Put them in burkas

Seriously?

The latest statistics show that 29 per cent of men admitted being distracted by short skirts and low-cut tops in the Summer weather, leading to record numbers of accidents on the roads.

And according to car insurance company Sheilas' Wheels, the summer smash phenomenon is getting worse each year - in 2009 men made 16.4 per cent more claims during the Summer than in any other month.

Behavioural psychologist Donna Dawson explained: "Research shows that men are far more easily distracted behind the wheel than women.

"Men are more visually orientated and so distractions such as an attractive woman walking down the street can quickly take their attention away from driving and the job in hand.

Ah yes. If it's not those ''women drivers'' it's those ''women pedestrians.''

But what's this?

"Testosterone also plays a part, as it makes men more prone to aggression, especially when frustrated by a confined space such as a car - and men are quicker than women to expose such irritability in hot weather." 

Except, of course, if it's a woman's ''time of the month,'' of course.

Photo Credit: © Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 & GFDL

H/T Hysperia

No relief

I don't think I need to tell you about the horrors of Haiti, especially now as the media move on to the next shiny object.

Here's colleague Jennifer Wells, there now. I added the boldface.

A man opens his shirt to display a pussing, oozing chest. A young woman holds out her grotesquely swollen foot and says the slight treatment has had no effect.

Pastor Franck Jean holds out the box of supplies he has been given as medical aid: surgical gloves, Hannah Montana tattoo bandages, syringes.

Esther Nelson gave birth nine days ago. She has seen no doctor, no nurse, and when it rains the water comes through her sheet-for-a-roof.

There have been many stories of how the women of Haiti are bearing the brunt of this earthquake disaster. Just last week, the Star's Catherine Porter filed this dispatch.

It's the women who care for the children. And in Haiti, around 66 per cent of them are single mothers, says Carole Pierre-Paul Jacob, one of the country's leading feminists. She has lobbied for years for the country's first paternity law, which would have required fathers to financially support their children, as well as a law recognizing common-law relationships. Both died with the government buildings on Jan. 12.

"We have a saying here: the family rests on the back of the woman," says Jacob, the coordinator to a leading Haitian women's group SOFA, Solidarité Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with Haitian Women.)

"This will increase the poverty of women."

By other measures, Haitian women are poor, too. Their life expectancy is only 50 years. They claim the title for highest mortality rate during childbirth in the Americas. Medical personnel were present at only one in four births in Haiti before the quake. That number is likely to drop even further, as the hospitals are still jammed with trauma cases.

And they are regularly raped.

Like I said: horrible.

There's so much written about water, food, shelter, and how the relief efforts are going. Or not.

But here's something even I have never thought of, until I read this tonight. It's by internist physician Doc Gurley, on the ground in the middle of it all.

I read a Medscape article pointing out the extreme risk to Haitian women of reproductive neglect and violence, and the shocking lack of aid to women in these areas despite all our massive relief efforts. What kind of "special care" are we talking out for women? The Medscape article recommended, for example, that all visibly pregnant women should be given a "birthing kit." I didn't know what a "birthing kit" was, and when I looked it up, and found more references online, I discovered that a birthing kit is a heartbreaking collection of items: a ziplock bag containing two clean strings and a straight razor (for cutting the umbilical cord), a sanitary pad, and some cotton/cloth/plastic sheets for dealing with bodily fluids. Could the situation for women in Haiti be this bad, and this badly neglected? Especially after all those hundreds of millions of dollars?

<SNIP>

So I decided to ask my journalist friend who just left Haiti a couple of day ago what the current situation there is, keeping in mind that Haiti is a predominantly Catholic country, and wanting her advice on whether it would be insensitive to intrude or make assumptions about issues of sexual protection, birthing, and birth control.

My friend's response by email:

A number of women's groups have expressed concern about the general neglect of gender-specific needs and problems in the relief efforts. Women I spoke to in Haiti were concerned both about sexual violence and the omission of items like sanitary napkins, tampons, condoms etc among the relief supplies.

Women's -- and, by extension, their children's -- specific needs are almost never considered. (And here I am, always complaining about the GST on sanitary products here, as if they weren't a necessity.)

