AAUW Membership Matters By Jan Stuter
MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT
The holiday season has started! A warm welcome to two of our newest members: Lori Gualco and Ronni Riemer.
Lori graduated from UC Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in political science. She went on to garner a JD in law from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. Now retired from her life as an attorney, she has a keen interest in public policy and plans to participate in the Art and Architecture interest group, Film Fans and a book group.
Ronni received her bachelor of science degree from the University of Rhode Island in resource economics. She followed that with an MBA from New York’s Pace University. She worked in hospital administration before retiring from being a medical practices administrator. She co-owns Physician Case Management, Inc. (PCM), a small medicine consulting firm. Ronni is looking forward to enjoying Film Fans.
Both accomplished women are joining AAUW for the first time. Current Sacramento branch members recruited them. Who do you know who might be interested? Just ask!
ISSUES ON MY RADAR
Have you ever wondered why female virginity is so highly prized, even demanded, in many human cultures and religions? Is it a matter of health, a property issue or something else? Through the centuries women have prospered or languished according to whether or not they could “demonstrate” their virginity to the people in the communities where they lived. Listen to
Janice Stuter
a short Ted Talk presentation, “The Virginity Fraud” on YouTube presented by two female Norwegian physicians, Nina Dolvik Brochmann and Ellen Stokken Dahl, to discover the real biological facts about human female virginity. They co-authored a best-selling book, “The Wonder Down Under: The Insider’s Guide to the Anatomy, Biology and Reality of the Vagina” in 2018. This book is a funny, frank tribute to the vagina that dispels many of the myths still common in our times.
WOMEN ARE CAPABLE OF MANY DIFFERENT ROLES IN LIFE
Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first female Prime Minister in the world. She rose to that position in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in 1960, shortly after entering politics after the assassination of her husband, who himself had been Prime Minister before her. She was not a “one-shot wonder,” however. She served as Prime Minister for three terms over 40 years until her death in 2000 at 84.
She was born into a wealthy Sri Lankan family in April 1916. The oldest of six children, she was educated in Sri Lanka’s Catholic school system, becoming fluent in English and Sinhala, though she remained a Buddhist. She became involved in social work, distributing food and medicine in jungle villages, organizing clinics and helping to develop rural industry to improve the living standards of village women. In 1940, she entered an arranged marriage to a prominent politician in which she birthed 3 children. Throughout her marriage she continued her active involvement in improving the situation of rural and impoverished women as well as accompanying her husband in his political career. As a widow, she survived independently politically for many years due to her capabilities. She was a remarkably talented woman. Google her!