The Feminism Community

books for 2nd grader

2008-07-14T20:12:00Z

I just agreed to start tutoring my friend's 2nd grade sister in reading. I've only taught secondary English but I know I can handle this - I just need a little guidance with materials. She is going to be repeating the year due to her poor reading skills. He says that she loves fantastical stories...especially "princess" stuff.

Can anyone recommend good books for the 2nd grade level that might catch her interest? Anything romantic/fantasy would be good. Also, I feel it's my duty as a role model to introduce her to stories with stronger heroines that aren't always the typical "damsel in distress" which I think sends a horrible message to little girls if that's all they are exposed to (and my friend agrees). I know if it has the fantasy elements she likes she would still like stronger heroines since she refused to leave the room when her brother saw the japanese anime "Revolutionary Girl Utena" which turns the typical fairy tale upside down.

Please post your suggestions ASAP so I can start collecting books!!!

Thanks!

Women's Rights Community on LJ

2008-06-06T00:09:43Z

womensrights is a community about women's rights and women's rights all over the world. Join if you support, believe in, or want to learn more about women's rights.

Feminism Forum

2008-06-04T19:44:27Z

What does everyone think of the idea of having a feminism forum? The forum would be about feminism, the many different types of feminism, and will be for discussion of ALL types of feminism. Yes, I am very aware that this community is a forum for feminism, however, there are more people interested in feminism out there that are not on livejournal. If I get enough heads up for the idea, I will make the forum. If I don't get many replies to this post, then I will NOT make the forum.

I am thinking of using proboards or invisionfree for the forum provider. If anyone is interested in helping me out with the forum: layout, ideas, or being a moderator on the forum, Please let me know by replying to this post. Also, The forum will be discussed outside of livejournal, so if you really want to help out, please leave your email address in a reply to this post OR you can email me. My email address is listed on my profile page and it is the hotmail address and not the yahoo address. Thanks!

Petition! (is only the beginning)

2008-04-09T04:45:33Z

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rogersnoporn/index.html

me starting a campaign to try and get roger's communications from selling porn--porn that is overtly racist, misogynist, pedophilic, rapist, etc.

please sign and spread the word!

CLPP Conference

2008-03-25T22:50:53Z

*From Abortion Rights to Social Justice:
Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom April 4-6, 2008*
*Hampshire** College***
*Amherst**, MA***

*/A project of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program/*

* Register online at http://clpp.hampshire.edu*

* Come to the FREE conference on April 4-6 2008 and be part of building
a unified movement for social justice!*

On April 4-6, 2008, campus and community activists will be gathering at
Hampshire College to unite for reproductive justice. We are expecting a
large turnout---last year there were over 1100 participants from the US
and abroad. We offer more than 40 workshops and trainings. Conference
speakers address reproductive freedom as it relates to a broad range of
social justice initiatives including economic justice, health care
reform, racial equality, freedom from violence, immigrant rights,
climate justice, and LGBTQ rights, just to name a few.

Over the weekend, you will deepen your understanding of issues you
already know about, make new connections, and unite with others who are
passionate about working for social justice.

For more information, check out our website at clpp.hampshire.edu or
contact us at (413) 559-6976 or clpp@hampshire.edu.

Cross-posted around pro-choice communities

Today's toothpastefordinner.com comic

2008-03-21T07:06:10Z

(click to enlarge)

Riot Grrrl Online on ning.com

2008-03-16T23:02:41Z

Riot Grrrl Online/Feminist Social Network on ning.com: http://riotgrrrlonline.ning.com/

Feel free to join and invite your friends. It's sorta like myspace, but better.

What can be done ?

2007-11-19T16:20:21Z

Saudi punishes gang rape victim with 200 lashes
A court in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishing a female victim of gang rape with 200 lashes and six months in jail, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The 19-year-old woman -- whose six armed attackers have been sentenced to jail terms -- was initially ordered to undergo 90 lashes for "being in the car of an unrelated male at the time of the rape," the Arab News reported.
But in a new verdict issued after Saudi Arabia's Higher Judicial Council ordered a retrial, the court in the eastern town of Al-Qatif more than doubled the number of lashes to 200.
A court source told the English-language Arab News that the judges had decided to punish the woman further for "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media."
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict Islamic doctrine known as Wahhabism and forbids unrelated men and women from associating with each other, bans women from driving and forces them to cover head-to-toe in public.
Word rape is not even in quran. Under sharia, a rape requires four male witness to be proved. And if a woman who complains of rape is herself charged with adultery if she does not produce four male witnesses and stoned to death. That was the case with Amina Lawal of Nigeria who was sentenced to stoning by Sharia court because she got pregnant and could not produce four witnesses. Only from a lot of world wide infidel pressure she was saved.

