40% of ethnic minority women in UK live in poverty - Fawcett

By Jess McCabe | 30 June 2009, 16:46

40% of ethnic minority women in the UK live in poverty, according to a report out today by the Fawcett society (and more specifically written by zohra). The current recession poses a major risk that the numbers of ethnic minority…

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New Women’s History Magazine - HerStoria

By Catherine Redfern | 30 June 2009, 15:35

Whilst in Liverpool recently I stumbled across the amazing shop News From Nowhere which if you don’t know is a fabulous, not for profit, radical and community bookshop, and also a worker’s cooperative. Anyway, whilst browsing this wonderful treasure trove,…

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Excuse me while I have a little rant…

By Laura Woodhouse | 30 June 2009, 11:14

I’m one of those girls who’s always got on better with guys as a general rule, and I’ve had serious relationships with guys since I was 15. So there are a lot of men in this world that I care…

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Most conventionally-attractive female players scheduled for centre court, admits Wimbledon

By Jess McCabe | 30 June 2009, 10:10

The All England Club has admitted that it schedules matches between “attractive” female players for Centre Court at Wimbledon, reports the Daily Mail. In the men’s tournament, five-times winner Roger Federer and British hope Andy Murray invariably play on Centre….

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Review: Germaine Greer: “not despondent…worried”

By Guest Blogger | 28 June 2009, 23:21

Christabel D reviews Germaine Greer: Four Decades of Fun with Feminism at Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. I was afraid that Germaine Greer’s Four Decades of Fun with Feminism gig at Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury might at best be an apology. I feared…

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Off the beaten path

By Jess McCabe | 28 June 2009, 11:47

The curators of Off The Beaten Path, an exhibition of global art about violence against women in Oslo, have put the show online. Obviously it’s not the same as actually being able to explore the show yourself, but still…

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May’s comments up now

By Jess McCabe | 27 June 2009, 14:50

Comments on features and reviews sent in last month are up now….

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Rise in number of women prisoners self-harming

By Abby O'Reilly | 27 June 2009, 14:29

The number of women injuring themselves in prison has almost doubled in five years, according to an article in The Independent today. More than half of all self-harming incidents in prisons involve women, despite women making up just five percent…

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Tips for Wired Magazine

By Jess McCabe | 27 June 2009, 02:07

Wired Magazine is being called out for populating the panel on its Wired Biz conference programme with white men. Wired’s response on Twitter? According to @WIREDBiz organizers, we tried hard to get women speakers, but it didn’t work out. We…

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RIP Farrah Fawcett (1947 - 2009)

By Abby O'Reilly | 26 June 2009, 16:59

The actress Farrah Fawcett died yesterday aged 62 following a two-year battle with liver cancer. Fawcett was first diagonsed with a rare form of anal cancer in 2006, but three months after being declared free of the disease in 2007…

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More stay-at-home dads than ever before

By Abby O'Reilly | 26 June 2009, 16:57

More men are stay-at home dads in Britain than ever before, according to a report published this month. Research conducted by Tesco’s Baby & Toddler Club found that since April 2008 the number of full-time fathers has risen from 192,000…

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Leave it go

By Abby O'Reilly | 26 June 2009, 15:24

Anna Mikhailova, the journalist who ‘outed’ Zoe Margolis as the author of Girl with a one-track mind, has written an article attempting to justify her actions. Instead of apologising or taking the opportunity to reflect impartially on her, frankly, disgusting…

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Utera Maxima

By Jess McCabe | 26 June 2009, 13:04

It’s a while since I did an Etsy feminist post, but I couldn’t resist after coming across VulvaLovelyLove’s Etsy shop (note: some images in the shop are not safe for work). The name gets the job done, as the shop…

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London Conservative Future Chair on Women’s Role

By Laura Woodhouse | 25 June 2009, 16:02

Liberal Conspiracy link to this video from Don’t Panic magazine aimed at finding out whether the new young Conservatives, Conservative Future, are really as hip and radical as they claim. Towards the end we see members of CF denying global…

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(Check out) Top Hot Butches, critiques and responses

