Holly Combe replies
One of the main reasons I wrote this article was that I objected to the
assumptions about men that frame the MSN piece. Their idea that these silly
questions are the kind that men are all “dying to ask” is actually extremely
patronising (i.e saying men are “not idiots” was part of my argument!).
I also thought the questions were rooted in some of the most tawdry gender
stereotypes and, of course, that’s why I chose to analyze them. Taking the
questions at face value would have defeated the whole point of the article.
Yes, feminism is about equality but, unfortunately, the MSN article just makes
both genders look equally idiotic. There is nothing cynical in my argument
that women and men are not the stupid caricatures the MSN piece implies them
to be. My belief that the stereotypes designed to control us don’t do us
justice is very genuine.
From CT Rock
One small problem with your comments on the article “25 Burning
Questions” – MSN didn’t even write the article. The article was in fact
written by a journalist on behalf of Match.com who are MSN’s dating partner,
and funnily enough, happened to be a woman.
From Ross
Regarding your 25 Burning Questions article written by Holly Combe it
might be worthwhile pointing out that the article was actually written on
behalf of Match.com a dating company who MSN’s dating partner and funnily
enough was written by a female journalist. Don’t let that get in the way of a
good story though…
From Rebecca Hill
Re: 25
Burning Questions: You realise, of course, that the original artical which
you have so conscientiously taken apart was written by….wait for it (the
suspense is delicious, you’ll doubtless agree) ….a WOMAN! Which
unfortunately negates any point that are trying so desperately to make. It may
of some solace to know that your article is the laughing stock of many online
forums, which are frequented by both sexes. Have a nice day!
Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies
The Editor Responds: Hi, Thanks all of you for taking the time to write
and point out that the “25 Burning Questions” article on MSN was written by a
female journalist. Unfortunately I don’t see why this has any bearing
whatsoever on the article or why it “negates any point that we are trying so
desperately to make”.
The point of responding to the 25 questions was to show up how ridiculous
it is to brand all men (and women) as identical, to assume that all men are
the same and have the same views about women and relationships. We like to
think of men as individual human beings with indivudual, different,
personalities, not as cookie cutter stereotypes. That’s why we took the mickey
out of the MSN piece.
As Holly points out clearly several times in the introduction to the
article, MSN put forward these questions as representing the views of
“everyman”, a “Mr Average stereotype”, “a reflection of the ideology men are
supposed to adopt”. Holly is poking fun at the “someone” who “has taken it
upon themselves to speak for all males and make them look like idiots in the
process”. As she says, she is responding to MSN’s “imaginary Everyman”.
The gender of the person who actually wrote the questions has absolutely no
bearing on whether we, as feminists, should poke fun at the piece. The article
on MSN promoted sexist stereotypes of men (and women), and as such, we think
it was worthy of satirising.
Are we supposed to think that women cannot have sexist views towards men?
That if its a woman who does it, it’s ok? That if a women spouts sexist crap
about men, we laugh along because it’s a woman saying it? Nah. We reserve the
right to poke fun at sexist attitudes, no matter who they spring from, whether
men or women.
If that makes us “a laughing stock”, as one of you said, then I guess I’d
rather be a laughing stock than a hypocrite. Feminism is not about agreeing
with everything women say. It’s about challenging sexism.
I hope this helps to explain a bit further what the point of the article
was. Thanks again for writing. If you have any other views on any other
articles, feel free to send them in! Happy New Year. – Catherine
From John Ross
Go, Ms. Razorblade! I loved your review of “The Incredibles.” I
just saw it on DVD recently and everything in the movie that I found to be
eerily conservative was easily dismissed by friends who called it “just a kids
movie.” Well, to me, that’s what makes it more disturbing. What annoyed me
most about the film was the daughter character. Of course she’s not allowed to
keep her goth sensibilities and has to learn to fit in to traditional norms of
“prettiness.” But what’s worse is that she, along with her brother, suddenly
doesn’t seem to have any ambitions outside of her supporting role in the
“family business.” Yuck. Please write more movie reviews. Thanks.
From Mark Headey
With reference to the film “The Incredibles“, I too was initially worried by the
apparent stereotypical picture of domesticity it presented. Then I thought
about it; our two adult superheroes were actually under a form of witness
protection scheme and anything out of the ordinary could blow their cover.
Therefore, they adopted the disguise of the typical “all American” family. As
to meekly accepting her subserviant role, at one stage Elastigirl states quite
firmly, “Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don’t think so.” borrows
a plane and flies to the rescue, avoiding ground to air missiles with
consumate skill. To quote the film, a simpering woman? I don’t think so.
From the drinking divas
Re: Taboo For
Who: Men don’t use the word cunt in a descriptive or loving fashion.
Whenever that word is used from a man to a woman, the only purpose for it’s
use is to humiliate and shut the woman down. However, just like the word
‘nigger’, it should be taken back by women and embraced as empowerment.
