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 * __ Week 1 __**

After the first lecture I quickly realised this unit will change the way I think about women's health, particularly the cultural and social considerations. What struck a cord for me was the topic of colour coding. Growing up I was very much a ' pink ' girl. Pink shoes, pink dresses, pink room, pink tutu's, oh and don't forget to add sparkles to all this pink. I had never really considered that this 'addiction' to pink could have been encouraged by my parents. Being the youngest of 3 girls I immediately grew up in a girls world. However of us three girls I was/am the most 'girly.' This topic raises the question, is it nature or nurture that influences this? Mum always wanted her daughters to go to dance classes. While she had no luck with the older two I was the ballet girl. My eldest sister is the world's best sport spectator, especially footy, and the middle sister has broken every single finger from playing sport with the boys. My sister's aren't Tom Boys, but aren't into this pink world like me. Us three girls were raised in much the same way, yet we are all different. Therefore I think our identity and the way in which we identify our femininity is a combination of nature and nurture.




 * __ Week 2 __**

The song 'Boy with a Barbie', by Ben Lee came up on my iTunes today and I thought how appropriate! media type="custom" key="23548096" align="center"

Ps. Sorry about the dodgy version, couldn't find anything better. Some of the great lyrics are: "Boys with their barbies and girls with toy armies, We don't have to play by their rules. I don't know where it started, all these roles and make believe."

Now, back to the topic I have chosen to discuss for week 2. **BREASTS**.

Women are pretty shy when it comes to their ** breasts **, and become quite critical of them. I am thankfully comfortable with my own, despite being a small busted woman, however I haven't always been so at ease. During high school I would often whinge to mum and ask why I didn't have decent sized boobs, she always said, 'why would you want big boobs? They'd only get in the way.' It wasn't just my friends I was ** jealous ** of, but also all the women in magazines, on tv and movies. We are constantly bombarded with images of 'ideal' breasts, many of which have had cosmetic surgery yet women still ** compare. ** During one of my nursing prac's I was at a day hospital where breast augmentations are performed. This experience really changed my opinion on this topic. I was always against the idea of having breast implants, for three main reasons: - Something foreign in your body (I'm a natural type of gal') - It costs a lot of money - Some look, well, fake.

However on my placement I saw all different types of women coming in for the ** procedure **. There were mothers who have had a couple of kids and hated the way their breasts now looked, and younger women who were very flat chested. I will never forget the moment when this young women woke up after her procedure, still very groggy, and immediately lifted up the blanket and looked down at her new breasts and the ** sheer happiness ** and relief that beamed across her face. It was that moment when I realised this procedure is not just a physical and aesthetic change but an emotional transformation. ** Who am I to judge? ** If these women feel so embarrassed, feel like less of a woman, and have low self esteem, and this procedure can help to eliminate these emotional feelings, then why not? In saying that, there were a couple of women going under for an up-size on their current implants. I couldn't help but think, 'do they really need this?' One lady's new implants I thought were way to large for her little frame. It just looked silly. While I do not know this lady's story or her reasons, but I felt like her up size was just so she could have even larger breasts, just because she could.

I did some research and I found an interview with a woman who has recently had implants. When asked why did you get the surgery she replied with, 'I wanted to feel like more of a woman.' It is not advertising/media that has given us the idea that breasts are 'womanly,' because lets face it, we all have them, ** history ** has associated breasts and women together. However, the ** media has portrayed to us the 'ideal' looking breasts **. It is because of these images women have these feelings of embarrassment and low self esteem. In more recent times many companies like BONDS and Dove skin care have had 'healthy women' campaigns and release images like the one below.

When I look at this image I have mixed feelings. One part of me thinks, 'great, shows us that we are all different and that these women are happy with their body.' However since beginning in this subject I now ** look at images more critically **. I then thought, 'wait, why do women have to parade around in their underwear to prove something? We don't see images of different shaped men in their undies.' Why is this? Is it because women are more obsessed with body image? Do we need more reassurance that its ok to be different? Or more sinister... is it another example of women exposing themselves to ** gain approval ** and worth from the opposite sex? I think in our new technological era we can never escape the images we see, however can the media change women's perception of the ideal body?

