Basketball – Which Final Four, and does it matter?

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Peggy L Chinn

Womens_Final_Four_Tickets___2014_NCAA_Womens_Final_Four_Tickets___PrimeSportThe 2014 March Madness for college basketball has now passed, and now all that is left is the Final Four events for both women and men!  I happen to be at the University of Connecticut this week, of course celebrating the occasion with a host of other avid UConn basketball fans!  For those not following this madness, the rare occurrence of both the men and the women’s basketball teams from one school – in this case UConn of course – are

UConn

UConn

going to their respective Final Four tournaments.  This is very exciting on a number of levels, one being the simple rarity of this convergence.  The UConn women were not only expected to reach the Final Four, but are slightly favored to win the championship.  The men, on the other hand, were not expected to even reach the Final Four, so the suspense related to their performance in the Final Four is very intense!  The men’s coach is a former UConn player, who has never before coached a Final Four team!  The women’s coach has been at UConn for over 30 years, and if the women win the Championship, this will be his 9th national championship (a record!).  But despite these contrasts that are interesting, there are other contrasts that draw my attention, as an avid UConn women’s basketball fan, in a

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

kind of yin/yang way.

I blogged about the challenges of  homophobia in sports in general on my LavenderHealth blog on Monday.  But even today, signs of the persisting disparity in sports based on gender landed in my Inbox in the form of message from the UConn President, Susan Herbst (the first woman President!!). Her message acknowledged the excitement of both teams going to their Final Four Tournaments, urged everyone to “celebrate responsibly,” and included this information:

The university will open up Gampel Pavilion on Saturday, April 5, to all UConn students, so that you can watch the televised men’s game live with one another here on campus. The doors will open at 5:00pm. The game will begin shortly after 6:00pm and will be projected onto large screens that will be visible throughout most of Gampel.

Sunday’s women’s game will also be shown live on campus in the Student Union Theatre. Doors will open at 8:00pm and the game begins at 8:30pm.

Even without knowing anything about the UConn campus, I believe that you can detect the  disparity here.  Of course, everyone “knows” that the audience for the women’s game will

Stanford

Stanford

not be as large as the audience of the men .. right?  Are you sure?  The women’s team has commanded a fan base for years that matches or exceeds that of the men’s team.  And, if you plan for a smaller audience, are you not creating that reality in advance?

Then there is the matter of finding these games on television.  For this tournament that problem is a bit simpler because there are only 3 games for each.  But still, they are listed on the TV schedule as “College Basketball” and “Women’s College Basketball.”  When someone says “I am going to the Final Four” the assumption is that they are going to the men’s tournament. This is more than annoying .. it is symbolic of a lasting disparity that is sustained by the language we use.

So to me it does matter which Final Four we mean.  Karen and I will be watching both the men and the women tournaments.  But we cannot help but notice so many contrasts – some of which represent real progress for women (for example, 3 of the 4 teams in the women’s Final Four have women head coaches!).  All the while, it is important to be mindful of ways to address the disparities that persist  – one way is by our actions .. tuning in to the women’s games, talking

Maryland

Maryland

about the amazing emergence of women’s sports and what it means for so many young women as they are discovering their personal and collective strength and power.  This women’s tournament will be amazing .. there are two undefeated teams in the Tournament – UConn and Notre Dame!  One team will walk away with their winning streak broken, but all the young women on all of the teams competing this year have broken amazing barriers by just being there, for developing their athletic skills, and devoting their energies to inspiring other girls and women as their careers have unfolded!  So I cheer them all, even though for now I have to close with this … go UConn!

 

 

Posted in Making change, Social Issues, women's basketball | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Women working for peace in Ukraine

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Peggy L Chinn

Today I received a message from Maureen Flaherty for the Peace and Power blog.  Maureen used Peace and Power in her work with women from the east and from the west  in Ukraine who joined together to share their visions of peace for their country.  Her workukraine was part of her dissertation in the Peace and Conflict Studies Department of the University of Manitoba.  When the recent  conflict in Ukraine broke out, I contacted Maureen to ask if she was in touch with the women she had worked with, and indeed she is!  Read her message on the Peace and Power blog, and leave comments there to convey your message of hope and encouragement for the women in Ukraine.  

