Blog posts from July 2007
31 July 2007
A reality check for anti-choicers
‘Pro-lifers’ call for abortion to be criminalised. They stand outside clinics where the procedure is performed and harass patients and staff. But if abortion was outlawed tomorrow, what would the penalty be for women who had one anyway? Check out… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 31 July 2007
Civil Partnerships for all!
The papers are reporting today on new proposals from the Law Commission that unmarried couples living together should be given the right to make legal claims to property and pensions after separation. There are problems with the system as it… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 31 July 2007
The truth behind the talk
Have you ever been told that you ‘sound gay?’ Or have you ever been in the company of a person who has been subject to the same observation? It’s likely that the vast majority of people have experienced this… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 31 July 2007
Women still the target of sexual violence
Traditionally women have always been considered the ‘fairer sex,’ although unfortunately this, instead of allowing us some sort of protection from violence and sexual assault, has made us more vulnerable and susceptible to it. The treatment of women in… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 31 July 2007
Iran and US unite against women's rights treaty
Today the BBC runs a story noting that the only thing the US and Iran seem to agree on is not ratifying an international treaty calling for the elimination of discrimination against women. So why won’t Iran join the Convention… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 31 July 2007
30 July 2007
We all want an alpha-male, apparently…
Good news female comrades. Ever wondered what heterosexual females look for in a partner? Well, think no further, as the answer has arrived from an unlikely source, a man named Daniel Miessler, who has attempted to unlock the enigma… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 30 July 2007
Russian girls take on the world of computer gaming
When someone mentions computer gaming, what images does this traditionally evoke? Groups of sweaty teenage boys enthusiastically fighting over the hand control on a sunny Saturday afternoon, crowded together in a tiny, curtain-drawn room, where one cannot but be… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 30 July 2007
Maternity – Britain’s Best Employers
The Guardian has published results of its survey of 250 of the country’s leading employers and their provision for parental leave. They believe that it is the first survey of its kind. Parental leave is something of a black spot,… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 30 July 2007
29 July 2007
Mail annoys on princesses, gender stereotypes
Reading the headline to this story in the Daily Mail, you’d be forgiven for conjuring up images of Paris Hilton-esque princesses having a tantrum on a 747: Arab princesses kicked off British Airways plane to jeers and whistles after refusing… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 29 July 2007
Global peace index ignores violence against women
An index ranking countries on their peacefulness fails to take into account violence against women, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Norway tops the index, which was compiled by a commercial offshoot of The Economist magazine. The UK comes 49th, with… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 29 July 2007
27 July 2007
The problem with Beowulf
Ordinarily, I would be quite pleased to hear about a new film version of the Old English poem Beowulf. And it would be easy to get excited about the latest adaptation: the screenplay was co-written by Neil Gaiman, for a… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 27 July 2007
26 July 2007
Well I never
Seems like I was wrong. Sometimes even the Daily Mail can pleasantly surprise you…. Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 26 July 2007
25 July 2007
Disney's war on boys' self esteem?
Disney may be responsible for giving many millions of girls a series of weak, tiny waisted, overwhelmingly-white princess role models, but what effect do the films have on boys? This video (via Women of Color), looks at the images of… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 25 July 2007
Introducing our new guest blogger… zohra moosa
Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted that we have a new blogger. zohra moosa is to join us for a guest blogging spot here at The F Word over the next three months, and she has already got off to a… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 25 July 2007
Guides set out new priorities
To make sure they stay relevant in today’s modern world, the Guides have polled their members to find out what it is that kids today really want to learn about. And I have to say that young women today sound… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 25 July 2007
24 July 2007
The Gender Agenda
The Equal Opportunities Commission has today published a report saying that equality between the sexes is ‘generations away’. ‘The Gender Agenda’ highlights a series of key gaps in equality, and estimates the length of time until they are redressed, according… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 24 July 2007
… more things not to do with breasts
#3 – breastfeed Following my last post about the woman berated by the bus driver for putting her breasts in his eyeline, Anj Green has emailed to point out that #3 on the list ought certainly to be breastfeeding:… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 24 July 2007
21 July 2007
Let's toast a more diverse Guardian Women
I read with pleasure last Tuesday’s G2 headline celebrating 50 inspirational years of Guardian women. Published on the centenary of Mary Stott’s birthday, it was a welcome toast to women journalists, women editors and critical, reflective, feminist writing on politics… Read more...Posted by zohra moosa at 21 July 2007
18 July 2007
Latest feminist carnival out now
The 41st Carnival of Feminists is up at Kate Smurthwaite’s Cruella-Blog. As usual, it’s packed full of great reading material, and indeed listening material, as it includes a link to our very own podcast. I particularly like this photo-blog dedicated… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 July 2007
Commission tells European males to shape up
The European Commission has warned that men must take on more housework and childrearing duties, in order to help close the pay gap, EUObserver reports. Europe-wide, women earn 15% less than men, only a 2% improvement in the last decade…. Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 July 2007
Ghana girls lured back to school with better loos
A project in Ghana is seeking to increase girls’ school attendance by installing better loos, notes A. from A Changing Life. Plan International is behind the project, and has more information. Apparently girls often stay away from school when they… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 July 2007
Anthology to raise awareness on violence against women
Remember Khalil Aswad? She was the 17 year old Kurdish girl stoned to death in Iraq for her relationship with a Sunni Muslim boy. Her death was videoed and circulated on the internet, prompting shocked responses from right-thinking individuals such… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 July 2007
Harman sets out priorities for women
Harriet Harman speaking in the House of Commons yesterday set out the priorities that she and Barbara Follet (they are the Ministers for Women) have agreed (you can read the transcript here). These are divided into three strands: helping families… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 18 July 2007
50 years of the Guardian's women's pages
The Guardian’s women’s page celebrates its 50th anniversary today. The women’s section takes over the G2 supplement for a special edition, packed with articles dug out of the archive and musings on its history, purpose and usefulness. The current editor,… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 July 2007
Stop giving them the oxygen of publicity!
