Women Life Style

I’m not sure if inter-sexual is really a work but heck, I just invented it and I guess most of you already know what it means. So the next time you find a ‘meaningful’ conversation with your partner getting lost in translation, try referring to this little dictionary:

1. THINGY (thing-ee) n.
Female: Any part under a car’s hood.
Male: The strap fastener on a woman’s bra.

2. VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel) adj.
Female: Fully opening up one’s self emotionally to another.
Male: Playing football without a cup.

3. COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon) n.
Female: The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one’s partner.
Male: Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the boys.

4. COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment) n.
Female: A desire to get married and raise a family.
Male: Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one.

5. ENTERTAINMENT (en-ter-tayn-ment) n.
Female: A good movie, concert, play or book.
Male: Anything that can be done while drinking beer.

6. FLATULENCE (flach-u-lens) n.
Female: An embarrassing byproduct of indigestion.
Male: A source of entertainment, self-expression, and male bonding.

7 . REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl) n.
Female: A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
Male: A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes.

I just thought all of us would need a little help, esp. with Valentine’s Day approaching, the air is going to be abuzz these words. Remember, knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss. Enjoy!!

Via: shocking.wordpress

The “Lovapalooza Valentine celebration” in Manila saw thousands of couples come together for a simultaneous kissing session at midnight.

The organizers of the event said 6,124 couples locked lips in an attempt to set a new record for Most Couples Kissing Simultaneously.

Via: yahoo

The New World is witnessing a new world order as the latest American Census Bureau data has revealed that the nation’s twenty and thirty-something men are becoming increasingly comfortable with letting their wives be the main breadwinners in the household.

Shifting education and job market patterns are fuelling this new attitude towards work, family and gender differences and this could in turn result in an increasing number of marriages in which women are the lone or primary earners.

Bringing home the bacon

According to the Census Bureau data, the percentage of women bringing home the larger income in two-income households has risen from 17.8% in 1987 to 25.3%.

Catalyst, a New York-based research group found that the salaries of college-educated women were also seen to have risen more rapidly, up by 34.4% since 1974 in comparison to 21.7% for male graduates.

In the age group of 20 to 30-somethings, women hold more college degrees than men. The 25 to 29-year age bracket saw only 25.5% men holding a bachelor’s degree as compared to 32.2% women.

Women also dominated the more lucrative professional courses making up more than half of the student population in medical and law courses.

The education inconsistency is expected to widen in coming years by the Labor Department.

Girl power

Over the last 20 years the number of men reported to be comfortable with the idea of their wives supporting them has risen, even though the majority still says they would prefer to work for the family’s needs.

Stephanie Coontz, a historian at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., has authored several books on marriage and gender roles.

She says:

Men are saying, `I don’t mind being married to a woman who earns more than I,’ and women are giving up the notion that they have to find a man who can support them.

And even though men still bring home the bigger share of the income, the pay gap is decreasing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2005, women on average earned 81 cents for every dollar men made, bringing the stat up from 76.1 cents in 2001 and 66.6 cents in 1983.

The gap was even narrower for workers in their 20s and early 30s as 25 to 34 year old women were reported to earn 89 cents for every dollar men made in 2005, as compared to 75 cents made by women in the 35 to 44-year age group.

Coontz says that the confidence of a stronger economic stand has released women from their traditional roles as wives and mothers, in the process giving them a stronger voice in their marriages.

She says:

There’s a certain exhilaration that women are feeling. Women have suddenly been freed to pursue ambitions that they once had to channel into finding a successful man rather than being a successful person.

Mr. Mom

Ellen Galinsky, president of the New York-based Families and Work Institute says that the change has also shown up at home with an increasing number of men, 34% today as compared to 24% a decade ago, are willingly lending a hand with household chores like doing dishes, laundry and looking after the children.

Coontz says:

Younger couples increasingly expect this sort of equality or flexibility. Women who first poured into the workforce during the 1970s sparked this change in attitudes. They and the growing number of women who followed them into offices and factories during the 1980s and 1990s “created a whole new climate’.

The backfire

But not all is well in girlpowerland. And in some cases, the men are not too comfortable handing over the reins to their women.

Personal-finance expert Suze Orman says the issue generated a huge share of the advice requests women sent her. Because money is a physical manifestation of who you are. Some men who earn less than their wives or girlfriends feel they must be less valuable people, and that belief can put a strain on relationships.

Steven Nock, a University of Virginia sociologist found in a study, that women who earned more than their husbands were more likely than high-earning men to walk out of an unsatisfying marriage.

In most cases, men are dogged down by ego-deflating jokes at social events and sometimes by family members as well.

But those who can handle it certainly can claim to get more than they bargained for because a successful woman radiates confidence, filling every sphere of her life with it, including her marriage.

Via: chicagotribune

First of all, stop moping. Being single isn’t the end of the world. Secondly, YOU aren’t the only one in the world without a romantic date lined up for ‘that day’. Thirdly, thank God you don’t have to spend another year fake-smiling your way through a disaster of a Valentine’s dinner.

