YES to everything about this top from Skreened. Most of the feminist T-Shirts I find can be a bit rubbish/ugly like this one, this one, and this one.
I’m a big fan of this marxist feminist tee but I saw a picture of Caitlin Moran wearing it so that’s put me off. I really wish I could still like her but after her comments about the lack of racial diversity in Girls and what she said about rape (Trigger Warning for link), I can’t.
If you’ve seen anymore awesome fem tees let me know!
Gathering outside News International
On Saturday my boyfriend and I went along to a protest outside News International, the owners of The Sun, organised by No More Page Three and OBJECT.
It was protest against Page Three on the 42nd anniversary of its launch.
For anyone outside of the UK Page Three is feature found in some tabloid newspapers, like The Sun and The Daily Sport, where there’s a large photograph of a topless female glamour model on the third page of the paper (hence ‘Page Three’).
When we were there everyone signed a card to give to the editor of The Sun, Dominic Mohan. We did a bit of chanting and then the front of the card was revealed (see picture below).
We were all asked to ‘spot the difference’ between the two sides. Then some of the activists tried to deliver the card through the doors of The Sun. Security wouldn’t have it. One woman was hurt during the scuffle but seemed OK afterwards.
We did some more singing and chanting and then moved peacefully back to the pavement. This is when my boyf and I left to grab some food.
I’m gutted that we left early because after we went the police were called and ended up signing the petition. A policeman said they’d banned The Sun from the police station because it’s degrading to women and left a comment on the petition saying ‘women deserve respect from the media’. AMAZING.
East London Lines did a great report on it and you can sign the petition here.
Card for Dominic Mohan for page three’s 42nd birthday
Singing the card
Trying to deliver the card to The Sun
Tea towel in the Suffragette colours
I’m going to start updating the blog more regularly starting with feminist finds. Whenever I find something super and feminist I’ll post.
First off – this tea towel. I want it on my dishes. It’s from the Radical Tea Towel company who make lefty tea towels, cards, notelets and aprons. I also love their Mahatma Ghandi one.
I read the Daily Mail for six weeks (for research, that’s why there are scribblings on some) and here are the pearliest of the pearls of wisdom I found.
[Click on photos to enlarge]
1. Boys should be BOYS and avoid things that are ‘feminine’ so they aren’t called a girl.
2. That thing where I quite like the woman who gave birth to me, that, that’ll end in tears.
3. When (not ‘if’!) I get married I’m biologically programmed to dictate my husband’s eating habits.
4. Getting back in the kitchen will make everything better.
5. As well as the kitchen, dusting will make us feel better and show our men we love them.
6. We should be worried about “foreigners” getting life changing health care.
7. There was no point getting that degree.
8. If you’re a size 12 you’re obviously having too much fun and should stop it immediately. (I MUST BE HAVING SHIT LOADS OF FUN).
9. If you’re curvy your dress is hard working – not bejewelled and fabulous.
10. YOUR PARTNER’S (potential) INFIDELITY IS YOUR FAULT.
11. Feminism is about being ‘honest’ with ourselves and accepting the status quo.
12. Being a working mother is dangerous.
13. It’s OK to be a bigoted homophobe.
14. Stuck in a dead-end marriage? GRIN AND BEAR IT.
15. Loads of, like ALL, career women feel like they shouldn’t be there.
Quirky colours are like, so in right now. DESCHANEL
In the first issue of the zine I help make, Hysterical Bitch, there is a rant against the kind of feminist activism that is becoming more popular in the UK. You know – the dressing up, the baking cakes to take to marches, the dancing around doing a ‘muff dance‘ to get the press interested. Some people have started calling it ‘cupcake feminism‘ because of the links with vintage fashion and the fact that baking has generally become more popular. Here is what the piece said…
I’m sick of the shitty fuck shitty fuck fuck cupcakes and flowers feminism we have to spout now so we’re not ANGRY MILITANT MAN HATERS. I don’t hate men, I hate sexist men. SEE THE DIFFERENCE. Feminism is passionate, angry and LOUD. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE DIFFICULT, you’re not supposed to understand it the first time. It’s a grower. A hmmhmmoooohyeahISEENOW. I’m a feminist and I’m angry, really fucked off. Baking cakes and having tea parties to make a point will only get you past the starting block. We will not be stepped on. We will not redefine feminism so it fits into your patriarchal society. It’s feminism not “EQUALISM” or any other bullshit name you want us to have. FUCK YOUR POLE DANCING LESSONS. FUCK YOUR WAXING. FUCK YOUR PAGE 3. FUCK YOUR ANUS FUCKING 2 DICKS PORN.
