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CORRINNA BARNARD Corinna Barnard has been a journalist for more than 30 years. Her background spans finance, arms control, medicine, technology and parenting. In her most recent position, before joining Women’s eNews in 2003, she worked for Dow Jones, Inc., where for several years she served as news editor for an international newswire covering emerging markets and later as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal. Earlier in her career, Corinna was a radio commentator for “In The Public Interest,” a national public-affairs radio program. She graduated from Yale University in 1980 with a degree in English literature. Mass Killing in Florida Gay Nightclub Stirs Outpour of Grief and Horror In the middle of LGBT Pride Month, the killing of 50 people and injury of many others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando is sending shock and outrage through the country and the world. By CORRINNA BARNARD Crime & Law June 12, 2016 (WOMENSENEWS)— “I haven’t eaten, or slept,” Andy Moss, a tearful survivor of the deadly rampage at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, told CNN Sunday evening, saying he was desperately searching for word about a friend who had been at the club with him. With the names of many of the dead still not released, and information unavailable for those directly victimized by the country’s worse mass shooting, which left 50 killed, including the shooter, and 53 wounded, President Barack Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff in expression of national mourning until June 16. On Sunday the president described the massacre as an act of terror and an act of hate by a man who called 911 Saturday night to pledge allegiance to ISIS. The president reiterated his calls for gun control. On behalf of Women’s eNews, Kristen Elechko, our interim executive director, expresses sympathy for all those whose lives have been devastated by the heinous act. “We also extend our solidarity to the LGBTQ+ community and all all those affected by this tragedy,” says Elechko. “I am both saddened and angered by the fact that we must come together, as a nation, to mourn the innocent lives of those lost to gun violence, rather than celebrate the diversity that makes our country great. We must work at the intersections to overcome this brutal act and those that came before it. It is long past time for gun violence to be addressed.” The shooting suspect Omar Mateen, who was killed by police, was an American citizen born in New York, residing in Florida and employed as an armed security guard. His parents were born in Afghanistan. Mateen’s father has apologized for his son’s actions and described them as inexplicable. His son, whose marriage ended amid charges of spousal abuse, has expressed hostility to the LGBT community. In 2009, Congress voted to include people attacked for their sexual orientation as a protected class of victims under federal hate crimes laws, Vox reported, along with a list of U.S. representatives who voted against extending that protection at the time. Representatives of the Council on American Islamic Relations, based in Washington, D.C., made press statements and TV appearances on Sunday to extend condolences and condemn ISIS, which Nihad Awad, CAIR’s national executive director, described as an “aberration.” In what police describe as an unrelated incident, a man in Santa Monica, Calif., was arrested Sunday morning with a car full of weapons and ammunition. He apparently intended to attack the L.A. Pride Festival in West Hollywood, the Los Angles Times reported. “Our hearts are broken for the victims and families of the horrific tragedy in Orlando,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a June 12 statement. “This unimaginable atrocity has not only robbed countless people of their loved ones, it has also stolen a sense of safety within the LGBTQ community. As we mourn the victims of this unspeakable attack, we are also reminded that the work to end hate in all its forms must continue.” GLADD, a national media monitoring group, said it was sending a team to Orlando to help support local LGBTQ organizations. Orlando City Commissions Patty Sheehan, the city’s first openly gay elected official gave a video statement of outrage and shock to the Associated Press, saying it was a hard moment for her as a member of the LGBTQ community, someone who attended “this establishment,” referring to the Pulse nightclub, which President Barack Obama, in a TV appearance, described as a place of solidarity and empowerment. Flowers were left outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City, site of the 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement. On Sunday night it became a gathering point for mourners of the Orlando massacre, joining vigils taking place around the country. In Paris, the scene of a terrorist attack in November 2015, about a hundred people, some draped in rainbow-colored flags, gathered for a spontaneous remembrance of those attacked in Orlando, the Associated Press reported. The massacre comes during LGBT Pride Month and Politico reports it is sending shudders through the LGBT community in the United States, where fears of lone-wolf assaults on soft targets such as schools, shopping centers and nightclubs already were on the rise. Blood donors from central Florida turned out in droves to give blood to hospitalized victims, the Orlando Sentinel reported, overwhelming the people at blood banks who asked them to stop coming on Sunday and instead make appointments for coming days, when more donations would be needed. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