BBC: Is it OK for disabled people to go to brothels?

2007-10-23T20:10:59Z

This strikes me as a really bizarre piece from the BBC.

Is it OK for disabled people to go to brothels?

I'm having trouble finding excerpts from the piece that I want to highlight because, honestly, I'm not sure exactly what the piece is about. I can absolutely understand what is behind the perspectives presented by disabled people, but I think that my confusion arises from the title of the piece: Is it OK for disabled people to go to brothels?

What is the BBC asking?

Is it OK for disabled people, as opposed to non-disabled people, to go to brothels?
Is it OK for anyone people to go to brothels?
Is there a difference between disabled and non-disabled people going to brothels?

I'm not sure, and would be interested in your thoughts. (Obviously, I welcome comments on the above and anything else you are thinking about this issue and/ or the piece.)

We live in a society saturated with sex, but disabled people can often feel they've not been invited to the party. Some feel prostitution might provide the answer. But is visiting a brothel the right thing to do?

Taking your first steps. Riding a bike. Your first kiss. The first time you have sex. All standard rites of passage for anyone growing up in much of the world.

But what if you never took your first step? What if you couldn't ride a bike? What if the disability you were born with distanced you socially? What if there never was a first time?

Asta Philpot, 25, is a confident, extroverted person, similar to many other British men in their 20s. But he was born with arthogryposis, a condition that severely limits the movement in his limbs.

"Are you having a nice night?" is a line Asta is used to hearing, delivered by women in pubs and clubs throughout his adult life. There often seems to be a patronising undertone. Flirting isn't easy when you can't move.

Last year, he chose to lose his virginity in a licensed Spanish brothel. This year he took two other disabled men on a bus trip to the same brothel, filmed by BBC's One Life.

"When I was younger I had a friend and we always used to talk about relationships. He had muscular dystrophy and passed away without having a sexual experience. Why should people struggle for that experience?", Asta says.

Skewed view

This is the decade when discrimination against disabled people is finally being tackled in the UK, but while the law can open up a workplace or install a ramp, it is never easy to change what is in people's minds. And there are many people who would shy away from a relationship with a disabled person.

"I've been out to pubs and clubs, you see people with each other. Then they go off home. But people look at disabled people as not being able to have a relationship."

Society has a difficulty with disabled people and sex, Asta suggests. Television, and particularly the film industry, doesn't like to present people in wheelchairs in romantic scenarios. As objects of pity, or as exemplars of an inspirational fight against adversity maybe. But when was the last time you saw a disabled person playing the run-of-the-mill romantic lead?

To Asta, the situation is stark. Sexual experiences are a vital part of life. They are hard to come by. And visiting a brothel is the right course of action, he thinks.

"I feel more confident with girls. I'm totally for it. Not one regret. Disabled people are so sheltered and protected, in an institutionalised forcefield."

He believes in legalised prostitution, a view that many across society will not share but that appears to have currency within the "disabled community".

Moral issue

A survey for the Disability Now website in 2005 suggested that 75% of disabled people believed in the legalisation of prostitution, with 62.5% of men and 19.2% of women saying they would use trained sex workers. It's a situation that exists in the Netherlands where a voluntary group provides just such a service for disabled people. Most clients pay for it themselves but some local authorities subsidise the service.

There is also a group within the UK attempting to put disabled people in touch with suitable prostitutes, but there are those for whom visiting a brothel is morally wrong.

Anna Bowden, of Eaves, a group that helps vulnerable women, including those who have been trafficked into prostitution, recognises that disabled people face "a very difficult situation".

"Obviously I don't think the answer is perpetuating a form of violence against women. We reject the view that men have a right to sex."

But the notion that visiting a prostitute is intrinsically wrong is not shared by all. Cari Mitchell, of the English Collective of Prostitutes, make no distinction between disabled and non-disabled.

"Prostitution is consenting sex between adults. There's nothing uniquely degrading about prostitution except that it is criminalised," she says. "Men with disabilities going to a brothel is no different to any other men. They have the same needs as anybody else and should be entitled to the same access to paying for sex... as anybody else."