Week 3: Brave Woman

While this week raised so many interesting ideas, one topic discussed that I was unaware of was the story of Pat O'Shane. I was so amazed that this female Aboriginal Barrister had the guts to stand up to a powerful international company. There are just so many incredible words in that one sentence. A) She is a female B) She is a female Barrister C) She is an Aboriginal Female Barrister D) She is an Aboriginal Female Barrister not surrendering to a powerful company

Pat O'Shane has had many momentous moments in her life including being the first Aboriginal Australian Barrister (1976) and the first woman to become a permanent head of ministry in Australia. These positions did not just fall into her lap. Pat was born in 1941 at Mossman in Northern Queensland, and throughout her childhood lived in a tent near an Aboriginal mission. Pat lived in fear as a child that the government would takeher away from her parents, as she had an Irish father and an Aboriginal mother. Her strong spirit came from her parents as they taught her to laugh and 'to keep fighting and not to give in.' Pat was very lucky to be able to go to school, and she was fortunate enough to be awarded with a Teachers Scholarship and went on to be a primary and high school teacher. Pat then moved on to study law where she could influence 'an unfair system' from within. During this time when Pat became a Barrister it was considered the 'second wave of feminism.' During this phase (late 1960's and 1970's) the women's liberation movement worked on the right to strike, equal pay for women, the right for married women to hold permanent employment as well as highlighting the struggles by Aborigines against racist oppression. Pat became a feminist in her own right by supporting, acknowledging and standing up for women's rights. Below are some quotes from Pat: This example of a strong Aboriginal Woman proves to us the society has progressed, however, her achievements did not come without a lot of criticism, disgust and disbelief. So it is disappointing that it is a shock she achieved what she did. It isn't a shock when a Male does something brave. While society has improved in Australia in regards to woman taking a stand, however we still have a while to go.
 * "What is important is that I have been able to demonstrate to other women and also to Aboriginal people generally that Aboriginal people are capable of doing these things and women are capable of doing these things and Aboriginal women are capable of doing these things."
 * "They're the movers and shakers in the community...they initiate things...they keep things going."
 * //"They will always do it, it seems to me...I am woman and I am strong."//

Reference: http://www.abc.net.au/schoolstv/australians/oshane.htm


 * __ Week 4 __**

Pregnancy. This has occurred for as long as humans have been around, yet a woman's experience of her pregnancy doesn't come without judgment. There is judgment for; when a woman falls pregnant (too young, too old), who she is having the child with, if out of wedlock, how financially stable she is, how she is looking after her body, what she wears and how she looks. While the judgements are different depending on what culture you belong to, there is no doubt that this time in a woman's life is full of emotions and expectations. In many developed countries there is the idea of ' total motherhood ' approach that makes women feel guilty and pressure from the moment they fall pregnant. In many developed countries there was a dramatic increase of older first time mothers. Many women from gen X decided to have children later for a combination of reasons including, waiting for the 'right' time, waiting till they felt they were 'ready', deciding to travel, meet the 'perfect' partner and build up their career. It is said that these changes have come off the back of the feminism movement, as women now have more opportunities rather than being expected to have a child in their early 20's.

However many economist feared that with a decline in fertility rates the economy would suffer and the concerns from health professionals on the health of the baby from older mothers, there has been a recent push to convince women to have children earlier. In Britain there has been a recent campaign, 'Get Britain Fertile Fit.' They presented the image below, it is of a 46 year old TV presenter Kate Garraway dressed up to look like a pregnant 70 year old. Kate is the face of this campaign after struggling to conceive at 45, she wants to encourage women to think about their fertility earlier in life. However this campaign received backlash from the public, women's activist and feminist: '... campaign is wrong, misogynistic and utterly naive,' 'Women struggling with fertility or lack of partner do not need a campaign in their face with wrinkly old mum.' However Zita West, a pregnancy guru and an ambassador for this campaign said there is an overarching theme, SUPPORT. She said that there should be more support for women, put an 'end to patronising nonsense that insinuates we don't know our own minds,' more focus on men and 'the part they have to play rather than blaming women at every turn' for their choices. She also went on to say that by judging women for the valid choices they have made about the age they have decided to have children or to not have had children will not do 'any good at all.' HOW HYPOCRITICAL IS THIS??? She is an ambassador for this image, yet she is saying that we shouldn't judge women for their choices but to support them? I totally agree with her statements in saying that we should stop patronising and blaming women, but I do not think this image reflects these statements. Judgment does end here. Post pregnancy there is the expectation to get the 'pre-baby body back.' I could write a lot more about this topic as well, but I will leave with you this wonderful video of 'A beautiful body project.' media type="custom" key="23619518" align="center"