From Rod
Re: Taboo For
Who: The word cunt. Interesting how people are offended by it. I was told
some years ago by a person a doctor in fact who studied English language. He
told me that cunt like fuck etc was part of the old Saxon language and that
when the Norman-French conquered Saxon Britain in 1066 that the children of
the Normans were often brought up by Saxon nannies. The word Vagina was from
the Norman French and the nannies were told not to use the old Saxon wording
and to use words like fuck and cunt were basically outlawed. Vagina does sound
better than cunt I must admit but then again we are still taught cunt is wrong
and vagina is fine so we are brainwashed from an early age. So were the
children of the Normans, cunt was bad vagina is fine. So this trend continued.
The Saxons were quite happy with cunt, vagina was foreign to them. I suppose
the Normans looked down upon the Saxons as ignorant vulgar and base in their
language. Normans I suppose thought they were better taught and their early
French was more suitable and acceptable. Today the trend
continues…………
From Yas
Reply to “Why men suck (and the women who have to)“: Hi… I’m not
sure what to say. I read your article about cambodia. And I really do think
that’s horrible… I was shocked… I think more women should be in control,
or men like me, who believe in gender equity. The world would be a much better
place, but alas unfortunately the men in charge are.. how should I put it?
Assholes. According to statistics United States is 9th in the world for rape
crimes, South Africa being the first. And I consider the sex trade industry to
be a form of rape. All those western men and locals you mentioned, their all
no better than rapists in my eyes. Also I wanted to add about the media.. I
agree completely about them. I’m in the process of writing an essay about
“Gender roles in society and how television affects gender images”.
From Joe
Re: Reply to “Why men suck (and the women who have to)“: I have worked
all over the world and i did like reading what larr said, its true it does
happen in poorer countrys, africa is rif with it . good artical thanks
From Barry
Re: blog comment on domestic violence case: A feminist website blog that
acknowledges men are human beings and can be subjected to domestic violence. A
bold attempt to move the issue forward without the usual entrenchment warfare,
their is hope yet for a better society.
From Rachel Healey
Re: Every Girl Wants a Stalker: I am in complete agreement. i
don’t understand why more people cant see it either. Every day there are a
million and one examples proving exactly what rachel wrote. the film stlker
scenario is just the tip of the ice berg. I have even lost friends over my
beliefs on such matters (to be honest most of them were chauvanistic pigs i
just didn’t clock soon enough). Its really good to be able to read that there
are so many others who share the same view. I may be an 18 year old female but
i feel that we are just as oppressed as anyone else and our views should also
be taken in to consideration. Thank you RACHEL for coming out and saying it
how it is. more people ahould do just that.
From Liz H
Re: Bloody
Disgrace: I think if the NHS were to provide anything for free it should
be something environmentally friendly like the Mooncup (I paid ?18 for mine)
rather than endlessly supplying tampons and towels. Having said that, why
shouldn’t we buy our own? Do you go to your GP for aspirin every time you have
a headache? Or do you just pop into the chemists and buy a packet yourself?
Unfortunately the NHS isn’t an endless pit of money, there is only so much to
go around and we are never going to live in a world where the defence budget
gets spent on tampons! There are things I don’t think the NHS should have to
pay for; nose jobs, breast enlargements, cosmetic dentistry and tattoo removal
and other such ‘vanity procedures’. If you argue that menstuation is a normal
part of female life so tampons should be free, then surely as eating is a
normal part of life too, then shouldn’t the government provide free food to
everyone. At the end of the day nothing on the NHS is ‘free’, it is all paid
for by someone – the tax payer. Guess what – women pay taxes too.
How to Create a Women’s Glossy in 5 Minutes. Fabulous
article. I loved it, it was funny and sharp. It’s given me the confidence to
go try writing one of my own – hooray!! (Actually it really did make me laugh
out loud.)
From Lucy Emele
to Create a Women’s Glossy in 5 Minutes: Your criticism is so accurate ,
that it makes me wonder why I read such dribble.
From Charlotte Parfitt
The article How to Create a Women’s Glossy in 5 Minutes is so true.
Most glossys are the same thing and yet we seem to buy them again and again
without realizing we are paying for the same articles carefully renamed and
sold to you anew. Since reading this I have decided to be more alert in what I
read and perhaps read something more intellectual.
From Sam Jones
Re: Under the
Knife. It has often been the way that women have been valued by their
physical appearence over any of their other attributes, whereas men have been
valued regardless of the way they look. However, the cosmetic industry is a
business after all, and already there is a filtering down of male cosmetic
surgery, and models into the media network. The problem is an overall
capitalist one, but it is women, as always who are made to feel it’s brunt. We
have higher numbers dying of annorexia, and suffering from body dismorphic
disorder. Before anyone considers going under the knife, I strongly recommend
that they read “The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf.
From Martha
Re: Under the
Knife: One of the things that gets me about cosmetic surgery is it is just
another way that rich people can indulge themselves and create more of a
divide between their experiences and that of those with less money than them.