By Jess McCabe | 25 June 2009, 02:59

[Post has been edited and reblogged] Sinclair’s latest project, Top Hot Butches, was originally a list of The 100 hottest butch, masculine, androgynous, genderqueer, transmasculine, studs, AGs, dykes, queers, and transguys Following criticism of the inclusion of trans men in…

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Futon activism

By Lynne Miles | 24 June 2009, 14:27

Thousands of Irish women each year are forced to travel to the UK for an abortion, because it is illegal in their own country. This can cost them anything from £400 to £1,500 when the cost of the procedure, travel…

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Guest post: A few words about France and the burqa

By Guest Blogger | 24 June 2009, 09:40

zohra asked if I could write about France’s project to launch a Parliamentary inquiry about the burqa from a French perspective. I write with two caveats: I am not a Muslim so I am wary not to take up space…

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John Bercow is Speaker. For now.

By Lynne Miles | 23 June 2009, 09:19

MPs last night elected Conservative John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons. The Speaker wields considerable parliamentary power: deciding who gets to speak in debates and when, and in deciding which amendments get tabled and in which order….

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Infuriating quotes of the day.

By Laura Woodhouse | 22 June 2009, 22:32

Firstly, we have the serious. This comes from a Guardian article which we missed a few weeks back, highlighting the continued failure (for the most part) of police forces to tackle the appallingly low rape conviction rate. Forces across the…

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La Roux: women who dress like that bring violence on themselves.

By Laura Woodhouse | 21 June 2009, 18:04

I absolutely love La Roux’s Spring anthem, In For The Kill (particularly the Skream remix) so I was hugely disappointed when a reader forwarded us this interview, in which singer Elly Jackson is quoted as saying: I know that there’s…

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England win World Twenty20 - where is their recognition?

By Carrie Dunn | 21 June 2009, 15:29

England’s women won the World Twenty20 at Lord’s this morning, with Claire Taylor - Wisden’s first female cricketer of the year - scoring the runs to secure the victory. They add the World Twenty20 title to the World Cup they…

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Guest post: Body Image panel debate at the Women’s Library

By Guest Blogger | 19 June 2009, 15:24

Chrissy D reports back from last night’s debate on body image at the Women’s Library, which featured Susie Orbach. At the panel debate, “Body Image: the impact of magazines”, last night at the Women’s Library, it became apparent to me…

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Colouring Outside The Lines: The Exhibition

By Laura Woodhouse | 18 June 2009, 20:46

Colouring Outside The Lines, the exceedingly lovely zine dedicated to the work and voices of female artists working in less-conventional forms, is coming to Bradford, with an exhibition running from Friday 26 June to Friday 24 July in Gallery II…

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Solidarity Protest for Yarls Wood Hunger Strike

By Holly Combe | 18 June 2009, 19:30

There has been a hunger strike taking place since Tuesday in the Yarls Wood immigration prison: Mothers and Fathers in detention at the Yarl’s Wood detention centre near Bedford have been on hunger strike for the past 2 days over…

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Birds Eye View at Edinburgh International Film Festival

By Laura Woodhouse | 18 June 2009, 10:37

The organisers of women’s film festival Birds Eye View will be celebrating the contribution of women to the Edinburgh film festival this weekend: Saturday 20th June Birds Eye View: Celebrating Women Filmmakers 1915 - 2030 Delegate Centre Café Bar Free…

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Over a quarter of men in South Africa admit to rape

By Laura Woodhouse | 18 June 2009, 09:58

This article, from today’s Guardian, is just horrifying. It highlights research which asked South African men to anonymously indicate whether they had committed rape, and found that 28% admitted to raping a woman or girl, and 3% to raping a…

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Riot grrrl Jessica Hopper’s ‘girls’ guide to rocking’

By Jess McCabe | 18 June 2009, 02:50

Feminist music journo and former(?) riot grrl Jessica Hopper has put out a book for girls on “how to start a band, book gigs and get rolling to rock stardom”. Via AfterEllen, which has more info, this is one of…

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What is going on at the Guardian?

By Guest Blogger | 17 June 2009, 17:31

Orlanda Ward does not think much of Tim Worstall’s musings on how there is “no gender pay gap” Now I understand that these are testing times, and papers are doing all they can to increase traffic and therefore advertising revenues…

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Mothers Day? Fathers Day? Life Insurance Day!

