Blog posts from June 2006
Pipped to the post
By Lynne Miles | 30 June 2006, 16:29
I had totally just finished writing an entry about the Guardian article when I saw that Jess had beaten me to it! One thing I would add, though\x85 I was interested in the final comment in the piece \x96 women…
Stop for a moment of shameless self promotion…
By Jess McCabe | 30 June 2006, 08:50
Check out this Guardian story on female political bloggers. Needless to say, I was half way through forming a puffy “yet another story about how female bloggers don’t exist” post in my head before I saw we got a mention…
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Wife-beater let off jail so he doesn't lose his job
By Lynne Miles | 29 June 2006, 17:37
A civil servant, working for the Department of Constitutional Affairs (responsible for upholding justice, rights, and democracy) has been convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and battery (reported in today’s Metro but I can’t find it online to link…
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But… I still wanna be your Joey Ramone!
By Jess McCabe | 28 June 2006, 21:46
I regret to be the one to have to tell you this, but Sleater Kinney have announced that they are on “indefinite hiatus”. After 11 years making some of the best music known to woman, it’s all over. They still…
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World Cup Punters Fail to Materialise
By Lynne Miles | 27 June 2006, 23:46
The Washington Post reports - with perhaps a touch of diappointment - that the predicted spike in demand for prostitutes has failed to materialise due to the World Cup in Germany. The Parliamentary Association of the Council of Europe and…
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Lost Girls
By Jess McCabe | 26 June 2006, 22:59
With all the debate about porn going on at the moment, it seems like a good time to talk about Lost Girls, a new, erotic graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Melinda Gebbie. The book concerns Dorothy…
Breast ironing the latest craze in oppression
By Jess McCabe | 23 June 2006, 10:50
Girls in Camaroon are routinely having their breasts beaten and “ironed” by their mothers, in a misguided attempt to prevent them from having sex and protect them from sexual attack, according to the BBC. Cameroon has now started a campaign…
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Rape law changes have failed
By Jess McCabe | 21 June 2006, 08:53
Rules meant to prevent prosecution lawyers from talking about rape victims’ sexual history are being “evaded, circumvented and resisted”, according to a report published by the Home Office. The Independent reports that Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal…
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From Church to Cho
By Jess McCabe | 20 June 2006, 22:08
Have I ever said how much I love Margaret Cho before? Well, I do, and blog entries like this are why: Frontman Dan Lee says that his father lived across the street from my father in Korea, and he…
Equal Parenting - and a Big Yawn
By Jess McCabe | 18 June 2006, 10:38
Today is father’s day in the UK, making it as good a day as any to talk about father’s taking on an equal share in the responsibilities, travails and pleasures of parenting. And in this, for once in my…
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Why I Hate The World Cup
By Barbara Felix | 15 June 2006, 21:56
There is a kind of energy in the air when the World Cup is on, regardless of the weather, for six weeks, the nation grinds to a halt. Every twist and turn, from the serious to the most trivial, is…
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No third wave?
By Jess McCabe | 14 June 2006, 13:33
Zoe Williams is usually one of my favourite columnists at the Guardian, so I was pretty disappointed by her offhand mention of third wave feminism in her latest column. She wonders why the UK doesn’t have a third wave of…
Not a feminist but…
By Jess McCabe | 13 June 2006, 22:42
Mind the Gap has come up with a great series of postcards to distribute at Ladyfest Cardiff….
"Let's not just assume that that stable and orderly transition is from one group of men to another group of men"
By Jess McCabe | 12 June 2006, 09:06
Harriet Harman is gunning for the job of deputy prime minister, after going on BBC radio and saying that the Labour leadership should include both “women and men”. Maternity pay and leave is a huge political issue, as is childcare….
Sign this
By Jess McCabe | 11 June 2006, 10:34
The Liberal Democrats have launched a petition on homophobic bullying, which you can sign here. Just like Mind the Gap, I couldn’t say I’m a Lib Dem, and I’m not sure how much good these petitions really do, but maybe…
From Gluck to Gongs
By Jess McCabe | 10 June 2006, 16:25
Porn is still a hot topic for debate among feminists, as Lynne’s post on Gluck magazine indicates. Well, this week Canada hosted an awards ceremony for feminist porn, as the National Post reports. Siri Agrell says that the ceremony was…
A feminist response to Gluck Magazine
By Lynne Miles | 9 June 2006, 15:04
The Guardian women’s section today carries a review of new indie-porn-for-girls magazine, Gluck, written by the editors of the feminist fashion zine Pamflet. Gluck, which I haven’t seen myself, features ‘pale, skinny, sometimes hairy, indie boys in the comfort of…
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Women oppressed in British-occupied Basra
By Jess McCabe | 8 June 2006, 07:30
“Even wearing a pair of trousers is considered an act of defiance, punishable by death.” Iraqis may be able to vote, but women are if anything less rather than more enfranchised, according to a story in the Independent. Iraq is…
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Ladyfest Cardiff 29 June \x96 2 July 2006
By Catherine Redfern | 5 June 2006, 22:29
Check out the Ladyfest Cardiff website for details of the upcoming festival. Whilst we’re at it, happy birthday to Mind the Gap, the inspirational Cardiff based feminist group, who are two years old as they explain on their fantastic blog….
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New reviews
By Catherine Redfern | 5 June 2006, 22:13
Strangeland Alexandra Kokoli reviews Tracey Emin’s Strangeland, which contains autobiographical writings touching on rape, abortion and marginalization. The Politics of the Tampon Case Jess McCabe talks to creators and manufacturers about the politics of the tampon case and whether the…
Elizabeth update
By Lynne Miles | 5 June 2006, 11:06
Some good news on the Elizabeth case, reported by Jess last week. Elizabeth wasn’t deported last week, and has been allowed a temporary reprieve until she has had her medical assessment on June 8th. Everyone is still worried about her,…
More bad news from the US
By Jess McCabe | 3 June 2006, 19:56
George W Bush is to lend his support for an amendment to the US constitution which would ban individual states from allowing gay marriage, according to the Chicago Tribune. Luckily: It stands little chance of passing the 100-member Senate. Several…
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Louisiana down the pan
By Jess McCabe | 3 June 2006, 14:57
Louisiana has become the latest state to take a step backwards in time and human progress and pass a law banning abortion. There’s not much to say, other than to note yet another depressing sign that the US is heading…
An urgent plea
By Jess McCabe | 1 June 2006, 20:12
Elizabeth, a lesbian woman from Uganda, is about to be deported, despite evidence that she faces torture or death if she returns. According to the campaign website: Elizabeth’s asylum claim, and her appeal, have both been rejected. Whilst the adjudicators…
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