Feminism Friday linkage:
Impossibly Beautiful
from Shakesville by Melissa McEwan (read the whole series, linked at the foot of the post)
Olympic medal-winning women called “gold-diggers”
from Feministing by Ann
Why feminism should be taught in schools
From The Times by Joan Smith
Looking back, I’m amazed at how much we achieved – many feminist ideas, such as the right to maternity leave, have become mainstream – but I’m also horrified by the casual misogyny of 21st-century life. Since my book, Misogynies, was first published in 1989, it has got much worse.
But 21st-century politicians don’t use the vocabulary of their 20th-century forebears, and feminism needs to reinvent itself as much as any other political movement.
Also from The Times:
UK Criminal Compensation Authority Blaming Rape Victims
Under guidelines meant to minimise compensation payouts for people who “contribute to their own ordeal during a criminal incident”, such as people taking part in the crime, or offering provocation for an attack, certain bureaucrats decided that women being out in the world socialising in a perfectly legal fashion were liable for provoking their own rapes, and cut their compensation payouts accordingly. Public outcry has meant that the decision has been reversed, but how could they have been so wrong headed in the first place?
It could be something to do with the way that the media reports rape, of course. Melissa reports [trigger warnings], and then responds to a typical Daily Mail women-blaming op-ed (the pictorial juxtaposition has to be seen to be believed):
The piece itself is just unrelentingly infuriating, as its male author offers up gems like:
But why are women so worried about their looks?
I took a lot of flak in a recent discussion elsewhere for suggesting that women who have cosmetic enhancement surgery might be responding to just a little bit more than their own psychological insecurities about attracting a mate – that there might actually be some much larger social issues about why women choose to be surgically enhanced i.e. that it’s not just about getting sex, even if the surgery they are having is aimed at increasing their sexual appeal (by certain widely acknowledged to be fucked up standards).
Here’s just one high-profile example of how women are trained from a very young age to believe that their looks matter more than anything else about them, not just when it comes to finding a sexual partner, but also in terms of recognition and reward in other aspects of life:
More classic sexist advertising
Wonder whether it generated any outrage when originally published? Nah, it’s “just a joke”
Women still the sex class in international elite sports
This photo is what passes for sports journalism at the Sydney Morning Herald nowadays. I did not crop this photo; the Herald did.
From the reading pile: Barrayar (contains spoilers)
I’m enjoying “Barrayar” right now, from Lois McMaster Bujold, and I thought I’d share an excerpt. Bujold is a keen observer of human interactions, and readers with complicated medical problems might relate to some of this.
Commander Cordelia Naismith (also known as Lady Vorkosigan), a former Betan military commander, is in a doctor’s office on Barrayar. She is being checked out after a series of traumatic experiences.
Friday Hoyden*: Michelle Gomez
Gomez is an actor I’ve enjoyed watching for some time, and when I read that she had chosen to play Katharine in a new RSC staging of The Taming of the Shrew I wondered why on earth she had agreed to be in that monstrously misogynist play, whose enduring popularity relies solely on the comedy fireworks in the early scenes between Petruchio and Kate, and the ability of the Kate to gloss over the humiliations she receives. I was disappointed by the idea that Gomez’s glorious abilities in physical comedy were going to be used simply to mask the horror of Katherine’s annihilation yet again. I should have had more faith.
Canine femininity on Etsy: the “Sassy Wench Corseted Dog Dress”
When you’ve had enough of dressing your newborn in leopard-print high-heeled shoes for shits and giggles, what’s next?
Well, why not start on your dog? If it’s a boy dog, of course, you’ve already got your Neuticles Ultra Plus (now with Epididymis!). But if it’s a girl dog, the Etsy Pampered Pooch Boutique has just the thing for those moments when you’re mortified by blundersome passersby asking “Is it a boy dog or a girl dog?” Avoid those gender-neutral faux-pas and announce your pooch’s vulva-possession to the whole world. Just because she’s spayed doesn’t mean she can’t be feminine.
Olympics Special: Forced Abortion in China
The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony is about to start.
In all the protests about Tibet and about internet censorship (important issues both), there is an enormous humanitarian crisis in China at risk of getting pushed into the background. That crisis is the systematised, legalised, horrific violence against women and girls.
Through Olympics time, I’m planning to post roundups and linkdumps on a series of these topics. Be warned – they’re all likely to contain triggers.
First up: forced abortion.
Newsflash! Gans and Leigh: Still no evidence that women are harming their babies for cash.
Back in November 2007, tigtog and I discussed at length the paper on the baby bonus introduction by Andrew Leigh and Joshua Gans, “Born (Again) on the First of July: Another Experiment in Birth Timing”[1]. The paper has now been revised for international publication, this time with mortality data.
Their thesis back in 2007 was there was an introduction effect “delaying” births around the time of the baby bonus introduction, and their data does show a clear change in pattern.
A few questions for Hoydenizens
Todays guest poster is Liz, who is generally a Lurker. Liz asked us “Would you be willing to throw a few questions to the readers of Hoyden About Town for me?”, so Liz’s questions are now this post.
I’m wondering if you could help me out here? I’m doing a write-up on feminist blogs and online communities for this
Musing on male contraception
Until now both technical and psycho-cultural barriers have prevented the development of effective chemical male contraception, with the psycho-cultural barriers being the primary reason that there does not exist a sufficient potential market to drive investment in R&D to overcome the technical barriers. Even the MRAs who so bemoan women trapping them into unwanted paternity appear oddly unwilling to consider funding the R&D for an effective Male Pill
Carnival time!
The Third Edition of the Down Under Feminists Carnival is up at Audrey and the Bad Apples! Thanks Audrey, you’re awesome.
Jim Beam demonstrates just how much men want to hate us
A note to Jim Beam: If you are so embarrassed about these ads that you don’t want anyone to see them, to the point that you’re chasing fair use political commenters from video hosting site to video hosting site with your DMCA heavies, how about issuing a formal, sincere apology instead? A company that doesn’t want anyone actually seeing their ads. Interesting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As tigtog said, people are up in arms about the “The Neighbours” commercial from purveyors of bad bourbon and toxic masculinity, Jim Beam.
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