Category Archives: Women

Sex is not the enemy

by suzannahrobinson

David Cameron is set to announce a new set of proposals for child-proofing the internet. A new opt-in scheme to be unveiled today would have internet providers blocking access to pornographic material to all but those users who request it. Clearly children, some teenagers and even adults can be shocked and upset by explicit imagery.

I don’t think we should run (seek to understand exotic acts and complex power games) before we can walk (understand a basic ideal of sex between adults who respect each other). But wouldn’t it be nice if the government were to replace one (misleading, fantasy-based) source of sex information with another (safe, inclusive) source?

The classically repressed British are living proof that ignoring sex does not make STIs or unwanted pregnancy go away. Only proper education, support networks and open adult discussion can do that.

I think we have some things to learn from our friends down under: http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/policies

Suzy

Another despairing moment for the American right

by maxattacks

Michele Bachmann speaks during the GOP debate

You’d think after eight years of George W. Bush as President you would have thought the Republican party would ensure its front-runners for the 2012 Presidential bid would at the very least appear to seem to know what they are talking about. But sadly, they got Michelle Bachmann instead. Now I thought the American right (specifically the Tea Party wing) had lost most of its credibility (primarily) in regards to modern science when one of its darlings, Sarah Palin, said this:

Now, yes you may well be reeling laughter/pity for the Palin. But this has turned out to be nothing when compared to the Tea Party’s newer rising darling, Michelle Bachmann. This is the woman who wishes to close down the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regards homosexuality as a “disorder” and a “sexual difunction” and wishes to repeal all health care system legislation.

What she done now? You may ask. Well she, like Palin has delved into the realm of scientific ignorance. Bachmann claimed that the HPV vaccine, which is a well-proven preventer of cervical cancer, causes ”mental retardation” in children. Yup, you heard right, “mental retardation” in children.

Now I’m not even going to go in to the long long list of scientists and scientific institutions that lined up to show how ridiculous Bachmann’s comments are. But I will provide her with two specific facts:

  • HPV, Human Papilloma Virus, or more commonly: genital warts is the most common STD worldwide and is the 2nd largest cause of female cancer (CDC).
  • Investigations by the AMA, CDC, WHO, and other major health organizations have cleared the vaccine as safe. Of 23 million administered dosages, 772 (that’s .003%) reported serious effects.
Please Tea Party, grow up!
Max

 

So much to talk about

by maxattacks

Apologises for the lack of  blogging lately. Been rather busy with essays, football match against BUCF (kinda) and general stuff back up north. Anyway, in that time there have been HUGE events in which I’d like to focus on. The NHS reforms (naturally), Portugal bail-out (naturally again) and University Minister, David Willetts, on Feminism.

First off, all I have to say on the NHS reforms is, thank god! No one wants these reforms. The BMA opposes it, the Lib Dems oppose it, 60% of GPs oppose the reforms and none other than Lord Tebbit opposes the reforms. If your too right-wing for Lord Tebbit, you know your policies have huge issues. Ian Duncan-Smith (IDS) even admitted that waiting times were already rising due to real term cuts to the NHS. Lansley has been hung out to dry by Cameron, lets only hope his reforms can also, permanently.

Now, naturally with the announcement of the bail-out for Portugal, Gideon jumped on the austerity bandwagon to claim that the cuts were right to prevent a similar situation occurring here in the UK. But if you stop, think and compare us, Portugal and other nation-states that have been bailed out you’ll see that this isn’t the case. For one thing, it’s important to note that prior to the bail-out, Portugal had had two austerity measures and three rises in VAT. Similarly, Ireland had been praised by the IMF in 2008 for “courageous” action for its austerity measures in an attempt to deal with its deficit. This naturally says something more about the problems of austerity than the problems of deficit/debt. For another thing, to say that Britain’s economy is anyway similar to Portugal’s/Ireland’s/Greece’s is absolutely ludicrous. We for one have a far, far larger economy than that of those countries, we have far more time to pay back our debts and most plainly of all, we’re not in the Euro so we can devalue our currency raise and lower interest rates. So please Gideon, don’t jump on the scaremongering bandwagon.

Finally, probably the least well known of the issues I’m focusing on is David Willetts’ comments on Feminism. Now, if you’ve been living in a cave the last couple of weeks what he said was that feminism was the “single biggest factor” for the lack of social mobility in Britain, as women who would otherwise have been housewives had taken university places and well-paid jobs that could have gone to ambitious working-class men. Now this is wrong and completely degrading on so many levels. Don’t get me wrong, Labour really didn’t do enough to tackle social mobility while in government. But feminism is in no way the cause of the problem. The true problem is the lack of aspiration from schools and deprived regions of the country to want young people to aim higher and also the problems of money that entail that. These comments also leave a more distasteful message. It is the assumption that women are out there, taking men’s jobs. Willets’ idea that women’s primary place is in the domestic household represents nothing less than a subliminal form of sexism. This is only exacerbated when he went onto excuse his comments with “It is not that I am against feminism,”.

This hasn’t been a good couple of weeks for the coalition.

Max

Rumblings in the NUS

by suzannahrobinson

Click photo for the source

The University of Kent has tonight voted down a suggestion to abolish the Men’s Officer on the Union’s strong team.

The official NUS women’s movement has a problem with this.

The point of liberation positions is that those who are normally under-represented get a chance to be heard. In the case of women’s officer it’s also about promoting sexual equality, disproving stereotypes and encouraging a post-structuralist view of gender. It’s an issue of mutual respect.

Men’s Unions formed within the NUS have typically been reactionary irreverent organisations, including one that included “playing pool and drinking beer” among its written aims.

With LGBTQ organisations doing a brilliant job at representing the gay, bisexual and transgender men out there, it seems unnecessary to require a separate men’s officer. All we can hope is that the elected man will work with the women’s officer to promote gender equality.

Suzy

Tocophobia

by suzannahrobinson

It’s the fear of childbirth, and it’s on the rise.

Some women are refusing to have any more children, begging for caesareans, or demanding heavy dosing of powerful pain-relieving drugs. Others are preaching about their natural births, boasting about the 18-hour marathon that was their third experience, or scoffing at those who are deemed too “posh”, too “lazy” or now, to “scared” to push. The official view of Dr Tracey Johnstone, a consultant in foetal maternal medicine at Birmingham Women’s hospital, is for women to simply “realise that childbirth is painful” and suck it up.

Why do we do this to ourselves? We should rejoice in the medicinal progress that allows us to have safe, healthy, and yes relatively painless births, not try to out-compete each other for ever more natural and gruesome experiences.

Becoming a mother is scary enough. The first couple of hours aren’t going to make a difference to how much you love and care for your child for the rest of its life. Pregnant women have too many psychological, nutritional and emotional hoops to jump through already. Let’s stop judging and preaching, and for God’s sake let them eat painkillers.

