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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: gender roles

gender roles stories: 19 news summaries
raunch culture

 Boys 'Pornified' From Birth 

Males encouraged from birth to be sex maniacs

Nov 11, 09 1:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Lyn Brown and Sharon Lamb determined in their 2006 book Packaging Girlhood that our culture conditions girls early on to behave as sexual objects. But what about boys? In their new book, the researchers take a look at the other side of the playground and find that the “stark... More »

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gender • marketing • gender roles • boys • deodorant • porn industry

Men More Likely to Abandon
Sick Partners

Seven times as many women stay when serious illness strikes

Oct 15, 09 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Relationships fail seven times more often when illness strikes the female partner than when it strikes the man. Researchers don't know why, but theories abound: “There is an immediate shift in a relationship when an illness is diagnosed,” a counselor tells the Times of London. Gender roles... More »

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cancer • divorce • disease • women • men • marriage • multiple sclerosis • chronic illness • gender roles • relationship • scientific study • medical study • terminal illness

(Newser) - The gender stereotypes found in the toy aisle may merely be a reinforcement of genetic preferences, the Daily Mail reports. In a recent study of infants aged 3 to 8 months, boys expressed more interest in a toy truck, whereas girls preferred a doll—leading researchers to believe the predilection... More »

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toys • gender roles • scientific study

 Obamas' 
 Marriage 
 Once 
 'Frosty' 

He was too ambitious; she was cold and ungrateful, says new book

Jun 3, 09 2:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - It may be hard to believe now, but Barack and Michelle Obama have weathered "frosty" times in their marriage because of politics, according to a new book. During a painful stretch in 2000 "there was little conversation and even less romance," said Renegade author Michael Wolffe, who... More »

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Barack Obama • parenting • politics • Michelle Obama • White House • marriage • gender roles • Malia Obama • Sasha Obama

OPINION

 Men Are the 
 New Old Maids 

Women take practical, less romantic view, author writes

Jan 30, 09 2:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Forget single women—men are the real hopeless romantics, writes Liz Hoggard in the UK's Evening Standard. "Trust me, men are the new spinsters," she says. "They dream of being married to The One," but that "one" must be a mother, a wife, and a... More »

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London • sex • gender roles • dating • relationship

 Critics Rip Pope's 
 'Homophobic' Speech 

Pontiff's call for defense of gender roles seen as stoking homophobia

Dec 24, 08 7:51 AM CST
(Newser) - Gay and Christian groups have slammed Pope Benedict XVI's remarks that defending the “natural order” of man and woman is as important as protecting the rainforests, the Times of London reports. British Catholic leaders have countered that the pontiff didn’t explicitly mention homosexuality in his annual Christmas speech,... More »

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gender • Pope Benedict XVI • homophobia • Catholic Church • homosexuality • Catholicism • gender roles • clergy • gays

 Pope: Save Rainforest 
 —and Heterosexuality, Too 

Benedict's Christmas message decries erosion of 'traditional' gender roles

Dec 23, 08 8:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI used a Christmas address today to call for a defense of heterosexuality, which he suggested was as endangered as the rainforest.  He called homosexuality and deviance from gender norms "a destruction of God's work." The pontiff said "the tropical forests do deserve our... More »

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gender • Pope Benedict XVI • Catholic Church • transexualism • religion • homosexuality • gender roles • gays

Salary Gender Gap May Be All in Your Head

Traditional-minded men outearn supporters of equal pay

Sep 22, 08 12:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not only is the gender gap in pay persistent, it affects men as well as women. Men with traditional views on a woman's place in the world earn, on average, $12,000 more per year than men who believe in egalitarian business practices, the Washington Post reports. Traditionally minded women... More »

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wages • salary gap • gender roles • gender bias • psychological research • gender in business

 Single Men Seek Fatherhood,
 Partner Optional

Unattached males are choosing solo parenthood over childless lives

Sep 7, 08 5:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - The ranks of do-it-alone dads are increasing, and many of these men are becoming single fathers by choice, reports the New York Times. There are no specific statistics, but evidence suggests that both gay and straight single men are increasingly seeking fatherhood. “I absolutely would want a partner, but... More »

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adoption • fatherhood • parenting • gender roles • single parenting • surrogates • single father

