“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
“Who are you when no one is watching?”
“I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.” ~ Lou Holtz
Have a fantabulous weekend!
Coach Carolyn
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Friday’s Purposeful Question
Be the Best YOU!
“When everybody tells you that you are being idealistic or impractical, consider the possibility that everybody could be wrong about what is right for you.” ~ Gilbert Kaplan
This speaks directly to the fourth agreement: Always Do Your Best
I believe that we all strive to do the best that we know how to do and be the best that we can be. It would never serve you or anyone to wake up in the morning and say, “Now how can I absolutely screw up and be the worst me I can be!”
I may not know you personally, but I can guess you don’t say this. Especially if you are reading this blog, I can guess that you strive to be your bestest. Never settle for less than your best.
You are a child of the Divine – be that!
Coach Carolyn
The Possibility for Peace
Novelist and poet Christopher Morley once said, "When you give someone a book, you don't give them just paper, ink, and glue. You give them the possibility of a whole new life."
One of the possibilities is the possibility of inner peace. Not only can a book transport a person to a far off land, to another time, a different space, but it can also give the gift of inner peace – a respite from the harried and hurried life they are all too familiar with.
When you need to give a gift and have no idea what to give – give the gift of inner peace. Give a gift certificate to a favorite bookstore or to Amazon.com. It’s the kind of gift that will forever be appreciated and cherished.
Give the gift of peace,
Coach Carolyn
Express Your Divine Desires
“If you knew everything was really all right, and that it always has a happy ending, then you would not feel trepidacious about your future. Everything is really so very all right! If you could believe and trust that, then, immediately everything would automatically and instantly become all right.” ~ Abraham
If you had no fear, what would you accomplish?
STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK yourself this question. Most of us operate out of a sense of fear instead of a sense of faith, love and trust.
You never worry about the air around you running out – so you have to run outside and breathe as much of it as possible. You have faith and trust that wherever you go, there is enough air for you to breathe.
Think about your true desires and dreams. If they are truly your dreams and not the dreams of your parents, your cultural tribe or your teachers, then the way to make those dreams reality right there beside those dreams. The answers are always in the same room with the questions.
All divine desires are given divine expressions. That is your task. This is where you take the inspired action to make those dreams and divine desires a reality. When you come from a place of pure divinity, fear does not exist.
Leap. The net will appear.
Coach Carolyn
You are a Divine Expression waiting to express your divine desire. Don't let fear stop you from your expression. Join the Transcending Fear Mentoring Program today and express freely and fully.
Being Our Own Role Models
I got this from the Daily OM; and I thought it was appropriate for our community of purposeful women. Enjoy!
There was a time where women stood together in a bond of sisterhood, women supporting women. It is only natural that the pendulum swings out of balance for a while so that we may have the experience of what we do not want. It is up to women to bring the pendulum back into balance and bring back the sacred sisterhood we yearn for at our core.
If we envision a world where women support each other and help each other find their place in an ever-changing world, then we can become the change we want to see. Jealousy, envy, criticism, and judgment are refuges for the insecure. As we help others to become self-assured, we create a world in which all people help each other, regardless of gender. Only women can make the change in how women are seen and understood, not just by other women but by the world at large. The way we speak about each other to other women and to the men in our lives informs everyone to treat us with the respect that all women, and all people, deserve.
If we do not stand together, we will surely fall apart! Support your sisters.
Coach Carolyn
Friday’s Purposeful Question
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
“What questions are you wrestling with right now?”
"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question." ~ Decouvertes
Have an awesome weekend!
Coach Carolyn
Every morning you wake up, you have a beautiful blank canvas before you on which to create your day.
What do you choose to paint, write, sculpt, or handcraft?
You have the power to create your day, which creates your life. Your life is made up of days. So, take it one day at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by next month, or the next six months, or the next twelve months. You only have right now, this moment. How are you going to live that?
So, just for today, just create today.