Now that you have built up enough self-confidence to read through the rest of the blog, I’ll give you some plans for ‘that day’ (seriously somebody ought to start a ‘glad-to-be-single day’ soon.)

GO OUT WITH FRIENDS: After getting through 10 years of FRIENDS on the telly you still need to figure out that if your alone and miserable on a major celebration day you spend it with all your friends who are alone and miserable too? Chill with your gang today.

PICK A FLICK: So all your friends actually have dates for the day? Never mind, you still enjoy the day with a good movie out in the theatres. Just try not to stare at all the happy-looking couples though.

PAMPER YOURSELF: Do I REALLY need to explain this one, ladies?

GET A BOOK AND A CUPPA AT YOUR FAV JOINT: Hmmm...you got a copy of Pride & Prejudice in one hand, your favorite coffee blend on the table and a hottie sitting alone at the table straight ahead... And the image made me wanna dump my own plans with my guy and go with this one!!

PARTY!!!: One of the reasons I love Valentines so much is because it is the first great excuse to freak out at a party after the Christmas holidays end and the work year (yawn!) begins again! So call up everyone you know and ask if they are going to ‘The Party’. That should give you a sniff of the best party in town that day. If you find yourself too shy to do that, then throw your own!!

In case you’re going ‘who she think she is tellin’ us what to do with my sorry single, er, behind on Valentine’s’, I must inform you that I’m a very competent authority on the subject with years of experience in this particular field! Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Via: love-lectures

Scottish health minister Andy Kerr has accused supermodel Kate Moss of portraying an image to teens that smoking is a cool thing to do.

He blamed Kate of being blase and uncaring about smoking in public. He was quoted saying,

I would ask her to understand the impact she’s having on young people’s lives. I don’t want to sound like an old fuddy-duddy but iconic figures set examples and sometimes these examples are inappropriate. I would want people to look at their behavior and ensure that they’re not setting what is a very dangerous example.

Kerr said that there was age-old evidence to prove that smoking habits of pop stars, rock stars, actors and models has always had a deep impact on younger generations. The health minister even offered to extend help for her smoking addiction. He said,

I am happy, if she’s ever in Scotland that she’ll get good smoking cessation advice when she’s here. But when she’s not, I would ask her to refrain in terms of public smoking.

Celebrities have always known to have deep impact on the society, when it comes to fashion and trends. However, smoking is something very personal and banning any celebrity from doing it is not really justified. One should rather go about educating kids about the ill effects of the habit.

Via Vogue

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is set to face the biggest sexual discrimination case in the history of the U.S. according to a top court ruling.

Charging bias in pay and promotion, as many as two million women who have worked in the chain’s US stores since 1998 could unite for the class-action suit that could see the company parting with millions of dollars in lost pay and damages to the plaintiffs.

Representing the female plaintiffs, Brad Seligman, a lawyer for The Impact Fund, a nonprofit group in Berkeley, California, said:

It is time for Wal-Mart to face the music. Two courts now have ruled that Wal-Mart is going to have to face a jury ... We fully expect Wal-Mart to keep appealing but we’re very confident now that two courts have upheld this (class) certification.

The 56-year old lead plaintiff Betty Dukes works as a greeter at a Wal-Mart east of San Francisco. A Wal-Mart employee for nearly 13 years, Dukes said she sued the company because of neglect she and fellow female employees felt when openings for positions were advertised within her store.

Dukes had been promoted to a customer service representative post after having worked as a cashier for three years. She claims that male employees had received similar promotions even before probationary periods after they were hired had expired.

She said:

I had seen males go into the position with less than 90 days experience.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which gave the 2-1 ruling emphasized that the decision only affirmed a lower court ruling to certify the case as a class action against Wal-Mart, but took no position on Dukes’ claim.

However, in a dissent, 9th Circuit Court Judge Andrew Kleinfeld said the case should not be certified as a class, since it could benefit lawyers and undeserving plaintiffs while the rewards to the deserving plaintiffs who were actually discriminated against.

Judge Kleinfeld wrote:

Plaintiffs’ only evidence of sex discrimination is that around 2/3 of Wal-Mart employees are female, but only about 1/3 of its managers are female. Not everybody wants to be a Wal-Mart manager. Those women who want to be managers may find better opportunities elsewhere.

Wal-Mart has earlier been accused of underpaying workers and undermining small businesses with its huge retail outlets. The store however, firmly denied that charge claiming itself to have been a major source of jobs.

In this case, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart argued that it did not discriminate against women and that the class-action status should be dismissed as the company grants a great deal of autonomy to all of its 3,400 US stores.

The chain was willing to appeal the ruling to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit and the US Supreme Court if necessary.

Ted Boutrous, lead counsel for Wal-Mart’s appeal said:

This was one step in what is going to be a long process, and we are still at a very early stage in this case. We are very optimistic about our chances for obtaining relief from this ruling as the case progresses.

