Mind the Gap: London Student Feminists

Students and Reclaim the Night

2009-11-12T03:27:00.000-08:00

A message from Liv Bailey, NUS Women's Officer......

As we get closer to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is on the 25 November, I just wanted to email with a couple of ways you can get involved in our priority campaign over the next few weeks.

Reclaim the Night London

The National Reclaim the Night march will be held in London on the 21st November. This is a great chance for students to unite and stand against violence against women.

Students from all over the country are descending on London for the march - let’s mobilise and get more students at the march and rally than ever before.

Join the facebook group for more info - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167788109169.

**Gather for mass action during the day - 2pm, Trafalgar Square**

On the day of the march, the women's campaign is organising a mass action for students ahead of the march that evening. We will be gathering images, statements and signatures against violence, as well as leafleting for the march that evening.

Meet at 1.30pm, by the fountain in Trafalgar Square. Will finish by about 4 - leaving plenty of time to get to the start of the march.

Coming? Email me - olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk - so I can get an idea of numbers of people to expect.

**Getting to London**
There are a few coaches travelling down to London for the march (and in time for the mass action). If you are interested in getting on a coach, or want to organise a group for a coach, get in touch with the contacts set out below.

· WALES: NUS Wales Women's Officer Estelle Hart will be organising a coach from Wales to London. Email her on estelle.hart@nus-wales.org.uk for more info and to reserve a place on the coach
· NORTH: Sheffield Uni Women's Officer Amy Sutherland will be co-ordinating a coach from various points in the North of England. The coach will likely be stopping in Sheffield, Bradford and Manchester. Drop me an email to find out more and to reserve a place - olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk
· SOUTH WEST: I'm looking in to the possibility of a coach from the South West, if this would be useful for you, let me know - olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk
· NOTTINGHAM: The Nottingham Women's Officer is organising a coach from Nottingham to London, and she has some spare places. Contact me if you are interested in getting on the coach, and I'll put you in touch - olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk

Your images against violence

As part of our campaign, I'd like you to send me images against violence, and images of women in your Union. I'm after:
· Images of women doing normal things around campus - eg in lectures, in the library, playing sport etc
· Images of students taking action against violence - eg, at reclaim the night marches, doing stunts, or even just your women's group holding up placards or signs against violence
· More creative images that make a statement against violence - eg, designed images, artwork or even short films
This could be an activity to get your women's committee of wider student union involved with, or you might just be keen to get a camera and get thinking yourself. Maybe you already have images you can send in. The images received will be used in different ways in the Stop Violence Against Women Priority Campaign - so please make sure you have the permission of people you are photographing before you send me the image. Any questions, get in touch - olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk.

Please send me your images by the 23 November.

Violence Against Women Survey

As part of the campaign, we are launching a research project in to the Violence Against Women Students. This will be the first time anyone has specifically looked at the ways in which violence impacts on women students.

The first stage of our research is an online survey, which will be launched in the next couple of weeks. I'll send the link out as soon as it is ready to go, but please get ready to send this survey to as many women as possible - we want to ensure we get as many women as possible to fill it out.

Violence Against Women Posters

We will be launching in the next couple of days a range of posters against violence and objectification. Watch the website for the designs going live at the end of this week - http://www.officeronline.co.uk/women/. If you want to pre-order your posters, email me - olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk.

Reclaim the Night Leeds

LUU and Leeds Met are running a Reclaim the Night march on Saturday 28 October.

March - 6pm @ Leeds Art Gallery (first half - women only, second half - open)
Rally and clubnight - 8.00pm onwards @ Faversham

Contact - s.a.james@luu.leeds.ac.uk
or - V.Baars@leedsmet.ac.u

Victory for Demand Change!

2009-11-07T03:04:00.000-08:00

From Object....

BREAKING NEWS: Victory as Peers vote for women, not pimps and punters!

Victory as Peers vote for women, not pimps and punters!

The Demand Change! Campaign is delighted to announce a major victory for women exploited by the sex industry, as last night the House of Lords voted in favour of Clause 14 (formerly 13) of the Policing & Crime Bill[i], putting the rights of exploited women over those of pimps and punters.

In focusing on the demand for sexual services, Clause 14 shifts criminal liability away from people exploited through prostitution and places responsibility firmly on the shoulders of those who contribute to commercial sexual exploitation by choosing to purchase girls, boys, women and men for sexual use.

This is a huge achievement for the 67 women's and human rights organisations[ii] which supported this bill, and which campaigned tirelessly to obtain justice for the women, children and men who have for so long been exploited by the sex industry. Many of these organisations attended the successful Demand Change! mass support rally in Parliament Square just before the vote[iii], calling on Peers to `Vote for Women, not Pimps and Punters!' (see photos of the protest here

Comments from Eaves chief executive Denise Marshall:
"This is fantastic news. Legislation to make it an offence to pay for sex with someone subject to force, who has been exploited, is a no-brainer. It should clearly be illegal. I am delighted for the women whom we support, who have a right to live without fear of force, violence or exploitation, and for whom this law is crucial.

"The vital next step in the process is for those exploited in prostitution to be fully decriminalised and provided with high quality support to exit the sex industry safely, and the Demand Change! campaign will continue to press for this."

Comments from Anna van Heeswijk, OBJECT:
"Clause 14 brings the buyer out of the shadows and says that as a society we put the rights of vulnerable women, children and men above the right of punters to buy sex. This is a major victory for all those who have been exploited – many of whom shared their stories in a film screened in front of a packed audience in the House of Commons on the eve of the debate – and it is also a victory for all those who have joined the campaign to end commercial sexual exploitation by tackling demand. Thank you Peers for listening to our protest chants and for deciding to `vote for women, not pimps and punters!'"

Testimony from "Angel", a survivor of prostitution:
"I had to say I enjoyed it and that I chose it – it's what the johns want to hear, and as a prostitute I existed for their pleasure, my body and words were there for their pleasure. The real me was effectively mute.

It makes sense to target the johns and criminalise them, because they hold the money and they have all the power."

http://www.object.org.uk/index.php/component/content/article/3-news/78-victory-as-peers-vote-for-women-not-pimps-and-punters

Demand Change Rally TOMORROW (apologies for getting the day wrong!) still not too late to write to peers....

2009-11-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

BIG thanks to all of those who are currently attending the Demand Change film screening and debate, I had the day of the rally wrong- it is in fact tomorrow and I hope that LOTS of you are able to come along to show your support and lend your voices...

The Demand Change! campaign is lobbying for Peers to support Clause 14 (formerly 13) of the Policing and crime Bill to criminalise the purchase of sexual services from an individual who has been exploited.

This is a crucial first step towards tackling the demand for prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation and timing is critical as the House of Lords decides on Nov 3rd whether or not to support these proposals.

Its still not too late to write to peers as urgent action...

Info on how to do this....

http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/2009/10/urgent-action-on-prostitution-and.html

TOMORROW: DEMAND CHANGE PUBLIC RALLY 12:30pm-2pm
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=164361066644&index=1

Prostitution is exploitation - end the demand!

Public rally calling for peers in the House of Lords to "vote for women, not pimps or punters"

Bring a placard or banner from your organisation to show your support and pass this onto 'supportive' friends and colleagues

For more info then email: anna@object.org.uk as venue is TBA- only pass this info to trusted people, or call Elly on 07595672964 for last minute queries.

Information again on urgent action writing to peers....

http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/2009/10/urgent-action-on-prostitution-and.html

Demand Change public rally and film screening- TOMORROW

2009-11-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Only two days to go until the House of Lords debate clause 13 as emailed last week. Its still not too late to write to peers as urgent action...

Information again on how to do this....

http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/2009/10/urgent-action-on-prostitution-and.html

Two major events both TOMORROW

DEMAND CHANGE PUBLIC RALLY 12:30pm-2pm

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=164361066644&index=1

Demand Change! Public Rally

Prostitution is exploitation - end the demand!

Public rally calling for peers in the House of Lords to "vote for women, not pimps or punters"

Bring a placard or banner from your organisation to show your support and pass this onto 'supportive' friends and colleagues

For more info then email: anna@object.org.uk as venue is TBA- only pass this info to trusted people, or call Elly on 07595672964 for last minute queries.

DEMAND CHANGE! SHORT FILM SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION ON PROSTITUTION AND CLAUSE 14 (FORMERLY 13)
TOMORROW 6pm-7:30pm House of Commons
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=168527628737&v=info#/event.php?eid=165804375887&index=1

“I had to say I enjoyed it and that I chose it – it’s what the johns want to hear, and as a prostitute I existed for their pleasure, my body and words were there for their pleasure. The real me was effectively mute.”

The Demand Change! Campaign has worked with women who have been exploited through prostitution to produce a short film of video testimony exposing the reality of prostitution and trafficking. This hard-hitting film gives a voice to the silent and silenced majority who do not see prostitution as just another job and who call for urgent action to be taken to stop commercial sexual exploitation.

Speakers include:

Julie Bindell (Journalist & Campaigner)
Fiona MacTaggart (MP)
Diane Martin (TRUST)
Cate Briddick (Rights of Women)
Denise Marshall (Eaves)
Anna Van Heeswijk (OBJECT)

For more information visit www.demandchange.org

Information again on urgent action writing to peers....http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/2009/10/urgent-action-on-prostitution-and.html

Workshop TOMORROW- 'Fighting the New Sexism and Homophobia on Campus'

2009-10-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Beth Evans, co-founder of Mind the Gap: London Student Feminists and Trans Rep of Oxford LGBT will be facilitating a workshop

FIGHTING THE NEW SEXISM AND HOMOPHOBIA ON CAMPUS

In response to the spread of sexist culture on campuses – from Miss University contests to pole-dancing classes – and the recent wave of homophobic attacks in London and Liverpool, we have added a new workshop to the conference agenda.

with Judith Orr – author of Sexism and the System
and Tami Peterson – from NUS LGBT campaign and Birkbeck SU

2.45-3.45pm at the Conference 'ANOTHER EDUCATION IS POSSIBLE' tomorrow, at SOAS

Another Education is Possible Conference
Saturday 31st Oct, 11am-5.30pm, SOAS
www.anothereducation.com

Education is under attack. As the recession bites and the bankers make off with their
billions, it is universities and colleges that are at the sharp end of the cuts. Across the country, departments are being closed, courses cut and lecturers sacked. As funding is slashed, 100,000 students who applied for university were left without a place
this year. Youth unemployment has hit a million—and one in five young people
have no job or education. And the government could soon try to lift the ‘cap’ on top-up fees,
creating a free-for all where the cost of education could double, triple or worse. But when we fight, we can win—the wave of student occupations proved that. We need to
come together to build.

