30 April 2008

Announcements….

Readers of The F Word over in (East?) Yorkshire might be pleased to hear there is a new feminist group. Unfortunately they met on 28th (and I didn’t know until today) but there was a piece in the Scarborough Evening… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 30 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Some feminist reflections

Not mine for a change…. Jessica Valenti, over at Feministing, has been reflecting on the recent racism issues in the blogosphere and publishing worlds. It includes this admission. But I think that I’ve been focusing so hard on changing mainstream… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 30 April 2008 | Comments (10)

FEM 08

This is my own personal write up and, as ever, views expressed should not be taken as representative of those of The F Word as a whole or of other bloggers. Thanks! Jess, zohra, Catherine Redfern and myself all attended… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 30 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Three suggestions re feminism and white privilege (1)

1. Try not to patronize/fetish women of colour*: Black** feminists aren’t right about racism because they’re black, but because they make a strong case (when we do). Otherwise, it’s like saying that women are right about sexism because they’re women… Read more...

Posted by zohra moosa at 30 April 2008 | Comments (8)

Fergie’s daughter inherits her “imperfect figure”

The Daily Mail is running a truly revolting article today. I mean, seriously. They have actually surpassed themselves on the We-Hate-Women’s-Bodies front. Sarah “Duchess of Pork” Ferguson’s daughter Beatrice has gone on holiday, had the temerity to wear a bikini… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 30 April 2008 | Comments (33)

29 April 2008

Documentary by Nubian of Blac(k)ademic

I briefly posted about still black: a portrait of black transmen last week. But I feel compelled to post again, because I somehow missed that the film is directed by Kortney Ryan Ziegler, aka Nubian from the late, great blog… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 29 April 2008 | Comments (1)

OK this is scary wierd, perverse and wrong

(With a hat-tip to Jezebel) A US chat show (Tyra) had a segment really on an 18 year old adult film actress called Summer. Nothing new in that. Except her manager is her father. And her manager is “responsible” for… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 29 April 2008 | Comments (12)

I just have to share

This is an article by Rebecca Solnit called Men Explain Things to Me and it is in equal measure hilarious and frightening accurate. I advise reading it and enjoying it, and then recommending it to every man you know…… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 29 April 2008 | Comments (10)

Home Office trying to send gay teenager back to Syria with £46

The system is broken. Via Shakesville, and the the Scotsman comes the story of Jojo Jako Yakob, a 19 year-old Syrian whose application for asylum the Home Office has refused. It has been refused despite the fact that Yakob was… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 29 April 2008 | Comments (0)

28 April 2008

Hooters update: Round one to the yapping virgins!*

I am delighted to announce that the No to Hooters in Sheffield campaign have successfully persuaded the developers not to take on Hooters in Sheffield’s Leopold Square. Of course, the articles in the local and national press, over one thousand… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 28 April 2008 | Comments (15)

Sweden not going to ban sexist ads after all

The Swedish government has abandoned plans to ban sexist advertising, reports the BBC. “This law would be against freedom of speech, which is protected by the constitution,” said Malin Engstedt, spokesperson for Equality Minister Nyamko Sabuni. “The minister is not… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 28 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Disability Blog Carnival #36

While I’m on the subject of listening to those who don’t share my privilege, here’s the latest Disability Blog Carnival. Having spent many school holidays working with wonderful, happy children with a whole range of special needs, I want to… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 28 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Feminism and race

I have recently come to realise that I am woefully uninformed on issues of race, particularly as they intersect with feminism and women’s lives. I grew up in what was more or less a sea of white in Cambridgeshire, went… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 28 April 2008 | Comments (52)

Berlusconi shifts Italy to the hard right

Since coming back into power in Italy, Silvio Berlusconi’s most high-profile move has been to indulge in some sexist comments about Spain’s majority-women government. I’ve seen some speculation about the impact of his election on LGBT rights, as well, but… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 28 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Kyriarchy not patriarchy?

