At last ! A heart study that focuses on women

For years research on cardiovascular disease -- and the recommendations based on those studies -- have been focused on men. Feminist researchers have been working to include women in these medical studies.

According to this article from Todayonline.com, here is the longest, major study to look at stress in women -- who now make up nearly half the workforce in the United States.

Todayonline.com says the study analyzed job strain in 17,415 participants from the Women's Health Study, a U.S. project that began in 1991 and ended last year. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, based in Bethesda, Maryland.

The article includes some interesting verbiage, I think. It defines stressful positions as "demanding tasks with little authority or creativity." Basically, this refers feminized labor -- those jobs typically categorized as "women's work." It does however, acknowledge that previous studies focused -- almost exclusively -- on men.


NEW YORK - Women with high-stress jobs face about 88 percent more risk of a heart attack than if they had low workplace strain, according to Harvard researchers.

The scientists defined the stressful positions as those with demanding tasks and little authority or creativity .

Those jobs were also associated with a 40 percent greater chance of getting any kind of cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented Chicago at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions.

Job strain, social isolation and some personality traits have been recognized as raising risks in both men and women, according to the Dallas-based heart association.

Past studies that focused on men, the traditional breadwinners, found that higher job stress raised heart risks.

One year later -- I'm still advocating feminism

"Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it a mind-blowing, eye-opening, or at least through-provoking experience."

Those were the words I wrote exactly one year ago today.

As I pause to look back on my work, I gives me great pleasure to say, "It is good."

The funny thing about a blog is that you never know who's looking. You never know who you can touch, affect or change.

My most profound experience came as the result of a poetry podcast I did back in April. The poem was "I am a woman in ice" by Martha Courtot.

The only criteria I have for selection of my monthly poetry reading and commentary is that the poem speaks to me. This particular selection spoke loudly and clearly. It spoke of emerging out of a frozen state into the light.

In the course of research for my commentary, the Internet revealed very little information about the late poet. She didn't even have a Wikipedia entry -- so I mentioned that I'd liked to give her one.

I got chills when I was later contacted by her daughters who periodically Google their mother's name to see if anyone is studying her poems or writing about her. They were delighted with the idea of giving her a "wiki." I have one in process and hope to polish and publish it after I wrap up my studies at Oakland University in a few weeks.

The really cool thing is, I now have a picture of Martha to share with the world. When I read poetry or literature, I like to have a face to go with the writer's "voice." Seeing her image and
reading her words brought her to life for me in a profound moment.

I hope the family won't mind if I share Martha's photo here.

I've also found that there's no telling what people will read.

My post titled, "The Tudors: A lusty study of partriarchy" has surpassed all my other entries in terms of number of hits.

It is followed by "All aboard the 80s musical time machine," which featured a couple of my favorite songs from Peter Gabriel's 1986 album "So."

Another popular post is "The Cinderella Syndrome and Other Tales of Gender Conditioning" -- a paper I wrote way back when I first started my adventure into women and gender studies on the way to becoming the angry feminist I am today.

Over the course of the year, I've registered the blog with blogexplosion.com and liquida.com. I do believe this connection has enabled me to broaden my audience and I am thrilled to see hits from all over the world where women's movements are growing.

If I can open just one mind, or touch just one life -- then I've done my job.

But, I don't want to stop there. I want to take my blog forward with me as I leave my Oakland University family and venture out into the brave new world of media and feminism.

It's going to be an exciting journey -- and I hope you will join me. If you like what you're reading, follow me and encourage others to do so. Together we will grow and continue to make a difference.

Welcome to my blog, welcome to my world.

Blessed be.

The UGG alternative

UGG brand boots continue to be hot.

I see them worn by young women all over Oakland University's campus. I've even seen them worn by women closer to my own age.

UGGs are not new. They have been worn in Australia and New Zealand for almost 200 years.

Here in the U.S., UGGs are big business and come with a price tag between $100 - $200 a pair.

But in actuality, the cost is much higher because they are made of fleece and sheepskin leather -- the skin of a dead animal that was stripped off while it was alive and would continue to decompose if it wasn't treated with oodles of chemicals.

