Female ‘fat talk’ socially mandatory, study finds

Women are more conscious of their weight and their bodies as they grow older.

Researchers found out that the fat talk are common not only in middle school aged female but also in older females as well.

Denise Martz of Appalachian State University said:

“We have found in our research that both male and female college students know the norm of fat talk—that females are supposed to say negative things about their bodies in a group of females engaging in fat talk.”

Marts and her colleagues showed that 124 male and female college students were the respndents in the scenario describing three women engaging in fat talk. The test subjects were then asked to predict how a fourth female would respond to this discussion.

The findings showed the forty percent of male subjects and 51 percent of female subjects believed that the fourth female would self-degrade her body.

Explanation of this phenomenon was made by Martz to LiveScience.:

“Because women feel pressured to follow the fat talk norm, they are more likely to engage in fat talk with other females, hence, women normalize their own body dissatisfaction with one another.”

“If there are women out there who feel neutrally or even positively about their bodies, I bet we never hear this from them for fear of social sanction and rejection.”


“Females like to support one another and fat talk elicits support,” “An example would be one saying, ‘It's like, I'm so fat today,’ and another would respond, ‘No, you are not fat, you look great in those pants.’”

women

Hourglass figure for a woman is not what attracts

As women, we have thought that it is our 36-24-36 which makes us attract men.
We're wrong.

The New York University researchers found out that it is the swaying of hips that make the men take a second look.

This is how they conducted the study.

The team carried out a series of studies involving over 700 participants who were shown a variety of animations and videos of people moving.

Some showed shadow figures, where it was not possible to see if it was a man or a woman, while others obviously showed a man or a woman.

No matter which format was being used, the participants rated women or "female" figures as more attractive if their hips swayed as they walked, while men were more attractive if they had the characteristic shoulder movement.

The research also confirmed the waist-hip ratio assumption, with women's attractiveness being rated higher if their waist-hip ratio was small and men's being higher if their ratio was large.

But Kerri Johnson and Louis Tassinary who led the research, say their work shows attractiveness is not as simple as the difference between two measurements.

Writing in PNAS, the researchers said: "The body's shape and motion provoke basic social perceptions, biological sex and gender - ie masculinity or femininity respectively.

"The compatibility of these basic precepts predicts perceived attractiveness."

The team say their findings only apply to Western cultures, and other societies will judge attractiveness depending on their most prized feminine and masculine traits.

Dr George Fieldman, principal lecturer in psychology at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College said: "This is quite plausible.

"It's the movement which attracts, and not just the waist-hip ratio per se."

He added: "It would be interesting to see what the ideal combination of measurements and wiggle is."

women,psychology,study,feminine

Hugs aid women's hearts

We've been hearing about the good vibes that hugs, arms wrapped around the shoulders and offering shoulders to cry on do to people who need the assurance that things will be okay, that there are people who are there for easy reach.




A study conducted by the University of Carolina showed that hugs can aid women's hearts confirmed this wide belief.

Even the body chemical responsible for such a feeling was identified.

Except of the article says:

This study has reinforced research findings that support from a partner, in this case a hug from a loved one, can have beneficial effects on heart health."

She added: "British Heart Foundation researchers have already demonstrated links between a positive emotional state, such as happiness, and low levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

heart disease,Women,universtiy

Women's offices are dirtier than men's but men's wallets are dirtier than women's purse

According to the study conducted by the University of Arizona the reasons why women's offices are dirtier than the men's are:

1. Women use hand lotion more often.
2. They use make-up which absorbs germs.
3. Mothers are in contact with children who transmit germs.
4. Women bring and eat more snacks than men.

But the study also showed that men's wallet are dirtier than women's purses.


women,men

Harvard's First Woman President

The mistake of the former president was that he provoked other women professors in Harvard with his sexist comment that women had less "intrinsic aptitude" than men for science.

Now the oldest university in the US has named the first female president, Drew
Gilpin Faust.



Excerpt of the news:

Dr. Faust, the Dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, will become the university's 28th president on 1 July.

"She knows Harvard and higher education, and her interests extend to the whole of the university, across the arts and sciences and the professional domains," said James R Houghton, senior member of the Harvard Corporation and chair of the presidential search committee.

Harvard,Women,Gilpin Faust

Pretty Women, Life Stages and Relationship

Anna Nicole Smith died at age 39.

Life begins at forty and and it seems some pretty women never get to be born.

Marilyn Monroe-Actress, Playboy model 1926-1962 =36 years old



Cause of death: Her death was ruled as an overdose of the sleeping pill Nembutal. Several conspiracy theories have surfaced in the decades after her death, some involving President John F. Kennedy and/or Robert Kennedy. There is also much speculation that her death was accidental, but the official cause of death was "probable suicide" by acute barbiturate poisoning.