But counselling psychologist Simon Parritt, the author of the 2005 Disability Now survey, says it is difficult to see brothels as the answer.

"I think everybody has the right to a sexual identity," he says. "I don't think everybody has the right to sex with another person. That involves somebody else's rights."

Sexual exclusion

And in the eyes of some, he says, the Netherlands approach risks "ghettoising", with disabled people regarded "as something so different they need some kind of specialised charity sex".

But it is clear that many disabled people in the UK face sexual exclusion.

"The process of learning from experience is limited. When you get to 15-16 you may go out clubbing. The gap between you and your peer group becomes particularly big. Sexual and relationship skills get left behind," Mr Parritt says.

And he has first-hand experience of people's attitudes. Some years ago he placed identical personal ads, one mentioning that he was disabled, one not mentioning. The advert that mentioned his disability drew the better quality of responses but they were vastly fewer in number than the advert that did not mention his disability.

"People end up in their mid 20s and later not having had any kind of sexual experience. The right kind of experience gives you confidence."

Confidence is one of the things Asta was seeking. He thinks he has found it.

Thank you.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Daily Mail - How feminism destroyed real men

2007-10-21T10:10:32Z

This piece is from the Daily Mail sometime ago (and may well have been posted here before) but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it. The central argument seems to be that feminism has emasculated our Real Men in the UK; and that we ladies, told be truth, actually want our Real Men to come back and take charge. (Note that the Daily Mail will never be feminism-friendly, in my opinion.)

Link to the piece.

How feminism destroyed real men

Women thought the last victory of equality was to make men more 'sensitive'. The bitter irony, says this male writer in a piece that will infuriate the opposite sex (including his wife Liz Jones), is women don't like wimps after all...

At a dinner party recently, I encountered the depressingly familiar sight of a dynamic thirty- something woman accompanied by a nerdy male sidekick that she'd browbeaten into proposing to her.

The mismatch in power was obvious. She was successful, ambitious and confident; he was a diffident, overweight, shrinking violet who measured every word he spoke in case he said anything remotely contentious that might offend her.

On her wedding finger was the most enormous, glittering engagement ring. A mutual friend later told me she'd initially been presented with a less garish but more exquisite diamond but had told her fiance to return it to the shop and get her something bigger.

That huge diamond was his declaration of surrender in the sex war. But I didn't feel sorry for the stupid sap; he should have been man enough to tell her to get lost and find some other dummy.

Instead, he'd been sucker-punched into a lifetime of nagging and neglect, and looking at his bossy wife-to-be parading her huge rock, I felt a shiver of pre-emptive schadenfreude.

Her smug smile might have given the impression that her glossy-magazine-inspired life was all going to plan, but I could see the tragedy to come.

One day she'll realise how dull and unfulfilling it is to have a man who doesn't answer back, who offers no challenge or danger - but by then she'll be over the hill and stuck with him for fear of being left on the shelf. Sadly, this is the state of many marriages today.

Back in the Nineties, emboldened by the successes of feminism, women sought to slay the dragon of patriarchy by turning men into ridiculous cissies who would cry with them through chick-flicks and then cook up a decent lasagne.

Suddenly, women wanted to drive home their newfound equality by moulding men to be more like them.

This velvet revolution was reflected in a series of broader cultural changes. After decades of uncompromising movie heroes like Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood, we were asked to fall for stuttering, floppy-haired fops like Hugh Grant; touchy-feely and hopelessly embarrassed around women.

No doubt at the time, millions of misguided single women thought that having a man who could feel their pain and emote for Britain was a Good Thing.

Now, over a decade later, women are waking up to the fact that these men are drippy, sexless bores. The feminisation of men hasn't produced the well-rounded uber-males women were hoping for.

Instead, women are now lumped with flabby invertebrates, little more than doormats, whom they secretly despise but are too proud to admit it.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Rape is funny, apparently

2007-10-21T08:17:30Z

Deeply offensive and upsetting throw pillow, anyone?

"NO means eat me out first"

It makes me feel sick and very angry.

(Cross-posted.)

Obstetric fistula

2007-10-19T19:20:34Z

I'm ashamed to say that I've never even heard of this condition. Part of the message of this piece for me was the differences between the life experiences of women in the 'developed' world and those in the 'developing' world, and the unjustness of this.

