Blog posts by Lynne Miles: 2008
Queens speech
By Lynne Miles | 3 December 2008, 18:02
The Queen’s speech today contained the government’s legislative agenda for the next year. Amongst economic measures to help with the banking and housing crisis, and some shonky-looking proposal to subject benefits claimants to lie detector tests (wtf?!), there will be…
Death of Laddism Parade
By Lynne Miles | 23 November 2008, 18:40
Firstly - well done to the 2,000 women who filled the streets of London to Reclaim the Night last night!! Secondly, capitalising on its success, there has been talk amongst various feminists, including those from the London Feminist Network, Object…
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RIP Amy Leigh Barnes and Duanna Johnson
By Lynne Miles | 14 November 2008, 05:02
There have been two horrific murders in the past week. 19 year old Amy Leigh Barnes was found stabbed to death in the flat that was her first home away from her parents last Saturday morning. Her former boyfriend, a…
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Calling bullshit on Pepsi
By Lynne Miles | 22 October 2008, 02:05
You may have seen stuff on other blogs about the recent supposed Pepsi ad, depicting an unconscious ‘hawt’ woman, the lifeguard who has apparently just dragged her out of the sea, and a leery teenage boy. The deal is that,…
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Royal Mail stamp issue to honour ‘Women of Distinction’
By Lynne Miles | 15 October 2008, 00:03
The Royal Mail have issued a special series of stamps to honour six women who “took on the establishment and won”. The stamps feature: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, both the first female doctor and the first female mayor in England; Millicent…
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IOC/You Tube censor Tibet protest footage
By Lynne Miles | 14 August 2008, 01:02
Following IOC demands, You Tube have pulled a clip showing footage of a Free Tibet protest because …. it contained imagery including the five-rings Olympic logo, and therefore was an infringement of copyright. So much for the goal of the…
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On race and beauty
By Lynne Miles | 11 August 2008, 19:34
In this really moving exploration of why she is so hurt and angry at her (black, male) best friend’s insistence on dating white girls, Latoya Peterson at Racialicious, talks about how black women experience beauty standards differently than white women:…
Larry Summers, Women and Maths
By Lynne Miles | 30 July 2008, 13:44
You may remember a controversy a couple of years ago about remarks made by Larry Summers, former President of Harvard University. He suggested that the reason there are fewer women than men at the high end of scientific research…
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This is a quick one…
By Lynne Miles | 23 July 2008, 22:32
… but those interested in Mamma Mia should check out this Shapely Prose review of the film from a feminist perspective (and check out the blog more generally - it’s one of my favourites)….
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Crappy articles of the day
By Lynne Miles | 16 July 2008, 16:02
Checking the news today I decided to take a break from the usual suspects and catch up with the world’s happenings via The Telegraph. Granted, its editorial stance is usually not in line with my personal politics, but it’s good…
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Abortion by Internet
By Lynne Miles | 11 July 2008, 12:38
The Indpendent are reporting on an internet site, Women on Web, who are selling abortion pills online to women in countries with heavily restricted access to abortion. The drugs cost £55. This originates from a British Journal of Obstetrics and…
Sexual violence campaigner gets fewer votes than Miss Great Britain
By Lynne Miles | 11 July 2008, 09:49
As Louise reported a few weeks ago, Jill Saward - campaigner against sexual violence - stood in yesterday’s Haltemprice and Howden by-election. This was the by-election called by David Davis in protest over the 42-days detention proposals, CCTV and DNA…
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RIP Jana Mackey
By Lynne Miles | 8 July 2008, 12:58
Feministing and many other blogs carry the incredibly sad story of Jana Mackey, a feminist activist who worked to stop violence against women, volunteered on a rape crisis helpline, and who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend last weekend. Jana…
Church votes to allow women bishops
By Lynne Miles | 8 July 2008, 08:58
For those interested in such things, the Church of England’s ruling body, the General Synod, has voted to allow women to be consecrated as bishops, despite opposition from some 1,300 clergy members of the Church who have threatened to leave…
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An open letter to the Rt Rev Kieran Conry
By Lynne Miles | 25 May 2008, 21:57
Dear Rev Conry, You were quoted in the Daily Mail today, on the subject of the adoption agencies from which the Catholic Church is withdrawing funding. I understand that the future of those agencies is extremely uncertain as a result….
