This week’s selections include media sexism and WikiLeaks, new resources on women’s health and genetics, why you might want to join a board and the wisdom of poets.
“The Academy of American Poets is a mighty and mighty wonderful organization and this article is really wonderful,” WVFC poetry editor Laura Baudo Sillerman tells us about Poets.org’s New Years gift, Carpe Diem: Poems for Making the Most of Time. We have to agree, and may spend this week among its glimpses of “many contemporary poems [who] offer reminders about life’s overlooked pleasures.”
MomsRising has a very informative post on the state of women’s health in America, with numerous links. “While the Report Card shows that the nation has a long way to go in improving women’s health,” they write, “it also gives us a look at a better future under the new health care law.”
Now that we’re all worried about the breast cancer gene, what other worries are being brought by “genetic testing?” What does that really mean for our health, and our privacy? At Our Bodies Our Blog, Rachel Walden offers a feast of information on the issue, including links to Genome.gov and a “Consumer Genetic Policy Manual” from the Center for Responsible Genetics.
Media sexism alert: Both Kate Harding and Tennessee Guerilla Women tackle the seeming inability of some in the media to take seriously the rape charges against Wikileaks’ Julian Assange. Tennessee Guerrilla Woman takes on Keith Olbermann and Michael Moore in their misogynist handling of the case, Feministe provides this link-filled guide to the legal issues around what they call “sex by surprise,” and Harding provides both clarity and horror that even Naomi Wolf would fall for it in Some S**t I’m Sick of Hearing About Rape and Assange. Free speech is one thing and the damage done by Wikileaks minor, as our Diane Vacca pointed out, but to some male commentators who agree with the latter, part of that agreement spurs the unfortunate tendency to smear rape accusers.
“Is a Corporate Board Seat in Your Future?” asks Bonnie Marcus at Women on Business. She offers some practical reasons why you might want to put in the time, including the opportunity to give back, to learn new expertise, and ” to network and leverage relationships with other board members who can potentially help you advance your career and broaden your influence.”
