Welcome New Officers

Welcome to the newly-elected officers of AWS!

President- Elizabeth Horn
Vice President- Catrina Cantwell
Secretary- Kylee Holland
Event Co-ordinator- Maria Chacon

Women's Studies Conference Goes Well

Thank you to everyone who helped make the first ever UCO Women’s and Gender Studies Conference a huge success! I have posted pictures from the event, and check back soon for information about the conference proceedings.

UCO Women's and Gender Studies Conference

The Association of Women’s Studies will be hosting the first ever UCO Women’s and Gender Studies Conference on February 27, 2010 in the College of Liberal Arts. Learn more about it and register here. Check back soon for a detailed schedule and other exciting information.

First Presidential Transgender Appointment- And It Was Based On Merit!

Amanda Simpson Receives Presidential Appointment to the Department of Commerce — Feministe

What has been making Simpson’s appointment newsworthy, though, is the fact that she is a transgender woman. And while very far from being the only trans government worker, it seems that she is the first openly trans person to receive a presidential appointment. Further, she’s actually an activist within the trans community who, among other things, served on the Board of Directors at the National Center For Transgender Equality (NCTE).

Rape Victim's Choice: Risk AIDS or Health Insurance? - Huffington Post

From the Huffington Post:

Christina Turner feared that she might have been sexually assaulted after two men slipped her a knockout drug. She thought she was taking proper precautions when her doctor prescribed a month’s worth of anti-AIDS medicine. Only later did she learn that she had made herself all but uninsurable.

Out-of-Body Image – Ms. Magazine

Ms. Magazine | Out-of-Body Image | spring 2008

Out-of-Body Image
Self-objectification-seeing ourselves through others’ eyes-impairs women’s body image, mental health, motor skills and even sex lives

By Caroline Heldman

girls are taught: your body is a project that needs work before you can attract others. Boys are taught: your body is a tool to master the environment.

Domestic Violence Panel

AWS will be co-hosting a panel on Domestic Violence with UCO NOW:

Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Pegasus Theater.

Representatives will be on hand from several organizations, including the Violence Prevention Project and the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Iron Jawed Angels

AWS will be hosting a free screening of the film Iron Jawed Angels on Friday, October 9th at 7pm in Pegasus theater. The film portrays the struggle for women’s suffrage in America. AWS will also be registering people to vote at this event.

"Stop Fat Talk" video

Thanks to AnyBody for linking to this great video.

Shotgun Adoption – The Nation

I found this story very disturbing. I was aware of crisis pregnancy centers and how they try to pressure women not to have abortions, but I had no idea just how terrible these places are.

While there is growing awareness of how CPCs hinder abortion access, the centers have a broader agenda that is less well known: they seek not only to induce women to “choose life” but to choose adoption, either by offering adoption services themselves, as in Bethany’s case, or by referring women to Christian adoption agencies. Far more than other adoption agencies, conservative Christian agencies demonstrate a pattern and history of coercing women to relinquish their children.

Read the whole article here