Daughter of No Comment -- March 1999

[ DONC HOME ]

The arrival of Spring and the anticipated cherry blossoms will change the inside-the-beltway mood, at least until the next sleaze, sex and power scandal reminds us that business as usual here means that our work is far from over. Children's book author Beatrix Potter had wanted to be a scientist. When she wanted to show some of her lichen and fungus drawings to members of the all male Royal Botanic Gardens for technical consultation, they patronized her and commented on her bonnet. She wrote in her diary "They do not seem to be half sharp.". She finally did manage to have one of her papers read. It was "On the Germination of the Spores of Agaricineae," by Helen B. Potter. Of course, she couldn't read her own paper as only men were allowed to attend the Linnean Society of London. We are fortunate to have her books but she did not have the choice to pursue her passion. Dr. Helene Gayle of the CDC says "Our estimates are that a third of the people who are HIV-positive don't know it." More and more HIV hits the country's most alienated sectors. These are people who lack the resources and skills to demand proper treatment. The fastest growing group is African-American women, most of whom acquire the virus through heterosexual contact. Many are poor mothers who don't have the same organizational and political clout that pushed politicians, pharmaceutical firms and the scientific research establishment in the decade between 1984 and 1994. In this fight, time is the enemy because it favors the virus. And the gender pay gap is alive and well in medicine. Women Pediatricians earn 84%, Women Ob-Gyns earn 86%, Women Gastroenterologists earn 85%, Women Hematologists and Oncologists and Anesthesiologists earn 78% and finally women Cardiologists (invasive) earn just 58% of what their male counterparts do. Why is daughter not surprised? Nearly 25 years after a woman was raped and stabbed over 70 times by an intruder the Fort Lauderdale police arrested Clarence L. Mitchell, 43, in the brutal killing of Annie Mae Johnson. Hair and semen samples were taken at the time of autopsy (1975) and preserved on glass slides. DNA technology was not available at the time of the murder, and Mitchell long considered a suspect was arrested in the Florida State Mental Hospital. He had been convicted of other violent crimes. Kudos to the Broward Medical Examiners Office for excellent forensic police work. Dr Benjamin P. Sachs, chief ob-gyn at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston says that economics, not the best medical practice is driving the effort to lower Caesarean delivery rates. He had been a supporter of lower rates but he changed his mind because the statistics are showing a higher complication rate, especially uterine rupture, which puts both the mother and newborn at serious risk. Since 1985 to 1995 the uterine rupture rate has tripled which shows that the lower rate does not equal better medical care. All it seems to do is save money. Local women, Ceel Pasternak and Linda Thornburg, have a new series of books called "Cool Careers for Girls" published by Impact Publications of Manassas and available on line and at bookstores near you. Great gift idea for a teenager looking at her options. Both a discussion of beauty and how it is perceived play a big part in how sexual partners are selected (shiny hair, blond, hourglass shape etc.) Large breasts have always been strong attractors. As John Steinbeck observed "A visitor from another species might judge that the seat of procreation is in the mammaries." so preoccupied are men with the breast. As a quick look at the cover of any of the men's magazines will show: "Breasts-The triumph of Cleavage Culture".-Esquire. Daughter finds the words cleavage and culture in the same sentence an oxymoron. A Michigan teenager who impregnated his sister when she was 12 was sentenced to six months in jail and six months on an electronic tether and then will face deportation to his native India. The girl's family went to court to win the right to take her out of state for a late term abortion which is illegal in Michigan. Cardinal Aloysius M. Ambrozic of Toronto said that feminist theologians had helped to show "God not only as the master, not only as the creator but God as a friend, something that women appreciate, I think, more then men do." Thus, somehow explaining the church's refusal to ordain women and its continuation of treating women as uteruses above all. Daughter has heard too many priests trying to explain God to women. Now that Barbie is 40 she has been called the ultimate consumer. Professor Mary Rogers of the University of West Florida, says,."If we wanted to blame Barbie for anything it's that she's an icon of Shop till you drop, get as much as you can.'" Dr Darrick Antell a Park Avenue plastic surgeon, says that it would cost $58,760 to make a 40 year old woman look like Barbie. Former Microsoft game executive, Alex St. John says "Obviously the Barbie title (video game) has been wildly successful so there is a market for girls out there. But the market is still maturing and people haven't discovered what girls like yet." It may be too late for this area but snowshoeing is taking off as a low impact aerobic exercise that burns 1,000 calories an hour and can be done with others. "There is a very small learning curve--If you can walk, you can snowshoe." says Kathy Murphy of Stowe VT. Merging websites, HomeArts and women.com, reflect the battle for women Internet users. There are signs that the gender gap is closing with 47% Web surfers being women. HomeArts is targeted at women who don't work outside the home with lots of cooking and gardening, very much like women's magazines. Women.com focuses on women who are interested in entrepreneurship, finance, health and, of course, shopping. Market researcher, Anya Sacharow says, "Increasingly women are being viewed as heads of households and as making decisions for their families." Another surprise. Oh well, better a late understanding then never getting it. Researchers estimate that each year 32,000 American women become pregnant as a result of rape. A 1996 survey by The National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina estimated that about half of these women choose abortion; a few give the baby up for adoption. The rest-about 10,000 woman a year-give birth to and raise the babies conceived during rape. Emergency contraception, using standard birth control pills, "has been the standard care for sexual assault victims in hospitals for 25 years but many women don't know it is an option,--and many doctors have been in the dark about it" says Dr. Anita Nelson , medical director of the Women's Health Care Clinic at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. Studies show that when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, emergency contraception is 75% effective at preventing pregnancy. The pills have no effect if the woman is already pregnant. Since September there is the Preven Emergency Contraception Kit which is FDA approved and costs $20. Dr Nelson suggests women ask their doctors for a prescription to keep on hand. As she says "When the condom breaks, it can be right there." This protocol also needs to be available within the first 72 hours to women who have been sexually assaulted. In a test program Washington State pharmacies have been offering the treatment kits to walk in customers for $35. No prescription necessary. "We're absolutely floored by the demand ."says Don Downing of the Washington State Pharmacists Assoc. "We've clearly been underestimating the unmet need out there." They have a public service hotline number 1.888.NOT.2.LATE Dr. Richard J. Schmidt, 50, was convicted for attempted murder because he injected (and infected) his former mistress and office nurse, Janice Trahan, with AIDS infected blood which was also contaminated with hepatitis C. She had broken off their longtime affair because he would not leave his wife and marry her. I guess the Hippocratic Oath doesn't count in Louisiana or whatever happened to "first, do no harm?" The doctor from hell and his assistant deserve each other. Conde Nasts' Women Sports and Fitness magazine has a list of some actions for instant confidence so you can "RULE your world." Among them: Throw a punch, saddle a horse and put a condom on a partner."We are telling women how to have fun while being more active" says editor Lucy Danziger, "We had to fine tune the magazine because we realized the fitness aspect of sports was a lot more important than originally anticipated." Daughter understands. It is too difficult to know what women want. Try everything. Daughter felt very empowered the first time she changed a flat tire on her car.