RIP Aretha
www.theguardian.com/...
Women’s Health
Texas is the latest state to award a contract for TANF funds to an agency that provides anti-abortion counseling. The TANF law is written in such a way that the block grants can be used for things besides cash assistance. In fact, only a small percentage of eligible families actually receive cash assistance. Here is the relevant section:
§ 263.2 What kinds of State expenditures count toward meeting a State’s basic MOE expenditure requirement?(a) Expenditures of State funds in TANF or separate State programs may count if they are made for the following types of benefits or services:(1) Cash assistance, including the State’s share of the assigned child support collection that is distributed to the family, and disregarded in determining eligibility for, and amount of the TANF assistance payment;(2) Child care assistance (see §263.3); (3) Education activities designed to increase self-sufficiency, job training,and work (see §263.4);(4) Any other use of funds allowable under section 404(a)(1) of the Act including:(i) Non-medical treatment services for alcohol and drug abuse and some medical treatment services (provided that the State has not commingled its MOE funds with Federal TANF funds to pay for the services), if consistent with the goals at §260.20 of this chapter; and (ii) Pro-family healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood activities enumerated in part IV–A of the Act, sections 403(a)(2)(A)(iii) and 403(a)(2)(C)(ii) that are consistent with the goals at§§260.20(c) or (d) of this chapter, but do not constitute ‘‘assistance’’ as defined in §260.31(a) of this chapter; and(5)(i) Administrative costs for activities listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through(a)(4) of this section, not to exceed 15 percent of the total amount of countable expenditures for the fiscal year.
States that use TANF funds for anti-abortion programs consider these programs “pro-family healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood activities.
rewire.news/...
Women’s health, especially reproductive and sexual health, is simply not taken seriously. (What else is new?)
www.theatlantic.com/…
I belong to an online group that discusses 19th and early 20th century literature by women writers. We get into serious discussions about many aspects of the works and the writers’ lives. Recently we discussed “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The subject of the Atlantic article reminded me of the story, which is a classic of feminist literature, and if you haven’t read it, you should. Gilman at one point in her life was treated by the “rest cure” and this story was written to show Dr. Mitchell what his treatment actually did. Essentially, it’s solitary confinement, and was used to treat hysteria, post-partum depression (as in the story) and other women’s illnesses.
I found this wonderful video about giving birth in the middle ages. The Catholic Church was the repository of knowledge including anatomy and medicine, and most books on the subject were actually written by priests, whose understanding of women’s bodies included the idea that a vagina was a penis turned inward, so that a woman was an undeveloped man, a not-quite complete human being. Luckily, men were not allowed in birthing rooms, so midwives were there for more practical help.
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Every so often it’s worth looking at women’s role as caregiver to a family member needing assistance with every-day self-care tasks. More than 75% of unpaid caregivers are women. Here are some statistics from the Family Caregivers Alliance.
www.caregiver.org/…
Caregiving is associated with health problems for the caretaker including depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and are more likely than the general population to receive public assistance.
Violence
In this incident, the wife and a boy in the house with her escaped.
Just hours after being arrested and released on bail for allegedly assaulting his wife, a Utah man stole a plane and crashed it into his own home where his wife was staying, police said.
The man, 47-year-old Duane Youd, did not survive the crash Monday, officials stated.
www.yahoo.com/…
Then there is the recent report on Catholic priests and child sexual abuse in Pennsylvania. I consider this a feminist issue because the Church’s stand on women in the Church is a factor in several ways. The insistence on celibacy keeps some potential priests away and attracts a number of men of questionable sexuality. This marriage to the Church becomes a surrogate for marriage and family; remember that when Cardinal Bernard Law finally apologized for his role in covering up and moving abusing priests from parish to parish, he apologized for bringing scandal and shame to the Church, not to the victims. And I have long believed that if anyone in the hierarchy had been a parent (or a woman) the abuse would have been stopped early on. It’s a worldwide problem, and will not be fixed until the Church can openly examine its attitude towards gender and sexuality, and reopen the questions of celibacy and admitting women to the priesthood.
www.usatoday.com/...
In the Workplace
For more on this story:
www.buzzfeednews.com/…
News organizations write about the gender pay gap in many industries, but recently unions at news organizations themselves have begun to study their own pay gaps. Some have been working to address the issue, others not so much.
voices.aaja.org/…
And if you’’re a woman looking for a job that requires an election, you’ll find it harder to raise money than your male opponents.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
Worth a Thousand Words
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As always, thanks to the WoW crew for helping gather the news. This week’s contributors include Tara TASW, Besame, Sandra LLAP, and elenacarlena.