30 September 2008

Climate change, suffragettes, direct action

Climate change is a big problem. Direct action aimed at encouraging the government, and society in general, to do more to cut our greenhouse gas emissions is crucial. So, a big thumbs up on that score to the Climate Rush:… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 30 September 2008 | Comments (3)

Abortion Rights Public Meeting 7th October, House of Commons (please come!)

In case anyone has still missed the news - abortion rights in the UK remain under fire thanks to elements of the Human Embryology and whatnot bill. And at the same time there is a possibility of actually improving the… Read more...

Posted by Kate Smurthwaite at 30 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Glasgow’s Black History Month

The Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance has put out its programme for Black History Month, which is in October. Some of the notable bits: An Evening With Jackie Kay and Suzanne Bonnar - Glasgow Women’s Library are hosting this one. The… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 30 September 2008 | Comments (0)

29 September 2008

Bringing home the bacon

Shadow education secretary David Willetts is worried. He’s worried about the make-up of people attending university, specifically. Or, to get even more specific, he is worried that too many women are going to university, and there won’t be enough university… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 29 September 2008 | Comments (20)

Study of trans people’s earnings confirms workplace discrimination against women.

A US study based on data collected from 64 transgendered workers found that* trans women’s pay fell by around a third following their transition, while trans men saw their pay increase slightly. Trans women were also more likely to experience… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 29 September 2008 | Comments (33)

GM boss - electric car will help score “no makeup” women

[EDIT: OK, that was the wrong video! Sorry folks - something’s wrong with the site, and it embedded the wrong clip, but if you go here you can watch it] Bob Lutz, chair of General Motors, is a climate change… Read more...

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

Take Back The Night - Toronto

Shameless Mag has posted a report and photos of Toronto’s Take Back The Night march. Pike tells it like this: Just being a part of a group of women come together in the spirit of resistance and survival - hell,… Read more...

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

Feminist Webs: Working With Young Women

A collective based in Manchester have set up the resource site Feminist Webs to facilitate women and girl positive youth work based on “possibility, creation not consumption and participation”, with a focus on women’s rights and experiences. The project is… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 29 September 2008 | Comments (0)

28 September 2008

Latest Carnival of Feminists out now…

Head on over to Green Garbo, for the 65th Carnival of Feminists. As well as the usual link-love, this one includes a call to participate in this survey on women’s experience of catcalling…. Read more...

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

The F-Word blog seeks book nominations for the F-Word book club

As a sort of sub section of the F-Word blog, we’re seeking to start an F-Word bookclub. The idea is for this to be as reader-led as possible, with readers of the F-Word nominating books for the club, and comments… Read more...

Posted by Barbara Felix at 28 September 2008 | Comments (17)

26 September 2008

World Bank, OECD call for $13 billion a year to tackle gender inequality and expansion of Millenium Development Goal beyond education

The World Bank and OECD have added up the figures and found it will cost $13 billion a year to meet the gender equality and women’s empowerment part of the Millenium Development Goals. Gender equality is the Millenium Development Goal… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 26 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Equal rights for Princesses?

The 300-year-old law that stops a Catholic from being King/Queen and ranks males higher than females in claims to the throne could be abolished. The law as it currently stands is thought to contravene the Sex Discrimination Act and the… Read more...

Posted by Milly Shaw at 26 September 2008 | Comments (10)

Name and shame

A woman in the tech industry has set up a group to name and shame conference organisers that fill the stage of their events almost exclusively with men. Dori Smith explains: Given that I’ve been ranting about this issue for… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 26 September 2008 | Comments (10)

25 September 2008

Banning prostitutes from hotels doesn’t seem such a great idea…

Leftwing MEPs are calling on the European Parliament to bypass hotels that enable prostitution, reports EUObserver. Unfortunately, the story is a bit unspecific on what this means - if it means boycotting hotels that help businessmen find prostitutes to buy,… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 25 September 2008 | Comments (11)

“Fucking hell, why can’t women in this hospital give birth naturally?”