Her quote:

In Hollywood a girl's virtue is much less important than her hairdo. You're judged by how you look, not by what you are. Hollywood's a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty.

Dorothy Stratten - Actress, Playboy model 1960-1980




Death: Murdered by Paul Snider, her estranged husband

Edith Minturn "Edie" Sedgwick (April 20, 1943 – November 15, 1971) was an American actress, socialite, debutante and heiress who starred in many of Andy Warhol's short films in the 1960s.



Death: Michael Post, her husband brought her home from a party where she was attacked by a drunken guest who called her heroin addict. Before they both fell asleep, he gave her the medication that had been prescribed for her. When he awoke the following morning at 7:30, she was dead. The coroner registered her death as "Accident/Suicide" due to a barbiturate overdose. She was 28.

Marilyn Monroe,pretty woman, wisdom,quotes

Anna Nicole Smith-woman,life stages and relationships

Life begins at forty. Ana Nicole Smith was not born yet before she died yesterday.
She dreamed of being Marilyn Monroe and she died just like her.


Photocredit:AP
Life Stages :

Name: Vickie Lynn Hogan
Birth: Nov. 28, 1967, Houston, Texas

1969: Parents divorced
1983: Quits high school, works as a waitress in Jim's Fried Chicken
April 4, 1985: At age 17, married 16-year-old fry cook Billy Wayne Smith
they have a son, Daniel Smith VIII.

Jan. 22, 1986 -Gave birth to Daniel Smith VIII
Mid-1986: Left the husband and returned to Houston.
Worked at a Wal-Mart, restaurant and topless at strip clubs.

October 1991: Met Texas oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall II while dancing at a Houston club.

February 1992: She filed a divorce from Billy Smith.

March 1992-Debuted on the cover of Playboy
May 1992- featured as the Playboy'scenterfold in May.

November 1992: Signed a three-year contract to be the new model for Guess jeans, also adopted her new name, Anna Nicole.

1993: She became the Playboy's Playmate of the Year.

Feb. 12, 1994: Was hospitalized for mixing prescription drugs and alcohol.

June 27, 1994: Married Howard Marshall II. She was 26; he was 89.

January 1995: Marshall became seriously ill. Legal fight between Smith and Pierce ensued when he cutoff her spousal support of $50,000 a month.

Aug. 4, 1995: J. Howard Marshall II died of pneumonia at age 90. Spousal support fight unresolved.

November 1995: Smith was hospitalized again due to adverse reaction to prescription medication.

February 1996: Filed for bankruptcy in California.

Sept. 27, 2000: A California judge issued a $450 million ruling for Smith against E. Pierce Marshall, later raised to $474 million.

March 7, 2001: A Houston jury ruled that Smith is not entitled to half the estate of her late husband, and that his sole heir is his son.

March 2002: The U.S. District Court judge awarded Smith $88 million of J. Howard Marshall's oil fortune, concluding that Smith deserves half the investment income Marshall earned during their marriage, plus $44 million in punitive damages resulting from the younger Marshall's attempts to cut her off.

Aug. 4, 2002: Premiere of "The Anna Nicole Show," the E channel reality series in which a camera followed her through her everyday routine.

October 2003: Became a spokeswoman for TrimSpa diet pills.

Dec. 30, 2004: A federal appeals court in San Francisco overturned Smith's $88 million inheritance award.

Feb. 28, 2006: Attended her hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court demurely dressed in black and avoiding making any statement.

May 1, 2006: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Smith can pursue her late husband's fortune, overruling the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ruled that federal courts could not handle Smith's case.

Sept. 7, 2006: Gave birth to baby girl named Dannielynn Hope in the Bahamas.

Sept. 10, 2006: Smith's 20-year old son, Daniel Smith, died in his mother's hospital room in the Bahamas.

Sept. 26, 2006: Lawyer Howard K. Stern says he is the father of Dannielynn. The next day, an ex-boyfriend, photographer Larry Birkhead, says he is the father. Subsequent lawsuits filed.

September 28, 2006: Smith and Howard K. Stern exchanged vows and rings in an informal commitment ceremony aboard the 41-foot catamaran Margaritaville off the coast of the Bahamas.

photocredit: Getty Images
Nov. 7, 2006: Smith is discharged from a weeklong stay in a Bahamas hospital, where she received treatment for pneumonia and a collapsed lung.

Dec. 21, 2006: The Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that Smith must bring Dannielynn to California for a paternity test. That ruling was temporarily blocked, and remains pending.

Feb. 8, 2007: Smith died in Florida at age 39.

Lady Astronaut in love, kidnaps fellow astronaut

This is not a movie. This is in real life. If you are stunned, don't. As Balise Pascal had said " Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves."