Our conference will be hosting workshops on the battle for education, fighting fascism, challenging the new sexism and homophobia on campus, how to organise an occupation, plus more. Speakers include Terry Eagleton, Judith Orr, Lowkey, Joe Glenton, Vestas worker- see the full timetable below!

Lunch will be provided by the SOAS detainee support group.

Entrance is £5

Opening 11am-12noon

The battle for education
Terry Eagleton
Lynda Nwike Stop the Cuts at Kings campaign
Alison Lord Tower Hamlets college, Branch Chair UCU, Poplar Site
Phemie Mattheson NUS NEC

Workshops Round 1 12noon-1pm
1. After Question time –how do we fight the BNP? Lowkey musician/LMHR
Anindya Bhattacharyya Unite Against Fascism
Assed Baig President Staffordshire SU

2. From Palestine to Afghanistan - resisting imperialism and war
Lance Corporal Joe Glenton war resister Carol Turner Stop the War Coalition

3. Using the media:
Hilary Aitken London Student
Tom Walker Socialist Worker journalist

4. Building solidarity with workers struggles
Juan Carlos Piedra Justice for Cleaners
Mark Campbell London Met UCU Branch Secretary

1pm-1.30 LUNCH provided by SOAS Detainee Support Group

Debate –What kind of education do we want? 1.30-2.30pm
Wes Streeting NUS president
James Haywood NUS NEC

Workshops Round 2: 2.45-3.45pm5. How to organise an occupationClare Solomon SOAS occupation
Estelle Cooch LSE occupation

6. How we use our student unions:
Tom Wills President Sussex SU
Jenny Jones Campaigns Officer Goldsmiths SU

7. How do we stop climate change?
Ian Terry Save Vestas Campaign
Julie Filer Campaign Against Climate Change

8. Fighting the new sexism and homophobia on campus
Judith Orr author of Sexism and the System – a rebels guide to women’s liberation
Tami Peterson NUS LGBT campaign Bisexual Rep & Birkbeck SU

Plenary: Building a democratic, campaigning student movement 4-5.30 pm
Report backs from workshop and main motion. Plus closing remarks from
Mark Bergfeld Essex Uni
Gerry Lecointe Postal worker and CWU member
Jane Hardy UCU NEC
All speakers in personal capacity

Urgent Action on Prostitution and Lapdancing before 3rd November- please forward to all lists

2009-10-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

TAKE ACTION on Policing and Crime Bill to be debated in the House of Lords- 3rd November

Demand Change! is a joint campaign by Eaves and OBJECT which aims to promote an increased understanding of the myths and realities surrounding prostitution and calls for prostitution to be seen and widely understood as a form of violence against women.

Demand Change! calls on the Government to fulfil its multiple international and domestic obligations to tackle demand for prostitution. Current government proposals are a welcome step in this direction, and we fully support Clause 13 as a crucial step towards ending the exploitation of women and men through prostitution.

To see an end to exploitation through prostitution, we further urge the Government to adopt the ‘Nordic model’ which tackles demand for prostitution by decriminalising those who sell sexual acts whilst criminalising those who purchase them (as adopted by Sweden, Norway and Iceland) – as well as providing adequate resources to help people exit prostitution.

This will be a crucial step towards ending the exploitation and abuse experienced by many women and girls in prostitution.

For more info visit www.demandchange.org or email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com for PDF packs

This is a busy time for supporters as we are campaigning for reform on prostitution and lap dancing, both contained within the same Bill.

We are asking you to email peers and urge them to support Clause 13 of the Policing and Crime Bill, which will be debated in the House of Lords on 3rd November. Clause 13 criminalises the purchase of sexual services 'from those controlled for gain'. We ask you to act now as this Clause is in danger of being diluted or removed altogether.

The more personalised you can make your email the better. If you work for an organisation and can also send an organisational briefing this would be extremely persuasive.

MODEL LETTER ONE: Prostitution

Your Address

DATE

Support Clause 13 of the Policing and Crime Bill to tackle demand for sexual exploitation

I am writing to you in your capacity as a Member of the House of Lords who has previously shown an interest in the issue of exploitation through prostitution and trafficking. I am deeply concerned that measures aimed at tackling the demand for prostitution risk being weakened or removed altogether as they pass through the House of Lords. I ask that you support crucial measures to tackle the demand for exploitation through prostitution, as contained in Clause 13 (Part 2) of the Policing and Crime Bill which will have its Report Stage debate in the Lords late October/early November.

Prostitution is a human rights violation – which, whilst affecting some men and boys – is profoundly gendered and is defined by the United Nations as an act of violence against women. Whilst some women state prostitution is their choice and describe their experiences as empowering, such women are a small and privileged minority. There is a silent and silenced majority of women who feel unable to speak out about their experiences – which have far more in common with violence, abuse and despair than ‘empowerment’. Their voices must be heard and considered by any person overseeing policy in this area.

Moreover treating women merely as sexual objects through commercial sexual exploitation rather than as individuals contributes to attitudes underpinning gender-based discrimination and violence.

Yet the UK has historically failed to deal with the far-reaching human rights implications of prostitution. Despite the intrinsic harm of prostitution and the vulnerabilities of the women exploited through it, current legislation effectively gives men the right to buy sexual acts and exploit this vulnerability. Logically, there is no viability to supply without demand, and it is undoubtedly the demand for sexual acts from the empowered buyer (punter) that fuels sexual exploitation and the proliferation of the sex industry.

The UK has multiple international and domestic obligations to tackle demand for prostitution. However the law currently places the burden on those involved in prostitution – and not on those whose demand fuels the industry. I believe that a progressive society should put the interests of the most vulnerable first – and not continue to support a legal framework which facilitates the exploitation of vulnerability.

For all these reasons I urge you to support Clause 13 of the Policing and Crime Bill. This seeks to criminalise the purchase of sexual acts from a person ‘subject to force’. The measure is an important first step towards policies undertaken by Nordic countries which have criminalised the purchase of sex acts, whilst decriminalising those who sell them and assisting them to leave prostitution. This model has been proven to reduce demand for prostitution and trafficking – and has given women and girls the choice not to be exploited as commodities. In this context it is unsurprising that Nordic countries consistently top global gender equality and human rights polls.

Please help to shift the burden away from women and girls in prostitution to the punters whose demand drives a highly gendered form of sexual exploitation. I look forward to hearing from you on this important issue.

Yours Sincerely Your Name

Peers

Please email as a BCC (blind carbon copy), if possible, to the following peers:
(to do this you simply put your own email address in the Send box and paste the following emails into the BCC box)

linklaterv@parliament.uk, v.linklater@blueyonder.co.uk, susan@masham1935.fsnet.co.uk, masseyd@parliament.uk, molly.meacher@eastlondon.nhs.uk, nicholsone@parliament.uk, morrispa@parliament.uk , prosserm@parliament.uk, thorntong@parliament.uk, walmsleyj@parliament.uk, williamss@parliament.uk, bishop.edmonton@london.anglican.org , cnewlands@chelmsord.anglican.org, bishopslodge@liverpool.anglican.org, bishop@bishopofnorwich.org, bishops.house@southwark.anglican.org, michael.scott-joynt@dsl.pipex.com , desaim@parliament.uk, dholakian@parliament.uk, dubsa@parliament.uk, eltonr@parliament.uk, harriesr@parliament.uk, lhaharrison@aol.com, lestera@parliament.uk , lucasr@parliament.uk, macdonaldaj@parliament.uk, moyw@parliament.uk, pestonmh@parliament.uk , andrew_w_phillips@yahoo.com, a.phillips@bateswells.co.uk, ramsbothamd@parliament.uk, skelmersdaler@parliament.uk, dick@taverne.me.uk, triesmand@parliament.uk, privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk , stevensonmm@parliament.uk, bridgemanr@parliament.uk

If you receive a reply please tell our partner's, EAVES, the nature of the response at: Nisan.Kesete@eaveshousing.co.uk or Nisan Kesete, Eaves , Unit 2.03 Canterbury Court, Kennington Park , 1- 3 Brixton Road, London SW9 6DE

Thank you for taking action at this crucial stage.

Like to do more? :
Find out more about the DEMAND CHANGE campaign here
Support OBJECT with a donation here
Continue to receive OBJECT newsletters (not usually so frequently!), join OBJECT today

LETTER TWO: LAPDANCING

Reforms to license lap dancing clubs in the same way as sex shops is about to be debated in the Lords. We have until 3rd November to make sure the Lords adopt our proposals to make licensing compulsory, not voluntary, for local authorities and to make sure venues are not exempt if they hold lap dancing less than once a month!

Get Lobbying ! Send our model letter to one, or more (!), of the key peers we have targetted below.

Model Letter

Use our online model letter here or below.
Add any personal experiences of lap dancing venues and send to any of the peers listed below:

Your Address

Insert Peers Name Here
The House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

DATE

Dear Peers Name

RE: Please take action to strengthen reforms to lap dancing club licencing

I write to you as a member of the House of Lords who has previously shown an interest in the poor licensing of lap dancing to ask you to take action in the Policing and Crime Bill Report Stage debate (Clause 26, Part 2) - on 3rd and 5th November - in order to improve proposed reforms.

As you know, the Government has proposed to allow lap dancing clubs to be licensed in the same way as sex shops and sex cinemas. This will give local communities greater control in the licensing of lap dancing clubs and place clubs under greater scrutiny – thus better protecting women in the industry and stemming the normalising of a branch of the sex industry.

However the Policing and Crime Bill proposals are seriously flawed on two counts:

1. The new licensing regime will be optional for local councils – leading to a patchwork licensing system which the industry which will be quick to exploit. Local communities will face a postcode lottery over whether they actually get a say in licensing and performers will continue to face poor working conditions as clubs migrate to areas of weaker regulation.