By Holly Combe | 16 June 2009, 20:00

I was recently alerted to a Just-in-time-for-Fathers-Day article about some research for Legal and General from brand strategy and research company BDifferent (I know… alarm bells already). It highlights an increase in the amount of work men do around the…

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Monday Round-up

By Holly Combe | 15 June 2009, 19:40

I discovered through Sunny on Twitter today that Pickled Politics have highlighted the new “Women Uncovered” blog. The site’s strapline is “Where Brown British Women Bitch” and there are two posts so far: one on veils, headscarves and hijab and…

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Support the SOAS cleaners

By Laura Woodhouse | 15 June 2009, 17:52

Students and allies, including members of Feminist Fightback, have been occupying the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) today after nine cleaners from the school were taken into detention following a dawn raid by immigration police…

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Review: Filament magazine

By Laura Woodhouse | 15 June 2009, 16:52

Filament magazine bills itself as ‘the thinking women’s crumpet’ and contains 72 pages of ‘stimulating reading, saucy fiction and beautiful men’ for women who are fed up of the celebrity gossip, beauty fascism and gender stereotypes which choke the pages…

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FemAdLib Kolektiv presents BOGOF

By Laura Woodhouse | 15 June 2009, 13:57

This Thursday, the FemAdLib Kolektiv will be presenting the exhibition/intervention BOGOF at various locations around London from 12-8pm: FemAdLib Kolektiv presents BOGOF, the closing down sale of Mark-It & Sons, a capitalist venture that’s been trading women for centuries. Real…

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Beware the “Look” Policy at Abercrombie & Fitch

By Holly Combe | 14 June 2009, 21:46

Jezebel reports that Riam Dean, an employee of the London flagship Abercrombie and Fitch store, was banished to work in the storeroom for not fitting with their “look” policy. Riam has a prosthetic arm and was asked to buy a…

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Daily Politics Work Debate

By Holly Combe | 13 June 2009, 19:36

It only really scratches the surface of the issue but you might be interested to check out a five minute snippet of a Daily Politics debate between Anneka Rice, Phil Woolas and Anne Widdecombe about the changing role of women…

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Off to New York…

By Jess McCabe | 12 June 2009, 17:29

I’m off on my travels tomorrow, heading across the pond to New York for two weeks. Holly, Laura and zohra will be on hand as guest editors/your point of contact while I’m away, as I’m going to try and take…

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London flashmob protest against violence against women

By Jess McCabe | 12 June 2009, 15:10

Flashmobs are usually strictly arranged for fun and laughs. But The FemaleArtCollective is planning one for tomorrow noon in London, which has a more serious purpose: You’ve seen the massed crowds dancing in adverts. You’ve seen the people freezing at…

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Birmingham Fems hold ‘veg out’ fundraiser for Reclaim the Night

By Jess McCabe | 11 June 2009, 23:16

Birmingham Fems invite you to a ‘veg out’ in July, to raise money for the city’s Reclaim the Night. On 23 July, at the Warehouse Cafe: Come to this special night at the Warehouse Cafe to help raise funds for…

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Rape and the Police

By Kate Smurthwaite | 11 June 2009, 18:32

This story from yesterday’s London Paper is shocking and horrifying. One element of it that I am still spitting about is the time line. Police were “today” (i.e. yesterday) hunting for a rapist who attacked a woman on 3rd…

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F****** Sexism

By Kate Smurthwaite | 11 June 2009, 18:11

I was on Five Live on Tuesday night as Richard Bacon’s “presenter’s friend” which is a really fun job where you get to chat about all the subjects that come up. We interviewed Pete Waterman and met an amazing duo…

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Another round-up

By Jess McCabe | 11 June 2009, 16:20

An anti-abortion group hopes to buy the Wichita, US, clinic of murdered abortion-provider Dr George Tiller, in a spectacularly crude move. Students at an Oxford University college have voted in “a ‘white heterosexual male officer’ to represent their interests on…

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EDM to support Rape Crisis

By Laura Woodhouse | 11 June 2009, 16:03

Please contact your MP and ask them to support Jim Cunningham’s Early Day Motion 1604, which calls on the government to support the Rape Crisis Network: That this House commends the work of Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, The…

