Women In Art

What a shame this isn't '500 years of Women Artists'. May I direct you all to the Guerilla Girls page in my links section.

Judith Butler on Hannah Arendt in LRB

Great article by Judith Butler in the latest edition of the London Review of Books. She reviews Arendt's The Jewish Writings and focuses on the usual Butler concerns, written in her complex and beautiful style. Buy the paper or read the article online here

Men's Representative Party of Lies!

This is one of the funniest and most disturbing things I have seen in a while. Check out the bizarre, completely inaccurate propaganda below for the Men's Representative Party. Because the poor dears have it so rough!

As we know it, men do not have political representation. Because of our tradition of a male dominated Parliament, there has only been the need to represent every known group BUT men. Over the years, that need has has not only been fulfilled but become dangerously overloaded where women and minorities can enjoy undisputed representation, and to criticise this will only damn the critic as a 'bigot'.

Although it's important to remember that what is happening is MORE than just 'political correctness gone mad' but a "way of thinking" that dates back much further. Since the early days, male chivalry has always adopted a po-faced stance in its championing of the fairer sex which is a sympathy that manifests today. So long as men still possess the timeless instinct to throw their coat into a puddle so that a woman's shoes won't get wet, there will ALWAYS be this primal sympathy - and women will always be selected, headhunted and promoted above their fellow men. This in turn creates the emerging legacy of the "omega male" left on the shelf and scrapheap of disadvantage.

Shall we bombard Party founder Tim Watts with some of the real facts about political under-representation? Do so here

Baudrillard in Prospect

Well, the death of Baudrillard recently barely rated a mention in the English press, such is this country's disdain for 'post-structuralist' French philosophers. However I am a big fan, and Prospect magazine has an article about his legacy which you can read here.

Long live French philosophy I say, the UK marketized system of education is certainly not going to produce such innovative thinkers. I hope that while we are busying ourselves at university trying to make money, the French will continue to feel that ideas such as Baudrillard's have merit!

Nintendo's Cosmetic Paradise teaches the wonders of makeup

Courtesy of Shiny Shiny:

Further reinforcing the notion that DSes are aimed at us girls and kiddywinks, Nintendo are set to release another gender-specific game, Cosmetic Paradise. Only announced on a Japanese site, Famitsu, Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft decoded the characters and worked out the basic gist of the plot, involving a heroine living in a magical land of cosmetics, who must help all the women in the land win the hearts of the men, through the use of makeup.

Another shambolic abortion article

I am boycotting weekend newspapers because they are literally eating into my social life, but this morning this little gem from the Observer was waiting in my inbox. It's your standard 'I became pregnant and am now questioning my pro-choice stance so I'm going to go to the American South and talk to some nutters for a cheap Channel 4 TV show' waste of time. Though she ultimately retains her pro-choice stance there are so many dodgy arguments and rhetorical devices in this piece - it's an utter shambles. Still framing the debate in terms of birth/death (what the hell has her grandma dying got to do with abortion?) rather than women's reproductive rights and bodily integrity. Blah!

Dodgiest parts below:

Throughout my twenties and the better part of my thirties, I did everything that was required for me not to have a child (other than, you know, not having sex). I wasn't always safe - I've necked morning-after pills like vitamin tablets - but I was lucky enough not to end up in a situation where I was pregnant and didn't want to be.

Unhelpful!

And I'm a feminist. I have more than one Andrea Dworkin book and I'm not ashamed of that.

A copy of Andrea Dworkin is not a definitive feminist ID

My questions weren't being answered in the UK, where abortion isn't really talked about. So I decided to go to America, where abortion is a hot, divisive and political topic.

Err, I think a number of recent UK Ten Minute Rule Bills might suggest otherwise .....

I hung out with Roy outside the clinic as he confronted young, mostly black, women coming in for a termination and tried to persuade them to turn back. It wasn't a comfortable morning. 'Shame on you, coming in here with a cross around your neck!' Roy shouted at one poor girl. 'Are you going to nail your baby to the cross?' Despite his appalling hectoring, I quite liked Roy.