NAOMI GRANT Naomi Grant is a government and politics major at the University of Maryland. She enjoys long walks from her dorm to both her journalism class and Diamondback meetings. Some Conservative Girls Feel ‘Shut Down’ on Liberal College Campuses Heather Reed’s dream job is to be a mother. That view puts her at odds with some peers on her liberal college campus. So does her opposition to abortion. By NAOMI GRANT Politics September 26, 2016 COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WOMENSENEWS)– During her freshman year at University of North Texas, Heather Reed was eating lunch with her friends, when the topic of abortion came up. Everyone at the table agreed it should be a woman’s right to choose. Everyone except Reed. “All these people just looked at me and they just lost it,” says Reed, who is majoring in photojournalism and political science and now starting her junior year. “I’m used to having a conversation [but] there was no concession on either side, and it was just this rude awakening where I realized that the people around me weren’t afraid to shut me down.” Nora Steuart knows the feeling. The sophomore at the University of Maryland, who spoke recently to Teen Voices, says she often avoids participating in discussions in her government and politics classes–her major–for fear that the conversation will turn into “the whole class versus me.” Instead she doesn’t say anything. “Because I witness a few other people that’ll say something that goes against what everybody says and they get shut down. So I don’t want that to be me.” Conservative Millennials are in the minority. Only about 15 percent are conservative (either mostly or consistently conservative) according to a 2014 Pew Research Center stud y . Meanwhile, 41 percent are either mostly liberal or consistently liberal in their views. About half affiliate with the Democratic Party while only 34 percent consider themselves Republican or lean towards the Republican Party. Both Reed and Steuart say that, fortunately, they have found friends with whom they can disagree. “My friends are really respectful of it. They kind of just know like, ‘there’s the conservative,’” Reed says. Some of her classmates tell her she’s setting women back 20 years, when she says her dream job is to be a mother, but she disagrees. “The women’s suffrage movement was great. I think it needed to happen. I think we all should vote,” Reed says. While she supports workplace equality she thinks it is disrespectful to tell girls it’s bad if motherhood is the only thing they aspire to. Taylor Webb, a University of Kansas sophomore, also feels like she is expected to take the liberal side on social issues. “I feel like I’m not ‘liberal enough’ in those issues, too,” the music education major said. Young conservatives on college campuses say the criticism doesn’t just come from other students. It also comes from adults. Webb took an English class last semester with a “very, very liberal” professor, who would constantly express his opinion on current events. “I felt like [he] threw his views in our face a little bit just because he did it every day,” Webb says. “It’s very clear that if you don’t feel the way he does, you might as well just not say [anything].” Kristi Henderson is director of communications for Kansas University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We do encourage open discussion among faculty and students, however, we also expect that such conversations will be respectful,” she says in an email. “If students have concerns about how a professor conducts class discussion, they are encouraged to talk with their professor, a department chair or an advisor.” Putting the onus on students can be tricky, says Ashley Thorne, executive director of National Association of Scholars , a membership organization that publishes a journal, Academic Questions . “I see this as very destructive for what higher education should be,” says Thorne, who spoke recently by phone . “You should go to college to not only challenge yourself and your ideas, but [to] seek the truth and the only way…is by hearing a full range of arguments on different sides.” Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

POR ALISON BOWEN alison-bowen@womensenews.com DAVID LEVEILLE The ordeal isn’t over yet for women who’ve been freed from Boko Haram The Nigerian military has been touting its recent successes against Boko Haram. Officials say many of the thousands of women and girls who’d been held hostage by the Islamist militant group have been freed. By DAVID LEVEILLE & POR ALISON BOWEN Crime & Law April 9, 2016 “There have been few joyous family reunions for these victims,” writes the Washington Post’s Africa bureau chief, Keven Sieff, in his recent story about women freed from the terror group’s “rape camps.” His reporting focused on two young women kidnapped from the city of Bama, in northeastern Nigeria. “For seven months, Hamsatu, now 25, and Halima, 15, were among Boko Haram’s sex slaves, raped almost every day by the same unit of fighters in the remote Sambisa Forest,” writes Sieff. “They were just kept captive there in huts,” Sieff explains. “They didn’t know if they were going to be killed because they’d seen so many people shot at that point. Hamsatu tried to escape five times. Each time she was caught and brought back to her hut by Boko Haram guards and again violently raped.” According to the young women’s accounts, the Nigerian military rescue operation that eventually came was incredibly violent. The military burned down a number of huts with the women still inside; soldiers were shooting wildly. Luckily Hamsatu and Halima survived and were taken by Nigerian soldiers to a camp for the displaced. (Sieff says the camp is nothing more than some abandoned buildings in the middle of the Nigerian desert, where the heat is scorching.) But here’s where the story really stings. Not long after being freed from Boko Haram captivity, the women realized they weren’t seen as victims. Instead, people viewed them as suspects or accomplices to the violence of their kidnappers. The rationale for that attitude, says Sieff, is a prevailing belief that “after spending so much time with militants, after being raped by Boko Haram members, they’re seen as having a sort of bond or sort of sympathy for the terrorist organization, which is obviously very hard to understand.” Another factor that serves to prejudice Nigerians against these survivors is the number of Boko Haram incidents involving female suicide bombers. “In the last two years many, many women and girls have been used as suicide bombers in northeastern Nigeria. It’s not exactly known how they are coerced into doing that,” says Sieff. “Some people say they’re drugged, some people say they’re brainwashed, some people say they only have a choice of either being shot, or strapping themselves with explosives.” Whatever the reasons, close to 50 percent of the suicide bombers in Nigeria last year were women, half of them under the age of 18. The unfortunate upshot is that “the Nigerian military, when they see female victims of Boko Haram, they immediately suspect, this woman, this girl could be a suicide bomber.” Hamsatu and Halima, who go to group counseling every week for their trauma, are still treated that way by the wider community. “There’s almost no way that they can prove their innocence,” says Sieff. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series ARTS & CULTURE ARTS & CULTURE Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now Author BRYN HEALY Bryn is a 14-year-old activist. She is interested in the arts, political issues, literature, music, acting and world change.