Samantha Shepherd was being informed by a doctor that she needed the emergency procedure because her pregnancy had become problematic and her then-unborn son Luke’s life was in danger. However, the conversation was interrupted by Nigel Baglin, a surgery assistant,… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 25 September 2008 | Comments (8)

Coming out for animals

Why do queer activists in Uganda but animal activists in the USA bear the brunt of police suppression in their respective countries? Are they similarly subversive of “cultural” practices that turn out to be critical to the maintenance of state power? Read more...

Posted by Sokari Ekine at 25 September 2008 | Comments (12)

24 September 2008

I’m a sexworker and I’m not a victim

In “I’m a sexworker dont take away my livelihood”, Lara responds critically to the “Brothel Report” by the Poppy Project (research into the UK sex industry in London. which goes to great lengths to paint sexworkers as women who are forcibly trafficked, drug addicts, drunken victims of pimps. Lara’s story which is one story but no doubt there are as many Lara’s as there are sexworkers with vastly different experiences challenges this stereotype of sexworker as victim Read more...

Posted by Sokari Ekine at 24 September 2008 | Comments (57)

The Ms Fitz Project

A group of lovely, lovely people from Leeds queer/feminist collective Manifesta have launched a project aimed at bringing feminist and queer positive events and activities to young people. Ms Fitz will provide a friendly, supportive space for young people who… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 24 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Human Rights Watch and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commision call for an end to the police harassment of Ugandan sexual rights activists

In violation of Ugandan law, two human rights activists working with LGBT groups and communities in Uganda were arrested on the 10th September and held for 8 days without charges being brought. Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and… Read more...

Posted by Barbara Felix at 24 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Axewomen a go go… for a change: Venus Zine takes on Rolling Stone at its own game

This is a bit of an old story now, from March… Fed up with those glossy music mag cover stories hailing ‘The best guitarists of all time’, and specifically fed up with the lack of women in said lists, Venus… Read more...

Posted by Barbara Felix at 24 September 2008 | Comments (3)

Happy Bisexual Pride Day (um, for yesterday) and more…

Better late than never I guess, but yesterday was Bisexual Pride Day! Feministing and Queers United have more. Meanwhile: PETA wrote to icecream makers Ben & Jerry, asking them to use (human) breast milk, because the dairy industry is cruel…. Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 24 September 2008 | Comments (1)

Greenham book launch tonight in London

(Note: the image of this badge, below, comes from this amazing photo stream on Flickr. Really recommend checking it out, I had such a hard time choosing an image to use on this post!) Londoners looking for a way to… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 24 September 2008 | Comments (2)

A Round Up

First off, lets start with South Africa because no-one else has mentioned it yet. Thabo Mbeki was forced to resign over the weekend by internal dissent in the party. It’s likely that Jacob Zuma will be elected leader of the… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 24 September 2008 | Comments (1)

Ladyfest Manchester 2008 update

As Barbara mentioned last month, Ladyfest’s Manchester 2008 event draws ever nearer. There’s an event tomorrow evening, called Ladybois - Bois/Men Who Support Ladyfest Manchester; click on the link for details. As ever, there’s loads happening at Ladyfest, and the… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 24 September 2008

23 September 2008

The ‘High End Girlfriend Index’ and ‘High End Stripper Index’

Here’s a very literal example of the way women are viewed as commodities: A US lawyer has been tracking the “High End Girlfriend Index”, and the “High End Stripper Index” according to the Daily News. “You have a Wall Street… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 September 2008 | Comments (0)

New feature: Whose feminism is it?