Maybe it's a function of how relief efforts tend to be designed and run by men. Or maybe it's because so many of the charities that get in there are associated with various churches. 

According to Gurley's blog post, at least one charity in neighbouring Dominican Republic is accepting donations for female-specific supplies.

Please send all supplies addressed as follows:

URGENT HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR HAITI

Ms. Sergia Galvan and Mayra Tavarez

Colectiva Mujeres Y Salud/CAFRA Calle Socomo Sanchez, No 64

Gazcue, Santo Domingo, DR

As Gurley concludes ...

... consider buying and sending a pack of condoms, a Plan B pack, some tampons, or pads to the address above. Sending a Care Package is something that can be done on an on-going basis (hey! maybe every month - a lunar schedule to share your sanitary support!). Besides the heart-breaking issues of human dignity around hygiene products, the last thing Haiti needs is an explosion of unwanted pregnancies, and/or new HIV infections, all for lack of supplies.

Only women bleed.

H/T: Help a Mother Out

Hot button issue

Okay, I don't think the Star overlords would like me to delve into a deep gynecological discussion here. Suffice to say that, women's genitals, already targeted for mutilation in some cultures, not to mention big moneymakers for the cosmetic surgery industry here, come in all shapes, sizes and colours.

Thanks (or no thanks) to the easy availability of porn, now, just like everything else that women are subjected to, or subject themselves to, there can only be one type of kitty in the litter.

It has to be just so. Just like every other part of your body.

Well, dear reader, if you don't want to go under the knife at the forks, so to speak, there's a quick fix.

Via Little Miss Brightside -- and regular contributor to the comments here, Canadian Nurse -- I've learned of a product designed to give you a designer vadge. Think of it as lipgloss for your lady parts.

Explains the maker, ''certified paramedical esthetician,''

“My New Pink Button” is a Cosmetic Dye especially for the woman's genital area, to help restore that healthy vibrant Rosy color.  Until now there has never been a solution for restoring natural pigment. This is a concern with many women and more than you can even imagine, and a frequent question that Physicians are asked. Check out the blogs on the Internet. You are not alone!  This is a common problem and we now have a simple and safe solution, restoring sexual confidence to Women everywhere! 

And it comes in FOUR FABULOUS COLOURS! Marilyn, Bettie, Ginger and Audry.

Raves one in-the-pink customer:

I was embarrassed about the color change for years and my doctor said there was nothing you could do about it. I was too embarrassed to even discuss it with my friends, and when I finally did I found out I wasn’t alone. We love this product, and it works! Thank you so much.

-Rochelle C. 51 years old

Talk about your burning bush.

As if Brazilians weren't bad enough.

Pink stink

Apologies for not feeding the blog beast very frequently this week.

Just as well. That's because something I meant to write about on Monday has seen new developments.

Specifically this:

SAO PAULO–A Brazilian university student expelled for wearing a short, pink dress to class was accused of immorality by the college in newspaper ads on Sunday.

The private Bandeirantes University in Sao Bernardo do Campo said 20-year-old Geisy Arruda disrespected "ethical principles, academic dignity and morality."

The institution published ads accusing Arruda – who had been heckled by students – of attending class with "inadequate clothing" and having a provocative attitude that was "incompatible with the university environment."

Arruda made headlines after the Oct. 22 incident, in which she had to be escorted away by police.

Yes, dear Broadsides reader, a university in Brazil, the land that put the carnal in Carnival and invented the string bikini plus the wax job that leaves nothing to the imagination, slut-shamed a student just for wearing a pink mini-dress to class.

You want to know how bad it was?

Watch:

Yes, I know you probably don't speak Portuguese. But what those students are yelling is ''Puta!'' -- which means "Whore!''

More from Broadsheet's Julia Furlan, who does speak the lingo:

According to one of her lawyers, Nehemias Melo, the university forced her to go through a three-hour deposition, where she was asked super-relevant questions about whether or not she was sexually active.