References:
 * http://parenting.kidspot.com.au/would-this-photo-remind-you-to-have-a-baby/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=obclick%20=obinsite#.UgyBl1M1jug
 * http://ontoberlin.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/get-britain-fertile-another-pregnancy.html
 * http://jadebeall.com/a-beautiful-body-project/




 * __ Week 5 __**

Today in Dr Angela Dwyer's lecture I was made more aware of and appalled by the ** differences ** in men and ladies advertising. In the advertisements for male clothes, cologne, shoes etc the female's body is often used to sell the product. Whereas in ** advertisements ** for women's products women are used. I mean the female's body is pretty amazing however the majority of advertisements, particularly for a male target audience, the female is not portrayed in a respectful or positive way. When looking back in time to the 50's and 60's when men were the ** dominating sex ** they did not subtlety use women to make the males product ** more enticing **, it was darn right obvious. While in today's advertisements phrases like, 'show her it's a man's world' aren't shown, this meaning is still implied in the images and body language on the adverts. It current advertisements women wear far less clothes and are more ** sexualised. **

When I came across the Roger David advertisement below I was just ** gobsmacked ** that in today's society the creators of the image and that the company thought this was ok. It thankfully got band by the Advertising Standards Board, after complaints were made. One person wrote in saying that the girl looks 'underage, dishevelled and is inappropriately posing.' The girl in this image is being 'gagged' and has the word 'slave' written on her shoulder with a barcode. This suggest she is up for sale so she can belong to someone. This image is so offensive in so many ways particularly as it is a ** sexist depiction of girls ** and women and it is somewhat supporting child exploitation. Roger David defended the ad saying that the woman is 18 years old and that this image was created to 'comment on youth and the national debt that now rests on their shoulders and as an ironic patriotic comment on capitalist recruitment and identity.' The company believed that these issues are relevant for young people in Australia and went on to say that they strongly believe that young men would relate to this image.' ** ARE THEY CRAZY! **

Firstly, how on earth does this image sell the clothing of this brand? The young men don't know what this 'Love Club' range looks like. Secondly, how does having a barcode with slave written on this girls shoulder tell young men, 'if you buy our clothes our nation will rise out of debt.' Thirdly, how does this image relate to young Aussie guys? And finally, ** how is this any good for women's health? ** This is a very sexist depiction of girls and women, saying that if we are 'owned' by a male, we love it.



These images are as bad as one another. The image on the left is ** aimed at women **, and the image on the right is ** aimed at men. ** However I think both are there for the ** satisfaction of men **. The 'lovable' advertisement is suggesting to women that you have to look like this to be loved. These type of images put unrealistic expectations on women, of what they should look like, toned, tanned and sexy with perky boobs. While I don't think these images have a strong impact on older women, but the younger more impressionable girls grow up thinking this is the way they are expected to look. I think it is important we have the Advertising Standards Board regulating images, I do not think they are strict enough on images such as the 'lovable' one above. While there are no offensive words, the model is not a child, nor there are no men standing over the top of her, this is still a sexist, ** unrealistic and damaging image **.