This is not liberation, this is ‘the man’ (OH YEAH HE’S STILL HERE) telling you what feminism is, what empowerment is. If a strip club owner would think you’re empowering yourself YOU’RE NOT DOING FEMINISM RIGHT.
Wise up. Be angry, be as angry as you like.
THERE’S a SHITLOAD to get angry about.
WOMEN ARE HAVING THEIR CLITORISES CUT OFF AND LABIAS SNIPPED AND SEWN BACK.
WOMEN ARE HAVING BABIES THEY CAN’T KEEP OR DON’T WANT.
WOMEN ARE BEING RAPED DAILY BY ABUSIVE PARENTS.
WOMEN ARE BEING STONED OR BURNED TO DEATH IN THE NAME OF HONOUR
WOMEN ARE DYING IN WARS MADE UP BY TINY MEN WITH TINYIER DICKS.
and . we . are . making . cupcakes
I wrote that. I do like baking but using cupcakes and twee things as a tool for activism isn’t right. Surely the Fawcett Society march would have been just as effective without the dressing up and tea and cakes. Cupcake feminist is too soft, too fluffy, funnily enough too much like a cupcake. I do also love making a scene to get the press involved and I understand that is why groups do these things. They’re quirky and that’s very in right now ZOOEY DESCHANEL.
People aren’t being radical enough. There were protests outside of the Miss World pageant in November last year. Why was nobody inside throwing flour bombs like in 1970? That would have been the perfect way to show that these pageants are still as sexist 40 years later. Maybe they tried, maybe the tickets were restricted or something and I’m moaning about nothing.
It seems to me that feminism has lost the anger and it’s become a past time for the middle class mums and students (yes I’m in that category) who fancy a jolly at the weekend. We’re being so, so, so very careful that we don’t fuel the normal ‘feminist’ stereotypes that we’ve watered down what we’re fighting for. I guess the main reason for doing this is to get more people involved. Admittedly I’m guilty of it when trying to get people to join the feminist society I’m head of.
Recently I’ve been thinking differently. Instead of easing people into feminism with little trickles of information we should just lay it out all on a plate. People probably won’t agree at first because it is so different to everything society teaches us. But at least it’s out there and people can go away and think about it.
But anywho, I made cakes yesterday. Vegan cakes. They weren’t great. Here are some photos anyway…
Housemate Jennie (not our swanky flat though)
His swanky flat. Freddie did help (kinda)
Jennie and Lorna icing the vegan cakes
NOM
Balcony NOM over the sexiest street in Bournemouth
They weren't that great
GOOD LORD
A while ago someone showed me this campaign by Weight Watchers.
I hated every part of it. The song, the writing and the general AWKWARDNESS of the whole video.
Take a look at these lyrics to song used and I’ll get back to them later:
I used to be so boring
Staying in bed all morning (yes I did)
No longer I’m the one who’s letting me down
Now I’m proud and stepping outta my house
So now I do a little shopping
Buy a little dress I’ve been wanting
Gonna buy it, gonna wear it right now
Whatever makes me happy
I didn’t like my photo, I’m loving it now
I’m looking in my mirror, I’m checking me out
Finally ready to get up, I’m taking control
Hey! My ladies let’s play
My life revolved around TV
Easier to be someone than be me
Now I know what I want out of life
In bright colours so my body can’t hide
And now I wear a little make up
Taking center stage, yeah I’m made up
And now I’m doing what I wanted at last
Whatever makes me happy
Last week I mentioned Pro-Ana to a friend and she hadn’t heard of it. In my poor attempt at explaining – I’m not an expert – I came across this website. From what I can gather it’s advertising a book about ‘Thinspiration’ that “will help you to deal with the labels and society’s backlash about your eating problems”.