TRICIA TAORMINA Tricia Taormina is a journalist focused on gender issues. She has a master’s in human rights studies from Columbia University. Croatia Threatens Secrecy of Country’s Oldest Women’s Shelter The facility conceals its location to protect its occupants. But a new government policy requiring inspections, part of a larger movement to tighten control over civil society, could expose it. By TRICIA TAORMINA Politics June 27, 2016 NEW YORK (WOMENSENEWS)— A social worker photographed the 10 centimeters of space between the wall and bed of each room and added the photo to a thick binder of other details for the Croatian government. It took three weeks to record the floor plans of the women’s shelter, a bulletproof building in an unknown location of Zagreb. But after all this information was filed, it took the government far less time to reject the 70-page document, says Valentina Andrasek, the executive director of the Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb. The photos and blueprints wouldn’t suffice, but an address would. The Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb, which is funded by the government and individual donors, has kept its location a secret from both the public and government since the 1990s after the estranged husband of a woman staying there stormed the shelter, lined up each of its workers and questioned them at gunpoint for hours. He demanded to know the whereabouts of his ex-wife, according to Andrasek. No one was hurt, but the incident propelled the nonprofit to join a small number of women’s shelters around the world that conceal their addresses from absolutely everyone. Now, after years of accepting its anonymity, the Croatian government is requiring the shelter have on-site inspections by its officials to receive funding under a new license agreement. Advocates say the provision forces them to choose between possible closure and an open address policy that could endanger the women staying there. In a country where 31 percent of women have reported experiencing domestic violence “frequently,” Andrasek says the safety of those seeking refuge in the shelter hinges on concealing its location. Collecting official data on violence against women in Croatia only began after the country became fully independent from the former Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s. During this time the Serbo-Croatian war worsened domestic violence as rates of alcoholism and drug abuse among men swelled . Women’s shelters emerged in the aftermath. Today, the government runs half of the country’s shelters, while the other half are operated by women’s organizations that receive partial state funding. Compromising Safety Andrasek says the new license required by the Croatian government is modeled on those used by state-run homes. And although it does not require the shelter to make its address entirely public, as in a phone book listing, she says revealing it to government officials for on-site inspections would compromise its safety. She emphasizes that even the shelter’s lawyer who has been with the organization for nine years does not know its address. Last year, Andrasek received a letter from Croatia’s Ministry of Social Policy and Youth, the body tasked with funding her organization, inquiring whether a child at the shelter was being properly fed. The father of the child, an ex-husband of a woman staying there, claimed otherwise. Though the allegations proved false, Andrasek says such accusations are a common ruse by abusers to discover the shelter’s location. “It’s a tactic,” she says. “And the government should know it’s a tactic,” adding that she doesn’t think she could do this work if she knew the address was exposed and abusers could show up at any time. Rosalyn Park, a director at the Advocates for Human Rights, a nonprofit based in Minneapolis, says funding is a continuous challenge for autonomous women’s shelters globally, but that Croatia’s situation represents one of the “emerging problems we’re seeing with shelter funding.” The Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb, founded in 1990, is currently trying to negotiate the license with the government and if an agreement is not reached, it will have to return the state funding it received for the year. Andrasek says her organization has offered a compromise; one government official can inspect the shelter if she (“because it has to be a she”) is willing to commit to the role long term. The government has yet to respond to the request, nor for comment on this article. Meanwhile, the government has reduced the maximum amount of funding autonomous shelters can receive to just 75 percent of what it was during the previous period. “It’s really not enough funding to even run the shelter,” Andrasek says, explaining that government funding goes toward crucial overhead costs, like employee salaries and rent. Individual donors and annual funding campaigns cover the remaining costs, but she fears these sources won’t make up for how much has been cut by the government. Wider Budget Cuts The cuts that are hitting autonomous women’s shelters are part of wider budget cuts on civil society in Croatia this year. The National Foundation for Civil Society Development—the only government body that provides institutional support for civil society groups—lost 70 percent of the funding it gets from lottery proceeds. The campaign was instigated by OAK, a Christian-based political party, that some believe targeted the foundation because it assists civil society groups that support same-sex marriage and sexual education. Andrasek believes the funding cuts may be a step toward shifting autonomous women’s shelters to receive per-bed funding, meaning the government covers the cost of women staying there on an as-needed basis and decides each woman’s length of stay. Under such per-bed funding, women would most likely only be allotted a three to six month stay, which is typical in state-run shelters. “We have a 93 percent success rate at this shelter, so only one woman per year will return to her abuser,” Andrasek says. “And the reason why we are so successful is that women can stay for a year or longer.” In Croatia, autonomous women’s shelters serve more than two times as many clients as state-run shelters, but receive substantially less government funding. In 2011, they received half the funding of state-run shelters, prompting the United Nations Human Rights Committee to inquire about the disparity. The government of Croatia has yet to respond to the inquiries issued in 2014. Andrasek stresses that in Croatia these funding cuts are impacting human rights organizations and not charities because she believes conservative groups view the former as a threat. “It’s much bigger than us, this shelter,” she says. “Because we are very critical, very political in our activism.” Rosa Logar is co-founder of Women Against Violence Europe , a nonprofit network based in Vienna and a board member of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters . Governmental pressure on civil society groups has always existed but has intensified over the past few years, especially as the right wing becomes more popular, says Logar, who spoke with Women’s eNews in a phone interview from Vienna. In her native Austria, she says the Freedom Party, a conservative group that nearly clinched victory in the May 2016 presidential elections, questioned the existence of women’s shelters. “Now in Europe with the shift to the right wing, our democracies are vulnerable, and every time this happens women’s rights are affected,” she says. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

POR ALISON BOWEN alison-bowen@womensenews.com HELEN MALHOTRA Helen Malhotra, a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., is an aspiring videographer. She is editor in chief of the Beacon, Wilson's newspaper. D.C. Teens Welcome Self-Defense Classes in School What if “self-defense” made its way into school curriculum? Students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., would be thrilled. By HELEN MALHOTRA & POR ALISON BOWEN Arts & Culture November 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (WOMENSENEWS) – In a Women’s eNews commentary published earlier this year, Professor Suzanne Dovi at the University of Arizona called for mandatory self-defense classes for high school students. In this video, teen producer Helen Malhotra poses the question to her classmates. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