It has the potential to create a beauty hierarchy that merely reflects the
amount of money you have to your disposal. So much for the beautiful peasant
who married the prince and was okay forever because he had lots of cash. I am
vaguely aware that there was some issue about giving boob jobs on the NHS for
people who hadn’t had to undergo a mastectomy, which is just utterly
ridiculous. We shouldn’t accept the focussing of hysteria in this direction by
cultural attitudes in so many people’s minds as a somehow inevitable aspect of
womanhood that should be indulged instead of responded to in a more adult
manner. What a waste of silicone, surgical skills, time etc etc etc. The world
is a crazy place. So much for compassion and equality.
From Ariela Haro
Re: Under the
Knife. The fact that we see plastic surgery on women as ‘natural’ pisses
me off, and the fact that I feel very much pressured to do it. I can’t help
but think about Emile Durkheim’s essay on “what is a social fact?” extolling
his audience that a social facy is anything that is invisibly pressuring us to
do something. I feel like a cultural outsider most of the time, and feel like
I have to buy makeup. I’m a college student who doesn’t shave my legs, wear
makeup, and I have recently chopped off my hair. So yeah, I guess I feel like
I have to get liposuction, macrodermabrasion and wear a lot of makeup – and
just the right clothes.
Just today, I went to the grocery store and I felt like I was in the
trenches of the ‘beauty myth.’ Almost every magazine overwhelmingly had to
have some image of an extremely thin (mostly white) woman on the cover who
wore a lot of makeup and showed off her breasts. The fact that our society
shows women more undressed than men reminds me of the antebellum South, where
the white masters would make their black male servants walk around naked while
they serve them their food. So I don’t think showing women more naked than men
is ‘natural,’ it seems more political and social. But the fact that it is tied
to something that is so intimate with humans (sexuality) is incredibly
insidious, and to say the least, cruel. To put a politicized power-issue on
something so central to the human species is not only cruel to women, but
everybody in general.
From Charlotte Revely
I wholeheartedly endorse Michelle Wright’s article Under the Knife.
Claudia Schiffer says in one of the many vacuous adverts for wrinkle cream
“Let surgery wait!” as though having surgery at some point is a given, I find
this a really scary development. It is obscene for healthy women (and men) to
be having major surgery by choice, when children on the other side of the
world are dying for want of clean water or basic medicine. When I read “The
Beauty Myth” all those years ago I thought it could never happen in the UK to
the same extent and now it has only worse than Naomi Wolf ever could have
imagined. Also if you think 10 Years Younger is damaging you should see
Extreme Makeover UK – it makes the Stepford Wives look positively restrained
in their modifications. How we can challenge this and reclaim our self esteem
other than at an individual level is one of the big questions of our age.
From RF
Re Under the
Knife: For me the concept that cosmetic surgery is driven by a male-driven
idea of female beauty simply doesn’t ring true. Men are also increasingly
expected to live up to a certain physical ideal and the takeup of cosmetic
surgery is rising steadily among both sexes. As a woman I feel my appearance
is far more likely to be judged unfavourably by other women (the Trinny and
Susannah effect) than by men. I would say it is an image obsessed media
culture that is to blame, not gender politics. If anything, things are getting
more equal between the sexes, although not in a good way – now all of us are
held up in comparison to an airbrushed ideal.
From Nicola
Re: Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery: THE MESSAGE YOU ARE SENDING
OUT IS THAT PLASTIC SURGERY IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. THE ARTICLE IS NEGATIVE.
From Emily Baeza
I found “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over” by Lara McKinnnon so
relevant. Not just that its simialr to the views expressed in my article, but
that it articulates this sense of frustration that we will never be able to
reach the top of the bell curve; that we should be happy with “middling”
achievements and not strive for or expect the best. Increasingly I see
achievements and freedoms borne out of 70s feminism coming under renewed,
stealth attack. Look at the current debates on abortion, I suppose I had taken
for granted that this was a settled right of women, but here it is thrity
years on, up for discussion again. I think feminism is dead only if we are
prepared to accept such attacks and retrograde steps. Helena Kennedy said once
that liberties are never won, they are always constantly being fought over,
and I think we must accept that as an unfortunate truth, most especially with
regard to women’s rights.
