Linda Layne a feminist medical anthropologist, spent decades of working on pregnancy loss, now deciding to work on happier topics—single mothers by choice and two-mum families. Linda is particularly interested in the DIY approach. (Her book 'Feminist Technology' would give you an idea why.) Linda is from the US but based in Cambridge this year (till July 2012), she would really like to hear from anyone who is willing to share their story with her.
Linda’s book: Feminist Technology
Is there such a thing as a 'feminist technology'? If so, what makes a technology feminist? Is it in the design process, in the thing itself, in the way it is marketed, or in the way it is used by women (or by men)? In this collection, feminist scholars trained in diverse fields consider these questions by examining a range of products, tools, and technologies that were specifically designed for and marketed to women. Evaluating the claims that such products are liberating for women, the contributors focus on case studies of menstrual-suppressing birth control pills, home pregnancy tests, tampons, breast pumps, Norplant, anti-fertility vaccines, and microbicides. In examining these various products, this volume explores ways of actively intervening to develop better tools for designing, promoting, and evaluating feminist technologies. Recognizing the different needs and desires of women and acknowledging the multiplicity of feminist approaches, "Feminist Technologies" offers a sustained debate on existing and emergent technologies that share the goal of improving women's lives.
Review:
"This coherent and integrated collection lays out the issues and questions of feminist technology, crossing a true range of disciplinary boundaries including science and technology studies, architecture, biology, and the social sciences." Barbara Katz Rothman, author of Recreating Motherhood: Ideology and Technology in a Patriarchal Society
Please contact Linda at ll427@cam.ac.uk . All stories can be kept anonymous if preferred. All comments and views are appreciated.
Alternatively you may contact Pride Angel for further information.
Buy the book 'Feminist Technology' through Amazon, just click here: Shop
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Friday, 13 January 2012
Last chance to vote for your favourite gay icons, websites or initiatives
Last Chance to vote for your favourite gay icon’s, gay websites and LGBT initiatives
g3 magazine and Out In The City magazine have launched their annual readers’ awards .
The awards consist of a wide range of categories, with all nominees suggested by the public and narrowed down to a list of top five contenders for each category.
g3 magazine and Out In The City magazine readers can vote for the nominees they think best deserves the award and be recognized for either their gay-friendly credentials, or the work they’ve contributed to helping the LGBT community.
Nominees include:
(g3) Gay icon of the year - Lady GaGa, Jessie J, Heather OPeace, Rihanna, Hope Powel
(Out in the City) Gay family initiative of the Year – Pride Angel, British surrogacy centre, New family social, Kite Children’s services, A City Law Firm
(Out in the City) Bar of the year – Comptons, Ku Bar, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, G-A-Y Bar, The George & Dragon
(Out In The City) Campaigner of the Year – Peter Thatchell, Ben Summerskill, Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, Ben Cohen, Chris Bryant MP.
All entries will be entered into a competition to win an iPad. Entries need to be submitted before the end of Friday 13th January!
We would love for you to show your support by voting for Pride Angel. It will only take a minute, just click on the link below now to vote:
www.outinthecityreadersawards.co.uk/shortlist-voting.html
g3 magazine and Out In The City magazine have launched their annual readers’ awards .
The awards consist of a wide range of categories, with all nominees suggested by the public and narrowed down to a list of top five contenders for each category.
g3 magazine and Out In The City magazine readers can vote for the nominees they think best deserves the award and be recognized for either their gay-friendly credentials, or the work they’ve contributed to helping the LGBT community.
Nominees include:
(g3) Gay icon of the year - Lady GaGa, Jessie J, Heather OPeace, Rihanna, Hope Powel
(Out in the City) Gay family initiative of the Year – Pride Angel, British surrogacy centre, New family social, Kite Children’s services, A City Law Firm
(Out in the City) Bar of the year – Comptons, Ku Bar, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, G-A-Y Bar, The George & Dragon
(Out In The City) Campaigner of the Year – Peter Thatchell, Ben Summerskill, Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, Ben Cohen, Chris Bryant MP.
All entries will be entered into a competition to win an iPad. Entries need to be submitted before the end of Friday 13th January!
We would love for you to show your support by voting for Pride Angel. It will only take a minute, just click on the link below now to vote:
www.outinthecityreadersawards.co.uk/shortlist-voting.html
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Lesbian couple in US granted equal parental rights over child
A Florida court has granted equal parental rights to two lesbian women who created a child using the eggs from one of the women, while the other carried the baby to term. It ruled that egg donors may acquire parental rights to children resulting from their gametes under the Florida and US Constitution.
