Welcome to this week’s round-up of the articles and blog pieces we’ve been reading over the past week. If you have a link or comment that doesn’t fit anywhere else and would like to share it, feel free to drop it in the comments here.
NB: A note will be added when the content is not adequately indicated in the title of an article. However, you are advised to use your discretion and approach the links with caution, as round-up posts contain links to external websites and blogs we have no control over. Along with this, we don’t always agree with every viewpoint expressed in the items or the sites containing them. As with actual F-Word content, none of the material reflects any “official view from The F Word” because not all contributors to the site will necessarily hold the same opinions on the topics or pieces shared.
Investigating rape: Seven London boroughs dismiss a third of rape allegations (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)
The right to be a mum (Disability Now)
Number of shops dividing toy departments into sections for boys and girls falls (Guardian)
A message of hope for Christmas (women for refugee women)
Members of Women Asylum Seekers Together London make a Christmas card for women detained in Yarl’s Wood.
Woman who kissed riot cop in protest investigated for sexual assault (The Daily Dot)
Content note: sexual violence
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers – 17th December (Ruth Jacobs)
Spain’s plan to reform abortion laws attacked as ‘serious step backwards’ (Guardian)
Spain government backs tougher abortion law (BBC News, Europe)
Government under fire for rejecting European Union food bank funding (Guardian)
Content note: description of violence and bodily harm
Did not wearing a veil lead to an acid attack in Egypt? (Women Under Siege Project)
Porn filters block sex education websites (BBC News)
UK’s Great Firewall of Cameron blocks sexual health, rape crisis centre, sex ed sites (Boing Boing)
I started buying the signs that homeless use to beg. Here’s what happened (Guardian, Cif)
This is arguably voyeuristic and exploitative but it could also be argued that $20 could be a lifesaver…
Content note: victim blaming from abusers, violence against women
We (Still) Need Feminism (Medium)
Drugs: A licence to rape (Ending Victimisation and Blame)
Data brokers sell rape victim names for 7.9 cents each, congressional hearing reveals (The Raw Story)
Trans law in the Netherlands passed. Now what? (Vreerwerk)
Why trans people have won a major victory in the Scotland equal marriage fight (Gay Star News)
Why we won’t be living in the United Kingdom (#spuddings)
Thoughts on the foodbank debate, from the public gallery (A Girl Called Jack)
Ignoring “women’s work”: Yet another Christmas tradition (Glosswatch)
Campaigners for sex workers face bullying and bad data (The Conversation)
On cynicism, calling out, and creating movements that don’t leave our people behind (Feministing)
How can we dream utopias if we are so afraid of being wrong?
Civil rights support mounting for Marissa Alexander (District Chronicles)
Marissa Alexander received 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot into the wall of a garage in response to threats of bodily harm from her husband. She is now free on bail while awaiting a new trial. In the words of @AC_Bravo on Twitter: “Prison for some, Stand Your Ground for others.”
When a man beats a woman (Lani Wendt Young)
On the domestic violence perpetrated by a famous Samoan ruby player.
James Altucher thinks he has written an article about “getting everything you want.” He has actually written an article about white privilege. (And probably class privilege, and male privilege, and maybe some others.)
Privilege Discomfort: Why You Need to Get the Fuck Over It (Feminspire)
Why Marketers Fear the Female Geek (hownottosuckatgamedesign.com)
You tell the members of your target group, that they are superior to those who are excluded.
The Game That Encourages Young Girls To Compete For A Man (The Alpha Parent)
Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina freed in Russia (BBC News)
Why resist day off for maids? (my paper)
Too Close for Comfort (Singapore Medical Association News)
This piece about sexual harassment in the medical realm was co-written by Jolene!
Battling Delhi’s demons (Aljazeera America)
A year after a notorious gang-rape, a film-maker hits the streets of the Indian capital to discover the dangers women face.
Image description:
A slice of pineapple cake, garnished with three glacier cherries and a pineapple ring, on a white plate against a white background with a just visible purple item (possibly a macaroon?) and green cake decoration. By bunchofpants, shared under a creative commons licence.
