Would you report your own rape?

Of course the answer should be yes, you want to pursue the justice you deserve... However, choose any random feminist blog (I always recommend The F word) and chances are you'll find statistics that show the rape conviction rate is on a heinously pathetic state, it is usually between 5 - 6%.

Not only that, but there's also the comparable Witch Trial that follows, not for the accused, for the victim.
Improper, uninvolved and almost suggestive questions about you, your sex life, previous relationships, even what you were wearing when the rape took place. All this just for possibility of maybe seeing your rapist convicted, and to me that is an inexcusable 'maybe'.

Taking this into consideration I genuinely ask anyone reading this; Would you report your own rape?

Because I don't believe I could.

Size zero and my Dad

A few weeks ago my dad raised an interesting point. The idea of size zero originally came from the world of the cat-walk model, with designers claiming that clothes look better on ultra thin models. This means that a model needs to diet and exercise to a dangerous extreme to increase their chances of landing a cat-walk modelling job. But doesn't that mean that these people who still design and make clothes intended for size zero models should be sued? Think on it for a moment, after all it is their choices that are forcing these models to put their health at risk for their job, surely that's some sort of infringement of Health and Safety laws?

Torchwood and the smoking ban

Idle thought, figured I'd throw it out there. If an employee of Torchwood Cardiff is a smoker and they fancy a cig between battling aliens and shagging the next thing that moves, do they have to go up and down that flipping lift every single time? Or do you reckon, cause they're above and beyond the law, there's some kind of Torchwood Smoking room?

Anyway, over to you Torchwood fans!

Another quote - why not?

(Originally posted Sunday, 11 February 2007 on Harder Hedda)

"Every time someone says 'I'm not a feminist but...' a misogynist gets it's wings."

*Shrugs* Don't know where that one came from.

All hail the great booze up (except the ladies)!

(Originally posted Monday, 1 January 2007 on Harder Hedda)

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a good time and in the wake of the baptism of booze we welcome the new year in with this, a new way to help keep women safe while drinking.

Young female drinkers can now take advantage of the latest fashion accessory - a trendy identity tag.

The tag, engraved with the contact details of the wearer's parent or a responsible friend, is worn on a bracelet decorated with silver beads and Swarovski crystals.

The tag can then be used by nightclub staff or emergency service workers if the wearer loses consciousness or is too drunk to remember her name.

The bracelets, which cost from £35 to £70, were designed by personal safety firm IdentifyMe, which began by making identity tags for young children who may wander away from parents.
Don Shenker, policy director of Alcohol Concern, said he feared the bracelets could lull young women into a false sense of security and send out the wrong message about binge drinking.
He said: "What concerns us is that young women may feel it is safe to drink alcohol to excess because they have their identity tag in case they lose consciousness or become incapable of speaking.

"We have heard anecdotal evidence, for example, of an aunt giving such a bracelet to her niece because the niece has a tendency to get drunk and lose consciousness. Giving a bracelet in those circumstances could be interpreted as an endorsement of that behaviour."

Nadine Lewis, Managing Director of IdentifyMe, denied encouraging binge drinking and said the bracelets could offer piece of mind to worried parents.

She said: "In no way are we encouraging young women to binge drink. However, we received a number of requests from customers for this type of product.

"It is a worrying sign that this sort of product is needed, but it seems that the trend for women to go out at the weekend and drink to excess is showing no sign of slowing down and we must do everything we can to keep them as safe as possible."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/31122006/344/identity-tag-binge-drinkers.html

Could you excuse me for a moment, *bangs head on brick wall*, thank you.First I want to get slightly more shallow part over with, the bracelet is ugly. It's the sort of thing I'd see in Top Shop and dismiss because it's just unattractive, I'm not going to pay 35 to 70 pounds for it, if I'm not going to spend ten pounds in Top Shop I'm certainly not going to spend that much money for something where the purpose of it could be accomplished by writing your address or friend/family number on a piece of paper and putting into your jacket pocket. And while I'm on the subject, next month I turn 18 and I will be going out drinking with friends to celebrate and I simply don't have the money to spend on a little chain bracelet, I'm sure a lot of young female drinkers can't.

"It is a worrying sign that this sort of product is needed, but it seems that the trend for women to go out at the weekend and drink to excess is showing no sign of slowing down and we must do everything we can to keep them as safe as possible." Surely it's also needed for all the men who go out on the weekends and get completely legless? No? Just women then? I wonder why, oh of course, it's to keep them safe. Two questions here, why don't drunk men have to be protected in this manner? and, keep them safe from what... exactly?

*Update: 21/10/09* An issue that has been chewing away at me for so long, and I don't see a reason not to put it forward, is a woman considered to be so incapable of taking care of herself in certain situations that when she is little more vulnerable in her environment then normal (as alcohol does makes us all more vulnerable and unaware of our surroundings - and that means all of us) that she actually needs a 'if found, please return to owner' tag put on? You know, like people do... with their pets.

Binge drinking is nothing new in England, in keeping with the 'Othello' theme from the sub-heading*, here is an extract of two characters discussing the English.
IAGO I learned it in England, where, indeed, they are most potent in potting: your Dane, your German, and your swag-bellied Hollander--Drink, ho!--are nothing to your English.

CASSIOIs your Englishman so expert in his drinking?

