Feminism Online

WASHINGTON - Associated Press

Women’s life expectancy declined significantly in 180 U.S. counties, mostly in the deep South and Appalachia, between 1983 and 1999, according to a study being released Tuesday.

Researchers blamed the decrease in women’s life expectancy on high blood pressure as well as chronic diseases related to smoking and obesity, such as lung cancer and diabetes.

The decline, averaging 1.3 years in the 180 counties. Men’s life expectancy declined by 1.3 years in only 11 counties.

In another 783 counties, women’s life expectancy declined by 0.5 years, but the researchers said those results were not statistically significant because those counties were relatively small.

The study, based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, was designed to analyze disparities in life expectancy between different counties with different social conditions and health programs.

For the entire article, click here

I got this email today and wanted to share it with everyone.

Dear Stella,

I am writing from Women Make Movies, a non-profit distributor of independent film, to let you know about the upcoming national HBO broadcast premiere of THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO, a groundbreaking documentary that exposes the systematic rape and torture of thousands of women and girls happening in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), being used as a weapon of war.

A survivor of gang rape herself, Emmy-Award® winning filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson travels through the DRC to understand what is happening and why. This award-winning documentary features interviews with activists, physicians, even the indifferent rapists who are soldiers of the Congolese Army. But the most moving moments of this film come as dozens of survivors recount their stories with pulverizing honesty and detail, providing inspiring examples of resistance, courage and grace.

Women Make Movies is proud to be distributing THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO and we invite you to tune in to the national broadcast premiere, April 8 at 10pm on HBO.

The national broadcast of this powerful documentary offers an unprecedented opportunity to break the silence that surrounds this urgent, serious issue. THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO also provides a way to discuss violence against women as a global issue, a human rights violation affecting women throughout the world. We ask for your support in helping us spread the word about the women in the DRC and their all-too-important story.

Link to information about the movie

I had to share this article with you this morning from the New York Times on research showing feminists are more likely to be open-minded about weight in females.

So what they are saying is that feminists are not taken in by the insidious drive to make all women look like they have figures of little boys instead of how nature created them - with curves and strategically placed bumps? Guilty as charged.

Why is this so shocking? Feminists reject all social expectations placed on women that force them into unrealistic roles and to happily swallow the ideology of patriarchal rule.

Could it be that feminists have more self esteem and therefore do not see the need to cater to this damaging image of so-called beauty? Or could it be that feminists simply understand that men had better like women for who they really are or they will be shown the door?

Either way it is obvious that it is feminists who have their heads on straight about this issue. Meanwhile, the rest of the world’s women continue to do anything they can to please their patriarchal masters - even starve themselves.

I’m not worried though, I believe women will see true equality within my lifetime if we just keep up the good fight.