Beautiful book: Women Empowered

I just read about a book entitled, "Women Empowered." It is a compilation of gorgeous sepiat-toned photography by Phil Borges along with inspiring essays about women who challenged cultural barriers in third world countries, and succeeded. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright provides the foreword to this book.

BTW. Phil Borges is a man who totally Dared To Be Fabulous. He was once an orthodontist in San Francisco who, after practicing dentistry for 18 years, decided to sell his practice and pursue a career in photography. Isn't that great? Look at what he did with that passion and talent. (The picture we've attached is one of the women he features. Her name is Transito.)

This is what he shares about this book on his website:
"In 2004 I partnered with the organization CARE to bring attention to the necessity of empowering women in the global campaign to alleviate poverty. I traveled to Africa, Asia and South America to gather the stories of extraordinary women in remote parts of the world who have empowered themselves and their communities. Here are a few of these women, remote and mostly unknown, on the vanguard of a global shift toward gender equality."

Here is a link to his page so you can see more of the photographs and read about these amazing women:
http://www.philborges.com/we/women-empowered.html

DTBF!
Johanna

March 8 is International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. Not that we need to mark a day to celebrate women around the world, but as long as it exists, our feeling is, let's celebrate!
We received a message today from DTBF alert subscriber, Sarah Clark, and we'll share it with you:

Good morning dear women! I wanted to take a moment today to celebrate the courage and strength of Women and also to pass on some information I learned recently about International Women's Day. According to an article in Bay Area Business Woman last month:

International Women's Day (IWD), celebrated annually on March 8, was born
at the turn of the last century - a time of economic and political turbulence.
It is rooted in the movement for women's right to vote and work: women's
strikes for bread and peace at the end of World War I, and the UN Charter declaration
of gender equality as a human right, signed in San Francisco at the end of WWII.
In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a
"United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace."
For women of the world, this day became an occasion to review how far we have come
in our struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity
to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change - locally and globally.

When I lived in El Salvador in the 1990s, there was a women's march every year
on this day. I'm delighted to learn the origin of the day and to know that
San Francisco played a role. Thank you for being loving women in my life! Sarah

For more information, check out the International Women's Day website:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

Q&A with Dove's pro-age model

Dove is getting it right by spotlighting women with curves and lines and character.... who aren't rail thin and sixteen years old... and defining them as beautiful. Because, indeed, the ARE! It's about time advertising got it. My local paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, featured a Q& A with their pro-age model, Wendy Katzman, who was discovered in a swimming club's sauna in San Francisco. She is now featured in ads all over the country and has also been photographed by Annie Leibovitz and interviewed by Oprah. Talk about Daring To Be Fabulous!

The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/04/LVG14OCBGI1.DTL

Dove undoubtedly has generated a great response from this campaign. It speaks to every woman and celebrates us all. Now, let's hope it catches on!

DTBF!
Johanna