Blog posts from September 2010
Research indicates "why women apologise so much"
by Holly Combe // 30 September 2010, 23:00
The Live Science website has reported on two related studies exploring how often women and men apologise. In summary, the first study involved the use of online diaries and found no difference between women and men when it came...
New feature - Jonathan Dean: Rethinking contemporary feminist politics
by Jess McCabe // 30 September 2010, 22:43
Jonathan Dean's recent academic book Rethinking Contemporary Feminist Politics analyses the state of contemporary feminism in the UK, and uses The F-Word as a case study. Catherine Redfern invited him to explain more about his findings Hi Jonathan. Please can...
New review: The Heretics
by Jess McCabe // 30 September 2010, 10:39
The Heretics charts the story of a feminist art magazine which grew out of the New York art scene in the 1970s. What was it like to work on Heresies? Where are these women today, and what has happened to...
New review: Beyond the Circle
by Jess McCabe // 29 September 2010, 22:38
Jane Fae Ozimek’s book takes a refreshing and inspiring look at questions of taboo, sex and the law - but does not quite have the answers, argues Victoria Dutchman-Smith Jane Fae Ozimek's Beyond the Circle is slim, powerful book about...
Disabled model in nationwide Debenhams campaign
by Laura Woodhouse // 29 September 2010, 20:15
Not being a fan of Gok Wan's How To Look Good Naked, I hadn't heard about the show's campaign to get disabled models into high street stores, so I was pleasantly surprised when I walked past Debenhams at the weekend...
Labour shadow cabinet nominations
by zohra moosa // 29 September 2010, 18:26
Update: I count 14 women out of a total of 49 candidates, which is just under 29%. The Labour Party has announced the nominations for its Shadow Cabinet. Alphabetical by surname: Diane Abbott Douglas Alexander Ed Balls Hilary Benn Roberta...
Competition! Win a free subscription to HerStoria online
by Jess McCabe // 28 September 2010, 20:59
HerStoria magazine has passed along three free subscriptions to their new online version to give away! HerStoria magazine specialises in "History that puts woman in her place", as in, right back in the centre of the story. The latest issue...
Tess Daly: TV is sexist, but I'm not a feminist
by Carrie Dunn // 28 September 2010, 11:21
As you may know, I'm a big Strictly Come Dancing fan, but this interview with co-host Tess Daly made me want to kick in my TV screen and never watch it again. Has she ever encountered ageism or sexism? "Erm,...
Weekly round-up and open thread, 27 September 2010
by Jolene Tan // 27 September 2010, 15:29
Here's Monday, and with it comes the weekly round-up and open thread. Have at it in comments!Craftivists at London Fashion Week (mr x stitch)Summerskill voices opposition to same-sex marriage (Pink News)Pregnancy clinics 'should be set up in schools' (Guardian)Recent Belfast...
Mirren berated for discussing interview
by Holly Combe // 26 September 2010, 21:23
Following on from the interview with Helen Mirren in the latest issue of Bust, is this prime example of the kind of snide tone that some sections of the media seem to delight in taking when a woman in...
Fat Quarter magazine
by Catherine Redfern // 26 September 2010, 16:52
Lucky me: I received a copy of Issue 2 of Fat Quarter magazine, a slim but glossy 'countercultural ladies mag' which is sister publication to the blog/website. This issue, which looks as stylish as ever, has a 'women as...
New review: A family portrait, without sentimentality
by Jess McCabe // 25 September 2010, 14:56
Alice Neel’s portraits of pregnant women, mothers and children, undercut the romanticisation of motherhood, argues Sarah Blake In an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, Alice Neel demolishes cosy notions of family life. She strips the family portrait of...
Feminist Soapbox, a weekend of workshops, discussion and entertainment in Edinburgh
by Guest Blogger // 23 September 2010, 11:11
Guest post by sophie - on behalf of the edinburgh anarcha-feminist kollektive This weekend, 25-26 September, the Edinburgh Anarcha-Feminist Kollektive and Ladyfest Edinburgh have teamed up to organise an action-packed event of participatory workshops, skill-sharing, book readings, zine stalls, food,...
