#unavailable older women in positions of authority!!!!!!!

[chicago-geniza]

Unfortunately as you probably already know. This is grad school

[wagahai-da]

oh no i forgot how attractive i find the professor i’m TAing for

[alwaysbeyondhope]

sidenote: just started to watch that Gillian Anderson Sex Education ASMR video again...this time with headphones.

fjksdalfjs

the headphones make such a difference.

because HOLY FUCKING FUCK

that is no longer something I can listen to or watch while on the clock.

[alwaysbeyondhope]

are we the same person? we seem like the same person

not me always simping obsessing over older queer coded women in media to the point that i spend an inordinate amount of time watching (and rewatching) a movie or series until it becomes uncomfortable for everyone around me because i can’t stop talking about whoever my latest lesbian fixation is lately.

[cake-and-spades]

So You Think You Might Be Aro/Ace: A Big List of Shared Experiences 

This is by no means every shared experience, and I’m definitely missing some (feel free to add, everyone).  This is just a compilation of things I’ve seen in other lists, my own experiences (both past and current), some things I’ve talked about with other people, etc.  I’ve done my best to separate them into aro and ace categories, but have probably confused a few of them.  This list ended up fucking huge so it’s under a cut!

Aro Things:

You’ve never (or very rarely) experienced romantic attraction.  Or maybe you have, but it’s complicated.  Or maybe you don’t know

The idea of dating someone is good in theory, but is uncomfortable and unwanted in real life (even if you DO want some kind of close connection/ partnership with someone)

Alternately, you aren’t interested in dating at all, even hypothetically

You’ve dated people, and it was okay, but you feel like you’re missing something

You have ridiculously high standards when choosing someone to date

Or you are only willing to date friends (no one has ever caught your eye and you’ve automatically been like “that one!”)

Or maybe it seems like your standards are pretty relaxed (because you don’t really feel attraction to anyone, so you’re not as picky when it comes to seeing if you can spark something)

Romance, when directed at you, is uncomfortable or repulsive

Romance is okay in fiction and/ or real life but not when it’s directed at you

Romance is ok, but not something you actively seek out for yourself, except in fiction

Romance is ok, but not something you actively seek out for yourself, ever

You seek out romance and like it, but can’t seem to do it correctly

You keep waiting for romance to happen to you, but you just can’t seem to fall in love with someone

People expressing romantic feelings for you makes you uncomfortable, no matter who it is

People expressing romantic feelings for you is flattering, but you never return those feelings.  You’ve tried.

You’ve dated people in the hopes of catching feelings

Romantic PDA bothers you an unusual amount

Even well-written romantic plots seem unrelatable or unrealistic, boring, and/or irritating

You are an active shipper, regardless of aromanticism

You ship characters, but only the “expected” ones or ships that have been pointed out to you.  You aren’t very creative with it because you just don’t think that way

You like shipping, but wouldn’t want any of those situations to happen to you

You fantasize about shipping/ romantic things happening to you, but when they do, you lose interest or feel disconnected

You hate shipping.  Romance in media makes you uncomfortable.

Romance in media is only okay sometimes, or when you’re expecting it

“No one actually feels like that, right?  It’s all just an exaggeration?”

You have trouble connecting to characters in fiction whose character arcs revolve around romantic relationships (e.g. the more Uraraka from My Hero Academia’s arc is about pining over Deku, the less I’m able to relate to her and the more she irritates me, despite starting as one of my favorite characters)

You have trouble relating to many female characters in fiction, even though you don’t dislike women and may even be one (many female characters’ plotlines revolve around dating, love, etc. and are not relatable to many aros)

You’ve never had a crush, or fallen in love

Feelings you thought might be a crush at the time turned out to be something else (admiration, a squish or “friend crush,” or something else)

You don’t know if you’ve ever had a crush or fallen in love

You are equally unattracted to all genders

You have had a crush or fallen in love, but rarely or only after you made a close non-romantic connection to the person (grayromantic, demiromantic)

You think or used to think that something was wrong with you because you can’t fall in love

“Am I just a heartless asshole?  Do I have a mental illness?  Hormone problem?  Am I broken?  What’s wrong with me?”

Everyone seems like they’re outgrowing you, because they’re all moving to the “next steps” of relationships, and you didn’t realize there were steps at all, or are still trying to figure out the first step: be interested in someone

The concept of celebrity crushes confuses you

You’ve chosen a celebrity to be your celebrity crush, or pretended to have one to fit in

You thought everyone chose a random celebrity they admired to be their celebrity “crush”

What even is romance, anyway?  Sounds fake, but okay

“I’m sure I’ll fall in love eventually / when I’m older / when I meet the right one / etc.” And then you just Never Do

Finding out people actually DO have crushes on teachers/ authority figures blew your mind and/or weirded you out

You would marry your best friends

You’ve actually thought about marrying your best friends, because isn’t that what people do?

You’re pretty oblivious when it comes to flirting

You’re constantly overanalyzing everything in fear that someone is flirting with you and you just won’t notice

People frequently think you’re flirting, but you’re just trying to be friendly

Romantic relationships seem more like an obligation than something you want

Romantic relationships are something you want, but are something you are not emotionally equipped to handle

You are perfectly happy alone

You want a close connection with someone, but would be just as happy with a best friend/ permanent roommate than with a romantic partner.  Or a dog.  Dogs are good

Romantic relationships/ feelings from others feel suffocating instead of loving

In relationships, you seem emotionally distanced, or unavailable

You worry your partner loves you more than you love them (romantically), even though you love them

An ideal romantic relationship is one that fulfills other needs instead of romance, i.e. friends with benefits, emotional or platonic companionship needs, cuddling, etc.

The main reason you want a romantic relationship is because everyone else has them, or because you don’t want to live alone.  You’re afraid of being left behind.

You’re a physically affectionate person, but don’t attach romantic meanings to the gestures

You don’t like most romantic activities, or find them boring

You do like romantic activities, but aren’t in love with/ romantically attracted to whoever you’re with

Dating feels more like a chore than something to look forward to

You never bothered with dating.  It wasn’t that you couldn’t get dates, you just weren’t interested.

Identifying as aro is a relief or makes you feel happy, or just clicks in a way other orientations haven’t

Ace Things:

You’ve never (or very rarely) experienced sexual attraction.  Or maybe you have, but it’s complicated.

You’ve never looked at a stranger and thought “I’d do them” or felt aroused by them

Or if you have, it’s been rare, or possibly a “if I had to choose someone, it would be…”

You have nebulous or fluctuating opinions on having sex, even though you’re okay with other people having it

You find the idea of you having sex repulsive

You are alright with the idea of yourself having sex, but it doesn’t do much for you.  It’s a “meh” feeling

You actively seek out and enjoy sex, but are not attracted to any person in particular.  You just like how it feels.

