Story Archives of 'Gender Issues'

Boys are influenced by popular culture differently from girls. We'll look at how their general preferences for adventure stories -- with battles and violence -- can work against them, especially within the traditional school system. Our guests are Ralph Fletcher, author of Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices and UNH Professor Tom Newkirk, author of Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture.

The Gender Gap Turned On Its Head! Thirty years ago, boys were ahead of the class when it came to academics- from first grade to college commencement. But these days it’s girls who are their class valedictorians…and boys are said to be lagging behind. We’ll look at possible reasons for this flip-flop and what some educators are doing about it. Laura's guests are Dr. Michael Thompson, consultant and psychologist specializing in children and families who has written several books, including "Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys" and Kathy Stevens, Training Director for The Gurian Institute, an educational corporation that helps train schools on learning differences between boys and girls, and co-author of "The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life".

*This show originally aired on 5/31/06*

Joan Jacobs Brumberg, author of "The Body Project, An Intimate History of American Girls" says that, "over the course of the 20th century, good looks rather than good works has become the measure of a female's self worth". Television, magazines and films focus on looking "perfect", while web based groups encourage young women to lose weight to the points of anorexia and bulimia. Today we look at the phenomenon of young women, why they focus on looks over works and how we can possibly reverse this trend. Laura's guests are Joan Jacobs Brumberg, author of a number of books about American women and girls including "The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls". Jordan Reed, a sophomore at Oyster River High School in Durham and Liz Ricciotti, a senior at Dover High School. Both girls participated in the Summer "Arts in Reach" film institute program and helped produce the documentary "Body Image: Stories and Perspectives". Click here to find out more information on the Arts in Reach program

Pat Parnell is a poet, retired professor, and lifelong Catholic who was dissatisfied with the traditional image of God as male figure with overwhelmingly male characteristics. Pat has found female imagery in the Bible and in other faith traditions. She's used them to deepen and broaden her own faith and she's put them into a series of poems. This interview from October 2002 is about her collection, Snake Woman and Other Explorations, Finding the Female in Divinity . Pat has a new book of poetry out this month called Talking with Birches.

Her new book, "The Birth of Pleasure," explores how men and women experience and express love (Knopf) www.randomhouse.com. Gilligan's best known for her groundbreaking book, "In a Different Voice". Gilligan was a professor at Harvard University for many years and will soon join the faculty at New York University www.nyu.edu.