Blog posts from August 2008
Blogger continues!
by Jess McCabe // 31 August 2008, 23:36
Milly's guest blogging slot was meant to end with the month of August... But I'm glad to be able to announce that she's agreed to carry on as a regular blogger. You can read her excellent posts for us so...
RIP Doris Gibson, plus round up
by Jess McCabe // 31 August 2008, 22:02
The woman who founded Caretas, which the BBC describes as "Peru's leading news magazine", has died aged 98. Doris Gibson is profiled on the radio show 'From Our Own Correspondent': She began with 10,000 soles (£2,066), which her uncle had...
VPILF
by Jess McCabe // 30 August 2008, 09:57
How many hours since the US Republicans selected Sarah Palin as their candidate for vice president? Well, on cue the sexist reaction has started. Actually, according to the Huffington Post someone registered the domain name www.vpilf.com two months ago. (VPILF,...
The 'race' is on
by zohra moosa // 29 August 2008, 15:47
Breaking news from CNN: McCain has selected a woman as his running mate. What hope now of disuading those Democrat women who were already planning on voting for McCain in protest over Obama's nomination over Clinton? Is it more important...
Scotland's prosecutors to be retrained in attempt to address dire rape conviction rate
by Jess McCabe // 29 August 2008, 10:34
Only 27 out of 922 rape cases reported to the Scottish police in 2006-7 ended in conviction, according to the latest data reported in the Scotsman and the Sunday Mail. And if that seems bad, consider that only 65 cases...
Intergenerational Communication
by Louise Livesey // 28 August 2008, 14:26
LaToya over at Feministe has written an amazing piece about Alida Brill and stories from the feminist world. She starts with a great and timely reminder... Every now and again, I’ll hear someone make a remark that goes something like...
Gender Role Research Misrepresented (again - yes I know we shouldn't be surprised).
by Louise Livesey // 28 August 2008, 13:18
First off, hat tip to the readers who flagged this to us, thank you. The Yorkshire Building Society (well know gender activists there) did a survey about customers attitudes to gender roles. Now if you believed the first Telegraph article...
"Best", "Worst" and gender divides
by Louise Livesey // 28 August 2008, 12:43
According to the Times Higher Education Supplement, The Daily Star wrote a guide to British Uni's. The basis of their comparisons? Gender ratio and beer prices. Not only that but apparently the "best" was represented by the highest female to...
Why being a fat man is better than being a fat woman and other musings....
by Louise Livesey // 28 August 2008, 12:00
Summer brings on all sorts of strange behaviours - like paying money to be suspended upside down at high speeds and whizzed through the air at increasingly scary (or fun!) velocities. I am talking about Theme Parks (obviously). But consider...
Spotting Sexism - new online workshop
by zohra moosa // 28 August 2008, 10:09
Jess and I are launching Lights On, a project to workshop feminism with those who want to get a bit stuck-in through a series of online discussions and activities. The first workshop is called Spotting Sexism and is for people...
Early Thursday round-up!
by Jess McCabe // 27 August 2008, 23:26
A 14-year-old girl was raped in a Glasgow bus station, reports the BBC. Abyss2hope has some questions about how the case has been framed: What stands out to me in this case versus other rape cases against teenage girls I've...
Del Martin dies aged 87
by Jess McCabe // 27 August 2008, 23:10
LGBT rights activist Del Martin has died, aged 87. Martin and her wife Phyllis Lyon were the first same-sex couple to marry after California's court ruling around two months ago, cbs5 reported. Martin and Lyon were among the founders of...
DV services for LBT women: Exeter survey
by zohra moosa // 27 August 2008, 10:38
Adapted from the Women's Resource Centre enews bulletin: Exeter Women's Aid is looking to improve services to lesbians, bisexual and transgender women affected by domestic violence and would appreciate your time in filling in a questionnaire they are circulating. You...
Persepolis screening, plus Q&A
by Jess McCabe // 27 August 2008, 10:04
For London-based readers, another chance to see Persepolis (which Cazz Blase reviewed earlier this month). F Word reader Suzi sent in the details: SAT 13 Sep, 13.15pm, Hackney & Islington Amnesty Group presents Oscar nominated Persepolis (12A). Artist and novelist...
Women's boxing for 2012 Olympics
by Jess McCabe // 26 August 2008, 21:26
The Beijing Olympics may be over, but the fight is continuing to get women's boxing included in the competition in London in 2012, reports Reuters, via Jezebel. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) will press for the introduction of women's boxing...