Sex and sexual relationships, when directed at you, are repulsive

Sex in fiction and or real life (but not directed at you) is repulsive

Sex is ok, but not something you actively seek out for yourself, except maybe in fiction

Sex is ok, but not something you actively seek out for yourself, ever

You seek out sex and like it, but can’t seem to do it correctly.  It’s not as intuitive for you, and you’re more aroused by what your partner is doing rather than how they look

Finding out people actually DO think teachers/ authority figures are hot blew your mind and/or weirded you out

You didn’t think those “sexy” advertisements actually worked, or did anything for anyone

You don’t masturbate.  It’s boring, or you just don’t get aroused.

You do masturbate, but you don’t picture yourself with a specific person

You masturbate to vague ideas or sensations, or the idea of people other than you having sex and how they are feeling

You are equally unattracted to all genders

You’ve dated people, but you feel like you’re missing something

You don’t feel like you understand the word “sexy” especially when it’s used to describe things that aren’t obviously related to sex, like cars

People expressing sexual feelings for you makes you uncomfortable, no matter who it is, maybe even if you’re dating

You’ve had sex with people in the hopes of liking it more, or because you felt like that’s what you were supposed to do rather than because you wanted to

Sexual PDA bothers you an unusual amount, despite being sex-positive

You aren’t bothered by PDA, but don’t want to engage in it personally

You’re always caught off guard by sex scenes in movies.  Maybe they bother you, or maybe they’re just boring

You didn’t realize that sex scenes in movies actually turned people on

The concept of “hatefuck” and similar sexual situations make no fucking sense to you

If you’re interested in kink/BDSM, you’re more interested in the power dynamics /roleplay than you are of being turned on by your partner/the situation

Characters who lust after other characters are unrelatable and/or boring

“No one actually feels like that, right?  It’s all just an exaggeration?”

You have trouble understanding people/ characters motivated by sex.  (i.e. Why cheat on your partner when you could just … have sex with your partner??)

You have trouble relating to many typically masculine characters in fiction because of their obvious and seemingly over-the-top attraction to women

Feelings you thought might be a sexual attraction at the time turned out to be something else (aesthetic attraction, etc.)

You feel excluded from masculine spaces because of male compulsory sexuality

You don’t know if you’ve ever been sexually attracted to someone

You have felt sexual attraction, but rarely or only after you made a close romantic connection to the person (graysexual, demisexual)

You think or used to think that something was wrong with you because you aren’t into anyone

“Am I just insecure?  Do I have a mental illness?  Hormone problem?  Am I broken?  What’s wrong with me?”

Everyone seems like they’re outgrowing you, because they’re all moving to the “next steps” of relationships (sex) and you don’t feel ready, interested, etc.

The concept of wanting to have sex with celebrities confuses you

You’ve chosen a celebrity to find “hot” to fit in

You thought everyone did this, or was exaggerating, or was just super interested in them as a person and decided to like their appearance too

Sexual attraction?  Finding specific people arousing?  Sounds fake, but okay

“Are you sure this isn’t just an exaggeration?  People really feel this way?”

“I’m sure I’ll feel it eventually / when I’m older / when I meet the right one / etc.” And then you just Never Do

You go out of your way to be Unattractive, because you never want anyone looking at you in that way

Some people just See people and want to have sex with them.  Have you ever experienced this??

You didn’t understand why your friends all started talking about how hot people were in middle school.  You figured they just thought those people were cool, or pretty and wanted to be them.

You would be relieved or indifferent if you found out you never had to have sex again

A lot of the appeal of having sex confuses you.  (Partners are not necessary to feel good???  Messy???  Seems like a lot of time and effort wasted?????)

You’re a physically affectionate person, but don’t attach sexual meanings to the gestures

Identifying as ace is a relief or makes you feel happy, or just clicks in a way other orientations haven’t

[the-busy-ghost]

History Edits: Eleanor of Scotland, Archduchess of Further Austria/Tyrol

Born c.1433, Eleanor Stewart was one of the seven surviving children of King James I of Scotland and his wife Joan Beaufort. Very little is known about Eleanor’s early life in Scotland, but her parents’ relationship was apparently an affectionate one and their children initially seem to have been raised in a close family environment. This all changed however when her father was murdered at Perth in 1437, when Eleanor was probably not yet four years old. Her six year old brother was crowned James II of Scotland, and during the factional squabbles of his minority, her mother Queen Joan fought for control of her son. Amidst all this political intrigue, little is known about the experiences of James II’s five unmarried sisters, though the second, Isabella, was married to the duke of Brittany in 1442; the fifth, Mary, married the son of the lord of Veere in 1444; while in 1445 the youngest of the sisters, Annabella, was sent to Savoy in preparation for her marriage to the Count of Geneva. 

Eleanor’s career properly begins in April 1445, when a letter was sent to Scotland from Isabel of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, with the support of Louis, the dauphin of France, and his wife Margaret Stewart, Eleanor’s oldest sister, suggesting that Eleanor be sent to the continent for in preparation for marriage. Eleanor, along with her older sister Joanna (who had not been named in the letter), travelled to France later that year, but they arrived they to find the French court in mourning for the dauphine, their sister Margaret, whom they had not seen in nine years and who had died only a few days before. Nonetheless, the French king Charles VII still undertook to support the two Scottish princesses, and Eleanor and Joanna spent the next few years at the French court, under the eye of their sister’s old lady-in-waiting Jeanne de Tuce, and passing the time in games of piquet and writing poetry.  Several possible matches were suggested for Eleanor during this time, initially to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, while the possibility of a marriage to the widowed dauphin Louis may also have been raised. In the end however, Eleanor married Frederick III’s nephew Sigismund, duke of Further Austria, and the proxy ceremony took place at Chinon in September 1448 with the French king and queen in attendance. Eleanor then began the journey to her new home, finally arriving several months later in the Tyrol, high in the Alps, where she met her husband Sigismund for the first time, and their marriage was solemnised at Merano on 12th February 1449.

While little is known of the early years of Eleanor’s marriage to Sigismund, however the couple seem to have worked well together, though they were never to have any children (the common claim that Eleanor had a son named Wolfgang has been debunked in recent decades). She was clearly trusted enough by her husband to be appointed regent on several occasions when he had to leave Tyrol between 1455 and 1458. This period was particularly tense, and during her regency Eleanor had to weather the fall-out from issues such as her husband’s conflict with the reforming Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, and some of the correspondence of the rebellious abbess Verena von Stuben addressed to Eleanor survives relating to this notable affair. Other domestic problems such as the split between Sigismund and his former retainer Bernard Gradner caused more tension, however for the most part she discharged her role as regent ably, including raising and funding an army to defend the ducal interests, and personally taking control of various lands belonging to her husband to lessen the impact of any interdict that might be placed on Sigismund in his conflict with Nicholas of Cusa. She further acted as regent in the foothills during the late 1460s, though after this she retreated from political life and spent more time supporting religious endeavours in the Tyrol. Much more could be said about Eleanor’s regency, but due to lack of space it is safe to note that she was a capable and clever ruler, playing the role of both consort and regent with great skill. 