On the website it says, among other things, “Are you sick and tired of staying at home watching TV while all the popular girls go out every weekend?“.
Are you sick and tired of staying at home watching TV while all the popular girls go out every weekend?
Sound familiar? Well it’s in the Weight Watchers song.
I used to be so boring
Staying in bed all morning
My life revolved around TV
From my brief encounters with Pro-Ana sites this is how they operate. They go on and on about how much happier you will be when you’ve lost weight. The Weight Watchers ‘Play’ campaign does the exact same thing. They are playing a very dangerous game trying to cash in on women’s insecurities.
I’m sure Weight Watchers does a lot of good for people who do genuinely need to lose weight for their health. I even went to a few meetings last year but they were too cringey because the leader was trying so hard to make everything fun and hilarious. Jokes about how many points are in a two inch slice of cheese can never be funny and I didn’t go back. I’ve been losing weight since and it was without their ‘cheesy’-Butlins-comedy-routine help. I guess this image is what they are trying to change. They want to make it more modern so you can ‘play’ at loosing weight and make people think “it’ll be easy” so you spend ALL of your money.
Personal experience has taught me that being thin doesn’t equal being happy. When I was 12 years old I weighed 12 stone (168 lbs) and I was overweight. I lost two and a half stone within months by pretty much starving myself. I was thin but not any happier. All I had done was develop a very strange relationship with food. It took months to learn how to eat properly as I couldn’t see how I could eat more than I was doing. It became natural to me to be hungry all of the time and my periods (that had only really just started) had stopped at this point. I looked like a lollipop and I had had a lucky escape from something that easily could have developed into a severe eating disorder. Now that I’m trying to lose weight again after putting on a lot since starting university, I know I need to be careful I don’t slip back into that mindset. It is scarily easy to do.
Weight Watchers should theoretically be somewhere that I could go to lose weight slowly, with emphasis on health not body image. That is why this upset me so much. I’m losing weight so my ankles won’t hurt as much when I exercise so I can run and get fit. I’m losing weight so my BMI is healthy. I’m not doing it because it’ll make me happier, snag a boyfriend or make me less “boring”.
CHUBBY CHLOE IS STILL FUN TO BE AROUND. Hungry Chloe isn’t. Now someone pass me a doughnut.
Chloe x
I hope we’ve caused a stir. A small one at least.
Last night we made HYSTERICAL BITCH zine. We have a Tumblr page and a Facebook (yes a whole Facebook).
HYSTERICAL BITCH zine
We were originally going to call it BORRRNMUFF but this just sounded better. For those who don’t know Bournemouth it’s not exactly a hub in the UK for feminist activism, or any kind of activism for that matter. It’s pretty blue. It’s the home of stag and hen nights (bachelor and bachelorette parties), one amazing beach and a nice place to retire too. Bournemouth University itself is again not generally politically minded. For the past two weeks the main campus has been home to Occupy protesters. They want to get legal advice from the Chancellor of our university Lord Phillips, who also happens to be president of the Supreme Court in the UK. They are have now been given a notice to leave. The Students’ Union held a forum to gather student opinion on it last week and although only about 30 people turned up, plenty of students have opinions on them being there.
So while everyone’s interested in this kind of thing we made this. It gave us a break from being measured and calm in our efforts to get feminism out there in the university.
It was just so great getting together and actually doing something, MAKING SHIT HAPPEN. The inspiration came from Ghost Fuck zine which is made by one of our friends. She taught us all the tricks and it’s not looking too bad.
11 people contributed to this issue or sent stuff for the next one which we are already planning. Looks like it’ll be bigger too. People have already said how much they love it. Personally I wasn’t sure people would if they weren’t already into feminism because it is pretty angry but NO. People actually like it!
Have a read and if you are around bournemouth and come across a copy, read it, photocopy it and pass it along. It’s free and copyright free.
Enjoy and MAKE ZINES everyone.
Chloe
x
RANT 1
The inside page RANT 2
Feminist cat says – WOMEow
Outsideside
Insideside
THE FIRST EVER FINISHED ONE
SO MUCH FOLDING
CHEESY WE MADE A ZINE SHOT
