the digital giraffe

All About Women
Our Woman of the Month Award for December, 2024, goes to Galina Marcus, Founder of the San Diego Art Directory, for her inspiring entrepreneurial spirit. She identified a need in a major California City and has added immeasurably to San Diego's lively art community. Note: the San Diego Art Directory, a non-profit enterprise, is currently holding a fund raiser.

A 2600-year old inscription carved on a monument in Turkey has finally been decoded. Engraved with pictures of sphinxes and lions, the wrting refers to "Materan", also known as the Mother, a Goddess of the Phrygians who thrived from 1200 to 600 B.C. The Greeks refer to her as The Mother of the Gods, the Romans as Great Mother. The inscription is difficult to read due to looting and weathering, but it includes an image of the Goddess. Scholars have been debating the meaning of the inscription for roughly 100 years.

The editor of British Vogue has expressed concern about a return to skinny models, especially since recent efforts to use body diversity were just showing progress. Chioma Nnadi, Editorial Director and the most senior person at the magazine, suggested that the use of weight-loss drugs might be responsible for the reversal. Designers appear once again to be making sample-size clothing.

The nation of Colombia has recently voted to make child marriage illegal even with parental permission. The law is awaiting the signature of President Gustavo Petro to become effective. Prior to the new legislation, girls as young as 14 were becoming brides. Using the slogan "they're girls, not wives", supporters of the new bill aim to prevent forced marriages which often resulted in violence, prevented young women from getting educated, and treated them as sexual objects. UNICEF reports that roughly 12 million child marriages take place every year around the world. In Latin America particularly, poverty seems to be the decisive factor.

The Gurrilla Girls have long been associated with women's rights activism, meaning almost 40 years of protest. Their focus has been not only on the art world, but on the larger world around us. They used camouflage, humor, advertising, bold graphics, and a fierce determination to grab the world's attention on inequities and injustices. In this interview, 2 of the original Guerrilla Girls discuss their goals, their tactics, and the ongoing need to speak up and speak out.

A new report suggests why women sleep less and wake more frequently than men. The study concludes that biological factors are responsible, rather than lifestyles. Previous studies tended to exclude females from their tests and conclusions, resulting in poor safety data and unbalanced drug recommendations.

Setting a new record, 13 women will be gevernors in the USA next year. Unfortunately 18 states have never elected a female governor. Kelly Ayotte, newly selected as Governor of New Hampshire, will be that state's 3rd woman governor. She was part of the first all-women congresssional delegation. With her, 5 Republican women will serve as Governor as well as 8 Democrats. In terms of the Presidency, it is noted that roles like commander in chief frequently evoke masculine stereotypes which place obstacles in the election of women.

In a ground-breaking study, researchers at Cornell University have reported that gender stereotyping influences top roles in social positions - men tend to be linked to power, with control over resources and people, while women are associated with respect and admiration. Even when women succeed in rising to the top, they are subject to being removed by others. Such restraint does not apply to men. The authors based their conclusions on studies involving 816 US adults. Power comes from money or an organization supporting you; admiration from fans who follow you. Additionally, women tend to internalize these stereotypes, further diminishing their chances for getting to the top of power positions.

During the 18th century it appears that the age of Enlightenment was fostered by the tens of thousands of travelers who took the Grand Tour crossing and criss-crossing all corners of Europe. Of those, at least 944 were women. Giovanna Cesarani, a professor of classics at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, is trying to identify those women whose presence was previously hidden. Cesarani examined half a million data points from the Dictionary of British and Irish travelers in Italy 1701 - 1800, concentrating on 22 of the 955. The women either accompanied or were accompanied by men. They were described as daughters, siblings, spouses, mistresses, servants, or women attendants. She learned about not only gender roles but gendered labor, sex tourism, and the flexibility of families.

The Guardian newspaper discusses some MAGA men who think that women, like their own wives, don't have rights. One fundamentalist pastor announced that "a woman should vote according to her husband's direction". Another MAGA personality claimed that a woman voting for Kamals Harris is like she's having an extra-marital affair. At issue here is a kind of voter suppression, suggesting that women don't have the right to think or decide for themselves.

Women in the military face formidable obstacles if they want or need to have an abortion. The Hyde amendment has disallowed federal funding for most abortions except in the case of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is threatened. Additional difficulties arise when the women are stationed where abortion is now illegal. An informal support system has now been formed, like an underground "railroad" with women helping each other.

In 2005, for the first time, a Women in Optics group was formed to celebrate the expertise, achievements and contributions of women in the areas of optics and photonics, bringing them recognition and visibility. 20 years later it is not only attracting more women into the field but providing role models around the globe. It has also demonstrated that there are significant opportunities for women in the industry to succeed and carve new pathways forward.

Be sure to email giraffe@giraffe.com with your suggestions, be they articles, videos, images, cartoons, music, or comments, so that we can share our celebrations and our concerns with each other.

Last updated December 1, 2024 - 30 years of monthly Web publication

Corinne Whitaker - Artist, Editor, Author, Poet, Sculptor, Publisher, Composer, Betaphysician, Chief of the Newanderthal Tribe

Best of Foster City 2016
Best of Palo Alto 2013

Golden Web Award, 2001 and 2000

Artist of the Month, Artisan Bazaar, 2000

Best in Cyberart Award, 1999

winner of BATech's "Catch of the Day"

winner of Fractal Design's "Artist of the Month"and "Image of the Day"

Featured Master Artist, Shadowart Galleries, 1997 and 1998

Guest Artist of the Month, Hampton Click Salon Online
Exhibit below from Virtual Gallery online