She also seems to have been able to communicate in various languages and a considerable amount of her correspondence survives, not just relating to the internal affairs of the Tyrol, but also with various important European figures, as well as several Scots both at home and on the continent, not least her brother James II and her sister Isabella, Duchess of Brittany. One of her retainers Jorg von Ehingen visited Scotland in 1458 and his diary left us with our only contemporary image of King James II. The strategic position of her husband’s lands also meant that the couple hosted many important guests who passed through the Tyrol on their way north or south, including Christian I of Denmark, Rene Duke of Lorraine, and even, in 1472, Sophia Palaiologina, the Byzantine princess who was then travelling on her way north to marry Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow. Eleanor’s half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Buchan may also have passed in the vicinity of Innsbruck on his way to Rome in 1465, as did many lesser Scottish visitors who were no less well-received by their countrywoman, far from home as she was. However sometimes the crowd of guests seems to have fatigued Eleanor, and she frequently left busy Innsbruck to stay at quieter locations, such as Sigmundsburg, a now ruined castle on an island in Fernsteinsee, which was built for her as a ‘tribute’ by her husband around 1463. She must have been pleased with the hunting opportunities it presented as this was a past-time she particularly enjoyed. She also frequently visited Baden to ‘take the waters’ in the springs there. 

However Eleanor is probably best-known for her cultural interests and came from a very literary background. Her father, James I, was probably the author of the Kingis Quair, which gives a poetic account of his captivity in England and his first sight of Eleanor’s mother Joan, while Eleanor’s eldest sister Margaret was famous for her obsession with poetry, allegedly writing as many as twelve ballads a day and frequently staying up all night to write. The French court was also a hub of poetic activity, and Eleanor’s interest in literature may have been fostered during her time there, while the nobility of Germany and Austria were no less culturally active, and Eleanor would have come into contact with other notable female literary patrons, such as Mechtild of the Palatinate. Her husband Sigismund also seems to have shared her interest in literature. Eleanor herself is most famous for the translation into German of the romance Ponthus and Sydonia, and this version was widely popular in the German-speaking world for some time afterwards, though it is unclear whether Eleanor translated all of the work herself or if she oversaw the process. Furthermore she was also known as a literary patron in her own time, and the Swabian humanist Heinrich Steinhowel dedicated “Von den Erlauchten Frauen”, his translation of Boccacio’s ‘De Claris Mulieribus’ (i.e. ‘Concerning Famous Women’), to Eleanor in 1473. 

Eleanor Stewart died at Innsbruck on 20th November 1480 and is buried in Stams Abbey, along with her husband and several other Hapsburgs, and in the seventeenth century large effigies of Eleanor and the others were erected which still survive. She also left her mark, no matter how small, on many other buildings and places in the region, as well as the political and cultural life of the Tyrol, and her impact is of some interest on a wider European level, and not least for the country of her birth. 

Sources because the ‘read more’ section isn’t showing up on a lot of reblogs.

*The costumes in the edit above are inaccurate I am aware, and I’ve probably missed a tonne of things out in this description of Eleanor’s career, or made a few mistakes but I’m working on learning more (unfortunately many of the sources are either unavailable or in a language I’m not very fluent in) and I’ve talked for too long anyway. Either way had to spread the love for this little-known Scottish princess who absolutely deserves more attention. If you can find the Scottish royal arms in Merano that’s usually worth at least some comment, but when they’re associated with a politically active princess and literary patron, even more so.

Some good resources for Eleanor- the primary biography is “Die Beiden Frauen des Erzherzogs Sigmund von Österreich”, by Margaret Köfler and Silvia Caramelle, which covers both Eleanor and Sigmund’s second wife Katherine of Saxony. However there are some accounts in English- a good one is Stewart’s article ‘The Austrian Connection’ in ‘Brycht Lanternis: Essays on the Language and Literature of Medieval Scotland’ (eds. Spiller and McClure), and a much shorter article about both Eleanor and her two eldest sisters Margaret and Isabella in ‘Women in Scotland, 1100-1750′ (eds. Ewan and Meikle), and Fiona Downie’s analysis of queens Joan Beaufort and Mary of Guelders in ‘She is But a Woman: Queenship in Scotland, 1424-1463′, also considers the role of the Scottish princesses, including Eleanor. There are many other articles and primary sources both in English and German (and French) but these should serve as an introduction.

[alwaysbeyondhope]

As this is just such a prime example of Unavailable Older Women in Positions of Authority, this is just so on brand for me.

Have I mentioned how much I love the Gill-Rachel/mentor-mentee relationship? No? Well, I’m gonna. I love it hard, so hard. (And, this is my ***th rewatch.)

[everlarkficexchange]

Feast Your Eyes

Written by: @savvylark @lovely-tothe-bone @ra3lynn3

Prompt 91: Peeta as the tatted, ex-rocker owner of bakery chain (like in in DC-Balto area called dangerously delicious pies). Katniss is an attached (engaged or otherwise unavailable) food critic or reporter doing a piece on him but she and P can’t deny the attraction. Angst and such ensue. [submitted by Anonymous]

Rating: M; later change to E Warning: Vague references to child abuse, sexual innuendos, eventual smut

A/N: Through random chance the three of us came together to do this prompt justice and somehow have been on the same wavelength, fueling one another’s ideas. Dreaming up this universe has been such a joy. Having multiple authors, it just made sense for us to beta one another’s work, I am really grateful to @savvylark and @ra3lynn3 for their patience, encouragement, time, and hard work. They’ve taught me so much. Thank you to the lovely anonymous who submitted this, wish we knew who you were! We hope this surpasses your expectations! This will be multi chapter so lots to look forward to Everlarker’s, the first one is by the ever fun @savvylark

Katniss tapped her pencil nervously on the desk, impatiently waiting for her boss. She was supposed to start on this human interest piece which, as a fairly new writer, was entirely outside of her comfort zone.

Katniss was the writer for the dessert portion of foodie magazine, The Feast.

“I would much rather taste and describe the delicate nuances of liver and haggis than write a human interest piece.” She muttered to herself, her face contorted in disgust at the thought of haggis and liver.

Katniss had been in an especially dark mood all day, still fuming over her recent weekend with her boyfriend Thom. It was as if he had done a complete 180 on Katniss. He was once so loyal, and stable with a well paying job; not to mention tall, dark, and handsome. Thom was everything she had been looking for now that Katniss decided to settle down. The discussion of their future, with pretty suggestive hints, seemed to have worked. Their weekend away seemed like it would have been the perfect time, only to be left-

Katniss’s thoughts were interrupted by the knock on her door. Her long dark braid flipped over her shoulder when she stood, she expected her boss. Instead it was Johanna, her friend and superior here at the magazine, who entered.

