For Teachers, Does Gender Matter?

Flickr / Page Dooley

Though huge social disparities remain in the U.S., it's now a national fact that more women are getting college degrees than men. In fact, 57 percent of college students across the country are women. Coupled with the knowledge that girls have gotten better grades in school than boys since the 1970s, one might assume that women are on a path to educational domination.

But one field that in which women have traditionally held court might soon be overwhelmed by men: Teaching.

An experiment by Amine Ouzad, an economist in the UK, followed 1,200 students in 29 schools across the country, and found that students "try harder" and think they will be more fairly graded by a male teacher than a female.

Says Ouzad, "...What we saw is that students have better perceptions of male teachers, but that male teachers are not rewarding students more than female teachers...In terms of policy making, this will strengthen the fact that we will need to do more to have more male teachers in the classroom."

What do you think? Does a teacher's gender make a difference in how students respond? Should this kind of study affect policy or hiring decisions? And if it's true, why might students respond more positively to male teachers?

Feminism and Fashion: The Man Repeller

From Man Repeller / image via 5inchandup

Like many women, I love fashion. I'm fortunate enough to be able to buy new things and live in a country where I can freely choose what I want to wear. Blogger Leandra Medine is celebrating that freedom, too, and is using it to start a new and subversive fashion philosophy: wearing what she wants, regardless of whether men find it appealing.

Medine, who was profiled here in the New York Times, runs the aptly-named blog Man Repeller. She's described as celebrating:

"...fashions that, though promoted by designers and adored by women, most likely confuse — or worse, repulse — the average straight man. These include turbans, harem pants, jewelry that looks like a torture instrument, jumpsuits, ponchos, furry garments resembling large unidentified animals, boyfriend jeans, clogs and formal sweatpants."

While I can't say I own a pair of formal sweatpants (sacrilege!), I can absolutely get behind the idea of dismissing any thought of men from the ladies' dressing room. Clothes are powerful. A good outfit can make you feel confident and strong; an unexpected tear in your dress or spill on a sweater can leave you feeling helpless or vulnerable. Why hand that power over to men? It may be an urban myth that early feminists burned their bras, but the concept behind that myth is still right on--women should have complete autonomy over their bodies, right down to their underwear.

In Health and Hope: Girls on the Run Teaches the Power of Positivity

Last Saturday Girls on the Run Manhattan converged at Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side to complete their 5K race in culmination of their Fall 2010 season. With 17 sites throughout New York City and 200 girls, the East River and Carl Schurz Park was filled with active, healthy girl runners in pursuit of finishing a champion.

Earlier in the week, I had trained with the Girls on the Run (GOTR) team pictured here at Sisulu-Walker in West Harlem. When Sisulu-Walker opened in 1999, it became New York City's first public charter school. Named after two African leaders, Walter Sisulu, who is acknowledged as the father of the South African anti-apartheid liberation movement, Sisulu was also responsible for recruiting Nelson Mandela into the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1940s where together they grew the ANC into the most prominent human rights organization that fought for the liberation of black South Africans. The school's name also honors Dr. Wyatte Tee Walker who is an internationally recognized pastor, author, lecturer and advocate for human and civil rights. He was executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Stretching in the gymnasium and then running along Harlem Meer in Central Park during their final practice before the race, the Sisulu-Walker GOTR team shared they were nervous, but also ready for the 5K. Each week the lessons accompanying the Girls on the Run program feature training runs, but also focus on topics ranging from peer pressure to bullying and trust to healthy eating habits. Cheyenne who is asthmatic and was known as "The Quiet Storm" last season when I coached her, because she will often quietly catch up and pass teammates, told me that this season she still found every lesson to be her favorite. Seated together in a circle when I asked each member of the Sisulu-Walker GOTR team why they loved coming to practice, they voiced communally how contagious the program's positivity. In fact, almost every girl shared that what she loved best about GOTR is how positive it is.

Sisulu-Walker coaches Jayme Heffler and Kristen Kawecki also spoke about how vibrant the GOTR atmosphere. Kristen came to Girls on the Run after seeing it featured in Health magazine while Jayme wanted to reach young girls. In an interview, Jayme shared, "I want to give back and I want to help these girls find themselves and their inner 'runner.' I love their energy, enthusiasm, and how they have each found their positive cord. I tended to be a non-athletic, yet energetic young kid, and found my sports later in college. Exercise and healthy eating are my mantras and I want to help these girls learn the importance at a young age. I also want to help them love themselves. GOTR is an amazing program for young, impressionable girls."

