TresSugar

Pregnant Man Expecting Second Child!

DearSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0800

I'm sure you've all heard about Thomas Beatie, the man to first become pregnant and have a baby. He was originally born a female, but underwent six sex-change operations and took male hormones to become a man, and then legally married his partner Nancy. Since she's infertile, he kept his womb and ovaries intact in the hopes of having a family someday - they feel that having a baby is neither a male or female desire, but a human one. Before becoming pregnant, he stopped taking testosterone injections so his menstrual cycle would return. He gave birth to their first child last Summer and now the Beatie's are expecting their second child, due this June! To get a peek inside their lives, check out this video of their interview with Barbara Walters:

Pretty amazing, huh? Tell me what you think about this in the comment section below.

Gender Roles - Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em?

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0800

Here's a poll from OnSugar blog Rantings of a Single Girl.

Let's go back to the 1940s for a minute. My grandmother was married, raised a kid, ran a farm, taught school, and kept a clean house. All while my grandfather was away at war. After my grandfather came back from the war and had recovered from his wounds, they went back into their traditional roles. He ran the farm and did all the "manly" things. My grandmother raised my aunt, taught school, and still had dinner on the table by 5:30 PM every night. All while pregnant with my dad.

I'm exhausted just talking about it.

I bring all this up because I've been thinking about gender roles lately. I look at my parents. Granted, my dad still does majority of the "manly'" things around the house and my mom does the household things, neither one is afraid to help out the other. My dad does housework. My mom can swing a hammer when needed.

And that's what I like.

I'll never be able to date a guy who believes in traditional gender roles. As much as I like cooking and being in the kitchen, I don't like being expected to be there. If we have kids, I'm not going to be the one who raises them. I certainly expect their father to help out. At the same time, I don't expect him the only one who takes out the trash or fixes things when they break. I think 50/50 is a good blend.

So could you be with someone who firmly believes in traditional gender roles? Or would you rather share the load?

Want to see more? Start following Rantings of a Single Girl or start your own OnSugar Blog. Maybe your stories will be posted here on TrèsSugar!

Why Some Women Give Up Custody of Their Children

TresSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:05:00 -0700

No matter how egalitarian people say they are, there's still an assumption that a woman's connection to her children is stronger - and perhaps more sacred - than a man's, and when a couple splits, she should naturally retain custody.

Rebekah Spicuglia understands the stigma of noncustodial motherhood all too well. She got pregnant when she was 18 and started taking classes at community college. Her husband, a restaurant worker who enjoyed staying at home and being around his family, didn't want to move when Spicuglia's educational ambitions landed her a spot at UC Berkeley. So she made the decision to move and leave her 3-year-old son Oscar with her husband. Now living in New York and divorced from Oscar’s father, she sees her son regularly and believes her decision was good for everyone involved. To hear what a psychologist has to say about the phenomenon and to weigh in yourself, read more.

Spicuglia joins the 30 percent of women in the US- over 2 million noncustodial mothers - who don't retain custody of their children after a divorce. If they are anything like Spicuglia, they may face judgment, hostility and disapproval.

Clinical psychologist Judith Sills explains why this is unfair and acknowledges that sometimes these decisions are best for the children, too. "The fact is," she says, "some good moms can protect their children best by recognizing someone else is the better parent . . . maybe they're emotionally overwhelmed; maybe to get financially on their feet; maybe because in a divorce, mom is desperate to leave the house, but she knows the kids need stability." The child's perception, she continues, has more to do with whether he or she has a stable, happy home than it does with the social norms that adults contend with.

How do you feel about women who decide to give up custody? Does it contradict your idea of what a "good mother" should do?

Roe v. Roe: Pro-Life "Jane Roe" Arrested at Sotomayor Hearing

TresSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0700

The tale of America's battle over abortion is a complicated one. When asked about Roe v. Wade today, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said that the case was settled law. But that's an answer the case's namesake wishes weren't true. Jane Roe, whose real name is Norma McCorvey, was arrested at Sotomayor's hearing yesterday after she began screaming that Sotomayor was wrong about abortion.

Norma McCorvey's pregnancy and subsequent lawsuit - the infamous Roe v. Wade - resulted in the 1973 Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion. But today, McCorvey, who gave birth to the baby in question before her case reached the Supreme Court, opposes abortion. She heads her own pro-life ministry called Roe No More.

In case you don't know much about Norma (aka "Roe"), let me share some of the more intriguing details of her life. Her grandmother was a prostitute and a fortune teller, her father a TV repair man, and her mother an alcoholic. After her first child was born, she told her mother that she preferred women to men, prompting her mother to take the child and banish Norma. She later gave birth to another child, which she gave up for adoption. She got pregnant again with a baby that became the Roe baby. Years later, in 1995, Norma quit her job at an abortion clinic, announced that she was pro-life, and joined Operation Rescue.