Suzy

Do women enjoy sex?

by suzannahrobinson

Stupid question right? They hate it, everyone knows that. Or at least Stephen Fry seems to.

He recently voiced the opinion that straight men feel that women are “disgusted” with them, and the latter only engage in sexual acts in order to secure and maintain relationships.

Is this a regressive step? Historically the ideal woman has been one without sexual desire, one who will remain loyal to her husband and bear only his children. Stephen Fry is paying a massive compliment to an entire gender in the eyes of organised religion and archaic morals.

So that´s alright then. But where does it leave straight men? Or, supposing there is such a thing, lesbians? Their ideal partners are “disgusted” by them, and since there are no “straight cruising areas” they have to put up with relationships in order to secure regular sex.

Cruising areas have chiefly arisen within the gay community because of a lack of provision for more traditional ways of finding a partner, such as nightclubs. Now that there is, in this country at least, a thriving LGBT nightlife, many gay men and women will choose to meet in a bar rather than “a churchyard” or “Hampstead Heath”.

Fry said “I feel sorry for straight men”. I do too, not because they can´t get women to have sex with them, but because the system is wrong.

The rules of society dictate that women are not allowed to enjoy sex or access it freely. They must wait to be wined, dined and otherwise spoiled, unless someone extraordinarily good looking/rich/popular comes along and impresses them enough. The effort and expense involved with all this leads to less sex for straight men and straight women, it becomes more of a big deal when it does happen, the resulting pressure means it happens even less and we comfort ourselves with the idea that women are frigid and men are rats.

Suzy

The unusual conversion of Lauren Booth

by suzannahrobinson

Cherie Blair´s sister, the journalist and activist Lauren Booth, has recently converted to Islam. I´ve been following her progress with interest through her articles and interviews.

Her conversion has been one of overwhelming spiritual experience rather than intellectual conviction, but she is slowly working through the Qurán and learning to pray five times a day. She refers to lifestyle changes as a welcome relief, her children are enthusiastic about her new modest dress, her father´s alcoholism makes her more than happy to give up drinking, and her ongoing divorce makes it fairly easy to avoid dating.

Her political interest remain centred in the Freedom for Palestine campaign and in changing the way the West looks at Islamic societies. So it´s a shame that she´s brought feminism into the ring to defend herself against media attacks, because I don´t think she understands much about it.

Leaving aside her jibes about the cultural ignorance of white middle class women and women who consider themselves “liberated” [sic] but spend a long time on their appearance, she declares that most of our ideas about women´s roles in the Middle East and Islam are entirely wrong, and biased media coverage has led to this false image of opression.

While the Bible and Torah, when followed to the letter, result in reduced women´s rights, the Qurán goes further, in condoning disciplinary action towards and a form of ownership over wives. Naturally as an educated wealthy single woman living in a mainly secular society she is unlikely to suffer from any ill effects of these guidelines, but her conversion cannot be regarded as progress for the western woman.

Her impression of equality in the societies she visited fail to convince. She describes with delight her experience of bossy or cheeky behaviour from women as evidence of liberation, in the same way that someone mugged in Edgbaston might talk about moving to Ladywood. Her anecdotal evidence about women students and men who do housework count for nothing as soon as the going gets tough.

In everyday life we don´t notice our freedoms. In most countries rights don´t become obvious until we find ourselves without money, protection or physical strength. As soon as we´re out of our comfort zone it becomes blindingly obvious that without the sexual, legal, human rights that women enjoy in Britain and the social norm of being able to do things alone without suspicion, we are not truly safe, or truly respected.

Suzy

Of saints and sinners

by suzannahrobinson

Mary MacKillop, Australia's first saint

The pope’s latest round of canonisation has created the world’s first Australian saint. But why?

Sister Mary MacKillop did many wonderful things in her life for the poor, for the aboriginal community, for children. She was a good and pious nun. But she had been excommunicated for her role in exposing a priest as a paedophile.

This canonisation might be more than just the remembrance of a forgotten continent. It might be a gesture towards acknowledging the pope’s own criminal concealment of paedophilia. If so, then it’s a step. But it’s not nearly enough.

Aside from common decency, humanity and remorse, what could be more Christian than to make a full confession and beg for forgiveness? It’s too late to maintain the illusion of infallibility. All that can be given now is a semblance of moral goodness and honestly.

Suzy

 

Health and sex workers.

by suzannahrobinson

Following the recent HIV scare in LA’s “Silicone valley” all prominent US porn companies have suspended business until those at risk can be quarantined and carefully checked. Once again the question of condom use in the industry has been raised by The Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation.

Meanwhile South Africa’s first porn film to feature an all black cast was produced this week. In a nod to the growing AIDS-awareness campaign both male actors wear condoms throughout.

Health-concious porn is highly important for three reasons. Firstly because diesease can spread through the worldwide industry very quickly and affect a huge amount of people. Secondly because it’s often the first exposure young people have to the act of sex itself, and therefore has a duty to educate. Thirdly because the good health, self-respect and self-worth of porn actors are crucial to bringing the idea of legitimate sex work into the 21st century and promoting a dialogue around safe and healthy stripping and prostitution.

Feminism needs to acknowledge that putting paper bags over lads’ mags in shops is not going to make sexuality go away. Extensive legislation is necessary to protect those involved, but also necessary are a greater awareness and a broader dialogue of and around the subject. Tarring the entire industry with the brush of “chauvanism” is not doing anybody any favours, because it makes it difficult to tell what is sexist and what is simply sex.

To end with a quote from the wonderful Wendy McElroy: ”What I am saying is that truth is usually more complicated than any one perspective can capture. Prostitution is not a monolith. Each woman experiences the profession in a different manner. And nothing can be gained by having different groups of feminists or prostitutes — all of whom are probably telling the truth of their own experiences — attempting to discredit each other.”

Suzy

Ever heard that one about the lesbian on the front bench?

by suzannahrobinson



Well now you have. Angela Eagle, one of only two out lesbians in the House of Commons (the other one being Margot James, vice-chairman of the Conservative Party),  has been appointed to the role of shadow secretary to the treasury. Being a woman, being gay, being out… these are all difficult things in the House. The Independent’s pink list this year contained about a dozen LGBT politicians. And they are gradually increasing in number and prominence, with MPs on both sides of the house getting civil partnerships.

But being openly gay is still not easy. Last month’s survey of the number of LGB people in the UK showed 1.5% of people classifying themselves as LGB, but the massive success of gay dating websites such as Gaydar suggest 6.7% is closer to the real figure. So many people are terrified to admit it to themselves or their families and friends, and this is partly down to a lack of prominent, successful role models, and partly to the fear of a hostile reaction, or simply of being misunderstood and drawing unwanted attention.