Is the concept of patriarchy too limited? Sudy at A Womyn’s Ecdysis explains why she talks about “kyriarchy”, not patriarchy. So, what does kyriarchy mean? (Any how do you pronounce it?!) Let me break this down for you. When people… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 28 April 2008 | Comments (6)

Elizabeth Fritzl case

Reports are emerging from Austria of a woman held captive for 24 years by her father and repeatedly raped and forced to bear him seven children. One child died. A series of underground rooms equipped for sleeping and cooking, and… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 28 April 2008 | Comments (51)

Bin the Bunny Tshirts now on sale

According to Beyond Feminism you can buy your very own Bin the Bunny tshirt for just £12. £7 from each sale goes to supporting the Radical Feminist Summer Gathering in Manchester on 26th July…. Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 28 April 2008 | Comments (2)

Profiles for the Women’s Movement

The Guardian has profiled Carmen Callil who founded the Virago Press. Carmen Callil set up Virago to publish books that celebrated women - and dreamt of shelves of green paperbacks all over the world. The Modern Classics list gave voice… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 28 April 2008 | Comments (0)

27 April 2008

And now blackamazon has quit blogging

Her final post is up at Problem Chylde. And when you’ve read that, you might want to go and re-read blackfemipower’s final post. Having Read The Fine Print is now invite only but the angry black woman is still around… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 27 April 2008 | Comments (11)

FEM 08

Zohra*, Me, Catherine and Laura all spent our Saturday at the FEM 08 conference in Sheffield, organised by the amazing Kat Banyard - seen here with Germaine Greer! No doubt we will have a proper post up on the… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 27 April 2008 | Comments (2)

The sun has got hir hat on, hip hip hip hooray!

I’d like to start a new thread, based on a couple of comments in response to my post below, in which I said, jokingly, that I was putting on my ‘humourless trans feminist’ hat to write it. Amongst the responses,… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 27 April 2008 | Comments (11)

26 April 2008

Lancashire Police To Widen Scope Of Incidents It Will Record As Hate Crimes

According to The Big Issue In The North, Lancashire constabulary is to broaden the scope of incidents it will record as hate crimes to include offences against disabled and elderly people. They will also record incidents against what the magazine… Read more...

Posted by Jane Eyre at 26 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Women Warriors, not in Woolworths…

There is an interesting short piece in The Economist concerning atlatlists, that is, spear throwing. Atlatl is an Aztec word, which refers not to the spear itself, but to the device used to throw it. Said device is apparently “a… Read more...

Posted by Jane Eyre at 26 April 2008 | Comments (2)

Oxfam mothers campaign

From The Big Issue In The North, 14-20/4/08: “Oxfam wants people to knit nine inch squares for a giant baby blanket, with each square representing a mother who did not survive pregnancy or childbirth. The aim is to get 250,000… Read more...

Posted by Jane Eyre at 26 April 2008 | Comments (2)

58th Carnival of Feminists

I seem to have turned into the carnival queen this week but no matter - I’m more than happy to announce that the 58th Carnival of Feminists is now up at Be A Good Human - and the link is… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 26 April 2008 | Comments (1)

25 April 2008

Speechless - you will be…

Hat tip to Feministing I have always had a difficulty with the sexism of the Wayan’s brothers’ work whilst at times appreciating their criticism of white privilege. But this put an end to any sense of latitude I had previously… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 25 April 2008 | Comments (3)

That joke isn’t funny any more

The notion that ‘feminists have no sense of humour’ is a bit of a cliché so I thought I’d update it a little and put on my ‘humourless trans feminist’ hat. So here goes: Graham Norton’s recent ‘jokes’ about Thomas… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 25 April 2008 | Comments (9)

Friday round-up

Hoyden alerts us to the ridiculous “Open-Source Boob Project”. What is such a thing, you ask? Well, a couple of men distributed badges to women attending a sci-fi con. If you take the green badge, it signals you’re happy for… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 25 April 2008 | Comments (2)

Research into why men think “no” means “yes”

I feel kind of torn on this one because it kind of suggests we should feel sorry for men who are just doing their best to understand nasty women’s ambiguous statements. Or maybe I’m just angry this morning… Anyway American… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 25 April 2008 | Comments (15)

State of the nation

If you can judge a civilised society by the way it treats it’s children then we’re in trouble. The BBC reports two interesting things this morning. Girls are more likely to self harm than boys and 1 in 5 parents… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 25 April 2008 | Comments (13)

24 April 2008

New feminist group launched by and for Black British women: TrUe BLaCk-BeRrY

I love, love, love getting to post about all the new feminist groups that are springing up around the country. And here is another one to add to the list: TrUe BLaCk-BeRrY, a brand new group set up this month… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 24 April 2008 | Comments (5)

FEM08 this Saturday!