IAGOWhy, he drinks you, with facility, your Dane deaddrunk; he sweats not to overthrow your Almain; he gives your Hollander a vomit, ere the next pottlecan be filled.

Othello was written some time in the late 1500's, England has always been a country of boozers, Shakespeare knew it 500 years ago.

Drinking only became unacceptable, un-couth when the girls started doing it.


*Harder Hedda had the extract from Othello by Emilia I used in my very first post on this blog.

Thank you Shakespeare

(Originally posted Tuesday, 5 December 2006 on Harder Hedda)

I just thought of this phrase today while leaving Eng Lit and I think it can be applied to any misogynistic man who tries to discredit a woman by using degrading names (e.g., bitch, slag, prossy, dyke etc.);

The gentleman doth project too much, methinks.

Mikey is in the stocks (anyone got any rotten tomatoes?)

(Originally posted Monday, 13 November 2006 on Harder Hedda)

Apologetic Newell faces Luton D-dayMon 13 Nov, 11:45 AMLuton have called an emergency board meeting for Monday to discuss Mike Newell's future, despite his apology for criticising female officials.The Hatters hierarchy are understood to be unhappy with their manager's remarks, which were made after Luton's 3-2 home defeat by QPR in the Championship on Saturday.A statement on the club's official website read: "An emergency board meeting of the directors of Luton Town has been called for 4pm today (Monday)."The meeting is to discuss the comments made by the manager, Mike Newell, at Saturday's post-match press conference."A formal statement will be made following the board meeting."Newell on Monday apologised for his outburst against women officials in professional football.Newell claimed after Saturday's home defeat by QPR that assistant referee Amy Rayner should not have been allowed to run the line in a Championship match.But the 41-year-old admitted his comments were "out of order" and revealed he has attempted to speak to Rayner to apologise in person.Newell said: "I want to apologise publicly to Amy Rayner and to anyone else I have offended."The comments I made were ill-timed and out of order. I wanted to apologise privately before I apologised publicly, but I could not get hold of Amy Rayner."I have not spoken to her, but I have left messages and I will continue to try to speak to her."Newell's contrition might not be sufficient to save his job.Newell claimed the club had gone backwards since chairman Bill Tomlins took over in 2004, but would not retract those comments.Asked whether he regretted those remarks, Newell said: "I very rarely say things I do not mean."I have not spoken to the chairman. They have called a meeting, and I am sure I will learn the outcome."Will I be the manager at the weekend? That is a question for the board, but I am not going to resign."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/13112006/1/apologetic-newell-faces-luton-d-day.html

Mike Newell, after his football team's (Luton) defeat started a string of sexist comments not only directed towards the female referee, Amy Rayner, but at all female officials,

"She should not be here. I know that sounds sexist, but I am sexist, so I am not going to be anything other than that.
"We have a problem in this country with political correctness, and bringing women into the game is not the way to improve refereeing and officialdom.
"It is absolutely beyond belief. When do we reach a stage when all officials are women, because then we are in trouble?
"It is bad enough with the incapable referees and linesmen we have, but if you start bringing in women, you have big problems.
"This is Championship football. This is not park football, so what are women doing here? It is tokenism, for the politically-correct idiots.''

It seems Mr. Newell does not like the idea of having to face his own inadequacies as a manager, rather he would use Ms. Rayner as a scapegoat to cover it up. The match was on home ground and Luton lost 3-2 to QPR, however rather then apologise to the fans for his team's defeat, Newell has decided to place the blame on the shoulders on one of the few female referees. The consequences of his actions for himself and his own position are un-known as of yet however it is possible that his remarks towards women in football may have a lasting impression on any of the young women and girls interested in getting involved in the sport. If this is the case, it'll take more then a stern talking to and a slap on the wrists to rectify it ( I'm still waiting on those tomatoes). And, if my knowledge of football is at all correct, no manager is suppose to critique the ref's decision whether they are male or female, (I think the term we are all looking for is 'Stop digging, Mike!')

But one good thing is being shown from this, sexism won't be tolerated even in areas that are supposedly 'Men only'. Newell will have to face the music this evening and I'm sure you know what result I'm hoping for.

Rayner 1 - Newell 0.

Just Another Pebble

Hello and welcome to 'Just Another Pebble'! My newest blog, you may (or more likely, may not) have read my previous blog 'Harder Hedda' which I will now be taking down for one reason alone... didn't like the title, never did really.'Harder Hedda' never really meant anything to me or my own personal politics, I was just stuck for a title and that popped into my head.

But what the title 'Just Another Pebble' means to me is the way I can sometimes feel as a woman in our society, just a little pebble on a beach somewhere, perhaps catching the attention of a passerby at some point, never serving a further purpose, and just as soon as I've used my usefulness up, I'll be plopped back on to that beach and forgotten about. A depressing thought but as Emilia (Othello) says; 'They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; To eat us hungerly, and when they are full, They belch us.' And that is how living in this patriarchal society can leave me feeling.

And that is why I blog to challenge not only the injustice we experience and see everyday but to challenge myself, and revise and develop my opinions on women's, feminist, racial, social matters and anything else I feel a need to write on.
I'll actually be re-posting from Harder Hedda on to here, just so I can look at and see how I (personally and politically) have changed, and add to that the issues I've been considering for awhile.

So, to anyone reading this, I hope you enjoy the posts that are to come, and I'll see you later!