Now I have to worry about my kninkles??

OMG, Gwyneth's knees are so kninkly! (Or is it kninkley??)

The warm weather makes my thoughts turn to summer - long days spent lounging on my deck reading great books, gardening, taking my dogs to the beach...and kninkles.

What? Yep, you heard me. Women, not only do we have to get our bodies "bikini ready," whatever that means, but we also have to get our knees in shape! I mean, who wants unsightly knee wrinkles? I don't and I won't stand for it!

How does one get rid of the dreaded kninkle? Fillers, of course! No worries, gals, inject your knees full of restylane and be rid of wrinkly knees.

Seriously, are you kidding me?

Kninkles strike again!

How does she face the public with her knees all...kninkley?

Thank goodness my husband and dogs don't notice whether or not I have kninkles. In fact, neither do I...I've never checked, and I'm not about to start. I'd rather sip on margaritas and watch the sun set...which is exactly what I'm going to do.

I'll take that job without "getting on the pole," thank you very much...

Something is amiss at the New York Parks Department's holiday parties. Mainly, the fact that seasonal female employees are awarded with permanent jobs or even cash if they agreed to pole dance and strip for everyone's entertainment. One man was even allegedly heard yelling, "If you want a job, get on the pole."

The Parks Department's supervisor, James Cafaro, and his supervisor, Angelo Figueroa, are being investigated. I can't help but make the connection to The Invisible War - in the sense that the victims are being harassed and assaulted by their supervisors, which makes it almost impossible to report and prosecute this despicable behavior. Fortunately, in this case, the union is supporting these women and they might just see some real action taken.

And this is not an isolated incident.

Louis Harris and Associates conducted a phone poll in 2008 and found that:

    * 31% of the female workers reported they had been harassed at work
    * 7% of the male workers reported they had been harassed at work
    * 62% of targets took no action
    * 100% of women reported the harasser was a man
    * 59% of men reported the harasser was a woman
    * 41% of men reported the harasser was another man

Think you're a victim of or witnessing sexual harassment at work? Click here for more information.

What do you make?

Need a feel good pick-me-up? The documentary, Makers, has a website that includes tons of videos of contemporary women who "make" America (including the documentary in its entirety). You can stop in and watch a three-minute clip or snuggle in for a few hours for the full documentary. Either way, you'll see and hear powerful, interesting women talking about their experiences. 

My only gripe about this site/project is that it's sponsored, in part, by skin care products, so prior to watching the video of a rockin' woman talking about power, you'll told your skin is not good enough (but, hey, here's a product to buy that will make you perfect and more attractive). I try to ignore the ads...but the uber-feminist inside my head rolls my eyes every. single. time.

So, while you're watching these, think about your contribution to our society: what do you make?

Your Weight is the Least Interesting Thing About You

I stumbled across this blog post this week while scrolling through Pinterest. The blogger, Kate Bartolotta, a massage therapy student, writes about what she has learned from touching "more than 50 naked people." The title made me laugh, because it reminded me of conversations I've had with my physical therapist (I injured my back last July in Crossfit and have spent nine months in physical therapy trying to straighten it out) as she massaged my...well...left butt cheek. Being in close contact with another person in this way is a surefire way to get over any body issues one might have. But the reality is, a body is just a body. It's not a measure of your worthiness in any way. What really struck me was number six on her list of eight things she's learned: "Your weight is the least interesting thing about you."

Something about that simple phrase is so therapeutic. It's so true, but it's not what we focus on. Turn on the television and Kim Kardashian is lamenting how her pregnant body looks, crying, "How the f*** did I get like this?" Um...you're pregnant. Need we explain how that works? But people eat it up. I mean, it's being used in the promo for her show. (And, yes, it physically hurt me to write about Kim Kardashian...) And not only do they eat it up, but people comment on it and discuss it as if it were important. We are obsessed with weight. And it's just not that interesting.

So, here's a list of eight interesting things about me that have nothing to do with my weight. What are your eight?

8. I have lived in six different states.

7. I spent one month in Vietnam volunteering and living in Ho Chi Minh City.

6. My husband and I have three boxer dogs.

5. I can deadlift 235 pounds.

4. I can't grow flowers to save my life, but I'm a master gardener when it comes to veggies.

3. I have ten tattoos.

2. My laugh is incredibly loud and I like it that way.

1. My life is full of incredible people who support and love me; I'm insanely lucky!

I did not want to watch this documentary. The Invisible War, a documentary on sexual assault in the military, has been sitting in my Netflix instant queue just waiting for me to decide it was the right time to view it. But when is the right time to watch a documentary on sexual assault? As it turns out, it’s NOW.

My women’s studies course does a “blog share” every Friday. At the beginning of the semester each student chose a feminist blog to follow. Every Friday we come together and share one interesting blog post with the whole class. We watch videos, view images, and share our thoughts. One of my students has been following the stories of two members of the armed forces, one an Air Force lieutenant colonel, and one a U.S. Army sergeant first class (both men work in sexual-assault prevention offices on their bases) who are being investigated for sexual assault. My students are angered by what they are learning and asked that we learn more about this issue.

So I knew I had to watch the documentary.

This is a film that everyone should see. It will leave you infuriated. This film follows the stories of women (and one man) who were raped while serving in the military. They share their stories - of the assault and of the aftermath - and each one is more horrifying than the next. One woman fights the VA for medical coverage for a broken jaw she sustained during her attack; one woman struggles with daily life because of the PTSD she now experiences. All of the victims struggle with relationships and jobs. And the military and our government does nothing but say, “We’re outraged. This must stop.” But the reality is, the system is set up to silence the victims of sexual assault in the military, and there is no movement being made to change this. The leaders can say, “We have zero tolerance for rape” all they want, but until some real changes are made, incidents of rape in the military are going to continue.

It’s time to write our representatives and demand that they make immediate changes to the way our soldiers must report rape (to their superiors, who are often the rapists) and how the military handles the victims’ cases (oftentimes they “lose” all the evidence).

It’s time to really support our troops.