2. The proposals also exempt venues holding lap dancing less than once a month. Thus pubs and bars which hold ‘lap dancing nights’, catered for by lap dancing agencies, will be excluded. This already significant sub-market of the lap dancing industry is likely to further expand.

I therefore strongly urge you to speak in favour of amendments to ensure reforms are applied universally and contain no frequency-based exemption. These amendments will be be tabled by Baroness Joyce Gould, during Report Stage of the Policing and Crime Bill - on 3rd and 5th of November.

Without these amendments, Clause 26 of the Policing and Crime Bill will contain significant loopholes and represent a crucial missed opportunity to tackle commercial sexual exploitation.

I look forward to hearing from you on this important matter.

Yours sincerely

Your NAME

Peers

Please write to one, or more (!) of the key peers we have targeted:

o Lord Bilmoria
o Baroness Neuberger
o Baroness Northover
o Lord Norton
o Baroness Uddin
o Baroness Wilkins
o Baroness Grundy
o Baroness Flathers
o Baroness Goudie
o Lord Hylton
o Baroness Jay
o Lord Listowel
o Baroness Ludford

If you receive a reply please send a copy to our partners at the FAWCETT Society:
kat.banyard@fawcettsociety.org.uk
or Kat Banyard, Fawcett Society, 1-3 Berry Street, London EC1V 0AA

Thursday- protest against the BNP Platform on Question Time

2009-10-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

The erosion of democratic rights and incitement of racial hatred has began with a screening of Question Time audience applicants for antifascists, and with the BNP launching attacks on other panellists on grounds of race.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bnp-attacks-fellow-question-time-panellists-1804757.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23756472-question-time-audience-vetted-for-anti-fascists.do

Nick Griffin has stated that

"Once we're in a position where we control the British broadcasting media, then perhaps one day the British people might change their mind and say, 'yes, every last one must go'. But if you hold that out as your sole aim to start ...with, you're not going to get anywhere. So instead of talking about racial purity, we talk about identity."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/18/nick-griffin-question-time-bbc

In the BBC granting a platform to the BNP, the BBC sets a dangerous precedence; legitimising the BNP as a political party. In doing so they legitimise their views. This is anti democratic as the BNP wish to disenfranchise a huge cross section of British society. They are giving the ‘right’ to a platform to a party that seeks to take away the rights of others.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/15/bnp-question-time-bbc-griffin

FEMINIST REASONS TO NO PLATFORM THE BNP

As feminist activists I propose we must unite with anti fascist protests to no platform the BNP and expose them as a party of hate, division and social exclusion. This is in the name of cross liberation campaigning, but also because the BNP seek to impinge on women’s rights directly, and their brand of ‘women’s rights’ tarnish the name of feminism which is an obstacle to all women’s rights advocacy. This has been recognised by a motion passed at the last NUS Women's Committee meeting.

• BNP members have publically glorified and ridiculed rape.
• Further policy to clamp down on reproductive and LGBT rights, banning mixed marriages, and banning religious dress and food from public arenas, disproportionately affects women.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3716550.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7326987.stm

• The BNP use women’s rights as a tool to incite racial hatred, for example saying that all of the sexual assaults in Norway this year have been committed by ‘third world immigrants’.
• This false claim that sees feminism as a repository of white western supremacism can lead to an antifeminist backlash in the defence of multiculturalism.
http://barnsley-nationalists2.blogspot.com/2008/02/womens-rights-third-world-style.html
http://bnp.org.uk/2009/09/third-world-rape-nightmare-grips-oslo/

• In BNP strongholds aggression and harassment on the basis of race and religion rises.
• Many students have been directly affected by encounters with fascist groups in the last few months, such as the BNP’s presence at pride, and recent riots in Birmingham and Doncaster.
• The affects of this are not restricted to the targeted social groups, but affect the welfare and unity of the entire student body.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/06/rightwing-rally-arrests-birmingham
http://www.uaf.org.uk/news.asp?choice=90808

WHAT YOU CAN DO

PROTEST against the BNP platform on Question Time this Thursday- 9am-7pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166170547914&index=1

To join our delegation, meet up SOAS Steps 2pm or 5pm to travel to White City BBC Hq

Or see the Unite Against Fascism website for local demos at regional BBC studios, which are taking place at 5pm across the country- www.uaf.org.uk

Also....

• Sign this statement by sending an email marked "Question Time" tounite@ucu.org.uk
• Complain to the BBC by phoning 03700 100 222 or online athttp://bit.ly/bbccomplaints
• Join the Facebook group protesting at the BBC decision athttp://bit.ly/0909uaffb
• Take the UAF petition round your workplace or community: http://bit.ly/0909uafqt
• Make a donation to Unite Against Fascism at http://bit.ly/uafdonate

Reporting on the Polanski Case- 'Rape-lite' as caviar

2009-09-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

The reporting surrounding Roman Polanski’s arrest is making me angry. Finally I have discovered a voice of reason in the Guardian’s Joan Smith, who criticises Whoopi Goldberg for declaring that this case is not ‘rape rape’, and rendering such cases ‘rape lite’. Polanski admits to ‘unlawful sexual conduct’ with a minor, and was found guilty of grooming a thirteen year old girl with drugs and alcohol, giving her oral sex against her will and forcibly sodomising her, in the home of Jack Nicholson, who wasn’t home at the time. For this to now be considered ‘rape lite’ is quite frankly an outrage, but is it indicative of our times?

The number of women coming forward to report rape is scandalously low, and no wonder given the public perception of rape, that supports the Polanski case. The xenophobic media are horrified by ‘honour violence’ perpetrated against rape victims to erase the ‘blackened vessel’ (karokari) of the fallen woman, yet the very same media propagates the myth that women are ‘asking for it’ if they have been drinking, flirting, wearing provocative clothes, or have consented to sexual acts in the past. Sexual violence routinely sensationalised and glamorised in rap videos, pornography, horror films, even in ‘Hollyoaks Late’ watched by every British teenager.

What really concerns me is how this affects the spectrum of what is consider sexual violence. The media has us perversely fascinated with sexual violence, but does that mean we want it committed upon our bodies? ‘The Truth Seeker’, a website for submissive women, ‘reacting’ against feminism, publishes an article written by a MAN about how all women secretly want to be raped. In a society where we see sex everywhere and women are routinely objectified, I think this must affects how consent itself is conceived- do we desire sex or an affirmation of our own desirability? Given the normalisation of sexual violence, the notion of reciprocity itself must be affected- have men become conditioned to be aroused by forced sex, and are women conditioned to feel they must desire a ‘rape lite’ of their own?

‘Rape lite’ with a rich and powerful director is of course an entirely different matter. Mr Polanski is almost as famous for this sexual offence as for his films, on which an article in itself could be devoted to the glorification of sexual violence. Polanski’s cult following has descended to the tradition of accepting this sex offence as part of his torrid past that colour the air of his artistic mystique, as much as his mother who died in Auschwitz, his time as a rent boy, and his wife’s gruelsome death at the hands of gang violence. Sex offences have become normalised artistic behaviour, most Parisian artist models being from the brothels of Montmartre. Polanski, has been adopted as a French citizen into a canon of sex pests: Manets dubious relationship with his most famous model Victorine Meuret, Degas unseemly years as an ageing voyer in ballet school for young girls, and Gauguin’s love of Tahitian prepubescent girls.

Some journalists are already brought up the class issue- if Polanski was still a tea boy on set, or even a Catholic priest, would the media, actors, the French state be jumping to his defence? Of course not. Polanski’s hope lies in his trappings of power. The same money, authority and blind adoration of the public that allows football managers to buy silence from the women used and abused at the hands of their players. Polanski had expensive lawyers and the money to fund his exile on a first class ticket to Paris, box office hits, and now has the academy awards and status of his ‘Life time achievement award’. This turns him from a paedophilic villain into a lovable rogue, and sexual violence becomes a politically incorrect artistic preference… rather like caviar from an endangered fish.

Only a couple of weeks ago Jordon was in the press making rape allegations against an anonymous celebrity. Her ex husband Peter Andre was mocking her, calling her insane and advising her to keep it quiet. I was pleasantly surprised to see an article in the Sun encouraging her to come forward despite this, to give her fans the confidence to also report sexual assault. In contrast to this, my own paper of choice (the Guardian’s Duncan Campbell) ran an article on the Polanski saying that the case shouldn’t be reopened out of SENSITIVITY to the victim, who would be awfully upset to have the whole dirty matter dragged up again.

I ask Mr Campbell- what about the other victims? Over two thirds of victims never come forward because they fear that they will not be believed in a society that measures a woman’s worth according to her utility as a sexual object, that sees women as ornamental property at the hands of a man that has ‘earned’ as ‘right’. A society that then has the audacity to tell us that it is our fault when we speak out against this. Women will never find justice in a society that protects and hero worships rapists such as Polanski as a chauvinist elite, and sees rape as a legitimate sexual or artistic preference.

Only 1 in 20 rapes brought to court reach conviction. I hope that Miss Gailey find justice after thirty long years and this will serve as inspiration for other victims to come forward, and act as a lesson to all the other Polanskis out there that money and artistic acclaim will not buy them exemption.

Let no man ‘earn’ this privilege.

One reporter jokes about protests the next time Sarkozy visits London demanding Polanskis extradition... personally I think this is a great idea...

Joan Smith- http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/29/roman-polanski-arrest-whoopi-goldberg

Duncan Campbell- http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/28/roman-polanski-arrested-ignores-victim

Protest today 1pm march from LSE to the Indian High Commission

2009-09-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

Protest TODAY 1pm LSE march to Indian High Commission- Justice for sexual assault victim

Facebook event- http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=137993192631&ref=mf
Facebook support group- http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=137925156988&ref=ts

We're holding a demonstration in support of Kaya Eldridge an LSE graduate who was sexually assaulted whilst on an internship in India; and subsequently humiliated by the courts.

We will meet at the LSE at 1.00pm outside the tuns (the LSE SU bar on Houghton street) and march down to the Indian high commission.

Please come along even if its just for 10mins. It's really important that we put pressure on the Indian government to ensure that when Kaya goes back to court on wednesday she is treated fairly.