Woman wearing lesbian tshirt thrown out of US Government building
by Milly Shaw // 26 August 2008, 16:26
A woman was forced to leave a government building in California because she was wearing a ‘lesbian.com’ tshirt. Los Angeles Daily News reports that Lapriss Gilbert, 31, was stopped by a security guard when she tried to enter the Social...
'Girls are chickens?'
by Jess McCabe // 26 August 2008, 16:26
Vegetarians, feminists, and feminist vegetarians may wish to look away. Is this a real Heinz ad? Only a few months after pulling their ad for mayonnaise showing two men kissing, they decided to just let go and aim full tilt...
The right to choose is not enough - Mexico DF
by Jess McCabe // 26 August 2008, 12:22
Abortion is now legal in Mexico City, but efforts to make sure all women are able to access their right to choose have run into problems, reports the New York Times. It's really interesting (and fantastic) that right from the...
'Pro-feminist' blogger gets six months, escapes sex offenders registry
by Jess McCabe // 26 August 2008, 12:09
Justice for one female student who was assaulted when she was unconscious? Perhaps. Kyle Payne has been sentenced to six months in prison, for "invasion of privacy". You'll remember Payne as the blogger who described himself as a radical feminist,...
Oh Jeremy...
by Jess McCabe // 25 August 2008, 17:51
Jeremy Paxman, surely one of the most high-profile TV journalists in the country, thinks that "the worst thing you can be in this industry is a middle class white male", reports the BBC (via Anji). "If any middle class white...
Jessica Hoffman's challenge on capitalism and feminism
by Jess McCabe // 25 August 2008, 12:49
Jess Hoffman wrote an interesting post at Feministe on "Toward a Liberationist Feminism (Or, I Hope Pro-Capitalist Feminism Is an Oxymoron)". Hoffman, of Make/Shift magazine and other interesting projects, says: What does feminism, or sexism, mean in a vacuum? And...
New feature: Million Women Rise - Reflections
by Jess McCabe // 24 August 2008, 21:41
Around 5,000 women gathered from across the UK and marched through central London. Although they received no mainstream media attention, the march and rally have since become the subject of much discussion. Louise Livesey talks to some of the people...
Next Reclaim the Night Edinburgh set for March 2009
by Jess McCabe // 24 August 2008, 20:55
Readers in Scotland, this is one for your 2009 diary. Another Reclaim the Night Edinburgh is scheduled, probably for March next year, possibly on International Women's Day. From the message on the RTN Edinburgh blog, it looks like the march...
Coming up at The Women's Library in London... Exhibitions/Events for Autumn/Winter 2008/2009
by Barbara Felix // 23 August 2008, 22:08
There's some really interesting exhibitions and events coming up at The Women's Library in London in the next few months. Between The Covers: Women's Magazines and their Readers is an exhibition that begins on the 1st November, and has a...
Beauty at the Olympics
by Carrie Dunn // 23 August 2008, 08:16
I seem to be burning my bridges with lots of my sources of work over the course of the Olympics, but this made me so angry I can't help but post about it. The Times's Chief Sports Photographer Marc Aspland...
Call out for submissions for zine about Fashion and Gender
by Barbara Felix // 22 August 2008, 18:08
A friend of mine is looking for contributions for a zine she's doing on connections of Fashion and Gender identity - I'll let her explain.... I've mentioned to some of you my wish to put on a zine about the...
Silence please
by Helen G // 22 August 2008, 08:14
I read the report, Many support ex-principal in gay rights case (link here) in the NWF Daily News with an increasing sense of incredulity and outrage. It raises so many questions, but it seems that the judge's view is that...
Shorts
by zohra moosa // 21 August 2008, 23:52
1. In the Guardian today, I fear Jessica Valenti rather underestimates just how bad the 'mainstream feminist' response to the 'Obama situation' really is. Not only is there less commentary/action on the sexism that Michelle Obama faces compared to...
Modelling and crash-dieting: what could possibly go wrong?
by Milly Shaw // 21 August 2008, 17:12
MTV are chasing after the TV modelling bandwagon with a show that 'dares to go where no modelling show has gone before'. Where might that be then? Empowering women to measure success with something other than beauty? Not quite... Model...
