Blog posts from October 2007
31 October 2007
Powerful women
Do you think there will ever be a day when a woman with power is not seen as a woman first? When it is so common that it is unexceptional, so that gender is as irrelevant as, say, the type… Read more...Posted by zohra moosa at 31 October 2007
Calling all pro-feminist/feminist men in London
This Saturday will see the first meeting of a new group set up for pro-feminist/feminist men in the capital. The group’s founder, Jon, says: “The group has no set objectives as such yet but will hopefully be a supportive environment… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 31 October 2007
Deporting rapists doesn't solve anything
A judge has halted the deportation of 20 year-old Mohammed Kendeh, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in 2003, and has admitted to 11 cases of assault, reports The Metro. Last year, the Home Office tried to deport… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 31 October 2007
The Truth Isn't Sexy Art Exhibition
Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 31 October 2007
30 October 2007
From moist to Shampoo
Personally, I just don’t feel any disgust over the word “moist”. But the news that the word rubs women up the wrong way is all over the blogosphere. Dollymix is running a poll, and Pandagon has a great post summing… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 30 October 2007
Da boch chi, Mind the Gap
Cardiff-based activist group Mind the Gap! has announced that it is shutting down its blog. Winter posted a message today: After 3 years and 575 posts, we have decided that this blog project has run its course. However, it’s not… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 30 October 2007
Classical music to get the Barbie treatment
A colleague of mine was a little confused yesterday when a press release entitled “Classical Music Gets Barbie-fied!” popped into his inbox. It was from Mattel, who are unveiling plans for a UK tour of Barbie at the Symphony, a… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 30 October 2007
29 October 2007
Should feminists drop our surnames?
Today’s Guardian carries a very interesting column by Margaret Sandra, who ditched her surname in 1979 as a feminist statement. Of course, the naming conundrum is not new to feminists - if we decide to get married, do we take… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 29 October 2007
Abortion Article
Just thought I’d post up the link to the article Abby mentioned at the end of her last post. I wrote it for my university newspaper, but the Editor decided not to publish it. More details on the site, feel… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 29 October 2007
28 October 2007
All 12 year-old girls to get cervical cancer jab
From September 2008, all 12 year-old girls in the UK will be inoculated against cervical cancer, in a national vaccination programme set to save the lives of 400 women a year, reports The Guardian. The vaccination has caused controversy, particularly… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 28 October 2007
The great debate rolls on
Yesterday in The Guardian there was an article by Ben Goldacre which questions the legitimacy of the statistical information used to bolster pro-life arguments. This is one of the most interesting pieces of reporting I have read to date, since… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 28 October 2007
27 October 2007
Maxim names 'unsexiest' women
We’re used to men’s mags like Maxim coming out with offensive lists of the ‘hottest babes of 2007’, etc. But now that this sort of thing has just become background-level annoying, they decide to go a little bit further with… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 27 October 2007
Getting women to buy insurance…
I’m divided over this ad for life insurance (I think?), which popped up on AdsOfTheWorld.Com recently. It originally appeared on Belgian television, and the basic premise is a good one - that it’s probably not a very good idea to… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 27 October 2007
'Bin the Bunny' t-shirts, DVDs, etc…
The bunny-based protest in London against Playboy, kicked off when the porn emporium opened a store on Oxford Street, is now selling t-shirts, badges and DVDs. Hop on over to their blog to place orders - I’m getting one of… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 27 October 2007
46th Carnival of Feminists up at Cubically Challenged
The latest feminist carnival is up and ready to read, over at Cubically Challenged. How cool is it that there have been 46 of these Carnivals? As usual, there’s enough tasty reading material for a reader to chow down on… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 27 October 2007
25 October 2007
Geri Halliwell is not a feminist but…
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is interviewed in The Guardian today. She speaks out about her recent work for the UN and her travels to Zambia in order to draw attention to the plight of pregnant women with limited access… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 25 October 2007
Are father-daughter relationships undervalued?
