21 December 2005

Met Police continue drive against Domestic Violence

I was pleased to see the new campaign against domestic violence on the tube this morning. The police have been proactive on this issue during 2005, and this new campaign shows that they continue to take the issue seriously. The… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 21 December 2005

24 November 2005

Man has sex with 'unconscious' woman and goes free

The case in question, as reported by the Evening Standard, involves a woman who alleges she was raped whilst lying unconscious, claiming “If I had wanted to sleep with him I would have taken the few steps to my bedroom”…. Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 24 November 2005

17 November 2005

Yay Ken!

Ken Livingstone has asked TfL to withdraw the irritating Tube Tips for Women after loads of people have complained about it. A teeny tiny victory for those of us who objected perhaps (no, not just me - here and here… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 November 2005

27 October 2005

Where to stick 'Tube Tips for Women'?

Transport for London have recently published a handy leaflet ‘specially for those vulnerable lady-travellers who have been plaguing the underground with their antics - sitting too far away from the emergency alarms, falling down the escalators because of their “party… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 27 October 2005

4 October 2005

Hooray for Zoe Williams …

… once again saying what I wanted to say much better than I ever would have! This piece, in today’s Guardian, picks up on the ‘babies do better with mum’ story, and is worth a read…. Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 4 October 2005

3 October 2005

Harriet Miers nominated for US Supreme Court

This morning, President Bush announced his second Supreme Court nomination. He has nominated Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, who stepped down from the Supreme Court last July. Originally, as we reported back in July, President Bush nominated John… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 3 October 2005

Babies do best with Mum?

A study covered on the front page of the Observer yesterday reports that babies do best in developmental terms when they are cared for by stay at home mothers. The sample compared mummy-love with grandparental care, childminding and daycare. The… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 3 October 2005

21 September 2005

DV review - correction

A helpful reader has pointed out that - far from the review mentioned below being the first of its kind in the UK - there have been over 70 such reviews in the last 3 to 4 years, and even… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 21 September 2005

19 September 2005

Date set for Domestic Violence Review

A date has been set for a review into the case of how a man was able to shoot dead his estranged wife and son whilst he was banned from going near them. Alan Pemberton shot dead his wife Julia… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 19 September 2005

15 September 2005

Classic Quote

I wanted to quickly share this little gem from Rev. Pat Robertson, courtesy of popbitch: “This is the second time in a row that God has invoked a disaster shortly before lesbian Ellen Degeneres hosted the Emmy Awards […] Is… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 15 September 2005

7 September 2005

Ageism more common than sexism

A report recently commissioned and published by Age Concern shows that ageism, rather than sexism or racism is the most frequently experienced prejudice. 29% of people interviewed reported experience of prejudice or unfair treatment within the last year related to… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 7 September 2005

30 August 2005

Poll shows women more hostile to abortions than men

A survey conducted by well-respected online pollsters YouGov has found that only 27% of UK adults (and only 19% of women) believe that the current legal limit for abortion - 24 weeks \x96 is appropriate. 30% of people (and 35%… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 30 August 2005

18 August 2005

Still a Buerk

Michael Buerk was on the Today programme this morning, trying to set the record straight on what he actually said. He didn\x92t do much to convince me that he\x92s been misrepresented, to be honest. Listen for yourselves here. Just to… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 18 August 2005

17 August 2005

Who's Crying Now?

Yesterday\x92s T2 covers another story, terribly important and individually upsetting for those concerned, both alleged victim and alleged attacker but horribly familiar to those unconnected with them. The tale is told from the point of view of a father. His… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 August 2005

28 July 2005

Men valued more highly in the caring professions

Researchers have found that men who pursue careers in the caring professions (nursing, teaching and other so-called ‘women’s jobs’) get more respect than women in the same professions. A study recently published by Brunel University, reported in The Guardian, found… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 28 July 2005

20 July 2005

Bush announces Supreme Court nomination \x96 and why you should care

George Bush has announced that John Roberts is his nomination for Supreme Court Justice, to replace Sandra Day O\x92Connor, who recently announced her retirement. There has been huge concern among feminists over this nomination (we’ve written about it here and… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 20 July 2005

5 July 2005

Women Have a Lower Pain Threshold Than Men

BBC News report on clinical testing which has shown women to have a lower pain threshold than men \x96 which leaves me wondering: \x93So What?\x94 Physical differences between males and females are really only interesting in terms of the ways… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 5 July 2005

1 July 2005

Look, I\x92m sorry, but I feel *compelled* to talk about Big Brother

Another week, another eviction. Maxwell and Saskia are up, and you just know that Saskia\x92s going to be for the chop. But why is it that when a woman comes up against a man in a Friday night vote, she\x92s… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 1 July 2005

30 June 2005

<a href="http://society.guardian.co.uk/conferences/story/0,9744,1517975,00.html ">Yippee!</a>

GPs voted yesterday against a motion to reduce the time limit for legal abortions in the UK, about which I had a proper rant last week. 77% of delegates at the British Medical Association\x92s Annual Conference voted against the motion,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 30 June 2005

20 June 2005

Fight for your Right to Abortion

The British Medical Association are expected to vote in favour of reducing the upper time limit on abortions (currently 24 weeks) to 20 weeks, on the grounds that premature babies as young as 22 weeks can be \x96 but are… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 20 June 2005

High Achievers "Look Like Men"

Oliver James in Sunday\x92s Observer Magazine looks into research done by an American psychologist which points to a strong correlation between thinness and professional success \x96 he found that curvaceous women are less likely to be perceived as competent and… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 20 June 2005