Small but menacing, Johanna had a powerful stance. Her cropped brunette hair fell just below her jawline in a tapered bob, while shorter and spiky at the nape of her neck.

“Hey brainless, so what happened this weekend? That text was pretty vague.” Katniss’s brash friend asked.

Covering her face with both hands Katniss answered, “Oh my gosh! No! I don’t even want to talk about it. Ugh! I don’t know how to feel about Thom or where our relationship stands.”

Johanna narrowed her chocolate brown eyes in curiosity, so Katniss continued, “It seemed like Thom was going to propose. All the signs were there: romantic getaway, candlelit dinner, an entire weekend to relax. Madge thought so, I thought so, you did too, right?”

Johanna nodded her head in agreement.  

“A few times in the past month I could have sworn that he had a ring box in his pocket. He was not that happy to see me, if you know what I mean?” Katniss suggestively raised her eyebrows with a saucy smirk, her silver eyes were alive with mischief.

Johanna flashed a wicked grin. She was familiar with Katniss’s wild side. Even if she’d kept that part of her self separate, stored away from her clean-cut, straight laced, more conservative boyfriend. That wild side always slipped out in the presence of Johanna Mason.

The look she gave Johanna turned more serious, Katniss spoke vulnerably, “You know what my parents were like… I can’t, I can’t. I don’t know how to feel. I was left alone in a hotel all weekend, while he ran around for his boring job doing… What does he do again? Professional bank paperwork?” The two women were slightly allergic to sappy situations, so before Johanna started breaking out in hives they made light of the topic.

“Being professionally boring… at decrepit banks?” Johanna answered, her eyes narrowed, “but he doesn’t work at the bank?”

Katniss had been dating Thom for nine months. She kept forgetting what he did for work so much so that over time it became a joke. Thom was essentially the grim reaper of banks. He worked for the FDIC shutting failing ones down, the most boring job Katniss had ever heard of. It was all paperwork and involved some travel.

Katniss had an unstable childhood that involved negligent wild parents. She was drawn to Thom because he had been a calm, consistent, reliable presence. To Katniss, Thom meant stability. Thom had no student loans, owned his own home, had no car payment because he was able to buy his car outright. She had yet to see Thom use a credit card to pay for anything. Katniss knew date night would never have been on the 2nd of the month, that night was designated for paying bills. He read about planning for his retirement, reliable financial strategies, and unrisky business investments. Thom’s weeks were structured and predictable. Katniss found it comforting. Just what she thought she needed in her life.

Katniss explained to Johanna that Thom was constantly on his phone the whole weekend, left to fax something, interrupted their conversation during dinner to reply to emails. Katniss was so disappointed when she was abandoned in the hotel room while Thom disappeared yet again, because “Something came up from work, you don’t mind do you?”

His concern was false, he didn’t really ask.

Katniss was not amused and decided she had enough. They cut the weekend short and parted ways with little conversation. Thom flew to one location for work, while Katniss had flown back home.

Madge arrived at the airport and had found a seething, curse-muttering Katniss on fire. Her childhood best friend embraced the scowling dark haired woman and sped off to the nearest ice cream shop to cheer her up. Something decadent always seemed to lighten Katniss’ mood.

Johanna listened intently and shook her head. Not in pity, but frustration with what a terrible weekend her friend had endured.

“Well screw him, let’s go out tonight?” Johanna offered.

Katniss smiled at the idea, but her face fell when she remembered, “I have to work on this big story first, raincheck?”

Johanna nodded.

Upon hearing the familiar footsteps down the hall, Johanna decided to make her exit and headed out of Katniss’s office.

Her boss arrived with an arm full of research for Katniss.

The blond woman appeared every bit the classic professional, put together in a feminine fitted gray pants suit and low heels. Unexpected is the innovative rebel that embodies Cressida’s very nature, that is until she turned her left side into view.

Katniss smiled as she took in Cressida’s profile, ¼ of her head was shaved in a dramatic undercut intricate and beautiful green vine designs were tattooed on her scalp, and the edge of her hair that met bare skin was french braided thinly down her head.

“Right on time.” Katniss remarked sarcastically.

Cressida laughed at her quip, dropping a pile of papers and pictures on the desk.

Katniss scowled, expecting her boss to explain.

Cress, so used to the frequent scowl stared back unperturbed. They called her the boss for more reasons than her talented writing, her shrewd business sense, and excellence in advertising. Cressida could handle any personality type.

Everything dropped on Katniss’s desk included positive and delicious reviews about the bakery owner’s breads, cakes, pastries, and desserts.

Describing food and writing about it was what Katniss excelled at. Cressida knew this.

After reading every word about the most delicious, mouth-watering desserts, all Katniss could think was “I’ve GOT to get my mouth on one of these things!”

One particular review claimed his cakes to be “simply orgasmic.” Her dirty mind contemplated the thought, wondering what a cake induced mouth orgasm was like…

Katniss was left so intrigued by this baker, by the time she had reached the end of the stack she was left salivating, stomach groaning.

And strangely aroused.

Katniss snatched up her phone, immediately dialed her best friend, “Hey Madge, let’s do an early lunch? I’m starving!”

——-

Katniss once again called the bakery owner, Peeta, to confirm their meeting. He had a deep timbre to his voice, a kindness in the way he spoke. Peeta was efficient and quick to the point over the phone, which Katniss appreciated.

It was a short 45 minute drive to Capitol Hill, a small district in the heart of Seattle. Lost in the song Katniss let loose and belted out lyrics along with the radio. Sometimes she missed this side of herself.

She admired the modern updates throughout the area, an artisan bistro, colorful boutiques, various ma and pa shops that had been rejuvenated for a younger crowd. Even the bars were modernized yet still held older, small town elements. Industrial and historic buildings met modern and artistic designs.

She pulled up to the bakery and vaguely remembered wanting to attend it’s opening.  Thom insisted they attend one of his work functions instead. Which, in hindsight, should have been a red flag. He hadn’t been paying attention to the things she was interested in for a long time.

Katniss took in the outside of the bakery before stepping inside. The awning and structure of the building gave a nod to a generational family bakery while the black and industrial accents gave the appearance of a hard edge. The front of the sign was a nod to tattoo artistry and the logo of the bakery was decidedly masculine. For some reason this made Katniss smile.

A bell chimed as she entered. Soft rock music was playing. Studying the photos on the wall she could tell this is no ordinary baker.