The national feminist conference, FEM08, is taking place this Saturday in my delightful home town, Sheffield. Germaine Greer will be there, people! I’ll be floating around in a lovely purple t-shirt doing various volunteery things, as well as helping coordinate… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 24 April 2008 | Comments (5)

Support the NUT strike

OK so I know this isn’t really a feminist story, although 87% of primary and 57% of secondary school teachers are women, but the BBC News coverage of the NUT’s strike action today has absolutely enraged me. Rather than focusing… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 24 April 2008 | Comments (9)

Day of Silence

Tomorrow (Friday, 25th April) marks this year’s Day of Silence in America. The Day of Silence has been held each year in April since 1996 and its purpose is to highlight the bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students, and their… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 24 April 2008 | Comments (6)

FARK off - misogyny on the internet, again

Earlier this week at DollyMix, Katie Lee posted a list of the top 10 websites for women. In this post, she mentioned that “sites such as Digg and Fark, tend to be pretty unwelcoming - if not positively hostile -… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 24 April 2008 | Comments (15)

Can men be feminists?

Cath Elliott is pondering this question on Comment Is Free today. Can men ever really be feminists, or should pro-feminist men be consigned to the sidelines, welcome allies in the struggle for gender equality, but disqualified from full membership by… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 24 April 2008 | Comments (37)

Don’t stop the carnival

Three bloggy carnivals for your delight and delectation: The Disability Blog Carnival (37th edition) is hosted by Cripchick. The Disability Activist Collective, a group of disability activists working to create change within the disability community by shifting focus towards culture… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 24 April 2008 | Comments (1)

23 April 2008

Judge Hall’s shocking record on sentencing cases of sexual violence

Judge Julian Hall has handed a two year sentence to a man accused of raping a 10 year-old girl. You can read this Daily Mail report for the full story. However, pc bloggs, the anonymous blog of a female police… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 April 2008 | Comments (15)

The Trucks

I’ve added The Trucks’ album to our shop, and feel the need to quickly recommend the all-women electropop band here as well, because, hey, a band with an explicitly feminist message? That’s got to be worth calling attention to. Feminist… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 April 2008 | Comments (1)

Walkies!

After the, umm, lively debate following Samara’s More on shoes piece, well, how could I not mention these two links? First, is an interesting take on the old adage "walk a mile in my shoes": The student newspaper of the… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 23 April 2008 | Comments (3)

We care more about donkeys than abused women

Evidence from New Philanthropy Capital shows that the British public give more money to a single Devon donkey sanctuary than to Women’s Aid, Eaves and and Refuge combined. Yes dear readers that’s more to one group of donkeys than to… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 23 April 2008 | Comments (8)

More nonsense research….

Today it’s reported if you want to conceive a boy you should eat breakfast cereals, bacon and banana’s. For a girl you should go on a diet. A survey of 740 pregnant women found that boys were slightly more likely… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 23 April 2008 | Comments (15)

“I wish women were more like Pot Noodles”

How do you even chose the most offensive and misogynist moment in this ad for instant noodles? (The line “Farewell to guilt trips, nagging and random tantrums”, accompanied by a woman slapping a man, competes with “If she lived… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 April 2008 | Comments (34)

22 April 2008

Earth Day for feminists

Today is Earth Day. I feel like I bang on all the time about the interconnectedness of environment and gender oppression (most recently here). And only yesterday, the UN released a report warning that large-scale production of biofuels (substituting petrol… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 April 2008 | Comments (0)

13th Carnival of Radical Feminists

The latest Carnival of Radical Feminists is up at Shut Up, Sit Down. Check out the Feminist Peace Network’s post about a children’s book called My Beautiful Mommy, which tells the tale of a mother who gets plastic surgery to… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 April 2008 | Comments (1)

Exact specifications of what magazine industry considers acceptable have changed slightly - shocker!

In response to criticisms about use of skinny models, fashion mags are now using the power of Photoshop to make women look more “naturally” healthy, according to The Telegraph. Both Shakesville and Feministing have skewered exactly why this is just… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 April 2008 | Comments (1)

Messy Tuesdays

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Lara at KnitWit, has developed a concept which I think is rather fab. Lara’s into crafts, knitting most particularly, and craft blogging. Part of the joy of craft blogging is proudly displaying photos… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 22 April 2008 | Comments (8)

Norway to adopt Swedish-style prostitution law

The Norwegian government is planning implement its promise to copy Sweden’s approach to prostitution, which involves criminalising men who buy sex, while protecting people in prostitution from prosecution, reports Reuters. “People are not merchandise, and criminalising the purchase of sexual… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Abolish No Recourse Day of Action

One of the ways our immigration ‘system’ discriminates against women is the “no recourse to public funds” rule, which prevents any person who has migrated to the UK on the basis of marriage to a citizen from using public services… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 April 2008 | Comments (8)

21 April 2008

Lithuania considers abortion ban

Apparently, Lithuania is considering a ban on abortion. This has been pretty much covered at Feministing so I’m not going to say too much about it here. How utterly depressing. There are three countries in the EU that have a… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 21 April 2008 | Comments (2)

20 April 2008

Honda’s “woman turns into bike” ad

Honda describes itself as a “a company society wants to exist”. It’s a shame no-one passed on the message to whoever commissions their advertising. [Update: Just got an email response from Honda about this, saying that “the commercial itself… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 20 April 2008 | Comments (15)

Danica Patrick makes motor-racing history

Props to IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, who’s become the first woman to win an IndySeries race, having finished top of the podium in Japan. She finished just over five seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves (who non-petrolheads may know from his… Read more...