The couple, who have now separated, were involved in custody proceedings over the child, born in 2004, after the woman who provided the eggs sought legal parental status. The birth mother – who under Florida law was automatically considered to be the child's legal mother – reportedly left for Australia with the child, before returning to the USA. The sperm was provided by an anonymous donor who waived all his rights over the child.
A circuit judge initially made a ruling in favour of the birth mother, but the decision was later overturned by the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal in December last year. The court said that Florida law, which grants parental status to the woman who carries the child only, is out of date and violates the US Constitution.
According to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, the court said: 'This is a unique case, and the appellate courts in Florida have never before considered a case quite like it'.
Under UK law, the birth mother – who carries the child - is considered to be the child's legal mother even if she has no genetic connection to the child. The law was recently updated to recognise same-sex couples as legal parents of children. The partner of a lesbian birth mother in a civil partnership can now be considered in law to be the child's second parent, if the child was born after 6 April 2009, and can be named on the child's birth certificate. The situation is, however, more complex where the couple is not in a civil partnership.
Speaking about the Florida case to the Sentinel, Professor Nancy Polikoff, who specialises in family law at the American University Washington College of Law, said: 'Any ruling that supports the right of a same-sex couple... is important for its willingness to recognise that these families exist and a child raised in this environment shouldn't be forced to give up a parent'.
The case has reportedly been passed back to the trial judge to determine details of custody, visitation and child-support.
Article: 9th january 2012 www.bionews.org.uk
The couple, who have now separated, were involved in custody proceedings over the child, born in 2004, after the woman who provided the eggs sought legal parental status. The birth mother – who under Florida law was automatically considered to be the child's legal mother – reportedly left for Australia with the child, before returning to the USA. The sperm was provided by an anonymous donor who waived all his rights over the child.
A circuit judge initially made a ruling in favour of the birth mother, but the decision was later overturned by the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal in December last year. The court said that Florida law, which grants parental status to the woman who carries the child only, is out of date and violates the US Constitution.
According to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, the court said: 'This is a unique case, and the appellate courts in Florida have never before considered a case quite like it'.
Under UK law, the birth mother – who carries the child - is considered to be the child's legal mother even if she has no genetic connection to the child. The law was recently updated to recognise same-sex couples as legal parents of children. The partner of a lesbian birth mother in a civil partnership can now be considered in law to be the child's second parent, if the child was born after 6 April 2009, and can be named on the child's birth certificate. The situation is, however, more complex where the couple is not in a civil partnership.
Speaking about the Florida case to the Sentinel, Professor Nancy Polikoff, who specialises in family law at the American University Washington College of Law, said: 'Any ruling that supports the right of a same-sex couple... is important for its willingness to recognise that these families exist and a child raised in this environment shouldn't be forced to give up a parent'.
The case has reportedly been passed back to the trial judge to determine details of custody, visitation and child-support.
Article: 9th january 2012 www.bionews.org.uk
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Pride Angel nominated Gay Family Initiative of the Year
We're really excited to have been nominated for this years 'Out in the City Readers awards'.
Pride Angel has been short listed within the category of 'Gay family initiative of the year'
The shortlisted nominations include:
- Pride Angel
- British Surrogacy Centre
- New Family Social
- Kite Children’s services
- A City Law Film
Vote for Pride Angel for being gay owned and run and for our contribution to the LGBT community helping create hundreds of LGBT families with pride!
....and just for voting for your favourite nominations you will be entered into a FREE DRAW for a chance to win an iPad
We would love for you to show your support by voting for Pride Angel. It will only take a minute, just click on the link below now to vote:
www.outinthecityreadersawards.co.uk/shortlist-voting.html
Nominations for all categories were short-listed based on their ability to be gay friendly and their contribution to the LGBT community.
You’re got until 13th January to register your vote and the winners will be announced in Out in the City’s February issue of the magazine.
- Only one entry per email address is permitted
- Your name will be entered into a FREE DRAW by Out in the City, for a chance to win an iPad, upon receipt of a fully completed form, using the following link:
www.outinthecityreadersawards.co.uk/shortlist-voting.html
Pride Angel has been short listed within the category of 'Gay family initiative of the year'
The shortlisted nominations include:
- Pride Angel
- British Surrogacy Centre
- New Family Social
- Kite Children’s services
- A City Law Film
Vote for Pride Angel for being gay owned and run and for our contribution to the LGBT community helping create hundreds of LGBT families with pride!
