Weekly round-up and open thread


Welcome to another 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 our chosen links which range, this week, from exercise clothes to watching porn in public!

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.

How Five Women in Space Changed Gender Norms Forever (AnOther Magazine)

Where do you buy exercise clothes when you’re size 16 and over? (The Pool)

IUD Demand Is Up 900% at Planned Parenthood (Motto)

Labour demands urgent action to close gender gap at top of civil service (The Guardian)

Do allegations of sexual harassment mean Casey Affleck’s work should be avoided? (The Pool)

Renewable Sources of Memory: Speech, Silence and Structure at the Gender and Medieval Studies Conference in Canterbury (Jeanne de Montbaston)

How an EU gender equality ruling widened inequality (The Guardian)

Is it OK to watch porn in public? (BBC)

How the Shutdown of Backpage Disproportionately Affects Trans Sex Workers (Vice)

Men confess what feminine things they’d do if stereotypes didn’t exist (The Pool)

From the article: “For a while, the thread is quite entertaining. While it’s laying the restrictive stereotypes out plainly for all to see, it’s also light-hearted. There’s an enlightening conversation about quilting and how lovely it is to give a quilt as a gift, swiftly followed by a discussion on laser hair removal to tidy up a hairy bum. Apparently the vast majority of men are taken with the idea of snuggling up in yoga pants and leggings. But some things are more difficult to say…”

Jamelia shocked at ‘racist’ train incident – but she got her own back (Birmingham Mail)

A bill to decriminalise some forms of domestic violence has passed its first reading in Russia’s lower house, Duma, sparking anger among women’s rights advocates (BBC)

Sex and the middle-aged woman … a groundbreaking BBC drama tells it like it is (The Guardian)

From the article: “We wanted to put out something that looked at women of that age but wasn’t incredibly objectified and that tackled the way that female confidence can sometimes be seen as an invitation when it’s just simple happiness – that idea that just walking down the street feeling good about yourself can actually be seen that way.”

The problems with erotica (The Times Literary Supplement)

CN: references to graphic sexual violence

From the article: “Internalized misogyny is a complex chasm that women receive little encouragement to haul themselves out of. It is an hourly, daily, endlessly exhausting fight against the subliminal, and the overt, sexism of Western culture. Our history of practical suffrage is short. We do not have generations of freedom, respect and equality to live up to or fall back on in difficult times. Our literature is still building itself even as we continue to excavate and re-evaluate the contributions and achievements of generations past. Our relatively recent, and very imperfect, emancipation is often portrayed as a gift rather than the inalienable right of every woman in a democratic society.”

Serena Williams may now be world no2 but she is as dangerous as ever (The Guardian)

The image is used under a creative commons license with thanks to EM on Flickr. It shows a snowy scene from a hillside.