Yeah, he sounds like a really nice guy ...

Watch the madness on More4 this Wednesday 10.30pm.

Unfinished story of women and the United Nations

This is a publication of the Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) Development Dossier series that looks back at more than 85 years of history of women and inter-governmental organisations. Unrecorded by history and untold by the media, this book recalls the success story of women and the League of Nations and describes the unfolding history of women at the United Nations for the advancement and empowerment of women, especially in the 30 years since the First UN World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975, and up to the ten-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in 2005.

Read this very cool report by clicking here

Fair and Lovely Whitening Cream - CSR failure

I am skeptical about all corporate social responsibility initiatives on the basis that global hyper-capitalism constitutes a moral universe completely at odds with equality. Read this study to find out more!

Doing well by doing good: case study - 'Fair & Lovely' whitening cream
This paper takes a critical look at the "bottom of the pyramid" proposition which argues that companies can make profits while also doing good. In particular, the paper empirically tests this proposition by examining in depth the case of 'Fair & Lovely,' a skin whitening cream marketed by Unilever in many countries in Asia and Africa, and, in particular, India. The paper argues that Fair & Lovely is a profitable and fast growing brand, however the paper demonstrates its negative implications for public welfare.

These problems include:

• whitening creams pose a special risk in developing countries where dermatologists and general medical practitioners are typically not the first to be consulted on the treatment of skin diseases
• women's groups and activities have alleged that advertisements for the cream are racist because they propose that having fairer skin will assist women obtain a husband and a job
• these advertisements drown out the efforts and voices of women's organisations that are working to promote equality and social justice for women in their countries
• Unilever is not living up to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives.

The paper also highlights the difficulty of compliance with social responsibility standards by corporations such as Unilever arguing that voluntary CSR, self-regulation, activism by civil society, and government regulation has been ineffective. Available online via Eldis

Two things which annoy me: Today Show and Timeout

Ah I am sorry for neglecting this blog so much recently. I seem to find it impossible to combine it with paid work. Now that my think-tank internship has finished and I am officially unemployed once again it should remain more up to date!

Two things which have come to my attention this week:

1. The Today Show's god-awful coverage of the female marine captured by Iran - I was spitting blood! There was a hideous interview with a bunch of hack of psychologists saying it was so wrong that this woman had left her child behind. Presumably some of the male soldiers also have children, but we all know there is no room within military discourses to talk about masculinity and the role of fathers! My most hated IR argument also came up - that women shouldn't fight on the front-line because the men get so upset at seeing women hurt/killed. Poor things! Urgh, reminds me why I need to move away from social policy and get back into feminist IR ...

2. An article on 'boylesque' - male burlesque - in Time Out London. Time Out always has articles/listings on burlesque and I'm not really a fan because I don't believe that objectification dressed up as a 'vaudeville artform' is any different then the million of other rubbish portrayals of women. Two things are interesting in this article: the references to restraining those 'hysterical' hen's night women (because sexually-aggressive women are just so not cool); and the idea that equality is objectification of all!

Burlesque and taboo. Two words you don’t often see in the same sentence. Burlesque and freakshow, sure. Burlesque and, well, bonkers? Absolutely. After all, this is the vaudeville artform that includes routines by lovely ladies who use balloons to protect their modesty, only to pop them with a feather poked through holes in their tongues. Or it might involve a blindfolded escape act from tightly bound tape using only double-jointed manoeuvres to undress. If it’s ironic, humorous or cheeky, and involves in some (often small) way the removal of garments, then you’re likely to see it on a London stage. The only constant is that it’s always ‘lovely ladies’. Now men doing burlesque? That’s just weird.

