For a number of years, women have been petitioning the International Olympics Committee for the right to compete in ski jumping at the winter olympics, so far to no avail. The excuses given range from "we only have room for a certain number of athletes" to "it seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view". MSNBC also has a video on the subject. Although gender discrimination in olympic competition has been outlawed, it does not apply retroactively. (thanks to DR for this)

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health has concluded that women who can be expected to live only four or five more years should not be subjected to mammograms. An article titled "The New Old Age" states that the risks appear to far-outweigh any potential benefits.

For the first time in the nation's history, more women are working than men. The recession seems to have put more men than women out of work - 3.9 million women lost their jobs, compared to 7.4 million men.

Those interested in feminist theory and writings might want to look at n. paradoxa,, described as "an International Feminist Art Journal". The current volume discusses "Material Histories"; the next, in July, 2010, will focus on "Feminist Pedagogies".

A young woman, age 16, was buried alive in Kahta, Turkey because she talked to boys. Her family considered the death an honor killing, carried out after a family consultation. According to local police, almost half of the murders committed in Turkey are honor killings.

According to the New Yorker magazine, a forty-five year old architect has garnered attention in Chicago for her startling design of an eighty-two story apartment building. Jeanne Gang used the same materials as other architects - glass, metal, and concrete - but she has wrapped the building in curving balconies that give it a wave-like quality. This innovative design fits well in a city that has been home to Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. The fact that all the apartments, up to the top floor, can have balconies is challenging conventional wisdom about wind bursts and height. Additional photographs at her company's website give more explicit details.

The Rutter Award for excellence in teaching was recently given to Professor Robin Feldman at the University of Califoria Hastings College of the Law. Professor Feldman is a Stanford University and Stanford Law School Graduate who teaches classes in intellectual property and law and bioscience. She is also my daughter!

The United States Navy has just announced its decision to allow women to serve on submarines, beginning next year. The first to deploy would be women officers, since they occupy separate quarters from the men.

What's the skinny on soy? Neal Barnard, M.D gives a reasoned overview of the health advantages or disadvantages of including soy in your diet. He particularly focuses on soy's effect on the occurrence and survival rates of breast cancer.

A board-certified gynecologist rings in on the controversy surrounding circumcision. Christiane Northrup, M.D. gives a historical overview of the practice in societies around the world. Northrup touches also on the practice of female circumcision, now generally outlawed except in certain Muslim and African nations. She writes to protest an expected new statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control recommending the procedure.

The 2010 Whitney Museum of American Art biennial includes a preponderance of women artists for the first time in its history. Linda Yablonsky of the New York Times discusses the history of the event as well as the current exhibition.

Mattel's plan to produce "Software Engineering Barbie" has engendered a lot of online comment. Emma McGrattan, senior vice president of engineering at Ingres, an open sources database management company, gives her take along with a bit of her own background. Be sure to read the comments following the article: they are illuminating.

c. Corinne Whitaker 2010

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