This is exactly why it is essential that public figures bite the bullet and come out – no more sham marriages or “landlord” situations, no more reluctant admissions following media scoops, no more “don’t ask don’t tell”. Successful, prominent and respected people declaring themselves to be LGBT really can broaden the public’s perception of what it means to be gay.

The most effective way of changing public opinion is to introduce everyone to a gay person. And if it’s 6.7% of us, that’s already happened to everyone already. They just don’t know it yet. This generation is growing up with equal rights, with gay cabinet ministers and peers, with gay millionaires. We’re the ones who are gonna change things. And if we don’t, we’re the ones who are gonna have to live with it.

Suzy

I’m not sorry

by suzannahrobinson

The personal is political, and never more so than on the issue of abortions. What can be more political than a debate which includes facilitates the inclusion of gender, religion, age, class, nationality and health? And, not to put too fine a point on it, what can be more personal than what goes on inside a womb?

I’m so pro-choice that I’m literally incensed about having to describe myself as such, with the alternative implied by the term. And I’m sick of a moral case being made by the “pro life” side which is supposed to have all sexually active women cowering in shame.

In a society that sets great store by scientists that show us exactly how to make perfect babies, and politicians that tell us exactly how to have stable families, surely the biggest pre-requisite for producing healthy children is for the mother to want it in the first place, because no amount of scientific development or government programme can ever supercede parental love.

In the 21st century quality of life is to be favoured over quantity. Rather than having more babies we should be spending more time and attention on the ones that are born, and the ones that we want to have. Choosing the time and father are essential, unquestionable rights for women. The most moral thing to do is to defend abortion rights.

But the coalition is making very worrying noises….

Suzy

The lady doth protest too much

by suzannahrobinson

Wearing a headscarf can and has been construed in many ways. Here in İstanbul, as in Birmingham, women can receive a lot of unwanted attention from lascivious observers for venturing out without one, especially in some areas of the city, and especially at night. In terms of keeping conservative parents happy, covering the hair seems a small concession to make for many teenage girls. For casual muslims, it`s nice to be ready to pop into mosque whenever the mood takes them.

So for scarved women who date, or have close male friends, or don`t fast during ramadan, or wear sexy underwear for their husbands, it`s a blow to be labelled hypocrites as lightly as they often are. The visibility of the scarf makes it impossible to disguise seemingly contradictory behaviour, and the woman in question must resign herself to even more unwanted attention. As with nuns and priests, people find it funny to catch scarved women out.

There is another problem with this attitude, that casual hypocrites like myself  notice – as imperfect humankind can never hope to follow all the rules all of the time, isn`t it better to at least try to adhere some of the rules laid down by whichever holy book you profess to follow? And is it really unethical to put a scarf to start with just because it`s the most obvious symbol?

Suzy 

It`s all relative

by suzannahrobinson

Yesterday evening an unknown man was buzzed into our building, entered our apartment through the door we often leave open and offered my flatmate money for sex. After a clear refusal in Turkish, English and Spanish, a violent struggle and threats to call the police he eventually went home, and we were left feeling terrified and dirty.  

The consensus about the event among my Turkish friends is as follows: that it is known in the neighbourhood that our apartment is occupied by young foreign women, who are probably not Muslim and definitely without the support of a large family bent on avenging insults to its women. Our brothers, fathers and uncles are far away, and we probably act like the American women in gossip magazines anyway, so will welcome advances. And if we don`t like it we can go back to where we came from.

Other things I find difficult to adjust to in İstanbul are the poor record on women`s liberation, the high birthrates, the tradition of the hostess never sitting down during a meal but continuing to serve throughout, the constant and indiscriminate leering by men of all ages and the incredible statistic that only 10% of Turkish women are in employment.   

It all makes the Ed/Yvette leadership issue look very, very trivial.

Suzy

How to lose a PM in 30 days

by Nash

Observing recent political events in West Island from across the ditch, I have been struck by both the swiftness and the apparent brutality of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s removal by his own party in favour of his second-in-command Julia Gillard. The justification for his removal apparently a decline in Labor support in the polls during an election year; for which he as leader was deemed responsible. To a UK political observer the initial comparison is inevitable (and Martin Kettle at the Guardian milks it for all its worth).

But UK Labour is not Australian Labor, and we should be glad of this. Firstly Australian Labor is institutionally factionalised in a way which makes Blairite-Brownite “rifts” look like trivial squabbles over soccer team affiliation. Rudd had no core faction behind him, hence when the challenge came they swung behind Gillard. In addition, Rudd had probably alienated the powerful union factors with miner membership though his proposals for a new supertax on mining profits. The plan to reinvest these profits to the benefit of all Australians is in principle a sound idea, but one which threatened the interests of mine workers. Consequent hostile advertising from this sector likely cost a few points in the opinion polls and encouraged Rudd’s colleagues (with union backing) to act. Some of us in English circles may smile wryly at the thought that there is somewhere in the west where miners can still bring down a PM.

It is also much easier to stage a coup when only MPs have a say in their party’s choice of leader. Much of the action happened overnight in this time zone – talk of speculation coming around midnight followed by the news of Rudd’s resignation when I woke up on the floor the next morning. By teatime Gillard was meeting the Governor-General. Had Milliband, D. ever followed through on his many threats to stick the knife in we’d have gone through the whole nominations, campaigning, and membership ballots palaver. Arguably this grants the incumbent a significant advantage, but if it saves us the undignified spectacle of a brutal internal coup whilst being notionally more democratic then I for one am grateful.

Rudd had been in office for just under two and a half years, after a landslide victory in ’07. He had brought the Labor party back into power after 13 years of opposition. He’d initially taken a bold stand on global warming in a country with a deeply sceptical (and Murdoch-tainted) media, and at least attempted to redress historical grievances with the indigenous peoples. Until a matter of months ago he had polled as the 2nd most popular Australian PM in history – now he becomes the only to be ousted from office in a single term. 3-year term limits mean that an election was likely before the end of this year; with a change at the top it will likely come about even sooner (as Gillard herself has stated). We shall see if the Labor party’s gamble pays off. If it does, there may well be many a forlorn “what-if?” in the Milliband camp (though Labor’s defeat is not as likely, let alone as certain, as ours appeared in ‘09). I’m not sure which reflects worse on a party – regicide against a successful election winner, or the prospect of changing leaders twice in one term. “Unelected Prime Minister” rhetoric is disingenuous yet potent amongst the electorate, especially when there is very little to hide the naked ambition of those who make it to the top. I’ve seen identity politics used already to justify the outcome; a seemingly desperate spin. On this note it may be worth considering the success of other welsh redheaded Labo(u)r leaders.