This is not simply a demonstration for Kaya Eldridge it is also an important protest to highlight a problem faced by thousands of women across the world.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

The below is from an article in the Independent:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/british-woman-tells-of-humiliation-by-indian-court-1790194.html

'....Ms Eldridge, from south London, came to India at the end of July for a three-month internship with Mahila Swaraj Abhiyan, an NGO in the western state where she is working on a project designed to help empower women. She says she was assaulted by a plumber employed by the organisation who had been called to repair her shower when she was alone in her apartment.

After making a complaint to the police, a case was heard earlier this week where charges of molestation were put against the plumber. Ms Eldridge said the government appointed her a lawyer but no translator. She said she considered the questioning she underwent by defence lawyer Sanjay Prajapati to have been a “second assault”.

“People have some sort of idea that sexual assaults only happen to certain sort of women; it can happen to anyone, regardless of who you are or how many sexual partners you’ve had,” she continued. “To question my character in court was not only entirely irrelevant but totally humiliating.”......'

LINK TO WIDER ACTION

In the fight to bring Kaya justice we must seek to highlight the rights of Indian women; linking this case to social movements such as the Pink Chaddi campaign in India. We must see this as an opportunity for international feminist solidarity uniting with wider struggles across the globe, which demand the recognition that no woman is to blame for sexual assault and harassment; challenging the view that alcohol, promiscuity, and provocative clothing legitimise rape. This is a view promoted not only by the Indian legal system, but by courts in the UK, the US and by our very community. According to a London Student survey, 1/3 students still think a woman is to blame for rape if she has been drinking.

Rape is rape, no means no, and victims must be brought justice and support rather than receiving the criminalisation and humiliation that Kaya has experienced. The true criminals, the perpetrators of rape must be prosecuted, and condemned in every society. We must see this case as a warning and challenge the systematic subordination of women, control of female sexuality and objectification of the female body, that enshrines, normalises and normalises violence against women as acceptable social interaction.

Vice Chancellor advises to 'enjoy' female students as 'Perks'

2009-09-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

***CALL FOR ACTION***

There has been some appalling sexism in the last few days from the VC of Buckingham University. The story is also being run on the BBC and is likely to be reported more widely over the course of the day. It is worth reading the fword’s take on it as well.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6219449/Vice-chancellor-female-students-are-a-perk.html

http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2009/09/university_of_b

WHAT CAN WE DO?

***Write to the Chair of the Governing Council demanding Kealey’s full and comprehensive apology – Mark your email ‘FAO Chair of Governing Council’ and send here: qualityassurance@buckingham.ac.uk

***Send NUS Women's Campaign your stories – Have you experienced sexism from leering professors? What do you think about Kealey’s comments? What is it like to be a woman in education? NUS will publish them anonymously in the next few days. Send here: olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk

***Get online and on message boards and kick up a huge fuss about this. Forward to all your friends and make sure the story stays in the news until there is a full apology from Kealey.

Forwarded from NUS Women's Officer- statement here: http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/University-boss-has-shown-astounding-lack-of-respect-for-women-says-NUS/

Feminist Sunday Lunch

2009-09-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday 11th October 1pm Marquis of Cornwallis on Marchmont Street nr Russell Square

Facebook event http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=223200860&ref=profile#/event.php?eid=136148074094&ref=mf

'Feminism in London' is on Saturday 10th of October

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=72797187687&ref=ts

As many of us will be around we thought Sunday lunch the next day would be a great opportunity to catch up and discuss how the feminism situation in our unions are looking...

By then we will know exactly what events have been planned for the autumn term that ignite the feminist furor including what the national pageant brigade- Miss University GB and Miss Student UK- are rolling out as a challenge for us to face which we need to coordinate our endeavours for.

Please RSVP as I will book a table

Venue website http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub948.html

(and if you can think of a better venue that is also easy to get to, other suggestions welcome)

Model Letter to BAM student marketing- Send today

2009-09-18T09:08:00.001-07:00

Model letter to BAM drafted by NUS Women's Officer Liv Bailey – feel free to adapt to include your own views and send to tb@bamuk.com

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to express my concern about two of your recent activities. First, I understand that you have written to all students’ unions on your books suggesting they advertise Miss University GB at their institution. Second, I understand that you have facilitated the free distribution of FHM magazine at the fresher’s fairs of the unions you are contracted to work for.

I believe that Beauty Pageants like Miss University GB, and ‘lads’ mags like FHM, send the dangerous message that it is OK to value women purely on a narrow conception of beauty that bears little relation to the majority of women.

I believe that my institution should be free of the sexism and objectification that women face every day in wider society. I am disappointed that you did not more seriously consider the equal opportunities implications of the products that you have chosen to advertise.

I ask that you retract both promotions, and apologise for the negative impact that your action has had on campuses across the country.

Yours Sincerely,

Name
Institution

For more info see article http://www.officeronline.co.uk//women/276618.aspx

Don't forget to sign the NUS statement at
http://www.officeronline.co.uk/women/276619.aspx

****NEXT OBJECT FEMINIST FRIDAY- 25th SEPTEMBER****

Info on objectification and home of Feminist Fridays- www.object.org
Background on objectification campaigning in Students' Unions- http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/

Sign the NUS Statement on Objectification

2009-09-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

"We, the undersigned, oppose the objectification and commodification of women at education institutions. We believe that all students should feel safe and free to be themselves, and we stand against trying to force students in to narrow and unrealistic conceptions of what beauty should be. We stand by our commitment to equal opportunities and we will reject events and materials that trot out tired, negative and dangerous stereotypes about how women should look and behave.

We condemn BAM student marketing for advertising Miss University GB, and for facilitating the free distribution of FHM magazine at freshers’ fairs across the country. We ask that BAM retract both promotions, and that they more seriously consider the equal opportunities implications of their actions in future."

http://www.officeronline.co.uk/women/276617.aspx

***Email the women's campaign to add YOUR name to the list of OVER 93 signatories!!

http://www.officeronline.co.uk/women/276619.aspx

*** Download a model letter to send to BAM media

Mind the Gap on Woman's Hour: 'The Lolita Effect'

2009-09-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

The sexualisation of young girls

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2009_37_thu.shtml

It’s being called a media "juggernaut": the mainstream marketing and representation of young girls as sexually desirable objects. A new book 'The Lolita Effect' argues that not only does this create a difficult climate within which to give girls a healthy introduction to sexuality, it also goes some way to normalising the global child pornography industry. So what evidence is there for such a troubling connection? What should we be doing about it, and are all young girls equally vulnerable to the lure of pole-dancing kits and sexy lingerie? Jenni puts these questions to Gigi Durham, author of 'The Lolita Effect', Valerie Walkerdine, Professor in the School of Social Science at Cardiff University and Eleanor James of the campaign group 'Mind the Gap'.

The Lolita Effect by MG Durham is published by Duckworth Overlook ISBN 9780715638040

See also Guardian article

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/18/lost-youth-young-girls

Gigi Durham's blog

http://thelolitaeffect.blogspot.com/

SATURDAY- Feminist Activist Day at SOAS

2009-09-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

THE BIG DAY IS ALMOST UPON US!

Please arrive at SOAS between 10 and 10:30am to register at the desk in the foyer and sign up for your workshops- get there EARLY as for some of them there is limited places due to the nature of the work you will be doing.

LUNCHTIME GIG- In the JCR between 1 and 2 enjoy the musical talents of Bini, Louisa and Surianne and eat cake, pakora and Ugandan food provided by the Detainee support group. The food is £4 for everything, but DO feel free to empty your pockets as all proceeds go to the women who will be doing the cooking, and being asylum seekers it is their only source of income :)

Looking forward to meeting you all and hearing your ideas, lets plan some inspiring actions to get the year off to a energised vibrant start!

Call Elly on 07595672964 with any last minute queries

See you all on Saturday! xxx

Schedule (again)....

London Student Feminists and NUS Women's Committee invite you to a year of London Student Feminist-ing with a

FEMINIST ACTIVIST DAY-

12th September 10- 5:00pm at SOAS followed by music and food into the wee hours.

There will be talks and lectures on how to build vibrant, diverse and effective feminist campaigns in your unions, and a mini feminist freshers fair of stalls in the jcr where you can pick up the materials to do it.

Please forward to all feminist activists, students and non students far and wide, come along, get involved and get fem-inspired!

Facebook invitation: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=118834994502&ref=mf

The morning includes two panel discussions on...

10.45- 11.05 KLT
Elly James- welcome
Judith Orr- the challenge for feminism today

How to Build a Feminist Campaign- 11.05-12 KLT
Liv Bailey- using your union
Elane Hefferman and Elly Badcock- direct action
Clare Solomon- Engaging the media and e-activism

Cross Liberation Campaigns- 12-1 KLT
Deb Viney- Casework and equal opportunities
Rukayah and Hana- black student feminism
Ruth Pearson- Trans and feminism
Dalia and Nattie- LGBT and feminism

LUNCHTIME GIG- JCR- Ugandan food, cake, music and DANCING from Bini, Louisa, and Surianne

WORKSHOPS

FG08
2- 2.45 Objectification in Student Unions- Anna Van Heeswick and Elly James
2.50- 3.30 Abortion Rights- Kate Smurthwaite

FG01
2-2.45 Reclaim the Night- Finn Mackay
2.50- 330 Rape Crisis in Crisis- Matty and Beth

FG05
2-2.45 Working with the NUS Women's Campaign- Liv Bailey
2.50- 3.30 Black students and feminism- Rukayah and Hana

2 -3.30pm G51
Feminist Self Defense- Evy Samuelson and Rheem Al-Adhami (women only)

FEEDBACK- KLT

3:35- 5pm Come together for another session to feedback and plan an exciting calender of feminist freshers events throughout London to inspire an exciting and united year of feminist activism- hurrah!

6pm-11pm Food and Music in the i o e bar.

Please email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com for registration with your name, institution and any access needs or childcare requirements.

http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/

2009-09-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Pornography: Sex vs Sexiness

2009-09-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

In response to Tami Petersons comment…

http://www.counterfire.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1744:sexy-at-six&catid=38:opinion&Itemid=54#comment-4

http://unknownconscience.blogspot.com/2009/09/sex-positive-feminism-what-it-really.html

It is the commodified ‘sexiness’ that I find abhorrent, not sex itself. I am not criticising teenagers for having sex, I am criticising sex education. 66% of children are first exposed to sex through the media, which means that their primary education is through the commodified ‘sexiness’. The practices which are depicted in commercial pornography are not in themselves oppressive; what is oppressive is the power balance under which these images are created and the implication of what is left unsaid.

