Blaming inanimate objects

Gets to the point. It's funny how, with crimes that are committed (mainly against women) that involve fear and power, such as domestic violence and rape, non-living objects (poorly-placed doors, alcoholic drinks) seem to get blamed so much more often than the attacker. More needs to be done to remove the fear of speaking up - possibly one of the main reasons that such crimes are still so common.

Where's that 'Blog-For-Choice Day' Post?

... you may well be asking. Mwezzi's pro-choice, and yet she hasn't said a thing on the subject all day!

My reason is simple - on Wednesday night, I shall be attending a peaceful picket of a meeting by anti-choice MPs (including Ann Widdecombe as an 'anti-choice feminist' - just so they can say 'See! Real feminists, the big important people who we approve of, aren't evil baby-killers!'). Considering the relevance of this, I've decided to leave my post a little longer, even though I'll miss the 'official' day on which to post it, and include any experiences that I deem fit for posting. It's important to keep the pro-choice discussion going all year, not just on a single day, so although I'm missing the big online event, I don't mind.

'Yale sluts' fight back

The Women's Centre at Yale University are suing a fraternity for sexual harassment after they posted a picture on Facebook of several of their members standing outside the Centre holding a sign reading 'We love Yale sluts'. Because I'm in a hurry, I'll just let my outrage at such a stunt be implicit (and Feministing says it well enough), but I did enjoy a rather stinging comeback in the comments to yet another 'bloody overreacting feminists' idiot:

D '10 says:

I hate it when law-illiterate morons threaten to take legal action against people for non-crimes. Get your act together Yale Women's Center.

January 21, 2008 7:18 PM

Y '11 says:

I hate it when ignorant morons hold up a sign that is derogatory to women in front of the parent organization of the support group for rape victims on campus. The Yale Women's Center should clearly respond to this photograph. There is a case to be made for sexual harassment here, and sexual harassment is a crime. Get your act together, Zeta Psi.

January 21, 2008 7:37 PM

You tell 'em. Calling women 'sluts' at a place that helps women that are often accused of 'asking for it' and 'being provocative' is beyond the fucking pale. Why must people constantly try to undermine (any organisation set up for) women? Why is such sexism considered funny? Holding up a 'we love the KKK' sign in front of a vandalised Asian community centre would be rightly seen as racism - why don't we treat sexism in the same way, why do we dismiss it as mere tasteless humour?

New Blog Links!

I've added a couple more feminist sites to the right there, and you'll also notice a new section - "Of Interest". This is for not-necessarily-feminist sites that are well worth a look at - and the first one, Ramblings of Today's Yoof, is written by a friend so I will be very sad if you don't visit it. It currently focusses on consumer advice for people interested in all things green and earth-friendly, as well as products that could be better for you. She's covered budget- and environmentally-friendly household cleaning products (and knows which ones do and don't work!) and even fairtrade contraceptives, so go have a look. She also writes about human rights, and this includes feminism - she's just put up a video of standard anti-feminist bullshit, which we've both flagged.

Slut-blaming, again.

From BBC coverage the of the Ipswich murder trial:

Despite the case being about determining whether Steve Wright killed these women, they had to slip in this comment:

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said the decision by the women to turn to prostitution "was ultimately to prove fatal".

Yep. Deciding to sell their bodies ended their lives, not the decision of one disgusting person to hunt them down and kill them. *sighs*

Glasgow Feminists!

Come, gather! The Glasgow Feminist Network has recently formed and is looking for women of a feminist slant to come along and share your views and ideas! The third meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday) which reminded me to post about it. It's still in the early stages and we're still deciding how the group should be, so the more input we have the better. Last time it was decided by a vote that the majority of meetings will be women-only - I have a post to write on this about the reasons for this and my own thoughts on the matter, so save your objections or comments on this for then before you start accusing me of being a rabid anti-male separatist. However, we hope to hold other events that will include men as well, as we do not wish to exclude anyone entirely. For women who have children and need to hire babysitters in order to attend meetings, there's a collection to help towards that cost. The specifics of where and when future meetings will be held can be found in the following places:

Facebook
Myspace

Yet another 'Str8t men R teh bestest' study.

This week we learned that MSN has nothing better to publish other than yet another scientific study of no use whatsoever. This one states that straight women and gay men are inferior drivers to straight men. No mention of lesbian, transgendered or bisexual drivers, natch. We have a 'poor sense of directions... and are slower to take in spatial information.'

Of course, my first reaction was this: if women are such rubbish drivers who can't judge distances, how come they make fewer insurance claims than men? Sounds like more men are misjudging their speeds and distances and smashing up their vehicles to me. But at least they're quick to do so! I think a superior driver would be one who isn't a danger to themselves or the general public, don't you?