This past week The New Agenda started to bring people to say that it’s not all right to take advantage of young women and girls by putting a petition up on their site asking that Roman Polanski be jailed for a crime that he committed in the ‘70s.
People that support Polanski’s charges being dropped have been arguing that it is a crime that took place so long ago that it should be forgotten.  They argue that the ‘70s was a time of promiscuity and lots of illicit drug use.
Should that …

Thanks to Phyllis Chesler for her article Mother of Dead Dallas Girls Calls Their Murder An “Honor Killing”
On New Year’s Day 2008, two beautiful young girls, Amina and Sarah Said were murdered by their father in so-called honor killings. Aasiya Hassan was beheaded earlier this year by her husband. As The New Agenda’s Amy Siskind has previously pointed out, many women’s groups have refused to address these acts of violence because they consider it a cultural issue rather than a woman’s issue.
Perpetuating the cycle of violence against women by placing …

My experience with “women in the workforce” is rather diverse.  I grew up in a household where my mother was a stay-at-home mom.  My older sister also has chosen to stay home with my nephew.  I also have a best friend who was never a stay-at-home mom.
An article by the New York Times shows that women who have chosen to stay home in the past are now re-entering the workforce due to financial hardships brought on by the recession.  My mother faced a similar situation and was forced to enter …

Several years ago I had a painting on display at a gallery. As an artist I like to hang back and listen to what people have to say about my artwork without having their opinions “tainted” by knowing that the artist is listening to what they say. One thing that I have always found particularly interesting is how a number of people can see the same image and interpret it as being or meaning a million different things.  In the end, what I, as the artist, intended to portray is …

The following appeared on PETA’s blog “The PETA Files.”  It refers to a new ad campaign put out by the non-profit organization:
Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian.
For most of us, summer is fading fast, but for residents of Jacksonville, Florida, bikini season lasts all year. What does the Sunshine State’s endless summer mean for PETA? Our phone lines ring off the hook with reports of “beached whale sightings.” Good one, guys.
Luckily, we know the secret to getting—and maintaining—a killer beach bod. Did you know that vegetarians are 20 to 30 percent …

Growing up, there was a distinct divide between the sexes in my family.  It is something that I didn’t really think about as a child, but I do remember watching as my aunts served my uncles their meals.  The men would sit around the table and eat while the women waited on them and put off eating their own meals till after the men were done.  At a very young age I was made to serve my single uncles who didn’t have wives yet.
At the time I thought nothing of …

Dr. Blandina Cardenas opening a T-Rex exhibit at UTPA
As many of us are well aware, women make up more than half (51%) of the population in the U.S.  Many of us are also aware that women are not proportionally represented in certain fields, case in point: Higher Education.
As a woman who has been part of the world of academia as both a student and employee, this particularl phenomenon has been pretty obvious to me.  I have never attended a university run by a female president.  Right now I am fortunate to work …

Many words have been used by the media to describe Latinas.  Among other things, I have heard us called “saucy,” “hot,” and “spicy.”  It’s enough to make one feel like a burrito.
There is a stereotypical way that the Latina woman is portrayed in the mass media and most of these portrayals have to do with looks rather than our abilities and knowledge, which is why it is exciting to see Latinas claiming a phrase used by Justice Sonia Sotomayor that portrays us in a positive light.
“…Wise Latina…”
When else have Latinas …

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily The New Agenda.
When I was 8-years-old my life still centered on dolls and toys.   As far as I know, boys in my age group were concerned about whatever was the latest action figure tied commercially to some cartoon, sports, or trading cards.
Since this is my recollection of childhood I found it particularly disturbing to read about an 8-year-old girl in Arizona who was sexually assaulted by four boys ranging in age from 9 to 14.  By all accounts …

While I was lecturing in a course on cultural and linguistic diversity required of individuals seeking their teaching degrees I inevitably got the a question about why a teacher couldn’t just see all her students as being the same and ignore their ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.  The simple (and sometimes not so simple) answer is that by ignoring these things you are ignoring a fundamental part of who the students in the classrooms are and devaluing the knowledge and background they bring into the classroom.
We also have to take care when …