A sex education solely through the market is resulting in a skewed image of what the human body looks like, a limited knowledge of sexual practices (foreplay is severely neglected), a distorted perception of sexual orientation, and of how consent and reciprocity in sexual acts is conceived (most women do not call forced sex arousing, they call it rape).

I am not advocating a control over sexual behaviour, I am advocating for our society to take responsibility for sex and relationship education that will allow young people to make informed choices over their own sexuality. If we leave sex education to the market, they will not be educated in sex; they will be educated in ‘sexiness’.
I don’t want my children to be educated through ‘cum shot’ commercial ciphers of sexuality, I want for them to see sexuality as something to explore, reinvent and self define. Pornography is a consumer product that serves a function. This function is not sex education; we all know what its true function is…

The BNP on Question Time- Feminist Reasons to No Platform the BNP

2009-09-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

In the BBC Question Time has granted a platform to the BNP, the BBC sets a dangerous precedence; legitimising the BNP as a political party. In doing so they legitimise their views. This is anti democratic as the BNP wish to disenfranchise a huge cross section of British society. They are giving the ‘right’ to a platform to a party that seeks to take away the rights of others.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gmg/op/sQM_rwtdvuF-uj41C1_S3Xg/view.m?id=170227&tid=120787&cat=UK_news

As feminist activists I propose we must unite with anti fascist protests to no platform the BNP and expose them as a party of hate, division and social exclusion. This is in the name of cross liberation campaigning, but also because the BNP seek to impinge on women’s rights directly, and their brand of ‘women’s rights’ tarnish the name of feminism which is an obstacle to all women’s rights advocacy.

• BNP members have publically glorified and ridiculed rape.
• Further policy to clamp down on reproductive and LGBT rights, banning mixed marriages, and banning religious dress and food from public arenas, disproportionately affects women.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3716550.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7326987.stm

• The BNP use women’s rights as a tool to incite racial hatred, for example saying that all of the sexual assaults in Norway this year have been committed by ‘third world immigrants’.
• This false claim that sees feminism as a repository of white western supremacism can lead to an antifeminist backlash in the defence of multiculturalism.
http://barnsley-nationalists2.blogspot.com/2008/02/womens-rights-third-world-style.html
http://bnp.org.uk/2009/09/third-world-rape-nightmare-grips-oslo/

• In BNP strongholds aggression and harassment on the basis of race and religion rises.
• Many students have been directly affected by encounters with fascist groups in the last few months, such as the BNP’s presence at pride, and recent riots in Birmingham and Doncaster.
• The affects of this are not restricted to the targeted social groups, but affect the welfare and unity of the entire student body.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/06/rightwing-rally-arrests-birmingham
http://www.uaf.org.uk/news.asp?choice=90808

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Sign this statement by sending an email marked "Question Time" tounite@ucu.org.uk
• Complain to the BBC by phoning 03700 100 222 or online athttp://bit.ly/bbccomplaints
• Join the Facebook group protesting at the BBC decision athttp://bit.ly/0909uaffb
• Take the UAF petition round your workplace or community: http://bit.ly/0909uafqt
• Make a donation to Unite Against Fascism at http://bit.ly/uafdonate

At the activist conference this Saturday, 12th of September we will have a workshop on cross liberation campaigning at 12am in SOAS KLT and there will be a workshop on black students and feminism in FG05 at 2:50pm. Email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com to register.
Facebook invite- http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118834994502&ref=mf

Sexy at Six?

2009-09-07T04:25:00.001-07:00

‘Holy Hell! A Pole Dancing Doll?!!’ On his gossip site ‘Perez Hilton’ joins the media furore inspired by pictures of a pole dancing doll made by an unnamed toy company. The doll is undisputedly marketed at young girls, and while it is not provocatively dressed, the concept of the doll itself, that looks like a six year old girl going ‘up and down’ ‘around and around’ a pole to music, sends out a message which is igniting the rage of parents and journalists alike.

Perez Hilton quips that ‘if your kids ask for this doll this holiday season, we recommend reform school IMMEDIATELY!’ I would argue that it is not the children that the doll is marketed to that we must criticize, it is the capitalists that have created that market, and the consumers that stubbornly refuse to question market norms. We must recognize the responsibility that we each have in reproducing a culture that objectifies women; a culture that holds the stripper up as an aspirational model, as a plastic idol for our children to worship and (God forbid) emulate.

It has been questioned whether the images are fake, but the debate that has been catalysed over the commercial sexualisation of children is proving valid enough. A living breathing icon was provided when sixteen year old Myley Cyrus pole danced at the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards this year. This was met with public outcry, but little surprise given the ubiquity of soft pornography in music videos, TV and film, which are now a dubiously cherished part of our cultural landscape. The scandal is that this is an underage girl, a teen icon, performing an X-rated act on children’s television.

But is this anything new? Sex is directly marketed to children, with WH Smith selling a line of Playboy stationary, and Abercrombie and Fitch making thongs for ten year olds. Tesco’s ‘My First Pole Dancing Kit’ pole dancing kits can be added to a shopping basket that can contain a ‘cock ring’ and lubricant in some stores. It has become normal, acceptable and even encouraged for children to be dressed as sex workers, but a minor performing a pole dance on public children’s television is apparently a wee bit too much.

80% of under 18s have viewed pornography, primarily on the internet, where it is prolific and becoming harder for parents to control. I am an extremely pro sex feminist, the more sex the better, but the problem is that the version of sex that we see in a pornography and the ‘raunch culture’ consumerism that follows it, is dictated by the primary market of pornography- the heterosexual white male.

Without going into the politics of exploitation inherent in the porn industry itself, the ‘sex education’ that children get from pornography is delivered via a pornstar who is paid to imitate arousal for profit, not explore her own sexuality. She ‘gets off on’ being dominated, spanked, impaled in a variety of orifices, excreted upon, and group sex. Not to mention lesbianism, which is largely a show for the boys before the couple’s ‘conversion to cock’.

Today, children cannot avoid having an early induction to the ins and the outs of sexuality. The problem is that it is the wrong education. Britain continues to have the highest levels of teenage pregnancy in Europe and STD levels in under 21s are rising. In a recent channel 4 show, groups of teenage boys said that they would dump a girl who did not have a ‘Brazilian bikini wax’ and the girls questioned thought this was painful but entirely reasonable. Both sexes thought that the average penis size was between 7-9 inches, and were shocked to hear it was actually a more modest 4-6.

More worrying still, recent research by the NSPCC unveiled this week that 1/3 of girls between 13 and 19 have suffered abuse at the hands of their boyfriends. The campaigning organization ‘Object’ see the ‘dehumanisation’ of women’s bodies through a soft porn culture that objectifies women for profit as at the root of violence against women and their subjection in society. With pornography as our children’s introduction to sex, pole dancing dolls and Playboy stationary on the high street, and pole dancing teen idols on TV, is it a surprise that women are seen as objects for men to use and abuse at their will?

In the age of the backlash against feminism, where objectification and pornification are rife in our culture, there is a hope in the burgeoning opposition vehemently challenging the world around them. ‘Object’ hold Feminist Fridays to take action lads mags in newsagents, and lobby the government on legislation surrounding lap dancing clubs and prostitution, and have been working with our organization, London Student Feminists, on the ‘Missogynist’ campaign against university beauty pageants.

Campaigning works. Corporations rely on profit, and for that they need a consumer market. The ‘My First Pole Dancing Kit’ at Tesco, and the Playboy stationary at WH Smith had to be withdrawn after complaints. Object succeeded in changing licensing laws for lap dancing clubs.

Let’s use the pole dancing doll, and pole dancing Nickelodeon awards as a wakeup call and show are daughters that they are worth more than this; that they can aspire to careers other than sex workers where they are valued for things beyond a market aesthetic value. This is our society and as women we must demand the real equality, the culture of mutual respect and celebration of diversity and freedom of self definition that will make ‘equal opportunity’ a reality and a guarantee rather than bureaucratic concession.

Next Saturday, 12th of September we are holding a Feminist Activist training day at SOAS with workshops from groups including Object, Abortion Rights UK, Reclaim the Night and self defense classes to build a network of loud proud feminist advocates working together on strong, clear, creative campaigns. See the blog for a full timetable and email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com for more information, registration and access requirements. Come along, bring everyone you can and most of all, bring your daughter (especially if she has just asked you for a pole dancing doll).

http://www.counterfire.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1744:sexy-at-six&catid=38:opinion&Itemid=54

Solomons Mindfield article

2009-09-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Check this out....

http://www.solomonsmindfield.net/2009/09/london-feminist-network-activist-day-is.html

Time table for Feminist Activist Day 12th September

2009-09-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

London Student Feminists and NUS Women's Committee invite you to a year of London Student Feminist-ing with a

FEMINIST ACTIVIST DAY-

12th September 10- 5:00pm at SOAS followed by music and food into the wee hours.

There will be talks and lectures on how to build vibrant, diverse and effective feminist campaigns in your unions, and a mini feminist freshers fair of stalls in the jcr where you can pick up the materials to do it.

Please forward to all feminist activists, students and non students far and wide, come along, get involved and get fem-inspired!

Facebook invitation: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=118834994502&ref=mf

The morning includes two panel discussions on...

10.45- 11.05 KLT
Elly James- welcome
Judith Orr- the challenge for feminism today

How to Build a Feminist Campaign- 11.05-12 KLT
Liv Bailey- using your union
Elane Hefferman and Elly Badcock- direct action
Clare Solomon- Engaging the media and e-activism

Cross Liberation Campaigns- 12-1 KLT
Deb Viney- Casework and equal opportunities
Rukayah and Hana- black student feminism
Dalia and Nattie- LGBT and feminism

1-2- Lunchtime gig in the SOAS JCR- Surianne http://www.myspace.com/surianne

WORKSHOPS

During the afternoon, after a lunch break there will be workshops, each ran twice on how to put these tools into practise through a few key campaigns.