POR ALISON BOWEN alison-bowen@womensenews.com MEG HECKMAN Meg Heckman teaches journalism at the University of New Hampshire and writes about politics, gender, media and technology. N.H. Women Handle Gun Politics with Caution The hot-button national issue has not come up much in recent campaign events in this rural state with a wide libertarian streak. But in recent interviews, female voters from both major parties favored a mix of gun access and regulation. By MEG HECKMAN & POR ALISON BOWEN Crime & Law February 9, 2016 CONCORD, N.H. (WOMENSENEWS) — Clai Lasher Sommers has spent years advocating for gun safety laws, but she relied on her gut as much as her policy knowledge when she picked a candidate in this year’s primary. She respected Hillary Clinton, but didn’t decide to support her until the two women met as speakers at a campaign event in southwestern New Hampshire last year. Sommers, now 59, told the crowd at the event that she was shot in the back by her stepfather in her rural New Hampshire home when she was a teenager. She also spoke to Clinton privately, pleading for stronger gun regulation. “I just reached in and hugged her, I mean really hugged her,” Sommers said in a phone interview. “I said in her ear, ‘You have to do this. I’m giving you my story, and you have to follow through.'” As Sommers tells it, Clinton responded that she would continue to advocate for gun safety. “I felt this authenticity,” Sommers said. “I believe this woman is going to deal with this issue . . . that affects women all over this country.” Despite an intense national conversation about mass shootings and other forms of gun violence, this kind of connection between voter and candidate over gun policy was hard to spot in interviews at campaign events during the final countdown to the primary. Granite Staters showed more concern with jobs, health care and ISIS than about how – or if – firearms should be regulated. “Most people from New Hampshire want to do more for gun safety,” Sommers said. “They don’t know how to do it, but they do want it.” Perennial Subject New Hampshire is a rural state with libertarian tendencies. Outdoor recreation – hunting included – is big business, and the subject of gun policy is perennial in the state legislature, with lawmakers often preferring limited regulations. Clinton called for tighter restrictions on gun sales at a series of events late last year. And last week, many voters received glossy mailers from her campaign touting her endorsement from former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting in Arizona in 2011 and now advocates for gun regulations. Clinton also brought up gun laws at last Thursday’s Democratic debate with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I don’t think it was particularly progressive to vote against the Brady Bill five times,” she said, according to this transcript. “I don’t think it was progressive to vote to give gun makers and sellers immunity.” While it didn’t come up in the debate, Sanders has cited his low rating by the National Rifle Association in response to past questions about his voting record on gun laws. GOP candidates touch on the issue, too. During a visit in January, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz quoted the state’s “Live Free or Die” motto while promising to protect the right to own firearms. His fellow candidates, meanwhile, referenced the Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms, during Saturday’s Republican debate. Off Campaign Trail However, out on the campaign trail, a presidential candidate can get through an entire event without talking about gun policy. At the tail end of January, for instance, the GOP’s Ohio Gov. John Kasich talked to voters in a school cafeteria in Bow. He spent more than an hour fielding questions about college debt, terrorism, creationism, climate change, campaign finance and international relations. Guns never came up. In interviews before and after that Kasich event, female voters didn’t name gun policy as a top concern. When pressed, however, they acknowledged that it’s important to many voting in Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Republican Heather Denis, who is undecided, wants a candidate with strong ideas about combating terrorism and protecting national security. Terrorism also ranked high for Independent Anne Harris, who’s equally concerned about the economy. She described gun policy as a “big deal,” but isn’t sure what elected officials should do. “I can see both sides,” she said, standing in front of TV news trucks parked outside the school. Susan Moore, a Democrat, would like to see stricter enforcement of existing gun laws, but is more focused on environmental issues. Although she’s voting for Clinton, she attended Kasich’s event so she could ask a question there about climate change. Common Theme In interviews with female voters, a common theme emerged, even among women with very different political philosophies. They tended to support access to firearms while also calling for some level of regulation. “I’m for the Second Amendment,” said Nicole Fragos, a Manchester resident who’s supporting Sanders. “But there should be registration.” Lisa Mills, of Newfields, plans to vote in the Republican primary, although as of last week she was still researching what the candidates have to say about jobs, border control and Social Security. She supports access to guns and has applied for a concealed carry permit. “We all have the right to bear arms,” she said, adding that some safety precautions are appropriate. Mills was enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures in downtown Manchester last week, chatting in the sunshine with Beth Gentry of Milford. Gentry plans to vote for Sanders because of his views on civil rights, same-sex marriage and student loan forgiveness. When it comes to guns, though, she says laws can only do so much. “I don’t have a strong stance on guns,” she said. “I think commonsense approaches to what we put out on the streets are a good idea.” Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

THEA ROSENBAUM Veteran journalist Thea Rosenbaum has experienced firsthand some of the most vital parts of world history. Born in Germany during World War II, she later moved to the United States; she now lives in Cape Coral, Fla. Her book, "No Place for a Lady," details her successful career throughout the 20th century. POR ALISON BOWEN alison-bowen@womensenews.com When Glass Ceilings Chip, Get Ready for Break In Germany’s youngest and first female stockbroker for the NYSE and later its only war correspondent in Vietnam talks about how it happened. Good contacts and good timing helped. But she also jumped at opportunities. By THEA ROSENBAUM & POR ALISON BOWEN Employment December 31, 2014 (WOMENSENEWS)– The first time I heard the term "glass ceiling," I thought it was a good thing. I was a child, growing up in Germany, and a glass ceiling meant a grow house in a garden center. The glass allowed the warm sun to help plants grow without being exposed to harsh winds and cold. A glass house was a protective cloak to nurture me, not something that would hinder me. Boy, is she naïve, you might think. You are right, of course. To say that I grew up naïve is putting it mildly. Growing up, I never thought I was worse off than others, especially men. Men just did more manly things, like being a stockbroker. Women were the secretaries or assistants of those men. That is perfectly normal, I thought. Yet, for me I guess times were changing. In 1961, when I asked my boss what it took to become a stockbroker, he did not discourage me. In fact, he encouraged the other secretary in my office to try out for it too. We had a professor in the office who taught us all about the stock market, and I took courses at Frankfurt University. You had to pass two tests to become a registered representative. Bingo! I passed and became