Each year, 100,000 women who give birth in poor countries develop a devastating condition which leaves them incontinent and ostracised.

Obstetric fistula, a hole linking the vagina with the bladder or rectum, occurs when women - often in their early teens - are in labour for days.

Campaigners at a global conference on maternal health in London this week, entitled Women Deliver, have emphasised that a simple and cheap operation can cure it.

The BBC News website speaks to two survivors about how surgery has transformed their lives.

Link to the BBC article, which includes the accounts from two survivors and further links to organisations working in this area.

The first survivor:

Three days after the birth I realised that I could not hold in my urine. I was told to be patient but the leaking carried on for six days. They told me to go home and come back in two months.

We didn't tell my husband, we told him that I was ill and I went back to stay with my parents. We tried to hide it from everyone.

They thought I was cursed. I didn't want anyone in the village to know. I felt very isolated.

After two months we returned to Niamey to a non-governmental organisation which helped me.

I had one operation and I was healed. I was delighted. Before, I was always crying but afterwards it was like I was reborn. Only now that I am healed does my husband know what happened to me.

And the second:

I was raped at the age of 19. The rape left me pregnant and I developed obstetric fistula during the birth.

I was in labour for more than 18 hours. I'm an orphan so I was taken to the health care centre by my aunt. But once there I was left alone, nobody cared. I didn't understand what was happening.

[...]

After three days, I realised that I was always wet. I was told that I had a fistula problem. I never really understood what this meant.

I was told that I could seek further medical assistance but I'm an orphan, I simply didn't have the financial means. So I just went home.

It was such a difficult time for me, I suffered rejection, isolation, discrimination. I felt I didn't have a place in my society.

My friends didn't understand what had happened. It made me lose hope in life, I saw no reason to live. I couldn't see my friends and go out with other people my own age.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Judge: "Sadomasochists sometimes like to get beat up"

2007-10-19T15:08:12Z

In the messy world of domestic violence cases, often complicated by a lover's willingness to forgive, this one had a promising twist for prosecutors: Though the woman refused to testify against her boyfriend, a police officer said she had witnessed the attack in a Laurel gas station parking lot.

But Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Paul Harris, in a decision that has victims' rights advocates crying foul, acquitted the man charged with second-degree assault after he was accused of striking his girlfriend three times in the face. The judge said that without the woman's testimony, he could not be sure that she hadn't consented to the attack.

"The state is stepping into the shoes of the victim when she obviously doesn't care," Harris told the prosecutor, according to a recording of the Oct. 3 hearing. "It's that big brother mentality of the state. ... But I have to decide the case based on what I have, and I think a crucial element is missing."

This case has sparked absolutely justified anger from victim groups, in my opinion, not least because of the judge's apparent justification for his decision in the statement in this paragraph:

And in a comment that has riled victims' advocates and prosecutors, Harris added, "You have very rare cases; sadomasochists sometimes like to get beat up."

The following is a very real concern. One hopes that the hard work of women and victims groups hasn't been undone by this decision.

With authorities across the country encouraging victims of domestic violence to come forward, concerns were raised yesterday that the judge's comments and dismissal of the case set a dangerous precedent - one that threatens to erode victims' trust in the legal system.

The judge doesn't help himself with this comment:

Harris said the sadomasochist comment was intended as a hypothetical. "I'm probably as against domestic violence as anybody, when the case is proven."

Probably?! Thank you indeed for your support.

But aside from all of the above, the case heard eye-witness evidence about the assault from a police officer. One would think that such evidence would be incriminating enough to secure a conviction. The piece calls the judge's decision 'unfortunate'. I call it atrocious.

Your thoughts?

Link to the complete piece, with thanks to shakespearessister, among others, for bringing it to our attention.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Girls, gangs and gang violence

2007-10-18T14:00:57Z

This post was inspired partially by a post today on Feministe, (*) which linked to a summary of a study on girls and gang violence, and partially my own interest in the subject. (Thank you Feministe for spurring me on!) The contents of the summary are posted behind a cut below.

My main questions are:

Why do girls become involved in gangs?
What do they perceive as the rewards of involvement?
What is their role within gangs?
What are the effects of gang involvement?
How might it be possible to intervene with girls' involvement in gangs?

And everything else in between! I should add that I'm a criminologist/ sociologist/ sociology researcher (a combination of all three, if you like!) so my interest stems from the 'sociology of culture', which is applicable to this phenomenon. I've also been considered submitting a research proposal to look at these questions but I don't have the time or resources for that right now.