[critmasexchange]

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Summary: Likes: Mentorship and loyalty dynamics, including ladies' suicidal world-saving or world-breaking devotion to other ladies, also especially #unavailable older women in positions of authority; femslash and female friendship in both the foreground and the background; nature and cities and spacecraft as characters, especially when they would like to eat you because they love you; vampires, magic, witchcraft, rituals; eldritch things, fey things, eerie things, cosmic/eldritch horrors; feelings about embodiment and iconography; epistoloary fics, IF, poems for poetry canons, song lyrics for song/album canons; second-person pov; politics; flirting, domesticity, sensuality; canon-divergent/what-if AUs; conflicted loyalties, moral ambiguity, hero/villain and villain/villain relationships, darkfic; arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, married by a technicality; relationships negotiated around characters' different vocabularies of trust and care; 'I hate you I love you I would like to wear your skin as a sign of my devotion' types of relationships; porn as character work.

Smut Likes: Hair braiding, hair pulling; bathing, washing, bath/shower sex; painplay, bloodplay, edgeplay; mirror sex, identity porn; bondage, D/s dynamics (though not 24/7 bdsm lifestyle setups); jewellery and clothes kink; consent play; praise kink, loyalty kink, competency kink; public and semi-public sex, having to stay quiet; oral sex; biting, marking; first time with each other; sex for manipulation/political gain/conversion to the other political-military side (success optional); inappropriate use of the Force and lightsabers (and of magic and weapons more generally); one person in a threesome directing the other two and getting off watching them, mutual masturbation.

DNW: Unrequested m/m or m/f ships; rape (dubcon is fine unless otherwise specified); permanent death of female characters; kidfic, breeding, pregnancy including unconventiional forms like fpreg/oviposition, age-regression and time-travel to see kid versions of characters; scat, watersports, emetophilia; food sex and associated kinks like feeding; a/b/o; 'only one destined true love' aus like soulmates or hanahaki disease; eye- and feet-related gore; apocalypse and post-apocalypse fic, zombies; *isms, issuefic; 'it was all a dream' sort of mindfuckery; age gaps causing angst; bodyswap fic; crackfic; sex involving under-16s, winter holiday-focussed fic, especially with recognisably-Christmas elements.

Fandom-specific DNW: Scanlan, Percy, Percy/Vex, ace!Keyleth.

Prompts in letter!

Link to Dear Critter Letter http://kimaracretak.dreamwidth.org/22030.html

[ezatluba]

Female veterinarians say gender disparity remains an uphill battle

Colleen Kottke

This is the fourth in a four-part series, “On Call: Vets Under Stress”, that explores the pressures and overwhelming challenges facing those who choose a career in providing care for our animals.

In 2009, the American Veterinary Medical Association reported that female veterinarians outnumbered their male counterparts for the first time. While they make up more than half of the veterinarians in the industry today, a culture of masculinity still exists.

According to a study conducted by Lancaster University Management School and Open University Business School, female practitioners say gender discrimination remains an uphill battle.

“Many of the women we spoke to, especially those in their early career, reported experiences of clients – or even in their own practices – treating them as having limited competence and credibility..." co-author Professor David Knights of Lancaster University said.

Al Martens who has worked in a large animal practice in eastern Wisconsin for 43 years said many women starting out in the field with him faced many challenges.

"Women have really had a tough road. They had to be pioneers, in that they had to prove themselves more than the men," Martens said.

In areas of the state considered agriculturally dense, Martens says its common to have large animal practices staffed with more than one female veterinarian.

"If you get up in the rural areas where there's not a lot of farms, there may be a lot of farmers that haven't experienced a female veterinarian," he said.

Pulling their weight

Meg Mueller was fortunate that after graduating from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010, she returned to western Wisconsin where many of her clients already knew her.

But as the "new" vet at Osseo-Augusta Veterinary Clinic, she still had to make the grade out in the field.

"The tough part is you need to prove that you're going to be a good doctor. But you shouldn't have that connotation behind it that you're a 'female' and you have to work that much harder," Mueller says. "Thankfully my co-worker Dr. Linda Giese who has been practicing for over 20 years went through those trenches of gender disparity so that those of us that came after haven't had to fight as hard. But it's still out there."

Today three of the four veterinarians that staff Mueller's mixed animal practice are women.

Mueller says one of the biggest challenges that females face in large animal practices is the issue of working with very strong and powerful patients in - much of the time - nonclinical, less than ideal settings. And client's perception that they 'can't handle the job'.

"It's a very physically demanding job with some risk involved and some of those issues can come to light in those situations," Mueller said. "But sometimes you have to figure out what your strengths are both physical and mentally and be able to take those tasks at hand."

Gender discrimination

Although gender doesn't play a role in how well a veterinarian performs a surgery on a DA (twisted stomach) or diagnoses hypocalcemia, if left unchecked, it can factor how a client interacts or trusts the opinion of the veterinarian.

One female veterinarian told Lancaster University researchers that a client demanded a male veterinarian come out to her farm because the woman was unhappy with the treatment that the female veterinarian had delivered – even though the male vet did the same thing.

Veterinarian Katie Mrdutt says that while farmers in her clinic's territory up in northwest Wisconsin had already been exposed to female veterinarians, she sensed the hesitancy when she arrived on the farm of a new client.

"My favorite part of those experiences was showing how I could use my brain to tackle challenges that maybe the client thought only could be done with brawn," Mrdutt said. "One particular client had a beef cow having difficulty calving. He had been working on her for a few hours before he called me and had not been making any progress."

Within 10 minutes of her arrival the calf was on the ground and alive.

"He was shocked at how quickly I fixed the problem, and probably more so because I was 8 months pregnant at the time," said Mrdutt.

Dual roles

Among the 75 veterinarians interviewed in the Lancaster University study, many felt that women practitioners were automatically presumed to be potential mothers, a perception that could be viewed as problematic for long-term careers.

One female equine veterinary professional told dvm360, a veterinary media organization, that during her interview to get into veterinary school, she was asked how long she planned to practice before starting a family. An older veterinarian intimated to her that it wasn't worth her time to invest her time and money in veterinarian school because she would eventually leave the profession in order to have a family.

Many veterinarians like Mrdutt and Stacey Adams, who is the sole practitioner and owner of her Lake Geneva area practice, have found a way to balance the demands of motherhood and a taxing career. Mrdutt left private practice after three years to join a non-profit that focuses on responsible drug use education among farmers and veterinarians.

Adams, who runs a small beef operation at home and is the mother of two children under 4, including one with special needs, says over the past 12 years she has learned to set boundaries between her personal and work life. This includes reserving after hours and weekend calls for emergencies only.

"If this costs me a potential client, then they probably weren't a client I wanted in the first place," Adams said. "Some clients want to say that I only feel that way because I'm a woman, but I say it is because I value my family and my health."

Surprisingly the clients that have been most judgmental about her boundaries and family needs have been women. She recalls a time when her special needs son then 2, had to be admitted to a hospital 95 miles from their home for a severe respiratory infection.