But that’s exactly what Whoopee will be doing this week. Their Tournament of Tease competitions are a great way for aspiring burlesque peeps to get a nipple tassel in the door. For four months, however, the Male Tournament of Tease will be offering blokes a chance to shine.‘I went to a lot of strip tease pubs,’ says organiser and photographer, Julie Cook, ‘and I was amazed at people who could take take their clothes off in public spaces. There’s a liberation attached – not only those who actually took their clothes off, but those who watched. I was impressed by the way that men were so passive and controlled and took it so seriously. When I’ve seen the situation reversed, the women scream and make so much noise, the audience really gets worked up into a frenzy. I didn’t feel comfortable with it. So I imagined a situation where women would be cool about it and enjoy the performance, and it not be some sort of hysterical thing. And I thought that there must be other women around who want that.’

But what will the guys actually do on stage? A Chippendales-styled strip is just a strip; it’s not burlesque unless there’s a humorous element.‘One of the best male burlesque performances I’ve seen was in Las Vegas at the Miss Exotic World conference. There was a male section called Boylesque. Roky Roulette came on came on dressed as a cowboy and rode on to the stage on a child’s horse. He hopped up and down all over the stage and, at the same time, stripped. On one hand, it was funny, but on the other it’s something that’s very hard to do physically, to be able to pogo up and down yet strip in a really sexy way. His performance ended with a big shower of glitter, and that twist at the end was magical.’

Whoopee are providing choreographers for any would-be male burlesque performers, and the Male Tournament of Tease grand final will be in July. Julie Cook will be photographing the tournaments and exhibiting the photographs in November.

So will London’s burlesque scene be ready to give up its last taboo? And will burlesque fans be as cool and collected watching the boys as they are watching the girls? Cook says: ‘Men are much more nervous than women are of performing. They’re afraid of female audiences being over the top. So there’s absolutely no hen weekends allowed in and definitely no screaming!’

Is Labour losing the women's vote?

Whither Worcester Woman: Is Labour losing the women's vote?
When: Wednesday 7 March - 1800-1930
Where: Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, Westminster

SPEAKER JUST CONFIRMED - Vera Baird MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs. Vera will be joined by: Julia Clarke, Head of Political Research at MORI; Meg Munn MP, Minister for Women; and Polly Toynbee, Guardian columnist. Lorna Fitzsimons, Patron of Progress, will chair the meeting.

This Progress event will debate whether Labour is losing its appeal to female voters because of the challenge from David Cameron or whether it can be explained by their disengagement from the political process as a whole. Which policies should Labour adopt to win back women's support and how can the party change as a whole to attract more involvement from women?

As for housework... women better off single

Even the Telegraph picked up on this recent study - though the findings were pretty predictable:

The report, published today by the Royal Economic Society, claims that single working women spend an average of 10 hours a week on housework while single men spend only seven hours.

As soon as women and men marry or live together, the amount of time devoted to housework increases to 15 hours a week for women and falls to only five hours a week for men. Differences like this — the so-called "chore wars" — mean that women derive less happiness from the relationship, suggests Helene Couprie, of Toulouse University, writing in the latest edition of the Economic Journal.

Equal Opportunities Commission: An active past,a new future

Jenny Watson, Chair of the EOC, will speak on the EOC's work and the changes facing it, at a meeting organised by the South London Fawcett Group. Vivienne Hayes, Director of the Women's Resource Centre, will act as commentator. Floor then open for discussion.

Date: Monday, 26 March 2007Time: 6.30pm for 7pm

Place: Millicent Fawcett Hall, 29 Marsham Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3DW

Admission: Free, but please notify attendance to Susan Pares, Chair, South London Fawcett Group, 020 7498 1489 or spares@myway.com

Donations appreciated

This is very cool ...