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Latest round of comments on features and reviews

By Jess McCabe | 10 June 2009, 23:29

April’s comments on features and reviews are up and ready to read. Readers wrote in about Eirwen-Jane’s takedown of some bad science blogging, Wisrutta’s thoughts on being a female geek and sexist expectations and Sarah’s account of Smash Miss Contest’s…

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ECB appoint female advisors

By Carrie Dunn | 10 June 2009, 16:47

After the England women showed the men how it’s done during March’s World Cup, the ECB have acknowledged that cricket is a fast-growing sport for women by appointing two female board advisors for the first time EVER. Jane Stichbury, CBE…

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Transnational Feminisms conference: call for contributions

By Laura Woodhouse | 10 June 2009, 15:46

The Transnational Feminisms Conference will take plase at the University of Manchester on 4-5 December 2009 (with associated activities on 6 December): Drawing on the impact of postcolonial feminism and its enactments, this conference will examine how women are affected…

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Le Tigre not broken up, working with Christina Aguilera

By Jess McCabe | 10 June 2009, 14:34

Le Tigre, it transpires, have not broken up! They are collaborating with Christina Aguilera: The pop-star/punk-rock team-up was first reported by blogger Perez Hilton. “Just ran into [Le Tigre member] JD Samson, my not-so-secret crush,” Hilton wrote on Twitter. “JD…

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Our best wishes to Dr Katherine Rake, Fawcett Society

By Catherine Redfern | 10 June 2009, 12:21

Dr Katherine Rake is to leave her post as Director of the Fawcett Society after seven years. The Society is now advertising for a new Chief Executive. Rake has achieved so much in the time she’s been at Fawcett, including…

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Eggs are not the answer.

By Laura Woodhouse | 10 June 2009, 09:53

OK, so I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t find the egg attack on Nick Griffin outside Parliament yesterday really rather funny. The teen SWP member in me was delighted. But the rational me despaired somewhat. Because throwing…

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New EU-wide pro-choice initiative

By Laura Woodhouse | 9 June 2009, 21:49

womensphere reports that the Swedish Liberal Party has launched a campaign which aims to get women’s access to abortion recognised as a human right protected under EU law, meaning states would be denied membership if their female population is unable…

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You’re fired! Sexism in The Apprentice

By Guest Blogger | 9 June 2009, 15:30

Fiona Hutchings is not impressed with the BBC’s sexist hype around Sunday’s final of The Apprentice… The BBC really can’t handle the idea of career, competence and women in the same sentence, it seems. Sunday’s Apprentice finale was - shock…

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Anarchist Feminists speak out

By Catherine Redfern | 9 June 2009, 12:14

Anarchist feminists from No Pretence have created a short film and accompanying statement about sexism within the anarchist movement. (Via smash miss contest)…

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New feature: Some body to love

By Jess McCabe | 9 June 2009, 12:13

Forget which body-shape is ‘fashionable’ - women are more than just their bodies, argues Lara Williams Beth Ditto’s appearance on the cover of the inaugural issue of Love Magazine’s - Condé Nast’s latest trendy publication - has prompted the inevitable…

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Story time with Sarah Haskins

By Jess McCabe | 9 June 2009, 11:57

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F-Word bookshop proceeds from last year donated to Women’s Aid

By Jess McCabe | 8 June 2009, 17:04

We have donated £200 of proceeds from our Amazon bookshop to Women’s Aid. We* decided to donate almost 100% of the money made from the bookshop in its first year. (You can read more about the bookshop here.) Women’s Aid…

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Far right gains

By Jess McCabe | 8 June 2009, 10:58

As you all probably know by now, the BNP won two seats in the European Parliament last night - including vile party leader Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons, formerly chairman of the National Front: He and another NF member were…

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Doncaster’s newly elected mayor

By Jess McCabe | 7 June 2009, 13:59

In among the many elections held last week, Doncaster elected Peter Davies from the fringe, hard right ‘English Democrats’ party as mayor. The right-winger ran on an ‘English devolution’ and anti-political correctness platform, and the party wants to withdraw from…

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On Caroline Flint and “the stiletto in the heart of Gordon Brown”

By Jess McCabe | 7 June 2009, 13:16

“Revenge of the woman scorned” screamed the Daily Mail headline. “Caroline Flint launches ‘stiletto in the heart’ of Gordon Brown” was The Telegraph’s take. And that’s just the beginning - headline writers have lept on Flint’s resignation as an excuse…

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Abortion Debate

By Kate Smurthwaite | 7 June 2009, 03:33

I wrote a piece for Reuters yesterday about the murder of Dr George Tiller and the implications for current abortion issues here. My piece here or the “balanced”* debate here. *”Balanced” is very much a matter of opinion I think….

