Happy Birthday to The Pill!

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granting approval to the birth control pill, a decision which revolutionized women's reproductive health.  The domino effect of the availability of reliable birth control in this country was wide-ranging.  Single women could embrace their sexuality without fear of pregnancy and married couples could plan if and when they wanted to start a family.  How many marriages were strengthened or saved, and how many bad marriages prevented in the first place, we will never know.  But beyond the biological effect of The Pill, in a time where women could be fired from their jobs simply for getting pregnant, it meant that women could think long term about college, post-graduate studies, career plans, travel, and anything else that they wished to achieve or do in their lives.  In this way, the ability to choose when and if to have children resulted in more women going to college and becoming doctors, lawyers and scientists, more women going further in the field of business, more women being free to dedicate their early career years to more challenging work or service opportunities... all of which undoubtedly improved the standard of living of their families as well.  Plus, when those women did decide to have families, they were much more likely to be in stable marriages and less likely to be living in poverty.

One outspoken woman who heartily embraced The Pill was the legendary singer Loretta Lynn.  Married at 14 years old and a mom of four by the age of 17, Loretta's 1974 song "The Pill" was the first to discuss the subject, and it did so from a very personal perspective of a woman tired of being pregnant every year.  Though it was banned at my radio stations, Loretta was later told by doctors working in rural areas that it had done more to increase awareness of the pill's availability than anything else - something no doubt Loretta had in mind when writing a song that would speak to her own background.  Here now is Loretta Lynn with "The Pill" -

Take Care Of The Girls Month

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Hey, it's October, which means it is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the time of year when every store will have a million pink things on sale... oh wait, and its also the time of year when you should be thinking about your risk of breast cancer and what you can do to prevent and detect it. With all the pink sales, I almost forgot!

So here's your friendly reminder about what we at the WOW blog have termed National Boob Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, but the good news is that it is now one of the most well understood cancers, and can be one of the most survivable when caught early. In fact, even though it is the most common cancer among women, there are more cancer deaths from lung cancer than breast cancer. That said, no cancer is a picnic, so all women should take steps to prevent it in the first place.

The American Cancer Society recommends three action items everyone can do to reduce their risk of breast cancer -
1. Eat a healthy diet to maintain a healthy weight, or seek help in getting to a healthy weight. If you are naturally slim, you still need to eat healthy foods. If you've struggled with your weight, eating healthy foods and exercising is more important than slimming down quickly or in an unhealthy way. For tips on easy to make healthy meals, try Lifehack's suggestions or Food Network's website. If you're lazy and hate cooking, like me, than get yourself a George Foreman Grill for $20 and it will help you to make almost anything quickly and without a lot of grease or fat. I also find that if you make time to stop at the grocery store every week on a Monday, you'll be better at loading up on fresh veggies and fruits for the week. Do what works for you, and make it easy and sustainable - starving yourself to loose pounds will only result in yo-yo weight loss and gain, which may actually increase your risk of cancer and other health issues.
2. Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. I know, who has time for this, right? If you're lazy like me (sense a theme here?), try and sign up for an activity that you enjoy that just so happens to be exercise. For me, its swimming - my fellow bloggers here do drumming class and dance class. If you can knock a class out a couple of times a week, then you can cover the other three days by doing things like getting off the train a stop early and walking ten minutes to work, or biking when you do your errands. Even buying an exercise DVD like Punk Yoga can help. You don't have to spend a lot of money to do this, just do something. Again, be realistic here - it's better to work out twice a week for the next twenty years than to sign up for a six week cardio bootcamp class that you'll never do again in your life.
3. Limit your alcohol consumption to no more than one drink per day. This is probably the easiest thing for everyone to do, but if you struggle with addiction you may find this difficult. Alcohol abuse puts you at risk not only for breast cancer but for many other physical and mental health issues as well. If you are finding it hard to limit your alcohol consumption, you can seek free assistance at Alcoholics Anonymous.

In addition to take the steps above to reduce your risk of breast cancer, women over the age of 40 should get yearly mammograms and breast exams. If you have a hard time remembering to schedule your appointment, sign up for the free mammogram reminder service from the American Cancer Society. Take Care of The Girls!

PS - Men can get breast cancer too! Any detection of lumps in a man's chest area should be taken just as seriously as a lumps in a woman's breast, especially if he has a history of breast cancer in his family. Get thee to a doctor!

Dr. George Tiller, 8/8/1941-5/31/2009

Yet another doctor has been murdered for his choice to support and protect a woman's right to choose. This morning Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed as he attended Sunday morning church service. Dr. Tiller provided abortions, including late term abortions, in Kansas and had an attempt made on his life sixteen years ago. The identity of the shooter is unkown at this time, but incoming reports state that Kansas police may have a suspect in custody.

Dr. Tiller is the fourth provider to be killed in the United States since 1991. He was one of the few providers in the United States who provided late term abortions, predominantly for patients whose lives were in danger due to complications with pregnancy. He leaves behind a wife, four children, ten grandchildren. His death is a significant loss to women seeking safe abortions. I hope that soon we will live in a country where women, and doctors, can exercise freedom of choice without fearing harm and death.

For more information on how you can protect a woman's right to choose, please visit NARAL Pro-Choice America.

We've Come A Long Way, Baby? Maybe Not.

A new report about from the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids, an advocacy group fighting tobacco use, shows that despite what Virginia Slims might say, women and girls haven't come very far at all, at least when it comes to sexism and tobacco. Among other things, the report shows that tobacco companies are experiencing a resurgence in specifically targeting women, and even more alarmingly, girls, through pink packaging, marketing tie-ins with other women's products, and advertising geared towards women and girls. What are some of the most obvious examples?