Holly Carmichael, race director for the Manhattan GOTR chapter and a former coach, recently related that with childhood obesity on the rise, the Girls on the Run program hopes to inspire lasting change in response to a national epidemic. "We are not only helping these little girls see the value in healthy habits, but we are developing in them a sense of agency around their health and teaching them to be resourceful in finding space to be physically active. We hope that these habits become ingrained in them, and that they continue to develop them as they grow into young adults."

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Overweight and obesity in children are significant public health problems in the United States. The number of adolescents who are overweight has tripled since 1980 and the prevalence among younger children has more than doubled." With 16 percent of children age 6-19 years overweight and with minority populations being vastly more effected, the Girls on the Run program map reflects how they have stepped up their growth to have a presence in the majority of U.S. states in response. And, the plan is for the GOTR program to continue to grow.

While racing alongside Alexis (pictured above second from right), I listened as her GOTR running buddies cheered and supported her. I held her hand then hat, just as I did in the practice before the race when she asked me to run beside her on race day. I remembered how many of those 56 miles during Comrades 2010 in South Africa I ran for these GOTRM girls, for all little girls, to raise monies for SoleMates, the charity leg of Girls on the Run International, but in hope for all girls' true empowerment.

Girls on the Run's mission is to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living, and as race director Holly cheered each girl when she crossed the finish line on Saturday, she saw it happen.

One GOTRM girl was dragging at the beginning of the finish line chute. You could see - even from a distance - that she was exhausted. I thought she was going to start walking, as many of the girls do, but hoped she didn't as she was so close to finishing! All of a sudden she perked up, her posture changed, she smiled, and she sprinted to the finish line with such control and dedication and pride. It was an overwhelming moment of accomplishment, certainly for her, but also for all of us bystanders and her supporters. Her family squealed, I cried, and she just smiled. Certainly, GOTRM trains girls to run a 5K and so we are immensely proud that she completed it with such strength. But this was also an example of how many girls, if provided the opportunity to shine, will do so.

In that moment, another Girls on the Run champion was born.

Photo credit: Kristen Kawecki

1000 WORDS: Camouflage

Costa Rican artist Cecilia Paredes explores the emotional effects of moving from one country to another in her piece for Focusing on Latin America, "Migration and Identity."

Explore the rest of the series here>>

MAKE CHANGE: On Human Rights Day Help Pass the Child Marriage Act

All over the world December 10 celebrates Human Rights Day in ode to the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris in 1948. Yet, even as the achievement of basic human rights for all has yet to be reached, advocates and organizations work toward policies that move humanity closer to that goal. Recently, the U.S. Senate passed the Child Marriage Act which according to the organization CARE, "ensures that child marriage is recognized as a human rights violation, develops a comprehensive strategy to prevent child marriage and empower young girls, integrates child marriage prevention approaches throughout U.S. foreign assistance programs and scales-up proven approaches and programs to end the practice."

As per Forbes blog, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was a surprise guest recently at the TEDWomen Conference in Washington, D.C. where she shared, "Women’s and girl’s rights are a prosperity issue and a peace issue. That is why we need to integrate women’s issues into discussions at the highest level. Not just because I have a personal commitment or President Obama does, but because it is in the vital interests of the U.S."

However, even though the legislation passed in the Senate, now the goal is to pass it through the House of Representatives. Why so important?

The Girl Effect cites there are 600 million adolescent girls in the developing world. As their brilliant video illustrates, when an adolescent girl is "educated through secondary school, she’ll bring 25% more income into her family. When she’s healthy, her community’s health will improve as maternal mortality and child malnutrition drop, and HIV rates decline. She will drive 70% of agricultural production. She is an unrealized economic force, accelerating growth and progress in every sector."

Yet, if she is married at a young age her chances fade fast. According to CARE's action page, "Child brides have a diminished chance of completing their education, resulting in limited opportunities and income-earning potential later in life. These girls also are twice as likely to be beaten or threatened with violence by their husbands compared to girls who marry later in life. In addition, child marriage is usually accompanied by early child bearing, placing young girls at risk for complications during and after childbirth."

Take action here.

Photo credit: The Girl Effect

1000 WORDS: One Side of the Story

Dona Enerina sits outside her modern home, which is paid for by money her son earns working in the U.S. Part of Dulce Pinzon's series "Both Sides," about Mexican families that migrate for work and those who are left behind, in Focusing on Latin America.