Men Doing Twice As Much Housework \x85

\x85 but then two times nothing is nothing, isn\x92t it? I jest, of course. But an article on the front page of yesterday\x92s Sunday Times entitled \x93Hey, Dad, you\x92re an unsung domestic god\x94 rather misleads as to the content of… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 20 June 2005

10 June 2005

Minister for Women sets out priorities

Interviewed in The Guardian yesterday, the new Minister for Women, Meg Munn (the one who\x92s been asked to do the job unpaid as the parliamentary salary budget has been spent elsewhere \x85 ) sets out her priorities for her time… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 10 June 2005

9 June 2005

Cherie Blair Should Be Seen and Not Heard

So all this brouhaha about Cherie Blair is starting to annoy me. Now I personally don\x92t really care whether she makes a bit of spare cash in the evenings doing after dinner speeches. Frankly, if someone offered me \xA330k for… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 9 June 2005

31 May 2005

“Women Who Have Abortions Again and Again”

If I may, I’d like to take a moment to refer you to a fascinating blog entry (and ensuing discussion) over at Volsunga. It centres around a “shock, horror” article in the ‘Daily Hate’ about the increasing number of women… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 31 May 2005

Never Get On A Bus in Calcutta

A new move by the Indian state of West Bengal to employ women as bus conductors (only the second state to have done so) has been a resounding success (scroll down!). Although only 33 of over 1,600 conductors are women,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 31 May 2005

25 May 2005

PhDiva not one for female solidarity

Dorothy King, self-titled PhDiva (\x93we wear Manolo Blahniks but we also have doctorates\x94) is angry about academic women who \x93whinge about life\x92s challenges rather than getting up and doing something about them\x94. Indeed, she thinks that those women \x93should learn… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 25 May 2005

17 May 2005

Correction

It has been brought to my attention that I misquoted some statistics in this piece on millionaire females back in April. I stated that a piece of cebr research (reported in The Telegraph) found that in 20 years’ time more… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 May 2005

New parliamentary bills propose progressive policies on parenting

Nifty bit of alliteration there, eh? The Queen\x92s Speech made at the state opening of parliament includes a number of bills aimed at families and finance. The Parental Rights Bill would extend statutory paid maternity leave from six to nine… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 May 2005

Swimwear that flatters your face

Bible-belt America is crying out for products such as these. WholesomeWear are a new clothing company, specialising in \x91a modest line of clothing for \x93whenever\x94\x92. Fortunately for all those water babies out there, this fledgling company have decided to launch… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 May 2005

School system is failing our young men …

\x85. and the rest of the system is failing our young women. This is my pet peeve. Some of you may have heard me talk about this at great length before. For those who have, please bear with me whilst… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 May 2005

13 May 2005

Marie Stopes Targets Men

Coming up the tube escalators this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see a Marie Stopes advertisement (the organisation best known for providing pregnancy advice and abortions) highlighting the role of vasectomy in the family planning canon. Better still the… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 13 May 2005

12 May 2005

‘Barbaric’ Hollywood rejects older women

The Cannes Film Festival opened yesterday with the film’Lemming’, by French director Dominik Moll. In a press conference after the film, Charlotte Rampling - the 60-year old british female star of the film - described Hollywood’s attitude to older women… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 12 May 2005

11 May 2005

Girls who like Girls who draw Boys who like Boys

Spied in Metro today \x96 a review of the increasing popularity in America of Yaoi (\x93yowee\x94) \x96 a genre of new Japanese manga cartoons containing short fantasy stories focusing on male-on-male *erotic encounters*. So far, so gay porn. But the… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 11 May 2005

28 April 2005

Daisy, Daisy ….

The Guardian today reports concerns from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the newest sexual fad amongst schoolchildren is daisy chaining - the practice of group sex (in a circle, or so the rather romantic name for this decidedly non-romantic… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 28 April 2005

22 April 2005

Ball Breaking Millionaire Females

Thoroughly objectionable article in The Telegraph today \x96 a new report published today by the Centre for Economic and Business Research for the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society indicates that in 20 years\x92 time there will be more female millionaires than… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 22 April 2005

Position Offered: Editor, Cambourne Chronicle

The editor of The Chronicle, the parish magazine for Cambourne, West Cornwall, has come under fire after half of the magazine\x92s 550 subscribers cancelled their subscriptions as a result of his lampooning of the local Women\x92s Institute. Dr Morley defends… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 22 April 2005

"Moulin Rouge meets Chicks on Speed"

Immodesty Blaize, \x91queen of British burlesque\x92 starts a run at the Arts Theatre on 20th April. The show is billed as \x93a seductive blend of hot charm and high camp\x94 and was featured in the Sunday Times Magazine last weekend,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 22 April 2005

21 April 2005

We Love A Wife Beater, We Do

So apparently it\x92s okay to hit your wife, as long as you\x92re a lovable rogue with it. And, let\x92s face it, if you write a book about it afterwards saying how terribly remorseful you are, we\x92ll probably even shower you… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 21 April 2005

19 April 2005

Further assault on reproductive rights of US women

Pursuant to recent attempts by the evangelical Christian right in America to outlaw abortion, reports have been coming through recently of pharmacists refusing to complete prescriptions for the Morning After Pill (MAP), and even the contraceptive pill where it “goes… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 19 April 2005

15 April 2005

Andrea Dworkin 1946-2005

Many of you will have already heard about the untimely death of Andrea Dworkin last weekend. She died in her sleep, aged 59. You can read a biography of Andrea (which she prepared before her death) on the Women in… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 15 April 2005