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Jigsaw Puzzles, anyone?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Peggy L Chinn
roadtrek

Karen and me with our Roadtrek

My latest blog post is on the RVing Women FreeWheelers chapter web site – on the joys of jigsaw puzzles on a mobile device!  Recently I converted the FreeWheelers web site to WordPress.com so that we can easily include a blog, and involve more women in the chapter in managing and contributing to the site!  So my “jigsaw” post is one of our first of what I hope will be become a very fun and informative blog for all women interested in an RVing life style.

The fact is that even though I love going out and traveling in the RV, lately this has been set aside in favor of a few other projects and enterprises!  But regardless of the things that demand time and attention, having a solitary type of game of some sort to play helps me to settle my mind, taking attention away from the to-do list!  I love Sudoku and various games of solitaire, but my current favorite is jigsaw puzzles on the iPad!  If you have any recommendations for games along this line, let me know!  After all, you know what they say about all work and no play!!

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Today’s post on Lavender Health!

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Peggy L Chinn

My life as a blogger may seem to be dormant, if this is the only one of my blogs that you follow!  So it occurred to me that when I post something on another one of my many blogs, I should also post it here!  So visit today’s blog — Sports Matters – on the Lavender Health blog!  And enjoy!

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Peace & Power and other blogs!

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Peggy L Chinn

Just in case anyone wonders where I have been in the blog-0-sphere, here is a report — I now have about a dozen wordpress sites underway!  Admitedly, not all of these are active at all times, but they all demand my attention from time to time!  There are a few that folks who follow this blog might be interested in seeing, so feel free to jump on over to another blog if you are so inspired! Here is the list!

  • Peace & Power – My blog tour starts with this website/blog that I am thrilled to introduce!  The book “Peace and Power” wascandle1 first self-published by Charlene Eldridge Wheeler and me way back in 1984!  Now the book is published by Jones & Bartlett in their textbook line-up, but its applicability is much wider than this!  So I developed the website/blog to provide a more accessible summary and overview of the process for almost anyone, anywhere. This site also opens the door for interaction and discussion, which I hope will become much more active over time!  So if you are so inspired, take a look at this site and add your comments – I will respond!

 

  • Advances in Nursing Science.  This has become perhaps my most active blog ..  every week or so I feature one of the ANS36-4articles in ANS with a message from the author(s).  Over the past several weeks we have featured articles from our recent issue focused on “Peace and Health” — even if you are not a nurse, I am quite sure you will find one of those featured articles really interesting, and inspiring!  We are just starting to feature articles that appear in the current issue that focuss on “Innovations in Health Care Delivery.”  Very timely, given the turmoil we are experiencing here in the US with the new Affordable Care Act!

 

  • From the Editor’s Pen – This blog is administered by my friend and colleague, Leslie Nicoll, who is the Editor of “CIN: INANEComputers, Informatics Nursing“.  This is the official blog of INANE: International Academy of Nursing Editors.”  When, about 3 years ago, Leslie asked me about becoming an author on this blog, I was delighted because the world of blogging was totally foreign to me and I jumped at the opportunity to learn! It was not long before I started this, my own blog!  On the “Editor’s Pen” we post information about our members and general information of interest to nursing editors.