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Happy World Environment Day!

By Jess McCabe | 5 June 2009, 20:34

Raquel Gutierrez Najera is set to receive an award today, to recognise her work on the campaign to protect Mexico’s Lake Chapala, the country’s largest natural lake. The Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide sent out this email today: We congratulate ELAW…

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Worrying Result in Spectrum Survey

By Holly Combe | 5 June 2009, 18:39

Following on from Laura’s post about violence against trans women around the world, I’d also like to mention that there’s a post over at Bird of Paradox (BoP) about a forthcoming UK trans survey on domestic violence. This is much…

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Boris Keep Your Promise

By Jess McCabe | 5 June 2009, 16:57

Last night me and occasional F-Word guest blogger Charlotte Cooper headed to the launch of the Boris Keep Your Promise campaign, to keep the pressure on London mayor Boris Johnson to fulfill his campaign pledge to boost funding for…

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Violence against trans women in Venezuela and across the globe

By Laura Woodhouse | 5 June 2009, 16:07

Helen G has been documenting instances of transphobic hate crime committed across the globe in the last few months, from Honduras to India, Serbia to Peru. Her latest report on transphobic violence comes from Venezuela, where over 20 trans people…

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Anastasia Dobromyslova back in darting action

By Carrie Dunn | 5 June 2009, 13:29

Remember Anastasia Dobromyslova, the darts player who appalled Wayne Mardle by giving him a run for his money? “It is hard for any man to play a lady,” the Sky Sports pundit has just commented. Anyway, she was in action…

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Guest post: Woman-friendly news?

By Guest Blogger | 5 June 2009, 12:03

Lindsey M Sheehan longs for a newspaper that doesn’t alienate female and feminist readers… I’m starting to realise that there is no such thing as a woman-friendly newspaper. At one end of the scale are the porn tabloids offering “twenty…

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Samantha Orobator sentenced to life

By Jess McCabe | 3 June 2009, 17:16

Samantha Orobator will not face the death penalty - instead she will face life in prison after she was found guilty of drug trafficking, according to the Guardian. The Guardian confirms she was forced to sign a statement saying her…

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A story of misplaced paternalism and the wrong answer to a pressing problem

By Jess McCabe | 3 June 2009, 11:31

An HIV-positive pregnant woman has been jailed by a US judge, who believes that the health-care provided by the country’s immigration system is so poor, that prison is her best bet for ensuring she doesn’t pass on HIV to her…

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European elections, beyond just not voting for the BNP

By Jess McCabe | 2 June 2009, 11:17

The pressure is on to keep the BNP from gaining seats in the European elections on Thursday. Voting for other parties makes it harder for them to gain ground - and, especially if you’re in the North West, where the…

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Newsflash: Violence is not Ladylike

By Holly Combe | 1 June 2009, 21:00

I expect you’ll already be aware that the attack on Danielle Lloyd in a nightclub last week prompted the usual predictable response from the Daily Mail about Bad Women. (I won’t bother linking to them on this occasion but will…

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George Tiller RIP

By Jess McCabe | 1 June 2009, 16:17

On Sunday morning, US gynaecologist George Tiller was murdered. He was one of the few providers of late-term abortions in the US. Christine at Our Bodies Ourselves gives some background - Tiller had faced many years of persecution: In March,…

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Headlines, headlines, headlines

By Jess McCabe | 1 June 2009, 15:41

“Women less happy after 40 years of feminism,” says the Times Online headline. “Women are more unhappy despite 40 years of feminism, claims study,” screams the Mail. My first reaction when this popped into my inbox was, really? We’ve been…

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