....and just for voting for your favourite nominations you will be entered into a FREE DRAW for a chance to win an iPad
We would love for you to show your support by voting for Pride Angel. It will only take a minute, just click on the link below now to vote:
www.outinthecityreadersawards.co.uk/shortlist-voting.html
Nominations for all categories were short-listed based on their ability to be gay friendly and their contribution to the LGBT community.
You’re got until 13th January to register your vote and the winners will be announced in Out in the City’s February issue of the magazine.
- Only one entry per email address is permitted
- Your name will be entered into a FREE DRAW by Out in the City, for a chance to win an iPad, upon receipt of a fully completed form, using the following link:
www.outinthecityreadersawards.co.uk/shortlist-voting.html
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Sperm grown in laboratory in fertility breaththrough
Men suffering from fertility problems have been given renewed hope after a team of scientists were able to grow sperm in a laboratory. In a world's first, scientists have successfully grown mouse sperm in a lab dish and are now hoping they would be able to produce human sperm too.
The team of researchers were led by Professor Stefan Schlatt from Germany’s Muenster University and using just a few cells that are responsible for its production, successfully reproduced mice sperm. They are now hoping they will be able to repeat the technique to produce human sperm, which could then be used in fertility treatments to enable infertile men to father their own children.
Commenting on the research, one Isreali team member, Prof. Mahmoud Huleihel, said: “I believe it will eventually be possible to routinely grow human male sperm to order by extracting tissue containing germ cells from a man’s testicle and stimulating sperm production in the laboratory.” To grow the sperm the scientists wanted to ensure they created conditions that were as similar to those found in the testicles as possible.
As a result, the germ cells were surrounded by agar jelly and grown in an environment with a temperature that was just below the normal body temperature of humans. Professors Schlatt and Huleihel along with their teams are now trying to emulate the results in human sperm “as quickly as possible.”
"We have already applied the same tests as we did with mice in the laboratory, using human cells, but as yet have not had success,” Huleihel noted. “We are confident that if it can be done in a mammal such as a mouse it can be done in humans.”
He added: “We are experimenting with a number of different compounds to get the germ cells to grow into sperm. And we believe it will be possible. And, hopefully, soon.” The work carried out by the research group has received high praise from a number of fertility experts.
One of the UK’s leading fertility scientists, Professor Richard Sharpe, who is based at Edinburgh University, is hoping to get involved with the project in the near future. He said: “This is a significant step forward towards making human sperm.”
Meanwhile, one of the NHS’ top consultants in infertility, Stephen Gordon, added: “This is an amazing development that could revolutionise fertility treatment and allow every man to be a natural father. “Infertile men naturally want to be the father of their child but at present have to accept that can't happen,” he said. “With the mouse discovery, that could now be a possibility.”
The results of the research project have been published in a major scientific journal by Nature. Article: 3rd January 2012 www.healthcareglobal.com
Read more about fertility and sperm donation at www.prideangel.com
The team of researchers were led by Professor Stefan Schlatt from Germany’s Muenster University and using just a few cells that are responsible for its production, successfully reproduced mice sperm. They are now hoping they will be able to repeat the technique to produce human sperm, which could then be used in fertility treatments to enable infertile men to father their own children.
Commenting on the research, one Isreali team member, Prof. Mahmoud Huleihel, said: “I believe it will eventually be possible to routinely grow human male sperm to order by extracting tissue containing germ cells from a man’s testicle and stimulating sperm production in the laboratory.” To grow the sperm the scientists wanted to ensure they created conditions that were as similar to those found in the testicles as possible.
As a result, the germ cells were surrounded by agar jelly and grown in an environment with a temperature that was just below the normal body temperature of humans. Professors Schlatt and Huleihel along with their teams are now trying to emulate the results in human sperm “as quickly as possible.”
"We have already applied the same tests as we did with mice in the laboratory, using human cells, but as yet have not had success,” Huleihel noted. “We are confident that if it can be done in a mammal such as a mouse it can be done in humans.”
He added: “We are experimenting with a number of different compounds to get the germ cells to grow into sperm. And we believe it will be possible. And, hopefully, soon.” The work carried out by the research group has received high praise from a number of fertility experts.