 

  • INANE in Maine 2014 – Another fabulous blog administered by Leslie Nicoll!  This one is home to all things related to our conference coming up in August 2014 – to be held in Leslie’s home town of Portland, Maine. Leslie is the host of this InaneMaineconference and I, along with several other Editors, am on the planning team.  We have set a goal of having a completely paperless conference – perhaps one of the first ever!  Even the program is going to be paperless, using a mobile device app!  We will have some signage in the hotel on paper, and perhaps some paper napkins .. but otherwise, we are going all electronic! This is an example of a website/blog – the site has pages that contain everything you need to know about the conference, including registration, abstract submission, and a gateway to contribute to the Suzanne Smith Development Fund. I am a contributor to this blog — either Leslie or I post something about the conference every couple of weeks.
  • Lesbian Nurse Stories Project – This is another website/blog that is home to this new project to collect stories from lesbianBlog___Lesbian_Nurse_Stories___Archive_Project_to_Honor_Our_History nurses.  The site gives information on the background of the project, describes the approach that we are using, and information for narrators who might contribute their stories to the archive.  This project just got underway so the blog itself is not very active yet, but it does a report of the team’s recent get-togethers in Denver and in Washington, DC!

 

 

  • NurseManifest Blog – This blog is co-administered by myself, Jane Dickinson, Carey Clarke, Mona Shattell and Olga Jarrin!  This is a site to watch, because over the next few weeks, it will be transformed to the website that is now Art_-_2002_Study_-_NurseManifestNurseManifest.com in order to bring the website and the blog together under one “roof”.  The new site will include all the features of the current site, but will also have some new features such as practical information about ways to transform nursing practice.
  • Nurse Educator Praxis – This is another blog that our NurseManifest team administers – focused on issues and approaches for transforming nursing education.  This blog will remain independent of the NurseManifest website/blog, but it is fully integral to the intents and purposes of the NurseManifest project.

In addition to these blogs, I usually have “transient” blogs for courses that I teach, and there are two private blogs that I want to mention – even though they are “private”!

  • Mémé Stories for Sophie and Elodie – I started this blog several month ago because of how much my granddaughters love hearing stories about my life, and especially about their Dad when he was a child! They also love seeing pictures of these “ancient” times!  It occurred to me that I should start writing some of these stories, and that if I did this on a blog I could use some of their favorite pictures to fill in more of the story than we can usually cover in our times together!
  • LGBTQI Nurse Authors – This blog has a different “twist” — it is a virtual support group for nurses who are seeking to publish articles on LGBTQI topics in nursing journals.  Mickey Eliason and I administer this blog/support group .. it emerged from discussions among nurses at the GLMA meeting in Denver in September .. nurses who were becoming discouraged about getting their work published.  We set up the blog and have been spreading the word for anyone who is interested.  We “require” that anyone who joins the group needs to be actively involved in asking for and giving constructive feedback on their ideas and drafts of material they are developing for publication.  We also post general information about publishing so that folks who are not familiar with some of the basics of publishing can become better informed and better prepared to enter a world that can be very daunting, regardless of the topic!  We will be sharing more about this experience of using a blog site as a support group in more public venues .. so stay tuned!  And if you are interested in the group, let me know!
Posted in Health Care, LGBTQ, Nursing, Peace & Power | 1 Comment

Report on the Rebel Nursing Conference!

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Peggy L Chinn

Reflecting on the amazing experience of the Rebel Nursing conference in Philadelphia, I realize that I “speak” from several different voices, each with her own perspective, but all in awe of what happened in the Claire Fagin Hall School of nursing building on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania last week!  So for this blog, I am mostly going to share highlights of each of these perspectives … maybe an essay will emerge later with more detail!  I am sure that lots of conversation will emerge as well … my own and each of you who read this!

2013_Rebel_Nurses.pdf

Click on the image to download the complete program

So to begin, the anticipation that I felt in going to the conference, based on the planning group’s ideals that I wrote about in my last post, came to full fruition and more!  Each of the ideals that the women who organized the conference became real in moment to moment experience!  The fundamental guiding principle of the conference — “justice and liberation for health seekers, health workers, and communities”  became alive and real.  The conference provided access for all, starting with the registration fee of $0 – 100.  The catered lunch, which cost $7, was vegetarian/vegan with options for gluten-free and other dietary restrictions.  Child care was available at no charge.  Bathrooms were gender neutral.  There were no “stars” – everyone present had a voice, and all the sessions were presented by folks who had volunteered based on what they could contribute.  There was a room for pop-up sessions .. if anyone wanted to have a session on any topic at any time .. sign up and the room is yours.  There was a phone number posted everywhere to call if you needed emotional support at any time.