__** Week 6 **__

Childbirth to me seems like such a scary, exciting and wonderful thing to happen to women. When looking at images of childbirth it really is a wonder why women keep having babies and choosing to have more! But it is the little package that arrives at the end that makes it all worthwhile. One thing that I remember from the beginning of my degree, in 2010 when Julie-Anne Carrol was a guest lecturer in PUB250, she said that women are training themselves mentally to have a completely natural and 'pain free' labour. I remember thinking, 'I'll have to research how to do that when I decide to have children.' Today's lecture got me thinking about this again and what it means to have a 'natural' birth. In our culture we think that labour pain is a fact of childbirth, however in many cultures around the world, women don't have have a scream-fess, husband abusing, swearing labour, but in fact a pain free birth due to their mental expectations around giving birth. Research has shown that pain during childbirth has many psychological factors, indicating that because childbirth is a 'scary' experience it makes the feeling of pain worse. This also links back to Yvette's Lecture whereby treating childbirth has a medical problem more stress and fear is bestowed onto women, heightening their pain perception. So how do we train our brain? I've done some research and some people call it self-hypnosis or hypnobabies. In essence you use the nine months of pregnancy to heal and prepare yourself for a painless experience by learning relaxation techniques. Different programs have slightly different techniques; you can do it on your own by listening to a relaxation CD's every night whilst you are pregnant, but other programs say that if it your belief systems and fears are 'deeply rooted' you need more professional help. 'Far too often our joy and excitement are over-shadowed by fear, uncertainty and questionable self-confidence. With the help of a professional Hypnotherapist you can reach and embrace your ability to change your state of fear, worry and stress into calm and self-confidence. When your mind, body, and soul are in harmony, you have essentially created the perfect balance for physical comfort, mental relaxation and emotional confidence. Relaxation, achieved through self-hypnosis techniques, releases the fear and tensions that cause long labor. Therefore, pain is lessened and in some cases even eliminated. This is not to say that you will not experience any sensations during labor and delivery, this is to say that hypnosis can redirect your experience of the intensity of labor from an unmanageable sensation, one you feel out of control and victimized by it to something you can comfortably manage.'

While some people would be very sceptical about this, it is worth a shot, what do you have to loose? If anything you'll feel nice and relaxed each night during your pregnancy. If successful there are more benefits than just a pain free labour. Our body's are designed to give birth, and it is suggested that if you are relaxed it can minimise tearing and needing to have an episiotmy, as well as recovering faster as you are not exhausted from the pain and you will not be drowsy from the medication. If more women are aware of these techniques, perhaps the rates of having a natural birth will increase.



References:
 * http://tribalbaby.org/http:/tribalbaby.org/painless-childbirth-is-a-scientific-reality.html
 * http://www.babycenter.com/0_birth-story-an-unassisted-painless-birth_10339773.bc?page=1


 * __ Week 7 __**

Without a doubt being a mum and trying to continue to work or re-enter the workforce is a challenging job. I have just watched my sister go through this. She accidentally timed it perfectly having a baby for work reasons. Her son was due in March, and being a school teacher she started her maternity leave in February and took that entire school year off. She also decided to half the ** maternity leave ** income each fortnight so she could be a stay at home mum for a year opposed to the 6 months. The following year (this year) she planned to return to work just 2 days a week, however her partner left her (just after he got his first full time job after my sister supported him while he went through university... grr. It was her time to be supported so she could work part time). Anyway. Now my sister has many ** emotional and economical stresses **. So she is still only employed part time at this stage as the school year was underway when this happened, but her principal is very understanding and supportive of her so whenever there is relief work needed, the principal will ask my sister to work extra. However my sister is so lucky that she has my mum to look after my nephew at the drop of a hat. Other women, not just single mums, do not have this support. While this is a terrible situation, my sister is very lucky to have a supportive boss and a helpful family. Without this most ** mothers would struggle **. Mothers have to weigh up, cost of childcare and if it is worth them going back to work if they will only be coming $150 on top after paying childcare fees? For other women, return to the workforce is more than just the income. It is about having independence, self worth and being mentally stimulated. No matter what mothers decide to do, both have their ** challenges ** and benefits. It is about deciphering what works best for the family.

From these images it is clear - both working mum's and stay at home mum's are ** exhausting jobs! ** There are some interesting images and debates online. Including which life is better and works harder:



Either way being a mum is challenging. Society and policies need to support women's health.

__** Week 8 **__

"Violence against women, Australia says no." This was a very simple but powerful message. media type="custom" key="23842218" Unfortunately people don't like to talk about topics like this and are often swept under the carpet. However violence against women is still occurring in Australia at alarming rates. 19,988 cases of domestic abuse against women were reported in 2010. And it is widely accepted that the actual rates would be far higher as cases of domestic violence are not reported, especially non-physical violence. That is the trouble with many of the campaigns, they usually only refer to physical abuse, but emotional and psychological abuse is just as damaging. To help raise awareness and to reduce rates in our communities, all forms of domestic violence need to made aware of.