Coldstream Capital Management, which owns Wal-Mart stock, issued a statement through its chief investment officer of Donald Gher, saying the decision was a setback for the retailer and would cheer the company’s critics in the U.S. labor movement.

He said:

Clearly this is a big win for the tort lawyers and for the unions who are looking to cases like this to help bolster their ranks.

However, the news seems to have had little impact on the Wal-Mart shares as it closed 6 cents higher on Tuesday at $48.58 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Via: reuters

They needn’t have wasted time doing this survey because for any woman worth her Chanel, clothes will always score above a guy.

According to new survey conducted in 10 US cities by consumer products giant Unilever, women say they are willing to remain celibate for around 15 months in exchange for a closet full of new clothes, with 2% stretching that to up to 3 years for a new wardrobe.

Of the 1000 women quizzed, 61% said losing a favourite article of clothing would be worse than having to give up sex for a month.

In a statement accompanying the poll, fashion designer, stylist and TV personality Carson Kressley from the reality TV show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” said:

Some people say clothes make the man, but the right clothes can even replace him.

Interestingly the study also revealed that women often hold onto a favourite piece of clothing longer than a relationship. Aged between 18 and 54 years of age, women had held on to wardrobe favorites for 12 and half years, almost a year longer than the longest relationship.

Only 54% women said they could judge a potential mate instantly while almost 70% said they fell in love with a garment at first sight.

Almost 48% women responded that their favourite article of clothing was more reliable than the man in their lives when it came to boosting their confidence and making them feel sexy.

Via: reuters

U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams set the record of having spent more time in space than any other woman breaking the previous female space walking record of more than 21 hours when she and Mario Lopez-Alegria completed an unprecedented three spacewalks in nine days.

The new record is 22 hours and 27 minutes.

Sunday’s spacewalk, undertaken to upgrade the international space station’s cooling systemm, lasted more than seven hours.

A third space walk is scheduled for Thursday, making it only the first time that three spacewalks are conducted in such a short period at the space station without a shuttle docked in.

Sunday’s spacewalk moved Lopez-Alegria to third on the all time list.

He is also set to conduct a fourth space walk on Feb. 22 with Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin that will see him surpass Jerry Ross’ US record of more than 58 hours in nine spacewalks by the end of the month.

The all-time record is held by Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov with more than 77 and a half hour over 16 spacewalks.

Via: netscape

A poll conducted by a leading UK mobile phone retailer, Dial-a-Phone, has come up with the astonishing conclusion that women would rather pass on having sex for a month than part with their cellphones.

Almost 24% of the women surveyed said they would prefer to remain celibate for a month rather than not have their cellphones with them. Unsurprisingly, not even a single man agreed on doing the same.

Filc Everett, the relationship expert for Dial-a-Phone observes:

For women, a month without sex would certainly be a punishment - but for some this outweighs the nightmare inconvenience of never having a mobile phone. However, if this was a decision for life - I’d predict that women would choose sex every time.

But the online survey also revealed that 30% of men and 42.5% of women said they wouldn’t mind answering the phone while having sex.

On this issue Flic says:

There’s a time and a place for mobile phones! Turning them off occasionally or even switching them to silent will make your loved-one feel as though they have your attention. Never ever answer your phone during sex. People will leave a message or call back later if it’s urgent.

But cellphones also help partners feel close to one another. In the survey 4 out of 5 people claimed they carried a personal picture of their partner in their mobiles.

According to Flic:

Sending a flirty text or better still a sexy picture message in the middle of the day will surprise and delight your partner, they will begin to anticipate a night of passion ahead, it’s a great way to keep a flagging sex life alive.

The cellphone has also emerged as the most powerful tool available to singles during dating, with SMSs being frequently used to arrange dates amd keeping friends posted with its progress during the date itself.

The SMS was reported to have been a great way to get to know the prospective partner too, with Britons sending an average of 12 texts before they go for the first date.

And the SMS came in handy for those who weren’t comfortable breaking up over the phone or in person, too, as 11% of the people under the age of 34 admitted to have been dumped by the text message.

Via: love-lectures

A survey conducted by a women-only insurance company, Sheilas’ Wheels, has revealed that millions of British women yearn for celebrity limelight.

The company, in search of five ordinary people to star in a new TV ad, interviewed adult females across Britain and came up with astonishing results.
The poll revealed that of all the women quizzed, 6% wouldn’t mind sleeping with a celebrity for instant fame.

Almost 50% believed that their best hope of achieving fame was probably to appear as an extra in a TV ad.

One out of every five women said they were willing to audition for a reality show such as The X-Factor while around 5% admitted they would do “something outrageous” to get noticed by the media.

a spokesman for Sheilas’ Wheels revealed:

Our study shows that four in 10 British women aspire to live the lifestyle of their favorite celebrities.

Via: dailyrecord