It often feels as if I’m unwittingly caught in a Jane Austen novel when it comes to family wranglings surrounding love and money. In this all too passe yet wrenching scenario, my 81-year-old mother is Lady Allen, the one controlling the purse strings, and I, John Willoughby, a hopeless romantic seeking a kindred spirit but warned since childhood that not to marry well would be to squander my inheritance.

In 1811 Britain, busybody Mrs. Jennings opined Maryann should hook up with the single Colonel …

Tags: culture , environmentalism , feminism , marriage , men , relationships , sex , society , women

2 Comments |

Link to this post |

|

Bookmark

Reasonable people can differ on beauty contests. Like the military, some ardent supporters argue pageants build confidence and open doors for young people. I don’t buy the argument in either case, because of the dangers involved in putting yourself on the line in the name of defense. In the case of the military, it’s to defend our country. In the case of the pageants, it’s the egos of the mothers behind the scenes who are exposing their kids to chemicals and the …

Tags: beauty standards , child abuse , children's rights , entertainment , feminism , Little Miss Perfect , reality show , television , Western beauty , women

7 Comments |

Link to this post |

|

Bookmark

Fuller breasts, a smaller tush, flatter tummy – all without a diet or breaking a sweat. That’s what cosmetic surgery can do, and mainstream magazines are happily filling pages in their publications with information about it.

A recent issue of  Women’s Health Issues, a Canadian-based medical journal, took a closer look at what the media is sharing with their readers. The study, entitled: “Representations of Cosmetic Surgery and Emotional Health in Women’s Magazines in Canada”, examines how popular women’s magazines portray cosmetic surgery and associated emotional health.

Five English-language women’s …

Tags: body image , cosmetic surgery , emotional health , feminism , media , medicalization , self esteem , wellness , women

1 Comment |

Link to this post |

|

Bookmark