Is feminism reaching women of colour? How about women who didn’t go to university, teenage mums, or women who do not have access to the internet? Annika Spalding calls for change I consider myself a feminist. I have values and… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 September 2008

New feature: It’s only a bloody tampon

Is a tampon soaked in stage blood too shocking for theatre-goers? Gemma Bolwell and Harriet Chandler report Foulisfair Theatre is a three-woman company. We devise original pieces that explore issues from a female perspective. Our current show Daughters is an… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 23 September 2008

22 September 2008

“Are you gender typical?” asks the Independent

So The Independent decided to run a quiz, called “are you gender typical?” The questions are ludicrous, and although the quiz gets a thumbs up for generally acknowledging that not only women express behaviours traditionally labelled as feminine and not… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 September 2008 | Comments (12)

Shocker: sexist system pays off for (male) sexists

US researchers have discovered that men who think the woman’s place is in the kitchen and the man’s place is behind a desk at work make more money, reports the BBC. On the other hand, women who hold less sexist… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 September 2008 | Comments (7)

Nepal formally recognises “third gender”.

A 21-year-old lesbian has become the first person to be officially recognised as “third gender” since the country passed laws granting “sexual minorities” the same rights as heterosexuals in December of last year: Adhikari, a human rights officer employed by… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 22 September 2008 | Comments (4)

An account of living as a translesbian in Africa

What is it like to live as a lesbian trans woman in Africa*? How does transphobia intersect with the legacy of colonialism? Black Looks has a guest blogger who is untangling her perspective on some of these issues. From her… Read more...

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

Award most female thing about Emmys?

The Emmys are roughly the TV equivalent of the Oscars. Over at AfterEllen, Sarah Warn has an excellent takedown of how sexist and racist the awards are. First up, who was nominated for what: There were no women nominated in… Read more...

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

Heaven and Earth

According to The Guardian, production is to start next year on a film about the life of James Barry. Among Barry’s many accomplishments was the first successful caesarean section in which both mother and child survived the operation. Ze also… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 22 September 2008

“Real dads not lesbo dads” say New Fathers 4 Justice

Protest group New Fathers 4 Justice last week attacked lesbian parenting in an effort to promote the rights of fathers. A small group of protesters took a banner reading ‘KIDS NEED REAL DADS NOT DAWN’S LESBO DADS” to the Bristol… Read more...

Posted by Milly Shaw at 22 September 2008 | Comments (11)

Eight out of 10 Central American women migrants raped while travelling

According to this story in Prensa Libre, eight out of 10 Central American women migrants are raped en route to North America. Según el último informe del Foro de Migraciones, elaborado este año, ocho de cada 10 centroamericanas que ingresan… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 22 September 2008 | Comments (2)

Events

Just a quick reminder to check out our Events page for feminist listings throughout the year. Upcoming events include: * 23 September - New feminist and world-themed singing group- -WILDSING- - beginning in north London. * 26 September - Suck… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 22 September 2008 | Comments (2)

21 September 2008

No arbitrator should encourage a victim of domestic violence to stay with the perpetrator

OK, first a disclaimer: I’m no legal expert, but my instinct is that this story in the Times, about sharia arbitrators, absolutely stinks of an attempt to whip up anti-Muslim feeling. A hefty pinch of salt is needed. What concerns… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 21 September 2008 | Comments (8)

Sarah Haskins on cleaning

Via Feministing… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 21 September 2008 | Comments (3)

Feminist singing group to serenade* London

This is one for the more tuneful Londoners: a feminist singing group is launching this Tuesday, and will meet for the next 11 weeks. The group is “feminist themed, though not women only, with a combination of thrilling jazz, gospel,… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 21 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Reasons Why I Avoid Free Newspapers

All examples from The Metro, Friday September 19th. Reason 1: Their misguided sense of priorities. Take this headline on page 9: Barman was deceived Oh no! Poor man. Why? (reads rest of headline:) Barman was deceived into sex with girl,… Read more...

Posted by Catherine Redfern at 21 September 2008 | Comments (16)

Teaching Feminist History - Some Good News

A little while ago there was an interesting discussion on this blog about the best way of teaching feminist history to children. So I was excited and impressed to read about one such successful example, organised by Durham Record Office,… Read more...

Posted by Catherine Redfern at 21 September 2008 | Comments (2)

20 September 2008

Red Cross forms partnership with Girlguiding UK

The Red Cross have formed a partnership with Girlguiding UK the idea of the partnership, which launches on Tuesday 23rd September, is to teach guides first aid and citizanship skills. According to the Red Cross website: The Changing the World… Read more...

