Blog posts by Lynne Miles: 2009
Major legislative news this week
By Lynne Miles | 13 November 2009, 13:55
A major piece of legislation was given Royal Assent and signed into law yesterday, containing two significant clauses which will be of interest to feminists. Firstly, Clause 13 (formerly Clause 14) of the Policing and Crime Bill was passed without…
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Can I just say…
By Lynne Miles | 21 October 2009, 18:53
… that this sounds like the best summer camp ever, and I’m so jealous that Kenzie got to go and I didn’t. There were movies in the evening, a choice of Fried Green Tomatoes and Joy Luck Club, and just…
Daily Mail Bingo
By Lynne Miles | 16 October 2009, 11:17
Check out this column…. Homophobia? …. check. Transphobia? …. check. Misogyny? … check. What a refreshing start to the day….
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…
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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Sima Valand Update
By Lynne Miles | 19 May 2009, 18:11
an update on the Sima Valand case from the other week … Sima Valand is desperately fighting to stop the Home Office sending her to India where she is at risk of murder at the hands of her in-laws. She…
Bitchy Jones is onto something …
By Lynne Miles | 17 May 2009, 00:13
Bitchy Jones on why straight women talking about their ‘girl crushes’ or women they’d totally ‘go gay for’ sticks in her craw: It is because the highest compliment you can pay a woman is to proclaim that you find her…
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Sima Valand due to be forcibly removed from the UK today (Fri 8th)
By Lynne Miles | 8 May 2009, 16:53
** Update: Sima Valand survived this attempt at deportation, but is now subject to a second threat (as of May 19th) - please see here** We received this from Nimda at Women in London… time is of the essence so…
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Sex-ed to be made compulsory(ish)
By Lynne Miles | 27 April 2009, 16:48
Under a somewhat misleading headline, the Guardian informs us that 5-year olds will be getting compulsory sex ed. Halfway down the article it’s finally clear that PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), the currently optional element of the school curriculum…
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Council strikes blow for gender equality, cuts women’s pay by 25%
By Lynne Miles | 17 April 2009, 19:46
Sheffield City Council has announced a salary restructuring as a result of the onerous duty of gender equality legislation. Apparently the unreasonable burden of having to pay the workers equally for doing similar jobs has caused them a great deal…
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Tanya Gold on Susan Boyle
By Lynne Miles | 17 April 2009, 19:35
In today’s Guardian, Tanya Gold points out the misogyny inherent in the reaction to Susan Boyle, the by now infamous Scottish woman who has emerged as the favourite to win Britain’s Got Talent. Susan got an incredibly hard time from…
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Michelle Obama speaks to Inner London schoolgirls
By Lynne Miles | 5 April 2009, 23:27
In between wearing controversial cardigans and hugging the Queen (and from the press coverage you’d be forgiven for thinking that was all she’d been doing), Michelle Obama took time to speak to pupils at the all-girls Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school…
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Trafficked boys in China
By Lynne Miles | 5 April 2009, 21:21
In case we need a reminder why feminism might conceivably benefit everyone (not just women) look no further than this very sad New York Times article. It focuses on the increasing incidence of abduction of small boys in China. The…
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Rebecca Hooper kicks ass!
By Lynne Miles | 28 March 2009, 00:31
It’s not often an article in the Daily Mail makes you smile, but I quickly wanted to share this one with you. This is too cute. Rebecca Hooper, who is 9 years old, had become the first female Cub Scout…
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New measure of national wellbeing finds women less happy than men
By Lynne Miles | 11 February 2009, 17:05
When I’m not being a very lax feminist blogger, I’m a public policy wonk with an interest in local economic development. So I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the publication of the new economics foundation’s groundbreaking National Accounts of…
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