That’s right…The Ladies of the Daily Femme are taking a long weekend to get some sun, master some grilling techniques and we mean business. We will be back to our regular schedule bright and early Tuesday morning! Happy end of the summer and enjoy your Labor Day!
Contributed by Cherie
I had the chance to check out Second City this past year during a trip to Chicago and was excited to see the place that helped catapult some of my favorite funny ladies including Tina Fey, Amy Sedaris and Amy Poehler. However it might have been a “bad night” or the fact that they pack people in like sardines and I ended up squished in between two people with horrible odors coming from them, but I have to say I was by no means on the floor laughing. I found it particularly disappointing that the women on stage seemed to score low on the “funny index” compared to the men. Was this another example of the time old cliche that women just aren’t funny? I knew they had some funny ladies somewhere hiding and after doing a bit of searching online, I found some incredible skits on the ‘The Second City Network’ including these two videos that are titled “Advice for Young Girls From a Cartoon Princess.” You know us ladies at the Daily Femme, we LOVE to parody Disney and their barrage of stereotypical female role models so this was particularly entertaining. Check them out and for the record, my favorite might be when Belle says “Desire is when a man wants you soooo much that he is willing to yell at you and beat down your door and tell you if you don’t eat with him then you don’t eat at all…it also kinda means he wants you to be skinny!”
Oh hunny! Next time I go to Second City, I am requesting this type of comedy STAT.
The Second City Network: Advice for Young Girls From a Cartoon Princess
Contributed by Meridith
It’s certainly not news that coerced pregnancy and lack of reproductive choice are major components of violence against women, both domestically and globally. But an often overlooked component of reproductive coercion is the prevalence of forced pregnancy in ostensibly consensual relationships, such as marriage and long-term partnerships. Time magazine ran a piece recently that discusses this horrific component of domestic violence. One study released this past April suggested that “as many as 75% of women between the ages of 18 and 49 who had a history of being in an abusive relationship also reported some form of reproductive coercion,” such as a partner refusing to use condoms or removing condoms during sex, threatening or intimidating a woman who uses birth control or seeks out an abortion, and sometimes “[telling] them he wants to leave a legacy or have them in his life forever” by impregnating the woman against her will or without her full consent.
These studies had some encouraging news, however, in the form of significantly decreased risk of future coerced pregnancies in patients at family planning clinics who were given advice about contraceptives such as the IUD and Depo-Provera, both methods that are not easily interfered with by non-medical professionals and that are also among the most discreet forms of birth control. Also, the clinics that offered advice about contraception and about healthy relationships and domestic violence showed significantly increased likelihoods of women leaving abusive relationships, possibly because of the realization that their relationships were unhealthy and violent after discussing coerced pregnancy at their family planning checkup. As horrifying as articles like this one are, they can hopefully galvanize people to be aware of – and take concrete steps towards eliminating – violence against women in all its forms.
Contributed by Cherie
After a brunch that involved some of the best sourdough pancakes I have ever had, I decided to take a walk in my Brooklyn neighborhood when a small sign in the window of a women’s clothing store stopped me in my tracks. The sign was small enough to go unnoticed and yet with a message so offensive that it hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. It said “Your Husband Called and Said You Can Buy Any Thing You Want.” (Check the sign out below)
Um, Excuse me? Last time I checked, women represented a majority of the workforce and made 80% of consumer purchasing decisions so what’s this about husbands calling to approve what their wives may buy?! THAT is supposed to get me to buy their clothes? And judging from the shop window alone (the store was closed) it seems to be focused on the under 40 female crowd–what a great message to send young women. Ironically, the store’s name happens to be ‘Paper Doll Boutique’–well someone may want to remind them that women are not malleable paper dolls who only do what their ‘men’ tell them and we can buy our clothes just fine without our husbands’ permission.