During this health crisis, Adams received a call from a non-client who had a sick goat. Adams relayed she was unavailable and supplied the woman with two other clinics to call.

"She had the audacity to tell me that she had never had a veterinarian put a child before an animal and that I needed to re-evaluate my career choice if I felt my child was more important than her goat," Adams said. "I told her that any veterinarian can take care of her goat but only I can hold my son and comfort him when he is crying for his momma in the hospital."

Mrdutt says most farmers were welcoming when on more than one occasion she had to bring her child along on calls.

"Usually the farmer had more fun with him and forgot about assisting me," she laughed. "The beauty of working with some clients is that they get to know you and understand the challenges we face, especially balancing the demands of afterhours care."

Afterhours calls to an unfamiliar farm late at night may put a lone female veterinarian in a vulnerable situation. While Mueller has been fortunate to have a good working relationship with her clientele, some of her friends haven't been so lucky.

"I have classmates that have been in some pretty bad situations. No one deserves to go to work and be put in a position like that," Mueller said. "And it's hard because we're out on the road by ourselves, and then there's the call in the middle of the night for that client that you don't really know. That can be daunting."

Bridget Heilsberg, equine veterinarian, owner of Crown 3 Veterinary Services in Whitesboro, Texas, and president of the Women's Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative told dvm360 that safety on farm calls is a regular discussion for the women in a Facebook group she's part of.

Solutions range from traveling with a canine companion to calling friends, coworkers or loved ones before visiting a new client—even to carrying a firearm for protection.

"I personally not only have a firearm but I also have a German shepherd, and I travel with her to my farm calls," Heilsberg says. "I feel like it's an additional concern that women have because we have that concern in our everyday lives. Then it gets amplified when we go out on a farm call visit with someone we don't know."

A ways to go

Mueller says it's important for a veterinarian's colleagues and their clients to respect their need to find a healthy work-life balance.

"I think in the profession it still comes down to a respect factor if a woman chooses to both work and have a family or needs to pull back and not work as much," she said. "I'd like to think that we've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go in addressing those gender disparities across the industry, whether that be pay or the respect factor."

A study from Cornell University researchers that surveyed 2,760 veterinarians discovered a pronounced wage gap between male and female veterinarians, especially among recent graduates and top-earning practitioners.

The study, published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, found that among the top quarter of earners, men were paid about $100,000 a year more.

While reasons for the wage gap were not identified, researchers noted that factors could include unconscious bias, size and type of practice and societal expectations.

Their analysis showed that type of ownership was instrumental in earnings. Partnerships were believed to be more beneficial for womens' income earning potential than sole proprietorships, while any form of ownership benefits men’s incomes. When it comes to the number of years worked, the study found that men move into higher income brackets at lower levels of experience than women.

Martens says female veterinarians on staff at Waupun Veterinary Service pull their weight the same as their male counterparts. He says that veterinarians - regardless of gender - that display a good attitude, strong work ethic and contribute to the practice are rewarded.

"This culture goes back to the guy that hired me. We try to make everyone a partner to make it economically feasible," he said.

Know your worth

Mrdutt says gender disparity and crushing student debt load, added to the strain on mental health from long hours and demanding clients and compassion fatigue, makes veterinarian medicine a hard profession for women to work in some days.

"I had my mind set on being a veterinarian since I could walk and talk, and I do love a challenge," Mrdutt said. "I'd tell any young woman considering this profession to know their worth. Know what you want and don't want, and that it's ok to take care of you first. Finally, know that you are more than capable."

Adams says she has never let being a woman hold her back in her profession.

"I have always been of the opinion that if you do your job and you do it well, people will respect you for it," she said. "Those who don't are people that you don't want for clients anyway. Those are the people who are going to take advantage of you and will never be happy no matter how much you do for them."

[chicago-geniza]

Epigraph from the book my friend recommended almost a year ago because it reminded her so much of me and [redacted] is a translation of the epigraph from Vita Sackville-West's Challenge and I remembered the book recommendation from my friend after finding a piece on Vita by the author published to promote that book, in the process of researching for Tár essay. Everything circles back!

[tcifiscal]

Understanding Federal Action on COVID-19 and Potential Next Steps

This past week Congress passed and the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which takes some first steps to combat current public health and economic dangers. Congress is also expected to act on additional legislation to provide direct payments to families and financial assistance to businesses in the coming days. Yet it is clear that more needs to be done to help protect families' health and financial security during this time of uncertainty. This analysis summarizes some of the elements included in the most recent legislation, identifies ways that Virginia should act to take full advantage of the federal legislation, and highlights national resources for next steps that can be taken to strengthen the response to COVID-19.

COVID-19 Testing

The FFCRA requires states to cover testing, services, and treatment of COVID-19 for Medicaid/CHIP enrollees without cost-sharing in order to receive the enhanced federal assistance proposed in the legislation. The stimulus package also includes $1 billion for a national health care fund that will pay for COVID-19 testing for uninsured individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid. This national fund will reimburse testing labs directly. However, any doctor’s appointments or treatment that results from an uninsured individual testing positive for COVID-19 is not covered in FFCRA. This is a state option which Virginia should pursue and requires the state to submit a Medicaid state plan amendment to utilize this new benefit.

Paid Sick Leave  

The legislation includes paid sick leave requirements during public health emergencies for people who meet certain criteria. The provision allows for 80 hours (10 work days) paid sick leave for those who are:

experiencing symptoms and seeking or awaiting diagnosis,

complying with recommendations from a public health official, or

caring for someone who is self-isolating due to a confirmed diagnosis or who is experiencing symptoms. 

For someone to obtain paid sick leave, they have to be employed by either a public employer or a private employer with fewer than 500 employees. The U.S. Department of Labor can exercise discretion to exempt emergency responders, health care workers, and employees of workplaces with 50 employees or less who care for children whose school is closed. When sick leave is taken for the purpose of caring for an individual or child, which could be due to school closure, the rate of pay is reduced to two-thirds of regular pay or capped at the maximum amount. The maximum payment is $511 per day or $5,110 total for self-care, while the maximum payment for care of others is $200 per day or $2,000 total. Employers would be reimbursed the cost of employee leave through a tax credit.

Research has shown that paid leave programs reduce the transmission of viruses. The federal government or Virginia can take further steps to protect public health and make paid sick leave more inclusive. Congress can choose to enact emergency paid sick leave programs that cover all working people in workplaces of all sizes. The program could mandate at least 10 work days of paid sick leave, regardless of a worker’s accrued leave. Notably, this still falls short of the 14 day self-quarantine period recommended for individuals that have come into contact with the COVID-19 virus.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

The FFCRA amends the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to allow some workers to access public health emergency leave if they are unable to work or telework due to the need to care for a child whose school is closed or if their child care provider is unavailable. To be eligible, the individual’s employer must have fewer than 500 employees, and they must have been employed for at least 30 days.

