Blog posts from June 2005
<a href="http://society.guardian.co.uk/conferences/story/0,9744,1517975,00.html ">Yippee!</a>
By Lynne Miles | 30 June 2005, 15:07
GPs voted yesterday against a motion to reduce the time limit for legal abortions in the UK, about which I had a proper rant last week. 77% of delegates at the British Medical Association\x92s Annual Conference voted against the motion,…
Read '<a href="http://society.guardian.co.uk/conferences/story/0,9744,1517975,00.html ">Yippee!</a>'
Colombian women face prison for abortion
By Jess McCabe | 27 June 2005, 22:13
Human Rights Watch have called for the Colombian government to repeal legislation which makes abortion - even in cases of rape - punishable by up to four and a half years in prison. Recent amendments which allow judges to use…
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MOD forced to take action on sexual harassment
By Jess McCabe | 25 June 2005, 10:50
One in five female Navy personnel, one in eight Army personnel and nearly one in 10 RAF personel have been subject to sexual harassment, the Equal Opportunities Commission revealed yesterday. In response to new evidence of the culture of sexual…
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US plans blow to teenage access to contraception
By Jess McCabe | 25 June 2005, 10:22
Teenagers in the United States could soon face a massive hurdle to accessing contraception, as new proposals would see clinics forced to notify their parents at least five days before writing a prescription. The Feminist Majority Foundation reports that the…
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Sappho poem discovered
By Jess McCabe | 24 June 2005, 12:26
A new 101 word poem by the Ancient Greek poet Sappho has been discovered, the Guardian reports today. The 2.600 year old poem, only the fourth ever recovered, was found in “the cartonnage of an Egyptian mummy, the flexible layer…
Chicks and joysticks
By Jess McCabe | 23 June 2005, 12:31
Women are making slow progress integrating into the gaming industry, The Guardian reports today. The Government has recently started a big push to get more girls interested in IT, in the hope it will lead to a less-male dominated working…
Fight for your Right to Abortion
By Lynne Miles | 20 June 2005, 18:57
The British Medical Association are expected to vote in favour of reducing the upper time limit on abortions (currently 24 weeks) to 20 weeks, on the grounds that premature babies as young as 22 weeks can be \x96 but are…
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High Achievers "Look Like Men"
By Lynne Miles | 20 June 2005, 17:58
Oliver James in Sunday\x92s Observer Magazine looks into research done by an American psychologist which points to a strong correlation between thinness and professional success \x96 he found that curvaceous women are less likely to be perceived as competent and…
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Men Doing Twice As Much Housework \x85
By Lynne Miles | 20 June 2005, 15:08
\x85 but then two times nothing is nothing, isn\x92t it? I jest, of course. But an article on the front page of yesterday\x92s Sunday Times entitled \x93Hey, Dad, you\x92re an unsung domestic god\x94 rather misleads as to the content of…
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Girl blogs from Iraq
By Jess McCabe | 18 June 2005, 20:43
The Guardian today features extracts from the blog of “Riverbend”, an Iraqi woman, blowing apart the idea that life is better for women after the war. Riverbend blogs about the status of women in post-war Iraq: the fear of going…
Czech textbooks rife with gender bias
By Jess McCabe | 15 June 2005, 11:14
Textbooks in Czech schools are rife with gender bias full of “discouraging” role models for girls, Women’s eNews reports today. This has come to light after a government funded study examined gender in primary school textbooks - one example had…
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Now Who's Being Judgemental?
By Catherine Redfern | 14 June 2005, 20:37
Julie Bindel, the generally fabulous and well respected feminist founder of Justice for Women, has caused ructions with her recent Guardian piece “Why I hate Vegetarians”. In a bafflingly vitriolic article, she brands vegetarians (except, for some reason, those who…
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Bar staff face sack if they gain weight
By Jess McCabe | 13 June 2005, 16:01
With tales of Wal-mart woe in the papers every couple of weeks, no-one could say that worker’s rights in the United States are perfect. And this story from USAToday has some real horror stories of employers cracking down on their…
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Women at greater risk of contracting HIV
By Jess McCabe | 13 June 2005, 11:51
Women worldwide are at greater risk than men of contracting HIV, an American scientist has said. The Times reports that Thomas Quinn, Professor of Infectious Diseases at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, has called for a global strategy to tackle…
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Mayan tomb sheds new light on status of women
By Jess McCabe | 12 June 2005, 09:51
A new archelogical find has prompted speculation that Mayan women may have had a much more powerful role in their society than previously thought, nature.com reports. A recently opened crypt in Guatemala, the site of the ancient Mayan city of…
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On The Radio: Where Have All The Women Gone?