In any case, I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts you have on anything to do with this area.

Document Author: Christian E. Molidor of the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work
Reprinted From: Social Work, a journal of the National Association of Social Workers 5/96
Date Posted: 8/96

Teenage Girls Buying into Gang Violence, Study Shows Young Women Seek Affinity in Gang Ethos; But Threat of Violence, Abuse Remains.

Female gang members have turned more violent and dangerous, according to a study in the May issue of Social Work, a journal of the National Association of Social Workers.

The study, "Female Gang Members: A Profile of Aggression and Victimization," by Christian E. Molidor of the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, includes raw first-person accounts of gang life, based on interviews with 15 female gang members, ages 13-17, at a residential treatment facility in Texas.

The young women, of various races, belonged to several gangs in Texas and New Mexico. All had been arrested 1 to 6 times for criminal activities. A majority carried knives to school on a daily basis, and said they had easy access to a gun, the study said.

"Hey, school's a dangerous place. You gotta do what ya gotta do -- fist, blade, or pop [gun]," a 15-year-old gang member said.

"To view these young women as victims is justifiable," said the study, citing dysfunctional families, physical and sexual abuse since early childhood, cycles of poverty, substandard schools, and abuse by their own gangs. "However, to view these young women only as victims is not accurate. Although the literature portrays female gang members as little more than sex objects, the role of teenage girls in gangs is evolving. They now are the perpetrators of serious crimes."

Interviews cover the girl's reasons for joining gangs, their own criminal behavior, and abuse by other gang members.

Initiation into a gang could include being beaten and kicked by gang members, participating in a robbery of drive by shooting, getting tattoos, having to fight 5 to 12 gang members at once, or having sex with multiple male gang members, the study said.

"Some [of her gang members] just used their fists or were kicking me, but I remember that one homeboy had on brass knuckles that broke my nose, and this one girl hit me with a stick," a 13-year-old said of her initiation.

Young women join gangs for the sense of "belonging to a family" and power, protection and respect -- based on fear the gang inspires in others, the study said. "They're afraid of our gang [the Black Widows], and because I'm in the gang, people show me respect and won't mess with me. I like that feeling of power," a 16-year-old is quoted as saying.

But the downside to gang membership included fear and paranoia, the study said. The young women talked of watching their backside, knowing they might be shot, stabbed, or beaten by a rival gang at any moment.

"I was just walking to the store with my little bro'," said a 14-year-old girl. "He's only nine. Then out from the alley comes a car filled with about five of six gangsters. I'd never seen any of them. Two of them took a shot at me as they drove by. Neither of us was hit, but my bro' got scratched up pretty bad 'cause I pushed him down so hard to get out of the way."

Female gang members also feared violence and sexual abuse from members of their own gang, the study said. a 16-year-old told the interviewer of having to dance scantily clad on tables, make Playboy-type videos, perform oral sex in front of other gang members, and have sexual intercourse on demand.

Asked if it was humiliating, she replied: "It is, but it comes with the show."

The study cites statistics showing a 50 percent increase in serious crimes by teenage girls between 1968 and 1974, compared to a 10 percent increase for boys. Arrests of girls under 18 for violent crimes rose 393 percent between 1960 and 1978, compared to 82 percent for boys.

The study urges schools to develop programs (sports, arts, other activities) that can provide the sense of belonging that some teenage girls otherwise seek in gangs. It also calls for violence prevention efforts in the public schools, outreach programs in the community to aid troubled families of gang members, restrictions on the availability of weapons, and more effective ways to identify victims of physical and sexual abuse.

In addition, gang prevention programs for girls need to start before high school, the study noted. "If the majority of hard core gang members begin associating with gangs at age 11 and drop out of school by the 10th grade, then programs must target elementary and middle-school students."

Feministe also linked to this piece on the MS-13 gang in America, which some of you might also find interesting.

Thanks, all.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

'Sex at the Margins' - interview with the author

2007-10-13T18:30:47Z

I recently made a post in this community with links to a BBC online series on sex trafficking in the UK. After that, I read an interview with author Laura Agustín which suggests that some perceptions of sex work and trafficking may be skewed. She's written a book, Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labor Markets and the Rescue Industry, in which she challenges some current beliefs.

