Blog posts from July 2006
Lesbian Couple Denied Right to Have Their Marriage Recognised in UK
by Louise Livesey // 31 July 2006, 13:20
Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger have been denied the right to have their marriage in Canada recognised in the UK. . Whilst this ending to the High Court case was pretty predictable the comments made in the judgement are rather...
Iranian teenager hanged for 'adultery'
by Jess McCabe // 28 July 2006, 19:55
A teenage girl of 16 has been executed for supposed 'adultery' in Iran, after telling a court she was raped. A documentary, will tell how Atefah Sahaaleh was hanged in a public square in the city of Neka, after a...
Stand up and be counted
by Jess McCabe // 26 July 2006, 22:45
We've blogged many times in the last few months about the war that is being waged on American women's right to have an abortion if she so chooses. In fact, the crisis is just getting worse, as the Senate has...
Couple more new articles
by Catherine Redfern // 24 July 2006, 22:40
World Cup WAGs Sarah Louisa Phythian-Adams argues that the irrational focus on the "Wives and Girlfriends" of footballers during the World Cup demonstrates a wider dismissal of women's sporting prowess and of women's role in society in general. Sexual...
New articles / reviews
by Catherine Redfern // 24 July 2006, 17:54
I published these a couple of weeks ago but haven't had chance to post about them here: Don't cha wish pop was more empowering? As more and more female music artists such as Beyonc\xE9 and The Pussycat Dolls declare themselves...
NOW conference makes the news
by Jess McCabe // 22 July 2006, 19:44
NOW's annual conference has kicked off in New York, and it's already garnering international press coverage. Newspapers from as far afield as the United Arab Emirates covered the event. Meanwhile, some of the top feminist bloggers have also been live...
How to write comics: decent female character
by Jess McCabe // 22 July 2006, 11:12
Over on Girls Read Comics (And They're Pissed), Karen has knocked out an excellent post on how to write a real female lead character. The post is a response to an email she got from an independent comics publisher, asking...
Bush favours kooky whackos... again
by Jess McCabe // 21 July 2006, 08:44
The Medical Institute for Sexual Health is a "scientific" organisation that promotes abstinance-only education. Its founder, Dr Joe McIlheney, pooh-poohs condom use and is described in this illuminating AlterNet article as "an evangelical ob/gyn". Another board member, Dr W...
Reading matter
by Jess McCabe // 20 July 2006, 22:38
The latest Carnival of Feminists is up at Figure, and they just seem to be getting better and better. I still haven't had time to read through all the entries, but my favourite so far is definitely Feminish's entry on...
From PE to Pride
by Jess McCabe // 18 July 2006, 23:48
How can teenage girls be persuaded to embrace PE, asks this Guardian article. It turns out that the answer is a combination of a fun-based approach and less tiny sports uniforms. I recommend reading the whole feature, but here is...
Keep an Eye out for ...
by Lynne Miles // 17 July 2006, 17:16
... Genderpranks ("for those who like to play with gender"). The website is currently under construction, but was born out of an experiment using stickers on the tube - Genderpranksters labelled tube seats "male" and "female" to see what happened...
"We need equality... kinda now!"
by Jess McCabe // 14 July 2006, 08:51
Joss Whedon's speech at an Equality Now awards ceremony:...
Update
by Jess McCabe // 13 July 2006, 19:53
Do you remember Larry Summers, the ex-president of Harvard who said that the reason that women don't get to the top of the career ladder in science is that they're just not bright enough, rather than... say... discrimination and gender...
Second feminist zine hits streets
by Jess McCabe // 11 July 2006, 09:03
After literally years of relying on (albiet) excellent imports from the US, UK readers now have a second feminist magazine to call their own. Subtext magazine, launched today, joins Vagina Magazine on the shelf while it's still in its first...
Women and climate change
by Jess McCabe // 10 July 2006, 22:30
Climate change policy should be changed to reflect the greater impact it will have on women, argues Bojana Stoparic over on AlterNet. The argument goes like this: in a natural disaster, women are more vulnerable than men, at least in...
Portugal enforces anti-abortion law
by Jess McCabe // 8 July 2006, 11:30
A Portuguese court has convicted a doctor and his assistant of carrying out abortions, and three women have been found gilty of having their pregnancies terminated. Portugal has strict anti abortion laws, but according to the Feminist Majority Foundation, public...
So what's wrong with Nuts, then? (Or 'real men don't share umbrellas')
by Jess McCabe // 5 July 2006, 23:20
Over on London3rdWave, we've been heatedly debating - among other things - exactly what is wrong with 'lads mags' and what we should be doing about it. Recent debate over whether they should be relegated to the top shelf...
Hollaback, ladies
by Lynne Miles // 3 July 2006, 15:27
The Guardian today talks about the increasing fightback by women against harassment in public places. We\x92ve all been there (well I have \x96 just outside Earlsfield station, about 5pm on a Sunday evening. Your classic old-man-in-mac. He was a...
MTV Exit
by Lynne Miles // 3 July 2006, 14:58
I really wish I'd seen this earlier, and been able to forward it more widely, but I think this is a really excellent contribution to the problem of trafficking around the World Cup, led by MTV. The only question being...
Housework clause added to Spanish marriages
by Jess McCabe // 2 July 2006, 23:20
How did I miss this? Spain has added housework clauses to civil marriage ceremonies which oblige men to do an equal share. No doubt there will be plenty of people who say this is needless state intervention in domestic...
Break the silence on abortion
by Catherine Redfern // 2 July 2006, 19:21
"Speak out" event in support of abortion rights. Join Abortion Rights, the national pro-choice campaign, at a 'Speak Out' on 6 July 2006. Who: All pro-choice supporters welcome (places limited - RSVP to info@abortionrights.org.uk) When: Thursday, 6 July 7 -...
Sweden acts on female circumcision
by Jess McCabe // 1 July 2006, 18:34
A Swedish citizen has been jailed for four years for forcing his daughter to undergo circumcision. The BBC reports that Somali man Ali Elmi Hayow held his daughter down while the brutal procedure - which involves amputing part or all...
Double standards
by Catherine Redfern // 1 July 2006, 14:34
Was listening to the Today programme yesterday and there were a couple of people (possibly MPs, I can't remember) arguing that junk food ads should be banned until after the watershed, so as to avoid contributing to the damage to...
Blogging
by Catherine Redfern // 1 July 2006, 14:17
Whilst it was amazingly flattering to be described as a "leading British feminist" in the Guardian's article on women blogging, it does feel a little bit ridiculous really. And as well deserved as the praise was for all the contributors...
Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the 
