Blog posts from March 2006
"Equality Kills Feminism"
By Holly Combe | 30 March 2006, 00:10
There have been at least three recent articles in The Guardian commenting on Alison Wolf’s Prospect article about the supposed downside of women’s freedom. We have apparently reached the end of an era where “women of all classes shared the…
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Reproductive Rights: Women Pitched Against Each Other (Again)
By Holly Combe | 29 March 2006, 14:38
Catholic Herald editor, Cristina Odone, is in the Guardian today, reminding us that not all anti-abortion activists are violent mentalists or fanatics fired by religious zeal. In fact, she points out (twice) that some pro-lifers might even be our neighbours….
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Raunch 0, Blog 1
By Catherine Redfern | 28 March 2006, 22:58
Feminists who were enraged by Kate Taylor’s recent Guardian comment piece defending “raunch culture” (which referenced Rachel Bell’s article on this site, and which fellow F Word blogger Holly commented on earlier), might like to pop over to Laurelin in…
New London Feminist Culture Magazine
By Catherine Redfern | 28 March 2006, 22:30
Vagina Magazine is a London based “feminist culture magazine” which intends to publish it’s first issue in June, and is looking for contributors and interested people to help out. “The vast majority of popular culture is all a bit shite,…
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'Protest Now' Group Formed
By Catherine Redfern | 28 March 2006, 22:22
Blogger and F Word contributor Laura has set up a Yahoo Group, “designed to bring together women who wish to organise protests and direct action to make our voices heard and speak out against society’s acceptance of rape and male…
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Comments on articles
By Catherine Redfern | 28 March 2006, 22:04
F Word readers may be vaguely interested to know that I have just uploaded comments received on articles during January 2006 (gradually working my way through the backlog…!). To read them, click on the comments link at the top of…
More Praise for Macho Man
By Holly Combe | 26 March 2006, 21:03
Yet again, The Times has been bemoaning the apparent decline of traditional manhood. Nirpal Dhaliwal thinks the ascent of the alpha female has led to the rise of the omega male (a “wimp who’s lost touch with his masculinity”) and…
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Men! Don't Expect Equality on a Thursday
By Holly Combe | 23 March 2006, 23:44
There’s an article by ex-GQ sex columnist, Kate Taylor, in today’s Guardian, slating Ariel Levy for criticising women who embrace raunch culture. (I’ve not read Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs yet and, though I agree with a lot of what she…
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Budget 2006
By Lynne Miles | 22 March 2006, 16:02
Chancellor Gordon Brown set out what is likely to be his last budget earlier today. Amongst the more predictable economic, fiscal and other random measures announced, some points of interest include: \x95 Brown promised to double training for women with…
OC Rapists get 6 years
By Lynne Miles | 20 March 2006, 15:58
The three men at the centre of the infamous ‘OC rape case’ were sentenced last week to six years in prison. They were found guilty at a second trial, last March, after a hung jury forced a retrial in summer…
Hospital demands payment for baby
By Jess McCabe | 18 March 2006, 11:50
A hospital in Israel has apparently refused to hand over a baby to its mother until she paid her medical bills. The woman gave birth to triplets at the al-Muqassad hospital in East Jerusalem. Because her husband is Palestinian, the…
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Sarler misses the point on rape campaign
By Lynne Miles | 16 March 2006, 17:59
Carol Sarler (in today\x92s G2) manages, so far as I can see, to completely miss several points on the current Home Office campaign regarding the rape law. Her argument is predicated on the idea that current Home Office campaign to…
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Feminists Googlebomb Bill Napoli
By Lynne Miles | 16 March 2006, 17:41
Candy at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels has a cunning plan to googlebomb Bill Napoli. To celebrate this South Dakota senator\x92s own special brand of misogynistic vileness, she has coined the verb \x91napoli\x92: napoli (not to be confused with…
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The mantra of "choice" and why it is bad news for girls and boys
By Jess McCabe | 13 March 2006, 08:22
The Independent runs with an interesting story today, about what girls and boys want to learn in science class. Leeds University asked a bunch of 15 year olds what they were interested in being taught. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given our cultural…
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Daft sentencing committee wants to reduce prison time for rapists and wife beaters
By Jess McCabe | 12 March 2006, 12:09
Rapists will no longer face such tough jail sentences and “date rapists” will be let off with lighter sentences, under new guidelines to be issued to judges, the Observer reveals. The Sentencing Guidelines Council is to consult on the new…
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Mexico uses sex dolls to educate on sexual harassment
By Jess McCabe | 10 March 2006, 17:11
Mexico is running an advertising campaign using sex dolls to educate its “infamously macho men” about why sexual harassment is wrong, the Independent reports. The open-mouthed plastic figures are the disturbing stars of an advertising campaign hitting television screens,…
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Parliament Debates Violence against Women
By Lynne Miles | 10 March 2006, 14:39
To mark International Women’s Day (oddly, a day late) the House of Commons held a debate on violence against women yesterday. Subjects covered included domestic violence, the representation of women in parliament, sex trafficking, gender-based violence against Guatemalen women, pornography,…
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International Women's Day 2006
By Lynne Miles | 8 March 2006, 12:03
Happy International Women\x92s Day, everyone! Thought I might start off by listing a few events I\x92ve come across happening around the UK to commemorate the day. This isn\x92t an exhaustive list, just a few that have caught my attention. Apologies…
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Designers mask models
By Jess McCabe | 5 March 2006, 22:40
Western fashion is often presented as the polar opposite of the burqa. Where one seeks to cover women in ungainly sacks that conceal not just their curves but their personality, turning them into expressionless lumps, the other tends towards exposing…
We Are Five Years Old!
By Catherine Redfern | 4 March 2006, 15:01
Yep, it was five years ago that The F Word first went online, can you believe it? It’s been lots of fun and I hope that the site has been able to contribute in some way to feminism in the…
By Louise Livesey | 2 March 2006, 10:01
OK so Ruth Kelly has announced another tranche of measures to prevent those with records of sexual violence from working with young people and vulnerable adults. Whilst there is a long overdue need to tighten the legislation, impose fines on…
Linda Smith, comedian, dies aged 48
By Louise Livesey | 2 March 2006, 09:56
I am sure most people have heard already that Linda Smith died on Wednesday after a long battle with Ovarian Cancer. Tributes here and here. Its a sad loss of a great comic mind who maintained her political activism to…
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