If that makes you cringe, I've found a cruelty-free alternative from Alternative Outfitters Vegan Boutique out of Pasadena, Calif. Here they are on the left.

According to the the website, the boots are made of micro-suede uppers and lined with faux fur. They are available in camel and black for $48 + shipping. But the best part is -- nobody gets killed.

Alternative Outfitters says "all products are non-leather and comply with the vegetarian and/or vegan ethic." The company also strives to make sure products are manufactured under fair trade conditions.

Why not try a pair? Alternative Outfitters also offers other vegetarian/vegan products and apparel.

And nobody gets killed.

Of Frankenstein and Feminism

Feminist connections can be found in the most unusual places.

Frankenstein's monster has become one of our most enduring cultural icons -- from the old Boris Karloff movies (right,) to Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live, to Peter Boyle in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein."

The monster -- or rather the Creature -- is often portrayed as a clumsy, inarticulate hulk.

And yet, in the original Mary Woolstonecraft Shelley novel, he's not only articulate, but quite advanced in his thinking.

In her book, "The Sexual Politics of Meat," Carol Adams calls attention to the creature's vegetarian nature -- a much overlooked, and yet deeply fascinating aspect of the story -- and to the novel's "feminist/gender issues."


However, these themes are not so surprising once you know that "Frankenstein's" creator Mary Woolstonecraft Shelley (left) was the daughter of feminist philosopher Mary Woolstonecraft who wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" in 1792.

In the chapter titled "Frankenstein's Vegetarian Monster," Adams says the Creature's vegetarianism makes him "a more sympathetic being who considers how it exploits others."

She explains how the Creature extends his moral code to include animals. In the novel he says:

"My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid, to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment. My companion will be of the same nature as myself, and will be content with the same fare. We shall make our bed of dried leaves; the sun will shine on us as on man, and will ripen our food. The picture I present to you is peaceful and human."

Adams says, "the Creature's futile hopes for admittance into the human circle reflect the position of that time's vegetarians and feminists; they confront a world whose circles, so tightly drawn, refuse them admittance, dividing us from them."

There are also other "Frankenstein/Feminist" connections found in the book. According to Adams:

• Actress Elsa Lanchester (right,) who played "The Bride of Frankenstein," was the daughter of feminist, suffragette, socialist and vegetarian Biddy Lanchester, who challenged the false naming of meat. Elsa sometimes referred to meat as "offal" and explained, "Biddy the vegetarian inspired the use of this word, that's what meat was to her." Merriam-Webster defines "offal" as the trimmings of a butchered animal, or rubbish.
  
  
• Actor Marty Feldman (below,) who played Igor in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," is quoted twice in the book.
  
  Of the meat-masculinity connection, Feldman said, "It has to do with the function of the male within our society Football players drink beer because it's a man's drink, and eat steak because it's a man's meal. The emphasis is on 'man-sized portions,' 'hero' sandwiches; the whole terminology of meat eating reflects masculine bias."
  
  Later, Feldman talks about his father who was in the army during World War II, "(he) could not eat meat because he was an Orthodox Jew. He practically starved to death and was treated with great contempt by the other soldiers because a soldier should eat steak."

The Frankenstein-Feminist connection lie dormant for more than 100 years. But now that you can see it, ask yourself, "Who is the real monster?"

Speaking of rice ... join my team to end world hunger

In the spirit of Fran Winant's poem, "Eat rice and have faith in women," here's a fun, free way fight global hunger.

Freerice.com is a nonprofit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme in partnership with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

It's goals are to provide free education to everyone and to end world hunger by providing free rice to hungry people.

It's simple. You can hone your skills in the areas of art, English, chemistry, geography or math. For every correct answer, 10 grains of rice is donated through the UN World Food Programme.

You'd be surprised how quickly the grains add up and you can do it while you eat lunch or listen to music.