• The "purse pack", a pack of cigarettes designed to look like a purse.
• Camel No. 9, a pack designed to throw back to the perfume Chanel No. 9

We all know that smoking is bad for everyone's health, but why is it so offensive that tobacco companies are specifically targeting women? To answer that question, we have to look at the effects of smoking on a woman's body versus a man's body. On nearly every marker of health, smoking affects women's bodies in much worse ways than it effects men's bodies. Which means that when tobacco companies are targeting girls and women, they're knowingly pushing a product that is more dangerous and deadly to our gender. Here's just a few examples -

• Since 1987, lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
• Female smokers are twice as likely to have cervical cancer than non-smokers
• Female smokers have increased risk of heart disease, especially if they are also taking birth control pills
• Teenage girls who smoke have decreased lung growth, and begin to lose lung function in early adulthood
• Older women who smoke are at much greater risk of bone loss and osteoperosis
• Smoking is far more devastating on women's reproductive health than men's - it can cause fertility problems, increased complications during menopause, and even pregnant women who have quit smoking are at a greater risk for stillbirth, miscarriage, and other problems with fetal growth
• Smoking may make eating disorders more difficult to recover from

Watch the video about the report below, then go download it and read for yourself. Then think about how far we've (not) come, baby.

Dance, Dance Revolution

Revolutionary acts. They can be big or small, personal or public. And they can come out of the most unexpected places.

For me, a body revolution has come out of burlesque dancing. Yes, it is that kind of dancing. Bump and grind, booty shakin', striptease dancin'. When I enrolled in the class, I heard the cries from activist friends and family that what I was doing was anti-feminist. I've found it to be anything but.

Like many women in the United States, I've battled both an eating disorder and survived an abusive relationship. I began keeping a food journal at age 8, took my first diet pill at age 12 and was in a controlling, violent relationship for a year in my early twenties. By the time I hit 21, my relationship with my body was detached, complicated and disjointed. I did not associate my mind or my spirit - "me" - with my actual physical being. It felt as though my body existed only for others and had very little to do with me.

I was aware of the disconnect, partly from really being aware and partly from reading literature on eating disorders and abuse. Aside from a few failed attempts at yoga, however, I never conciously tried to fix it. In fact, I don't think I ever realized how deep it ran until I started my burlesque classes in August.

Burlesque is a lot of what you would imagine: a bump and grind here, a hip thrust there, lots and lots of tease. But it isn't just about the sexy stuff. It requires a fair amount of athleticism or, at least, some strength. Ulitmately, it is the combination of what our bodies can do, our creativity and the aesthetics of our physical selves, no matter what the physical self looks like.

This combination has been incredibly powerful. It is the first time that I've realized what combining my "me" and the parts I live in can do when they are joined. Seeing and feeling my body grow stronger has shown me that it can do so much more than just be a shell for others to look at and appreciate or criticize. This is due in no small part to the instructor of the class, who will encourage us to do just one more crunch or hold a balance for a few seconds longer not because we have to but because she wants to show us that we
can.

These classes are, quite literally, the only time in the last ten or so years that I have been physically active and have not been concerned with how I look to others. Weird, I know. It would not be an unfair assumption to think that the exact opposite would occur - the tease is ultimately meant for an audience. But that's the thing about burlesque. The tease element is really all about the dancer. I get to decide when and how and where anything is removed, all the while getting to embrace my creativity, femininity and strength. It isn't about just appearance or the audience at all.

So, while it may not be the most obvious form of feminism, burlesque has cauterized some old wounds and taught me to love and appreciate my body which, in my opinion, is a hell of a revolutionary act.

National Boob Month

You may have noticed by the plethora of pink during October that this is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While there has been some criticism in recent years of the focus on breast cancer as opposed to other more fatal types of cancer, as well as the commodification and over-pinkification of the disease, it never hurts to be reminded of the importance of knowing your own body. The American Cancer Society has an extensive document on Breast Cancer Early Detection, and the Susan G Koman Foundation has a guide to performing a breast self-exam - do yourself a favor and check them out. If you find a lump, monitor it for one month, and then call a doctor to have it checked out. Almost all lumps go away, or are non-cancerous, but you should pay attention to your particular body's quirks.

Oh Jessica Rabbit... how we love you.

Protect Women's Health Parity

You might not be a doctor, but you have a chance to be a guinea pig... of sorts... in Northwestern University's Women's Health Registry program.

Did You Know?

• Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women.
• Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of women in the United States. Colorectal cancer and breast cancer are the second and third leading cancer killers of women.
• Women are more likely than men to die from a stroke.
• Nearly twice as many women as men die from Alzheimer's disease each year.
• Seventy-five percent of Americans living with autoimmune disorders (such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis) are women.
• Women are far more likely than men to suffer from chronic pain and chronic fatigue.

Why do some diseases affect women more than men? Why do women respond to some drugs and treatment therapies differently than men? What environmental factors and behaviors most influence women's health?

Those questions have plagued doctors and researchers for years, and Northwestern is undertaking a wide ranging study of women's health to help answer these, and other questions about women's health. To participate, you just need to fill out a survey online and update it once a year. If you qualify for a research study, Northwestern will contact you and ask if you'd like to participate. There's no cost, no obligation, and your information is kept secure. Help yourself, help your daughters, help your granddaughters - join the registry today!