Tristan Taormino of the Village Voice raises some very important questions about sexuality and older women. While our popular culture now includes representations of mature, sexual women, she notes that they are generally portrayed as women in their 40s: Mainstream media would have us believe that after 45, women stop being sexy. And past 60? [...]

Salt Lake Tribune columnist Rebecca Walsh laments the lack of younger women joining the League of Women Voters, noting that the numbers have dropped since the 1970s, mostly through attrition. Walsh writes about local resident Sandy Peck, who started going to the League’s Salt Lake City meetings with her children: Now, the 73-year-old volunteer executive [...]

by Judy Norsigian Selling anxiety sells medicine. Drug companies know this and profit by it. But are women benefiting as much as the industry’s bottom line? The pharmaceutical industry spent much of its $4.2 billion direct-to-consumer advertising budget in 2005 on ads targeting healthy upper-income, middle-aged people. A common underlying message was this: You appear [...]

Women’s Memorial: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. Plans are underway for a three-day celebration scheduled for Nov. 1-3 in Washington, D.C. The Women’s Memorial in Arlington, Va., is the only major national memorial honoring women who have served in our nation’s defense during all eras [...]

Every other Friday, Web Watch will point to an interesting item or resource found online — sometimes age-related, sometimes not. Send your suggestions for online finds to suggestions@womensvoicesforchange.org. by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger | bio Many of you have probably seen this "Remember When …" that recalls the good ol’ days of moms at home, respect for [...]

Columnist Rita Zekas recently turned her "Store Gazing" column in the Toronto Star into a consciousness-raising space. First, she brings her readers along on a morning trip to get a mammogram. She is part of the "Ontario Breast Screening program, in a test group of menopausal women "who aren’t taking any meds (except for the [...]

by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger | bio Did you know that a child born in Costa Rica today is expected to live longer than an American child born today? Or that a woman is 50 percent more likely to die in childbirth in the U.S. than in Europe?  Those facts are included in Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed this [...]

Rival biographies are making their debut in June. From The NYT: Alfred A. Knopf plans to start selling "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton" by Carl Bernstein on June 5, and, on June 8, Little, Brown & Company will publish "Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton," by [...]

Women’s eNews is holding its sixth annual 21 Leaders for the 21st Century gala held at the Tavern on the Green in New York City’s Central Park — an opportunity to honor "21 people who are significantly helping to make this a better, safer, more equitable planet on which to be a woman," writes editor [...]

New research indicates that even small amounts of physical activity, approximately 75 minutes a week, can help improve the fitness levels for postmenopausal women who are sedentary and overweight or obese, according to a study in the May 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The full study is available here — [...]