Welcome back Chaise Lounge readers and an especially warm welcome to our newest subscribers! This week’s newsletter covers strong women who kept their heads and saved democracy during an insurrection, an explainer on calcium supplements for post-menopausal women, a spotlight on women in the military, and commentary on the ways that schools can influence the social and emotional development of students. It’s a lot to process, so let’s get to it!
Celebrating strong women
The Women Who Saved the Electoral Ballots
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Senate’s Parliamentarian staffer who had the forethought during the heat of the insurrection last January 6 to secure the nation’s electoral ballots. The electoral ballots, which were the focus of the insurrection, were sitting on the Senate floor in three mahogany boxes awaiting counting when the insurrection started. This aide, who remains unnamed for security purposes, directed other Congressional staffers to help her take the boxes to a secure location so they could not be tampered with or destroyed by those participating in the insurrection. We are thankful that the Senate was able to continue the count later that evening. One day, when her name can be safely revealed, she will get the due respect she deserves in the annals of history.
The Smithsonian wants your help to include women on Wikipedia
If you are a regular CL reader, you may recall that a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the dearth of the inclusion of women on Wikipedia either as entries or editors. Well, now the Smithsonian is asking the public for help in adding information to the entries for 100 women scientists. The Smithsonian has collected Wikidata for all of these women scientists and is hosting an edit-a-thon today (Jan. 20). The idea is to take that data and add it to the Wikipedia entries. And of course, you can always edit entries any day!
Health
Should post-menopausal women take calcium supplements?
For years now, doctors have recommended that post-menopausal women take calcium supplements to ward off osteoporosis. But is that advice supported by the research? Dr. Jen Gunter recently shared a post in her newsletter indicating that there is a robust amount of research showing that calcium supplements, even ones with Vitamin D added, do not reduce hip fractures. Now, I do not get much calcium in my diet, so I will continue taking a low dose of calcium, but I am no longer going to take a large dose which can lead to kidney stones. If you have questions, I invite you to read the article and ask your doctor.
Female veterans lack treatment for PTSD
We know that medical care is already biased toward the male form as most research was done using male bodies as the default. But nowhere is the world designed more for males than in the military. From the difficulty of reporting sexual harassment or assault to just having a uniform that fits properly, women in the military are overlooked. And now that more women are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their service, female veterans are finding it increasingly difficult to find the psychological support they need. In an article in The Guardian, three women veterans discuss their difficult journeys back to mental health. Initially, their concerns were ignored or dismissed by psychologists and suffered for years before getting the kind of help they needed in the first place.
Culture
As a former educator, I can understand how difficult it is for schools to navigate the social-emotional education of students. While parents are the ultimate keepers of their child’s emotional health, many of the messages that children receive come from outside of the home. And because students spend so much time in school, the messages that school leadership sends are especially important. So when this parent posted this letter from the counselors of her daughter’s middle school offering to provide shapewear as a way to fight negative body image, I was surprised, to say the least. While I am sure that the counselors were well-meaning, they did not seem to understand that offering shapewear to adolescent girls is akin to telling them that their bodies are not okay the way they are, only reinforcing the “negative body image” that they are trying to fix. Perhaps they should offer free menstrual products instead?
Just for fun
I saw this chart on how to mansplain on Twitter from McSweeney’s and couldn’t resist sharing it.