Germany’s youngest and only female stockbroker for the New York Stock Exchange. It even made the financial sections of the papers. That a mentor who was a partner of my company asked me to help him land a several million-dollar deal with a German bank was just a bonus. He taught me how to negotiate, and because I was so naïve, I had no fear to go to that German banker and talk him into the deal we wanted. Did I break a glass ceiling? I don’t know; maybe it just happened because I was there. The one thing I remember vividly is that I was willing to learn because I did not want to humiliate myself. War Correspondent When my husband went to Vietnam to eventually become bureau chief of ABC News, I went with him. It did not appeal to me to stay in these strange communities of left behind wives and girlfriends who clustered around various swimming pools in Singapore or Bangkok. Happy hour started at noon and ended the day with pathetic cocktail hours that lasted into the night. At least in Saigon I was close to the "action" and was allowed to go to the daily five o’clock follies and listen to military briefers who probably didn’t believe their own spiel. It was here that the German correspondent for Germany’s largest news agency asked my husband (of course, he wouldn’t ask me–why would he?) if I could fill in while he went on vacation. It wasn’t hard to slightly change the daily sermon into two little reports, after all. My husband said yes and told the man he should ask me! Of course, I said yes immediately, and when it was suggested that I fill in for three months while the correspondent was home on leave, there was no hesitation. I immediately started to do my own thing. My thing was writing in narrative form and sort of living a story, then writing about it. I strongly believe the only reason it worked was because I was a woman. A man couldn’t get away with it, but my stories sold like hotcakes. A male colleague told me once that he tried to write in the "I" form and almost got fired. He said it was too show-offish! But I didn’t have anything to lose; let them fire me. So did I break a glass ceiling? Maybe. I was the only female war correspondent in Vietnam for Germany and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (German Press Agency) sent me a contract within two weeks. The contract was open ended, too. Taking Chances, Learning Frankly, I was at the right place at the right time. You have to be willing to take chances and learn. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, but do the menial jobs like two little war reports from the afternoon briefings. When I was offered the job as senior producer for a large television network, I did not pretend to know it all. I listened to everybody who had something to say about the position, including sound technicians. We had one who told me in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t do anything without an assignment sheet in his hands. I did everything that was asked of me, including making coffee. You need to sweat the details. Don’t get distracted by your higher calling. Play the game, learn, be willing to do things that you believe are beneath a woman in today’s world. Be tenacious. Look at Diane Sawyer; I remember her when she was a reporter for the CBS morning news. Her thing was to ask a briefer to repeat everything for CBS news–clever, that made it sort of exclusive. Why didn’t I think of that? My philosophy is, if you can’t go shopping for your boss and come back with purchases he really can appreciate, or fix him a good cup of coffee, how can he trust you with bigger things? Swallow your pride and break that ceiling even if it is made of wind resistant glass. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. 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JENNIFER MERIN In addition to covering film for Women's eNews, Jennifer Merin writes the Cinema Citizen blog and is editor in chief for AWFJ.org, the website of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, a nonprofit organization of leading female film journalists in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. She is organization's president. She is also a member of the prestigious Broadcast Film Critics Association. ‘Colonia,’ About Pinochet’s Chile, is Brutal and Brilliant “Hostile Border” is also opening this week and it’s a thrilling meditation on the problem of identity for those breaching the U.S.-Mexico border. “Armenia, My Love” and “Echo Park” are also highly recommended. By JENNIFER MERIN Arts & Culture April 15, 2016 (WOMENSENEWS)—In the feast-or-famine world of women and movies, this week is a rich one. There are narrative films and documentaries. Some are independently produced and delve into compelling themes and issues. Others present important and entertaining stories that women care about. “Colonia” is a romantic thriller set in the Chile of ousted strongman dictator General Augusto Pinochet. It stars Emma Watson as Lena, a Lufthansa flight attendant who abandons her flight schedule to stay in Chile to find and rescue her lover, Daniel (Daniel Bruhl), a graphic artist and active supporter of Salvador Allende, the country’s socialist president who was ousted by Pinochet’s military coup. She finds that Daniel has been imprisoned in the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a cult settlement in the south of Chile, where dissidents are tortured into acquiescence or die. To infiltrate the cult, Lena pretends to be a nun, and submits to disciplinary cruelties; hard labor, denial of drinking water, beatings and terrifying emotional abuse. Daniel, meanwhile, has been severely tortured and is being kept in the segregated men’s quarters. When they connect, they must find a way out of the heavily guarded compound and a locked down country. Watson’s performance is stunning. Directed by Florian Gallenberger, the film is a brutal and brilliant account. It’s a hard film to watch, but it’s a must-see. “Hostile Border,” screenwriter Kaitlin McLaughlin’s femme-centric film about undocumented immigrants, has an unusual and interesting twist. The plot spins around a woman who’s been raised in the U.S. She gets arrested for credit card fraud and is deported to Mexico, a country where she never lived and can’t speak the language. She settles at her estranged father’s ranch, where she endures his constant criticism and demands while scheming to return to the U.S., which she considers her home. In addition to its thrilling plot, the film presents a harsh look at the hostile border between the U.S. and Mexico. There are six noteworthy female-directed narrative features releasing this week. “Armenia, My Love” is written and directed by Diana Angelson, who also stars in it. This heartbreaking drama follows one family’s harrowing experiences during the Armenian genocide of 1915 and shows how that heinous slaughter still haunts Armenians today. The film mixes remembered incidents, filmed in black and white, with current events shot in color. Although the film is about Armenia, it’s also an outcry against genocide everywhere. “Echo Park,” directed by Amanda Marsalis and written by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta, stars Mamie Gummer as Sophie, a soul-searching woman who trades the built-in comforts of a home and fiancé in Beverly Hills for Echo Park, an artsy neighborhood on the other side of L.A. Echo Park is like a character in the film, not just its setting. Sophie’s new neighbor Alex (Anthony Okungbowa) soon becomes her new best friend, and then her new heartthrob. But her mother doesn’t approve. The twists on that are fittingly complicated and quite interesting. Gummer’s nuanced and truthful performance is captivating, as is that of Okungbowa. “Wig’d Out” is a truth-based dramedy in which writer/director Kate Chaplin tells the story of Olivia Rusk, a pretty teenager who suffers from alopecia and is completely bald. Olivia is more accepting of her situation than is her mother, a former beauty queen who owns a beauty parlor and urges Olivia to wear a wig and win a pageant. Olivia prefers skateboarding and would rather win at the sport. The baldy vs. beauty theme, the teen angst and the inherent mother-daughter tensions