Weekly round-up and open thread

It’s time for another (slightly late!) weekly round-up where we share (what we see as) the most interesting and important articles from the previous seven days. We’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the issues covered in the articles we’ve picked. As always, linking to articles does not mean endorsement from the F-Word and certain links may be triggering. We welcome debate in the comments section and on Facebook/Twitter but remind readers that any comments containing sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic or disablist language will be deleted immediately. If you notice that we’ve missed out any important articles from the past week, feel free to let us know.

Somebody at Fitbit needs a lesson on the menstrual cycle (Caroline O’Donoghue, The Pool)

what does it mean to be butch in 2018? (Sophie Wilkinson, i-D)

From the article: “Can any woman truly say she hasn’t been denigrated, in some small and seemingly justifiable way, for failing to fit within the narrow confines that patriarchy built for us to live and die within? To have the strength to escape femininity on the daily, to wake up and not think about, or unthink, all of the ways in which femininity must be performed and adhered to – while still considering the needs of those who do still conform – is why butches must be treasured.

From Jameela Jamil to an 8-year-old activist: the women making waves this week (Hannah-Rose Yee, Stylist)

I was humiliated on TalkRadio for talking about my rape (Nichi Hodgson, The Guardian)

Britain’s treatment of disabled people reminds me of The Handmaid’s Tale (Frances Ryan, The Guardian)

Ellen Maud Bennett Obituary (Times Colonist, via Fat Heffalump)

From the article: “A final message Ellen wanted to share was about the fat shaming she endured from the medical profession. Over the past few years of feeling unwell she sought out medical intervention and no one offered any support or suggestions beyond weight loss. Ellen’s dying wish was that women of size make her death matter by advocating strongly for their health and not accepting that fat is the only relevant health issue.”

Tokyo medical school admits changing results to exclude women (The Guardian)

From the article: “The investigation found that in this year’s entrance exams the school reduced all applicants’ first-stage test scores by 20% and then added at least 20 points for male applicants, except those who had previously failed the test at least four times. It said similar manipulations had occurred for years because the school wanted fewer female doctors since it anticipated they would shorten or halt their careers after becoming mothers.”

The image is used under a creative commons license with thanks to Ana Li on Flickr. It shows a shady spot under a tree in a field.