There was an article in The Guardian last weekend (unforutnately I’ve been unable to source it online as of yet) written from the first-person perspective of a woman and her father. Karen Glaser had asked her father to be present… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 25 October 2007
24 October 2007
Doing it the Traditional Way
How to Have Sex After Marriage is screened on Channel 5 on Wednesday nights and I am very much hoping that tonight’s show turns out to be more progressive than last week’s. The featured couple in trouble were Sarmila and… Read more...Posted by Holly Combe at 24 October 2007
Is it OK for disabled people to go to brothels?, asks BBC
Is it OK for anyone to go to brothels?, I ask. The title of this BBC online magazine article neatly sidesteps what I see as the rather more pertinent question, framing the debate as one of discrimination against disabled people… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 24 October 2007
Moaning Lisa - or how computer programmers conceive of female sexuality….
She looked at me with her motion detectors as I rubbed the piezoelectric sensor between her thighs. Then I spun the potentiometers that jutted out from her chest like nipples. But it wasn’t until I stroked the piezosensor on the… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 24 October 2007
The Taleban would love Bob Jones University
I don’t like to blog stories about Christian fundamentalists in the US. It’s a bit too much like shooting fish in a barrel. But Bob Jones University’s instructions on dress and behaviour for prospective students is so creepy and ridiculous,… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 24 October 2007
At a loose end in our fine capital tonight? How about a WANC
The Women’s Anarchist Nuisance Cafe meets tonight in London to discuss “polyrhythmic living and loving with live music and guest speakers discussing different ways of conducting relationships”. More appealing still, WANC is holding a clothes exchange fundraiser - you bring… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 24 October 2007
Abortion used as a form of contraception? Don't make me laugh
As we near the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, Lord Steel, the Liberal Democrat peer responsible for it, has criticised what he sees as a culture in which women turn to abortion as a form of contraception. Really…. Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 24 October 2007
UN says "Please stop raping women"
Now don’t get me wrong, the UN does amazing and important work. But I am not sure the way to prevent women’s and girl’s bodies being used as tools of war through rape and sexual assault is to ask nicely…. Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 24 October 2007
23 October 2007
Not exactly reclaim the night…
A Japanese fashion designer has designed a dress which folds out into a vending machine costume. Why, you ask? For women to hide from potential attackers, reports the New York Times. The wearer hides behind the sheet, printed with an… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 October 2007
Democrats are ugly
You know, it takes a lot to render me speechless, but I think the above might just have managed it. This image is apparently doing the rounds on facebook at the moment. I don’t think I need to point… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 23 October 2007
The abortion debate hits the cinema
British film-maker Tony Kaye has produced a film entitled Lake of Fire, exploring the American abortion debate, and is the subject of an interview in The Guardian. Kaye comes from an interesting standpoint to discuss the issue as he is… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 23 October 2007
Request for help with research project
This is not a usual blog, it is a (cheeky) request for help if at all possible. I am currently involved in a research project investigating the provision of care for people with disabilities. I am looking at Autism and… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 23 October 2007
22 October 2007
You don't own me
You know that song “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to… cry if I want to, cry if I want to…”? Well, Hazel from the fabulous Buffy blog Let’s Fold Scarves has tracked down some footage of… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 October 2007
Teachers advised on enforcing the gender divide through reading assignments!
According to the blog Collected Voices, a leading website for UK teachers is peddling a reading list for 14-15 year olds which splits its recommended books into a section for girls and a section for boys. Unfortunately I can’t find… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 October 2007
Utilikilt
One of my favourite bloggers, Twisty from I Blame the Patriarchy, has semi-emerged from a posting hiatus to not-quite-blog about the utilikilt. Utilikilts, it amuses me to report, are nothing but skirts. Big whoop, you say? Well, they have giant… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 October 2007
Astronaut watch
If the Discovery shuttle launch goes ahead tomorrow, it will be the first time two simultaneous missions have been under the command of female astronauts, reports The Guardian. Retired US Air Force Colonel Pamela Melroy (pictured left), will lead a… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 October 2007
20 October 2007
Riot Grrrl Party And Book Launch With Ladyfest London 2008
There’s to be a book launch/party on Wednesday 24th October at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen in Hoxton Square, East London, to launch the book ‘Riot Grrrl: Revolution Grrrl Style Now!’, which has just been published by Black Dog Publishing. It’s… Read more...Posted by Jane Eyre at 20 October 2007
The F Word Podcast - episode two!