Posted by Barbara Felix at 20 September 2008

19 September 2008

Bitch raises $40k in three days…!

This is fantastic news: Bitch Magazine has raised enough money to publish its next issue in just three days, so it looks like it’s not going under after all! Holly posted the magazine’s alert on the 16th, which was a… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 19 September 2008 | Comments (7)

Some on Politics and Some on Violence - themed round up

In best Sesame Street styleee, this blog entry is brought to you by the themes politics and violence….. First up, newly elected leader of the Kadima party in Israel, Tzipi Livni, has been challenged by right-wing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 19 September 2008 | Comments (5)

18 September 2008

Manchester Abortion Rights Meeting and Northern Ireland Petition

An Abortion Rights public meeting will be taking place this coming Tuesday in Manchester as part of the Labour Party Conference fringe: Tuesday 23rd Sept 12.45pm The Rain Bar, 80 Great Bridgewater Street All pro-choice supporters welcome - this will… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 18 September 2008 | Comments (4)

Nemi is surprisingly astute….

Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 18 September 2008 | Comments (1)

Police apologise over accusations of transgender violence

The Police have issues a statement today unambiguously apologising for giving the impression that there was violence initiated by transgender Pride attenders over a transgender woman being excluded from the womens toilets. Commander Steve Allen apologised for the “deep upset”… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 18 September 2008 | Comments (0)

More stuff from the wonder of the interwebs

Over here is a great short piece from Canada on young feminists, intersectionality and the women’s movement. Just how overwhelming a task it would be to define “today’s feminism” hit me the other day when I read the program for… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 18 September 2008 | Comments (6)

August comments… lots of them!

As regular readers will be aware, we have ‘live’ (sort-of) commenting on blog posts here at The F-Word, but our features and reviews collect up comments to be published every month. Comments received during August are now available, and it’s… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 18 September 2008 | Comments (0)

17 September 2008

‘Honour your (radical) ancestors’ and more…

Where would we be today without the radical activists who went before us? Teh Portly Dyke writes as eloquently as usual on this topic. Here’s a brief, tiny excerpt, but I recommend reading the whole post: There was a time… Read more...

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

Donate to support families hit by storms in Haiti and Cuba

From international women’s rights organisation, MADRE: In Haiti, four back-to-back storms have caused severe flooding, destroying farmland and crops. Prices had skyrocketed in Haiti even before the storms. Bananas are $7 a bunch and on the rise. And the cost… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 17 September 2008 | Comments (2)

RIP Katy Watson, of Shocking Pink

Katy Watson has died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, aged 42. According to a brief message posted by her father on her website, Katie “died peacefully in St Christopher’s Hospice, south London, with her parents Helen and David, her sister Anna, and… Read more...

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

Spotting Sexism: A Crash Course In Feminism, October 2008

Quick reminder that the first workshop from Lights On is coming up. Spotting Sexism is a four-week crash course in feminism, and how it applies in our lives for those who feel they are near the beginning of their feminist… Read more...

Posted by zohra moosa at 17 September 2008 | Comments (2)

Round Up….

Welcome to another whirlwind whizz through news and views…. First off a cartoon from Slowpoke which neatly sums up, for me, some of the debates around Sarah Palin’s presumed feminism. That said it’s important to say misogynistic portrayals of Palin… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 17 September 2008 | Comments (4)

16 September 2008

Help Save Bitch Magazine

Via Feminist Philosophers… Bitch magazine are in trouble and need to raise $40,000 by 15 October in order to print the next issue. Their website says: While it’s true that $40,000 is a lot of money, we know the number… Read more...

Posted by Holly Combe at 16 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Worldwide Women

Over at the BBC there is preview of some upcoming films about life around the world. The article on Eritrean women is particularly interesting. It focuses on three women, Leyla trying to decide whether to have her daughter circumcised, Amina… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 16 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Why women are leaving the church….