This is an excerpt of the news:

A US astronaut has been charged with trying to kidnap a woman she thought was a rival for the affection of a space shuttle pilot.

Navy Capt Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew to the international space station last July, was charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and other crimes.

She drove from Texas to Florida to confront Colleen Shipman, disguised in a wig and trench coat.

Read the entire story here.


women,lady astronauts

One small step for man, one giant leap for womankind

Only few people know that there are lady astronauts. In the man's world, who would think that there are women who have already been to space, commandeered a shuttle and the latest news is about a woman who made a record in spacewalking.

U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams has now spent more time in space than any other woman, setting the record on Sunday as she and a crew mate upgraded the international space station's cooling system.

Williams broke the previous female spacewalking record of more than 21 hours when she and Michael Lopez-Alegria completed the second of what could be a precedent-setting three spacewalks in nine days.

The new record is 22 hours and 27 minutes.

Read the entire story here.

women,lady astronauts

Heart Disease of Women

My long time friend and neighbor died of heart disease last week. It was enlargement of the heart. She often complained of shortness of breath after walking a few distance. First, it was attributed to lack of exercise since she drove everyday from her place. She took long walks after that but the feeling remained the same and it even had gotten worse.

Examination diagnosed her to have a heart condition that needed surgery. So she came to the States but did not get the opportunity to be operated on. By her looks, you would not see that she is suffering so much.

This news article made me ponder of her death at a young age.
Heart disease often misdiagnosed in women


Excerpt of the news:

When Jean Horgan complained of heart palpitations, her doctor told her it was just nerves.

"I was told, 'Go home and take tranquilizers. You'll be fine, you're under stress.' "

Much later, another doctor -- one specializing in women's health -- ordered an echocardiogram, an ultrasound test of her heart. The EKG showed Horgan had a heart condition, and she needed medication.

When Phyllis Cruz went to the emergency room, she told the nurse she felt as if she was having a heart attack. She said the nurse didn't believe her.

"I said to her, 'But I have pain, chest pain. I can't breathe.' She said, 'Well, there's a lot of people here. Sit down.' "

Six hours later, Cruz also was given an EKG. It turned out she did have a heart attack.

Number of Pregnant Women from Mainland China Limited

Effective today, February 1, the rule limiting the number of pregnant women from Mainland China is going to be implemented.

Lately, there was an influx of pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong's hospitals.

I did not know that the one child policy in China is still enforced. This law penalizes a family with more than one child with a fine of $10,000 or forced abortion for the unwanted pregnancy.

With this high penalty, women with means most likely prefer to spend only one third of this amount to give birth in a Hong Kong hospital where immigration law grants Hong Kong citizenship to the newborn.

Read the entire news here.

Excerpt of the news particularly the new rules :

In future, any pregnant woman coming from China without a hospital booking will be turned back at the border.

The rules are due to take effect on 1 February.

Hospitals in Hong Kong are setting up a centralised booking system to give priority to local women, and impose a quota on the number of mainland mothers allowed in.

Charges for mainland women to give birth in Hong Kong will also be raised.

women,Hongkong,pregnancy

Long Suffering Wife got the Public Apology

"Perhaps your partner is stubborn, or not hearing what you are saying. Have you been silently sulking in the hopes they will see the error of their ways? The 'guilty party' probably doesn't think they are guilty."

These were the statements of the wife of the former Italian prime minister Berlusconi who asked for a public apology from her husband for hurting her when he openly flirted with two ladies.

Excerpt of the news:

She explained that it was with difficulty that she had broken her habitual reserve. "During the course of my relationship with my husband I have not given space to conjugal conflict, even when his behaviour has been such as to merit it."

But now that her children are grown, it's important to set an example as a woman "able to protect her own dignity in relationships with men".

Because the husband made the public apology, did it mean that he's still in love with the spouse from he was living separately?

Italy,women,prime minister

Japan's Health Minister called women child machines

When I was younger, I used to hear some folks said "Bearer of the Race" when they refer to women who had huge butts.

But when Japan's health minister has referred to women as "birth-giving machines" in a speech to a local political meeting, this is something derogatory to women.

Excerpt of the news:

Hakuo Yanagisawa called for women to do their best to bear children in order to counter Japan's plummeting birth rate and rapidly ageing population.

"Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head," he said.

He added: "Although it may not be so appropriate to call them machines."

History tells us that women in Japan do not enjoy the same privilege as those with women in other races. They have been treated as second class citizens but I just thought that the new generation is different from the old ones.

OPRAH WINFREY opened a school in South Africa

Oprah is one of the women I admire. Her rags to riches story inspires women all over the world to dream and make the dream come true.

This article in BBC, shows how this woman became the first woman billionaire in the planet Earth.