Thursday mid-afternoon round-up
by Jess McCabe // 21 August 2008, 13:34
The latest Carnival of Feminists is out now at Mind of Genevieve. This one includes some great posts, including Kate Smurthwaite's about the origins of her name: I personally like the word "cunt" as I have expounded at length on...
Is that bell hooks on your shirt?
by Jess McCabe // 21 August 2008, 01:03
KMstitchery's Etsy store has hoodies, t-shirts, dresses and skirts galore featuring women such as bell hooks, Angela Davis and Emma Goldman. Wearing the image of people who help form your politics literally on your t-shirt has a mixed history to...
New feature: In the name of the father
by Jess McCabe // 21 August 2008, 00:18
For many women, getting married still means changing their name. Sarah Louisa Phythian-Adams has an alternate proposal Very recently I was married. It was 10 years in the making, and still I did it with some trepidation - not because...
Ladyfest Manchester 2008 website
by Barbara Felix // 20 August 2008, 22:55
Just a quick post to tell you about the new Ladyfest Manchester site, which has some tantalising details of the bill already listed......
'Where is feminism now?' zine calling for submissions
by Jess McCabe // 20 August 2008, 14:17
I'm not sure I 'get' the title of this conference at the University of Aberdeen: Ending International Feminist Futures? I know it's an academic event, but still - or perhaps I'm being a bit dense?! However, the conference itself looks...
Naughty little pills
by Abby O'Reilly // 20 August 2008, 12:15
According to collaborative research carried out by the University of Liverpool and the University of Newcastle, the contraceptive pill can have a detrimental affect on a woman’s choice of a prospective partner. Scientists asked a sample of women to smell...
New feature: Sisters! Some of us are mothers, too!
by Jess McCabe // 19 August 2008, 22:35
Mothers’ issues are feminist issues, argues Ruth Moss Some mothers feel alienated by what they see as “feminism”. They feel that feminism is right in there fighting their corner, until they decide to give birth and raise a child. They...
New feature: Why my son wears pink
by Jess McCabe // 19 August 2008, 21:18
At two year’s old, Penni F’s son happily enthuses over both fairies and trucks. But, she worries, what happens when pressure to be a ‘real man’ kicks in? I have a toddler, a two-year-old boy. Like ‘most boys’, he likes...
Open the gate, and let the "uglies" come flooding in...
by Abby O'Reilly // 19 August 2008, 18:35
If you're ugly, you're obviously desperate. And if you're a woman it's likely you could be categorised as ugly at any moment, regardless of what you're critic looks like himself, or if he even knows you, because you are public...
Men who want to get you pregnant
by Abby O'Reilly // 19 August 2008, 18:23
If a woman doesn’t hatch a sprog by the time she reaches 35 her ovaries begin to vibrate. What, didn’t you know? They start purring like a pair of pagers belonging to doctors working on call on the very same...
Women unpopular among Tories?
by Jess McCabe // 19 August 2008, 17:58
Tory supporters are rebelling against David Cameron's efforts to promote women, according to Anne Perkins in Comment is Free: The Tory ginger group website, Conservative Home, runs regular popularity polls for the shadow cabinet. This month, Spelman is at the...
Games vs Girls - I don't have the words
by Jess McCabe // 18 August 2008, 23:51
Games Radar begins its feature on "Games vs Girls: Which is better?" with the breathtaking revelation that "by far most GR readers are guys". Probably need to tone down the lashings of sexist bullshit before attracting any female readers, "guys"....
Chikipedia
by Guest Blogger // 18 August 2008, 17:33
Chikipedia.com is like Wikipedia, except with chicks, right? Charlotte Cooper has more in this guest post Ever feel the fire has gone out of your feminism? Tired of having to explain why something might be offensive to women? Maybe you...
Women in film event, Bristol
by Jess McCabe // 18 August 2008, 14:09
If you're in the Bristol area, this event at the Watershed Media Centre, 7pm, 28 August, looks great: Of 2007’s top grossing 250 films, only 6.25% were directed by women. This, and the reports that only 12% of the film...
Rape & the police & juries & drink
by Jess McCabe // 17 August 2008, 21:40
Lest we get too excited that a rapist ended up behind bars, consider the sobering news of an apparent drop in the number of rapes being reported to the police, and Neanderthal attitudes to women drinking among senior police officers...