Posted by Carrie Dunn at 20 April 2008 | Comments (19)

Forest rights leave women worse off

Women cannot claim land rights under a law meant to grant deeds to tribal people living in India’s forests, according to Women’s eNews. The point of the legislation is to give tribal peoples formal, legal rights over forest land occupied… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 20 April 2008 | Comments (1)

Womynspace survives attempted eviction

An attempt to evict the womynspace in Hackney has failed. This is most likely only a temporary respite, and the organisers are looking for help - contact details on their blog, which carries this message: THANKS TO EVERYONE’S SUPPORT… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 20 April 2008 | Comments (1)

Feminist, resistance fighter, anthropologist Germaine Tillion dies age 100

Germaine Tillion died yesterday. Over her 100 year life, she fought in the French resistance during World War II, she survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp, mediated in the war between France and Algeria and wrote about the oppression of women… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 20 April 2008 | Comments (1)

19 April 2008

Wii Strip

Do you remember the pole-dancing kits that Tesco was forced to remove from its toys section, after it provoked an almighty uproar? Well, the company that made those “temporary at-home stripper poles” is planning to develop a “strip aerobics” game… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 19 April 2008 | Comments (8)

March comments up now!

Although comments on blog posts are now live, we’re still doing a round-up every month of comments on features and reviews. (And you can add to the list older blog posts, written before our current commenting system was put in… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 19 April 2008 | Comments (1)

18 April 2008

Disabled woman not a “reliable witness”; prosecution refuse to charge alleged rapists

Men accused of raping a Scottish woman with a learning disability that means she has a mental age of eight will not be prosecuted, because she is not considered a “reliable witness”, reports The Guardian. The Mental Welfare Commission said… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Gwyneth Dunwoody (1930-2008)

Gwyneth Dunwoody - the ruling Labour Party’s longest serving woman member of parliament - died yesterday. Mrs Dunwoody was fiercely independent and although a Labour MP, was nevertheless very outspoken about New Labour and its values. At the heart of… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 18 April 2008 | Comments (2)

17 April 2008

Round up!

Women’s studies are not dead after all! The Independent runs a story featuring our very own Louise. As well as tackling the inaccuracies in previous coverage, this is interesting: Around half of York’s intake is made up of overseas students,… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 17 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Feminism, racism and bfp

After the recent row over ‘intellectual theft’ - explained here: http://highonrebellion.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/intellectual-theft-is-still-theft/ - and here: http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/04/10/this-has-not-been-a-good-week-for-woman-of-color-blogging/ - and here: http://guyaneseterror.blogspot.com/2008/04/thats-all-she-wrote.html - and her resulting blog closure: http://brownfemipower.com/ - brownfemipower has written this: http://bfpfinal.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/3/… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 17 April 2008 | Comments (4)

Major prostitution case sees powerful male ‘clients’ escape witness box, while women interrogated

The “DC Madam” trial, which already felled US politician Eliot Spitzer, has taken a turn for the even-worse, we learn from the Washington Post, by way of Jill at Feministe. It transpires that numerous politicians who were apparently ‘clients’ will… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 17 April 2008 | Comments (9)

Berlusconi - Spanish government “too pink”

Only a few days after being elected prime minister of Italy again, Silvio Berlusconi has said that Spain’s female-majority government is “too pink”. EUObserver reports: When asked by an Italian radio to comment on the composition of the Spanish cabinet… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 17 April 2008 | Comments (3)

16 April 2008

16 years of Sh!

Sh! - the “women’s erotic emporium” - has just celebrated its 16th birthday. Tonight they marked the occasion with a party, and, ever eager for free champagne and the promise of a goody bag, I went along. Today, relatively woman-friendly… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 April 2008 | Comments (6)

Money for nothing but the choc’s for free

This year’s Information Security Awareness week starts on 21st April and to highlight its approach, the organisers of a corresponding IT industry trade show, Infosecurity Europe, have carried out their annual survey and once again found that a lot of… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 16 April 2008 | Comments (15)

The man who would be mayor

I have to admit something: I’ve been studiously ignoring Boris Johnson, the Tory candidate for London mayor in the upcoming 1 May elections. But I was given a bit of a rude shock when I glanced at a headline proclaiming… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 April 2008 | Comments (16)

Is it possible to be a feminist and still like “Sex and the City”?