From itala
Thank you for this article [It Ain’t
Over Till It’s Over]. it is refreshing to know that feminists are making
attempts to feminism. i am currently at college and am surrounded by 17 year
old boys AND girls that label feminists as bra burning lesbians. its worrying
to think that when people hear the ‘f-word’ they are immediatelyt put of by
the stigma attached and the lack of understanding about feminism and the
relative issues. they are unaware of the different aspects of feminism in art,
music, literature etc. instead they picture rioting angry women who apparantly
have issues with themselves. rather that supporting the women who represent
them and stood up for THEIR rights, people my age tend to condemn feminism
because they ARE afaraid, as are other people who are prejudice against things
they do not understand. i think that its important that people (especially my
generation) need to become aware of the importance and history of feminism.
society often ignores the importance of women in history and instead mock and
disregard them its time for a change, i completely agree with your article
From Rachel
I am responding to Lara McKinnon’s article “It Ain’t
Over Till It’s Over“: Yes!! Since coming to university I have noticed an
unbelievable lack of interest in feminism. The women around me look at me as
if I’m mad to suggest that feminism is still alive and well and needs to
continue to be so. They are after all ‘real girls’. We NEED to break down this
image of feminism and remind women and girls what it is we’re fighting for and
why. And that without feminism, where would we be?
From Lizzie
In response to Lament for Sisterhood, I have to say that it is more
expensive to hire a woman if that woman becomes pregnant and needs time off.
Small business do have smaller, tighter budgets, and part of the problem is
that men don’t get the same level of paternity leave, so they automatically
become cheaper to employ. I don’t think that this is fair, and I don’t think
that it’s right. If men had the same level of paternity leave, perhaps there
wouldn’t need to be discrimination, as the cost of hiring men and women would
become closer, if not equal.
From Alison Bray
Re: Lament
for Sisterhood : Like a lot of women I have been very angry at men for
years only to come to the conclusion that a lot of us are actually being let
down by other women. E Baeza has raised an interesting point but I believe
that fraternity is a myth these days and that many men succeed because they
are hugely competetive, single minded and have much more self belief then many
women and that there will never be such a thing as a sisterhood until women
believe that we are all of equal merit. I am in my late thirties and think
things have gone backwards in the last 10-20 years.I have encountered too many
(ostensibly intelligent) women who don’t seem to want the freedom feminism
offers, preferring to obsess over shoes, shows like “Sex and the frigging
City” and bitching about each other. I also know a lot of enlightened men who
I would describe as feminist who are confused and surprised to encounter women
like this. It breaks your heart to think of the struggles made by women in
this country in the past and the dreadful injustices currently suffered by
others in the developping world when all some women seem to want is the right
to lead as trivial an existence as possible.
From Maebe
Sisterhood: Thank you for this excellent article. I was only reading today
in the Guardian about F! the feminist party in Sweden who have been pulled
apart by infighting. Has our self esteem been so destroyed by this patriarchal
society that we are unable to support other women? Only when we break the
cycle of women/women denigration can we expect to make an impact.
From Sophie S
This article [Lament for Sisterhood] is so true, its about time women
stopped fighting each other and banded together. I never felt any
discrimination until I had children and wanted to return to work. To my
surprise it was other women who seem to have the biggest problem with it not
men. It took me a long time to find a position and during interviews I was
even asked(by women not men) about my childcare arrangements and what would I
do if the carer or child was sick etc. I was also made to feel as though
spending one year out of the workforce had suddenly made all my skills and
knowledge from the previous 10 years somehow disappear and I couldn’t possibly
be capable of doing the same job I did just 12 mths ago now. When I did
finally find a position (with a good employer who didn’t seem to care that I
was mother) one of my female collegues commented to me that she had to make
sacrifices in order to have a career and all these working mothers should go
back to the kitchen where they belong and stop complaining about
discrimination etc as it was their choice to have children and that they don’t
deserve to have both children and a career and “we” shouldn’t have to make it
easy for them to have both. Especially as it means “we” have to work harder to
make up for all the time these “mums” take off from work and all the extra
hours “we” have to put in and they don’t because they have kids. I then told
her that I was a mother (she didn’t know this at the time), I asked her if she
had to work harder because of all the extra time off I get just for being a
mother – to which she answered no (as I hadn’t taken any extra time off). But
it just shows what other womens’s opinions are, and I am yet to have any such
similar comment voice to me by a male collegue.
From N. Modi
Re: Feminism and Popular Culture: Thank you so much. You’ve put
into words ideas and thoughts that have been pulsating in my head, dying to
get out! I’m so relieved, and saddened at the same time to see that other
people are seeing a pattern developing here. It’s bad enough that men do the
things they do to degrade women, but worse still when women turn the other
cheek.
From Matthew Stone
A comment regarding Sarah New’ Feminism
and Popular Culture: In this article Ms Noviss correctly observes that the
general notion that criminal law is biased towards men. However, as a teacher
of criminal law I would point out that she has not sufficiently researched the
details. Specfically, provocation is not a defence only available to men. It
is indeed available to both genders. In fact, Ironically, it is one area of
the law that has been specially developed to cater for women’s needs, through
the recognition of ‘battered wives syndrome’. This turned provocation away
from a purely rigid masculine concept, towards a feminised complexified notion
that could account for the effect of long-term domestic violence. Ms Noviss
fails to mention any of this, despite it featuring heavily on the source she
cites! (Women for Justice). Hope this is of interest.
