero on a Cosmo quiz about whether or not I’m “Good-Girl Hot” or “Bad-Girl Hot.” Apparently I’m a girl who’s…not. I have to say I’m pretty happy about that. At least it means I recognize what’s ridiculous about proposed gendered behaviors, especially when it comes to attracting the correct (opposite) sex. I didn’t fit into the molds cast for girls in the quiz (tease, slut, prude), I don’t have a celebrity role model, and I definitely don’t bronze before I go out. But I’m not perfect either; I still worry about the way I’m perceived sometimes (but not to the point where I would ever want to emulate Kim Kardashian). Perhaps the best thing to do is to a make a point to hold yourself accountable to standards that you feel are appropriate reflections of your personality, values, goals, etc….and avoid all Cosmo quizzes.

Always stay in love.
Be humbled through submission,
Make sure to ask permission.
Always stay in love.

Always stay in love.
For the healthcare and the tax reliefs,
The babies and religious beliefs,
Always stay in love.

Always stay in love.
Forget what real passion means;
Make sure your dirty laundry’s clean,
Always stay in love.

Always stay in love.
Focus on a single goal,
Embodying the status quo,
Always stay in love.

Always stay in love.
But don’t forget that in between
The kisses and the magazines:
Shouts should ring,
Tears should sting,
Questions fling—
Accountability is everything.
Through hard work and screwing plans
Of goals imposed by greedy hands,
A love could last a lifetime...
but if it doesn’t, then that’s fine.
Just don’t think that you should
Always stay in love.

Frye’s Fundamentals of Oppression

Frye defines oppression by using three main conditions: 1) experiencing the double bind phenomenon, 2) experiencing a feeling of being “caged in,” 3) experiences of inconvenience, unpleasantness, pain, or frustration do not qualify as oppression unless they are enforced by an outside structure. I think it’s important to recognize that the word oppression is used frequently to describe unfortunate scenarios that may or may not be deserved. I thin k I am guilty of labeling superficial scenarios as “oppressive”—I think this was one of my favorite things I used to tell my parents, that they were oppressing me by not letting me stay out past midnight or borrow the car for the weekend, or some other frivolous thing. It’s critical to understand that oppression is immobilizing and restrictive and out of your control. It’s something I’d like to take out of my vocabulary unless used in the right way, the same way I don’t use the words like gay or retarded to describe scenarios that are “stupid.”

Armpits

After reading Valenti’s impassioned chapter about why I’m definitely a hard core feminist even if I’m hesitant to admit it, I decided I wasn’t going to shave my armpits anymore. Not because I think thought this was the “feminist” thing to do (okay, maybe a little bit); I just wanted to do it. I wanted to feel what it’s like to say fuck you, I’m hairy, and it feels totally awesome. I don’t care what the hell you think. I should do this kind of stuff all the time, after all, I have the ability to do it without getting penalized, which is a privilege I should not forget. There are places in the world where women have to cover up their bodies or suffer the consequences. Why, if I have the ability not to, do I continue to shave my legs and armpits? Will this offend other people? Will I make them uncomfortable? Will I make myself uncomfortable?

So, in taking full advantage of the ability to express myself completely (by being really lazy and not shaving) I didn’t shave for about a month. Yeah, it was beyond fuzzy, and maybe it was even a little scary, but I loved it. I enjoyed knowing that no harm comes to those who do not shave. And to tell you the truth, I was really amused by the horrified looks I got from people who would catch a glimpse.

Then Madrigal came around, and my shocked and appalled girlfriends practically forced me to shave my armpits. (They wouldn’t get too close to me though). I guess that looks like I’m a failure and a sucker for peer pressure. Well, this is partially true. But there are two things I’d like to say about that: 1) I haven’t forgotten one of the first things we learned in class, which is that we exist on a continuum of “masculine” and “feminine” actions/feelings; Madrigal just so happened to be an appropriate time to squeeze into a nice dress and attempt to put on make-up…and shave my armpits (which I guess are “feminine things”), and 2) even though it seems like I was leaning toward one end of the spectrum that night, I ended up somewhere in the middle, because I wore my big brown L.L. Bean boots to the dance in protest of all the other girls who felt obligated to wear heels in below freezing weather. Like Virginia said, “It is fatal to be a man or woman pure and simple: one must be a woman manly, or a man womanly.”

Where are the American Herbivores?

I think our carnivorous population needs to make room for some herbivory. In Japan, there is a new generation of boys that embraces what we as Americans would not consider masculine: going out for desserts, spending more time with family and friends, leading a non-competitive life. I think a lot of men would feel relieved now that they wouldn’t have to be concrete, stoic, apathetic, violent, and extremely fit. I also think that if men were given an opportunity to break out of their shells, that it would be more acceptable for women to take on roles that were previously seen as uncharacteristic. What sparked this Japanese phenomenon to occur now, and how did it become so popular? It is assumed that because masculinity was defined as being a working man, Japanese fathers were not as present in their children’s lives, thus lots of younger Japanese men have rejected the roles that their fathers fulfilled. These herbivores, as they are nick-named, have embraced a life centered around family, passivity, and acceptance. An estimated 60% of young Japanese men (ages 20-30) identify themselves as herbivores. This huge portion of the population has had a significant effect on the economy of Japan. Because herbivores are not keen on consumerism, sales have noticeably decreased; herbivores are also seemingly asexual, and thus, birth rates have dropped recently too. I think it would be interesting to see how the United States would fair if such a generation emerged.