feminist news roundup 22.7.15

On Lip (so far) this week

Lauren Strickland muses over the ethics in reading Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman

Eden Faithfull delves into the characterisation of women in erotic novels

Looking for the lowdown on the David Bowie Is exhibit? Lip’s got you covered

Bridget Conway interviews band Husky Gawenda

And we’ve had a look at how Australian reproductive healthcare safeguards, i.e. Medicare and the PBS, fare against the US’s Obamacare scheme

 

Australian feminist news

The 2015 death toll for women killed by violence in Australia surpasses 50 women, with 52 lives lost

A bill has been released to the Australian Capital Territory parliament to ban pro-lifer harassment and protests outside Canberra abortion clinic

Labor is being urged to address rising inequality by a think tank at its annual conference this week, noting a considerable increase in the country’s gender pay gap since 2000

This year marks 100 years of women in Australian policing, but a number of units still largely exclude women

Caitlin Stasey declines Fairfax interview after it was conditional to her doing a nude photoshoot, prompting her to write about the experience for Jezebel

In women’s cricket, the English have beaten Australia in the first ODI of the 2015 Ashes

And Sydney Roosters player, Shaun Kenny-Dowall will face court tomorrow after he was arrested for domestic violence charges; he has been barred from his second consecutive week of the NRL competition

 

Feminist news from around the world

Taiwan looks set to elect its first female president as its two largest political parties both nominate women for the country’s January election

A US report has shown free legal representation and advice is imperative to reducing the prevalence of domestic violence in the country

The BBC has apologised for a golf commentator’s sexist remarks made during a broadcast

Instagram blocks #Curvy and the site’s users revolt

Hackers take on ‘infidelity dating site’, Ashley Madison, threatening to release members’ personal details and causing the site to offer free profile deletion

Meanwhile, some argue cheat-shaming is a new form of slut-shaming

 

Celebrity news

Oscar-winning actor Emma Thompson adds her voice to thespians calling out gender equality

Lucasfilm condemns Amy Schumer’s GQ cover depicting the comedian posing suggestively with Star Wars characters

Lady Gaga’s toned-down stage persona attracts scepticism for its motives

 

In other news

International Health and Medical Services, an organisation contracted to provide healthcare to asylum seekers in detention, acknowledged internally that it could not meet Australian government targets alongside clinical objectives and that fraud was inevitable

Chinese police arrest Uniqlo sex tape lovers for violation of obscenity laws; the clothing store denies it was a marketing ploy

New research shows less than 50% of all the world’s cultures kiss mouth-to-mouth in the standard way Westerners recognise