Woman gets voice, woman loses voice
by Jess McCabe // 16 August 2008, 13:26
In a silent movie, obviously, no-one can talk. So what happens if one woman finds her voice? That's the premise of Silent, a film which has the potential to examine some interesting ideas about attitudes to women who speak out,...
Kellie Telesford
by Helen G // 16 August 2008, 08:59
Kellie Telesford, a 39 year old black woman, lived in south London where she worked as a florist and beautician. Her body was found by police officers (who had been alerted by her friends, worried because they could not contact...
Justice is sometimes done, after all
by Jess McCabe // 15 August 2008, 16:34
Readers will be familiar with the UK's shocking 5% conviction rate for rape. Or, to put it another way, considering the high percentages of rapes that go unreported, the average rapist in this country faces only a 1% likelihood of...
Parenting & biology - the stepfathers edition
by Jess McCabe // 15 August 2008, 12:54
Research out of the US indicates that in so-called "fragile" families, mothers actually rate step-fathers' parenting abilities as about equal to/better than biological fathers, as reported in The News & Observer. Mothers reported that stepfathers were more engaged, more cooperative...
Is there such a thing as feminist theatre?
by Carrie Dunn // 15 August 2008, 08:17
Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to write an essay about it (though I might get my third years to do so next semester), but I've seen two very contrasting plays this week with lots of meat for...
More on teaching feminism to girls
by Louise Livesey // 14 August 2008, 17:26
Further to this (Jessica Ringrose and teaching feminism to girls), Joan Smith has written an excellent column over at The Times. Looking back, I'm amazed at how much we achieved - many feminist ideas, such as the right to maternity...
Angelina Jolie replaces Tom Cruise in spy thriller
by Milly Shaw // 14 August 2008, 16:16
Angelina Jolie has replaced Tom Cruise as the star of new spy film Edwin A Salt. According to BBC Online, Tom Cruise had a long-standing connection to Edwin A Salt. After his departure, several other male actors expressed interest in...
WTF?
by Louise Livesey // 14 August 2008, 12:41
Orangina - "naturally juicy" like pole dancing, porn and anthropomorphising animals to be "sex" objects....
Ginger
by Jess McCabe // 14 August 2008, 09:47
Regular commenter Redheadinred sent in this link about the "myths and history of red hair": Throughout history there have been many strange beliefs and ideas about red hair. In ancient Egypt red haired animals and people were associated with the...
IOC/You Tube censor Tibet protest footage
by Lynne Miles // 14 August 2008, 01:02
Following IOC demands, You Tube have pulled a clip showing footage of a Free Tibet protest because .... it contained imagery including the five-rings Olympic logo, and therefore was an infringement of copyright. So much for the goal of the...
Eleanor Coppola
by Jess McCabe // 13 August 2008, 22:46
The Coppolas are a talented, powerful bunch. Admittedly I've not exactly been keeping close track, but in all the fuss about the film-making family, I don't remember hearing a word about Eleanor Coppola, married to Francis Ford. The Independent ran...
Walk through the night - this weekend
by Jess McCabe // 13 August 2008, 21:14
If you're in London this weekend, you may want to take part in a sponsored evening walk to raise money for the excellent charity Eaves. Walk the Night London starts at 11pm on Saturday, and finishes at sunrise. From the...
New feature: What Not To Wear say to your co-worker
by Jess McCabe // 13 August 2008, 21:04
How would you feel if you found out the people around you chat about putting you forward for How to Look Good Naked? Kelly Draper knows all too well “Miss, you know that show with two women?” This is not...
Another imprisonment case....
by Louise Livesey // 13 August 2008, 20:33
This time in the US, Raymond Daniel Thurmond held his wife and four children in a single width trailer home since 2005 and didn't allow them out. They lived off junk food and only one of the children, now aged...
Workshop on "queer, feminist & trans politics of prison abolition"
by Jess McCabe // 13 August 2008, 17:47
Just a quick note to highlight an interesting-sounding workshop in London this weekend. (Please get in touch if you are organising/hear of events anywhere in the UK that we should be highlighting): THE QUEER, FEMINIST & TRANS POLITICS OF PRISON...
New review: ‘Freedom always has a price’
by Jess McCabe // 13 August 2008, 06:13
Cazz Blase considers how Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical story of coming-of-age in Iran and Europe transfers to the big screen I first saw the film Persepolis in May at the Cornerhouse in Manchester, in French with English subtitles, and in high...