Upcoming LSE Gender event

Centre for Civil Society (Department of Social Policy) and Gender Institute Public Lecture
Diversity, equality and empowerment: NGOs making a difference
Date: Monday 26 February 2007
Time: 6.30 - 8pm
Venue: Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Judith Brodie, Angela Sarkis, Marianna Tortell
Chair: Professor Jude Howell

This panel discussion explores the issue of gender equality, diversity and NGOs. Is there anything distinctive about the way NGOs approach this issue? Are NGOs more diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity and class compared to businesses or state agencies? What differences are there amongst NGOs in the extent to which they place gender issues on the agenda? And with more women taking up senior positions in NGOs what do they bring, as women, to these issues?

Judith Brodie is Director of the UK Group of Voluntary Service Overseas. Angela Sarkis CBE is National Secretary of the YMCA, and Marianna Tortell is Director of Training and Group Work at The NIA Project.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. More info here

The Bald Truth of Britney Spears

Article over on the Guardian today questioning why a pop star changing her hairstyle deserves blanket media coverage. Read it here

I love that this is considered the defining point of her 'break down' despite the millions of other crazy things she has done up to this time. Obviously this all relates to tradional female standards of beauty, and how attempts to reject them are so frightening for most people.

Also, did you notice how many newsreaders, at least in the UK, referred to her 'long blonde locks'? As any pathetic celebrity site viewer will know, Britney hasn't been blonde for a long time! Plus her hair was 90% extensions. But I guess cutting long blonde hair is somehow more of a waste ...

The Global Gender Gap Report 2006

New international report out for those of you as obsessed with the gender pay gap as I am ...

Authors: Zahidi, S.

Produced by: World Economic Forum (2007)

How do countries measure up in comparison to one another when it comes to addressing the gap between men and women in terms of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment?

With data from 115 countries, and using a new methodology based on relative measures of empowerment to capture the size of the gap, the Gender Gap report provides a comprehensive guide to the current global situation.The country comparisons serve a dual purpose: as a benchmark to identify existing strengths and weaknesses; and as a useful guide for policy, based on learning from the experiences of those countries that have had greater success in promoting the equality of women and men. Country Profiles in Part II of this Report provide an overview of the national gender related environment in each country.

Some of the report's findings are:

• No country in the world has yet managed to eliminate the gender gap
• Those that have succeeded best in narrowing the gap are the Nordic countries, with Sweden standing out as the most advanced in the world, having closed over 80% of its gender gap, followed closely by Norway (2), Finland (3), Iceland (4) and Denmark (8). Germany (5), United Kingdom (9) and Ireland (10)
• The Philippines is the only Asian country in the top ten while South Africa holds the highest position among African countries

Available online at: here

Abortion Rights event

I will definitely be going to this. There's a lot of talk on the London Feminist Network about how this is the same day as a socialist feminism 'fightback' event. But for me this is a no-brainer ....

Abortion Rights Event (same day at Capital Woman)

Join us to launch the campaign for a modern abortion law
Saturday 3rd March

ASSEMBLE at 12.30 for a public launch event and press photo opportunity to spell out our message on the green outside the QEII Conference Centre, in front of the Houses of Parliament
QEII Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary Westminster, London SW1

Please download the campaign flyer here and distribute widely to help mobilise for this extraordinary event.

It's time the pro-choice majority was heard!

40 years after the 1967 Abortion Act, it is time to celebrate the social, economic and educational advances that reproductive rights have allowed women, and the end to back-street abortion. Yet 40 years on, women in the UK still don’t have the right to make their own abortion decisions. Women are obstructed and delayed and current rights are repeatedly challenged. In this 40th anniversary year, Abortion Rights is coordinating a major push for a modern law. We are joined by MPs, Peers, doctors, nurses, sexual health organisations, trade unions, students and pro-choice supporters in calling for a law in line with majority public opinion.

It is time for:

• women, not doctors, to make the abortion decision in the first three months
• an end to unacceptable delays in service provision

• an end to attacks on current rights

Be there and make a difference!

Gender pay gap worse in London

For those, like myself, you just received their ticket for Capital Women in the post, you might like to have a look at this, courtesy of the BBC ......