Latest issue of Race Revolt out now - plus website relaunches
by Jess McCabe // 22 September 2010, 11:02
The fifth issue of Race Revolt is out now, and the zine's website has relaunched - posting much of the contents of earlier issues online for all to read. Humaira Saeed set up Race Revolt in 2007, "as an intervention...
No, feminism did not 'kill' the art of home cooking
by Jess McCabe // 21 September 2010, 17:21
To answer the Daily Mail's facetious question, no, feminism did not kill the art of home cooking. Nor did feminists cause "an epidemic of childhood obesity", as Rose Prince argues, by encouraging women to abandon the production of "feminine...
Being Offensive To Show How Offensive Offensiveness Is
by Philippa Willitts // 21 September 2010, 10:02
Philippa writes about how misguided a press release from Ben Summerskill of Stonewall is, when it uses racist language to highlight that homophobic language is bad.
US suffragette parodies the opposition
by Jess McCabe // 20 September 2010, 19:49
Marie Jenney Howe was a campaigner for women's enfranchisement in the US and wrote a funny satire of the arguments put forward by those who were against extending the vote to women. PhDork at the Pursuit of Harpyness described...
CPS apologises to sexual assault victim
by Laura Woodhouse // 20 September 2010, 19:37
Channel 4 News reported earlier that the Crown Prosecution Service has apologised to a woman who was blamed for the breakdown of the trial against the man who sexually assaulted her. "Josephine" had been told that her anonymity would be...
Speaking events
by Catherine Redfern // 20 September 2010, 19:33
I'm going to be speaking at various events in the next couple of months about our book Reclaiming The F Word. Kristin Aune - my co-author - is doing some others too, which I'll post up when I have...
Weekly round-up and open thread, 20 September 2010
by Jess McCabe // 20 September 2010, 11:12
It's Monday - that means it's time for The F-Word's weekly link fest, when we link to recent stories of feminist interest that we didn't get a chance to write about during the last seven days. We may end...
Girls just love clothes!
by Laura Woodhouse // 18 September 2010, 17:49
I hate clothes shopping. The whole experience is so migraine-inducingly frustrating for so very many reasons that it often makes me quite genuinely wish I had been born a man. Essentially, I can really see no good reason why the...
Home Office cuts study on how police handle rape cases
by Jess McCabe // 17 September 2010, 19:41
An investigation into how the police treat rape cases has been abandoned, after the Home Office withdrew funding, reports The Guardian. The review was announced in response to the John Worboys case, and other incidents that raised worrying questions about...
A 10k glimmer of hope for Congo women
by Guest Blogger // 17 September 2010, 10:19
This summer's Run for Congo Women was a huge success, says Ashleigh Murphy. Time to sign up for the next London run As the crisis in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo continues to rage, claiming thousands more lives, it...
Clare Balding's complaint to PCC upheld
by Carrie Dunn // 17 September 2010, 00:17
You might recall our scoop back in July about Clare Balding's complaint to the PCC regarding AA Gill calling her a "dyke" in his Sunday Times column. The BBC is now reporting that her complaint has been upheld and the...
New feature - Empowering just one person: An interview with Zoe Margolis
by Jess McCabe // 16 September 2010, 23:12
The outspoken feminist and author of Girl With a One Track Mind and Girl With a One Track Mind: Exposed spoke to Catherine Redfern about feminism, sex, activism and writing What are your hopes for your new book Girl With...
Unite against the regime of stoning and flogging, 18 September
by Guest Blogger // 16 September 2010, 15:48
In this guest post, Shreen Ayob urges readers to join a protest this Saturday in London New venue: Trafalgar Square, North Terrace (outside the National Gallery) 2:00-3:30pm Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old Iranian woman with two adult children, was sentenced...
M&S and Hooters Bristol (insert 'joke' here)
by Carrie Dunn // 15 September 2010, 12:06
Just to flag up one of the stories mentioned in our open thread this week - Hooters are planning to open a new 'restaurant' in Bristol, with the city council buying the disingenuous line that it's "family-friendly". The campaign against...
