Her Daily News

In our modern, fast-paced society, work can seem more like burden than a privilege to most women. But to a group of women in the small desert oasis of Siwa, Egypt, work brings them the kind of independence that is almost unheard of in their culture. The Time story discusses how these women are now contributing to the global economy and are able experience a world they have never known thanks to their traditional skills.

women, international, independence, society, Egypt, culture, traditional, Time

In the view of many women, having your choice between Ms., Mrs. and Miss when filling out a form may seem like a minor inconvenience. Some don’t even notice at all and happily mark the box that best fits their current status. But when you look deeper at the social impact of the choices given, you see that there is so much more to these titles than society lets on. So much of this name game is steeped in tradition that women don’t stop to look at whether the tradition itself is sexist.

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Gastric bypass surgery has helped millions of women loose weight and fight the battle of compulsive eating. Because of the popularity of the surgery in recent years, it has almost seemed like a miracle cure for the severely obese. But one issues has been found creeping in the background of all the hype surrounding the benefits of weight loss surgery. ABC Nightline did a story shown on Yahoo! News bringing to light the growing problem. The underlying addictions that effect those who had compulsive eating problems prior to their surgery. What happens when these women transfer from one addictive behavior to another? What they are finding is a new battle with a different opponent.

Transfer addiction is relatively new on the scene of side effects of gastric bypass surgery. But the issue is seen as a rising concern by those conducting Bariatric meetings, designed as support group for those who have undergone the procedure. What they are seeing is a rising number of patients who transfer their addiction from food onto something else. The most common examples are alcohol, shopping and sexual addiction. Many of the patients say the were not warned about possibility of this possible side-effect before the surgery. This could possibly be because the procedure itself is still in its infancy and the long-term side-effects are not known yet.

What is known is that more information needs to be collected in order for the problem to be properly addressed. In the mean time, the majority of the women interviewed said if they had to do it over again, they still would have had the surgery but would have addressed their addictive behaviors beforehand. As the number of people going under the knife to loose weight rises, the problem can only be expected to grow. Will doctors give their patients the necessary education to help patients address the problem before they have surgery? My belief is that because of the life-altering effects of this type of surgery, there should be a screening process for potential patients. A simple psychological work-up, much like what is required for those seeking gender reassignment, would help these women address potential issues ahead of time. Sounds like a simple solution right? Lets see if the medical community answers the call.

Sources:
Transfer of Addiction - Yahoo! News with ABC Nightline

Gastric Bypass - Medicine Plus

Bariatric Partners

women, surgery, gastric bypass, addiction, bariatric

The industry of consumer electronics has experience a popularity explosion due to our technology driven society. Often this industry is geared toward men and their tastes. But a shift is happening in the way companies are designing and marketing their electronics. Many have started to realize the long overdue idea of catering to the tastes of female consumers. The New York Times published an article by Michael Marriott discussing how many companies realize that most consumer electronics are bought for home use. Items such as camera’s, computers and cell phones are now being designed and manufactured with the busy lives of women in mind.

An interesting pattern that I noticed throughout the article was the mention of “ease of use”. Now, part of me hopes that this aspect of the marketing and design is just focusing on easy to use products for customers in general, as opposed to “dumbing down” products like remotes and digital cameras for women. It does seem to me that often times in the technology industry, it is assumed that a woman won’t be able to understand the complicated use of a S.L.R. digital camera because she is somehow easily flustered. Nancy Durante, chief executive of Durante Design, who was quoted in the article, believes there is a different reason, “Women are busier than men. I don’t love technology enough to sit down and spend two hours with a manual like it’s some great puzzle. Men get great gratification out of that. I’d rather read a book,” she says.

So how these companies are making an effort to appeal to female consumers? Well most importantly, they have shied away from simply “creating a pink or pastel version of the same black or silvery item coveted by men.” They are making cameras smaller and more lightweight. Laptop carrying cases are more stylish. Many digital cameras have one-touch transferring to computers. Some notebook computers even come with the keys spaced further apart to accommodate the longer nails of female buyers. Another progressive marketing tool is to show the usability for both men and women. It is helpful to cater to both the sensibility of women and the male love of technology. With top electronics companies taking notice to female consumers, now’s a good time to be a gadget gal.

women, technology, business, marketing, electronics

Unfortunately for many of the women shown above, women’s suffrage is a good thing. For those who aren’t clear, suffrage is the right to vote. Therefore, women’s suffrage is a law specifically stating that women have that right in the United States. As I was watching some of the accompanying videos of young men trying to get young women (and sometimes other young men) to sign petitions to end women’s suffrage, a few interesting thoughts came to my mind. It was honestly hard to choose which example to use. There seems to be a growing view in our society that the right to vote isn’t being taken seriously by most women today, especially the younger generation. After watching some of the video clips, I started to wonder if they were on to something.

For the sake of argument, it is possible that there was a misunderstanding of terms. I get the feeling a few people weren’t quite sure what was being asked. Suffrage? Suffering? Semantics — I get it. But the topic still raises issues. Aside from a few confused interviewees, the majority of the people in the video were asked several times to ponder the term, what it means and their thoughts on the issue. The results were still pretty scary. As informed women, especially like those shown in the video in a university setting, should we not be aware of the rights made possible for us so long ago? Granted, it has been a long time since women voting in this country has been an issue. But it also seems that for the younger generation of women today, voting is a right like any other that has always been there; almost taken for granted. How easily we forget the great strides made in women’s rights since the 1920s, that have afforded us so many of the rights we see today.

So this leads me to wonder, has voting become viewed as just a birth right rather than a liberty afforded to us long ago through no easy task? We often hear talk of the low voting statistics in this country and wonder where the passion has gone. With women making up more than half the population, as well as out-voting men in the 2004 presidential election, we should seize this opportunity to effect change in this country. It isn’t just a right we are born with; it is our duty as informed citizens.

women, voting, rights, suffrage

France has seen a growing trend over the past few years of women entering the historically male-dominated butcher industry. The Washington Post reported, that facing a shortage of up to 5,000 butchers, the trade has began welcoming women into apprenticeship programs. Additionally, a lot of their major recruiting is now geared toward women who might be interested in joining the industry. The new artisans

Butcher shops themselves are struggling to survive as supermarkets and fast food restaurants crop up more and more throughout the country. Once thought to be heart of the French culinary industry, France has seen a loss of almost half it’s butcher shops.

But for female butchers like Stephanie Gerbier there is a reason to smile. She has be interested in the trade for most of her life. Only recently did she decide to pursue the apprenticeship despite the disapproval of her parents. “I love everything about my job. I love cutting the meat, preparing it, the interaction with the clients, giving them cooking tips,” Gerbier says. The training is not easy but the Gerbier seems to find he hard-work rewarding. “It’s more comfortable working in an office with air conditioning rather than in a refrigerator the way butchers do, [but] would never go back to my previous life,” Gerbier boasts.

There will be a tough road ahead for women wishing to break into the trade as Gerbier has but just this year saw an unprecedented victory for doubters. At this years, Federation of Butcher Shops competition, two of the three selected as the year’s top apprentice butchers were women. This marks the first time in history a woman has taken top honors. We can only hope that she will inspire other women to follow their dreams.

women, butchers, international, culinary

women, butchers, international, culinary