The book is described:

This groundbreaking book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work; that migrants who sell sex are passive victims; and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label "trafficked" does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the "rescue industry" disempowers them. Based on extensive research among migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustín, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry. Although they are treated like a marginalized group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice.

The interview I mentioned is here, and elaborates on her perspectives. I should add that Agustin writes specifically about the US in her book.

The point of this post is to ask if anyone here has anything to add to Agustin's analyses and claims, or if they would like to counter them with perspectives of their own. I know nothing about her work, but I am going to learn more about the claims that she is making.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Two-signature rule on abortions should be abandoned, say doctors (Guardian)

2007-10-11T19:04:15Z

Women should no longer have to obtain the signatures of two doctors to have an early abortion, and the upper time limit for the procedure should remain at 24 weeks, doctors' leaders said yesterday.

In evidence to an inquiry by MPs into abortion law ahead of possible amendments to legislation later this autumn the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says the legal requirement for two signatures in the first three months of pregnancy is "anachronistic" except in very complex cases, and should be scrapped.

I am absolutely in support of abolishing the rule that the signatures of two doctors are required for an abortion to take place. I'm less sure about increasing the upper time limit for abortions to higher than 24 weeks simply because I would be concerned about the physical and emotional effects of later abortions on the woman. I believe that terminations which take place in the 20th to 24th week of a pregnancy can be both physically and emotionally traumatic. On the other hand, the longer a woman has to exercise her right to choose, the better.

[ETA: I am not telling anyone what they can do or not do - I'm opening up a discussion about this very important and emotive issue. I don't make decisions about abortion legislation and never implied that I did. For my part, I am absolutely pro-abortion and pro-choice, and believe that the physical and emotional health of the woman should be a central concern in all procedures. My point is that the 24-week-rule currently in place in the UK may well be acting a useful 'safety device' for women having abortions.]

Link to the piece.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Home Secretary tells journalists "obsessed" with her clothes and cleavage "to get over it" (BBC)

2007-10-10T19:46:03Z

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has told journalists "obsessed" with her clothes and cleavage "to get over themselves".

She told the BBC's Woman's Hour that combating terrorism and crime were her priorities - and not her clothing.

Press commentators called her a "babe" and "pneumatic" after her first Commons statement as Home Secretary, which was about the failed car bombings.

Ms Smith said: "Funnily enough the main thing on my mind when I got up was not: 'Is my top too low cut or not?'"

Good for her! I'm really glad she's spoken out because I was angry to read this at the time. This is our first female Home Secretary, and she came into post at a really difficult time in the UK. I can't believe that the media concentrated on her choice of clothing rather than the statements she was making about terrorism. Pathetic!

'Misogynistic'

Commentators began focusing on Ms Smith's outfits in July after she made her first Commons statement as home secretary.

In a sober update on terrorism that was well received by MPs of all parties, she said the UK would "not be intimidated" by failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow Airport.

But it subsequently appeared the attention of some press sketch writers had focused more on style than substance.

As well as male writers describing her as "a babe", "pneumatic" she was also said to have a "home front" - female colleagues were outraged, dubbing the comments "misogynistic".

Link to the article.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

2007-10-10T13:18:27Z

Hi! I am working on an art project about the book "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume. If this book had an impact on you growing up, maybe you could fill out this quick survey? I know I would never have become a feminist without these books. Did they have a similar impact on you? If you have any questions or comments, or, if you would like a collection of excerpts to jog your memory, feel free to e-mail me at pocketsbuttons@gmail.com . thanks!

1. Your first name:
2. How old you were when you first read this book:
3. Do you remember any passages specifically?
4. Do you remember any of the places where you read this book?
5. Do you remember anything you learned from this book?
6. Please describe the front cover of the copy you read, if you can remember.
7. How does thinking about this book make you feel now that you're a little bit older?

The Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Guardian)

2007-10-08T16:36:25Z

I haven't seen any of Billie Piper's new TV series but I know that it's about the life ('secret diary') of a fictional call girl. In this case, the call girl enjoys a lifestyle of champagne and caviare. The article I'm linking too is from the Guardian's 'Comment is Free' site and criticises the programme for being unrealistic and for glamorising an industry it doesn't even reflect in a realistic way.