UPDATE: You can now subscribe to The F Word podcast and review it on iTunes. Click here to subscribe. Some months ago, we recorded episode one of our brand new podcast. It’s taken us longer than we thought to record… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 20 October 2007
There are more feminists out there than you realise
When people think about or talk about feminists, there is a tendency to look for the big-names. Whether that be Gloria Steinem or Jessica Valenti of Feministing. Feminist celebrities, in other words. But the worst-told story of feminism is just… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 20 October 2007
19 October 2007
Storm in a (Vintage) Tea Cup?
There’s a really interesting post over at the craft blog Needled. Entitled The Domestic in Drag, the post discusses the issues behind the aspirational, some would say unrealistic worlds portrayed by shows such as Nigella Express and publications such… Read more...Posted by Catherine Redfern at 19 October 2007
Hating the Man
That delightful old chestnut, “all feminists hate men” came up in my French Feminism class yesterday. A guy was giving a presentation on the first chapter of Simone de Beauvoir’s Seconde Sexe II and said he felt that de Beauvoir… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 19 October 2007
We missed love your body day…!
Yesterday was apparently Love Your Body Day. It’s a shame we missed it, but it’s not too late to point you to this presentation by the US feminist group NOW, about the impact of advertising. The whole presentation is really… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 19 October 2007
18 October 2007
Please, leave Britney be
If you were not familiar with Britney Spears’ music, you will almost certainly be familiar with her press persona. Her face is more often than not splashed across the pages of every women’s glossy magazine on news stands, and… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 18 October 2007
No women composers? Pah!
Hot on the heels of Jess’ furious post criticising the latest tidal wave of misogyny from the Daily Mail, I have something of my own to contribute. As a music graduate, a former professional musician and a current music journalist,… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 18 October 2007
Low libido? Sniff a used breast pad
Breastfeeding continues to unfairly be a controversial subject. Some people couldn’t be happier at the thought of us exposing our baps on a train to nourish our young, with others believing that the nursing mother should be neither seen… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 18 October 2007
In praise of the pill
This is just a quick follow-on from Abby’s piece yesterday on the new ‘genetic contraceptive’ pill which may become available in the future. I disagree that this is an instance of (are they necessarily male?) scientists medicalising women’s bodies… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 18 October 2007
More male geniuses?
There are more male geniuses than female geniuses - and more extremely stupid men than stupid women, according to research reported in the Daily Mail. I say reported, but actually I mean: “leapt on with glee by the Daily Mail”…. Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 October 2007
17 October 2007
How A Baby Is Made
I feel compelled to draw attention to the illustration used in Abby’s latest post. It is from How A Baby Is Made, a book which unfortunately no longer seems to be available in the UK. The book is aimed at… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 17 October 2007
Rushdie calls on Dutch government to protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Readers undoubtedly know all about Ayaan Hirsi Ali - the former Dutch MP and advocate for Muslim women’s rights who was forced to flee from the Netherlands to the US in fear for her life. Undoubtedly, as well, readers will… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 17 October 2007
Just another way to alter our bodies
A group of Harvard scientists have developed a new “genetic contraceptive” that promises none of the side effects associated with the traditional oral contraceptive pill, according to a report in The Guardian today. This new pill will allegedly make… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 17 October 2007
Continuing the Abortion Thread
A survey released by Marie Stopes has revealed that just over half (52%) of G.P.s believe women should be able to access abortion with the agreement of one doctor (rather than the current two) until 14 weeks of pregnancy. Whilst… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 17 October 2007
16 October 2007
Pro-choice actions you can take
Following on from Lynn’s post about the current Parliamentary committee hearings on Abortion (which is due to report before Christmas), readers may be interested to know that the Human Tissue and Embryo Bill is due to go through Parliament in… Read more...Posted by zohra moosa at 16 October 2007
The true cost of being fat?
