feminist news round-up 22.10.12
australia has a new favourite word
Julia Gillard’s headline-grabbing speech this month has led to bickering over the definition of misogyny. Susan Butler, editor of the Australian Macquarie Dictionary, last week explained a decision to widen the official meaning of misogyny from ‘a hatred of women’ to include ‘an entrenched prejudice against women’. In the Federal political sphere, members of the Opposition have accused the dictionary of bowing to Ms. Gillard’s ‘initially incorrect’ use of the word, when she chose it to describe Tony Abbott’s policies and ideology.
malala yousufzai in recovery
The teenage Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban after openly protesting against them is reportedly gaining strength in the UK. Malala Yousufzai rose to prominence as a blogger and activist who critiqued the Taliban’s reign and women’s lack of access to education across Pakistan. She was flown to Birmingham for treatment after she was attacked and shot on her way home from school earlier this month. Doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have told media that Yousufzai is able to stand up with assistance and is capable of writing. While she is not ‘out of the woods yet’, her recovery and the story of her activism has received massive global attention.
let’s talk about sex…when they’re old enough
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has taken on board feedback from parenting groups in its drafting of a national sex education curriculum. Earlier this month it was suggested that puberty and sexual health education may begin in grade 3 and 4 under a new curriculum. Church and parenting groups expressed concern that this was much too soon for children to learn about sexual health and changes to their bodies. Under a revision of the proposal, education about emotional and physical aspects of puberty will begin for Australian students in year 5.
#bindersfullofwomen for romney
The second US presidential debate has delivered one of the most popular hashtags of the campaign so far. When Mitt Romney described the process of assembling his Massachusetts cabinet, he assured the audience at Hofstra University that he gathered ‘binders full of women’ to choose from. #bindersfullofwomen exploded twitter in the following days, with everyone from New York Times columnists to Barack Obama weighing in on Romney’s gender equality driven selection process. ‘We don’t have to collect a bunch of binders to find qualified, talented, driven young women,’ Obama said of the Democrats in response.
JK Beats Germaine
A study doing the rounds in UK papers suggests that women find Harry Potter author JK Rowling a more positive female role model than feminist academic Germaine Greer. The survey conducted by parenting website NetMums suggests that more than a third of young respondents can’t envisage a time where gender equality was an issue. The study comes as projects like Who Needs Feminism? get steady publicity online, indicating that the debate over the relevance of feminism will continue on for some time in cyberspace.
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