Coach Carolyn
Be Still and Be Peace
"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us." ~ Black Elk
When you can be peace, then there is some peace in the world. More importantly, there is some peace within your immediate world. This is good news. You have within you the power to manifest peace. I hear so much about trying to find peace, seeking peace, looking outside of ourselves for the peace that is closer than our breath.
I am often reminded of the words of the Psalmist that says, “Be still and know that I am God.” This is the peace that has been born within you, the peace that lights your world when it is so dark all around you.
Just for today, don’t look for peace outside of yourself. Simply STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and be peace. And then you will be.
I choose peace instead of this.
Coach Carolyn
Are You Being Fearful?
“Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.” ~ Shirley Maclaine
The one insidious thing about fear is that it steals your true identity.
When you are in a state of fear, you do not think, behave or speak as you would when you are not afraid. You become a lesser version of yourself. Your authentic self becomes buried beneath the fear and cowering. This, in turn, has the ripple effect. Your are not your real self to people who would become friends. You show up as the lesser you. So if you are wondering why your relationships are not what they ought, think about how you are “being.”
Are you being fearful?
Because if you are, then you need to know that fear will not allow you to have healthy, long-lasting relationships. Your relationships may last long, but I can bet you they are not healthy and filled with peaceful exchanges. They are not nutritious. Look at your relationships – familial, work, social and otherwise. How would you diagnose them? Healthy or sick?
Remember, you are the common denominator of those relationships; so if they are not healthy, guess what?
"To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." ~ Bertrand Russell
Coach Carolyn
Don't let fear steal your identity or ruin your relationships. Join the Transcending Fear Mentoring Program today and take back your identity.
Choose Wisely!
Honor Yourself and Do Your Best
Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret. ~ The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
This is my favorite agreement… this week! I have begin the process of creating new online businesses and I said to myself that I will simply do the best that I can. We make agreements all the time – with others and with ourselves. More often than not, we do not honor the agreements we make to ourselves. We would feel mortified if we broke an agreement or an appointment with someone else. Yet, we feel it is okay to break agreements and appointments with ourselves. Are we not as important? We send the message that we are not.
Another agreement I made with myself is to be consistent with my spiritual practices and daily routines that will get me closer to my desires and intentions. If I am not consistent, then I will get what I have always gotten – nothing! I truly see and even feel the difference in being consistent. I have been consistent in doing those things that have created the habits I don’t want. Now it’s time to replace those non-serving habits with nutritious habits that will serve me and bring me closer to my intentions and dreams.
I love that Don Miguel states your best will change from moment to moment, because we all change and shift as well and our best must shift with us. But whatever shifts we are going through, always do your best.
Just for today, do your best!
Coach Carolyn
Honor yourself by not allowing fear to rule your life. Join the Transcending Fear Mentoring Program today!
Peace Is In the Present Moment
Feel the Fear and Launch!
"Over the years I’ve realized that when we define ourselves through one thing, we risk being disappointed by unmet expectations. Whether it’s your business, your marriage, your children or your exercise regimen, associating your identity too deeply with one aspect of your life can lead to a true identity crisis and result in unhappiness.
"In fact experts say that the more diverse and varied our interests and passions are, the happier we become, citing examples of happy people who have many facets to their lives. When I first started Ladies Who Launch, like many passionate new launchers, I deeply associated myself with its mission, the brand and the evolving community. However there were times when my enthusiasm backfired, causing me to be discouraged at the twists and turns in the road.
"Feeling discouraged is a negative energy drain and can start a downward spiral leading to bad choices and less than desirable results. Although hindsight is 20/20, if I could give any budding entrepreneur advice today, I’d say, cultivate and give equal attention to all aspects of your life that create positive energy feelings for you. When one thing is in turmoil, the others balance it out, giving you just the boost you need to handle tough times optimally."
From Victoria's Daily Launch Tip of Ladies Who Launch
Here's to the Ladies Who Launch!
Coach Carolyn
Don't let fear keep you from launching into your greatest dreams! Sign up for the Transcending Fear Mentoring Program today!
I Think...Therefore, I AM!