The White Ribbon campaign while it is helping to say no to violence and to educate men, it doesn't explicitly (or obviously) say that violence doesn't need to be physical. 'Violence against women is a serious problem in Australia, where at least one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.' If we are going to really tackle Domestic Violence, the public needs to be made aware that emotional and psychological abuse that is used to maintain control over their partners, is just as damaging physical domestic violence.



__** Week 9 **__

I have recently returned back from my public health placement which was an Indigenous Cardiac Outreach program. I have a strong interest in Indigenous health, and since this placement, a focus on cardiovascular health. The burning question is, why is there still the huge life expectancy gap between Indigienous and non-Indigenous Australian's? For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women, their life expectancy is 9.7years less than non-ATSI women.

The health of Australian ATSI people continues to be significantly worse than other Australian’s, due to generations of neglect and mistreatment, inadequate resources and lack of cohesive public policy. Such policies that have had detrimental impacts on ATSI’s health include the protectionism and segregation policies that were implemented from 1873-1957. ATSI people had little to no power to influence public policy that impacted on their own lives and health. The policies against ATSI people created the physical ill treatment, social interference, decrease in population, economic corruption, discrimination and a culture left in ruins. Because of these extensive damaging impacts, Indigenous Australian’s currently have negative health and social outcomes. Currently the greatest contributor to the gap in life expectancy is cardio vascular disease.

William Deane stated; ‘the past is never fully gone. It is absorbed into the present and the further. It stays to shape what we are and what we do.' It is imperative to understand the Australian ATSI people’s past to fully understand their current health status. Diseases that were introduced after colonisation and the change of lifestyle devastated Indigenous communities that were previously considered a lean, healthy looking and physically fit race. The official policies from the 1890s to the 1950s of protectionism and segregation entailed government reserves and Christian missions being created to ‘protect’ Aboriginal people until they died out. The protection policy was implemented unanimously in Australia, where ATSI people were under the Aborigines Protection Act (1909). All aspects of their lives were governed, regulated and controlled, therefore were unable to vote, own property or have the same rights, as well as being forcibly relocated without consent. All of these restrictions and poor living conditions heavily impact not only on the physical well being of an individual but the social, emotional and cultural well being of the whole community. For many ATSI people, health is a whole-of-life approach, not merely their own personal physical health.

While in recent times programs by the government had a ‘good faith’ attitude, the paternalistic approach to delivery of care caused increased shame and disempowerment for ATSI women, further isolation, and stipulated no enticement or opportunity for communities to own their health status and have a desire to change their behaviours. More holistic and inclusive approaches are required to improve health outcomes for ATSI women.




 * __ Week 10 __**

Since I work as a personal carer in the community (care for the elderly in their own home) and I have volunteered at a nursing home for the last 2 years, any topic on ageing and in particular healthy ageing is fascinating and relevant for me. While there were many issues raised in the lecture, one that caught my attention was when Prof. Debra said that the main reason why women enter aged care homes is due to their ** incontinence. ** Through my experience I realised this is actually quite true. Majority of my clients through community care require assistance with their incontinence. This includes changing their incontinence pads/pants, cleaning the area appropriately and applying barrier cream, however due to limited funding ** community carers ** can usually only make visits 3 times a day. For people who are severely incontinent 3 times a day is not enough. They can get serious rashes, and even ulcers if their incontinence pads/pants are not changed regularly enough. When the clients can no longer manage they enter an aged care facility.

As you can see in this graph above, ** over 50% of females ** living in aged care homes 'always' require assistance with managing bladder or bowel control. As Prof. Debra highlighted, urinary incontinence can be lessened even prevented with just simple pelvic floor exercises. However most people are unaware of the simple steps. Doctors should ask all of their patients, particularly those aged 50 and over if they are doing pelvic floor exercises and educate them on how to do them and the importance. I also think that in community care, every time a carer goes to a clients house, get them to do pelvic floor exercises, even if they are not incontinent. By performing ** pelvic floor exercises, ** they could prevent the need for going into aged care facilities due to incontinence. Just imagine how much money would be saved, and the quality of life that would be improved if all women performed pelvic floor exercises (morning and night when they are brushing their teeth, so they remember to do this). This really needs to be addressed.