Sarah Lipkin started the conference with a brilliant opening presentation that set out the underlying philosophy and intentions of the conference.  In her presentation she listed the many ways that nurses are rebellious – when we advocate for our patients who are not getting what they need, when we challenge what is accepted as “the way things are done” ..  I could go on, but I could not do justice here to her amazing words.  She will be publishing what she presented …

Each and every one of the sessions I attended were amazing and eye-opening.  Jane Palmieri (from Oregon) facilitated a discussion on nursing education with the overall goal being to identify ways in which nursing education needs to change.  Almost everyone in the room were students (most in advanced practice programs) and there were many issues that we addressed.  Each person, I am sure, would shed light on the breadth of our discussion!  For me, the highlight was the frustration that people felt about the narrow, medicalized focus on their education, and how lacking it is in terms of social and political and environmental determinants of health, and how many populations and cultures are left out of the discussion or treated in superficial ways.  We did come up with some ideas for making change – the primary one being the importance of networks of support to do the work that needs to be done.  We will continue our conversations virtually – Jane is creating an email connection for all of us.

LGBTQ issues were big, and there was a strong and mighty presence of trans nurses, who, in most nursing contexts are either invisible or silenced or both.  I had an amazing and eye-opening “critical reflection” exchange with a person in my group on overcoming horizontal violence, asking me to consider the perspective of the trans community related to Janice Raymond’s controversial book titled “The Transexual Empire.”  The substance of our discussion was vitally important, but the fact that this conversation even occurred was even more significant.  How often can this even be imagined in most of our lives?

I have told many people since returning home about how wonderful this experience was,  but at the same time it certainly challenged my comfort zone!  I actually hope it challenged everyone’s comfort zone … after all .. isn’t that what making change is all about?!  So stay tuned .. we will “talk” more about this in good time!  Meanwhile, download the program here .. and browse to see for yourself something of what this conference was about.  And stay tuned for the next conference .. it will happen again!!!

2013 Rebel Nurses

Posted in Education, Feminism, LGBTQ, Making change, Nursing, Reflections | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Rebel Nurses!

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Peggy L Chinn

Just in case you thought that this title is an oxymoron  – think again!  I just got off a google hangout with the group of nurses and nursing students who identify as such, and are in the last two weeks of launching the first Rebel Nursing conference!   You can see more about the conference itself on the web page that outlines the program, but before you have to ask — yes, I will be there!  Along with over 250 others who obviously are eager and proud to be a part of this momentous occasion!

This conference came about as a vision of Sarah Lipkin, who is a master’s entry nursing student at Yale University.  Sarah contacted me almost a couple of years ago because she had read a little ad about Cassandra: Radical Feminist Nurses Network in a 1980’s issue of Sinister Wisdom.  Sarah shared her idea about starting a Rebel nurses conference, and wanted to find out more about Cassandra and what we did way back then!  So I have been connected with the group putting the conference together, but mostly, I am watching in awe as they have moved along to make this happen!

In a nutshell, here is the opening statement about the conference:

Envisioning justice and liberation for health seekers, health workers, and communities, the Rebellious Nursing! conference is uniting nurses at all levels of practice, other healthcare providers, and our allies to find inspiration, awareness, solidarity, and practical ways to impact health equity and health disparities among all living beings.

That statement alone is like no other that most of us have even seen associated with something in or related to nursing!  But it also represents an ideal, a yearning, that many nurses have had over several generations.  Many of us have taken steps large and small to realize this kind of vision for nursing and health care, but I believe that this conference, and the group organizing the conference, are making an historic step forward in bringing such a vision to reality.