Quote of the Day
"The question has been raised about whether or not our president is a socialist. . [H]e's not a socialist. He's a corporatist. And unfortunately we have corporatists inside the Republican party and that means you take care of corporations and corporations take over and run the country. We see it in the financial institutions, we see it in the military-industrial complex. And now we see it in the medical-industrial complex."
Dubbed the World's Worst Mother, Tennessee's Torry Ann Hansen has just made life much harder for countless orphans and their would-be adopted parents.
Julianne Moore and Annette Bening As Lesbians in Sundance hit 'The Kids Are All Right' (Trailer)
This looks like a good one! It features two of my favorite women, and it's about [gasp] gay marriage! The Film Salon says: "Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star in one of the most compelling portraits of American coupling in film history."
Gay Politics Feminist News Women-Centric Movies
It's official, the oldest liberal on the High Court is retiring. John Paul Stevens will be missed! Here's hoping Obama will deliver a solidly liberal and exceedingly feminist Justice. Surely President Obama will strive to make a dent in the excessively male-dominated Court by choosing a woman:
Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, leader of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, announced on Friday that he would retire at the end of this term, setting up a confirmation battle over his replacement that is virtually certain to dominate the political scene this summer.
"Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."
Politics Feminist News Gender
Or maybe it's not a curse if you don't have to be in charge all the time:
"I told him if he ever beat his wife again, I'd dissolve the marriage and put him in prison," she remembers. "Marriage is not a joke, and women are not slaves."
"When domestic issues come to me, the way I treat them will be quite different to other traditional chiefs. I'm a woman and I'm a mother and I have so much concern and experience when it comes to the issue of marriage and what it means for the maintenance of the home and what it means for two people to live together. The legend of the curse on male rulers, however, has led some Islamic clerics from neighboring regions to suggest that witchcraft is at work. (via Jezebel)
Politics Feminist News Gender
A mystery heckler flew two banners over Tiger's game at the Masters Golf Tournament yesterday:
1) "Tiger: Did you mean Bootyism?"
Politics Feminist News Gender
Friday’s Purposeful Question
Kim McMillan has more political experience in her little finger than Mike McWherter has had in his entire lifetime. Nevertheless, she's out of the race for the Democratic nomination for governor and McWherter is in. She served for 12 years in the Tennessee House of Representatives. She was the first woman in the state's history to serve as House Majority Leader. He's never held office in his life. He's the son of a former governor.
It's the tradition in this country to keep women out of high office by portraying us as too dumb, too naive and too childish for the job. Like they say, some traditions seem to last forever. In a recent column, Gail Kerr criticizes local bloggers and campaign staff for the exceedingly sexist practice of disrespecting the woman candidate by tagging her with cute little demeaning nicknames like "Kimmie Mac."
No one calls Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey "Ronnie Ram." Or lone remaining Democrat Mike McWherter "Mikey Mac." So why do some men think it's acceptable to stick a childish, pejorative label on one of the state's female politicians?
. . Calling her "Kimmy Mac"? Come on, boys. This is 2010. Haven't we gotten past the point where men feel the need to belittle women by assigning them childish names? I know they are trying for cute and clever. But it isn't. It's belittling and sexist. And it's decades past time for it to end. . Sexism couched behind snarky humor is still sexism. There's no place for it. Whether they admit it or not, men use it to try and put us "little gals" in our place.
Let this be a reminder to any remaining Neanderthals. A woman's place is in the House. And the Senate. And the White House. And the boardroom.
Kimmie Mac Goes On Education Tour
It’s The Income Tax, Not Sexism, Holds Kimmie Mac Back
Kimmie Mac Thinks The Kyle Withdrawal Is Good For Her
Kimmie Mac Bumping Up Against Double Standards
Kimmie Mac Handicaps The Republican Gubernatorial Race
Kimmie Mac: Thanks For Making Me Contender Again, Fellas
Kimmie Mac Agnostic On Single Payer Health
Update from Post Politics: New Directive: We shall refer to no one by nicknames
Chairman of Augusta National Men's Golf Club Responds to the Woman Question
The Chairman of the Augusta National Men's Golf Club made a big splash in the news yesterday by chastising Brother Tiger. The male-dominated media called it a "stern" and "harsh rebuke."