FG08
2- 2.45 Objectification in Student Unions- Anna Van Heeswick and Elly James
2.50- 3.30 Abortion Rights- Kate Smurthwaite

FG01
2-2.45 Reclaim the Night- Finn Mackay
2.50- 330 Rape Crisis in Crisis- Matty and Beth

FG05
2-2.45 Working with the NUS Women's Campaign- Liv Bailey
2.50- 3.30 Black students and feminism- Rukayah and Hana

2 -3.30pm G51
Feminist Self Defense- Evy Samuelson and Rheem Al-Adhami (women only)

FEEDBACK

3:35- 5pm Come together for another session to feedback and plan an exciting calender of feminist freshers events throughout London to inspire an exciting and united year of feminist activism- hurrah!

6pm-11pm Food and Music in the i o e bar.

Please email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com for registration with your name, institution and any access needs or childcare requirements.

http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/

One Week to go!!

2009-09-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

One week to go until the Feminist Activist Day, here at Mind the Gap we are whirling like a band of placard wielding dervishes in excitement!

Registration

Please REGISTER if you haven't already done so by emailing londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com with your name, union and any access of childcare requirements. Thank you if you have already done this. Please add your friends to the event...

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1094500533960&f=1&e=-12#/event.php?eid=118834994502

Help Needed

Please also contact us if you can HELP ON THE DAY for an hour or two with things like helping set up stalls, rooms, fetching water for speakers, helping people find workshop rooms etc.

Update on event

Judith Orr is now doing the opening speech on 'the challenges for feminism today and the backlash against feminism' and there will now be a stall from Refuge and a workshop on the RAPE CRISIS Campaign from our very own Beth Evans and Matty from Boris Keep your Promise, who have worked with us on the campaign this term (you may recognise the video below of Boris being ambushed)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/jul/21/campaigners-johnson-rape

and also be of interest....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/sep/01/teenage-sexual-abuse-nspcc-report

"One in three teenage girls has suffered sexual abuse from a boyfriend and one in four has experienced violence in a relationship, according to an in-depth study published today"

16 Days until Feminist Activist Conference!

2009-08-26T07:22:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all who are coming to the FEMINIST ACTIVIST DAY on the 12th of September- Very excited!

Please REGISTER by emailing londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com with your name, union, and any access needs or childcare requirements.

Latest news is that we are delighted to announce a full workshop on black students and feminism and stalls at the mini feminist freshers fair from Feminist Fightback and Boris Keep Your Promise (Rape Crisis in Crisis) in addition to original list.

Please let us know if you would also like a STALL to promote any campaigns. This is a great opportunity to share ideas and spread efforts across the movement with students and non students coming from all corners of the country- from Bristol to Birmingham, Middlesbrough to Mordor seeking inspiration and solidarity....ok Mordor is a clearly lie...

Get in touch with any questions- only 16 days to go!

londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com

PS Check out the article below and brainstorm some campaign ideas... the outrage, the hygiene issues *shudder*

http://www.counterfire.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=416:when-i-grow-up-i-want-to-be-a-plate&Itemid=54

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6061325/Londoners-offered-chance-to-eat-sushi-off-naked-models.html

Feminist Activist Day 12th September

2009-08-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

London Student Feminists and NUS Women's Committee invite you to a year of London Student Feminist-ing with a

FEMINIST ACTIVIST DAY

12th September 10- 5:00pm at SOAS followed by music and food into the wee hours.

There will be talks and lectures on how to build vibrant, diverse and effective feminist campaigns in your unions, and a mini feminist freshers fair of stalls in the jcr where you can pick up the materials to do it.

Please forward to all feminist activists, students and non students far and wide, come along, get involved and get fem-inspired!

Facebook invitation: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=118834994502&ref=mf

The morning includes two panel discussions on...

How to Build a Feminist Campaign- 11-12
Liv Bailey- using your union
Elane Hefferman and Elly Badcock- direct action
Clare Solomon- Engaging the media and e-activism

Cross Liberation Campaigns- 12-1
Deb Viney- Casework and equal opportunities
Rukayah and Hana- black student feminism
Dalia and Nattie- LGBT and feminism

During the afternoon, after a lunch break there will be workshops, each ran twice on how to put these tools into practise through a few key campaigns
2- 3:30pm

Abortion Rights- Kate Smurthwaite
Reclaim the Night- Finn Mackay
Working with the NUS Women's Campaign- Liv Bailey
Objectification in Student Unions- Anna Van Heeswick and Elly James
Feminist Self Defense- Evy Samuelson

3:35- 5pm Come together for another session to feedback and plan an exciting calender of feminist freshers events throughout London to inspire an exciting and united year of feminist activism- hurrah!

6pm-11pm Food and Music in the i o e bar.

NB pro-feminist men- I've added you so you can add your friends and come to the after party

Please email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com for registration with your name, institution and any access needs or childcare requirements.

http://londonstudentfeminists.blogspot.com/

Rainbow Tea Party this Friday- fundraiser for Reclaim the Night

2009-08-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

This Friday 21st August please come along to the Oak Bar (79 Green Lanes, N16 9BU) for The Rainbow Tea Party, a sumptuous collection of new and emerging music talent for just £5 (doors at 9pm, first band on at 10pm, dancing until 3am).

The night is a fundraiser for the London Feminist Network’s Reclaim The Night march, which is in desperate need of funds – and this year has seen yet further increase in the number of the rapes reported, combined with an all-too-predictable decline in funding for managing this violent crisis. March with us on 21st November to say no to violence against women: www.reclaimthenight.org.

Helping us ensure a successful RTN we are very excited to welcome Rainbow Tea Party headliners The Brownies (take a listen at www.myspace.com/thebrownies):

“SUCH UMBRIDLED SENSUALITY IS GLUED TO HUGELY ENERGETIC, LETHALLY CATCHY PUNK-POP… COMING ON LIKE A RIOT GRRRL RAMONES. 4/5” Q MAGAZINE “THE BROWNIES ARE PRETTY GREAT...THEIR SONGS COO INTO YOUR EARS AS THEY CHEW THEM OFF...’CRY YOURSELF TO SLEEP’ SHOWS A KNACK FOR BRILLIANT RADIO CHORUSES. 7/10” NME “BRUTAL KNIFE SHARP ROCK. 4/5” SUBBACULTCHA “THE BROWNIES COULD BE XEROX GIRLS’ ATTITUDINAL, IMPERIOUSLY COOL NIECES AND NEPHEWS. BRILLIANTLY OUT OF STEP WITH CURRENT MODISH INDIE TRENDS, FULL OF HEART-IN-MOUTH MOMENTS AND A HATRED SO FINELY TUNED IT’S ALMOST SEXY.” THE GUARDIAN (SINGLE OF THE WEEK)“ALBUM OF THE YEAR SO FAR” PLAN B
“THE BROWNIES ARE MADE TO MAKE PERFECT DIY PUNK ROCK AND LONG THEY MAY CONTINUE.” ARTROCKER
“SEXED-UP FIGHT-POP” NME

For more info visit www.ldnfeministnetwork.ik.com and www.scarylittlegirls.co.uk.

BBC reports on City Hall's failure to deliver money to Rape Crisis

2009-08-03T17:09:00.001-07:00

Watch the BBC's coverage of the GLA's cut backs on you tube.

Interesting interview with GLA Conservative Kit Malthouse - his argument appears to be that the GLA simply don't need to spend all that money as Rape Crisis can do without it, yet fails to explain why this results in only one new Rape Crisis centre (and not the three extra centres as promised).

Boris finally announces funding for Croydon... but still fails to deliver what he promised

2009-08-03T03:06:00.000-07:00

Boris Johnson has announced that the GLA will make funding available to Croydon and set up another centre in Ealing. While this is a step in the right direction, we were promised THREE MORE centres in London, not one.

Yet again this is being spun as a funding announcement while what we're actually seeing is Boris renege on a promise - he will still not be spending the full amount of £744, 000 per year (£2.2m over three years) which he originally promised to set up three more rape crisis centres and maintain Croydon.

See this fantastic article in The London Paper for more details - aparently the video 'has become an unlikely YouTube hit'.

Johnson said £375,000 will be made available over three years to support the Ealing centre, while £260,000 will be spent boosting the Croydon helpline.

The money comes from £1.4m set aside earlier this year as part of his drive to combat violence against women.

But it is unlikely to silence his increasingly vocal critics, who want the mayor to meet the full amount he promised before coming into power.

Another Guardian comment article calls the video an ' impressive exercise in citizen journalism'.

Massive thanks to everyone involved in the campaign - we are making ourselves heard! Let's keep up the pressure to get what we were promised and continue to campaign for sustainable funding for the Rape Crisis network.

To get involved, email londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com

Between the Sheets- Women's Library exhibition

2009-07-26T09:00:00.001-07:00

Go to the Women's Library- image here is a Spare Rib tea towel in an exhibition on women's magazines 'Between the Covers' http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/

Objectification and Violence- NUS priority campaign

2009-07-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

NUS Women's Committee have voted to make Objectification this years priority campaign. By challenging the objectification of the female body in student union culture, through events such as 'fittest fresher', nudy calenders, pole dancing societies and of course beauty pageants, the women's committee seek to challenge sexism at its source.

Research will be commissioned into objectification and violence against women in student communities to make the links and expose them. Campaigns will address the above events, continuing efforts against Miss University of London and NUSSLs sexist advertising, and a new motion being passed against Miss Student in which contestants are sent on 'missions' to recruit other students and promote the event in the media as part of their qualification.

As our network at Mind the Gap was brought together in campaigns against objectification, I see this as immensely progressive. By centering on how women perceived themselves and are perceived in unions, representation of women and women's rights issues will be examined, in an effort to improve campaign inclusivity. There is scope to have focus groups on marginalised bodies- BME, LB, Trans and disabled- how these bodies are objectified as means to examine the specific discrimination they face.

A second priority will be on using last years research on Student Parents to campaign for its recommendations. I would like to see the recommendations about pregnant women extended to fight for provision for women undergoing abortions so that they can receive support and continue their studies.