One of the UK’s leading fertility scientists, Professor Richard Sharpe, who is based at Edinburgh University, is hoping to get involved with the project in the near future. He said: “This is a significant step forward towards making human sperm.”
Meanwhile, one of the NHS’ top consultants in infertility, Stephen Gordon, added: “This is an amazing development that could revolutionise fertility treatment and allow every man to be a natural father. “Infertile men naturally want to be the father of their child but at present have to accept that can't happen,” he said. “With the mouse discovery, that could now be a possibility.”
The results of the research project have been published in a major scientific journal by Nature. Article: 3rd January 2012 www.healthcareglobal.com
Read more about fertility and sperm donation at www.prideangel.com
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
More twins being born due to fertility treatments and older mothers
More U.S. women are having twins these days. The reason? Older moms and fertility treatments. One in every 30 babies born in the U.S. is a twin — an astounding increase over the last three decades, according to a government report issued Wednesday. In 1980, only 1 in every 53 babies was a twin.
“When people say it seems like you see more twins nowadays, they’re right,” said Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist who co-authored the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
Some increase was expected as more women are waiting until they are over 30 to have babies. For some unknown reason, mothers in their 30s are more likely to have twins than younger or older women. As much as a third of the increase can be attributed to that, Martin said.
The rest of the rise is due to fertility drugs and treatments, experts said. “You have a double whammy going on. There are more older moms and more widespread use of fertility-enhancing therapies,” Martin said.
Starting in the early 1980s, couples who had trouble conceiving began to benefit from medical advances like fertility drugs and in vitro fertilization and other procedures. These treatments became fairly widespread in the 1990s but are expensive, and availability and insurance coverage varies.
The twin birth rate rose by more than 2 percent a year, on average, from 1980 through 2004. It leveled off to less than 1 percent annually although the rise from 2008 to 2009 was nearly 2 percent.
In 2009, twin rates increased in all 50 states, though the jumps were highest in lower New England, New Jersey and Hawaii. In Connecticut, twins now account for nearly 5 percent of births. That’s high. Nationally, 3.3 percent of all births were twins in 2009, up from 2 percent in 1980.
Over the last three decades, rates rose for white, black and Hispanic women, but the increases were not uniform. Rates doubled for whites, rose by half for blacks and by about a third for Hispanics. Historically, black moms have twins most often, but white moms have almost caught up.
“That’s changed with infertility treatments,” said Barbara Luke, a Michigan State University expert on twin births. The greatest increase in twin rates was for women 40 and older. They are more likely to use fertility treatments and to have two embryos implanted during in vitro fertilization, whereas younger women are more likely to get just one.
About 7 percent of all births for women 40 and older were twins, compared to 5 percent of women in their late 30s and 2 percent of women age 24 or younger.
While a lot of attention is focused on the impact of fertility treatments, that’s not the only factor. Before fertility treatments existed, about 2.5 percent of the babies born to women in their late 30s were twins, compared to under 2 percent for younger and older women. Some research has suggested women in that age group are more likely to produce multiple eggs in a cycle, increasing their chances of twins.
Clearly, there are more older moms. In recent years, more than a third of all births are to women 30 and older, up from just one-fifth in 1980.
Are more twins good news? Some experts say the trend is worrisome, noting that multiple births are more dangerous for the mother and their babies. The infants tend to be born earlier, smaller and weaker, and require much more care.
But for some older women worried about conceiving, “having twins is a blessing,” Luke said.
Article: 4th January 2012 www.washingtonpost.com
“When people say it seems like you see more twins nowadays, they’re right,” said Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist who co-authored the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
Some increase was expected as more women are waiting until they are over 30 to have babies. For some unknown reason, mothers in their 30s are more likely to have twins than younger or older women. As much as a third of the increase can be attributed to that, Martin said.
The rest of the rise is due to fertility drugs and treatments, experts said. “You have a double whammy going on. There are more older moms and more widespread use of fertility-enhancing therapies,” Martin said.
Starting in the early 1980s, couples who had trouble conceiving began to benefit from medical advances like fertility drugs and in vitro fertilization and other procedures. These treatments became fairly widespread in the 1990s but are expensive, and availability and insurance coverage varies.
The twin birth rate rose by more than 2 percent a year, on average, from 1980 through 2004. It leveled off to less than 1 percent annually although the rise from 2008 to 2009 was nearly 2 percent.
