SECRETARY CLINTON TO LAUNCH WOMEN’S WORLD CUP INITIATIVE

andlt; pandgt; Pretty Smart! On Monday June 6, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will launch the Women’s World Cup Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports. The event, which will be streamed live on www.state.gov. will take place 9:30 am ET at the Department of State with members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and youth soccer players from around the world. This initiative is a joint effort by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. The partnership hopes to harness the power of sports and international exchanges as a means to empower women and girls worldwide. The announcement is part of the build-up to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will take place ths summer in Germany, and the kick-off to the 40th anniversary year of Title IX — the U.S. law to provide equal oppor wtunity for men and women in academics and athletics. In her address, Secretary of State Clinton will h [Read More]

published June 7, 2011 at 6:00pm CDT

SAUDI WOMEN DARE TO DRIVE IN DEFIANCE OF LAW

There are a lot of rights that western women take for granted. One of them is the freedom to drive - an activity that helps women be independent. Not so in every country or culture. Manal, a 32-year-old woman, is planning something she’s never done openly in her native Saudi Arabia: Get in her car and take to the streets, defying a ban on female drivers in the kingdom. Manal and 10 other people are organizing a campaign on Facebook and Twitter urging Saudi women with international driver’s licenses to join them starting June 17, risking their jobs and their freedom. Read more on Saudi Women Driving [Read More]

published May 11, 2011 at 6:15pm CDT

KILLING ME SOFTLY: IMAGES OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISING

In this new, highly anticipated update of her pioneering Killing Us Softly series, the first in more than a decade, Jean Kilbourne takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity. The film marshals a range of new print and television advertisements to lay bare a stunning pattern of damaging gender stereotypes -- images and messages that too often reinforce unrealistic, and unhealthy, perceptions of beauty, perfection, and sexuality. By bringing Kilbourne's groundbreaking analysis up to date, Killing Us Softly 4 stands to challenge a new generation of students to take advertising seriously, and to think critically about popular culture and its relationship to sexism, eating disorders, and gender violence. Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising. [Read More]

published May 11, 2011 at 3:12pm CDT

AL QAEDA'S LATEST JIHADIST WOMEN'S EMAGAZINE

Tips on how to meet a terrorist husband? Ideas for keeping your skin beautiful underneath a niqab? Poetry about the Holy War? Enter the bizarre world of Al Qaeda's newest Cosmo-like magazine for women. Al Shamikah--The Majestic, features stories on pleasing your husband and working on household duties alongside calls to violent terrorism and praise for the wives of suicide bombers. While Al Shamikah is written in classical Arabic, the contents appear aimed at a worldwide audience. Fast Company takes a closer look at this new ezine, which is admittedly a propaganda tool. Close Reading [Read More]

published March 15, 2011 at 12:16pm CDT

IS HIGH SCHOOL READY FOR GIRLS’ WRESTLING?

For high-school wrestlers across the country, February is the stuff of dreams. Sectional meets leading up to state tournaments begin this month, and thousands of hopes will be realized while thousands more wind up dashed. Megan Black, a sophomore wrestler at Ottumwa High School in Iowa one of two females who made history at the state wrestling tournament this year. Black wanted to become the first girl to win a state high-school wrestling title against boys. That honor went to Michaela Hutchison of Alaska five years ago but Black was hoping to be first girl  to win a title in Iowa. Also turning heads on the mat this season is Cassy Herkelman, a freshman at nearby Cedar Falls High School. Since the Iowa High School Athletic Association began sanctioning the event in 1926, no girl has ever qualified for the state wrestling tourney. This year both Black and Herkelman made the cut. According to the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association and#40;NWCAand#41; database, Herkelman takes a 20 [Read More]

published February 23, 2011 at 11:38am CST

HAPPY NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY!

Today, I’m celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day by actually playing. I’ve got a rec game scheduled for tonight at 7pm, and play with a community of women who live in NYC and have played competitive basketball at some point in their lives and#40;most in collegeand#41;. It’s a lot of fun, and typically involves quite a bit of drinking afterward. Can’t think of a better way to celebrate! Also, here are some great ways to celebrate… also make sure you check back to WomenTalkSports.com for a flurry of blog posts from our network today. [Read More]

published February 2, 2011 at 4:43pm CST

LPGA SET TO ALLOW TRANSGENDER WOMEN TO PLAY

On October 13, I posted a story about Lana Lawson who is a transgender woman suing the LPGA for the right to play in LPGA sponsored events. Currently LPGA competitions are restricted to golfers who are “female at birth” effectively excluding transgender women. The LPGA added this to their by-laws in the 1970s following transgender tennis player Renee Richards’ successful legal challenge of similar discriminatory policies on the women’s professional tennis tour.According to an article written by Randall Mell of the Golf Channel, the LPGA is preparing to change their policy to enable transgender women to become members. In a players’ meeting on November 30, LPGA players will be encouraged to vote for a constitutional amendment eliminating the “female at birth” requirement. The change requires a two-thirds majority, but players have been advised by legal counsel that the “female at birth” provision will not stand legal scrutiny. The vote is in direct response to Lana [Read More]

published November 24, 2010 at 6:00pm CST

MENDING BUMPS AND BRUISES: THE OBJECTIFICATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES

“Girls playing sports is not about winning gold medals. It’s about self-esteem, learning to compete and learning how hard you have to work in order to achieve your goals.” — Jackie Joyner-Kersee Okay, so the first image that comes to your mind when you think of “athletes” are of the male variety– Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, LeBron James…. But what about female athletes? Maybe they’re not as discussed as the male ones, but they’ve earned their merits- think, Maria Sharapova, Michelle Wie, or Danica Patrick, amongst plenty of others… When you think about it, female athletes are and seemingly always have been at somewhat of a disadvantage in American sports culture. It seems like since the beginning of time, sporting events have always been about men competing- think of the original Olympic games or the jousting events of Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe, respectively. Perhaps this came from the long-held misconception that women should be strictly [Read More]

published November 5, 2010 at 11:59am CDT

OLYMPIC PRICING: EQUALITY? ECONOMICS? GENDER?

What equality is remains contextual and questionable. I don't know much about economics. And gender continues to present so many interesting issues with which to contend.Hence all the questions in the title of this post.But what I really want to talk about and#40;though I am actually still a little hesitant about talking about itand#41; is the recent news that the organizers of the 2012 London Olympics have priced the tickets for men's and women's events differently. In many cases, tickets for men's events are more expensive--sometimes significantly so.The IOC and#40;though it does not set the ticket prices--the organizers doand#41; is taking most of the flak for this decision. Critics contend that the pricing undervalues women's sports and sends a message that women's sports are just not as good as men's sports.I agree that that message is being sent and that it is not good. But I do not see the pricing differential as entirely bad.First, the difference reinforces prevailing beliefs about the [Read More]

published October 22, 2010 at 12:46am CDT

ESPNW: FINALLY, A BRAND FOR FEMALE ATHLETES

ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, recently announced a bubbling business from within called espnW, a brand completely driven for and by sports-minded women. Now, before you jump to conclusions based upon the espnW name, I simply ask that you first hear me out – because it’s critical to understand exactly why this new business is necessary for the success of female athletes.                This weekend, ESPN unveiled their new “w” brand at a retreat in San Diego, California. It took place in front of some of the biggest movers and shakers in women’s sports, including famous female athletes, coaches, journalists and sports marketing executives. At the event, not only did I have the chance to meet and talk to some of the women and men that I respect most in this world, but I also had the chance to share some of my opinions about what needs to happen to make the espnW business work. First, some context…               Since the passage of Title I [Read More]

published October 4, 2010 at 2:21pm CDT