Women

This is what I would do if I had several thousand dollars to spare these days :

1. I would have wire clothes hangers, like the ones dry cleaning stores us, and I'd covered them in dark blue rice paper with the blue and logo of the McCain campaign.

2. The tag line under the logo? "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."

3. A second design option would have his fateful words about how he would change the Supreme Court of the United States with the judges like like Roberts and Alito or his dear friend Chief Rhenquist.

4. If I had more money, I'd hang a Supreme Court Justice looking robe from several hundreds of them and deliver them to each and every one of the high-profile Democrats, whereas politicians or funders, who are being assholes about supporting Obama.

Plain and simple message : You support McCain? Kiss equal rights for women away.

I cannot lie : I can't understand the whole concept of prostitution.

I can't understand why I woman would want to get paid by 2, 3, 6, 10 guys (or gals) a night to make rent. I can't understand how people can use their bodies as a tool or an instrument in that fashion.

I can't understand either why a guy would want to pay for sex. Yes, I know, I've heard about the whole "it's about having control and power and no string attached" spiel. Yet whereas many people see that as an exploitative act that gives men an unlimited amount of power, I see it more as a sign of weakness and even impotence. A guy that has to pay for it can't get it any other way and paying it for it is just part of the thrill.

Yet just because I don't understand the psychological dynamics of prostitution does it mean that it should be outlawed. On the contrary, just as with most drugs, I believe that we should follow Holland's lead and legalize prostitution.

Banning prostitution is not going to make it go away. On the contrary, the allure of breaking the taboo would be even stronger. If women and men want to turn sex into a transaction then, by all means, make it safe and make it fair.

Prostitution should be taxed and considered labor.

Prostitutes should be certified by the board of health.

Prostitution houses ought to be licensed and provide security services, along with health benefits and other labor benefits, to all their workers.

I can't believe I am going to say this ... but Ann Althouse knocked it out of the park today when she defended Hillary Clinton's wrinkles

Via Ann Althouse, Via Drudge.com

My first reaction to that picture is simple disbelief. How can she suddenly look that much older? I know Presidents age horribly in their few years in office, but she's not President yet, and this seems to have happened overnight. Did some treatment wear off?

But here's my second reaction, on reflection: We make high demands on women. A picture like this of a male candidate would barely register. Fred Thompson always looks this bad, and people seem to think he's handsome. We need to get used to older women and get over the feeling that when women look old they are properly marginalized as "old ladies." If women are to exercise great power, they will come into that power in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. We must — if we care about the advancement of women — accommodate our vision and see a face like this as mature, experienced, serious — the way we naturally and normally see men's faces.

I have the sneaking suspicion that image is photoshopped; which would add a whole new layer of sexism over the fact that republicans have been dancing around it as proof she's toast.

That picture is not going to kill Hillary Clinton's campaign. Her politics? Quite probably. The morally corrupt bunch who will stoop to nothing to save her candidacy? That's a whole 'nother thing.

March 8th is International Women's Day. Today we celebrate the XX genotype and that most feminizing of hormones, estrogen. So all XY humans, watch out or someone may go PMS on your ass.

In honor of this day I want to recommend a donation to the Global Fund for Women. Here is what they do:

We are part of a global women's movement that is rooted in a commitment to justice and an appreciation of the value of women's experience. The challenges women face vary widely across communities, cultures, religions, traditions and countries. We believe that women should have a full range of choices, and that women themselves know best how to determine their needs and propose solutions for lasting change. The way in which we do our work is as important as what we do. This philosophy is reflected in our flexible, respectful and responsive style of grantmaking.

The Global Fund makes grants to seed, strengthen and link women's rights groups based outside the United States working to address human rights issues that include:

* Ending Gender-Based Violence and Building Peace
* Ensuring Economic and Environmental Justice
* Advancing Health and Sexual and Reproductive Rights
* Expanding Civic and Political Participation
* Increasing Access to Education
* Fostering Social Change Philanthropy

Every year I have been blogging (that would be since 2002), I've seen the outbreaks of "where are the women in media and technology? posts pop-up around February or March. And every year there has been an avalanch of cries, denials and recriminations.

This year it seems to have all started with Jason Kottke's Gender diversity at web conferences. Oh boy. Read all about it at BlogHer.

Among the quoted is Anil Dash, VP of Business Development at Six Apart and one of the first names to come to my mind when I coined the expression "digital ethnorati". Anil is the quintessential digital ethnorati : colored, hip,, wired to the tees but more importantly, an influential in his networks who leverages that influence to give back to his minority community.

So when the man lumped me in with an amazing group of women technologists who he believes are The Essentials of Web 2.0 Your Event Doesn't Cover, well, what can I say, I was immensely flattered :

The Washigton Post reports today that Hillary Clinton is fighting tooth and nail to keep her husband's impeachment out of any discussions involving her presidential bid :

Clinton Fights to Keep Impeachment Taboo - washingtonpost.com:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new commandment for the 2008 presidential field: Thou shalt not mention anything related to the impeachment of her husband.

With a swift response to attacks from a former supporter last week, advisers to the New York Democrat offered a glimpse of their strategy for handling one of the most awkward chapters of her biography. They declared her husband's impeachment in 1998 -- or, more accurately, the embarrassing personal behavior that led to it -- taboo, putting her rivals on notice and all but daring other Democrats to mention the ordeal again.

Funny, because at the nail salon, the republican feminist lady that was getting a french manicure was saying that it did matter to her.

A lot.

The Annual Gynological Exam: What to Expect
Soma Mandal
Features Columnist
Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: Features

Reprinted from Washington Square News

Dear Dr. Mandal: I have my first gynecological exam coming up, and I'm nervous. I don't know what to expect, and I've heard really horrible stories. Does it hurt? What should I anticipate? Can my doctor answer any questions I have?

Thanks,

Nervous in New York

Dear Nervous,

The gynecological exam (sometimes called "pelvic exam" or "annual exam") is very important because it allows your physician to make sure that your genitals and reproductive organs are healthy. During this visit, breast health and sexual health is addressed as well. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Cancer Society recommends a gynecologic exam for any woman who is sexually active or over 21 years of age.

It may seem daunting for many women. Many stress over their first exams because they don't know what exactly the exam entails.

THE EXAM, STEP-BY-STEP

Once you are in the examination room, you will be given a gown and sheet to cover your torso. The doctor will ask general questions about your health and then do a brief external physical exam.

The doctor will examine your breasts for any lumps or any pain, then teach you how to do a monthly self-exam. Before beginning the pelvic exam, you will be asked to lie down and place each foot in a foot holders, called stirrups, at the end of the table. It helps to relax your knees and pelvic muscles to facilitate the exam.