I’m glad this undignified spectacle never befell Gordon. Rudd gave a gracious albeit tearful resignation speech, worth watching if only for his parting joke of “I’m still Prime Minister for another 30 minutes… I’m no longer leader of the Labor Party but I am Prime Minister… anything could happen folks”. To an outsider he seems a decent, honourable and principled man – I only hope his party don’t wind up regretting what they’ve done.

Comrade Nash

- BULS Southern Hemisphere correspondent

Islam, women and FGM

by suzannahrobinson

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been making the news recently, as a Muslim woman who ran away from home in Somalia in order to escape an arrange marriage. She has since become an atheist and an outspoken critic of Islam.

“Here are a number of principles within your religion [Islam] which are not compatible with liberalism and democracy”

“To extremist Muslims it is not acceptable that Jews now have their own homeland”

She is impatient of moral relativism, and decrys the tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation by the Western world as “just one of those cultural things”. She says that these are the real issues of feminism, and that feminism in Europe and North America is just a luxury.

The levels of oppression women suffer in Britain do seem laughably small in comparison with the situations in countries like Burkina Faso. If cliteral reconstructive surgery was given to all those who have undergone FGM in Burkina Faso alone the total cost would be 23 billion euros.

http://clitoraid.org/

Suzy

Where have all the women gone?

by suzannahrobinson

The new ConDem cabinet is 26% female. I didn’t really expect any better, especially since Gordon Brown’s cabinet after the expenses cull was reduced to the same poor proportions.

But why are no women running for the Labour leadership?

Yvette Cooper recently stated her intention not to stand due to the demands of juggling such a responsible job with the demands of a young family of three children.

Q. Where is the father of these children?

A. Running for leadership

I think the women in the party could learn a thing or two from BULS, and especially from Louise, Dora, Pippa and Brigid. Maybe things will change when we get to Westminster in a couple of years time!

In the meantime, I’ll not be supporting Ed Balls.

Suzy

Something else to be proud of…

by suzannahrobinson

Labour had 191 women PPCs prior to this election, which has translated into 81 women MPs – 31% of Labour MPs.

For comparison:

Labour had 101 women MPs in 1997, 24% of the total.

And the tories in 2010?

48 women MPs. 15% of the total.

Labour have also provided parliament with its first 3 muslim women MPs – Rushanara Ali of Bethnal Green and Bow, Yasmin Qureshi of Bolton South East and Shabana Mahmood of our very own Birmingham Ladywood!

And 12 other black or ethnic minority MPs – Diane Abbott kept Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Keith Vaz kept Leicester East, Marsha Singh of Bradford West, Sharma Virendra of Ealing Southall, Gavin Shuker of Luton South, Khalid Mahmood of our own Birmingham Perry Barr, the great David Lammy of Tottenham, Sadiq Khan of “yes we Khan” fame and Tooting, Mark Hendrick of Preston, Anas Sarwar of Glasgow Central, Chuka Umunna of Streatham and Dr Chinyelu Susan Onwurah of Newcastle Central.

That’s 5.8% of Labour MPs. We’re almost there on representation, at least as regards sex and ethnicity!

So proud to be Labour. Our party prioritises equality. You can’t say fairer than that.

Suzy

Philippa Stroud

by suzannahrobinson

Firstly I’d like to thank BULS for electing me to the post of director of social media. Otherwise I would never have joined Twitter and therefore never have been made aware of who Philippa Stroud is and what she stands for. 36 hours after the story broke on the front page of the Observer all other major papers (apart from the Telegraph which played it down) and even the BBC have maintained a deafening silence on the issue. Ken Livingstone raised the issue on the Daily Politics show and was hushed up by the presenters.

But it’s been trending #1 on Uk twitter for 24 hours, the facebook event “Lets help Philippa Stroud get better” has 62 members and the facebook group “If Cameron cares an ounce about LGBT people, he’ll sack Philippa Stroud” has 1,544 members and counting.

This is big news, and it’s simply not being reported by the Murdoch press. The silence of the BBC, to whom, according to Stonewall UK the LGBT community contribute £190 million annually in license fees on this issue is shameful.

So what has Philippa Stroud done?

Having stood as a Conservative PPC in Ladywood Birmingham in 2005 she is now standing for Sutton and Cheam in South London. In 1989 she founded the King’s Arms Project – a Christian night shelter offering counselling to drug addicts, alcoholics, and LGBT people. She believed homosexuality was caused by demons, and could be cured by prayer and exorcism.

There has been no statement of apology or explanation from the Conservative party or David Cameron, Philippa Stroud herself having issued a statement which leaves lots of questions unanswered: ”I make no apology for being a committed Christian. However, it is categorically untrue that I believe homosexuality to be an illness and I am deeply offended that The Observer has suggested otherwise. I have spent 20 years working with disturbed people who society have turned their back on and are not often supported by state agencies; drug addicts, alcoholics, the mentally ill and the homeless that I and my charitable friends in the public sector have tried to help over the years. The idea that I am prejudiced against gay people is both false and insulting.“

She refused to comment on whether she believes LGBT people can be cured by the power of prayer, and whether she includes them under her definition of “disturbed people” or the “mentally ill”. She may not be prejudiced against the LGBT community in that she would treat them the same as anyone else suffering from demon possession, but is clearly not pro-liberation.

As a member of the New Frontiers Church of which her husband is a minister she has also pledged to: “be subservient to the wishes of my husband in all things” and submit to “male servant leadership and joyful female submission” – a remarkable attitude for a prospective female MP. I wonder what her views on abortion, same-sex civil partnerships and LGBT adoption are?  And when it became OK for the state and religion to cross over in this manner?

For a full briefing of the recent LGBT gaffes committed by the Tories see http://issacgreaves.eu/attackoftheclones/

The public have a right to demand proper coverage, proper investigation and a proper apology or some heads on plates. Instead we have 768 google hits for Gillian Duffy , and only 9 for Philippa Stroud.

My only comfort is that she probably won’t get elected because the constituency in which she’s standing has a strong and popular Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow who is standing for re-election.

Suzy

“eyes up ladies!”

by suzannahrobinson

Disclaimer: this blog relates only to the *look but don’t touch* principle. Men, women, the media or juries seeking to excuse abuse by claiming that the victim was “asking for it” by their choice of clothing reaches beyond the realm of fairness, freedom and human common sense, thus I will not address it here, where my readers are comrades in liberality and moderate views.

Objectification. It’s an interesting word.

Last week I took part in the annual Birmingham University Dance Society show; two fun hours of a variety of dances performed by 95% women pulled together by narrators and a brilliant tech and lighting team. “I rated each dance for sexiness, number 3 got 8 out of 10 for slutty costumes” said one male observer, and “there were definitely some whales in that last one. They really shouldn’t be wearing hotpants” said a female.