From Gaby
In response to Feminism and Popular Culture, I don’t think that Fathers
For Justice are seen as heroes, more as nuisances, jokers or at worst
criminals. They receive a lot of publicity for what they do but I feel they
are more often than not, highly ridiculed. I am a feminist myself, but I think
that this argument was skirting around some interesting points, but getting
bogged down in factless opinions. I also think that getting upset about a
yorkie advert is what gives feminists a reputation for being politically
correct to the point of losing all sense of humour.
From Michelle A
Re: Feminism and Popular Culture: I am a 19 year old student,
and I have recently found that my open-minded friends will mock me when I
point out a blatant sexist message in advertising or literature etc. I think
it has become unacceptable for a young woman of my age to be ‘feminist’, and I
get labelled in my seminar groups for speaking up. My friends think I am “too
PC” but I cannot see that, I am merely speaking up for what I think is right.
In a university environment I would expect different, and I will not keep my
mouth shut just because my male friends think they are openminded enough to
stop caring.
From LL
Re: Feminism and Popular Culture: Found this interesting
especially as its the conclusion the Fawcett Society has come to with its new
image. Fawcett closing the inequality gap wo (spaces with the words since
1866) men. The concept is that both genders will get the message and get on
board. Check out www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
From Amanda Kelly
Catherine Redfern’s piece ‘Ordinary
Ads, Everyday Images‘ was fascinating! I would be very interested to see
images from cities all over the world… how are western women pictured in
asian countries? I work in a museum in Canada which is currently showing an
exhibition on the historic and contemporary representation of girls & young
women in Canada and it addresses many of the same issues Catherine Redfern
touches on. (http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/143v.html) Love the
site, keep up the great work!
From Paul Brown
While sympathetic towards some of the points made in the ‘Ordinary
Ads, Everyday Images‘ article, particularly in regard to some of the more
puerile adverts aimed at lowest common denominator men such as those for
Yorkie, Nuts, Zoo, and some package holiday ads, I have to say that i do not
object to the use of models in adverts, even if most people do not resemble
models.
I fully understand why fashion companies, for example, choose to use models
like Kate Moss, Jodie Kidd and Vanessa Paradis in their campaigns. Designers
make their clothes with a specific type of look and image in mind; as creative
people, they are entitled to design their clothes for a specific size and
shape of person. I do not see any sexism, oppression or body fascism in
this.
Genderads, which your article linked to, tries to push a Dworkin-style
radical feminist agenda that would have us believe the entire fashion industry
is a misogynist web of conspiracy, which it isn’t. This is part of the
knee-jerk reaction that attempts to hold Moss, Miller, Kidd et al responsible
for eating disorders and self-harm. This despite the fact that anorexia can be
traced back at least two centuries, and can even be found in tribal societies
in Papua New Guinea. They also single Diesel out as a particularly offensive
compnay for having highly sexualised ads. As Bill Hicks once said, “When did
sex become a bad thing? Did I miss a meeting?” Photographs of clothed women in
sexual poses, done in the way Diesel does them – usually slightly aggressive
women with Sid Vicious-type snarls – are not telling men that women are
passive or there to be abused. I think that many women would enjoy and
appreciate such images, as they speak of female sexuality without perpeutating
the idea of women as victims.
I don’t believe that the role of advertising is to fill our billboards and
magazines with images of everyday people leading everyday lives. There has to
be a place for glamour, style, sexuality and beauty, as aesthetics are an
important part of life.
Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies
Catherine responds: I accept that the issue about the appropriate use of
“glamour” / “beauty” / aspirational images in advertising is a slightly
different discussion, if we assume we come from a gender neutral standpoint.
My point was to highlight the different ways in which men and women are shown
in advertising. If men are portrayed in a much wider variety of ways with a
wider variety of roles open to them, but women are only portrayed in this
supposed “aspirational” or glamorous way then this is unfair. The other point
I would argue is that it is only one type of “beauty” that is put forward,
which doesn’t represent people’s individuality and the many different ways in
which people (men and women) are beautiful.
From D Bevan
Re: ‘Ordinary Ads, Everyday Images‘: I do not disagree with your
thesis or observations in the slightest, but would point out that the last of
your reclining women is a well-known art photo (not an advertising image) of
the transexual artist Candy Darling, quoted on the CD cover for Anthony & the
Johnsons’ ‘I am a Bird Now’. The fact that Anthony wears lip-gloss is the
least of his gender-subverting physical gestures, and his work deals with
multiple issues of gender/sexuality in a courageous, brilliant, moving and
musically thrilling way. Of course you may be perfectly well aware of this –
if not I urgently recommend the CD. On the other hand, maybe it re-inforces
your point that when artists ‘play’ with concepts of gender they employ the
same visual trope of the supine woman…
From Jo
Re: ‘Ordinary Ads, Everyday Images‘: Just thought I’d say what a
fascinating article that was. For every trend you highlighted I could think of
more examples of the same – like the one for the trust fund (Jupiter? can’t
remember) showing the new ‘stars’ of the comapny – three white,
thirty-something men. It makes me so angry sometimes, but people often tell me
I’m imagining things. Now, thanks to your excellent article, I’ll be able to
point them towards an articulate response to my worries! As the great Bill
Hicks said: Advertisers, just kill yourselves. Do the world a favour.