For better or worse, I’m an occasional participant in WeightWatchers. Sometimes I’m okay with that, sometimes it makes me feel a bit dirty. There’s a whole other blog post or perhaps an article about the trying-to-lose-weight-in-a-feminist-manner issue. But anyway, let’s… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 16 October 2007
Feminists are better in bed
Of course we knew that already. But an article has just been published in the most recent issue of the academic journal ‘Sex Roles’ which has studied the impact of feminism in relationships and the extent to which sexual stereotypes… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 16 October 2007
Protecting women from discrimination by… banning them from 'unsuitable' jobs!
The Chinese government has passed legislation that sets out which jobs are “unsuitable” for women to perform, reports China Daily. It quotes a “senior labour official” as saying, with a notable lack of irony, that this will be an advancement… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 October 2007
15 October 2007
Math is hard!
I pity anybody who missed Beautiful Young Minds last night. This documentary by Morgan Matthews following several phenomenally gifted young mathematicians as they battled it out for the chance to represent Great Britain in the International Mathematical Olympiad was… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 15 October 2007
Impartiality of abortion enquiry witnesses called into question
There’s an important committee sitting today. The Parliamentary Select Committee on Science and Technology is beginning an enquiry into developments in science and evidence related to abortion since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act (the act which is 40… Read more...Posted by Lynne Miles at 15 October 2007
Why wind turbines are feminist
Today is Blog Action Day, which sees tens of thousands of bloggers take a breather from writing purely about, say, vegan recipes, their day-to-day existences, or, um, feminism, to show how environmental issues are relevant to their readerships. Actually, I… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 15 October 2007
Sometimes the logic escapes me…
Apparently feminism is responsible for the deaths of 90 patients in NHS hospitals in Kent. Well according to Melanie Phillips anyway. Now just be prepared for this because you have to use some creativity to get there…. Apparently feminism was… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 15 October 2007
13 October 2007
Adding insult to, well, insult….
The High Court, after urging from the Attorney General, have increased the sentences of two men who (separately) raped young girls. Yes, a victory you think, except that they sentences were doubled from 2 to 4 years. One of the… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 13 October 2007
And apparently the Fourth Wave is….
A return to the pre-feminist ideas of modesty and feminine charms. According to writer Wendy Shalit in her new book Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It’s Not Bad to Be Good she argues that the sexual… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 13 October 2007
Playboy's insidious creep….
Cath Elliot has written a Comment is Free piece for the Guardian on Playboy’s intent to sexualise children. And they aren’t alone - Cardiff Council is providing pole dancing classes for children 11 years and upwards (willfully ignoring, one has… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 13 October 2007
12 October 2007
Can 'female' hormones make you wear women's clothes?
A trader at the hedge fund SAC Capital is suing another trader for sexual harassment, reports CNBC. This is a really weird case: the trader alleges that his boss(?) required him to take “female hormones” (we must presume this means… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 October 2007
Lily Allen - role model?
Whilst doing my customary skim-read of the Times website this morning, I saw a standfirst that really annoyed me: We caught up with Lily Allen at Chanel’s Paris salon. Here she talks about Lagerfeld, her weight and being a role… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 12 October 2007
11 October 2007
Eggs=periods
PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - is such an easy target that we tend to ignore it. But I do get their newsletters in my inbox, and occasionally make the mistake of opening one. This caught… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 October 2007
Doris Lessing scores Nobel prize
Doris Lessing has become the 11th woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, reports The Guardian. Announcing the award, the Swedish academy described Lessing as an “epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 October 2007
Battle of the blogs
Feministing.com has been nominated for several Bloggers Choice Awards, including Best Political Blog and Best Blog of All Time. But as Jessica Valenti explains, not everybody is happy about this: Apparently this has pissed off a ton of anti-feminists (who… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 11 October 2007
10 October 2007
Italian football club sponsored by 'brothel'
The Italian football team Trento Calcio 1921 has accepted sponsorship from a local brothel, reports Sky and Spiegel International. The team, based in Trento, in northern Italy, has swapped its reputation for a mere €10,000. Sky says: One offer is… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 October 2007
Missing the point of a feminist critique of waxing by at least a kilometre (and inventing a 'feminist' critique of tattoos and threesomes that never was)
