CNN has a video about women using pole dancing classes to burn calories, become flexible and get into generally better shape. You can view it here.
CNN has posted an important article about a family in Afghanistan who has bravely come forward to talk about the rape of their 12 year old daughter and the lack of justice in their community. Rape and sexual assault are, unfortunately, fairly common experiences for young girls and boys in Afghanistan and given issues related to Islamic law that require there to be 4 adult male witnesses to rape (!), very few are actually prosecuted. I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes out of your day in order to become aware of the situation faced by these Afghani families by reading the CNN article - and how, in spite of the absence of news about Afghanistan, this is a situation where no news most certainly does not mean good news. (Case in point: one of the recent rape victims was a 3 year old child).
The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) is an activist and advocacy group based in Afghanistan that aims to educate women, advocate for the rights of women and children (both girls and boys) and that demands humane treatment and an expansion of justice. They feature heavily in the CNN article; you can learn more about their work and how to help them on their web site, such as through donations of money, books, cameras to document certain issues, or ways to raise awareness.
I know that we all have busy days and lives, and families and friends of your own. Given the general neglect of Afghanis (in spite of our country’s presence there), I’d like to encourage you to consider ways to embrace these individuals who are part of our human family, by learning about and becoming aware of some of these issues, even if there is little else that you feel you can do at this time.
Thanks for your time.
…. from my favorite CurrentTV host, Sarah Haskins, in her Target Women series. Check it out here
According to Elle magazine it is. In an earlier post, I commented on the flexibility of fashion and my appreciation for those who embraced a wider range of clothing choices for men and women (particularly for men, since women can wear pants or dresses or suits or skirts, and get away with it, whereas men have fewer choices, it seems). Then I came across this movement related to men wearing tights and pantyhose. Um, women don’t even dig pantyhose. They feel tight and they clean to your tummy, leaving impressions and marks for 10 minutes after you take them off. Why would even a small minority of men want to wear them? I’m aware of the small minority of men who masturbate while holding (or partially wearing) women’s pantyhose… but wearing them for regular wear? Really? Learn about the movement on e-mancipate.net.
Having attending high school in New Hampshire, I am familiar with Manchester and Nashua, NH. Not long after I started school in New Hampshire, I remember a popular school teacher (who also was out as a lesbian) giving a talk at our school assembly about her relief or maybe it was reassurance when she moved to New Hampshire and saw their state slogan on car license plates: "Live free or die."
Given that context - of a state that has historically valued living with freedom - this article is particularly interesting, loving and heartbreaking. I feel so much for the girl and her mom who seem to really value this girl’s right to live her life in a way that feels right and true to her. And I feel so confused about school systems that get that bent out of shape about the clothes children wear to school and whether they are "gender appropriate" (which really just means "gender traditional" - and as a FYI, it wasn’t that many years ago that adult women were forbidden to wear pants to work or school in many places, because they weren’t seen as gender appropriate). Ugh.
You can read the full article here.