In 2009, twin rates increased in all 50 states, though the jumps were highest in lower New England, New Jersey and Hawaii. In Connecticut, twins now account for nearly 5 percent of births. That’s high. Nationally, 3.3 percent of all births were twins in 2009, up from 2 percent in 1980.
Over the last three decades, rates rose for white, black and Hispanic women, but the increases were not uniform. Rates doubled for whites, rose by half for blacks and by about a third for Hispanics. Historically, black moms have twins most often, but white moms have almost caught up.
“That’s changed with infertility treatments,” said Barbara Luke, a Michigan State University expert on twin births. The greatest increase in twin rates was for women 40 and older. They are more likely to use fertility treatments and to have two embryos implanted during in vitro fertilization, whereas younger women are more likely to get just one.
About 7 percent of all births for women 40 and older were twins, compared to 5 percent of women in their late 30s and 2 percent of women age 24 or younger.
While a lot of attention is focused on the impact of fertility treatments, that’s not the only factor. Before fertility treatments existed, about 2.5 percent of the babies born to women in their late 30s were twins, compared to under 2 percent for younger and older women. Some research has suggested women in that age group are more likely to produce multiple eggs in a cycle, increasing their chances of twins.
Clearly, there are more older moms. In recent years, more than a third of all births are to women 30 and older, up from just one-fifth in 1980.
Are more twins good news? Some experts say the trend is worrisome, noting that multiple births are more dangerous for the mother and their babies. The infants tend to be born earlier, smaller and weaker, and require much more care.
But for some older women worried about conceiving, “having twins is a blessing,” Luke said.
Article: 4th January 2012 www.washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
The most influential LGBT Twitter users of 2011 announced
The most influential LGBT Twitter users of 2011 have been announced
Stephen Fry has been named the most influential LGBT Twitter user in PinkNews.co.uk’s 2011 list. He told PinkNews.co.uk: “It’s a very remarkable honour to top such a list. Thank you.
Actors, comedians, equality activists and writers all feature in Pink News’s list of the top 50 most influential LGBT Twitter users of 2011.
Earlier this month, they asked for your nominations for the LGBT voices you listen to on the micro-blogging site. Pink News ran those nominations through the PeerIndex social media ranking system and the results are in.
PeerIndex measures how authoritative and interesting other people think a Twitter user is, as well as what topics and categories drive that interest, rather than focusing only on the number of followers each user has.
Below you will find the list of the top 5 Tweeters with their ranking, username and PeerIndex score in brackets, followed by their profession.
1= @stephenfry
Stephen Fry (92)
Actor, writer, author, television presenter. 3,600,000 followers.
2= @perezhilton
Perez Hilton (90)
Blogger and media personality.
2= @theellenshow
Ellen DeGeneres (90)
Comedian, talk show host. 8,700,000 followers.
4= @ricky_martin
Ricky Martin (88)
Musician. 4,600,000 followers.
5= @actuallynph
Neil Patrick Harris (86)
Actor. 2,300,000 followers.
Read the rest of the list at www.pinknews.co.uk
Read more about gay parenting at www.prideangel.com
Stephen Fry has been named the most influential LGBT Twitter user in PinkNews.co.uk’s 2011 list. He told PinkNews.co.uk: “It’s a very remarkable honour to top such a list. Thank you.
Actors, comedians, equality activists and writers all feature in Pink News’s list of the top 50 most influential LGBT Twitter users of 2011.
Earlier this month, they asked for your nominations for the LGBT voices you listen to on the micro-blogging site. Pink News ran those nominations through the PeerIndex social media ranking system and the results are in.
PeerIndex measures how authoritative and interesting other people think a Twitter user is, as well as what topics and categories drive that interest, rather than focusing only on the number of followers each user has.
Below you will find the list of the top 5 Tweeters with their ranking, username and PeerIndex score in brackets, followed by their profession.
1= @stephenfry
Stephen Fry (92)
Actor, writer, author, television presenter. 3,600,000 followers.
2= @perezhilton
Perez Hilton (90)
Blogger and media personality.
2= @theellenshow
Ellen DeGeneres (90)
Comedian, talk show host. 8,700,000 followers.
4= @ricky_martin
Ricky Martin (88)
Musician. 4,600,000 followers.
5= @actuallynph
Neil Patrick Harris (86)
Actor. 2,300,000 followers.
Read the rest of the list at www.pinknews.co.uk
Read more about gay parenting at www.prideangel.com
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