Alice Wignall ponders this question in The Guardian today. For a show about women, it displays a singular obsession with men. As Miranda, the character most likely to consider herself a feminist, points out in one episode: “How does it… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 16 April 2008 | Comments (40)

15 April 2008

Write your own sexual history

One of the many brilliant resources that I’ve come across through our sex-ed for adults project is the About.com sexuality blog. Today they recommend an exercise about writing out your own sexual story. Not in the sense of a sexual… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 15 April 2008 | Comments (1)

Passover for feminists

[Update: quench zine is asking for “ways you celebrate passover in a radical, progresive, feminist, queer, environmental, peace-loving, or other change-creating, social justice, or anti-oppression tradition?” Through quench, Miriam’s Cup, an excellent resource on feminist rituals to integrate into your… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 15 April 2008 | Comments (3)

Latest Carnival Against Sexual Violence out now

The 45th Carnival Against Sexual Violence is up at abyss2hope. As usual, the carnival includes lots of brilliant posts. One of the highlights is this post by Raving Black Lunatic, partly about the difficulty he has as a man, to… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 15 April 2008 | Comments (0)

14 April 2008

Black women MPs speak out about racism and sexism in Parliament

Update: The report which this story is based on, and edited by zohra, is now available online. It includes a full interview with Dawn Butler MP, which is well worth reading, as well as other commentary on the intersection of… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 14 April 2008 | Comments (12)

The 21st century ‘witch’ hunt

A few weeks ago, a 45 year-old woman accused of being a “witch” was rescued by the Indian police. It seems they almost certainly saved her from being murdered, but she had already suffered at the hands of residents of… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 14 April 2008 | Comments (3)

Domestic Violence Act deters victims from seeking help

Jennifer Drew’s recent feature The epidemic of male violence against women has been depressingly underlined by a report in The Times which states that "applications for non-molestation orders have fallen by between 25 and 30 per cent since implementation (of… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 14 April 2008 | Comments (3)

Spain gets majority-female Cabinet

Spain has a female-majority Cabinet for the first time ever, reports The Guardian. Newly re-elected prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has handed out top jobs in government to women, including the appointment of Carme Chancon as Spain’s first female… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 14 April 2008 | Comments (6)

13 April 2008

New review: A modern maiden?

Louise Livesey reviews another guide to life as a modern woman which blithely ignores everyone who isn’t white, middle class and straight There is always a fundamental problem, I find, when authors deny association with feminism but then rely on… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 13 April 2008 | Comments (4)

Rape Crisis Petition

Please sign this petition to demand the government provide proper funding for Rape Crisis centres. Charliegrrl reports that they need 2,500 signatures in the next week to make an impact. While you’re at it, why not get in contact with… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 13 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Those horrible hyphenators!

Why is it that people still get so riled up when women marry and, well, pretty much do anything except take their husbands’ name? What Tami Said reminds us that it is not just women who keep their last name… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 13 April 2008 | Comments (34)

12 April 2008

Porn and abuse.

Disclaimer: I’ve had to focus on heterosexual relations and sex here, as I have little experience of anything else. It’s always seemed logical to me that porn use could affect the sexual behaviour of the user. After all, there’s a… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 12 April 2008 | Comments (30)

Gladiators is coming back…!

Gladiators is coming back to Sky One. You see images of the gladiators here. “Compare the descriptions of the women, with those of the men!” said Andrew, who emailed this to me. Yes, let’s! Men SPARTAN - Roderick Bradley, 24,… Read more...

Posted by Catherine Redfern at 12 April 2008 | Comments (13)

NHS Services - Aimed at Women?

I had this leaflet through my door - it’s a colour leaflet setting out the local health services in my Borough. The front cover shows some people walking down the street - presumably the type of people the leaflet… Read more...

Posted by Catherine Redfern at 12 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

If you missed it on Radio 4’s Today programme on April 10th, you should listen to this very moving and upsetting interview with Zawadi Mongane, a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo who suffered appalling violence by the Interahamwe… Read more...