CLIO TALKS BACK: A DANISH WOMAN’S AGRICULTURAL TRIUMPH, 1924

Clio recently stumbled on a story about a Danish woman who in 1924 undertook farming on the tiny island of Sprogoe (Sprogø), which lies in the straits west of the island of Zeeland and east of the island of Funen. A home for women (apparently wayward women – or “pathologically promiscuous” according to Wikipedia) had been established there circa 1923, and Miss Dagmar Kristensen took on the challenge of making this Institute sustainable and self-sufficient.

At that time, the island boasted of little more than an old lighthouse and quantities of seagulls. By proving that women could develop and maintain a major farm, Miss Kristensen sought to combat existing prejudices as to what women could accomplish.

Here is the story, as reported in the Danish women’s press (and subsequently translated in the International Women’s News in 1931).

"Miss Dagmar Kristensen was the first Danish woman to be nominated to a Town Council (1910), and since that time she worked steadily on her own farm for 14 years, when she came into the limelight again in connection with the Farming Institute on Sprogoe. In 1923 the island of Sprogoe was made over by the State to the Kellerske Commission for the foundation of a Woman’s Home calculated to take about 43 women of all ages between 16 and 50 from all parts of the country. The land was to be cultivated partly from the point of view of utility and partly in order to provide work for those women who were fit for it.

"During the first year a man was put in charge of the farming but it was soon evident that a man was not suitable for the position, and when Miss Kristensen was invited to take it over she accepted and went to Sprogoe in the Autumn of 1924. The fact that a woman was to superintend the farming was met with skepticism from many sides, for agriculture on Sprogoe has always been neglected and yielded little. All the men who have leased the island from the State at a yearly rental of 300 Kroner have been reduced to poverty so the sceptics reasoned thus: if men are not capable of cultivating the land on Sprogoe how could a woman do it? But if one considers that the “men” only plowed a small proportion of the land available it is easy to understand the reason of their poverty.

"When Miss Kristensen came to the island there were only about 135 acres (55 hectares) under cultivation, the rest was left to nature – and the gulls – a peaceful growing place for thistles and other troublesome weeds, but an Eldorado for gulls and their young, though these legions of birds must surely in the course of time have contributed to making the ground fertile and it has only been waiting for people to come and cultivate and utilise it. When the property was made over to the Woman’s Home a certain amount of stock was acquired and when Miss Kristensen arrived there were 10 milch cows, 8 young cattle, 2 horses and some pigs. She was then faced with the problem of making the island produce as much food as possible for the animals and consequently also for the inhabitants, so that the least possible would have to be bought and imported. So she set her mind to plowing and during the first year she plowed nearly 500 acres (200 hectares) and sowed as much as possible. But the earth also needed lime and luckily Miss Kristensen also managed to find a lime deposit so that it was not necessary to incur the expense of bringing this by sea, though a considerable amount of work was involved in digging up the lime, transporting it, distributing it and plowing it down. One can understand now that the daily round of work – seeing that the animals were looked after properly and the milking done correctly, and all the agricultural work necessary to cultivate the area of nearly 700 acres (300 hectares) now involved – was strenuous enough for one person, especially as she usually only had the assistance of three girls of the not so specially energetic type for 6 hours a day, but nevertheless Miss Kristensen herself found extra time and energy for developing the land. There were many both small and large swamps on the estate which caused much harm and annoyance; these she filled up, using at least 8000 cart loads, as she estimates. The large courtyard of the farm was soft and uneven so she covered it with gravel and stones, doing this work in the evenings. And of course there were no roads leading out to the fields – she had to lay these herself, an undertaking involving much heavy work and careful calculation. She says herself that when the weather was favourable she worked from 5 in the morning till 11 at night. In 1925 one of the girls set fire to the Institute and most of it was burnt down, though the animals were saved thanks to the courage and energy of Miss Kristensen, who also took out of the burning stables the bull which no-one else dared to approach.

"During the following three years new buildings were erected, larger and more modern than the previous, with accommodation for 50 people and with a special laundry, sewing room, weaving room, etc. Under these improved conditions, the stock was increased and the stables enlarged, and new barns were built to store the extra machinery and larger crops. All these enterprises also laid claim on the woman farmer’s time and strength, for all the material had to be fetched from the landing-place and the necessary quantity of sand collected from the beach and carted to the building place.