Feminist researcher Kristin Aune from University of Derby has been studying why women appear to be leaving the Church of England. Her conclusions? Women see more relevance in, for example, TV icons who promote female empowerment than in traditional religion…. Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 16 September 2008 | Comments (17)

New radical feminist group launches; runs stall and workshop at Anarchist Bookfair 2008

A new radical feminist group has recently launched - Autonomous Radical Feminists has a blog, but it’s still not got much info up there yet. But if you’re in the capital on Saturday 18 October, then you can go meet… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 16 September 2008 | Comments (1)

15 September 2008

But is it feminist?

I’m becoming little tired of the above question, this idea that being a feminist involves slapping pro- and anti- feminist labels on every little aspect of our lives. I can’t quite pin down exactly where this idea has come from,… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 15 September 2008 | Comments (36)

Two carnivals…

The latest Carnival of Feminists is up now at This is What A Feminist Blogs Like - haven’t had time to give this one a read, I’m afraid. And also the latest Carnival Against Sexual Violence is up at abyss2hope…. Read more...

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

Abortion Rights Public Meeting

Campaigning to defend and extend women’s abortion rights in the final stages of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill: Tuesday 7 October 2008 7pm House of Commons Committee Room 10 Speakers include: Diane Abbott MP, Katy Clark MP, Evan Harris… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 15 September 2008 | Comments (1)

14 September 2008

Some responses to Sarah Palin, in video

Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey Sarah PalinUploaded by weazel_luv Feministing’s “Is Sarah Palin a Feminist? Friday Feminist Fuck NO!” Target Women: Sarah Palin The Daily Show:… Read more...

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

Well, if you will have women MPs…

The Telegraph has decided to build a whole story around the fact that some of the Labour MPs calling for a leadership election happened to be women. Here’s the photo they used to illustrate the story: And here’s the lede:… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 14 September 2008 | Comments (10)

13 September 2008

New review: The Perfect Vagina

Cutting away at your labia sounds extreme, but more and more women are going under the surgeon’s knife. Amy Clare reports on a Channel 4 documentary which attempted to shine a light on why this is happening Television is not… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 13 September 2008

New feature: Across the porn divide

It’s time to end the battle of words, argues Debi Crow A stand-off between feminists who are against pornography, and those who are not, has become a well worn narrative for the feminist movement. There seems to be some imaginary… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 13 September 2008

Protest bravery award for man convicted of sexual assault - and more…

Guy Armand Raes has just been sentenced to eight months in Canadian prison for sexually assaulting a 17 year old girl. Why, then, is he about to be given an award for bravery by the Queen’s representative in Canada, Governor… Read more...

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

A Feminist Art Project

An artist-run exhibiting group called wall/space has launched Feminist Art Project - an initiative which will involve putting on an art show next year. FAP also involves a series of discussions about feminist art - the next one is set… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 13 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Underwear: Tools of objectification or foundations for confidence?

My wardrobe isn’t particularly diverse, and it would be difficult to define my dress-sense. I like bright colours, prints, but am not averse to the odd bit of tweed and corduroy. I wear jeans, trousers, a-line dresses, wrap dresses, and… Read more...

Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 13 September 2008 | Comments (23)

What would you do?

What would you do if you saw someone being brutally beaten on the side of the road as you walked past? Would you stop, intervene, call the police, ask the bloodied victim if they are OK? As a lone woman,… Read more...

Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 13 September 2008 | Comments (11)

12 September 2008

Sweden, prostitution, tax

Following on from the discussions raised by the Poppy Project’s report on prostitution, and the ongoing debates over whether the UK should adopt the “Swedish model” - in which buying sex is outlawed, but selling sex is not - comes… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 September 2008 | Comments (10)

Man convicted in ‘rape gang’ case

Lubomir Kora could be sentenced to up to 19 years in prison, for his part in raping a series of prostitutes in Bradford, reports the Telegraph & Argus. Arrest warrents have been issued for three other men allegedly part of… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 September 2008 | Comments (1)