Contributed by Cristen
The lady blogosphere offers perfect examples of how-to and how-not-to market pads and tampons to the womenfolk. Starting with the what-not-to-do, we have Exhibit A over from Salon’s Broadsheet. Looks like Stayfree is taking a cue from Old Spice and trying to create dream men who can smoothly sell us maxipads. Take a gander at A Date With Trevor above. The viewer arrives at Trevor’s house to find the blond bombshell vacuuming (oh! he’s clean!). Then he shows you his medical degrees (smart, too!) and takes his shirt off (love those pecs!). But next, Trevor pours “messy liquid” — his euphemism for period blood — on three types of maxi pads neatly arranged on top of his piano.
And this is when the date would end.
Really, Stayfree? Are women so hunk hungry that we’d buy something for which he really knows nothing about, except that it can get “messy”? Not so much.
Now, over to Jezebel for a little lesson in how-to. British design students Kyle Tolley and Sarah Graves came up with perhaps the perfect feminine product packaging. It’s clean, it’s simple and it’s upfront. There’s no mention of “messy liquids”, just a simple box that says it all.
And that’s the mindset feminine product marketing should emphasis, in my opinion — that menstruation happens. Period.
Contributed by Ashleigh
Recently Forbes.com had an interesting article studying the roles women tend to play in group work settings and their motivation for assuming such roles. The research showed that while the roles we take are often seen as analytical and detail-oriented, they are also considered “invisible” and thus undervalued.
In group projects, women often mention that they feel like the group’s “secretary.” And it’s true: through a series of online surveys, focus groups and executive interviews, women reported playing the compiler role almost five times more frequently than men, 19% to 4%, respectively. (The role of the compiler is defined as the person responsible for assembling others’ work into the final deliverable, whose tasks may include formatting, writing or editing.) Men reported playing the “thought leader” role 36% of the time, more than twice as often as women, a role that was seen as much more valuable by the study’s participants.
Executives stressed that to increase chances for promotion, an individual has to showcase other skills and abilities and step into the spotlight and not just passively or invisibly shape a project.
Focus groups and executive interviews also touched on gender stereotypes related to control, risk aversion and the need to be liked as reasons women may take on the compiler position. One executive said that women were naturally better suited for the role: “women are more detail oriented, conscientious and really try to understand the needs of the client.”
The gist of this article: more often than not, women end up choosing (not necessarily being forced into) necessary but undervalued roles that can keep them from getting ahead professionally.
The article concludes by saying (and I agree) that women at all levels of business need to break away from the compiler role—or whatever role you find yourself in that feels stagnant or unappreciated— in order to showcase your value. I think of times in my professional career where I have taken a leadership role, pitched an idea or presented a project to senior management; the stress and uncertainty were always worth the feedback, learning opportunities, and recognition I received. In work and life, the most rewarding tasks are never easy. I say, make a point to get uncomfortable in your role at work. It might just pay off, literally.
Forbes.com: If you want to be the boss, don’t act like a secretary
Contributed by Meridith
It’s a pretty commonly known fact that women in the United States have a higher life expectancy than men – even though that gap may widen or narrow depending on the period of history. In modern-day New York City, though, that gap is wider than in the country overall, as reported in the New York Times article detailing the results of a recent report put out by the city’s health department. Nationwide, women are expected to live to 81 and men to 76, but in New York City those expectations are 82 for women and 76 for men. While that one-year difference may not seem like a lot, some of the underlying reasons for the gap show the significance of the number. For example, “only” 57% of women aged 35 to 64 are overweight or obese in New York City, while for men in the same age group an astonishing 71% are overweight or obese. Similarly, many of the leading causes of men’s earlier deaths – such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and homicide – disproportionately take the lives of men over women in New York City. Of course, preventing the spread of AIDS, heart disease, and murder is far from simple, but it’s somewhat heartening to know that there are things that can be done to reduce the number of men – and women – who are lost too soon to these causes of death. And this article serves as a reminder of the ways that men, too, can bear the burden of health disparities. It’s not just women who would benefit from greater equity in health and health care.
New York Times: Longevity: For New York Men, A Life Expectancy Gap