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Messy Tuesdays
By Lynne Miles | 22 April 2008, 12:16
One of my oldest and dearest friends, Lara at KnitWit, has developed a concept which I think is rather fab. Lara’s into crafts, knitting most particularly, and craft blogging. Part of the joy of craft blogging is proudly displaying photos…
Stop the Strip Pub - update
By Lynne Miles | 10 April 2008, 15:09
A quick update on the ‘Stop the Strip Pub’ campaign currently running in Stoke Newington, Hackney. It aims to block the application of local pub and former jazz bar ‘Satchmo’s’ to become a sex entertainment establishment, with pole dancing on…
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Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution now up
By Lynne Miles | 1 April 2008, 17:04
Up at The Burning Times, the Third Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution, hosted by Debs. The highlights for me are the Twisty entry (when is the Twisty entry *not* anyone’s favourite?): I’ve said it before and I’ll again: patriarchy isn’t…
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I am so in love with this clip
By Lynne Miles | 18 March 2008, 21:16
Not strictly feminist, but couldn’t resist the chance to share! “Gay scientists isolate the Christian gene” - because gayness can be inherited just like baldness. Watch it a second time to read the scrolling ‘news’ bar. Hat tip to the…
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McCartney-Mills and divorce
By Lynne Miles | 18 March 2008, 16:59
I’ve been brewing a post on this for some time, and now Helen has pipped me to the post! But I have two points to make about the Macca vs Mucca divorce. The first is that the level of hatred…
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Lazy reporting on abortion
By Lynne Miles | 16 March 2008, 17:04
Lazy reporting at The Times today, who open with “Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions” - Bookdrunk at Rhetorically Speaking (one of my favourite blogs - she is blisteringly funny!) points out that…
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Stop the Strip Pub
By Lynne Miles | 16 March 2008, 15:48
Those in the Stoke Newington/Dalston area may be interested to know about a fledgling campaign to stop Satchmo’s - a bar I used to be really fond of - from getting a license to become a “sex encounters establishment”. Former…
Sack Kay Burley!
By Lynne Miles | 29 February 2008, 22:02
I’ve been a bit slow on the uptake here, but catching up on my blogs I stumbled across this by MatGB on Liberal Conspiracy. Pamela Wright, the partner of Steve (recently convicted of murdering five prostitutes in Ipswich) was interviewed…
Some men’s views on prostitution
By Lynne Miles | 24 February 2008, 23:25
There was a thoroughly depressing article on the BBC news magazine pages last Friday, focusing on men who say they are not ashamed to use prostitutes, and their justification for their ‘hobby’. If reading that makes you despair for the…
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Conservatives: A New Approach To Women’s Issues
By Lynne Miles | 22 February 2008, 16:02
A reader recently wrote in to complain about anti-Tory bias on these pages. In particular it was in reference to an image used in my blog piece on the protests outside of the Ann Widdecombe anti-abortion roadshow, in which some…
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Shake your Bobarosa for the boys
By Lynne Miles | 19 February 2008, 11:24
Apparently the latest craze in Ivory Coast is the Bobarosa - literally, “big bottom” in Djoula - a dance inspired by big bottoms from the perspective of (you guessed it) a couple of Ivorian men. Both sexes are doing…
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More Hillary bashing
By Lynne Miles | 12 February 2008, 23:44
In case anyone thought Jess was exaggerating claims of misogyny fuelling the anti-Hillary campaign in the US, here’s a recent image snapped at the Conservative Political Action Conference (originally from here): I stumbled across this in a post by Jeff…
We are the pro-choice majority
By Lynne Miles | 6 February 2008, 23:39
Hundreds of women and men surrounded the entrance to Central Hall Westminster tonight to picket a meeting called by Ann Widdecombe and various anti-abortion groups as part of a national roadshow. Here’s a mugshot of me (centre), Catherine Redfern…
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