Gender pay gap 'worse in London'

The average pay gap between women and men is far worse in London than the rest of the UK. The gap is 23% in London compared to 17% in the rest of the country, according to the findings in the Women in London's Economy report. The report states the reason for this is because the majority of the top paid jobs go to men. The report is being published to coincide with a conference on Thursday for business leaders and policy-makers.

It states women at the higher and lower ends of the pay scale are particularly badly hit. It also shows women with children in London have a £20 a week lower income than in the rest of the UK, despite London's much higher cost of living. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London said:

"London's future as the powerhouse of the UK's economy is critically dependent on the contribution of women. But this report shows that the glass ceiling is no myth but a reality holding women back."

The report also found that 19% of women in London, nearly one in five, are earning less than the London Living Wage, of £7.05 per hour, compared to only 12% of men. Backing the report's findings Jenny Watson, Equal Opportunities Commission chair, said London "wastes women's talents. Without more action from the private sector to tackle sex inequality throughout London's economy, the pay gap will never close," she said.

Disgusting 'purity balls'

Just in case you hadn't realised that women are (preferably 'pure') property waiting to be exchanged by two men, then this makes it crystal clear. Please join me in a big collective 'ewww....'

Blog for Choice

Today is the thirty-fourth anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, as well as the second annual Blog For Choice event. So, why am I pro-choice?

I came very late to the whole abortion debate, basically because I wasn't very politically active as an undergrad and my feminist training was in IR, social policy and economics. So I was quite ignorant of the exact laws and debates, although I always knew I was pro-choice. I had always presumed that if I needed to get an abortion then I just would. I would just walk into a sexual health clinic and say that I had decided that I wanted one and then, presumably, I would have one. It would be a pain but I would be fine. I didn't believe then, and I don't believe now, that having children is my main purpose in life, so I would get on with things I did want to do.

So fair to say, I was very surprised to find out that in the UK I would need to convince two doctors that my (mental or physical) health would be worse if I had a child than if I had an abortion. That basically, in terms of UK abortion law, I did not have the right to make a decision about my own body, but that this right could be extended to (mostly male) medical practitioners. Shocked, I thought things might have been different back home in Australia, but no, the situation is the same there and what little rights we have are constantly under threat by an anti-woman Catholic health minister.

Current abortion law is disgusting and infantilizing on so many levels, but I am primarily pro-choice because I believe bodily integrity, the right to make decisions about one's own body, is a fundamental human right; and that anything less than abortion on demand is therefore unacceptable. Yes, I said abortion on 'demand' rather than 'request', because I certainly don't 'request' any other basic human rights. I don't think we should shy away from using strong language in feminism either!

So on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade I'd just like to thank all those feminists before me who got us this far, and pledge that in the future I will do my best to bring things forward.

******

There is also a fab post about blogging for choice on Alternet by Feministing's Jessica Valenti. Just go here

I Heart Scandinavians

I went out to a friend's birthday party yesterday evening and realised that I love Scandinavians. I was having a conversation with a girl who had also studied International Relations and wanted to get into development. Naturally I started talking about Gender in Development and how nobody studying IR at the LSE seems to know all that much about Feminist IR or any of the thinkers that I consider to be founders (ie. Tickner, Sylvester, Enloe).

So she was asking me who she should read and how you actually study feminism, and I recommended she read non-academic language feminism like bell hooks as well. And then it struck me all of a sudden that this conversation would not be happening with anyone who was not from a Scandinavian country. That the usual reaction to feminism or gender studies is one of absolute horror or ridicule (my personal favourite is the 'I'm a man, you're a women, degree done!' response, grr).

It was so refreshing to speak to someone who was genuinely interested and thought feminism was a great thing. And secondly, was so grateful for what feminism and Norwegian feminists had done for her. She realised, especially from living abroad, how lucky she was to have the kinds of social welfare that is common to Scandinavian countries. It was so nice not to have to remind a female student that without feminism they wouldn't even be at university in the first place.

