Change is Inevitable
An update from the author
Welcome back Chaise Lounge readers! So happy to have you back this week. As the title of this week’s post hints, some changes are afoot at Chaise Lounge. I will be changing the format of the newsletter for the next few months so that I can focus on a personal writing project. Instead of having an in-depth article on a specific news item, I will be giving you a list of news items related to issues important to women with some brief commentary. Similar to the “News Updates” section you are used to but expanded. I will also share a What I’m Reading section. I encourage you to send me ideas for this section in particular. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a shoutout! Once my project is completed, I plan to be back to writing long-form pieces again. I would love your feedback on the new format!
News to read on your chaise lounge
High school students are barred from games after taunting female goalie
Fortunately, there is a new headline following the despicable behavior of students who attended a high school hockey game where they chanted obscenities at a female goalie. According to an AP News report, “The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League on Thursday barred Armstrong students from River Hawks hockey games and placed the school’s team on probation for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, including the playoffs. Siblings of varsity players can attend only if they enter and sit with a parent or guardian, and the school must provide a faculty member or administrator at each home and away varsity game to serve as a monitor.” However, the school’s administration has not revealed whether the students involved in the chanting were suspended or otherwise punished.
Michigan becomes the twenty-third state to ban tampon tax
Michigan joined Louisiana and Vermont this year to become the twenty-third state to eliminate taxes on menstrual health items. For my local readers here in North Carolina, a bill was filed this session but was stuck in committee. As I have written on the issue of period poverty before, this movement is gaining steam, but not quickly enough for the one in five women who cannot afford period products. Adding insult to injury, WIC and SNAP funds do not allow people to buy period products with that money. Think about that, if you are poor enough to qualify for WIC or SNAP, surely you need assistance to purchase necessary products.
Kellogg’s will offer paid leave to workers who experience miscarriage, fertility treatments, or menopausal issues, but…
When I first read that Kellogg’s was offering paid leave for miscarriage, fertility treatments, and menopause, I was very excited. I thought that Kellogg’s must be a very forward-thinking corporation. But then I realized that these benefits are only for their workers in the United Kingdom. It’s a good start, but I am wondering when they will extend these benefits to their American counterparts?
What I’m Reading
From Slate: The Mississippi Abortion Case Threatens the Right to Use Birth Control, Marry, and Even Make Choices About Sex
This article is frightening in that it explains the 14th amendment arguments the plaintiffs in Dobbs v. Whole Women’s Health and how, if approved, protections for same sex or interracial marriage, who you have sex with, and birth control access could all be up for future arguments. The brief, put forth by a former clerk of Justice Thomas and Jonathan Mitchell, the designer of Texas’s SB 8 bill, argue that in addition to overturning Roe, the Loving, and Obergefell cases were also wrongly decided.
From BizEd: Gender Diversifying the Curriculum
This article recommends business schools update their curricula to include female owned businesses, and not only businesses in the “pink” industries. With the majority of cases studies and other materials along with guest speakers being male, the authors argue that it is time for serious changes. And they deliver with a long list of ideas for ways for business schools to make changes.
Fiction: A Very Nice Box, by Eve Gleichman & Laura Blackett
As I read A Very Nice Box, I frequently asked myself where this book was going. But I didn’t linger long on the question because I was curious enough to just keep reading. I don’t know when I have read another book that had so many themes running through it. From dealing with grief to poking gentle fun at self-help, to romance, to men’s rights groups, to environmental issues, this book had it all. And written in a lighthearted tone, it is hard for the reader to get bearings on exactly what this book is. And the ending completely took me by surprise! Very clever and it will keep you thinking!