The Secret Diary of a Call Girl plumbs new depths in its distortion of reality. Piper as the call girl has a luxurious lifestyle, earning huge amounts of money having enjoyable sex with pleasant - and often handsome - men in smart hotels. In a staggeringly disingenuous interview, Piper defended the series, arguing that her character was "in control" and that, while such an experience of prostitution might be rare, it was a story that deserved to be told. She provided a succinct summary of how feminism's language of empowerment has been hijacked to serve male entitlement.

What, of course, gets missed out of Piper's glamorous champagne-and-silk-negligee account is a few facts. In the UK, more than half of prostitutes have been raped or sexually assaulted. Three-quarters have been physically assaulted, 95% are drug users, and 90% want to get out. Nearly 70% meet the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder, in the same range as victims of torture and combat veterans.

The prostitution market in this country is being transformed by eastern Europeans, trafficked or desperate. They're cheap and they are worked hard - up to 40 clients a day - in private flats hidden in the most unlikely of leafy green suburbs from Peterborough to Cheltenham. Police raids across Cambridgeshire uncovered no fewer than 80 new brothels last year. While sex trafficking is booming as one of the most lucrative forms of organised crime (low risk and high returns), Piper pops up in a fairytale role as sinister as the witch enticing Hansel and Gretel into her gingerbread house.

The central point the author wants to make is that, 'The screen adaptation of The Secret Diary of a Call Girl legitimises a trade [prostitution] that in reality is utterly brutal and misogynistic.'

As is frequently the case with Comment is Free, the comments from readers are more interesting than the piece itself.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the programme, or on the representation of prostitution in the media?

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Mother seeks girl's hysterectomy (BBC)

2007-10-07T19:28:15Z

I'm interested in hearing what the community thinks about this, from a feminist or other viewpoint. (Link.)

The mother of a severely disabled teenager has asked doctors to give her daughter a hysterectomy to stop her from starting menstruation.

Alison Thorpe, 45, from Essex, says 15-year-old Katie, who has cerebral palsy, would be confused by periods and they would cause her indignity.

Doctors are now seeking legal approval before carrying out the surgery.

The disabled charity Scope said the operation would set a "disturbing" precedent for other disabled girls.

If approved, it will be the first time in Britain a hysterectomy is carried out without it being medically needed.

(Cross-posted where relevant.)

(ETA: Here is a discussion on the BBC 'Have Your Say' site about this case.)

"Hit her, baby, one more time" Britney as a representation of a prevalent trait in our culture

2007-10-06T10:47:53Z

I found this piece on salon.com some time ago, and posted it somewhere else at the time, but thought it would fit here.

Here's the link: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/09/12/britney_vma/index.html

And here's an excerpt:

Who can believe that there is anything more to say about Britney Spears at this point? But, alas, there is. Spears has come to represent something -- something important enough that it keeps rearing its head. As has been pointed out before, she embodies the disdain in which this culture holds its young women: the desire to sexualize and spoil them while young, and to degrade and punish them as they get older. Of course, she also represents a youthful feminine willingness -- stupid or manipulated as it may be -- to conform to the culture's every humiliating expectation of her.

What happened to Spears, and what she chose to do to herself, this weekend was actually pretty hard to watch -- a gross example of exactly how much malicious satisfaction we get out of the embarrassing weakness of an addictive, postpartum, out-of-control mess of a human being. But as sad as anything is that the young musician shows zero interest in making it stop.

...

She embodies the disdain in which this culture holds its young women: the desire to sexualize and spoil them while young, and to degrade and punish them as they get older.

I think that this is an aspect of our society that is becoming ever more prevalent. We almost demand that our young women flaunt themselves for our enjoyment, and the moment they let their beautiful façade slip, they incur our full wrath. No longer is beauty within or in the eye of the beholder - now, it's only about how much flesh is on display and how that flesh meets our 'criteria'.

Men don't have to endure the same 'standards' but that was not the intention of highlighting this piece. My point was to say that NO ONE should have to endure these standards.

As the author of the piece says:

And so it continues, the nauseating spiral.

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

BBC's series of articles on sex trafficking

2007-10-04T10:46:12Z

The BBC has just run a series of pieces on the trafficking of women into the UK to work in the sex industry. I thought they might be of interest to a community devoted to feminism.

The titles are presented as they are on the BBC. I should also add that this reading is not for the faint-hearted.

NB: these pieces might be triggering for some members.

