The F-Word: Contemporary UK feminism http://www.thefword.org.uk Updates August 2005
Dear lovely F Word readers, This issue totally rocks, and I hope you love it as much as I do. Thanks to the brilliant contributors, Holly Combe, Ealsaid Gilfillan, Rosa, Louise Whittle, and Janet Phillips. Not forgetting the equally brilliant bloggers Jess, Lynne Miles, Louise Livesy, Cassandra and Holly. Anyone interested in contributing an article or review should read the contributors guidelines: http://www.thefword.org.uk/general/how_to_contribute_to_the_fword I'd particularly like to encourage anyone under 20 to consider contributing. You don't have to be an expert, you don't have to have studied feminism, you just have to believe in feminism and have something to say. This is the place for your voice to be heard - let's prove that feminism isn't dead. And keep nagging me - it works, eventually. Best wishes, Catherine Redfern xx 1. FEATURES ------------------------------ _Who's The Man?_ Is masculinity simply "natural" or - like femininity - is it essentially performance? Holly Combe addresses this question and more as she reports on her first time at a Drag King workshop, and shares the results with The F Word. "I discovered Ingo's Drag King workshop through the Club Wotever website. Nettie from Feminists Against Censorship had recommended the club as a good place to visit during my next trip to London so I clicked on the link and there it was: a ready-made excuse to indulge my interest in gender and, if it all went well, possibly show off the results in front of a camera." [To read more: http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2005/08/whos_the_man ] _The Appliance of Science_ Earlier this year the President of Harvard made some controversial comments about innate differences between men and women. Ealasaid Gilfillan explains why we should care, and how feminists can contribute to the debate by learning to distinguish between science and politics. "Does it matter here in the UK what the president of Harvard says? Larry Summers was addressing a conference in Massachusetts this year on diversifying the science and engineering workforce, when he made his now notorious remarks on women's ability to do science and maths. Through some dubious statistical extrapolation, he suggested that innate biological differences meant men could outnumber women "at the high end" of the sciences by five to one. In other words, discrimination only played a small role in explaining the low number of female maths and science professors." [To read more: http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2005/08/the_appliance_of_science ] _Attention Seeker_ The Radio 1 broadcaster Sara Cox recently complained about not getting whistled at and "leched" after by men in the steet. Rosa wonders what affect her example is having on young women and takes issue with Cox's insistence that there is "no such thing as unwanted attention". "Ah, let us all pity poor Sara Cox, radio broadcaster who, in a column for the Guardian supplement G2 on the 14th of June [I've Still Got It], admitted that one of the things she was refusing to accept about motherhood was the fact that men no longer whistle as she walks past the building site or the vans at traffic lights, just because she's hidden behind her newborn daughter." [To read more: http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2005/08/attention_seeker ] _Left Behind?_ Louise Whittle explains why she is disillusioned with the revolutionary left and its attitude towards feminism. She argues that the revolutionary left only pays lip-service to feminism, and sexism and machismo are as pervasive in these organisations as in mainstream society. When women are exhorted to "wait for the revolution", what's a socialist feminist to do? "I was quite young when I joined a socialist group; I was 16 and had just left school. My experience of the revolutionary left is that I spent 10 years in this group (let out on 'good behaviour') and the issue of women's liberation and feminism did play a part in the development of the organisation but there were times when that could be accused of being opportunistic, contradictory and mindlessly 'following the line'. The more I look inside these organisations from a safe distance the more I feel depressed and disenchanted." [To read more: http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2005/08/left_behind ] 2. REVIEWS -------------------- _We Need to Talk About Kevin_ Janet Phillips reviews the book by Lionel Shriver which won the Orange Prize for Fiction 2005. As she explains, the book paints a picture of motherhood and parenting that is far from mainstream. [To read more: http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2005/08/we_need_to_talk_about_kevin ] _He's Just Not That Into You_ Remember ladies, it's all about You, You, YOU! says latest self-help guru Greg Behrendt, author of yet another book claiming men should always initiate relationships and women never should. Holly Combe rips this latest publishing phenomenon to shreds. [To read more: http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2005/08/hes_just_not_that_into_you ] 3. BLOG -------------------- Frequently updated throughout the month, The F-Word blog contains the latest news of interest to UK feminists. [ http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog ] 4. YOUR COMMENTS ---------------------------------------- See the comments people have made about this site and about past articles. Comments including: "I almost couldn't finish your article because of my anger at how, once again, women are portrayed on our screens." "Glad I'm not the only one who found it made my blood boil!" "It is refreshing to read such an array of thought provoking articles" And lots, lots more! To read the full comments: [ http://www.thefword.org.uk/comments/index ] 5. CONTRIBUTIONS/SUBMISSIONS ---------------------------------------------------- It would make us very, very happy indeed if you want to contribute anything to the site. Please see http://www.thefword.org.uk/general/how_to_contribute_to_the_fword for more guidance. 6. NOTES --------------------- Hi mailees. Thanks for signing up to the updates mailing list. If you notice any broken links on the page, I'd be really grateful if you could let me know so I can fix it. Plus, if you know of any good website links that are relevent to anything on the site, let me know and I can put them up there. Please feel free to link to our website or publicise us in any way. To get removed from the list go to this webpage, sign in, and follow the instructions: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/thefword_updates/ or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hope you enjoy this month's content. See you next month! Next issue due approximately the same time next month. ---- The F-Word : contemporary UK feminism - http://www.thefword.org.uk UK Feminist Action : http://groups.yahoo.co.uk/group/ukfeministaction Anti Street Harassment UK : http://www.anti-harassment.ik.com -- Anivar Aravind GAIA