And this is by no means an isolated instant, all the Swedish and Danish people I have spoken to are exactly the same. Some Scandinavian men I know even do housework voluntarily!

Gender and the Media - Ros Gill

This is the latest book by my fab ex-supervisor Ros Gill. You can read about it here. I came across it today at the LSE Waterstones and will be reading it as soon as I get through a bit of feminist fiction I have lying about the place.

(I am finally going to read Miles Franklin's 'My Brilliant Career' - an Australian classic that I wanted to study for my English A-levels years ago but wasn't allowed to. How's that for a restrictive masculinist cannon! I think I ended up doing Alan Paton's 'Cry Freedom' instead.)

For those of you who are interested in an academic perspective on lad mag culture and advertising (a la Overloaded) then this would be ideal. Though if you are looking for a straight-forward political denouncement of lad mags, then that probably isn't going to happen. From what I remember Ros often takes, like me, more of a Foucauldian position of 'isn't it interesting how....'

As well as being an amazing academic and supervisor, Ros is also a fab all-round nice person and feminist, hence why I will be buying the book rather than just pilfering it from the library.

Angela McRobbie to give talk at the LSE

I will be returning to the LSE, and specifically the GI, for this exciting lecture by Angela McRobbie. And my fab ex-supervisor is chairing it! I really liked Angela's comments last year in the British Journal of Sociology in regards to Judith Butler's latest book. Though I am noticing increased use of the phrase 'melancholia' in academia - Paul Gilroy used it in a talk at the LSE last year on Britain's 'post-colonial' melancholy surrounding race relations. A new academic trend?

Illegible Rage: reflections on young women's post feminist disorders

Professor Angela McRobbie, Goldsmiths College, will give a public lecture at LSE on Thursday 25 January. The lecture provides a new cultural and sociological analysis of patterns of activity such as eating disorders, low self esteem, binge drinking and self harm.

Professor McRobbie who has written many books and articles on young women and popular culture, will draw attention to the normalisation of such malaise, she will argue that overall this comprises a form of ‘gender melancholia’. With young women encouraged to repudiate feminism, and the values it entailed including solidarity and love between women, the loss of this force for change and critique gives way to self-beratement, and harsh self- judgement as women are once more ‘confined’, this time in a restricted space seemingly of their own making.

The lecture will draw on material from fashion magazines, popular culture, films and contemporary post-feminist art. Angela McRobbie is professor of media and communications at Goldsmiths College. Dr Rosalind Gill, LSE, will chair this event.

Illegible Rage: reflections on young women’s post feminist disorders is on Thursday 25 January 2007 at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE, Houghton Street, London WC2A. The event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. Visit the event link here

Fawcett Society Veil Report

The Fawcett Society has a new report out on the issue of the veil and ethnic minority women. It covers:

• Choice: Should women have the right to choose to wear the veil in all situations?
  Secularism: Where does the veil fit within a secular British culture? How do we reconcile religion and democracy?
• The veil as a sign or symbol: The veil can signify meaning to others and signs can be powerful. What does the veil communicate in Britain?
• Feminism: What is the 'feminist position' on the veil? How can feminists work in solidarity with women who wear the veil?
• Policy recommendations: There are nine ways that policy makers can meet the needs of Muslim women. It is especially important to focus on: women's rights, gender equality, practical action from government to grassroots, and evidence rather than theory.