‘Hidden’ sex slave trade tackled: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6433779.stm

Smallest force tackling sex trade: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/6268851.stm

Sex slavery widespread in England: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6459369.stm

Britain’s hidden children: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6451353.stm

No boundaries on war on sex trafficking: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6354633.stm

What life is left after slavery: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6430561.stm

And some victim accounts:

I was sold for 2,000 Euros: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7026018.stm

The raped me again and again: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6224171.stm

Forced me to have sex from 11am to 11pm: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6224151.stm

Sex slave regrets ‘ruined’ life: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/6366085.stm

Duped into selling herself for sex: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/6422461.stm

(Cross-posted to relevant communities.)

Radfems born 1970 or later

2007-09-30T23:00:09Z

I'm going to compile an informal listing of radfems under 35 (born post-1970) because academia (or as Mary Daly would say: academentia) thinks or hopes us folk are going the way of the dinosaur.

So if you're a rad fem born 1970 or later, could I get a comment? Just give your username, or a nickname, or your real name. And if you know any authors, singers, activists, etc. who are radfem and under 35, could you give us their name. And maybe a little bio for both categories if you like, or a wee manifesto or whatnot. And do you/your rad fems you list identify as 2nd or 3rd wave?

This is not meant to belittle older radfems in any wany, shape, or form. They're more than welcome to comment too, but please state you're older than 35, so i don't count you as a "young" rad fem.

Also, please post this other rad fem/feminist communities, blogs, etc. Let's get this thang going!

P.S. I've a controversial view of radical feminism. I'm against sweatshops and other labour exploitation, prostitution, porn, capitalism, sadomasochism, homophobia, racism, etc. One doesn't have to agree with me on everything, but most things will have it covered because radical feminism means something and stands for things without backing down.

For those of you living in the NYC area:

2007-06-13T19:46:06Z

There is a show going on in NYC that I think people might be interested in seeing.

The HERE Arts Center in Lower Manhattan is inviting members of the community to attend a free dress rehearsal of the show “us” by dancer Alexandra Beller on Wednesday June 20th at 8:30.

HERE is also offering a $5 discount to all of the performances of the show. The show will run June 21-24 at 8:30p.m. & June 24 at 4p.m.

If anyone is interested in coming for free please contact me.

If you like theatre you should come! If you are interested in women's rights you should come! If you are interested in any political issue...you should come!

Information about the show:

HERE Arts Center presents...
us
Created and Performed by Alexandra Beller
Directed by Kristin Marting

Passionate movement. Layered text. Collaged media soundscape.
Celebrated dancer Alexandra Beller confronts the addiction of patriotism.

us blends highly athletic, sensual and dynamic movement with song, text and a layered soundscape to create a deeply personal commentary on the state of the union. This hybrid work explores issues of humanity and morality and examines the relationship between a country and its citizens. A series of cinematically woven duets with inanimate objects suggests dialogue with those who might not otherwise have a voice. By employing literal and metaphorical devices, choreographer/performer Alexandra Beller takes “us” along on her quest to build a healthy relationship with her country.

"Alexandra Beller is built like a burlesque queen and moves like a goddess." -- DANCE MAGAZINE

Five performances only!
Thurs. - Sun., June 21-24 at 8:30p.m. & June 24 at 4p.m.
at HERE Arts Center - 145 6th Ave. (between Spring & Broome, enter on Dominick)

Tickets: $20

_feminism @ 2007-06-05T23:30:00

2007-06-06T05:39:35Z

I am a female lead singer in a band and I am sick to death of the shit I have to put up with for being a young, strong, assertive buisness woman. Men would NEVER have to put up with the shit I do. When I say what needs to happen, it is always up for "negotiation", but when a man says it, it sticks. When I assert myself further, I am labeled a "bitch", hard to get along with, a pain in the ass. It's truely a no win situation for me. Nothing I do or say works. If I'm sweet, I'm a doormat, if I'm tough, the men gand up against me, but it's MY BAND! I started it, I maintain it, I do all the work and am held accountable to all my commitments. I invest my time, my money and my reputation, they just get to show up for the gig and play, yet they think it's a democracy and that they get to decide how things are going to be. I'm tired of being overthrown in my own buisness. Any female tips on how to deal with this shovenistic (sp?) world?????? Sometimes it's so miserable that I just want to give up, but I know that I can't and I won't. Outside the band, in the record buisness world, noone takes me seriously, they all just want to sleep with me!!! I'm at a loss, I don't know what to do and most importantly, how to DEAL with it all!! Help!!!!