are beautifully played out. This film’s balance between poignant and funny is just right “The Breakout: A Rock Opera” is director Jenn Page’s ambitious and entertaining femme-centric rock musical narrative about a group of high school misfits, led by Albert (Andre Myers), who rally to help one of their clique, Cara (Emma Farabee), who is being tormented by taunting classmates. Chris Edgar’s smart script puts into focus issues faced by teens, their families and teachers. The music and performances are terrific. “The Bandit Hound” is Michelle Danner’s delightful crime comedy about an adorable dog named Bandit, who is trained to steal money and valuables and can’t break the habit after he is adopted from the dog pound by a law abiding family. The plot is pure fantasy, and very entertaining. If you love cute animal videos on Facebook, you’ll have a great time with this laugh-filled feel good flick. “The Adderall Diaries” is writer/director Pamela Romanowsky’s cinematic adaptation of Stephen Elliott’s eponymous memoir. James Franco plays Elliott, the writer beset by memories of his troubled childhood and addicted to mood-altering drugs. It’s great to see a female director at the helm of a male-centric tale. But the film rambles and spins into too many subplots to really hit the mark. “The Syndrome” is filmmaker Meryl Goldsmith’s eye-opening documentary that debunks shaken baby syndrome by presenting leading forensics and biomechanics experts who say there’s no such thing and that hundreds of people have been wrongfully jailed for it. The main argument is that autopsies of infants whose cause of death has been listed as shaken baby syndrome show no injury to their necks. The whiplash that is supposed to have caused brain trauma must be transmitted through the neck. The film points a finger at three doctors who’ve built their careers on the notion of shaken baby syndrome and questions their motives and credibility. The film is a revelation. It’s a must-see. “The First Monday in May,” Andrew Rossi’s high-fashion documentary, takes a front-row seat at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute Gala, a.k.a. The Met Ball, where the glamorati gather to ogle each other and the haute couture displayed in the museum’s various classical art galleries. The frocks are fabulous, the cinematography is superb and the cast is a who’s who of top designers and other celebrities. Vogue guru Anna Wintour is on the scene, of course, curating and pontificating that fashion is art that uplifts “people.” The documentary makes it very clear, however, that “people” don’t get into this posh bash. So she might as well be saying “Let them eat cake.” If you are a fashionista, in fact or in fancy, you’ll favor this film. “The Jungle Book” is the latest riff on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale about Mowgli, and it’s pure Disney. In other words, the animation is spectacular and the entertainingly inspirational storyline covers many a mishap and near miss, but is never more than moderately threatening. Take the kids, and after the show take time to discuss with them life in the jungle, wild animal behavior and the responsibilities of growing up. Stay tuned for reviews of more April openers and movie news. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. 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LIZA GROSS Liza Gross is director of newsroom practice change at Solutions Journalism Network. Pro Mujer CEO: Client Safety Our ‘Secret Sauce’ Rosario Pérez helms a social enterprise for women that has disbursed more than $1 billion in small loans to women in Latin America. Here she talks about her organization, herself and a client base that has a strong drive for financial independence. By LIZA GROSS Employment July 30, 2015 NEW YORK (WOMENSENEWS)– Rosario Pérez, who describes herself as an “unapologetic feminist,” is president and CEO of Pro Mujer, a nonprofit devoted to providing Latin American women with financial and health services to help them break the cycle of poverty and become leaders in their communities. Since launching in 1990, Pro Mujer has disbursed more than $1 billion in small loans, all of which charge market- or below-market interest rates. The loans are for income-generating purposes only, such as purchasing equipment. Some clients may take out supplementary loans to cover such costs as education and health care. Pérez took over the leadership of Pro Mujer in 2008 following a 21-year career in private banking, where she held a number of senior leadership positions for J.P. Morgan Chase, culminating in becoming the executive in charge of its Private Bank Latin American division. In this role, she was responsible for overall client management and operating and financial performance from 1997 to 2005. Originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, Pérez received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Universidad de las Américas (Mexico) and a master’s degree in European history from Yale University. Women’s eNews recently caught up with Pérez at Pro Mujer’s headquarters here. 1. Many nonprofits support women in Latin America. What is Pro Mujer’s unique value proposition? Our secret sauce is that fundamentally we believe in our clients and we give them the support necessary so that they feel safe in our centers. Our main center provides moral, emotional and even educational assistance. More and more I am convinced that this psychological support is crucial…We place our trust in women even before they place their trust in themselves. Additionally, a unique element of our work is that from the get-go Pro Mujer offers an integrated intervention. Since 1990, we have provided services to 1.6 million women in the five countries in which we operate in – Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Taking into account that these women invest heavily in their families, I estimate Pro Mujer has benefitted between 5 to 6 million individuals. This may not seem an extraordinary number when you consider the total universe, but you must undertake this mission one woman at a time. 2. Can you describe what many Pro Mujer clients have in common? Financial empowerment is key for women in all social strata, but especially for the Pro Mujer clients, who fall into the category of what I call the triple whammy: they are women, they are poor and they belong to an indigenous group. These women face enormous challenges and spend their day trying to survive. But these women are also fighters. They don’t want to give up. What they need is to be given the opportunity. Their dream is to become financially independent of their partners. There is no national difference regarding this goal. We have conducted studies in Peru and Mexico and in terms of the objective there is no difference. What we see is degrees of marginalization between urban and rural populations, but the ultimate goal remains the same. 3. You spent many years as a corporate executive in multinational financial institutions. Describe your personal journey and your transition to the world of nonprofits. I had a great role model in my mother. She did not work outside the home, but she was a very strong woman. My father also encouraged me. Of their nine daughters, most of us went to college. I always knew I did not want to be one of those traditional affluent Mexican women who do not have a career. I always worked for big American multinationals and initially connected with Pro Mujer as a board member. I had frankly never considered applying when the job of CEO came open, but when founder Lynne Patterson offered it to me I was intrigued by the challenge of bringing business savvy to a nonprofit. I spent the first year learning about microfinance and learning about health issues. It was during that year that I truly understood the difficult dynamic of these women and the enormity of their struggle. I had known that in theory, but now I was witnessing it firsthand. With little we have achieved much. I have become a believer. 