"No wonder then that the agricultural specialists of the Committee of the Rigsdag [Parliament], which inspected the Woman’s Home exclaimed: “But how is it you have been able to do all this work” and she could only answer with the question: 'Who else was there to do it?'

"When Miss Kristensen now returns to her own home after 7 strenuous years she can look out over 700 acres (300 hectares) of cultivated land, clover fields, corn – turnip – and potato fields and a collection of stock that has grown to 15 milch cows, 8 large cattle, 3 horses and one bull. The whole island has in fact entirely altered in character. Miss Kristensen leaves Sprogoe in the knownedge that her work has resulted in an economic gain to the whole community, since much more food is being produced for the Institute than formerly. The last year’s accounts show this in a nutshell. Her pioneer work will also be of incalculable value to her successor.

"Last but not least Miss Kristensen herself points out that the work she has accomplished during these 7 years has been done for the honour of the woman’s movement, as the scepticism with which she was met spurred her on to prove that a woman is capable of doing what has always been called a man’s work but which has time and again been neglected by men."

Clio's thoughts: In our own time, when so much attention is focused on women’s economic empowerment, it is heartening to know that women in earlier times have also found empowerment through agricultural work – and have received recognition for their accomplishments.

However, Miss Kristensen's work was ultimately not sustainable. The Women’s Home closed in 1959 and today, no one lives permanently on the island of Sprogoe (Sprogø), which is now connected to its neighboring islands both by train and automobile bridges. Did Miss Kristensen’s efforts in developing farming there go for naught? Did her efforts succeed in empowering the women who had been sent to the Women's Home? Is there any marker to acknowledge her work?


Source: “ A Woman’s Triumph in Agriculture,” The International Women’s News, vol. 26, no.8 (May 1932), 88-89; from Kvinden og Samfundet.

MAKE CHANGE: Support World AIDS Day

Today, December 1, marks World AIDS Day. Therefore, advocates, health professionals, world leaders, and individuals are asked to take action by acknowledging the incredible challenges still surrounding HIV/AIDS. The Global Fund shares this year's theme is the Light to Rights. Accordingly, "public buildings and landmarks will be flooded with lights to signal the commitment of people to universal access to life-saving treatment and respect for the human rights of people affected by HIV and AIDS."

The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) cited in a press release today, "With over 7,300 new HIV infections and nearly 5,500 AIDS deaths each day, we must continue to hold U.S., global, and implementing country decision-makers accountable for scaling up a comprehensive response to this deadly pandemic, and ensuring the basic human rights of all people affected by HIV/AIDS."

Like the GAA, AIDS-Free World also recognizes how closely linked HIV/AIDS is to issues of social justice, like poverty, gender equity, and discrimination. Throughout all of November the ad shown here was projected by AIDS-Free World in New York City's Time Square on a 520-square-foot video billboard space displaying an advocacy message: AIDS discriminates because we discriminate.

(RED) a campaign powered by consumption to provide financial force for those in need works with brands from Apple to Nike. (RED)'s World AIDS Day page cites that, "half a million babies were born with HIV last year." Since 2006, Red has raised $150 million to support the Global Fund. Today, you can add to the support by reading the UNAIDS 2010 report here, learning more about World AIDS Day at the World AIDS Campaign, or by attending an event.

Tapestries of Hope: On Myth, Rape, and Resiliency

Joining the push to pass the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), Tapestries of Hope is an extraordinary documentary tracing a Zimbabwe myth about the curing powers of virgin blood, in particular that it can cure HIV/AIDS.

After a decade of actvism focusing on women and children and all forms of abuse ranging from her award-winning short film Flashcards to co-authoring the book, This is Not the Life I Ordered, Tapestries of Hope director Michealene Risley met Betty Makoni. As the founder of the Girl Child Network WorldWide, Makoni created the organization in 1998 as a community to protect and heal child victims of sexual abuse in Zimbabwe. In 2009, CNN named Makoni a Hero.

In a recent interview Michealene shared, "When I first met Betty Makoni, both of us were survivors. She asked me to come to Zimbabwe and I could not refuse."

Teacher and advocate Betty Makoni's desire to help girls comes from the fact she was raped as a child then lost her own mother to domestic violence. Yet from her personal pain, Makoni has built whole communities of girls who are experiencing true healing after profound harm. Enter the power of Tapestries of Hope's message. While watching the film, one cannot ignore that the myth that virgin blood can cure HIV/AIDS is creating the rape of female children from infancy to teenager in Zimbabwe, and that Makoni's Girl Child Network is saving them from otherwise horrific lives of continued gender-based violence (GBV).