Posted by Catherine Redfern at 12 April 2008 | Comments (1)

11 April 2008

The Numbers Game

Reporting on Kira Cochrane’s article about Nick Clegg admitting to having slept with ‘no more than 30’ partners, Dodai on Jezebel is asking whether the number of people we’ve slept with actually means anything. Personally, I’ve always refused to count… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 11 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Justice for “Ugly People”

Now here’s an idea that seems fair in theory but would be an administrative nightmare to put into practice: Gonzalo Otalora is arguing that good-looking people should pay more tax. This would make up for the better deal they get… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 11 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Hooters debate on Five Live Tonight

I’ll be discussing the opening of Hooters in Sheffield and nationwide on BBC Radio Five Live tonight at 11pm: listen here. It’s a phone-in debate, so feel free to get involved! Call 0500 909 693 [free from BT landlines; charges… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 11 April 2008 | Comments (16)

How to be a feminist boyfriend? And other questions

A reader wrote into the blog Feministe with the question “how do I be a feminist boyfriend?” The comments thread is going strong, but Bitch PhD has some particular advice worthy of passing on, including this: Dick Move #2: Being… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 April 2008 | Comments (4)

News from Afghanistan

Here is a screenshot of the latest newsletter from the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, set up in 1977 and still going strong. I wanted to pick out some stories for an update on the situation there. But… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Irish anarca-feminist group plans gathering for May bank holiday

RAG - the revoluntionary anarcha-feminist group and magazine - is organising a feminist gathering in rural Leitrim, (Via womensphere). You can read about how to register for the 2-5 May event on their temporary blog. More info here: There will… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Daily Mail attacks “curvy” Miss England finalist

You may have noticed that the Daily Mail seems to have developed a bit of an obsession recently with Miss England’s first ever size 16 finalist. Chloe Marshall has been praised in lavishly patronising drivel full of godawful cliches about… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 11 April 2008 | Comments (13)

More on Hooters

As Laura has posted about, Hooters is planning to open a branch of its “breastaurant” in Sheffield, then expand across the UK. Today’s Guardian Women includes a feature by Julie Bindel, who visited Hooters in Nottingham and also interviewed some… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 11 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Girls play the flute; boys play the trombone

Seriously, single-sex orchestras are the best recommendation people can come up with in their report showing that girls play smaller, higher-pitched instruments and boys have the hefty brasses? How about, I don’t know, working on changing attitudes - as the… Read more...

Posted by Carrie Dunn at 11 April 2008 | Comments (11)

Dickhead of the day

With apologies to dicks and heads everywhere. Union electioneering is in full swing at Sheffield Uni, and as ever, there is one “funny” candidate. Said “funny” candidate has today placed a board in a prominent position on the Union concourse… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 11 April 2008 | Comments (5)

Sexual good manners

The author of this guest post wishes to remain anonymous. The debate about the BNP/chocolate cake analogy continues to rage, which made me want to share an experience, which still confuses me even after some time has passed. I was… Read more...

Posted by Guest Blogger at 11 April 2008 | Comments (7)

10 April 2008

Male-dominated sport in ‘sexist’ and ‘nationalistic’ shocker

I love me my darts, which is handy, being a sports journalist, but seriously, the more I go to Premier League Darts the more I wish I didn’t. If you’re not an arrows enthusiast - and let’s face it, there’s… Read more...

Posted by Carrie Dunn at 10 April 2008 | Comments (5)

More Silly Research Reporting

Following the bollocks that Samara reported on a couple of days ago, is the Daily Mail’s report on a study apparently claiming that women with big eyes and small jaws are perceived by men as being more into the idea… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 10 April 2008 | Comments (9)

Gok Wan: Not so Nice After all?

I’ve always felt a bit ambivalent about Gok Wan (i.e he’s very charming, I want to like him but often find him patronising etc etc) so the latest news that he may not be as much of a crusader for… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 10 April 2008 | Comments (14)

The anti-Barbie… sort of…

Cruel Brittania posts a photo on Flickr (shared under a Creative Commons license), of what she calls a “feminist Barbie”. From the tags, it looks like this doll lives at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 April 2008 | Comments (8)

57th Carnival of Feminists out now!

The latest Carnival of Feminists is up over at pandemian’s place. As usual, there’s lots to get your teeth into - including a couple of links to The F Word. Also check out the International Carnival of Pozitivities at mshairi,… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Stop the Strip Pub - update

A quick update on the ‘Stop the Strip Pub’ campaign currently running in Stoke Newington, Hackney. It aims to block the application of local pub and former jazz bar ‘Satchmo’s’ to become a sex entertainment establishment, with pole dancing on… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 10 April 2008 | Comments (0)

9 April 2008

Mind the Gap: Criticism and Leadership in Feminism

Warning: this post contains speculative generalisations. Following up on the allegations recently levelled at us, Zenobia at Mind the Gap has offered some wise words about the importance of open and fair criticism. Successful debate obviously requires co-operation on both… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 9 April 2008 | Comments (2)

All candidate for London mayor support immigration amnesty

Every single candidate for the London mayoral elections in May - even Tory Boris Johnson - supports an amnesty which would allow illegal immigrants living in the UK for four years or more to follow a “path to citizenship”, reports… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 April 2008 | Comments (17)

8 April 2008

Nurtameen?

