I didn't know it could get worse...

While browsing my favorite blogs and news sites for the first time since last week, I noticed that wherever I roamed, I heard about the FDA cutting the funding for the Office of Women's Health. For those of you who do not know much about the Office for Women's Health, here is their 'mission':

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health (OWH) serves as a champion for women's health both within and outside the agency. To achieve its goals, OWH:

Ensures that FDA functions, both regulatory and oversight, remain gender sensitive and responsive;
Works to correct any identified gender disparities in drug, device and biologics testing, and regulation policy;
Monitors progress of priority women's health initiatives within FDA;
Promotes an integrative and interactive approach regarding women's health issues across all the organizational components of the FDA; and
Forms partnerships with government and non-government entities, including consumer groups, health advocates, professional organizations, and industry, to promote FDA's women's health objectives.

Because the remaining $2.8 million has already been spent or allocated for salaries and started projects, the office must effectively halt further operations for the rest of the year, according to a high-level agency official with knowledge of the budget plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official is not authorized to speak publicly.

Women's health advocates inside and outside the agency suspect they are witnessing, at least in part, a long-anticipated payback for the trouble the office stirred during the prolonged debate over nonprescription sales of Plan B. Taking a position that chafed the administration's conservative base, the office had stood up for scientific research that had backed the safety and appropriateness of such sales.

"So, everyone: don't get sick for the rest of the year, 'kay?"

Posted by Jessica Englund at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Women With Vision 2007: Mirror Image
The 14th annual international festival of films by women directors presents three weeks of the best contemporary cinema, offering not only a reflection of our world, but also new ways of seeing ourselves.

The first six features—from Italy, France, Scotland, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Germany— are grouped under the banner “New Europe.� Moving past postcolonialism, these dramas and comedies identify a place where people are united by their situations rather than separated by their differences. From America, filmmakers look deeply into our collective souls, some exploring the dark territories of fear and alienation, while others use humor to decipher regret and tolerance. From Iran, a country defined in the United States primarily through journalism and political rhetoric, come two films that add complexity and humanity to our understanding of life there.

Special programs include Animation from Zagreb, a Croatian city famed for its long history in this genre, with a screening of new work by animator Nicole Hewitt; and a memorial tribute to French filmmaker Danièle Huillet, who died last October. And this year, the festival proudly presents two world premieres by local documentary filmmakers: Joanna Kohler’s Boxers will be screened at the Uppercut Gym in Northeast Minneapolis; and Melody Gilbert’s Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness lets us experience the thrilling and dangerous world of urban exploration without getting dirty or in trouble with the law.

Posted by Nicole Tollefson at 1:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week, I read in BITCH magazine some very intersting articles. The most interesting being a piece on career "girls" and why they are to be avoided.

Writer Jennifer Pozner from BITCH, wrote an article called "Forbes flips off "Career Girls"" which turned out to be much more upsetting than I was hoping. You can find the article here. Basically, Forbes editor, Michael Noer, wrote an article trying to persuade men to not marry career "girls" saying that men would be more likely to suffer "alchoholism, clinical depression and suicide" as well as "increased rates of cancer, stroke, and sexually transmitted disease[s]." I guess what I don't understand is how its is possible for a person to seriously believe that by marrying a woman who is a 'carrer girl' will damage your health. Noer tries to explain by saying "For our purposes, a 'career girl' has a university-level (or higher) education, works more than 35 hours a week outside the home and makes more than $30,000 a year." So, find a woman who cannot support herself without a 'man' to help her. In a nutshell, only marry women who are "uneducated, financially dependent wage slaves who are more likely to put up with husbands who prefer to treat their wives like maids rather than partners." That from BITCH.

Thoughts?

Posted by Jessica Englund at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Upcoming Program:

Between the Lines: Asian American Women's Poetry (Film + Discussion)
BETWEEN THE LINES offers rare interviews with over 15 major Asian-Pacific American women poets. Organized in interwoven sections such as Immigration, Language, Family, Memory, and Spirituality, it is a sophisticated merging of Asian-American history and identity with the questions of performance, voice, and image.

Monday, March 19, 6:30 p.m.
325 Science Classroom Building
Post-film discussion facilitated by Asst. Professor Evelyn Ch’ien, Dept. of English

Part of the REEL Dames documentary film series by and about women. FREE, but limited space. Light refreshments served. RSVP NOW at 612-625-9837 or women@umn.edu.
Download the "Between the Lines" flier: Between the Lines
Download the REEL Dames flier: REEL Dames

Posted by Women's Center at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks so much for your interest/participation in Feisty Femmes, the new blog created by the Women's Center (formerly the Office for University Women). Here's a little background: the idea to start Feisty Femmes was borne out of our desire to know what's important to women students (undergraduate and graduate/professional) today. We are always looking for ways to engage women students in our programs and initiatives. We thought that one way to do that was to figure out what women are talking about. Instead of having a blog where Women's Center staff does most of the talking, we wanted to create a space where women students could initiate and drive the conversation, where they could define and discuss what the important and interesting issues are. Maybe those issues are reproductive rights, maybe it's politics, maybe it's images of women in media, women in technology, women of color, etc.

Because this is a new endeavor, we have kept it fairly open to what kind of writing would be included in the blog. We welcome essays and commentary, as well as more literary expressions, like poetry or fiction. The writing can address broad themes related to women (like I mentioned above), or it can be your personal experience with an issue. As the first group of women students who may participate in the blog, you will be helping us co-create Feisty Femmes. To that end, we welcome your ideas!

Feisty Femmes will hopefully represent a wide range of women, in terms of racial/ethnic background, major, sexual orientation, and viewpoint (just to name a few things).

A few ground rules:

1. Profanity happens. We know this. But please avoid extensive profanity or profanity for its own sake.
2. Be respectful of others' opinions. There's bound to be something or someone that you will disagree with, but be respectful, nonetheless.
3. No anonymous posting. All commenters are required to leave an email address.
4. The blog administrator reserves the right to delete any posts that are disrespectful, inflammatory, etc. We're not afraid of heated debate or a little controversy around here - within reason.
5. Have fun and have great conversation!

If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to participate, please feel free to contact me at cottlead@umn.edu.

Thanks,
Anitra Cottledge
Coordinator, Women Student Programs
Women's Center

Posted by Women's Center at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)