To read the full report of the debate and learn more about Fawcett's new 'Seeing Double' project on ethnic minority women go here

Vogue's strict rules for working out

It's January and there is no way that I am even going to venture near a gym in the next two months, but for those of you who do, the lovely people at Vogue have some 'rules' that you need to follow. Apparently when women go to the gym it is not so much to exercise as it is to transmit a multitude of social signals to the world. So for those of you who think that throwing on a t-shirt is ok, here are some strict regulatory rules a la Vogue:

1. "Make a priority of what you're wearing to the gym," she says. "It's not just a work out – you might be meeting friends there, or networking, or even getting a date. So it's important that you've given some thought to what you're wearing."
2. "Everyone doesn't want to look like everyone else these days so try to customise your looks – it's all about showing off your own attitude. My favourite piece of Nike's spring collection is the 8-in-1 top, which you can literally wear in 8 different ways, depending on your mood and the stage of your work out. It really lets you get creative."
3. "The key to wearing sportswear both outside and in the gym is layering. Then you look chic outside in your long-sleeved top but when you strip down to the Nike Airborn top as you get into your workout, you still have the look."
4. "Comfort is of course key but I would say that keeping the look streamlined is really important. Baggy leggings and over-sized T-shirts are not always the way to go, just because you're in the gym. Try to balance the comfort and fit of your wardrobe as equal priorities."

Honestly, it's a wonder these women manage to leave the house ....

Subtext Magazine Issue #2

Yay, my copy of the second edition of Subtext has arrived! And it has a fab glossy cover! Now I have no excuse to read Heat magazine ...

Researching Violence Against Women

Having completed a gender research degree, I am abnormally interested in research methodologies. My friend Jennifer, who specialises in gender-based violence in a development context, will love this. And its free on the net! My knowledge of the issues is sadly lacking, so I think this might be a good entry-point for me practically speaking.

Researching Violence Against Women: A Practical Guide for Researchers and Activists

This manual, written by Mary Ellsberg and Lori Heise from PATH, is a co-publication of PATH and WHO, published in 2005. It draws on the collective experiences and insights of many individuals, and in particular from the implementation of the WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women in over 10 countries.

The manual has been developed in response to the growing need to improve the quality, quantity, and comparability of international data on physical and sexual abuse. It outlines some of the methodological and ethical challenges of conducting research on violence against women and describes a range of innovative techniques that have been used to address these challenges.

Direct Link to 259-page Manual: http://www.path.org/files/GBV_rvaw_complete.pdf

World Bank and IMF Gender reports released

I am trying to get in touch with my roots, as in why I was interested in feminism in the first place, (answer: feminist international relations theory) and so will be reading these newly released reports as 'light reading'. I might have been out of IR for a while but I remember enough about the World Bank and the IMF to know to read very critically and cynically ...

Improving women's lives: World Bank (WB) actions since Beijing
This Report describes the role of the World Bank in the international effort to promote gender equality and empower women. Looking ahead, the WB's support to empower women and girls will emphasize three areas:
1) supporting gender-relevant policy analysis, dialogue, and operational work
2) promoting greater gender equality through private sector development
3) working more closely with civil society and development partners.

The Report is available online here

Gender Guide to World Bank and IMF Policy-Based Lending
This Gender Guide, prepared by Suzanna Dennis and Elaine Zuckerman, describes the impact on people's lives, particularly on women, of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) policy-based loans: loans to developing countries that require governments to reform economic, financial and trade policies. These “reforms”—also known as loan conditionalities—generally bypass local democratic processes and contribute to the feminization of poverty.

The guide is available online here

Banana Skirts

Courtesy of the Women in London message board, there's a new radio show called 'Banana Skirts' which unearths lesser known and marginalised female pioneers of blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz.

It's currently on every Tuesday night at 10.30-11.30pm at Resonance FM (which is on 104.4fm, or can be listened to online at www.resonancefm.com)

It's OK to hate Condoleeza

Article over on Alternet by Gloria Steinem which makes the rather obvious point that women do not have to back anti-feminist women. But because this is Alternet you then have a ridiculous comments section where everyone thinks equality of opportunity is all that feminists want and so what is left to complain about? Grr.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/46621/

Doomsday Clock nears midnight ...

My god, human beings can be so ridiculously sensationalist sometimes ...

