We're sure if we asked you what you do for fun, 'having a duck-shaped piece of perspex up your fanjo’ is fairly low on the list. BUT it’s cervical cancer awareness week, and after news that 28% of women dodged their screening test because of Covid, we thought it was worth a mention.
We all know that between the nurse brandishing the ‘ice cream scoop of doom’ and the chilly air around your nethers, cervical screening is hardly a barrel of laughs. But while we live in a world where women’s health is woefully underfunded, and where certain dickhead doctors don’t always take symptoms seriously, we have to take every opportunity to look after our own health, frankly. Especially with something that is preventable.
So, get a couple of painkillers down you, read this article on how to make it all a bit more comfortable, and line up a nice glass of something as a post-screening treat. We promise that come the matriarchy, we’ll think of a MUCH better way.
Are you breathing clearly?
Good, because we need to talk about air pollution
The pervasive beast that is air pollution has been clouding the headlines of late, including clean air campaigns and the landmark ruling of air pollution as a cause of death for 9-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah. You don’t need us to tell you that air pollution = bad for health (that black nasal gunk after shuttling around on the Tube is a pretty visual cue 🤢). But what you might not know is that air pollution is a gendered issue.
Find out why dumping cooking and cleaning responsibilities on women isn’t just shit, it’s deadly. Read the full article.
TIT BITS
Keeping abreast of the latest news, views, and research
Women are not a prototype
This week in patriarchal bullshit – a study showing that women are more likely to be believed about sexual harassment if they fit into stereotypical notions of the “prototypical’ woman (young, feminine, conventionally attractive). Participants were presented with various scenarios of harassment and shown photos of women digitally altered to look more ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine.’ They consistently saw women who were less traditionally feminine as less credible – and their harasser was seen as less deserving of punishment. Where it got really wild is when the researchers asked participants to draw pictures of women who would – or wouldn’t – be a target for harassment. According to the example image below, it would appear that the secret to avoiding sexual harassment is to be a badly drawn pic of KD Lang (we can think of worse things tbh), whereas the typical victim of sexual harassment appears to be Dolly Parton in 9-5. Looking at this, we’re not sure whether to laugh or cry – think we’ll settle for being massively pissed off.
Heads up!
As we reported back in Issue 7, female athletes suffer concussions twice as often as their male counterparts, but – surprise, surprise – most studies of head injury have been done on men. So we were pleased to hear that the National Institutes of Health (the biggest research funder in America) has traumatic brain injury in women on their radar – and has already identified a number of gaps in research on women and brain injury.
STFU fellas
Male students speak around one and a half times more often than female students in university classrooms. And when students don’t have to put their hands up, men speak three times more often. “The higher level of participation relates to the idea of who may have felt like they were entitled to speak or had permission to do so," said researcher Janice McCabe – an admirably tactful way to say that the patriarchy sucks and a lot of men are entitled twats. You’ll be SHOCKED to find out that men also interrupted more and used more assertive language. But there was some vaguely positive news too – when lecturers took active steps to encourage participation, discussions were more balanced.
It’s been a rough 4 years
Thank f**k that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in yesterday and Trump and his hairpieces have slouched back to the golf course. To celebrate the (extreeeemely) welcome arrival of the new president, vice president and (Dr!) first lady, we’ve rounded up some bits and bobs on what the next four years might bring. Aaaand, breathe.
HEX Education
Easy come, easy flow
Fallen to the Russians? Feeling like your lower abdomen might explode? Might be time to “think of the Duke” and lend yourself a helping hand.
According to this article from Women's Health mag, orgasms can ease period cramps by increasing blood flow to the uterus – plus, they release plenty of our old chemical pals, dopamine and oxytocin. (For those people who fancy getting a penis involved, it might be worth noting sperm can inflame the cervix, making cramping worse).
The article has other tips from gynos too – such as the more usual hot water bottles, ibuprofen and cutting back on salt and booze – but this one sounds the most fun if we're honest. Less Auntie Flo, more Auntie "O", amirite?
TO THE KRAKEN 🦑
Grandmaster Trash
Heading for the gaping maw of the Kraken this week is former chess champion Garry Kasparov, who came to Lady K’s attention after this video of him being a tiresome sexist reached her many eyes. According to Garry, "It's too difficult for a woman to play real professional chess" – just one of a string of similar comments he made over the course of his career.
In 1994, he played 17-year-old Hungarian woman Judit Polgár, after calling her a “circus puppet” and stating that women should stick to having babies. He beat Polgár, but she afterwards accused him of cheating (by removing his hand momentarily from a piece before changing his move). Despite video footage confirming Polgár’s account, he told reporters she’d lied, saying “I think a girl of her age should be taught some good manners.” Eight years later, Polgár, now known as the 'Queen of Chess', got the sweetest revenge (and made history) by beating Kasparov in 42 moves.
He eventually admitted that he was wrong about women in chess, but he’ll soon find that no amount of rowing back (or indeed, forward) can save him from the quick wits – and even quicker tentacles – of a monstrous ocean behemoth. After all, a man of his age must be taught some good manners… Checkmate, Garry.
More things exploding our vagina candles this week:
Clapping our flippers to this free online course on exploring our oceans | Fabulous Ukrainian artist, Daria Hlazatova | The return of Invisible Women newsletter after a hiatus | Vice President Kamala Harris paying tribute to the women who came before her
The HEX Science team
🧬Jean Splicer | ☢ Marie Fury | 🧠 Rorschach Tess | 🔬 Rosalind Frankly