Today Regina Lynn posts about the non-event that was her decision to quit shaving her legs for a year, and then start again. But she also links to this ridiculous post which purports to puncture the bubble of the “rising… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 October 2007
9 October 2007
Jonathon Coe on the forgotten classics of women's literature
Virago Press was set up in 1973 to publish work by female writers. Last Saturday in The Guardian, novelist Jonathan Coe drew a rich history of his own love affair with their line of modern classics, which brought back into… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 October 2007
Don't believe the hype
Deborah Cameron has written a book entitled The Myth of Mars and Venus, published last week by Oxford University Press. As she explains in an interview in The Times today, men and women are all from Earth, but perhaps John… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 9 October 2007
Epidurals are not mandatory
The article by Zoe Williams in G2 last Friday about her experience of childbirth has received a lot of criticism, owing to the fact that she did by implication suggest that women who do not avail themselves of pain-relief… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 9 October 2007
More women on the big chair
When I was a schoolgirl Mastermind was one of those programmes I always thought took precious airtime that could be used by something else, something more interesting. As I became older, I began to realise that the reason I… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 9 October 2007
Warner Bros 'will not finance films with female leads'
The film studio Warner Bros has made an unofficial decision not to finance any more films with female leads, according to Cinema Retro. The story comes from Nikke Finke’s blog for LA Weekly, Hollywood Deadline Daily, where she alleges that… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 October 2007
8 October 2007
Take action on the pay gap
We all know by now that the gender pay gap is alive and well. It seems like one of those problems it is hard to do anything about, but the Fawcett Society has put together some actions you can… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 October 2007
US feds fail to defend Alabama's sex toys
The people of Alabama are no doubt a bit miffed to say the least, as the US Supreme Court has declined to hear a case against the ban on sex toys in their state. As The Decatur Daily reports, the… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 October 2007
Black European Women's Congress: five tasks for the EU
Much as we love to do the EU down in this country, it can be quite useful. Especially on issues such as race and gender. Last week saw the first ever Black European Women’s Congress take place in Vienna. This… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 October 2007
What's it to be - your bottom or your face?
Today’s Times has an article by Lisa Armstrong inspired by Catherine Deneuve’s famous quote that “A 30-year-old woman must choose between her bottom and her face.” It’s funny that - all of the 30-year-old women I know have both bottoms… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 8 October 2007
Nicaraguan women dying for the pro-life cause
The Guardian today has a report on the devastating impact of Nicaragua’s new abortion laws. For those not in the know, last November Nicaragua joined Chile and El Salvador as the only countries in the world to have a blanket… Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 8 October 2007
Thoroughly depressing
An article in yesterday’s Observer magazine on the absence of male teachers in primary schools concludes with some incredibly disheartening remarks from a number of young boys on the roles of men and women: Thomas wants men to teach, but… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 8 October 2007
Airline refuses to deport refugees
Although this isn’t specifically a gender issue, I can’t help but draw attention to this piece of good news reported in The Independent. An airline called XL Airways is refusing to take part in the forced removal of failed asylum… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 October 2007
7 October 2007
A right to judge? Says who?
There’s an interesting article in The Guardian today by Louise France discussing the stigma that continues to be attached to abortion. She looks specifically at the introduction of strigent abortion laws in the US, and effectively discusses what this could… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 7 October 2007
On Zoe Williams
I posted a blog yesterday about the journalist Zoe Williams, which some of you may have seen. I have removed it, as I found that it was being interpreted in a distinctly offensive way, which was not my intention at… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 7 October 2007
Women Writing War
The war correpondent is a profession traditionally considered to be pursued by ‘man.’ However, female journalists have, and continue to, travel to the most dangerous war zones in order to report the events. Martha Gellhorn, for example, was a fantastic… Read more...Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 7 October 2007
6 October 2007
'Daily feminist activities for boys' (and men)
Are you a man or a boy who would like some instructions on how to make a difference? You could do no better than to check out Laurie Penny’s ‘daily feminist activities for boys’, over at her new blog at… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 6 October 2007
New Features! New Reviews!