Reporters asked questions after the Chairman of the Brotherhood of Masterly Golf Players finished rebuking Brother Tiger. Apparently, it occurred to at least one reporter that "our kids and grandkids" include girls. The reporter asked the woman question:
Finally, Payne faced a question about Augusta National’s all-male membership. Reminded that he had talked of role models and responsibility, Payne was asked if the club felt responsibility to open its arms to women in golf. For the first time, Payne hesitated in reply. Then he mentioned that the club had contributed “tens of millions of dollars” to the game that benefited both men’s and women’s golf.
“The rest of that may be a membership kind of issue,” Payne said. He tilted his head to one side and made an expression that could have been interpreted as an apologetic smile. Then Billy Payne leaned forward and said: “As you know, that is subject to the private deliberations of the members.”
Politics Feminist The Masters Gender Patriarchy Sexist News
Tiger Woods Brings Dead Dad Into Sex Scandal via Creepy Nike Ad (Video)
She gave birth to twins Max and Emme back in March of 2008 and Jennifer Lopez can’t believe how much her life has changed in the past two years.
She explained, “I can't help but be a different person now that I've had kids. That really does change your whole perspective on life for the better. I definitely feel like I've grown up."
J. Lo continued, "My main priority now is that my kids are happy; that's my No. 1 focus in life. Are these little people happy, content, and getting everything they need? Everything after that is secondary. Before, my work was my main priority – even above myself."
"I think the biggest thing they've taught me is what loving someone is and what it should feel like. This is what unconditional love means. It's crazy, but it's heaven and earth."
Raychel Coudriet is a 22-year-old girl who lives in Tiger Woods' Florida neighborhood. That alone means the odds of him sleeping with her are pretty high. He supposedly did just that, she alleges, and their alleged one-night stand took place less than a mile from his home. She recently decided to come clean.
Why? Like all the other Tiger Woods mistresses, she feels entitled to cash in, and is somehow shocked and livid that she was but one of many conquests. Dude was cheating on Elin Nordegren with all of them, keep in mind. According to sources, Tiger Woods and Raychel Coudriet met one night and hit it off. They began making out within sight of his house while Elin was home. They then had sex in a private office the superstar keeps nearby.
True to form, Tiger Woods texted Raychel repeatedly after the tryst. She apparently felt guilty about having sex with a married man and never did it again. Clearly he was devastated and vowed to change his own ways.
The National Enquirer was first to reveal Tiger’s double life by outing his relationship with Rachel Uchitel, and they're behind this new mistress' unmasking. You would think that discredits the report right off the bat, but they're being considered for a Pulitzer for uncovering the John Edwards love child scandal.
Besides, this is Tiger Woods. Do you doubt it for a second?
At this point, you could tell us he and Tiki Barber had a devil's three-way with Traci Lynn Johnson and we'd buy it. Okay, maybe not, but you get the point.
The Republican Party of Family Values gets stranger and stranger:
Normally, the Web sites of political parties are supposed to feature photos of beaming candidates alongside pleas for donations. But that’s not quite the case this afternoon over at the online portal of the Chicago Republican Party. The top of its site features a large photo of a topless woman in a seductive pose, followed by a strange and barely comprehensible essay about John Edwards's mistress Rielle Hunter’s upcoming interview with Oprah.
Politics Progressive News Gender
Prince William want to propose Kate Middleton?
Prince William and Kate Middleton got back together last year, and a new report suggests they won't be breaking up ever again. According to TheDailyBeast.com, the prince will likely propose to his girlfriend this summer. "A high-placed source in royal circles tells me that two days in June have been mysteriously blocked out on the palace diaries — June 3 and 4," said Tina Brown, who runs The Beast and has written a biography Princess Diana.
