Apr 23, 2013 — The Vagina Monologues, a celebrated play about female empowerment, will be performed at St. Lawrence University this weekend. The performances are Friday and Saturday night, 7 pm, in the Winston Room of the Sullivan Student Center. This year marks the 15th anniversary of V-Day Campaign, a national movement to end violence against girls and women. V-Season was inspired by the play, which debuted in New York City in 1996, and includes a wide variety of events, from local theatrical productions to film screenings and workshops.

Written by Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues is noted for its central literary device: a series of actors giving solo speeches on topics such as sex, love, rape, menstruation, female genital mutilation, masturbation, birth and orgasm. The monologues are based on interviews Ensler conducted with more than 200 women. Todd Moe talks with Haley Feickert and Anne Clements, co-producers of the St. Lawrence University performances. The local cast includes 16 women of varying ages and backgrounds.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Mar 01, 2013 — Women are consistently rendering images from the media of the "ideal" body type. This has driven women to sacrifice their natural shape with unhealthy practices. Abigail Moss has utilized her senior project at St. Lawrence University as an opportunity to promote the voices and stories of women she has encountered including her own who have struggled with food and body image. Her play, Witness: Real Stories of Women and Strength will be performed tonight at St. Lawrence University.

Abigail hopes that the power of performance will be an experience for the audience that will make a difference in the way that women feel and think about their own body. Kitty Higgins, the NCPR news intern interviewed Abigail and had a conversation about her inspiration for the performance, it's importance and the messages the media sends.  Go to full article

Rensselaer, NY, Jan 29, 2013 — Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos says he's strongly opposed to Governor Cuomo's Reproductive Health Act. He says it would lead to too many late-term abortions.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, Jan 24, 2013 — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Wednesday that a ban on women serving in combat roles in the military will be lifted over the coming years.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called it a proud day for our country. She issued a statement, noting that she fought for a Defense Department feasibility report on lifting the ban.

She writes, "This decision finally opens the door for more qualified women to excel in our military and advance their careers, and obtain all of the benefits they have earned."

And, officially recognizing women in combat "will strengthen our country both morally and militarily."

Around heavily-deployed Fort Drum, soldiers generally welcomed the news - with some caveats.  Go to full article

Rensselaer, NY, Jan 16, 2013 — During the election season last year, legislators proposed new laws in states around the country to limit women's contraception and abortion rights.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now heading in the opposite direction. During his state of the state speech last week, Cuomo announced plans to advance a women's agenda.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Nov 01, 2012 — Both presidential candidates are placing a lot of their attention on women voters as the election draws near. Women make up more than 52 percent of the vote. And according to at least one Democratic pollster, blue collar women may be the last swayable part of the electorate.

We spoke with women of different ages and experiences about the issues they most care about, and whether or not they'll be voting this year.  Go to full article

Oct 26, 2012 — Republican Wendy Long says she thinks abortion should be illegal in the US, even in cases when the pregnancy results from rape.

Long is running for the US Senate against Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, who is pro-choice.

Abortion and rape have become major issues on the campaign trail, as more Republican Senate candidates have embraced the idea that women who are victims of sexual violence should be denied access to abortions.

The latest Siena Research Institute poll, released Friday morning, shows Long winning support from just 24 percent of voters in New York. Gillibrand is winning 67 percent of the vote.  Go to full article

Aug 16, 2012 — A women's singing group, with members who live along the Northway, has produced a new cd, titled Herstory. Ann Ruzow Holland and Cathie Davenport, members of "Sounds of the Northway," are using music to raise awareness of women's issues and cultural diversity.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jul 13, 2012 — For over 25 years Juanita Babcock has been teaching belly dancing to a group of women on Wednesday evenings, in the community room of the First Presbyterian Church in Potsdam. Some of the women have been with Juanita for almost a decade, others are just beginners.

They leave their jobs or school, and at 6 o'clock begin to wander into the wide, open room. Each woman grabs a coin-covered hip scarf from a basket Juanita has brought in, ties it around her waist, and they keep dancing until the church choir kicks them out for rehearsal. Juanita says belly dancing is for all ages--she's had a 78-year-old woman take lessons, and a current member of her group began when she was just eleven.

Juanita started belly dancing in 1973 when she was living in Ulster County. When she first started offering classes in the late eighties, the belly dancing landscape here in the North Country was pretty barren. But since then, belly dancing classes and groups have popped up all over. Producer Natasha Haverty came to one of Juanita's rehearsals and has this profile.  Go to full article

May 04, 2012 — Discussion of women in the workplace was reinvigorated several weeks ago when Democrat Hilary Rosen chastised presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, for--quote--"not working a day in her life." That set off another round of "mommy wars": sharp discussion of whether women are better off working to provide for their families or staying home with their children. And it raises an important question - why, 40 years after the women's movement, it's still so difficult for women to balance their families and their jobs.

Madeleine Kunin was Vermont's first female governor in 1985. She's now 78 years old and has published a new book - "The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the next revolution for women, work, and family." The book issues a clarion call for women, men, businesses, and government to make sure that workplace and family rights for women top their agendas.

Sarah Harris spoke with Kunin about her book.

Correction: Madeleine's age was initially reported as 79. She is in fact 78 years old.  Go to full article