Women of Colour and Beauty Carnival
by Jess McCabe // 12 August 2008, 20:52
The Women of Colour and Beauty Carnival is up now, over at yennenga. Some highlights: The difference between "pretty" and "beautiful" at Having Read The Fine Print: You see in my life as WOC , pretty has had fuck all...
Rape Compensation Cut Overturned
by Holly Combe // 12 August 2008, 20:30
A decision by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) to cut the compensation awarded to a woman who was raped after a night out has been overturned. Unbelievably, she had been told in writing that the reason for the reduction...
London Mayor Boris Johnson cuts Soho Pride funding
by Milly Shaw // 12 August 2008, 17:16
London Mayor Boris Johnson has slashed £10,000 from Soho Pride, just over a week before the event is due to take place. Soho Pride is a smaller gay pride event in London that is based around the gay bars in...
F Word blog review - have your say
by Jess McCabe // 12 August 2008, 15:42
This weekend a few of the bloggers met up to talk about the direction of this blog, and The F-Word as a whole. We want to give readers a chance to feed into this process, too. What are we doing...
New football magazine to launch. It's for men, obviously
by Carrie Dunn // 12 August 2008, 12:18
As you may know, in real life I'm a journalist and cover a variety of subjects, mostly sport and media, so I was intrigued to find out that Golf Punk are launching a new football magazine. But wait! Who is...
Somehow I'm not hungry anymore
by Jess McCabe // 12 August 2008, 09:44
Cake Wrecks is a blog which records "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong". Some of the examples - well what to say: The bound foot cake ("Yes, it was for a podiatrist.") Edible brides and headless pregnant torsos Says...
Women in London: Questionnaire
by Abby O'Reilly // 11 August 2008, 21:27
I originally posted on this subject a few weeks ago, and firstly I would like to once again thank all the women who responded and completed the questionnaire for me. I am very very grateful! I met with the team...
Citigroup fires vice-president who runs sexist, racist, homophobic blog
by Jess McCabe // 11 August 2008, 20:01
A vice president at Citigroup has been fired, after the bank realised he was blogging as "Large", of the hideous blog Take A Report, according to Shanghai Daily. The newspaper presents the story as "blogger fired, even though money raised...
On race and beauty
by Lynne Miles // 11 August 2008, 19:34
In this really moving exploration of why she is so hurt and angry at her (black, male) best friend's insistence on dating white girls, Latoya Peterson at Racialicious, talks about how black women experience beauty standards differently than white women:...
Virtual Loving
by Abby O'Reilly // 11 August 2008, 18:36
No, I’m neither talking about filthy cyber sex sessions, nor the development of an unnatural attachment to a joystick, but rather a new software package that promises you an Instant Internet Boyfriend on your Computer! Yes, who’d have thought it,...
Some more in the news stories
by Louise Livesey // 11 August 2008, 09:33
The TUC have (maybe worthwhile-ly) managed to state the bleeding obvious - migrant women are most likely to be paid less than the national minimum wage The research found: "worrying" trends including long working hours, insecure jobs and poor pay....
The Olympics
by Louise Livesey // 11 August 2008, 09:25
OK so I'm not a sports fan but I just wanted to note - as no-one else seems to have so far - that the UK's first two medals were both won by women. Nicole Cooke in the Cycling Road...
A personal tale of bbqs and gender roles
by Milly Shaw // 10 August 2008, 17:03
My girlfriend’s childhood friend was 30 a few weeks ago. The birthday boy hired a cottage in the middle of the countryside, and we all had a lovely weekend of sunshine and intense gender role reinforcement. The men decided when...
News round-up
by Louise Livesey // 10 August 2008, 11:35
And whilst we're on confusions (see my last entry) I Blame the Patriarchy has a good example from Seattle news which confuses the idea of "prostitution" and the idea of kidnapping and forcing into sexual slavery. This news bulletin is...
Confusion over feminism....?
by Louise Livesey // 10 August 2008, 11:01
The Daily Mail seems to have excelled itself in confusion this week. First was Anna Pasternak's pity-party article about how she thinks responding to life's events quite well has left her single (her argument seems to be because she didn't...
In better news
by Louise Livesey // 8 August 2008, 16:39
Apparently the Home Office is going to ban two chemicals which can be combined to create the date-rape drug GHB. Gamma-butyrolactone and 1,4 butanediol when swallowed together they turn into GHB and are used in some solvents and cleaning products....
