While Ms. Chaiken wouldn’t comment on the $300,000 figure, she did say that pricing is being kept flexible to allow the maximum number of potential partners. The L-Word, she notes, isn’t just about and for gays and lesbians; it’s about “affluent, avid consumers plugged into pop culture,” which Ms. Chaiken said makes the series “a rare, perfect opportunity for showcasing brands” to women, lesbian or not.[Queerty]

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“There was a slight safety risk for women wearing normal bras with metal parts underneath a bullet-proof vest,” a police spokesman in the northern city of Hanover said.

“If the vest is hit by a projectile, this can have an impact on the metal bit in the bra underneath and cause injuries.”

Some 3,000 police women working for Germany’s federal police will be equipped with the new bras which feature no metal parts and look like sports bras, the spokesman said. [via Reuters]

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One evening I was sitting around with a bunch of friends having cocktails. We’re in our 30’s and better, artists mixed with professional women, well traveled, well read and well ensconced into our “lesbian” lifestyles. Most of us are either “married,” in committed relationships or dating. After a few rounds, the atmosphere became more relaxed and we started talking shit, talking about how hot and how in shape we thought we were for our age, boasting about our libidinous pasts, bragging about all the hot women we’ve had or what we would do if we suddenly found ourselves single at this stage in our lives. Some insisted that dating again would be a blast. Others said they didn’t look forward to getting back into the scene where finding a suitable life partner might be highly problematic. Obviously inebriated, we delved into the possibilities of engaging in anonymous sex, threesomes, group sex, wondering if being in a polyamorous or open relationship would even be cute at 40? What being a divorced lesbian at 35 years of age with 2 children would look like with respect to finding love? The conversation went all over the place with a variety of different scenarios thrown into the intoxicating mix, but the real show stopper, the very thing that jolted the conversation was, would anyone date a transperson/transidentified/gender different and/or gender questioning individual?

Some exchanged these nervous stares, some shook their heads negatively while others didn’t hesitate with their “hell no’s.” Since I happened to be the one who tossed the topic into the ring in the first place, I needed to know why the hell no’s felt the way they did. Well, as expected, these forward thinking, well rounded women didn’t have very open minded explanations for their well executed hell no’s at all. In fact, most couldn’t even explain why they would never go out with someone who was trans-identified. They just knew that they wouldn’t.

Is it really just a matter of preference? Maybe. Personally I’ve always been fascinated with identity. I love all derivatives of female identities. From the highest, lipstick wearing, stiletto wielding fem to the hardest, deep voiced, dildo packing, butch swagger walking. Bi-sexual women? No problem. But dating a transperson transcends female/male identities as we know them, possibly redefining our own sense of identity in the process. Some would say I don’t mind going where many women wouldn’t dare to go. But this is more of a bigger statement about my own identity. I acknowledge the fact that I’m much more open than my peers. I’m willing to stretch my experiences to the limit, if there even is a limit. Variety being the spice of life is more than a notion to me. But the larger question is whether or not my choices or openness with respect to preferences is more of an unconscious political decision more than simply preference? Are the decisions of my friends to completely forgo even considering dating a transperson more about politics than preference and desire? Why is it so easy for them to knock something they haven’t even tried? And to take it one step further is preference a form of discrimination? I guess the same argument could be had about race. Is dating people of one specific race about preference or is it unconsciously political? Are you discriminating against groups of people because of your racial preference? Or because you’re uncomfortable with gender fluidity? Just to pare all of this down, I think maybe I’m just one of those hopeless romantics who feels that you can’t help who you fall in love with. If you were deaf and blind and presented merely with the warmth, the touch and the essence of an individual and from that it was demonstrated to you how they would shower you with their love, their kindness, understanding and passion. Suddenly their race, their gender identity, would all be secondary.

I know what it’s like to be discriminated against. I’ve been called the N word and the D word to my face and behind my back. I’ve been chastised because of the way I wear my hair, my fashion choices, my music choices and even because I’ve dared to date butch or bi or big women. C’est la vie. I’m a proud African American woman, an out and proud lesbian whose dated those who considered themselves Black, White, mixed race, Latina, Asian, Native American, African, European, Middle Eastern. I’ve dated Buddhists, Christians, Jewish, Muslims, Atheists. I’ve dated Democrats, Republicans and Independents. I’ve dated skinny woman, athletically diesel to plus size. I’ve dated blue collar to white collar to no collar. I’m fairly worldly. I’ve been to five of the seven continents and I have a deep and committed curiosity about the world we’re living in. I’m in a long-term committed relationship of my dreams with a partner I couldn’t imagine life without, in my own private version of a queer nuclear family. Couldn’t be happier. But if I ever found myself in the position of being single, would I ever date a FTM transperson? The answer would be absolutely! Why not? But, when the question was posed back to me would I ever date a MTF transperson, I was forced to go back to consider whether preference is political or based on desire. Suddenly this invisible line in the sand was drawn. So I wasn’t as open-minded as I claimed to be after all. Of course this propelled me to do some of my own quiet reflection. Who am I to judge anyone with respect to their politics or their preferences? Because it must be a beautifully, tumultuous combination of politics and preference that rules our desire. At least as far as I can tell.