"The keepers of the so-called Doomsday Clock - which counts down to nuclear Armageddon - will on Wednesday move its hands forward for the first time in four years.
The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists magazine said it was now the "most perilous period" since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Since 1947 the clock, with midnight representing nuclear apocalypse, has appeared on the cover of the magazine, which was founded by University of Chicago physicists alarmed about the dangers of the nuclear age.

The minute hand was last moved in February 2002, when it was pushed forward by two minutes, to seven minutes to midnight.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will be among scientists who speak when the Bulletin announces how far the hands will be moved this time. The magazine said the "major step" reflected growing concerns about a "second nuclear age" marked by grave threats including nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea and unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere.

The continuing "launch-ready" status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the US and Russia, was also a problem, as was escalating terrorism.

The magazine said new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power could increase proliferation risks.

The closest the clock has come to midnight is just two minutes away. That was in 1953, when the US and the Soviet Union tested thermonuclear devices within nine months of each other.
In 1991, in a wave of optimism at the end of the Cold War, it was set the furthest away, at 17 minutes to midnight."

Nadine Dorries blog

Stare into those vacant eyes if you dare ...

Ever since I did some pro-choice work mobilising against her crazy anti-choice Ten Minute Rule Bill I have become dangerously obsessed with Conservative MP Nadine Dorries' blog. If you want a really good example of how feminist discourses are re-appropriated via the 'we are just concerned for women's (mental) health' argument then view some of her entries here.

Although I must admit I agree with her 'Too Posh to Push' entry. However, it seems she is continuing with her mandatory 'cooling-off period' anti-choice offensive ...grrr. I am sooo tired of defending the limited gains we have made - this energy could be better used to push things forward. You know, to a stage were women had rights over their own bodies. Double grr.

Observer any better? Er no ..

Over on the F-word they were wondering if this weeks offering of the Observer Woman magazine would be any better than its usual poor standard. Much as always, we are back to clothes, food and skincream advertisements. For why the magazine is a complete shocker click here.

On the cover of today's edition was the promising proclamation that they would reveal the 'truth about female stereotypes' - but to be honest I wasn't terribly impressed. Whilst there were instances of 'cliche busting' there was no analysis of why these kinds of steretypes exist and how they become ingrained, so I consider it a pretty pointless exercise.

The worst part in my opinion was the 'Sex, Shoes, Money and Men - what do women want?' section where the presumption was obviously that all these women were heterosexual and the questions thrown at them included 'how many shoes do you own?' and 'who helps you?'. You can bet good money that men never get asked either of those questions.

The abortion ban article looks a bit more promising, so I'm off to read that. Hopefully I won't get distracted by the hard-hitting editorial on the first page waxing lyrical on the 'Return of the Scrunchy'.

Female Chauvinist Pigs

After my dalliance with British lesbian authors, (I read Sarah Water's FABULOUS 'The Night Watch' and Radclyffe Hall's depressing 'The Well of Loneliness' over Christmas) I am now going back to non-fiction. I resisted reading this when it first came out because its cover looked too chic-lit, but since simply every feminist in anti-porn debates seems to reference it, I'm going to give it a go. Will let you know how I find it.

Playboy Superstore coming near you!

Apparently London is getting its very own Playboy Mansion on Oxford Street this Spring. Lucky us!

Vogue UK reports that:

Hugh Hefner will open a 2,400-square-foot store on Oxford Street where we'll be able to buy rabbit-emblazoned lingerie, denim, sportswear, swimwear, cosmetics, jewellery and accessories, as well as the label's more exclusive Icons collection of eveningwear.

The London store will be going one-step further than sister stores in Melbourne, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur by featuring "a room in which shoppers can play video games and watch archive Playboy footage on plasma screens" thus giving us the full inter-active porn experience!

How much would you like to bet that they place the store at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street, directly across the road from the Disney Store? Also, what on earth is a Playboy store doing in supposedly conservative Muslim Kuala Lumpur? Surely further proof at how depressingly mainstream porn is now.