After the first days training held at the Women's library we joined Object on the Feminist Friday action in the post below, starting the year with activism, which will be continued and extended exponentially through 'Sister ACTivist' training days countrywide (NUS are supporting our activist training day on the 12th). I really am positively jubilant to see the committee, encouraged by National Officer Liv Bailey who has spoken at several of Mind the Gap' actions, taking political leadership in proud feminist action from this early stage and keeping it firm on the agenda.

By focusing on the body, and the diversity of the bodies, may we reclaim our bodies from the corporate patriarchy that seeks to divide us and curtail our freedoms, and then has the cheek to charge us for this 'service'. In the fashion, beauty, sex industries, privatisation of nurseries and education (and the obvious pay gap and constant threats to reproductive rights) the female body in further shackled by gender discriminatory poverty, with the market and public services polarised against us.

In reclaiming our bodies may we empower and enliven them; use them to extend our freedoms, by standing at our podiums and on our picket lines and demanding rights, autonomy and self definition for every woman (body).

**Come to our activist training day Saturday 12th September at SOAS.

Feminist Friday

2009-07-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

While on NUS committee training, some of our members joined an Object Feminist Friday action on Lads Mags. We met at Liverpool Street station and wrote slogans on paper bags and processed into three WH Smiths. The people at the front would place the Lads mags into the bags, with others taking photos. Some people stood outside with placards and asked others to sign petitions. The public responded well to the actions, and staff were generally courteous. Object have been taking this action for six weeks now, and have found that in some stores the display of magazines had been reduced, been moved to the back of the shop, or to higher shelves.

The only problem was at Euston, where two males members of staff shoved us out of the way and took the bags. When asked to give them back, a member of staff put them in his pants, pointed to his crotch and said come and get them. Complaints have been made to the police and mangers.

Object campaigns for the recognition of lads mags as pornography, arguing that the magazines promote the objectification of women, encourage rape (Maxim says that 'most women fantasise about rape'!) and advertise prostitution. Since 2006 there has been a Voluntary Code of Practice drawn up by the Home Office that says that such magazines should be covered up and sold out of the eye level of children. Most stores clearly breach this. The End Violence Against Women campaign says that this code of practice needs to be enforced as part of a broader strategy challenging the objectification of women; seeing it as the root cause of gender based discrimination and violence against women.

Object will be holding a workshop at the activist training day on the 12th of September, some along to see how we can work together on further actions. Go to Object's campaigns page for reasoning, tips on winning arguments, how to arrange your own feminist Friday and don't forget to sign the petition....

http://www.object.org.uk/index.php/campaigns/ladsmags

and Sandrine Leveques article

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/24/porn-object-protest-feminism

The Guardian comments on Rape Crisis protest

2009-07-21T04:33:00.001-07:00

The Guardian have used our footage of yesterday's questioning of Boris Johnson over the lack of funding to Rape Crisis.

Read the article and watch the video here.

And USA Today

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/article/Organizations/Companies/Technology/YouTube/08cEdxkbA61Ez/1

Feminists Ambushed by police: Protest against Miss England

2009-07-21T04:25:00.001-07:00

The Protest: Feminists body searched

The Miss England protest began rather aptly with an infringement of civil liberties. Clare, Liv Bailey and I were stopped by the police, questioned and searched, Clare for trying to enter the Hilton to use the loo and Liv and I for looking for her while she was being accosted by the police. The police thought that Clare had ink that she was going to squirt at the contestants, in the manner of Jo Robinson in 1975 at the Miss World protest at the Albert Hall, see her account and photos here

http://www.solomonsmindfield.net/2009/07/miss-england-protest-kicked-off-with.html

They thought that I was going to sneak in, took my details and searched my bags. I think it was when they found some rather amature placards that I was making on the bus that they realised I clearly was no threat to the security of the pageant! Liv refused to give her details so they took down a physical description of her (possibly on a Miss England Application?!)

While we were in negotiations, the crowds gathered- the other members of Mind the Gap, Object, London Feminist Network and SWP (with some rather more professional placards!) and journalists snapping away ands filming us surrounded by tall men in shiny yellow jackets.

We had some fantastic speakers- Anna from Object, Katie Toms, Liv Bailey, Elly James (less fantastic!) and Judith Orr, reminding us of the detrimental implications of objectification of women through beauty pageant on wider liberation and the need for a vigilant, active, vocal, active movement in opposition to this.

Future activism: Implications of the 'inclusive' Miss England

One to One Entertainment has said that after the huge publicity surrounding Miss University they intend to roll out the corporate operation nationally, while Miss Student is currently emailing student union presidents asking them to help recruit students. There will also be a Miss World for students.

This year sees the first black Miss England, and lauds itself for including women above a size zero. I see this as a veil of corporate 'equal opportunities' PR that seeks to distract from the cultural discrimination that is reproduced through these events, and urgently needs to be challenged. Whatever size, shape, ethnicity and sexual orientation of the contestants, objectification is objectification. Women are being pitted against one another on a platform, encouraging all women to conform to a set of vital statistics set not by women, not by men but by the patriarchal consumerism that benefits from these pageants- whose sponsors include a COSMETIC SURGERY company that will cut shrink and stretch women to fit this template of perfection for a hefty fee.

Beauty pageants reduce women to a sum of body parts, measured against a set of vital statistics, physical objects dehumanised at the disposal of the judges, which is shown by research to directly encourage violence against women. The juxtaposition of the Rape Crisis in Crisis protest, and Miss England protest shows what a terrible mess our society is in. We live in a time where women are in every career but not paid as much. Where women achieve higher grades at university than men, but see a beauty pageant revival. Where rapes across London are rising, but funding has been frozen.

The pageant again praises itself for including students and army officers. The fact these intelligent successful women take part is indicative of this backlash. Whatever women achieve, they are nothing if they do not 'measure up' to societies judgement against an impossible ideal of consumer airbrushed fake tanned surgically chiseled beauty; leading us to chase this mirage through consumerism and disciplining our bodies, which is severely detrimental to both our welfare and bank balances.

The inclusion of an army officer, on a feminist project in Iraq- don't even get me started! My dissertation was about feminist voices on the war in Iraq- email me if you want to read it. It is the liberal feminist discourse that was used to justify directly persecuting Iraqi women that has led to the sectarian clamping down on women's rights as anti-Western nationalism. Feminism is not a Western discourse, and certainly cannot be achieved thought imperialism. It exists everywhere and indigenous feminist movements must be supported for true women's liberation.

Feminists everywhere, we have an epic struggle ahead, but I believe that we have the will, the stregth and the creativity to win if we UNITE, rather than stand divided by patriarchy on a pageant platform.

Activist Day school

We held a loud vibrant protest on the windy corner of Edgeware Road, letting all inside the Hilton and passers by that women's subordination will not go unnoticed and unchallenged, thanks to all who attended and we invite you to the Feminist Activist Day School at SOAS on Saturday the 12th of September where we will plan our strategy for the year ahead, beginning with freshers fair coordination. Bring materials and ideas for priority campaigns and email if you want to be involved and watch this blog and facebook for updates.

londonstudentfeminists@googlemail.com

Boris ambushed by feminists: Photos and video from Rape Crisis Protest

2009-07-21T04:16:00.001-07:00

Boris Ambushed by Feminists!

Watch the video on youtube here. Thanks to Katya Nasim for filming.

Report to follow, for an account of the incident see: the f-word, the-sauce, soloman's mindfield , harpymarx, counterfire and... The Guardian.

More photos here.

Message of support from Alex Callinicos

2009-07-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

I’m really sorry I can’t take part in the rally against the Miss England pageant. I belong to the generation that was radicalized by participation in the movements of the 1960s and 1970s. I vividly remember the Miss World protests of 1970 as an education and inspiration. It is a scandal that the same struggles are having to be waged again today – though now the exploitation of women’s bodies is justified less by explicit ideologies of male domination than by a culture of commodified hedonism. The links that bind the oppression of women to the capitalist pursuit of profit are evident for all to see today. So I hope you give Miss England hell and let’s fight together to get rid of the system that breeds such humiliation and suffering.

Alex Callinicos

TOMORROW Protest Miss England final 6:30pm at the Hilton Edgeware Road

2009-07-19T03:48:00.001-07:00

Rally 6:30pm Monday 20th July Hilton Edgeware Road.

Called for by Mind the Gap: London Student Feminists, Object, London Feminist Network, Feminist Fightback, NUS, UNISON, UCU, and Socialist Worker Student Society.

Speakers include

JUDITH ORR- author of ‘Sexism and the System’

JO ROBINSON- from the famous 1975 protest against Miss World at the Royal Albert Hall

ALEX CALLINICOS- Author and professor from Kings College

KATIE TOMS- London Feminist Network, Anti Porn London

SANDRINE LEVEQUE- OBJECT

LIV BAILEY- NUS Women’s Officer

40 years ago feminist activists succeeded in banning the Miss World contest. In celebration of this eminent anniversary, we will ban it again and invite you to join us in the struggle.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=96686983324

Early Day Motion for government funding to Rape Crisis Network

2009-07-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Has your MP signed the Early Day Motion put forward by Coventry MP Jim Cunningham calling for sustained government funding for the Rape Crisis Network?

Check the list here.

Find out who your MP is and contact them asking why they haven't signed - there are currently 58 signatories out of 648, with a grand total of 1 Conservative MP.

You can also enter your postcode at this site run by the Human Rights Comission and send their template email direct to your local MP - it takes 2 minutes!

Roger Evans (Conservative AM) comments on City Hall Protest

2009-07-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Roger Evans (Conservative AM) for his support for our protest and for noticing that rape alarms would be fairly ineffective in a 'real emergency'. Apparently we were 'reasonably dignified' - even by Tory standards.

Rape Protest

... the London Left are rediscovering the joys of disrupting meetings. It was Tube unions last time. This time feminists set off rape alarms during Richard Barnbrook's contribution. They were swiftly escorted from the building. I support their stand against rape and domestic violence and they made their point in a reasonably dignified way. However I was surprised by how quiet the rape alarms were, and I hope they would make a lot more noise in a real emergency - more like my smoke alarm which went off a few weeks ago and was impossible to ignore.

Jo Robinson, of pageant protests in 1970s to speak at Miss England rally- HURRAH!

2009-07-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

Jo Robinson who took part in the famous anti Miss World protest in 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall has agreed to come along on Monday and speak- hurrah!