Are you based in Edinburgh? If so, get ready to Reclaim the Night on 11 October. Rebecca Heller, who has helped organise the march, explains some of her own conflicts about the concept, and why she thinks it is still… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 6 October 2007
5 October 2007
The Color Purple, the musical?
Via AfterEllen, we learn that Chaka Khan, someone I’ve never heard of, is to appear in a broadway version of the Color Purple by Alice Walker. And by broadway, they mean musical. To which the only answer is, who came… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 October 2007
Should Scotland set its own abortion law?
The Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, is calling for the power to legislate on abortion to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, with the intention of cutting the time-limit on terminations. As a first stage, reports the Scotsman, the Scottish… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 October 2007
No before and afters, please…
The blog Elastic Waist is collecting photos which show the “history of our bodies” (via Back in Skinny Jeans). You can see the photos on Flickr. This has the potential to be a really affirming project: We are not interested… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 October 2007
Meet Joe Francis….
Although I guess most of us would rather not. Joe Francis is the man who runs Girls Gone Wild. He’s been hit with a lawsuit by two young women who took part in sexual activity on camera for unlawful… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 5 October 2007
4 October 2007
Nights of power
Laylat al-Qadr – the night of power – is considered to be the most powerful night of the year for Muslims. Occurring within the last 10 days of Ramadan, it is believed to be the night that the Qu’ran was… Read more...Posted by zohra moosa at 4 October 2007
New Dove film
Dove have produced a new short film in conjunction with the Campaign for Real Beauty: This is a great film and promotes a really important issue - that the cosmetics industry negatively affects young girls as well as grown women…. Read more...Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 4 October 2007
3 October 2007
Inquisitive Children and Accomplished Women
In the midst of the continuing debate surrounding the Dove ads, the latest entry on Bitch PhD is worth checking out. It’s an account of a mother and son talking about the pressure on women to be “pretty,” according to… Read more...Posted by Holly Combe at 3 October 2007
Afghanistan's Next Top Model?
A local Afghan TV station is broadcasting a low-budget version of ‘America’s Next Top Model’, challenging the traditional attitudes that still hold such sway nearly six years after the Taliban was ousted from power. Yahoo! News reports: Four girls in… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 3 October 2007
Sheffield Fems are back!
Sheffield Fems will be meeting every Tuesday from 7pm in the University Arms pub, Western Bank, for discussion, activism and feminist friendship. The group is women only - we wish to foster a supportive space in which we can discuss… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 3 October 2007
2 October 2007
'Panic' over missing women hits English countryside
Men living in English villages are in a “panic”, because of the high number of women who are leaving the countryside to live, work and play in big towns and cities, reports The Guardian. A new campaign is aiming to… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 2 October 2007
Congrats to the F Word!
Two congrat mentions to us! (Self congratulatory mode in full swing). Firstly, the new Carnival of Sexual Violence is up here Abyss2Hope and The F Word gets a special mention for Samara’s article I didn’t ask for it. And Jess… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 2 October 2007
1 October 2007
Getting on my feminist high horse
According to Londonist, some arsehole sticking a camera on his shoes and filming up women’s skirts with the intention of putting the images on the ‘net is really damn funny. Oh, and British women wear shit underwear. Well this woman… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 1 October 2007
Congratulations to the German World Cup Team!
Germany won the Women’s World Cup yesterday, beating Brazil 2-0 and managing to ellicit whoops of excitement from my footie loving boyfriend and, no, it had nothing to do with their legs. I know this year’s event has improved… Read more...Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 1 October 2007
Latest Carnival of Radical Feminists out now
Head on over to Laurelin in the Rain to check out the sixth radical feminists’ carnival. As usual, the carnival opens with Laurelin’s description of what radical feminism means to her, before moving swiftly on to the link-fest. One of… Read more...Posted by Jess McCabe at 1 October 2007
Feminism caused by enviromental factors?
OK, I apologise, it’s such an easy target, but bloggers elsewhere have been arguing that feminism may be caused by plastic production globally! Mrs Elliott seems to truly believe that “hormones from the pill and hormones from our insatiable appetite… Read more...Posted by Louise Livesey at 1 October 2007