Lately I’ve been thinking about language, and how I use it in the context of My Life As A Trans Woman™. I’ve adjusted to some parts of the language but not to others. For example, I’m comfortable with pronouns: I’m… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 8 April 2008 | Comments (6)

Map of “state-sponsored homophobia”

The ILGA has produced a map of state-sponsored homophobia, and a “world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults”, to mark its 30th anniversary. You can see the map here in English, but it is also available… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 April 2008 | Comments (2)

Brunettes have more fun!

Your ball-busting brunette blogger read the above headline on The Times website this morning with a mixture of delight, amusement, scepticism, and visions of proudly linking it from her facebook profile. When I clicked through to the article though I… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 8 April 2008 | Comments (13)

7 April 2008

‘Adopt a Clitoris’

Clitoraid’s ‘adopt a clitoris’ campaign is coming from a good place: the idea is to help pay for women who have been subjected to female genital mutilation to get reconstructive surgery. (Although it’s certainly not the best campaign name in… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 7 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Defend the abortion time limit

Abortion Rights are urging all pro-choice supporters to write to their MPs quick smart urging them to protect the abortion time limit. Anti-choice MPs aim to use the Human Fertilisation and Embrylology bill to reduce the time limit from 20… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 7 April 2008 | Comments (4)

Is it Better to be a Woman or a Man?

This was the theme of the debate that Kate Smurthwaite, Vince Graff and I took part in on last Tuesday’s Phil Williams show on BBC Radio 5 Live. (Scroll through to the second hour of the programme.) I was pretty… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 7 April 2008 | Comments (3)

Push-ups - exercise of the patriarchy or feminist?

If this was a film set in the army, rather than a feminist blog, it would inevitable involve a drill sergeant saying “drop and give me 20”. But it’s not, and so I must admit I haven’t previously directed much… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 7 April 2008 | Comments (37)

6 April 2008

Hoax e-mails

Ever received one of those pathetic scaremongering e-mails from an apparently well-meaning colleague and told them the story is an old hoax, only to get a touchy “can’t be too careful” response? Ever got forwarded the same one again months… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 6 April 2008 | Comments (6)

Party at the womyn’s space

[UPDATE: I neglected to mention the drag and knicker making(!) workshops going on during the day before the party. Sounds like fun. Here’s the full details: Saturday 12th April: Knicker Making Workshop 12pm - 5pm, Saturday 12th April, at the… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 6 April 2008 | Comments (0)

New feature: Do It Yourself? How about Do It Ourselves

Is it feminist to be able to fix your own plumbing? Where are all the female tradespeople? Rhona-Mairead Sweeting considers the place of feminism in the construction industry and manual trades All those years of reading books, absorbing the feminist… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 6 April 2008 | Comments (2)

From PETA to sci-fi

PETA is a prime example of a charity that feels like it’s OK be as sexist as it wants in promoting its cause. But, as this piece in the Guardian by Julie Bindel shows, this tactic is becoming ever more… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 6 April 2008 | Comments (7)

New feature: The epidemic of male violence against women

A spate of convictions has put femicide into the headlines again. But, as Jennifer Drew reports, the media is still blaming women - and ignoring ‘everyday’ incidents of male violence against women It has been a particularly horrible few weeks… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 6 April 2008 | Comments (1)

5 April 2008

More fucked-up reactions to Thomas Beatie’s pregnancy

Thomas Beatie, the pregnant trans man who told his story in the Advocate a few weeks ago, went on Oprah this week with his wife, reigniting the ‘controversy’ (read: bigoted and ignorant media response). Last month I highlighted the problems… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 April 2008 | Comments (8)

New feature: Ask a feminist - The F Word problem page

What can you do if your crush is sexist and homophobic? How can you channel righteous feminist anger into something positive? In our second installment of the new ‘Ask a Feminist’ feature, we field these questions and more Answers will… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 April 2008 | Comments (5)

New review: Girl Power?

The Spice Girls’ come-back tour re-opens some questions about the nature of ‘Girl Power’. Jennifer Thomson looks back fondly - but critically Last week I got to relive a childhood dream. I went to see the Spice Girls in concert…. Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 April 2008 | Comments (0)

4 April 2008

New feature: Stopping violence against women at its primary root

Matthew Provost draws the connections between male violence against women and bullying in the playground Mention the words violence against women and most will immediately think of an example involving adults. If children are mentioned at all, it will be… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 April 2008 | Comments (5)

New feature: Abortion and disability - whose voices are heard?

