Ladies, Pick Up Thy Power Tool

Provocative book worries about women giving up good careers to be trophy moms

(NEWSER) - The feminist generation gap gets a sharp appraisal in "The Feminine Mistake," the new book by Leslie Bennetts that questions why so many upscale young women are abandoning careers for children. Joan Walsh finds it a refreshing rebuttal to recent paens to motherhood, especially since Bennetts recognizes that status seeking is behind at least some of the so-called "opt-out revolution." More»

Those who work rotating shifts more likely to get disease: Study

(NEWSER) - Women who work a night shift at least a few nights a month are more prone to type 2 diabetes, according to new research. The longer they work such a rotating schedule, the greater the risk, reports USA Today . The women saw their type 2 diabetes rates spike 5% over one to two years, 20% over three to nine years, and 40% over 10 to 19 years when compared to women who worked day hours. More»

So much for girl power, writes Ruth Marcus

(NEWSER) - Just when Ruth Marcus was feeling good about the women in the 2010 race, Carly Fiorina had to make that catty comment about Barbara Boxer’s hair. Fiorina tried to laugh it off—“It sort of goes with the territory,” she told Greta Van Susteren. “No no no no no!” writes Marcus in the Washington Post . Attacking your opponent’s appearance never “goes with the territory,” no matter your gender. More»

Believe it or not, baby boys used to wear pink, too

(NEWSER) - If ever there was a color that stereotypically symbolized the feminine, it’s pink. But the history of the girly shade hasn’t always been so ladylike. Slate takes a look back:

• Financial Times: Its salmon-pink pages have turned “salmon press” into British shorthand for any newspaper business section.
• Boys' rowing: Teams at Eton and Westminster competed for the right to claim pink as their school color in the 19th century.
• Nantucket Red: The shade, which looks a lot like pink, became popular for preppy men and women in 1945.

Nancy Gibbs reflects on women's freedom to choose title

(NEWSER) - Not so long ago, feminism and convention waged a battle over titles—Miss, Mrs., and the young upstart, Ms. Though seemingly trivial, the question of whether a woman should have to specify her marital status in stating her name cut to the core of women’s place in society—and was never fully resolved, observes Nancy Gibbs. Twenty years after the New York Times, a staunch holdout, accepted "Ms," women continue to use all three. More»