Russia and Miss Constitution

Reuters reported yesterday that Russia's new contest, Miss Constitution--much like Miss America--must symbolize the new Constitution. How she must do that is confusing: by being "Talented, clever, erudite, artistic, witty, graceful, flexible and most important of all not without sparkle." How is flexible and beautiful like the Constitution, one wonders? The group, Nashi, is pushing for new legislation that would allow previous President Putin to become president again. The current law allows four years, the new would allow six. How a young, beautiful, talented, FLEXIBLE woman is going to represent those changes is perplexing, at best.

Medical advances for women

Today I have a positive story! Reuters reported today that St. Louis doctors have successfully transplanted an ovary from one twin to her sister, and the woman gave birth last month to a healthy baby girl. The story says that one twin went into early menopause at 15 years of age, but has now been given her sister's ovary and gave birth at age 38. What a miracle! Just a few short years ago, this wouldn't have happened. It is exciting to see new hope for female cancer patients who wish to conceive after their treatment, which would otherwise throw them into menopause. My sister has just been through cancer treatments for breast cancer; however, after she was advised by her doctor, decided to remove her ovaries as well (she already had a hysterectomy). Although she is the mom of a boy and a girl, if she had wanted, she could have done this. Doctors say women who are going for cancer treatment will remove one ovary and freeze it, then after cancer treatments, they can replace the ovary with a great chance of having a healthy child. I love stories like this that give hope to those who otherwise would not have had a chance of having their own children.

Older women--why can't they work?

Jenny Peters of Fashion Wire Daily wrote about Meryl Streep in a report that left my mouth hanging open after the first paragraph. Here's what she had to say: "She has been in our cinematic life seemingly forever, with 14 Academy Award nominations and two wins, and at 59 years old is ancient by Hollywood standards for female stars. At that age, she is supposed to go quietly out to pasture and let the teenagers take over." Holy heck! If that isn't insulting, I'm not sure what is. Did she just call her a cow? Why is it so amazing that an experienced, talented, beautiful woman can still work at 59? What about all of the male actors at 59? They're still being portrayed as hunks with young children. How about guys like John Belushi, Timothy Dalton, and Harrison Ford - 59 and older? It is so frustrating to see women treated as something less than men, something less than acceptable when older or larger than the "ideal." Isn't it time we say "stop this madness?"

Institutionalized Racism

The Dallas Morning News reported today that Texas has implemented changes to the issuance of driver licenses of foreign nationals. These individuals will now be required to provide documentation when they apply for driver licenses and each time they renew it. In addition, the license will be displayed vertically instead of horizontally, and have "Temporary Visitor" stamped on the front. Opponents are swarming mad, saying that this is racism at it's finest. However, for those concerned about Texas' status as a border state and immigration issues, this is just one way to know who is in our state and country, says Gov. Rick Perry. This change is not as harmful as opponents are making it out to be. Yes, it may cause some embarrassment for some if they feel they're being looked at differently when they're writing a check. However, there are no legal consequences that stem from the change. Those affected will not be arrested even if they are illegal when they are applying for a driver license. It means those trying to obtain a driver license illegally will not be able to do so. According to one man from the Philippines, “I strove to build a new life here,” said Mr. Palacio, who works as an information systems auditor in Austin. “Imagine my shock, my dismay, my fear, to find that these rules… designated me a mere temporary visitor to the U.S.” If Mr. Palacio does not have documentation, this change will not affect his status as a foreign national. This change will only mean that those trying to commit a crime will hopefully be deterred from doing so.

Protests for what?

The Associated Press reported today that Wednesday, December 10, will be "Day without a Gay," across the nation as people call in to work protesting. According to the report, a gay couple thought up the idea after Proposition 8, an amendment banning gay marriages, was passed in California. The idea is to take money out of the economy because gays spend $700 billion annually, and they would like others to appreciate their importance. The organizers are encouraging people to become involved and donate their time to charities. While this may sound, on the surface, like a simple, harmless idea, it has a few flaws I'd like to point out. First, the idea to remove money from the economy 1) furthers the economic downturn, and 2) has no meaningful relevance to their cause. After all, isn't the whole idea equal treatment? Refusing to work or spend money does not correlate with the idea of equality. Let's look at the idea holistically. For the case of equal treatment to be valid, let's remind ourselves that we are all equal. Having said that, consider a "family day out"--all of the families call in and refuse to go to work, school, or whatever. How about a day where all Whites call in? All Hispanics? What purpose would that serve? Taking money out of the economy--at least in the short term--hurts the businesses like Wal-Mart that support the gay community. Refusing to work in this economy just isn't a smart idea. A better way to protest is to prove people wrong. Go to work, do your job--better than anyone else--give back to the community (without taking from it), treat others as you would like to be treated. Be the person they can't. After all, we can't change anyone else's mind, no matter how much we protest. Plus,if someone doesn't appreciate you for who you are now, they really won't when they're having to do your work for you.

Women and Fat

AP reported today that Oprah Winfrey is now "200 pounds," and dedicated an entire page to her weight mismanagement over the last 20 years. Having weighed almost 200 pounds myself after the birth of my first son, I can relate to the disapointment and shame of the weight rollercoaster. However, I did not have the public writing about my weight! The media focuses a tremendous amount of energy into women's appearance, especially weight. It rarely focuses on men with the same issue. I can think of only one male celebrity who was the focus of attention with the issue of his weight, and that was Al Roker the weatherman - but it was congratulatory in nature because he'd shed so much. There was no mention of his weight when he was obese. Not only do beauty magazines tell women how much to weigh, they also have the media out them when they gain some weight! I'd like to see a healthy weight--whatever that may be--held as a standard for women and a model for young girls, rather than the current impossible goals they hope to achieve.

The L-What?

I have actually just now learned of a television show that has been on-air for almost four years. The show is called The L-Word, and features a group of lesbian friends, trans genders, and gays. I am so surprised I haven't heard about this show, produced in Canada and seen on Showtime in the U.S. Then I viewed some videos of the show and read up about it. Two things come to mind: One, its portrayal of homosexuality within society is completely unrealistic and does not represent the homosexual community accurately; and two, the show has not been overtly advertised--at least not in the normal way one would expect to see promos for television shows. Especially such a controversial one. So, my questioning led me to think--my favorite word--WHY? Well, perhaps the show's lack of advertising through normal channels stems from a couple of factors. It could be that this society is not prepared for a drama all about lesbians, trans genders, and gays (and that's not necessarily a bad thing, because society as a whole is not lesbian, transgender, and gay--and we are talking about accurate representation). As a result, this show could have been advertised at all hours, for all we know, on gay and lesbian channels. But my biggest concern here has less to do with the advertisement of the show (which completely escaped me) and more to do with the accurate representation of lesbians, trans genders, and gays within society as a whole--which could contribute to a greater misunderstanding about the community. The show's main characters--at least 10--are female. These characters, by and large, exhibit some form of homosexual tendencies. Of course, in the real world, it is not the case that out of a group of people, most are gay. In the real world, most are heterosexual, a few are gay (or lesbian). So this show does two things immediately: One, it alienates most people who do not share these views, and two, it only appeals to those who enjoy caricatures, not meaningful and accurate, representations of the gay and lesbian community. A more thoughtful and sincere show might present an accurate number of gays or lesbians in relation to society, as well as portray them in roles free of stereotypes or biases. After all, the whole point here is to show commonalities and not divisions, which is--unfortunately--what The L-Word does.