Here is the "hot button" issue of the autumn season. Take a look at the races for governor, congress, and more local levels, as well as the blossoming of the potential presidential bid of Hillary Rodham Clinton. How does the media treat these women? What issues do their opponents focus on to try to turn voters away? How do these women present themselves? How is fund raising involved? You cannot look at a news piece without something about key races being in the headlines.

The other big element of the place of women in the political sphere, of course, is the laws and regulations on females that are in the health care debate and in life style commentaries. How does women's reproductive health compare with men's reproductive health, for instance? What do insurance companies pay for medication in these two areas? How much debate is there on "the pill" versus "viagra," for instance? or of personal choice and control of the female body?

How about the issue of marriage/divorce/child support/ and other areas of political interest--including, of course, the issue of gay marriage (given IVF, adoption, and other options for family planning, what human rights issues are involved?) How do these connect with the definitions of "gender"