By Barbara Felix | 10 June 2005, 16:22
This weeks Radio Times’ cover story reads “The Top 40: We reveal the most powerful people on radio”, and the cover features the top 4: Jonathan Ross, Terry Wogan, Chris Moyles, and John Humphries. Turn the page over, and editor…
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Going Down With Advertising Standards
By Barbara Felix | 10 June 2005, 15:35
My eye was drawn, in last issue’s Private Eye (issue 1133, 27/5-9/6/05) to the Ad Nauseam column, and to a little piece about the recent Keep Britain Tidy campaign, which is apparently being aimed at 18-24 year olds. The posters…
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Minister for Women sets out priorities
By Lynne Miles | 10 June 2005, 14:22
Interviewed in The Guardian yesterday, the new Minister for Women, Meg Munn (the one who\x92s been asked to do the job unpaid as the parliamentary salary budget has been spent elsewhere \x85 ) sets out her priorities for her time…
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Sexual orientation 'irrelevant' to children's upbringing
By Jess McCabe | 10 June 2005, 09:48
Sexual orientation of a child’s parents is “irrelevant” to their upbringing, new research confirms. What really matters is whether or not that child has a stable, loving family environment. The study revealed that: “Teens with same-sex parents were identical to…
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Cherie Blair Should Be Seen and Not Heard
By Lynne Miles | 9 June 2005, 19:03
So all this brouhaha about Cherie Blair is starting to annoy me. Now I personally don\x92t really care whether she makes a bit of spare cash in the evenings doing after dinner speeches. Frankly, if someone offered me \xA330k for…
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But A Wrap Skirt Is A Definite No No
By Barbara Felix | 8 June 2005, 21:02
I’ve just been reading Natasha Walters’ article in The Guardian, concerning fiction for pre teen girls. She has noticed a new genre of fiction for this age group, which she dubs chicklet lit (I’m sorry Natasha, but that smacks of…
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Padme not as cool as Leia
By Jess McCabe | 8 June 2005, 20:22
Star Wars. It seems to have taken over the planet. I’ve personally managed to avoid watching it on principle, because George Lucus should not be getting rich off making endless, terrible movies that only get an audience because they cash…
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BBC shows women's football
By Jess McCabe | 8 June 2005, 19:46
We all know that women’s sport is no-where near as high profile as men’s sport. And so it is refreshing to see that the BBC is to broadcast this year’s 2005 Women’s European Championship football finals. This Saturday, England play…
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Orgasm is Genetic
By Louise Livesey | 8 June 2005, 09:12
According to researchers from Keele and London our ability to reach an orgasm isn’t related to our partners skill as a lover or how in the mood we are but our genetics. Research Professor Tim Spector and colleagues has argued…
Refuge for pets
By Louise Livesey | 8 June 2005, 09:02
A charity has established a refuge service for the pets of women fleeing domestic violence. The Freedom Trust will now arrange for pets to go to volunteer carers whilst women are unable to look after them in hostels, refuges or…
TV show tries to mould ladies from ladettes
By Jess McCabe | 8 June 2005, 00:59
Anyone who thought that reality tv couldn’t get any worse better brace themselves for Ladette to Lady. ITV has really excelled itself with this. As the title suggests, the series takes 10 ‘geezer birds’ and attempts to transform them into…
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Frida preview
By Jess McCabe | 7 June 2005, 15:27
Check out The Guardian for a sneak preview of some of the self portraits due to go on show as part of the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Tate Modern….
(Some) women get rich
By Jess McCabe | 6 June 2005, 15:06
While many women in the UK still face poverty, some are doing very well for themselves. Brewin Dolphin Wealth Management has identified 360,000 women worth \xA3500,000 or more, with a collective wealth of \xA3292.88 billion and an average of \xA3798,000…
Met review rape investigation as convictions fall
By Jess McCabe | 6 June 2005, 11:52
The Met are to re-examine the way they investigate rape cases, in response to evidence that the number of convictions is falling, The Independent reports today. Only one in 20 reported rapes end up in a conviction, and an increasing…
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Teenage girls would rather be a glamour model than a teacher
By Jess McCabe | 6 June 2005, 11:35
Teenage girls want to be glamour models, not teachers, doctors or nurses, a new survey has revealed. As reported in Manchester Online, 63% of girls aged 15-19 would rather be glamour models than take up a profession such as teaching….
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Insights into Porn in the Guardian
By Holly Combe | 4 June 2005, 15:57
Talking of sex… The Natasha Walter article about the portrayal of women in magazines like Nuts and Zoo is continuing to stimulate debate within London Third Wave. A variety of views have been expressed on how to define and approach…
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Feminist Wanted: Must Love Bonking
By Holly Combe | 3 June 2005, 23:27
According to blogcritic Adam Ash, feminism urgently needs a pro-sex feminist. I think he means well but why does this have to be a position for a “poster child” who both loves and is seen to love “screwing men”? He…
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A man's iron?
By Jess McCabe | 3 June 2005, 07:08
Argos are to market a range of irons designed for men, The Guardian reports. Apparently, “real men want a real iron”. On the one hand, women still do a vastly disproportionate amount of domestic chores and efforts to change that…
Human Rights Watch calls for legislation to tackle rape, HIV in Uganda
By Jess McCabe | 2 June 2005, 19:35
Meanwhile, in Uganda, Human Rights Watch are campaigning for the parliament to pass legislation which would outlaw marital rape and give girls and women greater equality. The Domestic Relations Bill is seen as the first step in helping Uganda’s women,…
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Bahraini woman faces trail after criticising family judges
By Jess McCabe | 2 June 2005, 19:26
A women’s rights activist in Bahrain faces trial this weekend, and the possibility of 15 years in jail, for publically criticising family judges. Ghada Jamsheer leads the Women’s Petition Committee, which campaigns for reform of Bahrain’s family law. She has…
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