"Philip will be 90 in June 2011, and the Queen celebrates her diamond jubilee — 60 years on the throne — in February 2012. Their closeness to their grandson, especially Philip, makes them eager, I am told, to see William settled in matrimony."
Last summer, other sources echoed this sentiment, stating that William and Kate would be headed down the aisle some time in the next two years. Might that time be near?
If so, expect a wedding that would make Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom's look like a small affair.
Communicate, Don’t Assume
The Third Agreement: Don’t Make Assumptions
I used to joke that the only exercise I ever got was jumping to conclusions! And man, was I good at it!
When you don’t ask specific questions, then you have to assume your own answers and this, more often than not, leads to trouble. Why do we tend not to ask a simple question, yet would rather stew in our own misery of assumptions and bad guesses?
Just for today, don’t assume. You know what you get when you assume? Uh-huh!
STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK a question.
Coach Carolyn
Don't let fear keep you from asking simple questions that will make life easier. Join the Transcending Fear Mentoring Program today!
Megan Fox's Anti-Schwarzenegger Funny or Die PSA: Hot for Teachers (Video)
The parents at Wonderland Avenue Elementary in Laurel Canyon were irate about the proposed education cuts from the state budget. So instead of going to Sacramento, they went straight to Hollywood. The school’s PTA president came up with the idea of creating a video, and one parent suggested they ask Brian Austin Green (of "Beverly Hills, 90210" fame) to star in it. Green, whose son attends the school, agreed, and he got his girlfriend, actress Megan Fox, to costar.
Politics Schwarzenegge News Education Cuts
Does Anyone Murder Women Besides Allegedly Loving Husbands and Boyfriends?
A tearful and apparently heart-broken Munawar Toha pleads for the return of his missing wife: "Your children miss you. Please come home." (Watch it!)
(CBS) A Florida man was caught on tape stuffing his wife's body into a car trunk, then shoving the vehicle into a lake, police say. Authorities in Coral Springs say the body of Surya Sari-Prihatin Toha, 41, was found in her car, submerged in the lake. She was last seen late last month dropping her kids off at school.
Politics Feminist News Gender
While Tiger Plays at Masters Penis-Only Club, Martha Burke Gets Death Threats
People, or I should say some men, sure take their Penis Only clubs seriously. Martha Burke is getting death threats, again, for the crime of criticizing Augusta National's policy of discriminating against women.
After long-time members Logan and Barbara Van Sittert asked for the dining lounge of the Phoenix Country Club in Arizona to be opened to women in 2007, the club was vandalized with graffiti calling Van Sittert a “bitch” and a “whore.” She was 72 years old at the time.
Tiger Woods is taking full advantage of the sexist Masters Tournament, writes Lynn Hecht Schafran in a piece aptly titled, Tiger Re-Masters Sexist Sponsorships at Augusta:
As Tiger Woods returns to the golf spotlight at the Masters Tournament at the men-only Augusta National Golf Club this week, the irony of a man publicly humiliated for using women like Kleenex staging his comeback at a club where women can't even be second-class citizens is glaring. A great anonymous post to the Boston Golf Examiner read, "(How perfect that a) man who doesn't respect women has opted to restart his golf career at a golf course that does not respect women."
It could also be considered lamentable that Woods did not use this moment of supreme leverage -- the Masters would be nothing without him -- to end the discrimination. That's what Billie Jean King did when she won the U.S. Open in 1972 and her prize purse was $15,000 less her male counterpart's. King said she would not be back in '73 if the prize money was not equalized, the promoters knew they needed her, and in 1973 the purses for men and women were identical.
But Woods lives so totally in his own bubble that asking him to think of doing something for someone else is laughable. He had the chance to take a stance on Augusta when the National Council of Women's Organizations started pressing the question at the 2002 Masters. He passed. . . In 2002, when Martha Burk, president of the National Council of Women's Organizations, began urging Augusta to end its sex discrimination, she met with derision from the club, but for the following two years corporations withdrew their sponsorship and the Masters was broadcast without commercials. . . . read more . . .