From Xbox
‘Ordinary Ads, Everyday Images‘: How about this… quit
complaining about everything? Please do us a favor and shut the hell up.
From Sarah Walker
Re: ‘Ordinary Ads, Everyday Images‘: Great article about the
imagery which surrounds us. Very interested that older wrinkled women are ok
if they are men in drag. This confirms what I feel every time I put on makeup
– that I’m going into drag – because every image I’ve ever seen in TV or films
of someone looking into a mirror to paint their lips its a man doing it.
From Dr Sasha Rakoff
‘Ordinary Ads, Everyday Images‘: Excellent article re women
and men on the tube. Writing as the director of OBJECT, an organisation that
has been campaigning for some time over the sexually objectifying manner in
which women are frequently portrayed on the tube and elsewhere, I would like
to say how lucky Catherine was not to see adverts that blatantly sexually
objectified women, on her day out.
Currently Selfridges is, like ‘pimp my lounge’ Virgin, ‘normalising the
pimp’ in their hip-hop emulation : clothed black man on throne, surrounded by
bikinied ‘sex toy’ women. Over the last few months we have seen:
Porn Cum Shot emulations, from the Teenage Cancer Trust, on bus shelters,
complete with 70’s pimp-look alike, ready to smear ‘sun cream’ over
cleavage-shot bikinied girls. The cinema ad (cert 12A) was far more blatant in
its pornographic references.
Lynx – barbie porn dolls twisted in pseudo lesbian gropes to form the words
‘spray more get more’ and Lynx – ‘lesbian’ groping Barbies spelling the words
“Two’s company, three’s better”
Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas bus and tube ads : violent, realistic video
game, with ‘cheats’ issued by the manufacturers allowing gamers to be serviced
by then kill a prostitute (complete with screams for help) and, its later
replacement, access to ‘lesbian’ porn reenactments
Madame Tussauds tube ads: ‘Give your dad an early midlife crisis come see
Britney pole dance’. This is despite Transport for London’s own guidelines
expressly disallowing adverts for pole dancing
All this is despite Transport for London (TFL) having admirably progressive
guidelines regarding the objectification of women and men. Yet TFL’s own staff
seem unaware of the very existence of these guildeines; that they mean TFL
actually pre vets all London Transport ads and has the power to remove them.
TFL’s staff do not seem unaware of their codes when it comes to the
objectification of men, however. Jerry Hall’s ad ‘Kept’, clothed (but sexily
dressed) Jerry holding boxer-shorted men on all fours on leashes. This ad was
pulled from the tube within hours by TFL management as ‘objectifying to
men’.
Object routinely challenges the objectifcation of women (as this seems to
escape the attention of TFL management, like seemingly all other decision
makers). Objectification which is increasingly directly aimed at teenagers
and, now, children. For more information, to get involved or to volunteer
contact us at [email protected] / www.object.org.uk
From william bartley morris
Women shouldn’t be allowed to wear shoes because they shouldn’t be allowed
to go out of the house. Women should cook for men and get beers while we’re
watching football. Women should not be allowed to vote or have any freedom
because they are an inferior race to men. Women are the weaker race and are
only good for being men’s slaves and making babies. FUCK WOMEN!!
From Dr Joan Boost
Re: Subvert the Dominant Pimpiarchy: I subscribe to your
disgust for that small minority of men who are going in for these depraved
sexual aberrations, but I do not exclude from that same disgust all those
mothers (see the trial in Angers in France, where 40 f the rapists and pimps
of their own children were women), grandmothers, sisters, aunties, in short:
women who are in the forefront of selling young girls into brothels and such.
And don’t forget: most brothel runners are women. And don’t forget that,
ibndeec, not all – maybe one third – of the prostitutes are forced into it.
For another third it is a lucrative profession, and the third lot are just
“part-timing” housewives. Don’t always just look to one side. It is that
sexist self-excusing as “professional victims” and the NAZI-like persecution
of all men that has taken away from THAT “feminis” a lot of credibility, and
has contributed to the bad name that the word now has become. True FEMINISM
[in proud and upright letters is not a “matriarchic misandry machine” but an
alliance of Women AND Men for the rescue of human relationship in a
dehumanized world. You, however, seem to have bought your tickets for a voyage
on icebergish self-destruction of womanhood, namely pure “blame everyone but
myself”. That is NOT FEMINISM.
Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies
Ah yes, the Nazi-like (oops sorry, “NAZI-like”) persecution of all men by
feminists (sorry, FEMINISTS). Riiiiiiight. Sorry, but anyone who comes out
with a statement like that is hardly worth seriously engaging with. May I
refer to you to Godwin’s Law? Now, I must get on running my patented
“matriarchic misandry machine [TM]”.