Can someone explain to me....
by Louise Livesey // 8 August 2008, 16:26
why the Guardian is giving this misogynistic killer airtime? Guardian reporter Tom Phillips has interviewed the man accused of killing Cara Burke. Warning *DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS* if you are likely to get upset at unapologetically misogynistic self pity....
Get active
by Louise Livesey // 6 August 2008, 18:21
Irrespective of the topic I would encourage people to take this piece at Feministe to heart. Remember: the personal is political. The more we speak up about our experiences, the more people we find who have gone through the same...
Clothes for white, teenage colonisers!
by Jess McCabe // 6 August 2008, 10:02
Via AdsoftheWorld...
Gender stereotypes...
by Jess McCabe // 5 August 2008, 23:11
Via Feminist Philosophers - like jj, I'm not completely convinced that this successfully punctures gender stereotypes - as the last few frames suggest is the intention. I think it might rely overmuch on the idea that stereotypes are obviously...
In which a cis feminist has a serious and long overdue rethink.
by Laura // 5 August 2008, 20:56
I want to address some issues raised in Helen's latest post, issues that I myself have been grappling with recently. The ongoing results* of said grappling have made me feel very ashamed of my past thoughts and misplaced beliefs with...
Some news stories...
by Louise Livesey // 5 August 2008, 20:01
I couldn't decide between "some news stories you might have missed" and "some news stories to make you blood boil" so settled on "some news stories..." and you can complete as you wish. Gold stars for the best endings...
Like Guitar Hero? Well you'll just love Vagina Hero! Or not.
by Milly Shaw // 5 August 2008, 10:58
Dude, you know what would be, like, awesome? If there was a Guitar Hero for girls! No, not a more girl-friendly game featuring Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill or Hole, I'm talking about a game where instead of controlling a guitar, you're...
First Women of Colour & Beauty Carnival kicks off...
by Jess McCabe // 4 August 2008, 21:04
Soaring is launching a blog carnival dedicated to women of colour & beauty: Submissions from women and men of color are welcome, focusing on these areas: What does beauty mean to women of color? What is the difference between beauty...
Sunday round-up
by Jess McCabe // 3 August 2008, 17:58
DeBeers has created a hideously offensive line of necklaces shaped like tribal masks. As What Tami Said points out, given the history and current practices of this company, this is beyond tasteless, it's fucked up. Is Shirley by Charlotte Bronte...
An open letter to cis feminists
by Helen G // 3 August 2008, 17:28
In my opinion, every non-trans person who calls hirself a feminist should click over to the blog Sexual Ambiguities and read this post and its comments: An open letter to cis feminists The article has been reposted in full at...
Kyle Payne: how not to support women, part deux
by Laura // 3 August 2008, 15:27
Remember Kyle Payne, the self proclaimed male feminist, anti-pornography and anti-violence activist who admitted to exposing and filming a female student without her consent? Well he's now released a statement in which he piles up excuse after excuse for his...
Times publishes misogynist tract
by Jess McCabe // 3 August 2008, 13:39
Some quotes from Kathleen Parker's book, extracted for today's Sunday Times: While women have been cast as victims, martyrs, mystics or saints, men have quietly retreated into their caves, the better to muffle emotions that fluctuate between hilarity (are these...
Dame Eileen
by Jess McCabe // 3 August 2008, 12:27
Oh how the Press love it when any reasonably high-profile woman rips into feminism and other women in general. The latest culprit is Dame Eileen Atkins, an actor who, incidentally, is performing in The Female of the Species (yes, the...
Totally unbelievable!
by Abby O'Reilly // 2 August 2008, 22:42
Calum Best, son of footballer George Best and alleged serial shagger, has completed a TV series for MTV called Totally Calum Best in which he has pledged to abstain from sex for fifty days. The show first aired on 27th...
Slating the singles. Again...
by Abby O'Reilly // 2 August 2008, 21:09
Firstly, I realise the irony in this statement, but whenever a female journalist/columnist has a deadline to meet it seems lack of originality and laziness forces them to take recourse to the same old tired topics that have been chewed...
Daily Mail blatently misrepresents single mums
by Jess McCabe // 2 August 2008, 09:17
"One in five CSA mothers name the wrong father," screams the headline for this story about the paternity testing by the Child Support Agency. A shocking statistic? But one which is a total lie, contradicted only three paragraphs into...

Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the