6 male dancers took part in a topless ballet dance in the second act. The eyes of everyone in the vicinity were drawn to their chests, and an outraged man was heard to say “Ladies, please! My face is up here!”

Nudity sells to men and women. I saw two men modeling underwear in a shop window in London a couple of weeks ago, and the crowd was enormous.

Sisters, let’s not victimise ourselves. The harshest criticisms and greediest glances come from heterosexual women. Neither the Burka nor “forehead tittaes” are strictly necessary. Let’s get a couple more guys to walk around scantily clad and redress the balance by giving as good as you get.  Oh wait – summer’s on the way!

Suzy

International Women’s Day

by suzannahrobinson

“Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all” – the theme for 201o

I’m proud to be a Labour woman, in the mighty tradition of Caroline Selina Ganley (1879-1966) and the Rt Hon Margaret Bondfield (1873 – 1953).

Child tax credit, Sure Start centres, National Childcare Strategy, the Equality Act, Civil Partnerships, increasing the number of women in parliament, Minimum Wage, support for flexible working, pension reforms and an increase in Maternity and Paternity Leave show us that Labour is still dedicated to equality and liberation.

Go fourth!

Suzy

3rd time lucky?…maybe not

by maxattacks

Well frankly, the last month and a half have been a bit of a sham for the Tories. Twice in recent weeks they have come out with false statistics (the first being the level of violent crime and the second being the number of votes at the last general election and so why we shouldn’t switch to AV-http://bulsonline.org/2010/02/09/deja-vu/). While the crime figures have some context due to the changing of the system in 2002 but this-http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8515798.stm is a tad over the top. The 10 poorest areas of the country have 54% of 18 year old girls pregnant or have had a baby? Nope, somewhat like 5.4% (down on 1998 at 6%), somewhat missed a decimal place there in an attempted to bash the “broken” Britain! Even the Liberal Democrats’ chief of staff, Danny Alexander, saying: “The Tories seem to think that half our teenagers are pregnant, our cities are like The Wire and that people will get married for a few extra quid.”

Well chosen words

Max

What really matters in public life?

by suzannahrobinson

A google search of “Yulia Tymoshenko” produces nine results, and without even following the links I learn from three of them that she is Yushchenko’s “glamorous lieutenant”, the “sexiest head of state” and “beautiful, classy and sweet”.

Whatever our views on the Orange Revolution and failure thereof, surely holding Forbe’s former third most powerful woman to a standard of beauty and sexiness over and above her economic and political capabilities is ridiculous.

I hope for the best for the people of Ukraine, and for democracies everywhere to elect premiers for reasons other than their looks.

http://hottestheadsofstate.wordpress.com/about/

Suzy

Queen’s Speech

by maxattacks

I think the policies outlined in the Queen’s Speech are a real indication of which party really cares about the people of this country.

For the financially disadvantaged: – a savings gateway

For young people: – the ambitious aim of eradicating child poverty by 2020 will be enshrined in law, in order to force the incoming government to protect Britain’s youth at all costs.
                          – the widening of access to apprenticships
                          – early action for poorly performing schools

For minorities: – representation and respect for example through kosher and halal options of meals on wheels
                      – increase in positive action and closing the gender pay gap

For the sick: – further improvements to Labour’s NHS

For us all: – greater access and openess through strengthening local governments, constitutional reform and increasing the transparency of party donations
               – security from the whims of banking elites through greater government control

I know who I’ll be voting for.

Suzy

Just a little thing

by Brigidjones

I’ve been hiding in a revision bubble for the last month or so, and as such have missed most of the expenses row. Emerged briefly to gasp for air and buy a newspaper to celebrate a relative lull in the exam timetable, only to find it still dominating the front pages.

I’m not clued up on the ins and outs of the scandal or the resignation, but on reading about Michael Martin one interesting detail stuck out. Women MPs, particuarly those elected in 1997, apparently tend to hold him in great regard for the help and advice he gave them on arriving at Parliament for the first time. As someone not quite from the establishment himself it was suggested he empathised with them and understood what it was like to be a relative outsider. I found this really interesting…

Now out of the real world and back to my bubble, five exams down, two to go.

Where have all the women gone?

by Brigidjones

When Cameron came to power in the Conservative party he promised a 30% female cabinet should he become PM. As anyone who has seen today’s Times can see, this seems rather unlikely.

As their front page points out, the vast majority of the top team are male. Women aren’t getting promoted and the candidates not yet selected from the infamous A-List are disproportionately female.

Why? Well we know the party has different ideas to Labour of women’s promotion; they don’t do all-women shortlists (which I am personally against actually but at least they’re getting the women in) and they don’t do women’s officers (something I am completely for). Women make up 51% of the population, 39.5% of their members, 16% of their front bench team and 8.7% of their MPS. Only 21% of their PPCs are female and so it’s not going to change any time soon either.

Why aren’t women getting ahead? Dave himself went to an all-boys school and hung out with the all-boy Bullingdon club rather a lot, maybe he thinks the lack of women is normal. Maybe he just doesn’t notice their absence. Maybe he’s just not that bothered… or is it unfair to blame him, is there an underlying problem deeply rooted in the party that needs to be sorted out?

david-cameron_1__532013a1

At least Clarkson isn’t as stupid as Dale

by chrisblewitt

It is good news that Clarkson had the guts to apologise after his ‘One eyed Scottish idiot’ remark when filming in Australia. I assume becuase the Brand/Ross affair got completely out of hand, after a certain newspaper decided to get all high and mighty, he made the correct decision to retract his statement, fair play to him.

On the other hand, Iain Dale is a completely different kettle of fish. I am sure that most of us agree, even the Tories among us, that his defence of Carol (daren’t mention her surname) was completely unnecassary. Surely it must be time for him to say ‘sorry I was wrong, lets just get over this’? No-one can defend the use of the term ‘golliwog’ no matter what the context, it is wholely derogatory and bigoted to even consider this an acceptable term in today’s British society.

Tales from the dancefloor

by Brigidjones

So this weekend I went up to spend a night in London with an old friend at his mates birthday party. We had a great time; we went to some overpriced club, wore smart clothes, and drank overpriced drinks that we couldn’t really afford. But for all that, I felt like I was in some grotty club back home; the same music, the same dance moves, the same atmosphere. The same men.

So this guy has been talking to me a bit and asks me if I want a drink. I find him a bit creepy so I tell him he can buy me one if he likes, but he’d better know I’m not going to sleep with him. He laughs, buys me a drink and starts putting his arm around me and getting a bit too friendly. So I introduce him to my (male) friend and leg it to the toilets to get away from him. I leave the toilets a bit later hoping I can slip off to some other area of the club and avoid him, but he has apparently brought my friend a drink and is waiting for me at the bar right outside the toilet door. He says, come with me, and pulls me into the men’s. Before he can get to a cubicle a security guard has us both pinned up against the sinks and is calling into his tannoy for back up.