From Paul
You talk about feminism, which to me describes many differing causes. I
think you are indeed not a feminist, but an equal-opportunist. Feminism, as it
was originally is now unneeded and the move to equal-opportunism is required.
how modern feminism benfits men, but there are some branches of feminism
in the world which would see men as second class citizens, perhaps to ‘make
up’ for the years of patriarchy that our grandparents and older relatives
lived under and as such, it is time to shed the label of fighting for one
particular group and gain the label of fighting for genuine equality to all
people.
Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies
Dear Paul, It kinda goes without saying that I disagree with you – I am a
feminist and I know hundreds of feminists and I have never met a single one
who thinks that men should be “second class citizens”. If you have any
references or websites which actually promote this view as feminist I would be
very interesting in seeing them. Feminism is the movement against sexism and
against stereotyping people by gender. It is as simple as that. I hope if you
read a lot more of the articles on the website and on the blog this will
become obvious. – Editor
From Suhashini
In response to “Moon
Mammas: fleece menstrual pads“. In the article the author mentions that
Lunapads is a U.S. company. It is in fact a Canadian company.
Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies
Many apologies for the error.
From Fee
Re: Why It’s Time For the Battle of the Sexes to End:
interesting stuff. reflecting on the role of female has changes over the
years. it can be seen directly in the roles men or (bloke culture) which has
changed also. in the medievil age men were civil and gentleman like to females
in corsettees. earning money for the family and home was vital. now females
are strideing out and blokes has some what lost there place as they do not
have nessasery demands concerning the incomeing wage. I think ‘bloke culture’
has wasted time sitting around scratching their balls and picking their nose,
no boundries have been pushed. and although im tired of the remarks the lads
in my class give me about the indirect ‘battle of the sexes’ i still see in
the future a battle brewing till the ‘lagar lads’ take their finger out their
nose, and really think weman are getting to big for their boots. yes the sexes
enjoy the battle of sexes, to which is the most superior and it is boring now.
but i think its down to the mentallity that devides us and no common ground
can be found to see simiralities. the one huge simirality is casual sex. weman
have a great control over birth, and when casual sex takes place it then can
be argued how is most domineering. and the term ‘slut’ can be erazed as birth
control opens the doors to free sex to a certain extent. its a joint agreement
to have a one nights stand, (most of the time.) just about anything goes in a
contempory life and concider anything is there to be experimented with.
From Richard Ford
Re: FHM Music
Channel: You miss the point as feminists so often do. Sex in the city ext
is very dull for men- but so what? That is why God invented the remote. I
would sugest you do the same with this.
From Mary
Re: Sick of
Celebrity: Nicky, i live in the U.S. and don’t know Katie Price. However I
looked her up. one word: TRASH. if she thinks that anyone would be jealous of
her blow up doll facade she is sadly mistaken. i too am tired of all the
attention celebrities garner. it’s exhausting. i refuse to buy fashion mags
anymore if there is a celebritiy gracing it’s cover. i have written countless
letters to vogue and w about this problem. i live in l.a. and honestly, who
gives a shit about these people!! boring. women are increasingly becoming
stepford types. they all look the same!! people like you and i who have
remained true to their god given bodies and faces will become godessess one
day! don’t you worry about. you rock!
From KM House
RE: Is Alcohol Really a Feminist Issue? by Victoria
Dutchman-Smith. Loved it!!. Thanks very much for an aricle in the wry and
factual tradition of British writing. Would that there were more like this in
the squishy world of American journalism.
From p.todd
just found your rolling stones article while googling for something else –
enjoyed it. Not sure if anyone else has pointed this out, but there IS a
version of Under My Thumb sung by a woman. Don’t know who the artist was but
it was sometime early 80s – I actually heard it before the Stones version (I
find the stones version more campy than offensive personally, maybe that’s
why). Great article anyway.
From Liz Howard
Re: Pictures are Not Everything by Ellery: This is a very
emotional subject, whether you’re pro- or anti-abortion. I believe that
abortion services should be easier to access but that the upper time limit
should be cut. Contraception and the morning after pill should be more widely
availble but like the author stated, everyone needs to be aware of the
consequences of their actions. Abortion shouldn’t be a quick fix alternative
because you forgot your condoms.
From nidhin raj
I am an indian by nationality and is 24 years old.I have read your comments
on “The harry potter and the order of the phoenix“. They were
good to read(not as much as harry potter books,anyway). Instead of singling
out charecters and situations from the book and reacting to them, appreciating
the whole fantasy world created JKR is much more easier(Though i tend to agree
with you in many occasions,the feminist thing i mean). I really feel your
prespective is a little narrow though we indians ,asians as a whole are
belived to have a strict and narrow perspective than you folks(westerners).To
put it in simple words “You are missing the forest for the trees”. NB:Congrats
and well wishes for your weeding.