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Local cancer doctors emphasize that breast cancer is far more common among older women, but among women under age 40 it can be a more deadly disease, since the cancer is usually aggressive and detected at later stages.

More than 250,000 under age 40 are living with breast cancer, and more than 11,000 are expected to be diagnosed this year, according to national statistics.

While U.S. breast cancer survival rates have improved among middle-age and older adults, among women under age 40 the rate hasn’t risen substantially in more than 20 years, research shows.

Younger breast cancer patients also face challenges with diagnosis and treatment, advocates say.

Invasive cancer tends to be more aggressive in younger women, which makes early diagnosis critical. But the standard screening tool — mammography — is less reliable in women under age 40, who typically have denser breasts.

Recent studies have shown that MRI appears to be more sensitive than mammography in detecting tumors in women with an inherited susceptibility to breast cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends using it for women with at least a family history of the disease. For the average woman, though, MRI is not recommended. The screening method is ultra-sensitive and can detect benign changes that lead to unnecessary biopsies, local doctors said.

Ladies, please be diligent about self examining your breast. This can be a life saver! Click to view 5 steps of Breast Self Exam.

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Some of you may already know about this Netflix of fashion from the Sex in the City movie. Instead of plunking down hundreds or thousands of dollars for designer bags and accessories, you can borrow (rent) Prada, Chanel, Gucci and more, just like the celebrities do!

Search by designer, style, color or price point. You can borrow as a guest or a member. Members pay a monthly rate and get a 20% discount on borrowed items. You can borrow a Coach bag for $15/week, or a Hermes tote for $227/week. Sunglasses, jewelry, and belts are also available. A free shipping package allows you to drop the item in the mailbox when done and it’s returned. Easy!

Guilty pleasures, minus the guilt!

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Mogadishu, the country’s bullet-pocked capital, has seen more than its share of carnage lately as Islamist insurgents wage an intense urban battle against government and Ethiopian forces. But witnesses described an especially grisly and panicked scene on Sunday after a street sweeper accidentally tripped a large roadside bomb.

The women were part of a United Nations-sponsored food-for-work program, which paid them in sacks of sorghum to clean up Mogadishu’s gritty streets. The road where they were working is a main route for Somali and Ethiopian troops, who are backing up Somalia’s weak transitional government.

Peace still looks far away. A cease-fire agreement signed in June between the government and an Islamist faction has not diminished the fighting, which seems to kill mostly civilians.

NYT
photo: Mustafa Abdi-Getty Images

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The seven women included Yelena Soboleva, the world’s top performer this year at 800 and 1,500 meters, and Tatyana Tomashova, who won a silver medal in the 1,500 at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The Russian women were suspended by track and field’s world governing body and were accused of fraudulently using substitute urine in an attempt to pass doping tests.

Five of the athletes were on the Russian team’s roster for the Beijing Olympics: Soboleva; Tomashova; Gulfiya Khanafeyeva (hammer throw); Darya Pishchalnikova (discus); and Yulia Fomenko (1,500-meters).

The governing body, known by its initials as the I.A.A.F., said it had been investigating the Russian women for more than a year. The athletes were caught when urine samples they had previously given, which had been stored, were compared with other samples, presumably provided at recent meets. [via NYT]

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According to a recent study, overweight women who wanted to lose weight needed to exercise for an hour a day, five days a week. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was headed by John M. Jakicic, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Health and Physical Activity at the University of Pittsburgh. The researchers found that women who exercised for an hour a day, five days a week along with a healthy diet managed a 10% weight loss over a two year span as compared with others who managed only 5%.

“It doesn’t really matter which form of exercise you do, just pick one that burns calories, and it should be one that you enjoy, so you’ll stick with it” says Dr. Jakicic. “If you can’t do 275 minutes a week, do what you can do. Everyone needs to find ways to become more active. And if you can’t do more exercise, then you may just have to be a little more diligent about what you are eating. Exercise is very important, but diet, or healthy eating behavior, still needs to be on your radar screen,” he said.

Ok! I’m off to the gym. Be back in an hour!

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Faking it for Sappho’s sake is nothing new in pop culture, but what was once a winking tease has, in the summer of 2008, hit an obnoxious fever pitch. This is due in no small part to Lindsay Lohan, who has been engaged in a very public relationship with Samantha Ronson. Read more

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