This is why Michealene says one of the film's greatest reasons for being is to help people understand why the IVAWA is so vital. "My hope is that this movie gets Congress to sign and fund IVAWA. I truly believe this issue [GBV] is one of the most critical for this century. The passing of I-VAWA would have a tremendous affect on women around the globe, and this is the first time in the history of our country that this would happen."

Tapestries of Hope will continue to screen in theaters around the United States. In February, the movie will go to Video on Demand then video. If you are interested in a screening in your area, email the Tapestries of Hope web site.

BIG IDEAS: War. What is it Good For?

Kavita Ramdas and Isabel Allende /
Credit S. Smith Patrick

While perusing Jezebel recently, I was completely annoyed to read about a conservative pundit who was bemoaning the “feminization” of the Medal of Honor in the U.S. military. Bryan Fischer laments,

“When we think of heroism in battle, we used to think of our boys storming the beaches of Normandy under withering fire, climbing the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc while enemy soldiers fired straight down on them, and tossing grenades into pill boxes to take out gun emplacements. That kind of heroism has apparently become passé when it comes to awarding the Medal of Honor. We now award it only for preventing casualties, not for inflicting them. So the question is this: when are we going to start awarding the Medal of Honor once again for soldiers who kill people and break things so our families can sleep safely at night?”

(Emphasis mine.) Normally I would dismiss this kind of commentary for what it is: inflammatory and irrelevant...

Racing Toward Human Rights for Women

Stark truths open Women for Women International's Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) report, Amplifying Voices of Women in Eastern Congo. "Despite the signing of international peace agreements, a deadly 15 year war continues in DRC. International organizations estimate that between 3.5 and 5.4 million of excess deaths have occurred. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the DRC is 'the worst example of man's inhumanity to women.'"

This past Saturday morning my 2010 racing season ended in a race with the Women for Women International's Run for Congo Women UK team in Greenwich Park, London. Pictured here together we ran in support of acknowledging these harrowing facts, but also to motivate change for Congolese women. Since 1993, Women for Women International has globally supported over 275,000 women with training, over $21 million in direct aid, and over $67 million in micro-credit loans. In June 2010, the organization gained my attention while in South Africa post-Comrades while researching and writing about the public health of women and girls during the 2010 World Cup. Then, I kept thinking to myself, "If this is the continent's best for women, what is the worst?"

The Democratic Republic of Congo. In July, upon arrival back from South Africa to Paris, I pledged to Kate Hughes, Policy and Campaigns Officer for Women for Women International, that I would build Team Congo Paris in support of Run for Congo Women.

A Paris Team's Run for Congo Women

Racing together in the Paris Versailles, 20K de Paris, and finally the 6ème Foulées Villenogarennoises in Parc des Chanteraines, Team Congo Paris surpassed our fundraising goal of 1,000 GBP. This was due to the exceptional work of our top fundraisers and runners Alice Phan and Colleen Obrist along with supporters like the AMPE and the FCA and myriad other amazing male and female runners.

Alice Phan came to Team Congo Paris early on and ran almost every race and supported every endeavor. In fact, she raced beside me on November 7 with Colleen Obrist in the 5K at Parc des Chanteraines asking questions about Colleen's journey to run for Team Congo Paris. Diagnosed with MS in 2008, Colleen's sheer willpower is a testament to overcoming life challenges. In a recent interview, she shared, "People often say that it is too bad what happened to me, what a pity, etc., and yes, having MS is hard, but my problems seem trivial when compared to what some people have to live through in this world on a daily basis. My health situation and my future may be unpredictable, but at least I am not living in abject poverty, or fear that someone in my family is going to die, be raped, tortured, humiliated, or terrorized. There is not much I can do for my disease, but I will help others while I am still able."

On November 7, Alice then also raced beside me and Jennifer Hart in the 10K through pouring rain. With a degree in Women's Studies and a Master's in Sociology and also one in Personal Training, Jennifer, a personal trainer and owner of Hart Total Fitness, was triumphantly running five months after the birth of her second child. Yet, she had resumed running only four weeks after delivery and she completed La Parisienne at 3.5 months post-birth in just 44 minutes.