They are making this vision real in everything they are doing.  Not in a big, huge, media-hungry way … but by living, and acting upon, the day-to-day elements that make such a vision possible.  The planning group’s values are amazing … everything they do is carefully rebel handsdesigned to reflect what they believe, and what they stand for.  This is deliberate, but effortless in the way that a good cook puts together a fabulous meal!  They have raised funds to be able to do this, but the choices that they have made about money, and the choices they have made about how the conference will be conducted, paint a picture of who they are, why they exist, and what they envision for the future.  Here is a list of a few things that to me speak volumes:

  • Accessibility for all is a huge priority – every discussion, every plan, takes into account every imaginable type of accessibility.
  • Name tags are cut out of cereal boxes, with holes punched so that you can run colorful yarn through them to hang around your neck or pin to your clothing, and you will decorate your name tag, with the name you prefer to be called, when you arrive.
  • On the registration form, the first question is your preferred pronoun.
  • Child care is free, and lunch is provided for child care workers.
  • Rooms are set aside for self-care and meditation, and volunteers will be available to help folks who might be triggered emotionally during any of the sessions.
  • Plenaries are designed more for participation and everyone’s input, rather than lectures or talks.

I could go on.  Yes, feminist groups and other groups focused on social change have done this kind of work in the past, and the ways that these rebel nurses are going about their work is very much like activist groups everywhere.  But this has never happened, to my knowledge, in nursing before.  We attempted things along this line when Cassandra was active in the ’80’s, but this group of amazing nurses is so much more “capable” than we were then.  And, they have the advantages of technology that we did not even dream of!  They have formed a large network of supporters from all over the country, many of whom are not able to be at the conference, because of a now widespread urgency among many nurses to address social justice in health care.  This network is also possible because of the ease and accessibility of email, the web, Facebook, Twitter – you name it, they are on top of it!  All of the planning, which involves a number of people who have never met in person, has happened using google hangouts and google drive, email, and the web.

So stay tuned .. I will “report” on the experience of the conference later this month.  But I hope you will find inspiration just by browsing the web site, and imagining what our nursing and health care world could be like with even the tiniest of movement in this direction!

Posted in Health Care, Making change, Politics, Social Issues | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Peggy L Chinn

This caught my attention because last night in Chris Hayes’ inaugural “All In” show, he covered the story of Kevin Ware and the issue of exploitation of college athletes, which is amplified when college athletes face major injury and health challenges. Thanks to Diana Mason’s “HealthCetera” blog for this wonderful post that addresses this issue that intersects nursing, public policy, college sports, and the future of health care in the U.S.

Barbara Glickstein's avatarHealthCetera - CHMP's Blog

On Sunday evening during the Louisville Cardinal vs Duke NCAA Elite Eight tournament game millions of television viewers witnessed Louisville Cardinal sophomore guard Kevin Ware’s awkward fall to the ground, after trying to block a 3-point shot, resulting in a compound fracture of his leg that left his teammates in tears. He was removed from the court, the game went on after a 9 minute delay, and Louisville won. The Louisville Cardinals are headed to the Final Four.

For the most part, broadcast media maintained Mr. Ware’s respect for privacy and the viewers from seeing replays of his fall and close-ups of his compound fracture. Social media went wild with tweets.

Colorlines  respectfully published A Non-Grotesque Picture From Louisville’s Kevin Ware Hospital Room. MSNBC’s new primetime anchor Chris Hayes, in his first All In program covered the story addressing a bigger policy issue, Are NCAA players uncompensated employees of the organization? …

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How about a “news” hour that breaks the mold?

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Peggy L Chinn

Yes, here it is – “All In with Chris Hayes!”  I have been a fan of his week-end show, and the new prime-time 8 pm week-day show is just as interesting and thought-provoking as his week-end show — and different from anything else in the week-night “news and politics” lineup.  One of the terrific things about the April 1 debut is that there was none of the annoying time-consuming “preview” snippets of what is coming up later in the show!  Rachel Maddow does this in a more interesting and fun way than most, but Chris (one of Rachel’s protégées) has (so far) dispensed with the mundane preview of what is coming up in the show — other than a very brief “coming next” statement a couple of times, and his typical “hold that thought – I want to talk more about that right after this break” cue.

