February-March 2004

A round up of the months news, compiled by Sara Vali

Housework holding women back

Researchers have revealed that women are still doing almost three times as much housework as men, putting in 17 hours a week compared to men's 6 hours. The team, from the University of Ulster, fear that women will never achieve equality in the workplace until men take on their fair share in the home.

Despite both genders agreeing that men should help out more, the researchers found that traditional gender roles were very slow to change, with conservative attitudes still reigning supreme in Northern Ireland.

Female heavy drinkers risk heart disease

BBC Report

A study by University College London has shown that women who drink more than the recommended 21 units a week increase their risk of heart disease by 57% (while of course, men who drink are perfectly fine, right?). The advice to women gets confusing after that point, though. Women who are teetotal have an 80% increased risk of heart disease compared to those who drink moderately, but are not advised to now take up the habit, due to other risk factors. Lead researcher Dr Annie Britton kept it simple: "The best advice is not to drink more than the government's guidelines of around 21 units."

No link between abortion and breast cancer

BBC Report

Swedish researchers have found no link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer. Anti-abortion groups have frequently used this claim in their campaigns, but in fact the Swedish team found that women who had terminated a pregnancy had a reduced risk of getting the disease.

Jack Scarisbrook of anti-abortion group Life condemned the findings, saying in typically understated form: "If a woman has an abortion before they have a baby and they have a family history of breast cancer, they are virtually signing their own death warrant." Christine Fogg of Breast Cancer Care was more reassuring, however, saying that current research has failed to link abortions to breast cancer, and that "scare stories" to the contrary only made women more anxious.

'Natural' breast implants on the way

BBC Report

Japanese doctors may have found a way to combine a woman's fat and stem cells to create a 'natural' breast implant. Previous attempts just using fat have failed as some cells die, forming hard lumps. Adding stem cells could coax the growth of new blood vessels. The method could prove a viable alternative to 'artificial' implants. Time to re-read "The Beauty Myth," perhaps?

Morning after pill 'in advance'

BBC Report

The Family Planning Association has said women should be able to get the morning after pill before having unprotected sex or experiencing a failure in contraception. The FPA say this "access through the bathroom cabinet" would mean women would be more likely to use it, would not have to spend time finding a doctor or clinic, and certainly would not have more unprotected sex. As we all know, the quicker women can take the pill, the more effective it is. Unsurpringly, the "Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child" weren't happy about the proposal, saying: "The trouble is that the morning after pill doesn't always prevent a pregnancy - quite often it terminates it. This is just another reason for us to say the prescribing of it, and the availability of it, just has to stop."

Women criticise rivals to 'win a mate'

BBC Report

Guess what? Women are programmed to be critical of rivals when looking for a man, according to Canadian researchers. They discovered that women are most prone to cattiness of the "her hair's such a state" ilk when they are at the most fertile. The aim is to attack rivals to boost their own chances of getting a mate, and this extra-critical time may last for up to 10 days each month, claim researchers. So, let me get this straight; we're bitchy when we're fertile and we're bitchy during our periods? Well, at least we now have a valid reason to get annoyed when someone asks if it's "that time of the month"...

Why would we should all be more like Buffy

BBC Report

Girls need more positive female role models, according to the head of Ofsted. David Bell warns that although girls do better in exams, this success "is all too often not mirrored later in life". Characters like Buffy, he said, promote a more assertive and dynamic image of young women and can have a powerful influence on girls. So let's all blow up our schools, drop out of uni and destroy our hometowns, ok?

Crying Wolf?

New York Metro
Guardian report

"She was a Yale senior. He was the superstar professor she'd hoped to impress - until he put his hand on her thigh. Two decades later, she's speaking out. But her alma mater still isn't listening." Was Naomi Wolf right to accuse Harold Bloom of sexual assault 20 years after the event? The debate continues...

'Girls' or women?>

BBC Report

David Bell, Ofstead head again (cool guy ain't he?) - this time criticising the use of the word 'girls' as a playground insult. He said he believes it's partly to blame for why female students don't go on to succeed in the workplace. Author Bonnie Greer finds the UK habit of calling grown women 'girls' strange, while Ann Widdecombe calls efforts to stamp out its use just 'political correctness'.