Newly graduated women earn less than men

Pay disparities based on gender are a pretty popular topic when it comes to sexism and inequality, but this article takes it a step further by examining the earnings of young women instead of all working women.

The American Association of University Women found that, just one year out of college, women are making only 82 cents for every dollar a man makes in the same job. The article even specifically says that the figures were adjusted for variables such as the person's major, so that it didn't appear that men just had higher-paying jobs in certain fields.

I think it's interesting, especially since in class we've tended to agree that gender pay disparities may not last much longer since we're a new generation, but even the young women are facing these troubles.

Would you ask a potential employer about the pay for men and women at a workplace? Is this news unexpected in your opinion?

Woman auctions off her virginity for $780,000

In blog posts I thought I'd never write...20-year-old Catarina Migliorini of Brazil has auctioned off her virginity for $780,000 to a man named "Natsu" on an Australia-based website called VirginsWanted.com.au.

Migiliorini agreed to "submit to a series of tests to prove she is indeed a virgin" and bidders were told Migiliorini's virginity would be "medically verified." The auction ad stated:

The female virgin will undergo a medical examination by an accredited gynecologist and provide the winning bidder with medical evidence of her virginity. The virgin must provide a document from the gynecologist that certifies her claim to virginity. The accompanying medical certificate will be a statutory declaration that supports her claim to virginity.

However, the claim Migiliorini can medically prove she is not a virgin has received criticism from some experts who claim "it's nearly impossible for Migiliorini -- or any woman -- to prove whether or not she is actually a virgin."

Experts such as Bat Sheva Marcus, a licensed master social worker with a master's in public health who works as clinical director of the Medical Center for Female Sexuality in New York, and Dr. Elizabeth Lyster, a board-certified gynecologist in Foster City, Calif., with 20 years clinical experience, say there is no way to fully determine whether Migiliorini has had sex before or not.

However, the debate as to whether or not Migiliorini is able to prove her virginity has somehow taken a front seat to the logical debate as to whether or not the practice of auctioning herself off is right. According to Justin Sisely, the auction organizer and Australian filmmaker who is making a documentary about the project, Migliorini and Natsu are "scheduled to consummate the deal between Nov. 12-16 ... aboard a private plane flying from Australia to the U.S., in part to circumvent any laws regarding prostitution."

This situation begs the question of whether or not Migiliorini's actions are degrading to women or is she simply exercising her sexual freedom? Are Migiliorini's actions feminist or anti-feminist?

The Best City for Women to Live In

In an article posted in the Huffington Post Hoboken, New Jersey is the best place to live. The article uses many statistics taken from Bloomberg and the Financial Times. They used the following information to determine the statistics Bloomberg ranked cities based on median household income for 15-64 year-olds living alone, percentage of the total population who are single and percentage of total males or females who are single using U.S. Census Bureau data from 2006-2010. Hoboken topped the list with single men (ages 15-64) raking in a median income of $94,500 and single women making an average income of $77,63. I thought this information was interesting because even though the headline is about women the article has information for single men as well. I also thought it was interesting because when it lists the median income, men make almost 20,000 dollars more than women do.

Pennsylvania bill requires women to prove they were raped

The "War on Women" seems to be continuing particularly in regards to the issue of rape and sexual assault  According to a bill currently in the Pennsylvania House regarding the reduction of welfare benefits for low-income women, women who become pregnant from rape must prove she reported the assault.

Proposed by four Republicans and one Democrat, the bill would eliminate "an increase in benefits if a child is conceived while a woman is covered under the Temporary Assistance To Needy Family program." While a woman can seek an exception to this rule if the child is conceived as a result of rape, she must prove she reported the incident and gave authorities her assaulter's identity.

The actual language of the bill reads:

Elimination of benefits under subsection (d) shall not apply to any child conceived as a result of rape or incest if the department: (1) receives a non-notarized, signed statement from the pregnant woman stating that she was a victim of rape or incest, as the case may be, and that she reported the crime, including the identity of the offender, if known, to a law enforcement agency having the requisite jurisdiction or, in the case of incest where a pregnant minor is the victim, to the county child protective service agency and stating the name of the law enforcement agency or child protective service agency to which the report was made and the date such report was made.

The Huffington Post reports that according to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, 54 percent of rapes and sexual assaults are not reported to the police, meaning many women would not be granted an exception under the proposed bill because they did not report the assault or could not recall what their assaulter looked like.

Is this another example of the War on Women? Why are more and more politicians discussing rape and decreasing womens' rights?

"The 2012 Project"

Hey guys! I was doing some slight research on women's involvement in the 2012 election. I know that was so broad, but I stumbled across this website the talks about how women can get involved with congress and how they can become more aware of the political process. I found it very interesting, check it out!

Todd Akin, At It Again

Todd Akin, the Republican Representative from Missouri famously known for his definition of “legitimate rape” and beliefs that women’s bodies can “shut down” to prevent pregnancies in cases of rape, is at it again—this time calling his Democratic opponent, Claire McCaskill a ‘dog’, accusing her of fetching “taxes and red tape and bureaucracy and executive orders and agencies and brings all of this stuff and dumps it on us in Missouri.”  Read more from this article in the Washington Post.

Additionally, according to this article from Fox News, Akin’s adviser, Rick Tyler, then added to the derogatory analogy Monday on Twitter, “using an obscenity to describe what dog McCaskill would be, ‘if Claire McCaskill were a dog.’ (Tyler’s answer: a combination of “bull” and Shih Tzu.””

Given Akin’s previous controversial comments surrounding women, do you think he was using the word ‘dog’ in reference to ‘bitch’? Also, do you think if his opponent was a man, he would have still used the fetching dog analogy?