Instead of the typical line-up of “hot topics”  his format for the week-end show is carrying over to prime time.  Last night he spent chris-hayes-passportdedicated time on two topics — the Keystone pipeline, and the Atlanta school scandal.  He brought in his typical panel of folks to talk about these issues – 3 or 4 people we do not usually see on TV but who in fact are experts close to the issue, and who bring very diverse views to the topic.  Chris asks hard questions, but also makes sure that we in the audience understand the nuances of the issue.  His panels always include women and men, people of color, young folks, seasoned elders, a few elected officials but mostly everyday folks doing really important work in the world who almost never get seen or heard in the news media.

I also like the very upbeat, energetic tone that Chris brings.  Unlike the very stilted, and sometimes scripted week-end political talk shows like “meet the press” that are geared to bringing different points of view to the audience, “All In” is not adversarial and there is no hostility.  The members of the panel have a lively, but congenial discussion of issues.  When they disagree with one another, they acknowledge the differences in their perspective, but Chris always facilitates a conversation that deepens understanding of the issues, not an adversarial competition for ideas.

His brief #click3 segment added a really fun and interesting dimension to the show that illustrates the unusual and very interesting tone of the show.  Last night  he featured the remarkable scientist Yvonne Brill and the very inappropriate obituary published in the NYT, “Kid Socrates,” a boy who conceptualizes multiple universes, and finally information about how to send in your suggestion for the day’s most awesome thing on the internet .. tweet your suggestion with the hashtag #click3

I highly recommend this show.  If you do not get MSNBC on TV, watch the show online (commercial free – almost!)  You can read a review of the April 1 debut hour here. As the reviews I have seen all indicate, only time will tell if this new approach to prime-time will gain traction.  But in my view, it is a very welcome shift from the typical news hour, and a most welcome change from the week-end political talk shows.  Of course “All In” is not a substitute for the other excellent shows out there, but it adds a dimension of depth and exploration of  tough political and social challenges that until now have been missing.

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New Peace & Power Web Site and Blog!

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Peggy L Chinn

I am delighted to unveil the new Peace & Power web site and blog!  Many folks who read this blog already know about the book Peace and Power that I have authored since 1984.  Now, the web site adds two important dimensions to what the book offers.

First, now many of the conversations that happen face-to-face or on email can begin to happen worldwide!  I have received many emails over the years – emails that I file in a folder named “amazing emails!”  These are often messages sharing stories of ways that someone has used the process, or found the process helpful.  Often they contain questions that address some of the most persistent challenges in groups, and the challenges of shifting to the ways of “peace and power.”  Nowphoto7thCropped300 these stories and questions can be entered into the comments on the web site.  And I will use these comments and questions as “prompts” for blog posts on the site.  I hope you will consider following the blog, and participating in the discussions!

Second, the site provides a digital “handbook” of the essential elements of the group process – easily accessible on any mobile device that has access to the internet.  The process of “peace and power” seems totally simple and easy … and yet I know from my own personal experience how hard it is … as in my last post – “peace” is not an easy thing to do!  When I first learned this process, one of the things that we did over and over was to review why we were attempting to do things the way we did them — why we used rotating chair, or critical reflection, for example.  And, we constantly reviewed the “how” of doing what we did so that our actions matched our words. Charlene Eldridge and I first wrote the book so that we could share some of these insights with others who were not familiar with the process, and had not experienced it.  The book has valuable detail and information about the process and lots of great examples, but the web site provides a nutshell version of the ways of peace and power, along with reminders of the values that are the foundation of the process.

I invite you to visit the new site, and participate in the online conversation!

Posted in Books, Making change, Peace & Power | Tagged , | 2 Comments