Similar to the new federal paid sick leave policy, the Secretary of Labor has authority to exclude health care workers, emergency responders, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Workers would be eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave. However, the first 10 days would be unpaid, with workers having the option to substitute in existing leave they may have accrued. The employer is required to pay after 10 days, at an amount no less than two-thirds of the employees regular rate but not to exceed $200 a day or $10,000 overall. Employers would be reimbursed the cost of employee leave through a tax credit.

While the ability to take time off to care is important for all, the opportunity to do so is less available to certain working people. Low wage workers employed by large companies are likely left with little to no options for long-term paid medical leave. Only 11% of the lowest wage workers have access to paid medical leave in the form of short-term disability insurance compared to 67% for the highest paid workers. It also fails to provide leave for caregivers of older adults and people with disabilities whose regular daily caregiving arrangements have closed. Finally, this extended paid leave does not apply to individuals who need to take time off due to being sick or taking care of another dependent who does not go to school or child care.

Medicaid & ACA Marketplace

The FFCRA also provides funding to shore up state Medicaid programs to better respond to the health crisis by increasing Federal Medical Assistant Percentages (FMAP) rates, which is the rate at which federal funding matches state funding. The 6.2 percentage point boost in FMAP funding means Virginia will receive approximately an additional $620 million dollars from this stimulus package. 

States accepting this additional funding will not be able to cancel coverage to any existing Medicaid members during the public health emergency period, unless the individual ends coverage or moves to another state. This provision is vital in order to keep administrative time and effort focused on processing new applications in the face of shifting employment and income status for many Virginia families.

One area the FFCRA package does not address is the ACA individual marketplace. The traditional enrollment period for 2020 health coverage for uninsured individuals who don’t qualify for Medicaid – known as “open enrollment” – ended in mid-December 2019. A special enrollment period to allow individuals to enroll in comprehensive coverage through the marketplace is needed as people begin to reassess their health coverage options.

Unemployment Insurance

The FFCRA authorized $1 billion to support state unemployment insurance (UI) systems. The first $500 million will be used to help states cover the administrative costs stemming from a higher workload, so long as the states meet certain requirements aimed at increasing UI uptake. For example, states must ensure that all employers inform their employees about the availability of unemployment insurance at the time of separation. The FFCRA also requires states to notify applicants when a claim for unemployment insurance is received and provide assistance to help ensure the successful processing of the application.

The second $500 milion will take the form of emergency administration grants and will go to states that experience at least a 10 percent increase in unemployment compensation claims, relative to the same quarter in the previous calendar year. To receive this funding, states need to take certain COVID-19 related emergency steps that relax UI eligibility requirements. These steps include temporarily waiving work search requirements, eliminating the typical one-week waiting period, and communicating to employers directly affected by COVID-19 that their UI tax rate will not increase. 

The legislation also requires states, within one year, to complete an analysis of their UI recipiency rate (the percentage of unemployed workers who are receiving UI benefits) and describe actions they are taking to connect more impacted individuals to UI. This must be a priority for Virginia, which consistently has a UI recipiency rate below the national average. Because one of the main goals of the UI system is to help keep workers and communities afloat during economic downturns, a low recipiency rate undermines the overall effectiveness of the UI system and puts the economy at greater risk. 

Before this new legislation, the U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance on March 12 outlining flexibility that states have in administering their UI systems in response to COVID-19. The federal guidance permits states to pay benefits where:

An employer temporarily ceases operations due to COVID-19, preventing employees from coming to work;

An individual is quarantined with the expectation of returning to work after the quarantine is over; and 

An individual leaves employment due to a risk of exposure or infection or to care for a family member. In addition, federal law does not require an employee to quit in order to receive benefits due to the impact of COVID-19.

On March 17, Gov. Northam also expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance in Virginia.  

Food Assistance

The FFCRA provides additional federal resources to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other nutrition programs to expand food access for families during the current public health emergency. The bill expands SNAP benefits to households with children who attend a school that is closed and who would otherwise receive free or reduced-price meals. The legislation also gives school administrators flexibility in partnership with community-based organizations and child care providers to serve meals while allowing for social distancing. 

FFCRA also temporarily waives certain restrictions on food assistance. The three-month time limit on SNAP benefits for unemployed adults under age 50 without children has been temporarily waived. Virginia has already been approved for a waiver expanding access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) allowing for remote enrollment and services while clinics are closed. 

In addition to ensuring access to meals, these policies also help the economy. SNAP benefits are one of the fastest and most effective forms of economic stimulus. Low-income individuals generally spend their income meeting daily needs such as shelter, food, and transportation. Every dollar in SNAP that a family with low income receives enables the family to spend an additional dollar on food or other items. To further strengthen these benefits, Congress should consider additional steps, such as a 15% increase in the SNAP maximum allotment, equal to approximately $25 per person per month. 

Going Forward

There is much to be done to support the physical and financial well-being of Virginia families and the economy as we move forward together during this difficult time. This includes increasing access to comprehensive paid leave, strengthening UI benefits, and ensuring that temporary changes in eligibility remain in place while the economy is impacted by COVID-19 and measures are being taken to slow the spread of the virus. TCI staff will continue to provide resources and information as the federal and state governments take action in the coming days, and will continue to advocate for robust efforts that will directly help impacted families and assist states with funding essential services such as health care, education, and safety net programs.

– Freddy Mejia, Policy Analyst; Phil Hernandez, Senior Policy Fellow & Counsel; Chris Duncombe, Policy Director; and Kathy Mendes, Research Assistant

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Learn more about The Commonwealth Institute at www.thecommonwealthinstitute.org

[alwaysbeyondhope]

falling wayyy too deep into ‘unavailable older women in positions of authority’ thoughts. like all of the media I consume, the fantasies I’ve constructed in my head...

this is not where my mind should be right now. but here we are.

[nullconvention]

I think that the sheer anger that straight men feel (and express) when they realize a woman is a lesbian replicates, in some way, the false consciousness of the capitalist structure.

When he sees a woman, he imagines for some reason that he could, in theory, “have” her. Nevermind that she wants nothing to do with him. Nevermind that he is maybe already involved with someone else. Nevermind that there are literally millions of other women in the world that he might choose to associate and would happily associate with him. Nevermind that he did not even want to be involved with her until he knew he couldn’t not just because she’s not interested at the baseline, but because she is pretty much categorically unavailable.

Don’t we see this dynamic represented when spaces are denied to men? Places they had no interest in until they weren’t allowed to be there?

Patriarchy is older than capitalism, but capitalism replicates patriarchy, in that it is a hierarchy with limited space at the pinnacle, but many men imagine themselves (like the divine chain of being) as being at their own smaller peak. They are less concerned with their material condition than they are with a theoretical potential to possess (nevermind that you can’t or shouldn’t try to “possess” a person!). 

