Feminism is without a doubt one of the most misunderstood social terms, and today, many in our society take a dim view of it. What happened to feminism, and why are people so hesitant to “come out” as feminists?

Feminism is, as we all know, a social movement that gained momentum in the 70s. In the struggle for gender equality millions of women demonstrated in European and American capitals. They questioned the social roles that had been foisted upon them for generations. However, over the years, feminism has taken on a new face, contradicting, growing and, above all, evolving.

What today we understand as “feminism” has little to do with the radical movement of the 60s and 70s, which reclaimed the power of the “feminine nature” as a means to justify their desire for equality between men and women. And it has little to do with “hatred” of men, although the movement has often been misunderstood or caused controversy. Indeed, therein lies the crisis of contemporary feminism. Many women are afraid to identify as feminists for fear of being accused of being simplistic ideologues. However, this is a big mistake: although we have made many major changes and advances regarding equality between the genders, we still have a long road ahead.

Though perhaps not directly related with broader themes of social equality and economic autonomy, gender inequality is particularly evident in the art world. Just look at the list of top selling artists to understand that women have not been given the same importance as their male counterparts. In this line of thought, the CAAC (Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo), opened the exhibition “Nosotras” this past May, and it will be on display until September 26, 2010. It collects the work of some of the most important artists of the past 40 years. Among them, the recently deceased Louise Bourgeois, Martha Rosler, Nan Goldin, Ana Mendieta and Sofi Sidén.

“We” represents the first time that a Spanish art museum dedicates an exhibition that integrates the feminist movement and and art in an attempt to change this sad trend and stop the systematic exclusion of women from the artistic panorama. Rent apartments in Seville, and supports this first step towards gender equality in the Spanish cultural scene.

At first glance, professional cycling is one of the most boring sports there is for spectators. The action consists of three weeks straight of biking, kilometre after kilometre, day after day. But it’s not as monotonous as it sounds, since it is a sport in which teamwork, technological innovation and strategy can have dramatic and surprising effects on the outcome.

The Tour of Spain celebrates its 75th birthday in 2010. The first editions had fewer stages (14 instead of 21) but the stages often exceeded 250 km — Just imagine cycling 25 kilometres an hour 10 hours a day for two weeks straight !…. Not exactly a relaxing ride through the park.

This edition of the tour begins in Seville. There will be 21 stages measuring an average of 170 km each. The stages, although shorter than in previous editions, have dramatic and challenging climbs. There will be sprint finishes and an explosive end. If you rent apartments in Seville on August 28th, you will be able to see the exciting start to the Tour of Spain, which will pass through the whole city. After this nocturnal trial finishes, the race will start in earnest, full of sweat and steep battles till the finish line in Madrid on September 19th.

In olden days, cyclists were disqualified from the for cheating, such as climbing the difficult routes with their bikes tied to the back of a car, or throwing nails along the path to hinder the progress of other teams. Doping has also been an issue since the beginning of cycling, and the earliest professional cyclists took cocaine, strychnine and alcohol to withstand the demands of the race.

This year, for example, many say that the exclusion of the Radio Shack Team was due to persistent rumours of doping on the team. But don’t think that cycling is a less honest sport than others, at bottom; we ask a lot more of professional cyclists than other athletes. We want them to get faster and faster, even though we are a completely unable to do the same. We get excited about cyclists because the sport shows us the perfect fusion of man and machine, both the determination and the tranquillity necessary to face the biggest, most difficult challenges.

English theorist Marshall McLuhan became a star in the academic world when he published his book “Understanding Media” which discusses the profound impact of the media on our society and the individual. One of his most telling contributions was his interest in the media and how it affects the individual psychologically and socially, and how it becomes become an extension of our senses.

With the conquest of the Internet and the advent of communication devices like the iPhone, Blackberry, or IPAD, the sweeping doctrine of hyper connectivity has taken charge of our way of life. These devices have significantly revolutionized how we communicate and how our relationships start up and are maintained. The changes don’t end there. These devices have also transformed our way of dealing with information and our access to it, and changed the way we work, and even helped us to become independent of the places where we work! Social interactions both intimate and labour-related, are only a click away from us, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Scientists say the juggling we do every day trying to answer thousands of e-mails, phone calls and information that reaches us through the various devices that connect to the WWW, change not only our thinking, but also how we feel and react. Our ability to concentrate is being sabotaged by the primitive impulse to react immediately to opportunities and threats, which today might mean tweets, e-mails, and messages on Facebook or Skype.

The explosion of media consumption has increased exponentially: now we consume up to three times more information than our grandparents and parents consumed in 1960. As a human race, suddenly we are confronted with thousands of new impulses for which we are not developmentally ready. We have reached a level of addiction to technology so strong we may even suffer from withdrawal symptoms when we don’t have access to it: boredom, anxiety and sadness are all common.

Therefore, it is more important than ever to find a balance. Rent apartments in Seville and stroll through the streets of this beautiful city. Leave your computer and your gadgets at home!

Victoria, Roxanne, Whitney Katherine and report the latest sports news, international, weather and economic … without clothes. They are some of the nine girls who slowly strip out of their clothes directly in front of the camera for 25 minute episodes which air 6 times per week on the Canadian website called Naked News. Will the male journalists get naked next, please?

The idea of this information portal is to provide ongoing and objective news reports, which hold nothing back and convey the truth, indeed, the naked truth to the world. For 11 years, thousands of net-savvy individuals can enjoy beautiful female bodies at the same time as they “get informed” about the most important events of today. Perhaps, but we doubt the efficacy of this idea: when you have a naked woman, though she may speak in a serious tone, be it about volcanic clouds, winning athletes, heavy rains, it’s quite likely that you will be fascinated though not necessarily by the news…

Efficiency or entertainment?

On the upside, this type of news programme can entice people who might not otherwise be inclined to pay much attention to the news to at least be aware of what is happening in the world while they enjoy the show. There are many people out there who are bored in front of the TV news and dream of removing the presenter’s suit, or imagine her having sex or in the bathroom..

However, it must be said, the presentations are not the most scintillating in-depth journalism, and most of the presenters are models first and newscasters second, except Victoria, who studied journalism and was the first to introduce the program. For serious news, like the attacks of September 11 for example, they keep their clothes on… But given the nonsense full of lies that we get from the “official” newspaper, one more news option which takes a naked view of reality might be just the ticket

They have developed the format to include male newscasters and other languages, because not only fans of females have a right to get the news with a dose of excitement. Really, everyone deserves to enjoy their naked body, in the real world as well as the virtual world. So don’t hesitate to try the nude beaches on the Spanish coast and rent apartments in Seville.