http://www.thefword.org.uk/images/logo2003.gif 2009-11-07T13:42:07Z Latest comments made on The F-Word Blog tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//8 Movable Type Copyright (c) 2009, The F-Word 2009-11-07T12:58:20Z 2009-11-07T12:58:20Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41984 Cazz 2009-11-07T12:21:52Z 2009-11-07T12:21:52Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41982 sima valand said: Dear ,frends please help me iam in sudan i wont to came back uk give me sponcer letter thank u]]> sima valand 2009-11-07T11:53:15Z 2009-11-07T11:53:15Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41981 zohra said: Great post Philippa, thanks for naming some of the problems so clearly.]]> zohra 2009-11-06T10:55:53Z 2009-11-06T10:55:53Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41905 Soirore said: I have been looking forward to this for ages, it's going to be AWESOME! If any other silent film loving F Word readers are going and would like to meet up please tweet me.]]> Soirore 2009-11-05T22:50:55Z 2009-11-05T22:50:55Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41876 Joy Wood 2009-11-05T21:31:20Z 2009-11-05T21:31:20Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41869 Laura Woodhouse said: Hi Joy, The first section of the march (6.30-7.10) is self defining women and children (female and male) only, other supporters can join at 7.10 and the reception is for everyone. It will be held at Lord Mayors Banqueting Hall, at the Civic Hall on Millenium Square. That's an excellent point, Amy Clare, and one that clearly needs to be taken into consideration in planning women only events in the future. Personally I think an exception should be made for male carers. I've passed your comment onto the organisers.]]> Laura Woodhouse 2009-11-05T18:25:23Z 2009-11-05T18:25:23Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41842 Daniela Vincenti 2009-11-05T17:52:18Z 2009-11-05T17:52:18Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41838 Daniel 2009-11-05T17:19:40Z 2009-11-05T17:19:40Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41833 Soirore 2009-11-05T17:14:14Z 2009-11-05T17:14:14Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41832 jan 2009-11-05T16:52:27Z 2009-11-05T16:52:27Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41831 Denise 2009-11-05T16:51:30Z 2009-11-05T16:51:30Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41830 sianmarie said: as gadgetgal says, it isn't as easy as just ignoring the trolls, they shout so loudly. and not all pf the abusive people on CIF are trolls, they can be perfectly reasonable on non feminist cif pages. (not naming any names) i do ignore the trolls now as i refuse to go on cif. surely it's really awful that me and other readers like me feel excluded from the site because of the nasty, uninformed attitude towards feminism of many CIF commenters or trolls?]]> sianmarie 2009-11-05T16:24:19Z 2009-11-05T16:24:19Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41827 gadgetgal 2009-11-05T15:56:02Z 2009-11-05T15:56:02Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41825 gadgetgal 2009-11-05T15:21:34Z 2009-11-05T15:21:34Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41822 A fake name (sorry) 2009-11-05T14:42:51Z 2009-11-05T14:42:51Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41820 Amy Clare 2009-11-05T14:06:58Z 2009-11-05T14:06:58Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41816 Anna 2009-11-05T14:03:40Z 2009-11-05T14:03:40Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41815 sianmarie said: hi daniela in bristol our RTN was mixed (we are in the decision process for whether to have it mixed in 2010) with a woman's only segment leading the march. it was very important to us that the women only section was at the front, to show that we don't need men's protection. the reasons we had to include men were manifold. we didn't want to exclude men as we felt it was important to recognise that in order to fight violence against women, we need men on our side, that men support and care about this issue, and are affected by it. we also didn't want to leave men behind as this could also exclude women, from women who would not support an exclusive march or feel upset/offended that men weren't welcome and, perhaps even more importantly, to allow women who might need a male companion (e.g. carers or for cultural reasons) to attend. it is such a tricky debate and i do understand why some RTNs choose to be single sex. i'm not sure if bristol has been the only recent mixed march? does anyone know? yet even having made the march mixed with the women's only section, we were still criticised by some male attendees for not being "inclusive enough" - for example none of the speakers at the rally were men. we pointed out that this was because it was primarily a woman focussed event, looking at violence against women, and that no men had volunteered to speak. i was furious about that criticism i have to say! it seems you can't win... we're in the planning stages now so it depends on the consultation whether the march is voted to be mixed or self identified women only. this has been a bit rambling sorry! just wanted to say how some marches are mixed and that was our reasoning as to why!]]> sianmarie 2009-11-05T13:28:39Z 2009-11-05T13:28:39Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41813 Laura Woodhouse said: Hi Daniela, Briefly - the whole point of Reclaim the Night is to assert women's right to use public space safely and to live free of male violence. The women-only nature of the event is a visual representation of our demands - we don't want or need men to 'protect' us when we walk home at night - and is also rooted in the history of Reclaim the Night, when women were told to stay off the streets in response to the Yorkshire ripper killings. Women took over public space to protest at this victim blaming, scare mongering approach.]]> Laura Woodhouse 2009-11-05T13:26:32Z 2009-11-05T13:26:32Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41812 Joy Wood 2009-11-05T11:47:02Z 2009-11-05T11:47:02Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41801 Amy Clare 2009-11-05T11:33:22Z 2009-11-05T11:33:22Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41800 Ms Chevious 2009-11-05T11:11:44Z 2009-11-05T11:11:44Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41795 Daniela Vincenti 2009-11-05T11:06:55Z 2009-11-05T11:06:55Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41794 Daniela Vincenti 2009-11-05T07:09:43Z 2009-11-05T07:09:43Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41781 Ruth Moss said: Open to all self-defining women? Children are welcome to attend? At a time that's appropriate for young children with early bedtimes? Are my eyes deceiving me? Is this a Reclaim the Night that's doing it right? Good on you, Leeds!]]