So the man sees a lesbian. (Notice I don’t say straight or even bi, because I have seen even gay men replicate this behavior from time to time. This is because it has nothing to do with desire for the woman herself, but anger about not being able to have something - desire is fixed only on power of possession.) It is being enraged at a category existing that limits the privilege of position that isn’t assigned by him, but it selected by the woman, instead.

How does this replicate capitalism’s false consciousness? (Or maybe the other way around, how does capitalism adopt the demeanor of the patriarch?) The man will imagine that, potentially, given a certain lucky break where his worth is recognized, he could eventually have access to everything, regardless of whether he wants it - it is power he desires. 

It may be that the old idea of the divine chain of being allows this false consciousness to exist, because it tiers absolute authority in within a rigid heirarchy where so long as you are socially ‘above’ and you are not rebuffed by your social ‘better’ your command is absolute. Capitalism just removes god from the top and replaces it with class, derived from wealth, though old ideas about families and god still linger in our society, making this idea messier than the simple model I’ve got here.

[durfeehtbelloraco98insuranc-blog]

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6 Powerful Health Benefits of Vitamin D

1 of 9

The Basics on Vitamin D

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We always seem to be hearing about a vitamin or a mineral having its 15 minutes of media fame, but vitamin D is almost always in the spotlight. In fact, recent research transformed what was once a sunshine-driven vitamin into one that should be supplemented into your diet. Click through to find out more about this necessary nutrient, and check out six roles that vitamin D plays in your quest for an active and healthy lifestyle. 

2 of 9

Defining Vitamin D

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As nutrients go, vitamin D is a rarity: It’s one of only two vitamins your body makes on its own. The liver, kidneys and cells and several other parts of the body convert two forms of vitamin D to its active form, the steroid hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and any extra is stored in fat tissue for future use. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is found in plant sources and can enter the body only through what you eat. The more potent vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which can be produced through sun exposure, from animal products or supplementation, tends to be more readily converted to the active form in the body.

In theory, we can make all the vitamin D we need; in reality, we don’t. "About half of all Americans are chronically deprived of vitamin D," says Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, director of the Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory at Boston University. Living in northern climates is a problem because sunshine is weak for about half the year, but that doesn’t mean sunnier locales fare better. Slathering on sunscreen with an SPF of 8 or higher blocks the ultraviolet B rays that generate vitamin D production. In addition, relatively few foods provide vitamin D.

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1. It's A Germ Buster

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Colds, flu and other respiratory problems are more common during the winter months, coinciding with the time of year when people are most deficient in vitamin D. Holick says D plays a role in revving up the immune system by boosting the activity of cells that battle bacteria and viruses all year long.

In related research, a study in the the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that fluctuations in vitamin D3 levels can affect a skin wound’s ability to heal. "Our study shows that skin wounds need vitamin D3 to protect against infection and begin the normal repair process," says Richard L. Gallo, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and chief of University of California, San Diego’s Division of Dermatology. "A deficiency in active vitamin D3 may compromise the body’s innate immune system that works to resist infection, making a patient more vulnerable to [bacteria]."

4 of 9

2. It Help You Build Stronger Bones

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There’s a reason why milk has added vitamin D: Calcium needs it to build strong bones and help you escape osteoporosis down the road. Without vitamin D, calcium would be nearly useless since it regulates calcium’s absorption from food and supplements and directs its movement in and out of bones. "In the absence of adequate vitamin D, only 10-15% of dietary calcium is absorbed by the body," Holick says—much less than the typical 30% when enough vitamin D is present.

Inadequate levels of vitamin D also play a role in osteomalacia, the adult version of rickets, a condition characterized by unrelenting bone pain, muscle aches and muscle weakness. Osteomalacia makes it difficult to work out and, as a result, may lead to weight gain and loss of muscle tissue. Overweight people are particularly prone to the condition because excess fat absorbs vitamin D and makes it unavailable to nurture bones and muscle.

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3. It Helps Fight Disease

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A study from the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston) found that people with the highest blood levels of vitamin D had a 62% lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disorder that often strikes women and occurs when the body attacks the nervous system. It also found that vitamin D offered the strongest protection in people younger than 20. This study adds to evidence from an earlier Harvard investigation in which women who took at least 400 IU of vitamin D were 40% less likely to develop MS compared to those taking no supplements.

Despite the positive results, researchers are cautiously optimistic about D’s ability to ward off MS. "It’s too early to recommend vitamin D as a way to prevent MS in the general public," says Kassandra Munger, MS, a doctoral candidate at Harvard and a study author. "Vitamin D is good for overall health, but it’s no magic bullet."

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4. It May Be Cancer Preventative

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Ironically enough, sunshine keeps cancer in check. In fact, some sunshine may actually do more good than harm. A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that women living in sunnier regions of the world had a significantly lower risk of contracting ovarian cancer than those living in colder climates. Researchers concluded that the difference in sun exposure—which accounts for discrepancies in blood vitamin D levels—may be why living in southern regions offers protection.

Other research links a reduced risk of colon cancer to greater sunshine exposure. The results are encouraging, but they still don’t confirm that vitamin D prevents the cancers studied.

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5. It's a Muscle Builder

Considering that vitamin D actually gets converted in the body to a steroid hormone, it makes sense that it would affect muscle tissue. The active form of vitamin D binds to specific receptors found on muscle cell membranes and in muscle cell nuclei. When it binds to these receptors, it enhances muscle contraction and protein synthesis—the buildup of muscle protein. Research shows that certain types of these receptors may be responsible for greater muscle size and strength. Although you can’t alter the type of vitamin D receptors you have in your muscles, making sure you have adequate levels of vitamin D in your body can help ensure that your muscle vitamin D receptors are activated for optimal muscle function, strength and growth.

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6. It's a Brain Booster

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You may be sharp, witty and intelligent now, but if you’re deficient in vitamin D, you may not be so in old age. Psychiatric and neurologic disorders have been traced to low levels of vitamin D.

A study from the Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis) and published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry examined the relationship of vitamin D levels, cognitive performance and mood in older adults. Researchers found that vitamin D deficiency was associated with depression and diminishing cognitive performance.

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How Much Is Enough?

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While some experts are tentative, it’s difficult to deny the potential power of vitamin D. Taking in more than the recommended daily allowance—200 IU per day—is attractive considering that supplementation involves very little risk. Holick recommends consuming 1,000 IU daily as cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), the most beneficial form. Dark-skinned people in particular should consider taking vitamin D supplements because melanin acts as a natural sunscreen, limiting their bodies’ ability to produce it.

As with most supplements, you can get too much of a good thing, so limit your intake to 2,000 IU per day. And while research points to supplementation as one of the best ways to get enough D, don’t use that as an excuse not to eat a balanced diet.

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