At the height of the IRA troubles you weren’t allowed to interview a suspected IRA member - they had to use actors reading transcripts. It was known as refusing to give them the “oxygen of publicity”. Can’t we now advocate… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 18 July 2007
17 July 2007
Saudi women set back by night-owl hours?
Saudi women tend to sleep during the day and stay up all night, according to the blog Sand Gets in My Eyes. A byproduct of a society which limits female independence and job opportunities, SGIME argues that this night-owl behaviour… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 17 July 2007
Things not to do if you have breasts #2
A German bus driver recently threatened to throw a woman off his bus if she didn’t move out of his eyeline, because her breasts were distracting him. The bus driver in question shouted down the bus at the unfortunate women,… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 July 2007
Are Lad Mag's Porn?
Subvertising reaches new heights with the adaptation of lads mags cover reversing the gender roles. So are they porn? More here… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 17 July 2007
16 July 2007
Steinem calls out "prick flicks"
Gloria Steinem calls attention to the sexism of the term “chick flick” in a post over at the Women’s Media Center. If we have chick flicks, Steinem proposes, we should have “prick flicks” as well (shortened for length): The simple… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 July 2007
Yoyo Girl Cop
Here’s one to look out for at the cinema: Yoyo Girl Cop, or Sukeban Deka. Based on a popular manga series from the late 70s to early 80s, Tokyomango describes it like this: What’s not to remember about a hot… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 July 2007
BBC debate on FGM
A BBC debate on whether enough is being done to halt female genital mutilation has produced a heart-breaking number of comments from women who endured this brutal practice. The Urban Feminist has picked out some of these responses, which are… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 July 2007
15 July 2007
Girls play violent games too
Teenage girls overwhelmingly play video games, including violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, reports Indystar.com. In a survey of 1,254 US teenagers, only 80 had not played any video games in the last six months. If you’re thinking some… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 15 July 2007
14 July 2007
Interview with Michele Roberts
The Guardian has interviewed feminist writer Michele Roberts here…. Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 14 July 2007
13 July 2007
Feminist magazines
Of course, regular readers will already know about all the feminist magazines that have launched in the last 18 months, but here’s a feature I wrote on the subject for The Guardian…. Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 13 July 2007
12 July 2007
L'Oréal found out for hiring only white shampoo-promoters
A French division of make-up giant L’Oréal has been found guilty of racial discrimination and ordered to pay a €30,000 fine, reports The Guardian. L’Oréal instructed a recruitment agency - which has also been fined, and a “senior figure” given… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 July 2007
Knee replacements just for women
Firms in the US are marketing knee implants specifically designed for women, reports Orthopedic Technology Review. Currently, women are fitted with implants designed for men - but this causes some pain and discomfort: Hitt explains his involvement with Stryker. “In… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 July 2007
11 July 2007
Two bits of UK news
Under 16s are to be banned from modelling during London Fashion Week and Baroness Kingsmill, who is heading up the enquiry into practices in the modelling world has admitted that “There was strongly expressed concern that it is profoundly inappropriate… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 11 July 2007
Report on Prison and Women - Mixed Feelings
Loraine Gelsthorpe, Gilly Sharpe and Jenny Roberts have published a report saying that community sentences for women should be tailor-made to keep them out of jail. Writing the report on behalf of the Fawcett Society it is argued that:… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 11 July 2007
Jane Magazine Closes
Sad news, the US feminist publication Jane has ceased printing. More on this here…. Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 11 July 2007
African Leaders Call for Safe Abortion
Representatives of the governments of ten african nations have called for legalisation of safe abortion in their countries and across Africa. They are, of course, partially hand-tied by the President Bush’s withholding of any funding to charities which promote or… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 11 July 2007
New anti-pornography blog
Anti-Pornography Activists (or those wanting to do sometime on this) should check out this new blog - 101 Things to Do to Combat Pornography. A random selection of suggestions include: 23. Write your government representatives and elected officials, (mayor, members… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 11 July 2007
'Nice guy' rapists should get off lighter - Australians
A survey of Australian men and women has revealed that “nearly all” believe that rape is less serious if it’s committed by a “nice guy”, or one who is sexually frustrated, if the woman is drunk or wearing revealing clothing,… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 July 2007
10 July 2007
Thatcher 'una bella gnocca' - Berlusconi
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has called Margaret Thatcher una bella gnocca, or a “great piece of pussy”, reports The Independent. Not that I’m one to praise Thatcher, well, pretty much ever. But I guess this goes to show… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 July 2007
Another "Light Hearted" Celebration of Gender Stereotypes
Researchers at the University of Arizona have indicated that women do not talk more than men. As one of the researchers states, the notion that women are the chatty ones has become “part of the cultural mainstream” so I’d… Read more...Posted by Holly Combe at 10 July 2007
The F Word podcast: episode one!