From Nina
Re: Contraception and Control: Teenage Rights: Just to say ,
i’m another british teenager and i totally agree with u.
From Mary Dysko
Re: Contraception and Control: Teenage Rights: Women – teenage
or otherwise – deserve better than flooding their body with patented
artificial abortifacient hormones in order to be available to some guy who
would get them pregnant for his own pleasure. They wouldn’t do it to
cattle.
From Adi Tantimedh
Regarding Jess McCabe’s insightful and astute review of THE DESCENT: I felt
Jess was a bit too lenient on the film. I didn’t find the film ambiguous or
ambivalent at all. In this “post-feminist” era when it’s well established that
women can be every bit as vicious and disloyal as men, I think the film is
pretty blatantly anti-feminist.
From Jo
Re: Page 3: Ban
It! i think pg 7 fella is a good idea bring it back!im currently a student
in my third year at uni (dissertation year) and my dissertation is about
feminism and society’s social hierarchy. I found the article interesting and
helpful
From Wendy
Did you see that a brothel for women is opening in Nevada? (I think near
Las Vegas.) I’m not a big fan of prostitution, but I’m glad at least one
exists, just for equality….
From Andrew B?
Re Smug Intentions: Richard and Judy on Chivalry: While I
readily concede to the notion of how dreary all these beer soaked delusions of
knightly chivalry can be it nevertheless would be needlessly crass to ignore
good manners, least of all over-reading the process of another opening a door
for you. Presumptions alter perceptions. This can create dangerous principles.
Because one male opens a door for a female does not presuppose they do not for
other males. However, dullish winking and molly coddling clearly does. Again
this is only assuming that there is no other medical condition present which
would account for this other than their penis.
I am reminded of the mantra that one should always grateful that a door has
been open for you rather than it being slammed in ones face. This principal
applies to both genders, literally and preverbal. I am also reminded that
having several doors slammed in my face over the years can be extremely
painful, though this is a more literal point than one with any real preverbal
point.
To takes Holly?s premise to its not unreasonable conclusions then anyone
still subscribing to the governance of nonsense medieval principles in society
really should be ridiculed for being nothing less than repressively
antediluvian. However in doing so this regrettably creates a whole paradigm
about our equally ineffective medieval legal and politic systems. Although, it
is worth making mention that success in this respects has less to do with
doors opening and much more to do with greasy polls. In this instance the
greasy poll is a preverbal point rather than a literal one. Conversely
depending on where a person happens to have been schooled a greasy pole may
act as a chief factor towards ones own legal and political achievements.
Personally I shall continue to open doors – by whatever merit – for those
who need to have a door open for them, without malice or supposed superiority
of gender, neither with intention or condescendence. I shall also avoid at all
cost watching prime time shows to get annoyed by.
From Layla
Re: Not My Cup of T: Slogans on Women’s T-Shirts: Why would you
want T-shirts to be printed with the word ‘Bitch’? I don’t see how that would
be a good thing for someone to call you or for you to call yourself.
From Vicky
I enjoyed your article [Stand Up For Equality], I am a comic script writer, artist
(only in the eyes of my lecturers) and a musician. I am not trying to be
egotistical, I just wanted to say I have been very interested in doing stand
up for a while now but I didn’t have the guts. Then…I saw a terrible,
TERRIBLE woman at the comedy store, and oh did I gain my vehement guts. So if
you have any advice, or you know, material, please help! It’s going to be a
bumpy one. ps-You should do stand up, you’re funny…and I like you :)
From Jimbo Jones
you are a fool. the film [Sin City] is a based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller.
The costumes and characters are very close to those in the books. If you have
a problem do some research and complain about Miller not the filmmakers
From Jess
In response to the article about choosing not to get married [Are You
Married? If Not, Why Not?], it is incredibly difficult and takes a lot of
guts to resist the pressure. My partner and I have been together for over
eight years and his family in particular continually pester us about getting
married. It’s hard to answer without sounding rude, especially when it’s the
1000th time they’ve asked. It’s also difficult to go to the weddings of
friends whose relationships are much newer and less secure than ours, but who
consider themselves superior because they are married. Gritting your teeth
during the wedding service when the vicar talks about how marriage is
necessary for true love and how only married people are committed to each
other through thick and thin – very difficult to hear when you’re not married
but have been there for each other in sickness and in health, for richer, for
poorer. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to give in to the pressure
and have everyone stop bothering us – and I do worry about the legal
implications if one of us was to die or to become seriously ill. But then I
realise that in order for us to change the system, we must all resist the
pressure and show that some of the most committed, loving, and serious
relationships don’t need a piece of paper, or the permission of the state and
religious authorities, to prove their worth.
From Whitney
In response to the ‘25 Burning Questions men are too embarrassed to ask‘, I
must say I found the answers to be rather cynical and were over-analyzing the
questions. other than that, a great article, but please tone it down next
time. feminism should promote equality – men are not idiots.