Background: Burk Opens Her Augusta National Protest
"Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, 'She doesn't have what it takes.' They will say, 'Women don't have what it takes.'"
Thinking Your Way to Inner Peace
"When you question your stressful thoughts, the freedom that comes out of that graces the world for all of us." ~ Byron Katie
When you are not experiencing inner peace, one thing to do is STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:
“What am I thinking about at this moment?”
Chances are you are thinking something stressful or rehashing and regurgitating thoughts from of old. Take the time to check in with yourself; especially when you are not feeling at peace.
When you are not feeling that peace or serenity, you are not in the present moment. Stress, fear, anxiety are not present moment feelings. You are either in the past or in the future. And why? You cannot change anything that has happened in the past and you cannot control the future. Yes, you can plan, and you need to do that; but plan, visualize and work in this moment to do what you need to do to make those plans a reality.
Stay in the present moment to maintain your inner peace.
Coach Carolyn
Child-ish Thinking
David "Pimped Out" Shuster is off the air.
TGW: MSNBC Punishes Badboy David Shuster, Again
TGW: NBC Suspends Shuster for Misogynistic Attack on Chelsea
Politics MSNBC News The Chelsea Factor Video
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla) Holds Town Hall Amid Threats (Video)
Lesbian Teen Sent to Fake Prom by Homophobic School Officials in Mississippi
You can't make this stuff up. Ignorant school officials in Fulton, Mississippi conspired to discriminate against Constance McMillen by sending her to a fake prom while the heterosexual kids partied at the real prom. What part of lawsuit do these a-holes not understand?
McMillen tells The Advocate that a parent-organized prom happened behind her back — she and her date were sent to a Friday night event at a country club in Fulton, Miss., that attracted only five other students. Her school principal and teachers served as chaperones, but clearly there wasn't much to keep an eye on.
"They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them," McMillen says. "The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to."
Politics Feminist News Gender
David Shuster is being punished by MSNBC, again. This time Shuster didn't get caught calling anybody a pimp or a whore. This time Shuster cheated on MSNBC by shooting a secret pilot for CNN. Things are not looking good for the poor jerk. Reportedly, MSNBC President Phil Griffin "ripped Shuster a new one over the phone" and will do it again in the office. MSNBC could only improve by dumping Shuster.
Shuster won't be on the air today for his 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. shows, according to MSNBC insiders. Whether he returns before his contract expires in December is up for debate. . In the past, MSNBC reps have been downright temperate in their official reactions to Shuster's mishaps. This time, however, they've taken a giant step - for MSNBC, anyway -- beyond temperate. If Shuster is guilty, he will "be punished appropriately."
Politics Feminist News Gender Media
GOP Fears Census Scare Tactics May Backfire. Karl Rove to the Rescue. (Video)
People in Republican areas, like Texas, are not mailing in their census forms. I think we can thank Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and her fellow conspiracy theorists for demonizing the census as an Unconstitutional Evil Socialist Big Government Plot to take away guns and lock up right-wingers in Japanese internment camps. Or something like that.
Politics Progressive News
This is so funny. Tiger Woods reportedly lives in fear of his former mistresses. Woods has hired 90 bodyguards to protect him from his 2 dozen mistresses while he plays golf at the Masters Golf Tournament. That's almost 4 bodyguards per mistress!
A virtual army of private bodyguards - about 90 in all - will be protecting Tiger Woods when he returns to golf this week at the Masters, London's Sunday Mail reported Saturday. Woods' vast security detail will include former FBI and Secret Service agents, as well as armed deputies - all of whom are believed to have received photos of the golf great's sexual conquests.
The world's best-known philanderer reportedly fears a confrontation with one of his more than two dozen alleged mistresses. "None of these girls are allowed anywhere near him," a security guard told the Sunday Mail. "If one photo comes out of a beautiful lady touching him, it would be a disaster. . Eight guards will be surrounding Woods "as a last line of defense," the paper says.
BREAKING NEWS: Tiger At Masters - Without Elin
Politics Feminist News Gender