> Ruth Moss 2009-11-05T01:15:12Z 2009-11-05T01:15:12Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41759 prof 2009-11-04T22:40:54Z 2009-11-04T22:40:54Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41741 jforbes 2009-11-04T22:40:23Z 2009-11-04T22:40:23Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41740 Laurel Dearing 2009-11-04T21:07:42Z 2009-11-04T21:07:42Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41737 Abi Moore said: Dear troon, Your comments have been noted! I just wanted to respond in some way though, firstly by letting you know that I too am a mother of boys... the site came about partly as a result of my worries about the imagery, messages and stereotypes they were and are bombarded with each and every day. About what it is to be a girl and a woman... We have never claimed to be a feminist site, although I am a feminist as is my sister (co-founder and mother of girls) and we are more than happy to be labelled as such. it's up to you whether you think it is or not, clearly you think not, that's fine. Our intention has never been to be a high-brow site, but to react in an accessible way to the horrors we see around us. It's been very successful, as there is not much else going on to combat all this guff. We would love more time and money to do this in the way we envisage it, but unfortunately we both work full time and have two kids each, so it's a spare time thing, and we have paid for most of it ourselves, because we believe in it. We have a lot of plans, and a lot of helpers, so hopefully we can address some of the issues in the future. If I could personally destroy the girls and boys floors of Hamley's I would. So I'm baffled at what ever it is that makes you think we want to merely dress them up as something else. In fact I'm mortified. We're called PinkStinks for gods sake! We'll have to agree to disagree on that! Above all else, everything we do is from the heart, cheesy I know, but I agree we need better role models for boys, however, this whole thing started after the blanket news coverage that Paris Hilton received upon leaving jail... and I'd just been filming with a woman nobel prize winning chemist making a new cure for cancer, so I got off my arse and decided to do something about it. As for politicians, we left them out, because we refused to put Margaret Thatcher in there, ridiculous I know... but activists seemed easier to swallow! The list is only a taster really of what we could, should, will, hope to put on.... so if it doesn't cover everyone and everything... sorry... but rest assured, we're working on it. Thanks again and stay tuned, if you can bear to Abi co-founder of PinkStinks.]]> Abi Moore 2009-11-04T20:43:35Z 2009-11-04T20:43:35Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41736 Alex T 2009-11-04T19:11:55Z 2009-11-04T19:11:55Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41731 Kiri said: Thanks for writing this. You've really made me think about disability and feminism. It's so often overlooked and you truly are doing your bit by writing pieces like this - even if you can't make it to the demos all the time believe me, you're doing something very important here. Thank You!]]> Kiri 2009-11-04T18:34:36Z 2009-11-04T18:34:36Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41729 Miss said: Thanks for your post. I have Lupus and Fibromyalgia, and it seems to me that some people understand (until you have to cancel.) Then it becomes clear that they have no idea, and they don't particularly care. These people I remove from my life. They are stressful and not worth my spoons. xo]]> Miss 2009-11-04T18:25:48Z 2009-11-04T18:25:48Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41728 Jane said: @Jenna - Charlotte Bronte having to sneak in feminism - agree. But she had to write as a MAN to get the book even published! Remember Jane Eyre is written by one Currer Bell, and was received with open arms by the Victorian public. Until it was discovered that Mr Bell was in fact a parson's daughter and suddenly people were whispering about the 'unnatural passions' in the book. ]]> Jane 2009-11-04T18:25:05Z 2009-11-04T18:25:05Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41727 Jackie Bather 2009-11-04T16:30:29Z 2009-11-04T16:30:29Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41721 Philippa Willitts said: Kristel - thank you! You've given me a real boost! Jehenna - thank you too, your comment really made me smile! Endeavouring to avoid being an ass to someone is probably a good goal for all of us! There really is a lot for all of us to learn, and I'm so glad you've got good input in your life. And Kitt, I'm so glad that my post touched you personally, and I loved your phrase: --we have been forced to plumb the depths of out ingenuity to do the things we want to using as few spoons as possible-- This sums up my life! Glad the post was worth the spoons. For me, the amazing feedback I've got totally makes it worthwhile :D]]> Philippa Willitts 2009-11-04T16:18:19Z 2009-11-04T16:18:19Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41718 Philippa Willitts said: Napalmnacey - one of my health problems is endometriosis too, so I really know what you mean. I also remember those days of demos most weekends and action all the time! I miss it too, and you're right, being the change we want to see is not only something we can sometimes only do, but we need to also remember that it is really good and worthwhile! It is good enough, as are we :) And thanks Sianmarie too. We're all on a learning curve, always. There are always issues we need to know more about, and do more about. It sounds like you're really considering the issues and I'm glad my post helped with that. ]]> Philippa Willitts 2009-11-04T15:45:11Z 2009-11-04T15:45:11Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41714 FeminaErecta 2009-11-04T14:46:11Z 2009-11-04T14:46:11Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41708 Jenna 2009-11-04T13:55:31Z 2009-11-04T13:55:31Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41704 Kitt 2009-11-04T13:14:54Z 2009-11-04T13:14:54Z tag:www.thefword.org.uk,2009:/blog//2.41699 FeminaErecta