Like mother, like daughter

Thinking of living in with your man? Well, maybe you are just following in your mom’s footsteps. Because, according to a new study conducted by sociologists at Ohio State University, daughters often follow the example set by their mothers when it comes to living together with men.

Young women whose mothers were in a live-in relationship were 57 per cent more likely to opt for cohabitation themselves, the study says. Also, these daughters tended to enter into live-in relationships earlier than others. Each relationship transition for the mothers ? including divorce, widowhood or new cohabitation ? increased the likelihood of cohabitation by 42 per cent for their daughters. Sons, though, were not much affected by whether or not their mothers lived with a man outside marriage.

“While there has been a lot of research on how divorce affects children, this is one of the few studies on the impact of cohabitation,” says Zhenchao Qian, co-author of the study and associate professor of sociology at the Ohio University. As young India increasingly opts for live-in relationships, this study may have ramifications beyond the US.

Nordic edge

Quick question: In which country are women on a par with men? No, it’s not the US or UK. According to the 2005 World Economic Forum (WEF) report on gender gap published last week, Nordic women have the maximum parity with men. Of the 58 countries surveyed, Sweden tops the list. Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Finland complete the top five. The study based its results on analysing five parameters ? economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment, education, and health. India ranks 53, a mere three notches above Pakistan.

In their cups

Irish women are collectively into a dangerous love affair ? with their drink. Binge drinking has always been a part of Ireland’s image, but that image has usually been associated with men. The trend has now been worryingly reversed, says Stephen Rowen, clinical director of Rutland Centre, Dublin, a de-addiction centre. Women seeking rehab from drinking problems now outnumber men by a 2:1 ratio. Studies show that alcohol is more harmful to women than men, because women can’t metabolise it effectively.

Litter fighters

God’s own country, Kerala, owes the newest feather in its cap to the women of Kozhikode. About a year ago, the city’s women teamed up with the authorities to rid it of litter. And today, Kozhikode claims to be the first and only litter-free city in the country. The volunteer women collect garbage for a fee of Rs 30 a month, and then segregate it. If bio-degradable, the waste is used to make manure. Otherwise, it is sent to landfill sites. The solution is well-known and simple enough all right, but it fell to the dedicated women of Kozhikode to implement it.

Bare necessity

Could spending time in the nude be therapeutic for women? New York-based photographer Ellen Fisher Turk certainly seems to think so. Turk asked women with body problems to pose in the nude for what she calls her ‘photo-therapy project’, reports The Times. And apparently, it proved to be surprisingly effective in helping women come to terms with their bodies and indeed, feeling good about their bodies. Says a formerly bulimic woman who participated in Turk’s novel project, “When I look at the pictures, I can see the insecurity. But I also think that I look fantastic. It felt good to look at them and to feel proud.”

Overheard... that men run from commitment as they dislike dealing with women's double standards. That’s what Marc H. Rudov says in his book The Man's No-Nonsense Guide to Women. Now, that doesn’t sound like a fair assessment, Mr Rudov.