Care Ethics and Patriarchy: The Importance (and Burden) of Caregiving

Theories of morality have been at the forefront of humanity’s philosophical discourses for millennia. Throughout our history, we have developed a significant number of theories aimed at determining what is right and wrong, and how one should live with respect to that morality. While many of these theories were developed and discussed hundreds of years …

Menstrual Hygiene Equity in U.S. Women’s Prisons and Jails

Menstrual equity, or the understanding that to have an equitable society everyone who menstruates should have access to quality hygiene products that are safe and affordable, has been seriously overlooked. In the US, approximately two-thirds of low-income women struggle to afford menstrual products.[1] This issue could be partially addressed through the removal of the sales …

Waist Trainers and The Controversial Revival of the Corset

Beauty practices around the world rise and fall as time goes, each one meaning something different for women. The fall of corsets led to girdles, and then to Spanx; now, "waist trainers" are being promoted by popular celebrities across social media, leading to a revival of the corset in mainstream fashion under a different name.      …

Can War Language Rhetoric During COVID-19 Help Elevate Women?

2020 is (finally) in our rearview mirror. As we prepare resolutions for the New Year, we might be reflecting on the “unprecedented times'' of the year past. Dominating the landscape of 2020 chaos was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus devastated economies at all levels, impacting individual family decisions as well as national policy, …

In Figures: The State of Women’s Health Around the World

The world’s population count reveals that women outnumber men; however, improving their lives and lengthening their lifespan is not on every government’s agenda. Women do enjoy better health services and greater rights in the developed world, but as the featured infographic suggests, the disparity can’t be missed as you scan and compare different areas of …

Beauty as the Key to Economic Mobility?

We often talk about harmful beauty practices that are used to enhance a woman’s prospects for marriage. For example, women in Ethiopia and Tanzania purposefully scar themselves to make themselves more attractive to their suitors (PHBP-PRACTICE-1).[1],[2] In Mali and Mauritania, women are force-fed, because larger women attract more suitors.[3],[4] Plastic surgery is used from Lebanon …

Period Taboos: The Deadly Truth

Ever since getting my first period at the age of twelve, I have become a pro at hiding all the evidence. I can effortlessly slip tampons up my sleeves before walking into a public bathroom. I’ve passed them under the table to female friends who were caught without supplies in a moment of need. All …

Rebirth and Transplantation: Women as Givers of Life

In an opinion piece for the New York Times in December, Sohini Chattopadhyay, a writer based in Kolkata, wrote about her father’s liver transplant. Sohini, who was his only child and had a compatible blood type, volunteered to be his donor after he became ill. Months later, fearing complications, she changed her mind, and her …

Doctor’s Who Don’t Listen: The Gaslighting Epidemic of Women

Gaslighting (verb): a form of psychological manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity.[1] In the medical community, a medical authority sows doubt into a patient’s mind about her perceived pain that makes her second …

Recap: 2018 Texas Symposium on Women, Peace, and Security

On Monday, November 5, 2018, the Bush School of Government and Public Service hosted the 4th Annual Texas Symposium on Women, Peace, and Security: Implementing the Vision of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017. The symposium was started by Dr. Valerie Hudson, the head of the Women, Peace, and Security program at the …