I plead with the security guard to let me go, telling him how I don’t know the man, he dragged me in and I don’t want to be in here with him. More guards turns up, they let me go and I go back to my friend, a bit shaken. Within two minutes the man is back behind me apologising and asking for my number, and he keeps bugging me for my number until we leave.

Why the hell was a man who tried to drag a drunk girl into a toilet cubicle against her will not thrown out of the bloody club? What on Earth did he say to the (male) security guards in those two minutes when I wasn’t there? And what the hell would have happened to me if the security guard wasn’t there?

The whole incident left me beyond angry. He’s not the first guy to try this on with me or any other girl and he won’t be the last; there is a certain breed of male who won’t take no for an answer, who thinks “no” is an invitation to feel a girl up and who just won’t go away no matter what happens, who think its OK to have that kind of guy in your club and not to throw him out. And this sort of male needs to learn.

And now Clarkson too

by Brigidjones

So Jeremy Clarkson is in trouble at the BBC as well, for making jokes about murdering prostitutes. Second round of controversey, both involving men making inappropriate remarks about women. I’m not convinced that the outcry is a glowing display of national feminism though.

The Brand/Ross row was centered around the grandfather for hearing things he peobably didn’t want to hear, not the granddaughter whose privacy was invaded. The Clarkson row has failed to mention the stack of lads mags and pornos offered to James May as a prize for doing something daring with a lorry during the same episode, and instead focussed on the offence caused to (mostly male) truck drivers suggesting they murder prostitutes.

Interesting…

Fancy a Lapdance?

by Brigidjones

A bit more info here about the situation with lap dance licencing, which I was protesting about a few weeks ago outside Toryfest.

At the time of our protest, only five Tory MPs had signed up to EDM 1375, calling for better regulation of the lapdancing industry. I can report that following an enquiry by the Conservatives and a large amount of pressure from womens groups, a further one Tory MPs have signed up! Astonishingly, none of the Cons MPs are female.

Shame. Did the free night at the Rocket Club win them over?

By-election candidate watch returns!

by Brigidjones

It’s another by-election, and time to look at the candidates. As reported by BULS previously, the number of females making it onto the ballot paper in British by-elections is still rather low. So I took a look at Glenrothes this week, and found that women make up 25% of the candidates.

I’m no fan of all women short lists but this isn’t encouraging…

Also interesting to note that the SNP and UKIP are standing. Each firmly believing in independance, they don’t seem to agree where the boundaries should be drawn…

As I walk home at night

by Brigidjones

A few years ago, Amnesty International invited members to send in their answers to the question, “what does a world without violence against women mean to you?” One reply really stuck with me, and it came not from a woman, but a man. To him, it meant the woman he walked behind in the street at night not being afraid of him.

I think of this every time I walk alone after dark. To the despair of my friends and mother, and despite my nerves, when sober enough I’ve always refused to let fear put me off walking home alone. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve always lived in relatively “safe” areas; but then whatever the statistics are, anyone can get mugged, anywhere.

There are measures I take to give myself a sense of security. Perhaps least effectively, I sometimes emasculate my silhouette if I’m planning a trip; a shapeless hoodie and trousers with pockets say “woman” far less than a skirt, tailored jacket and bag.

This can backfire. Tonight two separate women passed me just after midnight this morning with terrified glances, and I started to know what the man in the Amnesty magazine felt like. As I turned into my road, a man was behind me and I glanced over my shoulder. I saw he was wearing a suit and instantly felt at ease- and then kicked myself for being so prejudiced. I glanced round again without really thinking about it, and he crossed the road and sped off. Any other time of day, or if he had been a woman, it would have been ok; but because it was dark, and he was a man, he must have known it would have put me on edge. I almost wanted to shout after him, I’m sorry; I felt bad for making him feel distrusted because of his gender.

It’s one thing for me to worry about being out alone in the dark in England; in various other places in the world, the circumstances of me being there (on my way back from a pub, where I had been with gay people, unchaperoned, head uncovered, to a house I share with two men who are neither relations nor husbands) would be a catalog of crimes. It was this train of thought that convinced me to make the ten minute walk to the pub on my own at half ten, because I knew I was just lucky enough to have the choice.

But I know that by going out at night, alone, I am running a risk, be it small or large, and its one that a lot of women would not chose to take. Imagine a world without violence against women? Its one where the first thought a woman has when she sees a man at night no longer has to be fear. Its one where women are confident enough to enjoy their lives to the full, and not jump at shadows in the dark.

Two women, different story

by Brigidjones

Two blogs have caught my eye this week, both featuring controversial women.

The first, no regular user of WordPress can have failed to notice; having been little mentioned in the press, the Alaska Women Reject Palin Rally is hearteningly reported on the Mudflats blog, and details the protest which saw over a thousand Alaskan women picket Sarah Palin’s post convention homecoming. How bitterly disappointing it is that the woman with the best chance of making the White House perhaps ever has such retrograde views on both human rights and scientific fact; and how intensely frustrating that the world doesn’t seem to mind.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Harriet Harman holds the equivalent job to that which Palin is vying for, but the contrast could not be greater. A champion of womens rights, with her head firmly screwed on, Harman is Palin’s political opposite. Harman is no stranger to being slagged off in the British press for her feminist policies, and the blog I came across yesterday sadly reflects how a lot of British men feel about her. It is written by an angry conspiracy theorist, but the views expressed on it are far form isolated; they are just a slightly less eloquent regurgitation of the views routinely expressed about her by the right wing press.

Palin is feted by a stunned British media; even the Guardian, opposed to her politically, saw her as a curiosity and gave her far more coverage than she deserved. The amount of over exposure is illustrated by a quick Googlefight; Sarah Palin gets nearly twice as many hits as her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden. The contrast between the coverage she and Harman receive is exemplified in The Sun article comparing her to “that boot-faced robot of political correctness Harriet Harperson”.

Why is our homegrown womens champion routinely belittled while this Alaskan medievalist is so celebrated? I worry it is a question of glitz and glamour as much as it is one of politics. Harman is neither dour nor unattractive, but inhabits the drab world of UK politics, and is unlikely to send women rushing to the shops to buy her glasses or have them copying her hairstyle. Harman is upfront and unashamed of her feminism, while Palin hides behind her super-woman exterior a set of downright dangerous policies that could set back the fight for womens equality in America by decades. That the UK is so transfixed by this woman and so unappreciative of Harman means either the press is inheritently shallow, sexist or both. While I would like to think it is the former, I fear that sexism has rather a lot more to do with it than we would like to admit.