 * __Week 11__ **

What I find really crazy is how guys get so excited and yahoo when two ditzy heterosexual girls 'hook up' in a club and think how 'hot it is' but when they are lesbians they say things like 'butch.' Why is it that it is cool for heterosexuals and not for lesbians? Perhaps songs like 'I kissed a girl' by Katie Perri, or images of near naked models all over each other have made this appealing, yet it hasn't rolled over to being cool for lesbian women. As I mentioned in week 5's blog about how women are portrayed in media, I honestly think it is because it is for the satisfaction of men. Girls 'hook up' to get the attention of guys, guys think it would be cool to get two girls to have a threesome, and with images of women all over each other, it is once again for the satisfaction of men. With lesbians, guys think that they can get nothing out of it. Well that is my theory anyway. As the image says below who will make the sandwich? Lesbian's go against what society thinks women should do, 'be the submissive and adoring wife, to their hard working husband.' So how does that relate to women's health? Well, it is men who rule this world. If men feel like they can't get anything out of this relationship t hen it is no good to them. Therefore a negative idea is associated with lesbians. Lesbian women often do not disclose their relationship status due to their fear of being discriminated, this can jeopardize their health. It has been found that certain diseases and illnesses are particularly prevalent in the lesbian population. Without knowing their sexual identity, doctors may not screen for endometrial cancer, STI's, depression and anxiety etc. In order for lesbian women to live life without discrimination, the stigma needs to be eliminated and for lesbian women to be treated as any other human being.



__ Week 12 __

The ** social construct ** of women and men are very different, particularly when it comes to mental illness and the reasons for admission to Emergency Departments. If a man walks in and describes symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath etc, studies have shown medical staff will straight away test for heart attack. Whereas if a woman comes in and has the ** same symptoms **, she will be asked if she suffers from anxiety before they investigate if the symptoms are due to a heart attack. Despite the fact that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women! Is it because there is the social construct that women are more emotional, hypochondriacs, worry warts and ** more emotionally unstable? ** While more women report the symptoms of anxiety (this is not to say more men don't have anxiety symptoms), medical staff should not just assume that it is anxiety.



Also on the topic of drug use, I used to work at a pharmacy for 5 years that ran the** methadone ** program. This program is run to help drug addicts overcome their **addiction**, however many stay on the program because without methadone, they will resort back to illegal drugs. The only clients that I saw, that ever got off the program, got a job and moved forward in their life, were those that disassociated from the circles of people who were still users. However most of these people had supportive friends or family. It is so hard for women with little to ** no support **to escape these circles and move on. One customer in particular was a ** single mum **with a young child and all she wanted was to have friends and support as she is raising her child all on her own. One day she was in tears talking to me saying how she made friends with another customer who was on the program, but he put her and her child's life in danger. She said to me, 'all I want is friends.' I suggested she joined a mothers group, and she said, 'all those women don't want to be friends with someone like me.' No one knows what it is like to be an addict, the only people that do are ** addicts ** themselves. And then the cycle begins again. It is so hard for women to ** escape this life. ** They feel worthless, stupid, have no hope, are stuck and that no one will help them. There needs to be greater support for these women, particularly those that have children. Perhaps a support network where past addicts who have successfully come off the program, have a job, and have their life back in control could give advise and support to women in need.



__Week 13__ I have decided that this will be my shorter week of wiki reflection. The topic I chose to discuss my critical essay on was girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa and how they should have free access to contraception. This was actually one of my first assignments I have done on a population that is outside of Australia, so I found this quite difficult. It is hard to imagine how women in other parts of the world live. My main argument of the essay was that by giving women the chance to use free contraception (including the three month injection so they can keep it a secret) is it helps to achieve personal autonomy by choosing, if and when they are going to have a child. If young girls who are sexually active have access to free contraception, it would potentially reduce the number of fistulas. Fistulas are most common in girls under 15 as their pelvises are not wide enough for the baby to pass through the birth canal.



Thank you for this wonderful unit, it has pushed me to think critically of things and realise just how suppressed women are in society.