I've created a team for my followers and readers. I invite you to join me in an effort to "Eat rice and trust in women." Here's how:

1. Go to freerice.com
2. Click on "groups," then select "find groups" from the pull-down menu.
   
3. In the search window, type "Eat rice and have faith in women."
4. Click "join."
5. Play.
   

Those grains add up fast. I earned 700 over lunch.

Dr. Ruth Seymour has encouraged her grammar for journalists class to earn extra credit quiz points by practicing grammar and earning rice. One thousand grains equals one point up to 20,000 maximum.

Thank you, Dr. Ruth, for turning me on to this.

"The Sexual Politics of Meat" set to music

I just finished studying "The Sexual Politics of Meat" -- 20th anniversary edition -- by Carol J. Adams for my gender and international studies class at Oakland University.

My professor, Dr. Laura Landolt, played this song for the class. The group is"Consolidated." The CD is "friendly fa$cism." The song is -- what else -- "The Sexual Politics of Meat."

What's interesting about this track is that it includes Carol Adams' actual voice making connections between the domination of women and the consumption of meat. It effectively packages the message into a three-minute nutshell.

Get up and dance and check it out:



Thank you, Dr. Laura.

Poetry Podcast: "Eat rice and have faith in women" by Fran Winant (b. 1943)

Listen to the poem here:

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About the poem:

I found excerpts from this poem in Carol Adams' book, "The Sexual Politics of Meat."

In the book, Adams discusses how meat consumption perpetuates the exploitation and violent treatment of animals and -- by extension -- perpetuates a similar violent exploitation of women.

If you think this is a stretch, think about this:

Have you been referred to -- or heard of other women referred to -- as a "piece of meat" or a "piece of ass?"

Well, then you can start to make the connections between these oppressions. As a postmodern feminist, Adams examines language. She specifically addresses the concept of the "absent referent" whereby -- through language -- women and animals are stripped of their living essence and become simply a benign piece of flesh.

By taking the living being out of the meat -- so we don't have to think about the fact that it was once a living, breathing earthling -- it makes meat consumption -- along with the exploitation and violence associated with it -- an acceptable, normal, natural activity.

The same applies to women. Through language they are cheapened and commoditized just like the animals and -- by extension -- violence against women becomes legitimized.

In the context of Adams' book, the poem "Eat rice and trust in women" speaks to adopting a kinder lifestyle that does not perpetuate violence, oppression and exploitation. Part of the way to make this happen is to eliminate -- as much as possible -- the meat consumption that fuels the cycle by eating rice.

This poem also advocates sisterhood and the way women should treat one another. It is so easy to become like the woman in the poem who is "too busy" for others and adopts a selfish attitude as a defense mechanism.

But, if we are not there for one another, if we do not teach and support one another, building up instead of tearing down -- how will we truly affect change? How will we ever begin to shake the foundation of the patriarchal systems that bind us and uphold the status quo? Nothing will change until women begin to nurture one another instead of harboring spite and petty jealousies.

It is only then that we will be able to "have faith in women."

About the poet:

According to glbtq.com:

"Poet, painter and activist Fran Winant was one of the early participants in the Stonewall-inspired gay rights movements of the 1970's. Through her poetry and visual art, she helped define the role and sensibility of lesbians in the contexts of gay liberation and radical feminism, especially during the 1970s and early 1980s.

"Winant had a natural affinity for the convictions driving the gay and feminist consciousness-raising efforts of the 1970s. She had been writing poetry since childhood, but had been unable to share her deepest desires. To express her feelings about women, and keep her classmates from discovering them, she invented a secret language, which she describes as 'a metaphor for an inner language of the socially inexpressible.' The new political fervor of the 1970s afforded a long-awaited opportunity for Winant to speak out.

"A member of the Feminist Lesbian Art collective (FLAC,) Winant began exhibiting her paintings in 1974 ...

"The secret language she invented in childhood, a blend of math and Greek-like symbols, is often worked into the backgrounds of her paintings. Her passion for animals is inextricably linked to her feelings about how gay men and lesbians are denied full humanity in society that allows the 'murder' of less visible, and therefore unprivileged species."

Related links:

Carol Adams' website