4. What’s next for Pro Mujer? We have a specific strategy we are implementing over the next three to five years. We are understanding more and more how we have to offer our services, where we can find the women who are change makers. We are developing a suite of programs. We have women who have been with us some 15 to 20 years. They need more sophisticated services, so we are creating a suite of products for each stage of life. We are also getting ready to enter a new country within the next three years. We have been considering Colombia, not only because there is a strong need, but because the entrepreneurial, economic and political environments are favorable. 5. What role can corporations play in this next stage? Corporations are key to achieving women’s financial empowerment. There is a lot of room for corporations to contribute to this goal in Latin America. I am convinced the biggest progress will come from that sector as soon as it realizes that promoting women internally is reflected in an improvement in the bottom line. If we want to move the needle for all women, Pro Mujer clients and others, we need to focus on corporations. The multinationals are already doing a fairly good job, but we must also look at the big, locally owned companies. Pro Mujer wants to put out the message, to corporations and everyone else, that the world can’t be peaceful, productive, inclusive and just unless women are equally at the table. Not more than men. Just equal. Would you like to Send Along a Link of This Story? https://womensenews.org/2015/07/pro-mujer-ceo-client-safety-our-secret-sauce/ Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. 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HOA NGUYEN Hoa Nguyen, an editorial intern at Women’s eNews, is a Vietnamese native and a rising junior studying journalism at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. LGBT Pride Month 2016: Split in Two by Massacre in Orlando The Orlando shooting at the Pulse nightclub this month raised issues ranging from terrorism and Islamophobia to gun control and who is allowed to donate blood. By HOA NGUYEN Politics June 30, 2016 (WOMENSENEWS)— LGBT Pride Month 2016 was split in two halves, “before and after Orlando.” Until June 12, events had been rolling along on an upbeat note. Afterwards, the mood and context became more determined. The massacre in a gay nightclub in Florida claimed global attention as the country’s worst mass shooting in its modern history and brought simmering political controversies to a boil. Elements in the cauldron were hate crimes, terrorism, Islamophobia, gun control, who is allowed to donate blood and the elevated levels of violence directed against the LGBT community. On June 24 President Barack Obama, after visiting Orlando to deliver a speech in which he demanded Congress take action on gun control, named the Stonewall Inn in lower Manhattan a national monument as part of America’s national parks system. In a video statement, Obama said the designation celebrates the “richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit.” On June 26, New York City witnessed one of the world’s largest pride parades . Organizers estimate that more than 30,000 people marched and almost 2 million people turned out to watch the parade, according to press accounts. Sarose Klein was a contingent organizer for Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, from which she recently graduated. Before the parade Klein had concerns about security at the event, but she wasn’t worried about turnout. “This year out of all years, this is where we need to be,” she said. “We need to be here for ourselves and for anyone who has been affected by Orlando.” Because the killer was Muslim and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the massacre stirred a national discussion about religious tolerance and Islamophobia. In response, a Muslim woman who lives in Florida offered condolences from her Islamic family to the survivors of the victims in a segment aired on “PBS NewsHour.” Push for Gun Control The deadly attack at the Pulse nightclub also garnered national attention to the issues of gun violence, gay blood donation and LGBTQ rights for people of color. On June 22, 170 Democrats participated in a 24-hour sit in led by Rep. John Lewis on the House floor to push for gun control measures before breaking for a recess. They said they would take the issue to their districts and resume their efforts on July 5, when Congress resumes. The previous week, Democrats staged a 15-hour filibuster led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut three days after the rampage. Murphy spoke at length, and with outrage, about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting . Among other things, he cited the courage of Ann Marie Murphy , the teacher’s aide who sacrificed her life in an attempt to protect a 6-year-old student. The filibuster led to an agreement by party leaders to hold votes on gun measures but no new gun restrictions were passed. The Democrats’ proposal, meanwhile, drew criticism for reinforcing the controversial federal no-fly list. On June 25 a federal judge ruled the list unconstitutional . The episode also spurred The New York Times to take strong aim at the gun lobby in an editorial entitled “The N.R.A.’s Complicity in Terrorism .” In part because of the Orlando shooting, the stigma around gay men and blood donation also surfaced. In December 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revised its policies on blood donors by converting a virtual ban on gay men donating into a 12-month waiting period since a man’s last sexual contact with another man. Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado, who is openly gay, recently told CNN why he objected to the revision. Polis said there is no evidence that being gay raised your risk profile, and that using drugs and having unprotected sex were better screening criteria. The FDA responded saying the administration would reconsider existing regulations based on further research. Blood supply expert Brian Custer told Reuters that it might take years until the FDA makes adjustments for policy at this level. The fact that the majority of the Orlando victims were people of color also drew attention to the higher overall risks of violence on this community . Not First Massacre This was not the first massacre involving the LGBTQ community in the U.S. Forty-three years ago, an arson attack killed 32 people in Up Stairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans . The case drew little attention. Local authorities were silent, some family members were hesitant to claim the bodies of their loved ones because they were ashamed. Filmmaker Robert Camina tells the story in his documentary, “ Upstairs Inferno .” The Tony Awards for Broadway theater took place the night after the horrific event. Host James Corden began by giving a tribute to the victims . “Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality and gender is equal, is embraced and is loved,” he said, “Hate will never win.” Singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera released a new single called “Change” to raise money for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. The lyrics read, “who you love or the color of your skin shouldn’t decide how you will be treated.” Melissa Etheridge also wrote a song, called “Pulse,” in memory of the shooting. In the chilling aftermath of the shooting, pride organizers nationwide tightened security. Local authorities required more thorough bag searches and more police officers were assigned to control barriers, organizers of pride events in Houston, Chicago and Denver told ABC News . The morning after Orlando, police arrested “a heavily armed man” who was on his way to the Los Angeles pride parade though additional information on his motives was unclear. Later, the man was identified to be an Indiana resident fleeing to California in order to get away from a molestation charge in his home state. The pride parade carried on afterwards, with brief interruptions from trans activists demanding more awareness on transgender issues. PrideFest Milwaukee took place the weekend of the massacre and organizers wound up joining multitudes of vigils. The LGBT community around the world has shown solidarity with the victims. Among the parades in Europe, Vienna’s Rainbow parade on June 18 had