The reaction to President Barack Obama’s apology to Attorney General Kamala Harris has been interesting for exactly one reason: the eye-rolling on both sides. Whether one thought the apology was warranted or that it was mere pandering to reactionary feminists, the general impression surrounding the misstep was, ‘this again?’ At a fundraiser in California, Obama…
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Disgruntled fans walked out of Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on Saturday after comedian Tracy Morgan let loose a sexist rant. The audience members had paid $70 a ticket to see the 30 Rock star as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but that was not incentive enough for all to sit out the tirade. The…
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If you squint your eyes and turn your head to the side, the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is everything a feminist aspires to be. She was strong and unwavering; determined to succeed in spite of a league of “old boys” fighting against her at every turn. She was the first (and only) female…
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The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has claimed that feminism could destroy Russia. On Tuesday last week, Patriarch Kirill denounced feminism as ‘very dangerous’ and a form of ‘pseudo-freedom’. He explained that feminism was threatening the fabric of Russian society because it ‘must appear outside of marriage and outside of the family’. ‘Man has…
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Dr Mehreen Faruqi will make history by becoming the first female Muslim to be elected to Parliament in Australia. Faruqi was pre-selected by the Greens party for the upper house seat for NSW; she will take over from Cate Faehrmann later in the year. ‘Mehreen’s Pakistani heritage not only breaks new ground for the Greens…
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Ladies’ Night, Qanda style. The ABC loves a good ol’ fashioned theme. The national broadcaster’s ladies’ edition of panel program Q and A began as news of Margaret Thatcher’s death rolled in on Twitter on Monday evening. The panel featured indigenous opera singer Deborah Cheetham, author/research scientist Brooke Magnanti, Germaine Greer, Mia Freedman and The…
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The French senate passed an article of the bill to legalise same-sex marriage on Tuesday night, redefining the union as between “two individuals of different sex or of the same sex”. The article is a key element of the bill that also legalises adoption by same-sex partners. After lengthy debate, the article was passed with…
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Last night I was informed that Margaret Thatcher, the ‘Iron Lady,’ had died of a stroke, aged 87. I rushed to the Internet, the fountain of all knowledge, to make sure it wasn’t just a hoax – and found that Google was inundated with articles about the remarkable woman who was Prime Minister of the…
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Uganda moves to ban miniskirts. Uganda looks to ban miniskirts and other “provocative” clothing with the introduction of the Anti-Pornography Bill 2011. Women found guilty of wearing anything cut “above the knee” will face a fine and up to 10 years in prison. The same length requirement does not apply to men. Uganda’s ethics and…
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My Mum used to tell stories at bedtime, and one of my favourites was Upside Down World. Visitors to this realm would sip donuts through straws and slide backwards up slippery dips; the laws of our universe were reversed. In The Age this week, Amrit Dhillon explores a society that sounds like a real Upside…
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Biennial pap smears – it’s just what we do, right? Well a paper prepared by the Medical Services Advisory Committee suggests that not only should women screen for pap tests less often, but we should also delay our first test – advice that’s raised concerns among cervical cancer advocates that women’s lives could be put…
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Helen Mirren made quite the impact at the 2013 Empire Awards when, during her acceptance speech, she spoke up about the sexism that is a trademark of the film industry: ‘I don’t want to unduly pick on Sam Mendes, but when he spoke about his inspirations earlier this evening, I’m afraid not a single one…
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Days after visiting Tunisia and praising the Islamist government’s efforts towards gender equality, feminist author and activist Nawal El Saadawi has been condemned in an article published by the State’s newspaper. Al-Fajr, the African nation’s ruling party’s paper, labelled the activist a ‘promoter of prostitution and homosexuality’. She had been in Tunisia to meet with…
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Amina is a 19 year old Tunisian woman who risked imprisonment and corporal punishment for baring her breasts in defiance. Reports suggest she has been committed to a psychiatric hospital by her family after she appeared on Tunisian television explaining her decision to join the radical feminist group, Femen. A video posted on Free Thought…
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