RIP Nagi Noda

Artist Nagi Noda died last Sunday, from complications from surgery, I learned from TokyoMango. Nagi Noda was responsible for some amazingly creative and fun work, which you can see on her website, which has both a Japanese and English language… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 September 2008 | Comments (1)

Victim blaming…

Although the overwhelming majority of rape victims are female, and rapists male, it doesn’t always go down that way. Over at the Curvature, Cara has an excellent post which deals with one recent case in which a woman hired as… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 September 2008 | Comments (3)

Sexual Politics of Meat - German edition

A German butcher has been reprimanded for advertising its products using a naked woman with “Meat Products, Fresh Service” branded across her body, reports Reuters. The German equivilent of the Advertising Standards Association here in the UK had this to… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 12 September 2008 | Comments (2)

Non-gendered recognition

Here’s the ideal opportunity for the gender abolitionists amongst us to do something simple and positive to show our support for someone who’s trying to make a practical difference. Christie Elan-Cane has made a request for support in per fight… Read more...

Posted by Helen G at 12 September 2008

11 September 2008

Child prisoners in UK detention centers

For years the British government has tried to cover up the truth of what happens to women and children in detention centers such as Yarlswood. Now Sir Al Aynsley-Green, who is the Children’s Commissioner has exposed the reality for children in Yarlswood, nonetheless the government is refusing to change it’s policy towards asylum seekers in general and the detention of children in particular… Read more...

Posted by Sokari Ekine at 11 September 2008 | Comments (5)

10 September 2008

‘The PMS Buddy’ - ug

A while back we briefly linked a service called Mon.thly.Info, which helps keep track of when your period’s due. The PMS Buddy is the horrible, sexist version! The blurb: PMSBuddy.com is a free service created with a single goal in… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 September 2008 | Comments (15)

Landmines - another gender issue, would you believe

Landmines are bad for everyone. Really bad. That much, we should hope, is obvious. But how does gender impact on landmine clearance? Traditionally, not at all, but according to this report by the Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines, it is… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 10 September 2008 | Comments (2)

Round Up

Quite a few interesting snippets today so bare with me. Apologies if we covered this already but on the recent selling sex theme read this article by Julie Bindel. And yes it does make clear it’s not claiming to be… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 10 September 2008 | Comments (2)

More on the Poppy Project’s prostitution report.

From Julie Bindel at The Guardian: …our researchers discovered [that] brothels market women merely as merchandise. Frank was offered “two for the price of one” if he visited during “happy hour” (any time before 5pm). One brothel owner offered to… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 10 September 2008 | Comments (3)

9 September 2008

Raped women charged for rape kits - under Palin’s watch

It’s got to be unusual for crime victims to be charged a fee by the police to investigate and collect the evidence - surely? But rape is clearly just a different sort of crime. So it’s OK to bill rape… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 September 2008 | Comments (5)

Feminist autobiography suggestions?

Back in July we tossed about recommendations for feminist, or feminist-inflected fiction… but how about the autobiography section? Have you read an interesting personal account of the women’s liberation movement in the UK? The suffragettes? The third wave? To start… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 September 2008 | Comments (18)

New review: Femmes of Power - Exploding Queer Femininities

What does femme mean, and how does it differ from the ‘traditional’ femininity which feminism so often puts under the microscope? Milly Shaw reviews a book of photographs of and interviews with femmes from around the world Stilettos, lipstick, beards:… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 9 September 2008

On size zero and modeling

Londonist has an interview with London Assembly member Dee Doocey about the British Fashion Council’s u-turn over issuing certificates proving that models’ BMI is healthy. Some exceprts: Why are the younger, up and coming designers more likely to be in… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 9 September 2008 | Comments (7)

3 Minute Wonder Film

On Maryam’s story - Maryam was a speaker at the Million Women Rise event on International Women’s Day. This is definately a thoughtful film about the identity of contemporary asian women’s identity in the UK and about women’s identity more… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 9 September 2008 | Comments (0)

Quick flick through some disparate links….

