By zerlina • 12 years ago

Amy Winehouse and the bystander effect

“The bystander effect [] is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present. The probability of help has in the past been thought to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help.”

For years we watched the late Amy Winehouse on her downward spiral into addiction and self-destruction. In her first single off her international smash hit album, Back to Black, Winehouse sang a catchy tune about not wanting to go to rehab. She won a Grammy, ...

“The bystander effect [] is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present. The probability ...
By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Hispanics hit hardest by the recession, new study finds

It’s a fact of life in the United States that race and class are not disparate categories, but correlated ones. A new study based on Census bureau data demonstrates exactly how this correlation plays out when a recession hits. The study, reported on today in the New York Times,

… found that the median wealth of Hispanic households fell by 66 percent from 2005 to 2009. By contrast, the median wealth of whites fell by just 16 percent over the same period. African Americans saw their wealth drop by 53 percent. Asians also saw a big decline, with household wealth dropping 54 percent.

The declines have led to the largest wealth disparities in the 25 years that the bureau has ...

It’s a fact of life in the United States that race and class are not disparate categories, but correlated ones. A new study based on Census bureau data demonstrates exactly how this correlation plays out when ...
By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Vicious cycles: mothers, daughters, eating disorders

Over the weekend, this postcard was posted at PostSecret. For those of you who aren’t familiar with PostSecret, it’s a long-running crowd sourced art project in which people put their secrets on postcards and mail them in. Pretty simple concept, really powerful results.

This card, which I have to assume was created by a woman, certainly isn’t the first one that has dealt with body image issues. As you can imagine, it’s a popular topic at the site because, well, lots of people have deep, dark, secret shit to confess about how they feel about their bodies.

But I was really struck by this one, because it serves as a reminder that insecurity about ...

Over the weekend, this postcard was posted at PostSecret. For those of you who aren’t familiar with PostSecret, it’s a long-running crowd sourced art project in which people put their secrets on postcards and mail them ...
By Courtney • 12 years ago

What We Missed

The Service Women’s Action Network reports that scores of sexual assault victims are being diagnosed with “personality disorders” to make them ineligible for military service as well as veterans’ benefits.

More on the implications of Diallo coming forward.

An infographic on how progressives vs. conservatives parent differently.

Check out the inspiring Caring Across Generations Campaign.

Register now for the Barnard Center for Research on Women Activism and the Academy Conference this fall.

The Service Women’s Action Network reports that scores of sexual assault victims are being diagnosed with “personality disorders” to make them ineligible for military service as well as veterans’ benefits.

More on the implications of ...
By Courtney • 12 years ago

Are we closer to a pill for men?

Word on the street, okay in the New York Times, is that we are getting closer and closer to getting long-awaited male contraception:

Prompted by women’s organizations, global health groups and surveys indicating that men are receptive, federal agencies are financing research. Some methods will be presented at an October conference sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Male contraception is a critical area,” said Jenny Sorensen, a foundation spokeswoman. “It doesn’t make sense to not include everyone in the discussion.”

Srsly. What the heck has taken so long, one might reasonably ask? Elaine Tyler May has a great chapter on the history of science on the male pill in her book, America + the Pill. She writes:

The emphasis on ...

Word on the street, okay in the New York Times, is that we are getting closer and closer to getting long-awaited male contraception:

Prompted by women’s organizations, global health groups and surveys indicating that men are receptive, ...
By Courtney • 12 years ago

A summer camp of one’s own


Who among us hasn’t heard the oft repeated quotation from Mahatma Gandi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”?

Well, as I was sitting in front of 80 high school aged-girls last week talking about body image, media activism, gender, feminism, and so much more, it occurred to me that a spin off that deserves popularizing is, “Be the culture you wish to be a part of in the world.” It’s happening at the Girls Leadership Institute (GLI)–a training institute and summer camp fostering authentic leadership in girls. It’s happening at Feministing. It’s happening in all kinds of feminist organizations and friend circles–formal and informal. We make change by creating subcultures where our values–about equality and ...


Who among us hasn’t heard the oft repeated quotation from Mahatma Gandi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”?

Well, as I was sitting in front of 80 high school aged-girls last week talking ...
By Courtney • 12 years ago

Nadia Al-Sakkaf and Yemen’s ongoing fight

Check out the editor of the Yemen Times, Nadia Al-Sakkaf, talking with Paley Center President Pat Michell at TEDGlobal, about uprising, the power of the press, and women’s ingenuity. As TED explains: “Al-Sakkaf’s independent, English-language paper is vital for sharing news–and for sharing a new vision of Yemen and of that country’s women as equal partners in work and change.”

Check out the editor of the Yemen Times, Nadia Al-Sakkaf, talking with Paley Center President Pat Michell at TEDGlobal, about uprising, the power of the press, and women’s ingenuity. As TED explains: “Al-Sakkaf’s independent, English-language paper is ...

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