OPRAH WINFREY

This week a new school opened in South Africa. In a country where a serious skills shortage is hampering economic growth any boost to the education system is welcome. However, two things are special about the Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg.

Firstly, it has been set up to give an education to girls from poor families and, secondly, it has been founded and funded by the American TV star Oprah Winfrey whose own start in life mirrored that of the pupils she is now trying to help.

Winfrey is now a household name, host of a programme that has become the highest rated talk show in television history where public confession has become a form of therapy.

Her success as TV star and actress has brought her great wealth and influence. According to Forbes magazine she was the richest African American of the 20th Century and is one of the only black billionaire on the planet.

Her opinions can create market swings and influence public behaviour. An off-the-cuff remark about a burger during the BSE crisis led to her being sued by the Texas cattle industry for depressing the sales of beef. She won the resulting court case

Behind all the wealth and fame was a childhood of poverty and abuse. Born in rural Mississippi to two unmarried teenage parents, her early years were spent with her grandmother, a devout Baptist, who did not hesitate to use a switch on the young Oprah if she misbehaved. By the age of six she was back with her mother where, according to her own story, she was subjected to sexual abuse by members of her own family.

She rebelled in her teens and admitted to a number of promiscuous relationships, one of which resulted in a pregnancy at the age of 14. The child subsequently died.

Former beauty queen

The turning point in her life was the decision to return her to her father, Vernon, in Tennessee. He insisted she go back to school where she thrived, becoming an honours student and winning a scholarship to the State University where she studied communications and got her first media job at a local radio station. She appeared to have a clear idea of where she wanted her life to go.

An early boyfriend is quoted as saying that Oprah "knew what she wanted very early in life. She said she wanted to be a movie star. She wanted to be an actress, worked hard at it, and when her ship started to sail, she got aboard."

It was not surprising that she quickly got snapped up by television. She was clever, witty and, as a former winner of the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant, she looked good on screen.

After hosting shows on local TV she moved to Chicago in 1983 to take over an ailing mid-morning chat show. Within months it was extended to a full hour and renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In 1986 it was broadcast across the United States. Time magazine later attempted to discover the reason for this success. "In a field dominated by white males, she is a black female of ample bulk," it said. "What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humour and, above all empathy"

Hands on involvement

In 1998 Winfrey set up a charity to encourage help for the disadvantaged around the world. On a 2004 visit to South Africa she donated equipment, and clothing to poor and Aids-affected children in the townships. Nelson Mandela asked her if she would provide support for children whose parents were too poor to afford education and the result was the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

Winfrey did not just fund the school, she became personally involved in the planning and design and even interviewed some of the applicants for places. "I really became frustrated with the fact that all I did was write check after check to this or that charity without really feeling like it was a part of me." she told Newsweek magazine.

Poverty in Africa brings out a variety of responses. For another megastar, Madonna, help meant plucking one child from a village in Malawi and giving it all the advantages of a wealthy upbringing in the West.

Some have argued this has done nothing for the thousands of children left behind. Winfrey takes a different point of view driven by her own childhood experiences and the belief that, given the opportunity, anyone can make a success of their life. In her own words, "It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you - always."

Oprah Winfrey,women,celebrities

Female Intuition Questioned

It is the popular belief that women's intuition is stronger than that of men.
However, this study conducted by the University of Hertfordshire which used about 15,000 people to find out the if there is a significant difference between gender's intuition proved otherwise.

Personally, I am not convinced that making use of smiles recognition as a gauge for female intuition is not enough to conclude that men's intuition is better than that of women.

Read the findings and the conclusion in this news article.


Female intuition 'questionable'
Contrary to popular belief men may well have the edge over women when it comes to intuition, research suggests.

Asked to separate fake and genuine smiles, men were correct 72% of the time, compared with 71% for women.

Volunteers were also asked to rate how intuitive they thought they were, with 80% of women rating themselves highly intuitive compared with 58% of men.

The University of Hertfordshire asked about 15,000 people to look at smiling faces and pick out the "real" grins.

The gap was widest when the participants were asked to look at faces of the opposite sex.

Men spotted 76% of women's fake smiles, while women only identified 67% of men's false smiles.

More in touch?

Research leader Professor Richard Wiseman, of the university's psychology department, said the findings questioned the notion of female intuition.

"Some previous research has found evidence for female intuition, but perhaps over time men have become more in touch with their intuitive side," he said.

The study was conducted online and at events organised for the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Participants were asked to complete a short questionnaire on intuition, allowing researchers to examine the types of people who are especially good at recognising emotions in others.

Certain parts of each face were masked in the pictures, to help discover which provide most information.

It suggested genuine smiles involve the muscles around the eyes, producing crows' feet around the corners, whereas a fake grin only involves the mouth.

women,
research