<SNIP>

Brazil's Ministry of Education immediately opened an investigation into the expulsion and gave the university 10 business days to explain fully. Quoth the university's legal counsel: "It's not the clothes. It's the attitude that Geisy had, for example of going upstairs and stopping in the middle of the hall, lifting her skirt." University representatives were quoted on Sunday in their best legalese, stating that she "was on the premises wearing inadequate garments," and that "on the day of the event, the student took a longer route [around the school] and increased her visibility."

You mean she prowled the premises like a cat in heat? Or was wearing heels that were a little too high to walk comfortably in?

Oh give me a break.

If Arruda had lifted her skirt -- which she denies doing -- you'd think somebody would have a shot of it, since multiple mobile phone videos of the incident have popped up online. But there is none. Which is why I am inclined to believe her.

Anyway, looks like I am not the only one. The latest news is that the university had to reinstate her

The dean of the private college in suburban Sao Paulo released a statement Monday announcing the reversal, without saying why it had decided to let her back in.

One of Arruda's lawyers, Nehemias Domingos de Melo, said Arruda had not been officially notified of the decision to reinstate her. He said he remained cautious about the prospects of her going back to school.

"She can only return with some safety guarantees," he told reporters.

Perhaps a burka would work for these people?

Future Shock

Wow.

More here.

Grassroots to grassfire

So, about that column 11 days ago:

I'm thinking of making T-shirts: "Proud to be a member of that `left-wing fringe group' called `Women.'"

They'd be pink, of course, for socialism – and also for the pink triangle, the badge the Nazis made gays and lesbians wear before shipping them off to the camps.

Thanks to Prime Minster Stephen Harper, those T-shirts will make me rich!

Well no, LEAF is a registered Canadian charity that helps women and minorities fight for their rights.

So props to you, P.M., for letting down your hair, and your guard, last week at that not-so-closed-door speech in Sault Ste. Marie.

Thank you for finally admitting that your government shut down the Court Challenges program in 2006 not just because, as then-Heritage Minister Bev Oda claimed in Parliament, you "recognize the importance of women" but because you believe that that women's rights are "left-wing fringe" rights.

Now, with a little help from my 2,720 (and counting) Facebook friends, as well as the ladies at LEAF, the Women's Legal Action and Education Fund, the t-shirt has become a reality.

Okay, so it's not pink but black. That's more slimming. Plus it made it easier to come up with a version for supportive men.

Order yours here.

Props to Francesca Dobbyn, Jude Macdonald, Pale Cold and Michael Hanna-Fein for making this all happen.

Big ups to Dwayne Radzik Radke for the photo manipulation you see above.

You can bet that Mr. Harper won't be putting us on...anymore.

Sex on the brain

Mary Roach, author of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, is obviously pre-occupied with the squishy thing.

But in a clinical way, of course.

Not so clinical that her recent talk to the folks at TED -- Technology, Entertainment, Design -- is overrun with jargon. Instead it's an amusing round-up of factoids about orgasm you may not know.

It's just over 17 minutes long -- but there's no climax.

Ring around the clerical collar

Found on Dammit Janet! is this good news women's health story:

ScienceDaily (May 19, 2009) — Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have published results showing that a new contraceptive device may also effectively block the transmission of the HIV virus. Findings show that the device prevents infection by the HIV virus in laboratory testing. The promising results are published in the most recent issue of the journal AIDS.

The new device is a vaginal ring that releases multiple types of non-hormonal agents and microbicides, which would prevent conception as well as sexually transmitted HIV infection.

Worldwide, there are about 5 million new infections and 3 million deaths per year due to HIV/AIDS. If proven successful in future clinical trials, the new device could empower women to effectively and conveniently protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection. The ring may also someday represent a novel method to prevent STIs for those with aversion to currently available methods, with hormonally derived active agents, or with allergies to latex condoms.

"This device is a new approach to birth control, because it avoids the long-term use of hormonal methods that have been associated with increased risk of certain cancers," says Dr. Brij Saxena, lead author and the Harold and Percy Uris Professor of Reproductive Biology and professor of endocrinology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "At the same time, this is the first device to simultaneously offer the possibility to prevent unintended pregnancy and HIV transmission."