Renee at Feministe has a fabulous entry on why make up and fashion isn’t empowerment for most women. When women who are middle/upper class engage in a debate as to whether an article of clothing, or makeup is suitably feminist… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 9 September 2008 | Comments (6)

8 September 2008

Breasts confound and offend at Borders & Blockbusters

The word ‘titty’ has been redacted from the title of ‘The Itty Bitty Titty Committee’ in Borders and Blockbusters stateside, Grace Chu informs us over at AfterEllen. Anyone spot this happening in the UK? Grace hilariously describes how the offending… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 September 2008 | Comments (3)

Victims are never to blame for coercive, abusive ‘relationships’

In this guest post, Cara Grayling tackles our victim-blaming culture This article on how the manager of an NHS eating disorders clinic managed to get away with coercing several young women patients into “relationships” for 20 years states The investigators… Read more...

Posted by Guest Blogger at 8 September 2008 | Comments (9)

New review: Her Naked Skin

Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s take on the suffrage movement hinges on a clichéd story of forbidden love between seamstress Eve Douglas and Lady Celia Cain. Debi Withers is exasperated I could not help but be stung by sensationalism after seeing Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 September 2008

Greer calls out lack of statues of women

Why so few statues of women in the UK? And when women are immortalised in sculture, why are they so small? That’s the question posed by Germaine Greer in the Guardian today. She doesn’t provide an answer (perhaps because it’s… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 8 September 2008 | Comments (15)

7 September 2008

Change for Equality - documenting Iran’s women’s movement

We’ve written about Change for Equality a few times here on The F Word - it’s an activist group of the Iranian women’s movement which is campaigning for an end to laws that discriminate against women. They are responsible for… Read more...

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

New review: Janes In Love

Janes In Love is an oddly bloodless story of friendship, boys and ‘art attacks’, says Sarah C L Jane Beckles lives in a fictional small town in the US called Kent Waters, as told in Janes in Love, a graphic… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 7 September 2008

6 September 2008

Women in London Online Questionnaire

I’ve posted about this before, but wondered if there were any women out there who would also be willing to fill in a questionnaire, which can now be completed online HERE. The only stipulation is that respondents have to live… Read more...

Posted by Abby O'Reilly at 6 September 2008

5 September 2008

Rachel wins…and Sara comes third

I was waiting till now to post about Big Brother because I wanted to see how the finalists were treated by the crowd and by Davina McCall in their post-eviction interviews. Well, the moment has come, and lovely Rachel Rice… Read more...

Posted by Carrie Dunn at 5 September 2008 | Comments (8)

New review: Loving outside the line of monogamy - Tristan Taormino’s new guide to open relationships

Two-person relationships are the default in our culture, but why? Red Chidgey reviews a book which lays open the potential for different kinds of relationships Tristan Taormino has a solid background in promoting radical, provocative feminist sex education. An award-winning… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 5 September 2008

4 September 2008

Hove woman chucked out of Jobcentre for feeding toddler

24-year-old Samantha Corbridge was looking for work. As she is parent to a young child, she took herself and her two-year-old daughter to the Jobcentre. Reports The Argus: But while she was there Robyn needed feeding and when Miss Corbridge… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 4 September 2008 | Comments (30)

News Round-up

Starting more locally - the Welsh Assembly have confirmed girls will be offered the HPV vaccine. Here is the page hosting the Scottish TV advert, this is meant to have the English advert but it isn’t working at the moment……. Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 4 September 2008 | Comments (4)

Selling women’s bodies in the news again

Research by the Poppy Project has found brothels in London selling women for £15 plus another £10 for unprotected sex although the average price was £62. 85% of them are in residential areas and they found around 28 brothels in… Read more...

Posted by Louise Livesey at 4 September 2008 | Comments (21)

3 September 2008

New review: Uglies

Uglies opens in a world where every teenager undergos extreme surgery on their 16th birthday to mould them into hypnotic and hypnotised ‘Pretties’. Cazz Blase reviews a four-part ‘trilogy’ with plenty to say about body image, cosmetic surgery, citizen journalism,… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 3 September 2008

Rudy Giuliani says something interesting…and something daft

Apropos of the whole Sarah Palin/daughter story, Rudy Giuliani was on Sky News earlier. I’ve not seen his comments reported elsewhere, and I was in the middle of running a 5k on the treadmill at the gym, so this may… Read more...