'Radical' Muslim Woman Can't be French Citizen

Officials say religion doesn't jell with French values like sex equality

Jul 12, 08 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - France has rejected a Muslim woman’s application for citizenship because her “radical practice of her religion” doesn’t fit French values, especially in terms of gender equality, the Guardian reports. Faiza M., who wears a burqa, speaks French and lives in Paris with a French national husband and... More »

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Islam • France • gender roles • Muslim women • burka

Facebook to Ask Users to Specify Gender

But site remains sensitive to those who find gender limiting

Jun 27, 08 3:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Facebook announced a seemingly minor change today: Users will soon be prompted to specify a gender for their “mini-feed” updates. The site has been using the awkward “themself” to avoid gender specificity, but Facebook managers say that doesn’t work so well when the site is translated into... More »

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gender • social networking • Internet • Facebook • translation • gender roles • Genderblind

OPINION

 Why White Men Are
 Warming Up to Hillary 

Is Clinton drawing more male voters because she's jumped the gender divide?

May 9, 08 10:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - When a woman makes it to the White House, it will be thanks largely to Hillary Clinton's demonstration of late that she could move beyond annoying stereotypes of the strong female, writes Susan Faludi in the New York Times. Instead of being a goody-goody rules-pusher—"the purse-lipped killjoy... More »

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Hillary Clinton • fight • gender politics • gender roles • male voters • glass ceiling

Japanese Women Turn to 'Geisha Guys'

Hot 'accessories' earn their pay with flattery,  companionship

Apr 7, 08 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - A new breed of companion is the rage in Japan, entertaining women with lavish compliments, conversation and undivided attention—the male geisha. Businesswomen pay upwards of $1,000 a night for these men, CNN reports—with, industry reps say, nothing physical being exchanged. Hundreds of such services have sprouted across... More »

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gender • Japan • business • gender roles • geisha

She Does All the Talking, Ergo, He's Not a Man

We don't like couples that break with gender roles, study finds

Dec 4, 07 8:23 PM CST
(Newser) - The fairer sex should also be the quieter, according to a new study that found both sexes look more harshly upon couples in which she does the talking. Gender equality be danged, "We have these gender stereotypes where we expect men to be dominant," the lead researcher told... More »

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women • women's rights • gender roles • gender stereotypes

Boys Drool, Chicks Rule Fall TV

Sep 13, 07 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gone are the days of Magnum PI and McGuyver. This fall's primetime lineup is dominated by female characters who are successful, tenacious, and confident—while male counterparts are almost universally sniveling in the corner. But even as she applauds the turning of TV's gender tables, Salon's Rebecca Traister questions the... More »

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television • women • gender roles • Carpoolers • Cavemen

Dutch Gov't Courts More 9-to-5 Women

Daycare program aims to get moms working; won’t conquer guilt

Sep 8, 07 2:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Dutch government is working to get women working. A new law mandating that schools must provide afternoon childcare is meant to raise the number of mothers in full-time jobs, the Economist reports. At 66%, the Netherlands has a higher than average female workforce among European countries, but 61% of... More »

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parenting • women • Netherlands • mothers • gender roles • daycare • working mothers

China to Punish Parents Who Abort Girls

Families' desire for boys is creating gender imbalance

Aug 25, 07 2:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - China is designing new rules to stop parents from aborting female fetuses, the BBC reports. Parents are currently allowed only one child and often abort girls, worried that they won't be able to support the family. This back-room practice is creating a growing gender imbalance: Now Beijing plans stricter punishments... More »

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China • abortion • sexism • discrimination • children • gender politics • gender roles

Girls Think Pink, Naturally,
Study Finds

Women's attraction to redder hues linked
to evolution

Aug 21, 07 3:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Shocking news: Girls love pink. That love might not just be cultural—but linked to evolutionary development, researchers  in a new study have concluded. Pink may have helped ancient women recognize ripe fruit and healthy men with ruddy faces, while both genders yearned for the blue of open skies and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gender • human evolution • gender roles • biology • girls • pink

Dads Move in
on Baby Market

As fathers get more hands-on, baby gear is getting less female

Aug 16, 07 8:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - As fathers continue to take a more active role in raising their children, the market for baby gear has become less mom-centric, the New York Times reports. And it's not all fishing vests with hidden diaper changing pads. Recent dad-born inventions include computerized baby timers and a nipple adapter that... More »

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marketing • baby bottle • children • parents • raising children • gender roles • inventions • father • Dadgear

19 Stories


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