Weekly round-up and open thread, 13 September 2010
by Holly Combe // 13 September 2010, 14:30
It's that time of the week again when we link to recent stories of feminist interest that we missed. Some of the items might get picked up by one of us in more detail later on but we won't...
50:50 gender split for shadow cabinet rejected
by Laura Woodhouse // 11 September 2010, 12:26
I'm a wee bit late to this, but the Labour party has voted to ensure that 31.5% of the shadow cabinet will be made up of women, rejecting a 50% quota: [Harriet] Harman had called for a 50:50 split in...
Calling all feminists in Edinburgh!
by Catherine Redfern // 10 September 2010, 18:25
On Saturday the 11th of September the Anarcha Feminist Kollectiv and Ladyfest Edinburgh have teamed up to bring you a pub quiz with a difference! The theme is 'radical women from herstory' and will feature a variety of different topics...
4Thought: "Jesus was a feminist"
by Laura Woodhouse // 10 September 2010, 07:58
Last night's 4Thought featured Church of England priest Miranda Threllfall-Jones discussing gender, feminism and the Church. Unfortunately the video cannot be embedded, but you can watch it here. Transcript: "It does make me angry that there are still people trying...
10 September: World Suicide Prevention Day
by Helen G // 10 September 2010, 07:30
"Many Faces, Many Places: Suicide Prevention across the World" The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that on average, almost 3000 people die by suicide daily, representing a "global" mortality rate of 16 per 100,000, or one death every 40 seconds....
Sexual harassment at Samsung
by Jess McCabe // 7 September 2010, 11:35
Lee Eun-eui has won around $34,000 in damages from Samsung in a landmark sexual harassment case for South Korea. However, the case has not been covered by English-language media. The Grand Narrative, a blog which usually is concerned with analysing...
Protest the Pope!
by Laura Woodhouse // 6 September 2010, 20:00
If you're none too thrilled with the fact that millions of pounds of our money is being spent on the Pope's state visit to the UK next week (16-19 September) - not to mention the untold suffering inflicted by papal...
Weekly Round-Up And Open Thread, 6 September 2010
by Helen G // 6 September 2010, 15:18
Here's this week's open thread for discussion and our regular round-up of some of the articles and blogs we've noticed but not had time to post about. If you have a link or comment that doesn't fit anywhere else, feel...
Jewish/Israeli 'rape by deception' case: more than meets the eye
by Lynne Miles // 6 September 2010, 12:00
I don' t know whether readers remember reading a month or two ago about a case in Israel where an Arab man was convicted of "rape by deception" of a Jewish woman. The crux of the case was that she...
New review: Looking For Leonora
by Jess McCabe // 5 September 2010, 19:57
Artist Leonora Carrington is considered a national treasure in her home of Mexico. But the Lancashire-born surrealist is little known in the UK, where no public collection displays her paintings. Susan Gilbert argues more should be done to celebrate her...
Boyfriend pressing you for sex? Buy him a scented candle!
by Laura Woodhouse // 4 September 2010, 16:42
I've read some crappy advice columns in the past, but this one, from Pamela Stephenson Connolly in The Guardian, may just take the biscuit. Here's the question: I enjoy sex with my boyfriend of two years - he has a...
Out of sight, out of mind? - Transgender People’s Experiences of Domestic Abuse
by Helen G // 3 September 2010, 14:28
The LGBT Domestic Abuse Project and the Scottish Transgender Alliance have now published their research document surveying the levels and forms of domestic abuse to which transgender people are subjected, and it makes for grim reading. The 36-page document, called...
August comments and review comments, for your perusal
by Jess McCabe // 3 September 2010, 13:13
Features and reviews comments received in the summery rainy month of August* are up now and ready for your reading pleasure. We were overwhelmed with responses to Hannah's cystitis feature, particularly with women reporting similar experiences and frustration with the...
More on floods in Pakistan and gender impact
by Jess McCabe // 3 September 2010, 12:04
Information on the gender impacts of the recent tragic flood in Pakistan is just now being parsed. The Global Fund for Women has a guest post which brings together some of this information, particularly about how the flood and aftermath...
Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the 