the largest attendance of 130,000 people. In Berlin, The Brandenburg Gate was lit up in rainbow colors while Germans came together around the historical monument to show their support for LGBT members worldwide. Though in Turkey, Istanbul’s governor stopped the city’s Gay Pride Parade from taking place due to threats of violence . Reasons to Celebrate Before Orlando, there were some good reasons to celebrate. In late May, just ahead of LGBT Pride Month, the Department of Justice issued new guidelines under Title IX, to protect the rights of transgender students. The “Dear Colleague Letter” explains trans terminology in more depth and provides clarifications on handling cases of discrimination to ensure students are treated equally whatever their gender identity. This includes fair access to school facilities, with an emphasis on bathroom usage as the primary push for future educational programs and social activities. Boston Pride this year, held on June 11, drew robust support from such political leaders as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and the first openly gay attorney general, Maura Healey. New Jersey Statewide LGBT Pride celebrated its 25th year earlier in June. Organizer Laura Pople said in an interview with Asbury Park Press that after the U.S. Supreme Court victory a year ago making bans on same-sex marriage illegal, the focus would turn to lobbying for transgender restroom access and campaigning against bullying Leslie Gabel-Brett, director of education and public affairs for Lambda Legal , a New York-based nonprofit legal organization for LGBT people and people with HIV, says that while marriage equality was an important victory, there’s still an ongoing battle for LGBTQ equal rights. “Today we still don’t have an explicit federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, although various legal decisions are making it clearer that existing laws provide protection under sex discrimination,” said Gabel-Brett, also a co-editor of “ Love Unites Us: Winning the Freedom to Marry in America ,” an anthology released this month looking at the path to marriage equality. Besides the push for clearer language in existing legislation, she said other important issues include the fight for safe access to public accommodations, especially restrooms, fair access to health care, accountable police practices, more equitable policies for LGBTQ people living with HIV and the fight against gun violence. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now

SILVIA RODRIGUEZ VEGA This Mother’s Day, It’s Okay to Ask Yourself if Parenthood is Right for You In a world that expects young women to want to mother and birth children, how can people critically and honestly reflect on if parenting is right for them? By SILVIA RODRIGUEZ VEGA Commentary May 8, 2025 I always thought being pregnant was going to be a magical experience. While it has been incredible and mind blowing, it really has just been downright uncomfortable; backaches and extreme congestion are my main complaints. (Yes, I have it good, compared to those with nausea, vomiting, and other complications along the way.) On the topic, pop superstar Chappell Roan recently came under criticism after going on a podcast and stating that she is not interested in children at the moment because, “I literally have not met anyone who’s happy, anyone who has like, light in their eyes, anyone who has slept.” This sparked heated debates across social media platforms with parents and specifically mothers creating videos and posts to share their thoughts about motherhood. A video trend even went viral with the audio clip from the interview and mothers posting beautiful and fun moments with their children to counter Roan’s comment, they have no light in their eyes. As a first time mom-to-be, these comments were alarming and I wondered if the light from my eyes would also disappear or if there were other factors that contributed to the dimming of people’s light in motherhood. Then I remembered a study I had just read about a few days before, Nature , one of the top medical and scientific journals, shared the news on their website about a groundbreaking study published in Science on the true toll of pregnancy on the human body. As a result, drawing a picture of the most detailed account of pregnancy yet. In their report, accounts from over 300,000 births reveal the major physical, metabolic, and biological toll of carrying and birthing a child. With this huge data set of births, researchers took account of over 44 million physiological measurements revealing never before known information about what carrying and birthing a child actually does to someone. In their study, biologists took samples of urine, blood, and other tests from the time of conception to a year after giving birth. They found that the postnatal or postpartum recovery period is a lot longer than previously believed. In fact, a year after giving birth many of the markers that changed had still not returned to baseline levels. Even more so, some of those markers might not ever return to levels previous to pregnancy. Many are made to believe by society that one has to “bounce back or snap back” right after birth, but this study affirms ancient knowledge deeply embedded into cultures that know the 4th trimester is a sensitive time of recovery from the physical to the spiritual. From the traditional 40-day Mexican and Latin American cuarentena , to the “ sitting the month ” in Chinese culture, to Korea’s Sanhujori –the 3 week rest period following birth–many cultures know and practice the deep wisdom of slowing down to bond with baby, staying warm, not leaving your home, and having ancestral healing foods prepared by loved ones. These traditional practices can sometimes feel at odds with the hyper-individualistic and capitalistic culture of the United States, where fitting into your old jeans as soon as possible is culturally valued. However, this new study begs the question that Roan so directly posited, in a world that expects young women to want to mother and birth children, how can people critically and honestly reflect on if parenting is right for them? This moment of reflection and agency is crucial. I always knew I wanted to be a mother and birth a child, but the graduate school journey towards a Ph.D. and a tenure-track job pushed my parenting goals back, requiring lots of planning and funds to make the parenting dreams of my spouse and I a reality. My hope is that this Mother’s Day, young women are okay with asking themselves this very question and living in ways that ring authentic to where they are in their life’s journey, without shame or guilt. Take it from a pregnant person, it’s okay to question if this is right for you or not. Beyond the toll it takes on the body, there is a financial one too. Afterall, as some say Gen Z youth have expressed, “having a kid is a flex” because of how expensive it is to be pregnant, deliver a child either at a hospital or birthing center costing in the thousands of dollars, the very costly expenses required to raising a child, up to the cost of college are now estimated to be about $1.1 million dollars. And perhaps, if there were better support structures in place in the United States, from paid leave, postpartum care, affordable housing and food, child care for all, and a community or village that knew how to show up, mothering and parenting would most certainly be easier and more desirable. Whatever people decide to do with their lives and bodies, it is important to destigmatize those who aren’t able to or willing to put their bodies through this arduous journey or afford the costs of children. About the Author: Silvia Rodriguez Vega is an Assistant Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara and a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project at UCSB. Author Related Articles Subscribe to our newsletter Email* Sign Up You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Have a question? Contact us or review our privacy policy for more information. Series Loreen Arbus Accessibility is Fundamental Program Support Independent and Factual Journalism Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Donate Now