Some thoughts

This post is kind of scattered, but that's how things have been lately.

So, after the incident with the Dungeons and Dragons folks (see previous Seattle posting), I thought I was finished with meeting people that were, or pretended to be, knights.

I am glad that I was wrong. This week, at the annual Global Family Health Conference, and I had the great pleasure of meeting Sir Michael Marmot (blessing of the decade!). He is a professor of epidemiology at University College London, who is very well known for his work in the social determinants of health. He gave a lecture on the social determinants of health, and its implications for social policy. His work is so significant that he was knighted for his work in public health and reducing health inequalities. He is every bit the humble gentleman I thought a knight would be.

I liked how he viewed health as an indicator of how well a certain society functions. He showed how good health is dependent upon the interaction of social factors such as income, education, and living space. I completely agree with his viewpoint - health is an indicator of how well a society functions. But I would take it one step further and state that the health of women and children, particularly, are the supreme indicators of how well a society functions. From an ecosystem perspective (I am a biologist), women and children are sentinel creatures - the first organisms to fall sick or to become extinct once an ecosystem, or society as a whole, is out of balance. As a female, I really don't like the idea that my fate, to a degree, is dependent upon how specific factions of society choose to act. But it's a sad truth, and one that I will have to live with, and deal with to the best of my ability.

When you think about health from the perspective of women and children as sentinel beings, how is our society doing? Let's look at these statistics for women's issues in the USA:

1 in 4 women are estimated to be the victims of domestic violence
1 in 6 women are estimated to be sexually assaulted at one point in their lifetime
1 in 10 women are estimated at any time to have an eating disorder
women are 2 times as likely as men to suffer from depression
obesity prevalence is higher for women (34%) than men (27.7%)

I haven't even touched the statistics regarding child health, and our society doesn't seem to be doing that well. What's even more depressing is that these numbers may be worse for women that live in countries that place restrictions on women's rights.

I am not a Fem-Nazi. I don't hate men. I don't think all men are awful. In fact, I enjoy spending time with men. But the statistics cannot be ignored. Something has to change. It's just a matter of figuring out what needs to change, and what should stay the same.

I also attended my friend Jessica's bridal shower today. It was really good to see her and some of my friends from my first year at university. Seeing them made me think back to when I was 18 and not excited (I was quite ornery, but hid it well) to be moving somewhere that was 10 hours from the nearest large body of water. The Salt Lake does not count. I remember how shocked I was when I realized that I really was a minority. For some reason I just thought that every place in the US had as many minorities as Los Angeles. I was so wrong. I also remember being really confused when people served Jello as a salad, and not a dessert, and thinking that Jello "salad" was the reason why America was obese. I remember seeing a girl from my freshman floor get engaged after one semester at university and thinking, what the hell am I doing here?! I am not like these people!!! And yes, I once used the word Hell. Quite liberally, in fact.

How times have changed! The day that I have been dreaming about for the past 5 years is fast approaching, and I am finding that I just might be *gasp* nostalgic for this place. I am glad to say that I did make great friends like Jessica, Meg, and Amanda, and many others (MPH cohort included) that enriched my life, and made me realize why this was the place for me. I've come to terms with the fact that I will always look different (which is not necessarily bad). And that the US just has a lot of white people, although they are now the minority in LA. I am relieved to say that the 18 year old bride is the exception to the norm, and that people do get married for the right reasons. I will miss the people, the mountains, and the hiking.

I still long for the ocean. Part of me will always belong to the Pacific - I think seawater runs in my veins instead of blood! And I miss the smell of sand, salt, and seaweed. I miss the feeling of complete freedom that I get from standing on cliffs that look like this:

And this:
And all you see is this:

Ah, freedom. So glad to be going back soon.