Women in H+H

by Brigidjones

The Haltemprice and Howden by-election ballot paper makes interesting reading. In the absence of two big  mainstream parties, a huge number of independent candidates stood; I wondered how women would fare outside of the normal election environment.

Sadly, only seven of the twenty-six candidates were female. Of these, five were aligned to parties (although these tended to be small and included the Miss Great Britain Party) and two were independent. Contrast this with the nineteen men who stood; fourteen were independent and five had parties, although again given the size of these parties they are probably best counted as independent.

What got me most about the results, however, was that of the seven women standing, six occupied the top positions 2-7 after David Davis. Whether this was due to their being women or that they represented some of the more significant of the small parties is also up for debate- I suspect the latter, but still find it interesting, and somewhat heartening.

IN YOUR FACE NADINE DORRIES

by Brigidjones

Those are the estatic words of my friend Dawn, and I think they sum up rather nicely the the conclusion of one of the greatest attacks on womens rights to come before parliament recently. I am so relieved and happy.

The list of who voted how will be very interesting to read tomorrow. Lynne Jones, what a legend, responded to me within half an hour of me emailling her about the bill to assure me she was thinking straight (which if I’d had time to read her website properly I’d have realised she was very much for 24 weeks, its a good site) but I was hugely dissappointed to see other names on the list that voted for a ban on hybrid embryos. Quite surprised by some of them, too.

I am so glad the amendments fell, I have been following the debate on MSN to a few feminist friends as my dodgey internet connection denied me full coverage. Now, to get on with revision…. :)

 

Women need 24 weeks for a reason

by Brigidjones

I stole this headline from the Family Planning Association because it says it all. Regular readers may have noticed I get rather angry about the Human Embryology Bill. I am utterly delighted to see it pass another hurdle tonight, but I am still apprehensive about tomorrows vote on the abortion limit.

MPs from all parties, including most notably David Cameron and Nadine Dorries, are peddaling downright lies that could change forever the lives of the tiny, tiny proportion of women, many of them vulnerable, in abusive relationships or very young, who seek late term abortions and force them to carry their pregnancies to full term against their will. The most recent and fully comprehensive report on the survival of foetuses before 24 weeks has shown there has been no change in the survival rates of a foetus before 24 weeks in the last ten years. NO CHANGE.

Despite this, Nadine Dorries MP, the woman behind this, insists that the report is a “desperate piece of tosh produced by the pro-choice lobby”. I’m sorry, this report, covering not one but sixteen hospitals over ten years, and based on science, something this woman has no understanding of, is made up?  She justifies her claim with the argument “So where has all the money that has been pumped into neo-natal services gone then?” Sweet Jesus. Note she doesn’t allow comments on her website- could she possibly be afraid of being corrected?

I am finding it hard to convey just how angry and sick this woman makes me feel. And David Cameron supports her. When you’re standing at the ballot box at the next election, stop and think how many women they have tried to control. How many children they want to be born into abusive relationships. How many young women they want to have babies forced through their barely developed bodies. How many desperate, terrified women they want to be forced to carry foetuses to full term because of Cameron and Dorries’ selfish, selfish attitudes.

Yes, we have too many abortions. Restricting access is not the answer. Leave these women alone. Respect their choice, one of the hardest they will ever have to make. Respect their rights to live how they want to live. Respect their intelligence by not suggesting they “should have used contraception”, or “shouldn’t have had sex”, or worst of all “should have known sooner”. Women need 24 weeks for a reason. Don’t let these sad deluded people, or the lack of eloquence in this rambling, angry blog, tell you otherwise.

Lobby your MP. Don’t let these people take away women’s rights.

20 weeks: at least 1 nutter.

by Brigidjones

A friend alerted me to this article, displaying quite brilliantly what an utter head case the woman spearheading the campaign to bring the abortion limit down to 20 weeks really is.

This woman seems to think that an anaesthetised 21 week foetus can punch through its mother’s womb.

A paralysed baby. With an arm the width of your finger. Punching through a womb.

Sweet Jesus. What other crap about unborn babies is she trying to pedal on the public? The woman in question is Nadine Dorries, who happens to be a Conservative MP. Cameron must be so proud of her.

I almost spat at the news stand…

by Brigidjones

My internet connection is being a pile of shit so I can’t upload the front page. But as I collected a copy of the Guardian today, hoping to calm my revision stress by reading articles by people who agree with me, I caught sight of the neighbouring Daily Mail.

“ABORTION: FIGHT TO SAVE 2,500 BABIES EVERY YEAR” is screamed at me.

The first paragraph of the article claims that 2,500 lives would be saved every year. Regular readers will already know my views on this and should probably stop reading here to avoid repetitive boredom.

They. Are. Not. Lives. What the hell about the woman’s life?

It goes onto claim that “Women use abortion as contraception.” If this statement were true, surely it would be a strong case for improving access and education about contraception, not for curtailing access to late abortions for the minority of women, usually in desperate circumstances, who have such late abortions?

And use abortion as contraception? How many women do they think would rather go through an emotionally and physically scarring operation, which the more bigoted members of society will condem them for, multiple times than take a tiny pill once a day, or have an injection once a year, or simply use a condom? The morning after pill is a bloody nightmare to get hold of, and often requires thirty-something quid or a rather personal interview about your sex life, whilst standing in the middle of a crowded pharmacists, to get hold of. Make this easier to get hold of, you will cut abortions. Educate and make contraception more available: you will cut abortions. Leave the law where it is. If there are too many abortions, tackle the reason, don’t cut access.

It was all I could do not to spit at the stack of this bullshit sitting smugly on the newstand.

*brij and her womb sit back and wait for the predictable anti-rights backlash from the usual suspects.*

Labour- the Women’s Champion

by Birmingham University Labour Students

Kathryn Woodroof of BULS reports back from the event “Labour, The Women’s Champion” in Washwood Heath

A few Sundays ago a contingent of us BULS women went over to Washwood Heath to show our support for the local Labour candidate Mohammed Rasib. Birmingham’s Labour Party had originally intended to put forward an all-women shortlist for this ward, but following a shortage i.e. complete lack of female candidates, was forced to put forward Mr Rasib, a worthy candidate for the position nonetheless. Some of those present expressed disappointment that no woman had come forward and others anger that it was still proving difficult for women, especially Black & Minority Ethnic women, to get into politics, local or otherwise. We listened sympathetically to the thoughts and frustrations of those present, and the “women need help to get into politics” line of thought was starting to grate a little, when suddenly a young woman stood up and said that if women wanted to get into politics they should quit moaning about it and just do it. Hear hear! Councillor Anita Ward of Hodge Heath ward admitted she too disagreed with all-women shortlists and that women should be put forward as a candidate based on their ability and not their sex. Furthermore, why should a good male candidate such as Mr Rasib be rejected in favour of a woman who might not do the job as well? Sadly it is not quite as easy as all that, but it was refreshing to hear women speak out against the all-women shortlists, which are frankly insulting and ignorant of our strengths and abilities. To foster higher female and BME representation, we must firstly provide more information about how you go about standing as a local councillor, or supporting your preferred party. Young people in particular know very little about local politics and this is a barrier to participation. Following that, women need to hold more meetings like this in order to meet female MPs and councillors who have succeeded in the political arena, hear their stories and gain inspiration from them.