McCorvey once wrote: "Though I had never had one, abortion was the sun around which my life orbited." It seems that is still the case.

Front Page: Sarah Palin Thinks Letterman Is Pathetic

TresSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:07 -0700

Sarah Palin calls David Letterman pathetic, after he said she sports a "slutty flight attendant look." - Politico
China and Russia have agreed to back the US on a UN resolution that would punish North Korea for its nuclear-bomb test. - Bloomberg
Light security most likely contributed to a hotel suicide bomb that killed 15 and injured 70 in Pakistan yesterday. - Voice of America
Hezbollah's loss in Lebanon's election is hopefully a win for the peace process. - Salon
The "pregnant man" has given birth again. - People
Stephen Colbert debated the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in front of active soldiers on his show last night. - Colbert Nation

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Men: They May Have a Biological Clock

TresSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:47:03 -0700

Having a limited number of fertile years, or a biological clock, ranks high up on the list of concerns women have that men don't. If you're a woman who wants to have kids, you usually have to organize your life within a time frame to find a partner, get pregnant, and, if you have a career, put it on hold for a while.

One new study claims that men, too, may have a biological clock of sorts. Researchers found that when men father children after 50, their children scored lower on intelligence tests, no matter what the mother's age. Although the research findings are limited (the study doesn't follow the children past age seven), a man's freedom to father children at any time in his life just got a little more constricted.

It's doubtful that this study will change too many men's habits, but some are hopeful. New York Times columnist Lisa Belkin said, "I would hope that somehow it equalizes relationships of sexes."

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Pull-Out Method: Better Than Nothing or as Good as Condoms?

TresSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:00:00 -0700

About as good as condoms says a new study by the Guttmacher Institute. Of course, it's only true if pregnancy is the only thing you're trying to prevent. Condoms are still better than just about everything if you're looking to avoid STD/STIs.

The study found that the failure rate of condoms if used perfectly is 2 percent, but the actual failure rate is 17 percent. For the pull-out method, the same rates are 4 and 18 percent, respectively. So the realistic risk of getting pregnant is only 1 percent higher when using the pull out over condoms.

Overall, not great news, considering the threat of pregnancy has always been the best reason to ask a man to wear a condom without negotiating awkward sexual history talks too early. But what if you're responsible? Tests are done. Relationship is committed. And consequences? As prepared as you'll ever be. Would you regularly use the pull-out method? Or, do you?

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Come What May: A Pro-life Drama

TresSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Come What May is a new film that promotes pro-life values. But judging by the trailer and synopsis, nobody is actually pregnant in the movie.

The movie's lead isn't a woman struggling with a decision to keep or terminate a pregnancy, as one would expect. Instead, it centers around Caleb, a college freshman trying to decide whether to argue the pro-life or pro-choice side in his college moot court class. Rachel, his Christian teammate/crush urges him to do what's right, and argue against abortion.

The fact that the movie focuses on a man's struggle with the abstract idea of terminating a pregnancy makes its message less compelling to me. The acting doesn't help either. Check out the trailer and tell me what you think.

Sunday Confessional - I'm Thinking About Having an Abortion

DearSugar — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:00:00 -0700

I'm engaged to be married to a wonderful man who I love dearly. He's currently in medical school and we are spending every last bit of our savings to have the wedding of our dreams. We talk openly about our future, especially when it comes to starting a family of our own, and we decided that we'd wait until he's done with school and his residency, and once we've saved a significant chunk of money. Our wedding is just two months away and I thought my period was late due to the wedding stress, but I was wrong - I'm pregnant.

Having a baby is not something I'm ready for, and it's definitely not the right time for my fiance either, so I'm seriously contemplating having an abortion. I don't know how he's going to react to this news, which is why part of me wants to not even tell him at all. I know that starting our marriage off with a lie is wrong, but could I be forgiven for terminating this pregnancy without telling him? If he doesn't know, will it not hurt him?

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5 Wacky and Weird Stories From This Week

CitizenSugar — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 10:00:56 -0800

Statues Could Get You Pregnant - More than 2,000 women have reported becoming pregnant after touching fertility statues at Ripley's Believe It or Not.
Woman Fails Driving Test 771 Times - A South Korean woman has spent $3,000 on fees for the test.
Man Goes to Jail For Taking 50 cents - India sentenced a 75-year-old Indian man to jail for accepting a $0.50 bribe 24 years ago.
Israeli Ambassador Latest Target of Shoe Throwing - A Swedish protester threw a shoe at Israel's ambassador this week at Stockholm University. Earlier this week a protester in England aimed a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Man Gets 50 Traffic Citations in One Day - After police tried to stop Elvis Alonzo Barret for a traffic violation, he fled from police, running through red lights and crashing into another car and a fence. Police also found crack cocaine and a crack pipe in the car.

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