Posted by Carrie Dunn at 3 September 2008 | Comments (16)

Oh Lush… really? Did you have to?

Given that most companies in the business of selling ‘beauty products’ generally employ some dirty sales tactics to hawk their goods, Lush is generally a good thing in my books - as it relies on lovely texture, smell and colour,… Read more...

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

The didgeridon’t

Harper Collins, the publisher, are sticking with their new Australian edition of The Daring Book For Girls - despite the fact that some Aboriginal leaders are outraged with its advice on how to play the didgeridoo. That’s because the didgeridoo… Read more...

Posted by Carrie Dunn at 3 September 2008 | Comments (24)

Sexist sizism in advertising

Over at another blog called The F Word , US student Kristin Herout is interviewed about her project to highlight the body standard issues in advertising. Herout took photos of volunteer women on campus, staging alternative versions of adverts… Read more...

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

Uterus flags, women’s labour, feminist art

Two artists created some interesting work for the Manifesta 7 art festival, reviewed over at We Make Money Not Art. Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson’s pieces are a response to the “dense history of women-labour in the Rovereto area”, where… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 3 September 2008 | Comments (4)

Sexists in the music industry: you will be found, you will be ridiculed

Today’s reasons to love music website The Lipster: 1. They rightly call Noel Gallagher a ‘tool’ because he’s posted a list of his top 10 bands of all time but decided that it should have “no female artists allowed”. OMG… Read more...

Posted by Milly Shaw at 3 September 2008 | Comments (6)

2 September 2008

UN calls on UK to tackle sexism

The UN has called for the government to do more to tackle sexism, in a damning report on sex discrimination in the UK, reports The Independent. Unfortunately I can’t find the report. However, as the Independent tells it, the report… Read more...

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

Overheard in the cereal aisle…

Slim, pubescent teen, approx. 13 years old, brandishes box of Special K under Mum’s nose: “Can we get these ones? They’ll make me thinner” Laura despairs. Fucking Special K; so damn tasty, such damn shitty advertising and downright noxious packaging…. Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 2 September 2008 | Comments (34)

1 September 2008

Welcome to Bilbao, unless you’re a wife beater.

Imagine my surprise upon arriving at Spain’s Bilbao airport a couple of weeks ago to discover that the vast majority of the advertising space throughout the airport - including the arrivals lounge - was dedicated to a government campaign… Read more...

Posted by Laura Woodhouse at 1 September 2008 | Comments (27)

Stamping on the Chosen Few: Township Soccer in London.

Sport is continuously being assigned to a non-political space but no-one lives in a bubble - sports people or LGBTI people . The arrival in London of the Chosen Few (CF), a team of young out Black lesbians from the township of Soweto coming to play in the London 2008 IGLFA World Championships tournament, which is overwhelmingly dominated by white gay men, is very much a political event. An event in which the only other three lesbian teams have a total of three Black players, and where the CF are stomped and fouled upon with some outrageously poor and unprofessional refereeing. Read more...

Posted by Sokari Ekine at 1 September 2008 | Comments (17)

Helen Mirren tells men’s magazine date rape shouldn’t be illegal - why, oh why?!

Helen Mirren told GQ magazine that date rape should not be illegal, as reported everywhere, but here’s a link to the BBC’s story*. In her interview with former national newspaper editor Piers Morgan in the October edition of GQ, Dame… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 1 September 2008 | Comments (21)

July comments!

July’s comments are up and ready to read! Loads of praise for Nino’s feature, Self harm, and discussion prompted by Sophie Platt’s feature on why it’s still this big taboo that women masturbate, and the harm that taboo does. Most… Read more...

Posted by Jess McCabe at 1 September 2008 | Comments (1)