Years ago, Jennifer first heard stories about Congo while overseeing a series of workshops on gender and war at the University of Toronto. Recently, she shared how they affected her. "Some of the stories would make me cry, make me angry, and make me down-right fed up with the world. When I left school and began working, my charity work dropped and I missed it but didn’t know where to turn to help out in Paris. Then I had a daughter and I remembered some of the horror stories of women and children being raped and killed, and my life changed. I saw a posting by Kate Stence about Run for Congo Women and it took me less than 3 seconds to say, 'I want to be a part of that.'"

A London Team's Run for Congo Women

In Greenwich Park last Sunday, as I walked over to claim my race number in the UK Run for Congo Women's final race of the season, I began looking around for other women and men runners who were also racing with the UK team. Their team had raised over 8,000 GBP. I introduced myself to runners and then met devoted runner Chris Jackson, who has completed 11 marathons for Women for Women for International this year alone. As I stood before him, I took in again how profound I find his efforts.

On November 7, the same day Team Congo Paris raced our final race of the season together, Chris completed the New York City Marathon in 2 hours and 55 minutes. But, he shared how he felt so much support. "Loads of people I didn’t know seemed to know who I was?!? But there was also so many people along the course just telling you to keep going and that you were doing great. This gives you such a boost. I think the best moments were enjoying the views and how quiet, it was on the bridges, because all you could hear was foot-fall, but as you started to get to the other side of the bridge, you’d slowly get hit by this roar from the crowd. I really couldn’t believe how many people were out watching... Absolutely stunning."

That's exactly how I had felt watching the female elites cross the finish line at the Athens Classic Marathon on October 31 while in Greece.

As the first women crossed the finish line, the BBC reporter next to me was taping my ecstatic cheers. Yet, I wanted to share with him that he had to understand that Greece was the marathon's point of origin 2500 years ago. So many of us as athletes run marathons knowing the mythic story of the Greek soldier-runner who was a messenger running from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek's victory, then died from exhaustion upon arrival. However, what many of us may not know is that every year for the past 28 the Athens Classic Marathon is run in memory of Grigoris Lambrakis, a brilliant athlete, scientist, politician, and pacifist who in April 1963 helped organize the Greece Pacifist Movement. As an advocate of social justice, Lambrikis had participated in myriad international meetings on peace yet his life ended shortly after a march in May 1963 due to deadly beatings.

"Peace and development go hand in hand," according to a campaign message sheet given to me today by Natasha Baranowski, Global Campaign Officer for Women for Women International's Join Me on the Bridge Campaign which advocates that stronger women build bridges of peace. Held on International Women's Day, last year the Join Me on the Bridge Campaign inspired 108 events and attracted around 20,000 participants in about 20 different countries. Next March 8, 2011, marks the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day.

Overall, what can a runner -- or any individual -- do to help inspire change and help "race" toward human rights for Congolese women? Kate Hughes, coordinator of the London Run for Congo Women events, recently shared her thoughts. "I would ask the runners to keep talking about the conflict in DRC. Just because you have stopped fundraising doesn't mean that you have to stop raising awareness. Make sure that everyone you know, knows that you ran for Run for Congo Women and why it was that you felt so motivated to do that. Tell your friends and family, tell your local radio station or local press, just keep speaking about Congo until the violence and exploitation stops."

On December 5, Chris Jackson races the Luton Marathon, marathon 12, to support Congolese women. You can read about his last race of the 2010 season on his blog. At Gender Across Borders, you can read my article Traversing Truth: Running and Writing Female Rights.

Photo credit: Women for Women International

Whose Reality?

Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Jennifer Pozner

IMOW just hosted an awesome event with Jennifer Siebel Newsom, first lady of San Francisco and documentarian, and Jennifer Pozner, author and executive director of Women in Media, about the portrayal of women in media, and specifically reality television.

Newsom's film, Miss Representation, and Pozner's book, "Reality Bites Back," really lay bare just how the media distorts women's images, confining them to easily digestible stereotypes in front of the camera, and shutting them out of positions of power behind the camera. In fact, Newsom said something like 80 to 90 percent of positions of power--in politics, media, business, etc.--are held by men.

Both Pozner and Newsom said that one way to hold the media accountable about the way they portray women is to speak up. "Women sometimes discount their own authority," said Pozner. "But you are an authority, and even your own experiences give you authority." Pozner and Newsome encouraged women to write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines, call in to talk shows, and generally "talk back to the media."

So what do you think about how women are portrayed in the media, and specifically reality television? Any ideas about how we can affect these distorted portrayals? And why don't women speak up more often?