All women shortlists: a quick fix to a big problem

by Brigidjones

 Tom Marley’s latest post raised the controversial issue of the all-minority-shortlist. Many of the arguments around it relate also to one of my pet hates: the all-women shortlist. Expressing a dislike of the shortlist often provokes shock and shaken heads in Labour circles, but in my experience the vast majority of women I meet are against them. In our last BULS women’s caucus, a unanimous vote was carried against a proposal by some male members to introduce positive discrimination for our committee positions. Why?

There is, after all, a strong case for all women shortlists (AWS). The argument goes that women are less likely to be selected than men because of underlying prejudice; that they are less likely to put themselves forward for seats due to natural timidity/the intimidation of entering a male dominated environment; that childcare commitments and other caring roles make them unable to devote the time needed to get selected. The all-women-shortlist has greatly increased the number of women in parliament, and this is hailed at Labour gatherings as one of our great achievements. But it is something I find myself unable to be proud of. I believe that all women shortlists are a quick fix to a big problem, and that they trick us into thinking we have sorted out inequality.

There is, as I outlined above, a vast landscape of reasons that women just don’t make it into elected positions. But I don’t believe that forcing us to pick women is the answer. The first and foremost reason is that it undermines the position of any woman selected. No matter how qualified, no matter how worthy a candidate she is, it can never be proven that she was best for the job because she did not win a fair contest. Now while it can be argued that in am inherently sexist society a fair contest is impossible, my experience of talking to voters of both sexes tells me that in the eyes of the electorate, the woman who won by AWS is not as trusted or accepted as one that won an open selection.

The greatest fallacy of the AWS, however, is that it does nothing to address the reasons for women being under represented in the first place. If childcare is the issue, we need to address both the provision of it, the timing of meetings so that they do not clash with home commitments, and most importantly the culture of women taking the childcare burden instead of men. If it is the male dominated environment that is the issue, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy; but having separate womens support networks set up, such as the Birmingham Labour Women’s Forum, or offering training in public speaking, can go a long way towards building confidence amongst women and give them a stronger support base for any problems they may encounter. If it is the prejudice of men that is the issue, it must be tackled by example; by proving our capabilities, and proving wrong those who doubt us.

The AWS tackles none of these issues. I believe it fuels resentment amongst men; and worst of all, it can give women the impression that the only seats worth applying for are AWS. The under representation of women is a huge problem, and the AWS has indeed ensured that women are better represented. At a BULS event a year ago, Sylvia Heale MP told members how parliament had become much more woman-friendly since the 1997 influx, and I applaud this- however while it has made life easier for those already in parliament and made it a more attractive position for women to hold, it hasn’t tackled the aforementioned problems.

There are two things we have to change to tackle gender inequality; mens perception and treatment of women, and women’s perception and treatment of themselves. The AWS doesn’t help either. It is a poor means to a laudable end, and something I would like to see abolished so that we can get on with sorting out the real issues at hand.

Girl’s Night Out

by Brigidjones

 Last Friday I embarked on what is for me a very rare event. Me and two female friends went for a girl’s night out.

 Dressed fairly modestly by the standards of our peers, in boots, jeans and not-too-low tops, we set out down our road, on a mission to visit the cashpoint, a pub, and a club.

 We had barely been on the main road a minute when a guy stopped us. In his twenties, he asked us if the Guild was open that evening, if we were going and if he could get tickets. We explained it wasn’t a club night, but he kept asking where we were off to. I politely told him to sod off and we continued on the remaining ten meter stretch to the cash point.

 At the cashpoint, we attracted more attention. A drunk man told me and my two friends in turn that we were attractive. We turned away from him to attend to the traffic lights next to us, only for a car to go past full of lads honking their horn and shouting at us. 

 Finally across the road, we eventually made it into a pub. On entry an older male punter came up to investigate us before giving up and sitting down again. The barman was very friendly, and we got served very quickly despite it being busy- he even set out stools for us around the bar and kept coming back to see if we wanted more drinks. (The rest of the night was fun but largely irrelevant to this post.)

 The point of this story is this. It was lovely to be treated so well in the pub- but I have never been treated that well when I’ve been out with guys. All the attention and leering men in the street, I have never encountered when out with the guys. Being a woman I’ve of course experienced all this before when out with the girls, but the sheer volume of it in such a short space of time that night left me gaping. When the guys were at home the world was a different place- my friends and I were seen differently, were treated differently, and it was very, very disconcerting.

 I was drawn into another debate tonight on the nature and practicalities and need for women’s liberation campaigns (of the nature practiced by Labour Students, NUS and the University of Birmingham Guild of Students). I found myself defending the existence of the campaigns on the basis of underepresentation and pay discrepancies, to a friend who sees no need for such campaigns as she considers herself equal to men in mindset and opportunity. I’ve never considered myself any less worthy of anything because of my gender, and on reflection over the long discussion it occurred to me that there were two things we needed to fix: men’s perception and treatment of women, and women’s perceptions and treatment of themselves. I shared that little story above because it is the clearest most recent reminder I’ve had of the first of those two points- of how an awful lot of men see women. That brief walk to my local pub was unpleasant and unsettling and a pertinent reminder that we’ve got a lot to fix.

Not a quiet week for Birmingham

by Brigidjones

The Birmingham Post has carried two headlines this week that prompted me to shell out 70p for it. The first, on Monday, was in the fall out of the Enoch Powell Tory row… like the Post correspondant, I had already googled the speech, only to be led straight to the National Front website which carried it in its entirety. Reading it left me feeling cold and unsettled, particuarly the anecdote about the “only white woman left in a street”. Yesterday it was suggested Hastilow could still be asked to return by local party activists…

Later in the week it was reported that the pay cuts for Birmingham Council workers could disproportionately affect women. While many female workers will indeed recieve rises, an awful lot of traditionally feminine jobs will be devalued… as if the pay gap wasn’t bad enough. The council has defended itself, saying that the new pay system was meant to make things more fair and equal. I’d be very interested to see who is right- did the council get it badly wrong or is the headline misleading?

On the equal pay front, it was also reported this week that women with degrees earn less than men right from their first jobs after graduation. What a bright hopeful future I have ahead of me.