Are disabled women’s voices silenced in the abortion debate? asks Clare Laxton Like the majority of people in the UK, I am pro-choice when it comes to abortion. I feel that it is a woman’s right to choose whether she… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 April 2008 | Comments (7)

Hooters: coming to a town near you?

Well, most probably, unless you do something about it! The tacky and sexist US chain is currently on the look out for “high visibility” restaurant locations in (take a deep breath): Aberdeen Basildon, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bournemouth, Bristol Cambridge Cardiff, Chelmsford,… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 4 April 2008 | Comments (13)

New review: Tales of low-paid work

Monica Dickens worked as a cook, servant, nurse, in an aircraft factory and as a junior reporter. Cazz Blase reviews her unsentimental portraits of working life in the first half of the 20th century Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 April 2008 | Comments (2)

Rape victim arrested for sex with minor

So a woman reports being drugged, then repeatedly raped by three teenagers. Those teenagers video the attack, and post it on YouTube. She is initially too scared to report the crime to the police, but eventually does so. No charges… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 April 2008 | Comments (27)

"What do you mean by ‘What do you mean?’?"

I’m still struggling with the questions I was asking in my previous post What is transfeminism? and wonder if it’s actually possible to combine the two in some sort of pragmatic symbiosis. What if - despite my personal conviction that… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 4 April 2008 | Comments (15)

Sex contracts!

An Australian politician has proposed that women should have to sign a contact before having sex with a man, reports news.com.au (via Jezebel). First off, this is a reactionary measure against proposed legislation “which make it an offence to continue… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 April 2008 | Comments (7)

More women doctors bad news?

A doctor writing in the British Medical Journal has argued that it is bad news that women outnumber men in medical school - because more women want to work part time, leading to “staffing problems”, reports the BBC. Writing in… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 April 2008 | Comments (11)

3 April 2008

Judges ignore the rules on rape and more

Judges routinely work around the law which is meant to prevent women being cross-examined about their sexual history when giving evidence in rape cases, reports the Guardian. Interviews with 17 judges in London and Manchester found that some insisted they… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 3 April 2008 | Comments (2)

New review: Tracey, Tomma and the Turner conspiracy

Why have so few women won the Turner Prize? Sue Gilbert argues that the award’s youth has not protected it from sexism in the art world The Turner Prize comes around every year, like Christmas or your dental check-up, depending… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 3 April 2008 | Comments (3)

2 April 2008

Doctor Who and Catherine Tate

So Doctor Who starts again on Saturday, yippee! And the Doctor’s new companion will be Catherine Tate. Now, like many other people when I first heard the news Tate would be in this series I have to admit I really… Read more...

Posted by Catherine Redfern at 2 April 2008 | Comments (19)

Government scores 2/10 on tackling violence against women

The UK government scored only two out of 10 in an assessment of how it is addressing violence against women. You can read the whole report - by the End Violence Against Women coalition - here. One of the co-authors… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 2 April 2008 | Comments (1)

New feature: Walking on eggshells

Approaching men on the street and asking them to undress and be photographed can be frightening - and highlights the struggle for women to find equality. Alex Brew explains “Why do so many female artists put themselves in their work… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 2 April 2008 | Comments (0)

Is The F-Word homophobic?

Following on from the comments over Samara’s post yesterday, I think it’s timely to re-state some general principles. The question has come up: is The F-Word heteronormative (meaning that we assume a heterosexual viewpoint, and marginalise or ignore the perspective… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 2 April 2008 | Comments (29)

1 April 2008

Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution now up

Up at The Burning Times, the Third Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution, hosted by Debs. The highlights for me are the Twisty entry (when is the Twisty entry *not* anyone’s favourite?): I’ve said it before and I’ll again: patriarchy isn’t… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 1 April 2008 | Comments (3)

London Assembly candidate - rape ‘no big deal’

A BNP candidate for the London Assembly elections in May has been outed by the Evening Standard as the author of a far right blog, where he has said both rape and domestic violence are no big deal. As “Sir… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 1 April 2008 | Comments (36)

More on shoes

Jess’ post yesterday got me thinking, or rather, inspired me to actually blog about something to which I’ve always given a lot of thought. A couple of years ago I was on a quick lunchtime shoe shopping binge with a… Read more...

Posted by Samara Ginsberg at 1 April 2008 | Comments (25)