Blog posts from September 2006
French feminists fight stoning advocate
By Jess McCabe | 28 September 2006, 22:14
The French feminist group Regards de femmes is calling for the government to refuse permission for a scholar to enter the country, because he supports death by stoning as a punishment for adulterous women. According to wire reports, Hani Ramadan…
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Culture Club
By Jess McCabe | 28 September 2006, 22:05
Complaints about sexism in the world of comics are never hard to come by. But Alison Bechdel has been providing a counterpoint to the world of capes and silly costumes since 1983, when she began the newspaper strip Dykes to…
Chavez support for Iran ignores women
By Jess McCabe | 27 September 2006, 21:45
Hugo Chavez has charmed the left wing with bold social reforms in Venezuela and an exciting disregard for the feelings of the US president. But over at Women’s eNews, Jennifer Fasuloargues he has gone too far in his support…
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US immigration law discriminates against lesbians
By Jess McCabe | 26 September 2006, 22:44
Reforms to US immigration law are bypassing lesbian couples, according to a story on Women’s eNews. Perhaps unsurprisingly in the current political climate states-side, efforts to legalise the status of millions of migrant workers have ignored the plight of same-sex…
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Support women, go to the cinema
By Jess McCabe | 26 September 2006, 22:28
If we want to see more women film-makers, we should support their work through the boxoffice, argues Natasha Walter in Comment Is Free today. Walter takes her queue from the First Weekender Group in the US, which corrals support for…
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Kerrang Magazine
By Catherine Redfern | 26 September 2006, 18:45
Paper Dolls: Searching for Women within Kerrang Magazine Collette explains how Kerrang magazine lets down female rock fans. Analysing a recent issue, she looks at how rarely female artists are seriously covered, and finds that even when women are included…
Women's rights activist killed in Afghanistan
By Jess McCabe | 25 September 2006, 22:52
A women’s rights activist has been shot dead in Afghanistan, after the government refused to provide bodyguards or offical transportation. The Times reports that Safia Ama Jan was getting into a car outside her house when she was shot at…
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Maxim shows its ugl(ier) side
By Jess McCabe | 25 September 2006, 22:44
Maxim has published a list of TV’s “least appealing ladies”, provoking a storm of criticism across the blogosphere. The lad’s mag is better known for its list of the top 100 hottest (celebrity) women, which sparked off the idea for…
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Shocking language in Daily Mail
By Lynne Miles | 22 September 2006, 11:57
Unlikely as it might seem, I read a piece in the Daily Mail this morning which contained the phrase \x93powerful gender stereotypes\x94. In context, and with no trace of sarcasm. Honestly, you go on holiday for one short week and…
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Independent blacks up Moss
By Jess McCabe | 22 September 2006, 10:26
Yesterday the Independent devoted its entire front page to a “blacked up” photo of Kate Moss, supposedly to highlight the plight of African women. It’s unfathomable to me how the Independent, usually so clued-up, could publish sometime so racist…
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Canadian conservatives may cut funding for women's groups
By Jess McCabe | 22 September 2006, 09:25
Canada’s conservative government may be about to abolish an agency that provides funding for women’s groups. According to the Toronto Star, the minister in charge of the agency’s budget is refusing to answer questions on its future. Bev Oda, the…
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Women's health special
By Catherine Redfern | 20 September 2006, 22:37
The 23rd Carnival of Feminists is up with a special looking at women’s health issues. Plenty of incredible feminist writing to keep you occupied for several days. In a similar vein, I received information about an interesting sounding new site,…
Sweden swings to the right
By Jess McCabe | 20 September 2006, 22:14
Sweden has elected a right-of-centre government, kicking out the Social Democrats that defined the country’s much envied social model. Why? Polly Toynbee says it’s all about the women. Sweden’s women ministers fumed during the campaign as Persson ignored the party’s…
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I am not an ifeminist
By Jess McCabe | 20 September 2006, 22:02
What, you might ask, is an ifeminist? Is it a feminist autobot, come to replace your humble human bloggers completely? Well, no. It’s an individualist feminist. According to ifeminists.com: As the cost of freedom, ifeminists accept personal responsibility for their…
New Article & Review
By Catherine Redfern | 19 September 2006, 21:49
Women Are Not In Fashion This season’s must-have fashion choices include the pre-pubescent child or the porn star; both one-dimensional images of female passivity and compliance. Where is the space for real, complex women in our culture and in fashion?…
Interesting stuff round up
By Catherine Redfern | 19 September 2006, 21:20
Some interesting stuff I’ve been looking at lately…. “Lad mags would be moved to the top shelf if they featured men in similar poses” claim the creators of http://ladsmags.blogspot.com/, who set out to prove their point in a rather hilarious…
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Steinem starts radio station for knitters and cookers
By Jess McCabe | 19 September 2006, 08:55
Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and “other prominent women” have launched a new radio station in the US, catering specifically for women. Now, a whole radio station for women run at least partly by a feminist sounds like a good idea….
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Michigan festival slaps down transwomen, betrays feminism
By Jess McCabe | 18 September 2006, 21:06
Before I start, I’d just like to say I hate stories like this. As if it wasn’t enough that we’ve had the breast wars last week, now the Michigan Womyn’s Festival has said that transgender women can buy tickets, but…
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Male lapdancers?
By Jess McCabe | 18 September 2006, 20:47
Women in Birmingham will soon have the chance to visit the nation’s first male lapdancing club. In a report for the Guardian, Ellie Levenson remains unconvinced: Although Tricky Dicky’s is likely to see a lot of business from groups of…
Palestinian feminist to speak in London
By Jess McCabe | 18 September 2006, 20:29
If you’re in London looking for something to do next Friday, you could do worse than to head over to Stoke Newington to listen to Palestinian activist Rauda Morcos speak. Morcos founded Aswat, the Palestinian feminist lesbian organisation. It sounds…
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The end of the macho
By Jess McCabe | 17 September 2006, 19:30
Masculinity has to go. Or at least that’s the conclusion of Robert Jensen, author of The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege, in this AlterNet opinion piece. If masculinity is defined as conquest, it means that men…
Pakistan caves in on rape law
By Jess McCabe | 13 September 2006, 08:48
Pakistan is to vote on whether to relax its tough rape laws, which require that a woman present four male witnesses to secure a conviction. Rape is currently tried under religious laws, and if a woman fails to prove her…
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Ladyfest Newcastle - 22-24 Sept
By Catherine Redfern | 11 September 2006, 22:13
If you’ve never attended a Ladyfest, you’re really missing out on modern feminist culture today; the events are always fun, vibrant, creative, passionate, and inspiring. So if you’re in the North East, you’re in for a real treat because Ladyfest…
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Female teachers struggle to make Head
By Jess McCabe | 5 September 2006, 09:09
Although women make up two-thirds of the teaching workforce, they are still too few women in managerial positions, according to a survey by the General Teaching Council of England. As the Guardian reports, female teachers are held back by career…
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Female priests stick it to Vatican
By Jess McCabe | 2 September 2006, 11:06
Women in the Roman Catholic church are working to subvert the Vatican’s opposition to female priests by getting ordained under psuedonyms. Nerve.com interviews the recently enpriestened Jean Marie Marchant, and suggests that this movement could spur the creation of a…
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