As Fern over at Dammit Janet! notes:

What a boon this would be for sex workers and women in high-HIV areas in Asia and Africa. I hope it will be cheap too.

And I wonder how long it will take before His Poopiness declares that this too, like condoms, helps spread AIDS.

Or, like I blogged here, when it comes to his pronouncements on STDs and sex, the pope needs to be put in a rubber room.

Altar Ego

Ah we're back to the Vatican today ...

One of the most glorious aspects of the United States is -- was? -- the First Amendment to its constitution, the one that led to the ''separation of church and state.''

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

But, as we have seen in recent years, especially with former President George W. Bush claiming to have a hotline to God and all, is a lot of religion-based rhetoric horning into affairs of the state.

Which leads to the latest from the Pope, as detailed here by Dr. Prole over at A Creative Revolution.

I know you probably long for the good old days of the Inquisition, or more recently the Third Reich.  It must have been nice to have complete control of every thing and every one, most especially women, whom you believe are responsible for sin.

<SNIP>

So when you come around to our politicians and try to impose your medieval mindset, we tend to bristle a little.  

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday told U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who supports abortion rights, that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development."

Pelosi is the first top Democrat to meet with Benedict since the election of Barack Obama, who won a majority of the American Catholic vote despite differences with the Vatican on abortion.

The Vatican released the pope's remarks to Pelosi, saying Benedict spoke of the church's teaching "on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death." That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.

Benedict said all Catholics — especially legislators, jurists and political leaders — should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."

Kindly mind your own business.  Why not have a eunuch get you a nice glass of wine, kick off your Prada loafers and put your feet up for a while?  Forget about the things you don't have control over anymore - like American women.  Focus on the things you do have power over, say, pedophile priests?

Now I must say, Dr. P is a tad harsh on His Holiness elsewhere in the post. And even though the Pope  was a member of the Hitler Youth, it's a stretch to call him a Nazi. (He was just following orders?  in a position where he had no choice.)

That said, I am still confounded by his recent re-admission of a Holocaust denying bishop to the Church ... but I digress.

Except I don't.

As JTA blogger Ron Kampeas asks:

I mean, I understand the church's sensitivities on the abortion issue. I do. But where does he get off lecturing anyone about the death of innocents after the Williamson fiasco?

But here's the thing:

The Church has never thought women are ''innocent,'' has it? It has also always valued the life of the unborn child over that of its mother. In fact, the Church is so leery of women, it keeps them as far away as possible, except when it comes to holding bake sales.

But now I do digress.

Separation of Church and State, Your Popiness.

That includes the state of women's rights.

What Linda said

My Star colleague Linda Diebel on "what they're doing to the women in the public service of Canada.''

The unravelling of rights is exactly what's happening with the Conservatives' new "Equitable Compensation Act." There's an Orwellian title for you - like the Patriot Act. The change the Conservatives slipped into the recent budget - after failing last year - has nothing to do with equitable pay. In fact, it's the opposite. It removes any chance women in the federal civil service have of fighting for pay equity by denying them the right to complain to the Human Rights Commission, or to go to court, when they believe there is discrimination. Instead, pay equity issues are to be solved as part of the regular bargaining process but - get this! - if anyone agitates on the basis of pay equity, they face a $50,000 fine. So the Conservative regime is forbidding a woman from fighting for herself and, simultaneously, penalizing her union from fighting for her.

Once this legislation is passed, a woman working in the federal public service will have fewer rights than women working elsewhere in Canada.

<SNIP>

In hearings yesterday in Ottawa, a Treasury Board official wasn't able to show Ottawa that any money would be saved under this new "equitable compensation" plan. But that's not the point anyway. It's about the rights of women to fight what they see injustice and - if they are proven correct - to have the injustice removed.

If the media wrote about any other group of people (you fill in the blank) being denied the right to even appeal to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, I'd like to believe there'd be an uproar in this country. Well, that's what they are doing. Right now. And there's no uproar. How can this be in Canada in 2009? It feels like we are going backwards. It doesn't feel good; it feels scary.

Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff, the coalition that keeps on giving.