[The podcast went down some time yesterday - if you were one of the people who could not download it, you should now be able to] Welcome to the first ever F Word podcast! A couple of weekends ago, bloggers… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 July 2007
9 July 2007
Tories would use tax system to promote marriage
Tory leader David Cameron would shake-up the tax system to benefit married couples, in an attempt to keep mums and dads together, reports The Independent. I feel like a broken record writing about this again, but it’s hard for me… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 July 2007
Sex Discrimination is alive and kicking….
You know how we got the Sex Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay at Work Act and now the Gender Equality Duty? Well apparently it doesn’t mean much because (and this is a word of warning to the wise) it’s… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 9 July 2007
8 July 2007
Deborah Siegel Podcast
MojoMom has interviewed Deborah Siegel, author of Sisterhood Interrupted: From Radical Women to Girls Gone Wild for her podcast series - listen here…. Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 8 July 2007
Young Women and Pay Discrimination
It was often argued, after the Equal Pay Act, that as women entered the workforce in larger numbers pay discrimination would decline. It wasn’t true which is why Yvonne Roberts’ response to Zoe Williams’ article on collective action is a… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 8 July 2007
Rape crisis centres face closure
As many as half of the Rape Crisis centres in England and Wales may have to close because of lack of funds, reports The Guardian. Nicole Westmarland, the chairwoman of Rape Crisis in England and Wales said the organisation “really… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 July 2007
7 July 2007
New Features! New Reviews!
‘Honey! Your vagina needs a mint’ The Vagina Institute purports to provide a public service to curious women. But Samara Ginsberg detects a rather different agenda Buying gunk When the latest anti-aging cream hit the shelves, queues of women scrambled… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 7 July 2007
5 July 2007
Sun Woman says “Stop Rape Now”
The Sun Woman has launched a ‘Stop Rape Now’ campaign, calling for better funding for rape crisis centres, more specially trained police officers and CPS barristers, a dedicated 24-hour telephone helpline for victims and an increase in the number of… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 5 July 2007
Check the latest Feminist Carnival
The 40th issue of the Carnival of Feminists is up now, at the hidden side of the leaf. This one has a book theme, so anyone with a serious addiction to paperbacks might want to rush over or steer clear,… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 July 2007
4 July 2007
New Home Secretary’s cleavage outbills her performance
Less than a week into the job, and the UK’s first female Home Secretary is drawing rather more attention for her cleavage than her – calm, confident and professional – manner in dealing with the recent spate of terror attacks…. Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 4 July 2007
From a Moroccan brand of Muslim feminism to Catherine Tate on Dr Who
Nadia Yassine is the spokesperson for an illegal opposition group in Morocco. Check out her interview with Speigel Online on an Islamic type of feminism. I speak for a different culture, the Islamic one. Our religion is very much friendly… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 July 2007
Left-Wingers Dislike Thatcher Shock!
Sarah Sands has written an impassioned defence of Margaret Thatcher as a woman and a feminist. Definately of interest although her “comparisons” with Harman owe more to ideology than sincere debate…. Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 4 July 2007
2 July 2007
Something tells me Betty wouldn't approve
VH1 is planning to make a reality TV show based on Ugly Betty, according to TV Squad. It is called America The Ugly, inspired by ABC’s Ugly Betty, and will attempt to find out what happens when real unattractive,… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 2 July 2007
Rape charge against former Israeli president dropped; 20,000 protest in Tel Aviv
Israel’s former president Moshe Katsav will not be tried for rape, after accepting a plea bargain which will see him admit lesser counts of sexual harassment, reports The Guardian. Understandably outraged by this announcement, as Israel’s attorney general had said… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 2 July 2007
Violence Against Women in the UK
V at reSISTERance posts an ever needed reminder of the extent of violence against women in the UK. Good fodder for antifeminists who claim feminism is now redundant, too. The list of stories taken from the BBC website is hard… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 2 July 2007
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