Women's Voices For Change

Studies Show a Woman Diagnosed with Heart Disease is More Likely to Die Than a Man,
a Cardiologist Explains Why

By Dr. Kirsten O. Healy

A woman having a heart attack will wait longer before presenting to the emergency room. She will be less likely to have a diagnostic electrocardiogram upon arrival and she will be much less likely to be diagnosed correctly.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” by Phillis Wheatley

By Rebecca Foust

February is Black History Month, and the next four columns will be devoted to work by black women writers. In today’s, contemporary poet Camille Dungy presents a poem by Phillis Wheatley.

Emotional Health

Accepting Imperfection by Embracing Flaws

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

We have to be aware that as 21st century women, we are especially vulnerable to the distortions of our digital culture emphasizing that a woman is only as valuable as she is pretty.

Film & Television

‘Egg’: Expectant Mothers Behaving Badly

By Alexandra MacAaron

"Egg" is a film that will likely be appreciated by women more than men. (Not that the reverse ever stopped Hollywood from making a movie.)

Ask Dr. Pat · Menopause

For Weight Loss Management in Perimenopause,
a Personalized Plan Works Best

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Recognize that you are in a transition that is not just a hormonal one, but a transition into that second half of life where your wisdom and determination to find and achieve your personal best is certainly attainable.

Poetry

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland:
“The Tale of the Earth” and “The Tale of Spice”

By Rebecca Foust

Today’s poems are from a new chapbook called "Tales from the House of Vasquez," winner of the 2018 Rattle Chapbook Prize, and they are representative of the book as a whole: 14 spare, free-verse poems about motherhood, feminism, family, and origin.

Emotional Health

Getting Healthy: Self-love and Self-care

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

If more of us practiced healthy self-care then a less selfish and less angry world would follow.

Film & Television

The Bingeable Fifth Season of ‘Grace and Frankie’

By Alexandra MacAaron

In season five, Frankie has a fling with the yurt-dwelling man mentioned earlier. Grace is still being courted by her handsome younger man, Nick (Peter Gallagher). The idea that women in their 70s and 80s are still attractive and attracted is refreshing.

Politics

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
and Understanding African-American History

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

“African-American history is not somehow separate than the American story. It is not the underside of the American story. It is central to the American story.” — President Barack Obama

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Whosoever Holds This Hammer,”
by Dawn Manning

By Rebecca Foust

By the end of the poem the speaker wholly identifies with Thor, capable of destruction as well as creation and blessing, and the poem ends in a place of tremendous raw power and confidence with her joyfully striking the flat glowing disc of her “own sun.” What a wonderful affirmation of the act of creativity!

Emotional Health · Film & Television

Hollywood’s Pressure to Be Objects of Beauty

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

If you are only valued for one thing, it scares you to lose it, especially if your career success is dependent on it.

Film & Television

Women Behind the Camera: ‘Rust Creek’ and ‘State Like Sleep’

By Alexandra MacAaron

In recent years, exploitive movies have featured female victims who turn the table on their attackers. With graphic and violent rape scenes precursing any acts of vengeance, these often feel more like male fantasies than tales of true female empowerment. 'Rust Creek' is different.

Ask Dr. Pat · Menopause

Hot Flashes, Night Sweats and Sleep Disruption Before Menopause

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Hot flashes are the most frequent symptom of menopause and perimenopause. More than two-thirds of North American women who are heading into menopause have hot flashes.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Frances of the Cadillac,”
by Laura Van Prooyen

By Rebecca Foust

This poem reminds me that part of being human is living on to wrestle with the legacy left by the people we love who leave us, sometimes under circumstances we cannot accept or even understand.

Books

Michelle Obama’s Becoming: The Power of Family

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Michelle Obama remains the protagonist in this book. Like her mother, she nurtures her children and her family with consummate skill. Like her family, she encountered racism and discrimination along the way. Unlike her mother, she juggled this with full-time employment, and ultimately with being the most famous woman in the world.

Film & Television

The Golden Globes: Time’s Not Up Yet

By Alexandra MacAaron

Last year, the press was encouraged to ask women substantive questions about their work, and not to default to the ubiquitous question "Who are you wearing?" Alas, we were back to that fashion-first mentality.

Ask Dr. Pat · Menopause

Surgical Menopause

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Dr. Pat offers advice to a woman on how to thrive in the second half of life after she had surgical menopause from a hysterectomy and removal of the ovaries in her early forties.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Yuletide,” by Hilary Sideris

By Rebecca Foust

I was hooked by "Yuletide," then drawn in by the breathless, energetic style offering a fresh take on an old story of love, loss, and redemption.

Emotional Health

A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

It is not news that people need human connection, but lately evidence has been mounting to suggest that loneliness may be killing us.

Family & Friends

An Easy, Breezy New Year

By Women's Voices For Change

Gleaned from our archives: three refreshing takes on the traditional New Year’s vow.

Film & Television

‘On the Basis of Sex’ — The Origin Story of the Supreme Court’s Wonder Woman

By Alexandra MacAaron

'On the Basis of Sex' begins in 1956, when Ruth Ginsburg was starting out as one of only nine women in a class of 500 at Harvard Law.

Emotional Health · Family & Friends

December 31, 2018: Happy New Year!

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

The Husband and I have “big” plans for closing out 2018 and welcoming 2019. We will be alone in front of the fire to toast the New Year with champagne and a kiss at midnight.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “New Year’s Eve,” by Kathryn Stripling Byer

By Rebecca Foust

This is a narrative poem, one that tells a story or focuses more on the events being described than on the speaker’s feelings in reaction to those events. As such, it allows for the passage of time rather than arresting us in one dramatic moment.

Film & Television

Extreme Childcare:
‘Mary Poppins Returns’ and ‘Roma’

By Alexandra MacAaron

While you can sit back and relax through 'Mary Poppins Returns,' there is much work to do watching 'Roma.'