She was interviewed in the Guardian recently. See below and: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/04/feminism-communes-children

"Jo Robinson was a notorious figure on the feminist circuit in the early 70s. She wore motorbike leathers and rode a Honda 175. At a protest against the Miss World competition at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, she sprayed a bouncer with blue ink from a water pistol. "That [protest] completely changed our lives," she recalls. "I had a direct feeling of contact with 2,000 years of patriarchy and repression. After that I just questioned the whole thing of what women should do."

Other updates...
**Sandrine Leveque confirmed as speaker from Object,
**Katie Toms is speaking on behalf of London Feminist Network, Anti Porn London and not the Observer
**and the police think we should take legal action against Miss England for 'malicious communications' and homophobic hate crimes as part of our campaign!

Feminists Set off Rape Alarms in City Hall to Protest Lack of Rape Crisis Funding

2009-07-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

Posted from the F-Word...

By Jess McCabe | 15 July 2009, 13:19

Five women snuck attack alarms into City Hall today, and set them off at just after 11.30am to protest London mayor Boris Johnson’s failure to deliver on his election pledge to boost funding for Rape Crisis Centres in the capital, reports the-sauce.org.

The alarms were set off as BNP GLA member Richard Barnbrook stood up to speak.

The protesters were wearing t-shirts painted with the slogan “rape crisis in crisis” in red as they sat in the public gallery of the GLA centre next to former mayor Ken Livingstone.
They linked arms but were eventually escorted out by security, allowing mayor’s question time to continue.

Beth Evans, 22, who has just graduated from King’s College and is a member of Mind the Gap London Student Feminists was among the protesters.

She said: “The total annual funding for Croydon Rape Crisis Centre is £250,000 which is the same amount Boris gets paid by The Daily Telegraph - what he calls ‘chicken feed.’

“The mayor has failed to keep his promise to voters that he would increase support for women who have suffered sexual violence.

Boris was answering questions from Green party GLA member Jenny Jones about the policing of rape in London and the funding of rape crisis centres.

You can see the full story on the-sauce.org.

Southall Black Sisters Boycott GLA Meeting on Violence Against Women due to Presence of the BNP

2009-07-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

On 23 June, Southall Black Sisters was due to give evidence to the Mayor’s Strategy on violence against women by attending the Greater London Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee. We were delighted to be asked to contribute to the strategy, however SBS is compelled to boycott the meeting due to the presence of the British National Party Representative -Richard Barnbrook (GLA member for Barking and Dagenham). We cannot see how we can have a serious and informed debate in the presence of a member of a fascist, racist, sexist and homophobic party.

Southall Black Sisters was born in the midst of anti racist struggles in the 1970s. We have fresh in our minds the memories of fascist and racist activity by the National Front in Southall and the ensuing racist police response to a community that sought to defend itself, culminating in the death of Blair Peach in 1979. Such memories and ongoing experiences of institutional and street racism continue to shape our struggles for equality. Contrary to popular belief, racism in the UK has not diminished. The recent horrific treatment of Romanian families by racists in Belfast shows why we must continue to oppose fascists and racists. We cannot afford to tolerate those who use violence, intimidation or even democratic means, to subvert the very principles of equality, human rights and justice.

How can a committee that includes a member whose political stance is to encourage hatred and segregation, address the call of black and minority women for justice in the face of domestic violence exacerbated by a draconian and punitive immigration system? The BNP’s agenda – to ‘preserve Britain’ for the ‘indigenous’ people of the UK – cannot mask its inflammatory anti-immigration and anti-progressive position. Its intention is to dehumanise and exclude all who fail to conform to its authoritarian, patriarchal and exclusionary notions of British identity. Such a stance is not conducive to shaping progressive public policies in any area, let alone on health or violence against women.

These are just some of the reasons why we urge all organisations who are due to give evidence to the committee to join SBS and the Eaves project in our boycott. Together, we can challenge and defeat racism, fascism and indeed all anti-democratic movements that seek to deny our common humanity and the rights that go with such recognition.

For more information contact:
Southall Black Sisters
info@southallblacksisters.co.uk

Other links of interest could be:
Early Day Motion EDM 1604 Calls for Funding for Rape Crisis Centres – Ask your MP to Sign http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk/?p=2798
Police still dismiss rape victims http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk/?p=2757
Another year of last minute funding for Rape Crisis England and Wales http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk/?p=2641

'Do you have any idea what GOOD we do for society?

2009-07-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Miss England professes the philanthropy behind pageantry. Laura Coleman says 'GO GREEN'
and... save the rabbits? No, my mistake- she is advocating for gambling, misogyny, a wee dose of lechery and I could add bestiality but that maaaay be taking things a little far....

See what else Miss England 'recommends'- her favourite cosmetics, fashion, modelling, photographers, footwear and dental and cosmetic surgery.... note B-Eat, the altruistic motive behind this event is strangely absent

http://www.missengland.info/links

Miss England is stalking me.... I think shes after my hat

2009-07-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently we are all homeless, unemployed, hat wearing, fat lesbians..... well according to Miss England. I have recieved no less than ten phone calls from someone claiming to be Miss England and her shrieking giggling gasping lunatic groupies yelling just the kind of abuse that beauty pageants promote, claiming that we are all jealous, gay, fat or.... erm wear hats.

In addition to this, in the second call I answered where I refused to speak unless they agreed to listen to my responses, they squealed 'Do you have any idea what GOOD we do for society?!!!' by raising money for B-Eat (the proportion of funds being severely questionable when the organiser alone raises over half a million). The pageant itself feeds into a system of oppression whereby women are judged in the most blatant fashion according to a consumer ideal of beauty. This contributes to eating disorders and similar mental health issues to achieve this, whether the the woman is a size 2 or a size 20, is is the notion of judgement that is the issue. The fact that the pageant is sponsored by a cosmetic surgery company explicitly endorses this....

When I explained this, the contestants responses were...

'Youre just jealous!'
'What dress size are you?'
'Do you have a boyfriend?'
'I bet you have great hairy MOLES all over your face!'

Need I say anymore....?

Rape Crisis Rally Flyer

2009-07-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Rape Crisis in Crisis!

2009-07-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

Protest Boris Johnson’s Funding cuts to Rape Crisis Centres

Rally - Monday 20th of July
12:30- 14:30

outside the GLA

WHY PROTEST?

The rape conviction rate in the UK is only 5.3% - one of the lowest in Europe.

93% of rape victims do not tell the police.

Every 34 minutes a rape is reported to the police in the United Kingdom. Thousands more women do not come forward.

Every woman and girl who has suffered violence has the right to specialised support to rebuild their lives.

Yet over one in four local authorities in Britain have no specialised support services for women who have experienced violence. London has only one Rape Crisis centre for 3.9 million women. The failure to bring rapists to justice amounts to a near licence to rape.

Women are being failed by the criminal justice system, and left with nowhere to turn for support.

Rape Crisis centres provide a vital service for women who have suffered violence at any time in their lives.

Women who suffer violence are not alone. Sexual violence must be taken seriously. We must act in solidarity to fight for sustainable funding for specialised women’s services.

WHY NOW?

Boris Johnson made an election promise to fund Croydon rape crisis and three new centres for at least 4 years. When he was elected it became clear that he had not budgeted for this promise.

Boris launched a strategy in April 2009 calling ‘for action to end violence against women’. The strategy contains many more promises to women and is open for public consultation until 20^th July.

Women need specialised rape services NOW. The ‘postcode lottery’ must end. We need to keep the pressure on to make sure that every woman who has suffered violence has access to support.

WHAT DO WE WANT?

The immediate establishment of a cross-government, ring-fenced Rape Crisis fund of £5m a year
Greater investment in Rape Crisis by local and regional statutory agencies that refer women to centres
The number and capacity of centres increased so every woman and girl can access support
The professionalism of Rape Crisis workers recognised and appropriately remunerated through improved funding to Rape Crisis centres
The impacts of sexual violence are long-term and far-reaching and funding for services should reflect this
(from Women’s Resource Centre)

*We also support Southall Black Sisters opposition to British National Party Representative -Richard Barnbrook (GLA member for Barking and Dagenham)’s scandalous inclusion on a committee of an evidence session, meant to feed into London mayor Boris Johnson’s violence against women strategy. *

WHAT CAN I DO?

Make your voice heard in the consultation before 20^th July here: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/crime/vaw/
PROTEST! At the GLA on the day the consultation closes
20^th July 12:30 – 14.30

FOR MORE INFO

Boris Keep Your Promise http://www.boriskeepyourpromise.org.uk/
Women’s Resource Centre http://www.wrc.org.uk/what_we_do/campaigns/the_crisis_in_rape_crisis/default.aspx

Southall Black Sisters’ Statement http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2009/07/southall_black_2

Update- Speakers and a wee error

2009-07-10T13:28:00.001-07:00

Katie Toms, of the London Feminist Network, Anti Porn London and Sandrine Leveque of OBJECT will be speaking at the rally- hurrah!

Also, I made an error- 1/2 of all women will face male violence, not a quarter, according to a British Crime Survey.

www.reclaimthenight.org

Miss University Organiser 'So-much-ass'

2009-07-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

'We are here for education not for your ejaculation'

One of the slogans of our protest, considered ridiculous by some- surely a university beauty pageant is about celebrating brains AND beauty, formerly brains. In case the scouting for girls on campus, facebook feed of pictures of girls in dresses, and numerous allegations of lechery were not enough, the seedy motivations behind the pageant are revealed in Amjad's (of One to One entertainment, masterminds of Miss University pageants) act of cyberobjectification in his year in pictures, an album entitled 'So-much-ass', the lead picture of a girl pulling down the back of her trousers.

See http://www.facebook.com/ban.beautypageants?v=feed&story_fbid=101075260562#/album.php?aid=15283&id=223200956 and write comments if you can.

First Miss SOAS then 'SO-much-Ass'- Amjad has been at SOAS for something like six years now, it is becoming it is for one reason- to make money out of selling its women through his champagne quaffing sexist events.

Women have fought to be even at university. 20 years ago you would lose your grant if you got pregnant, now we are out performing the men academically but this resurgence of beauty pageants, wet t-shirt contests, and now generic dance contests, lady's nights and numerous free-entry-if-you-dress-like-a-slutty-rodent are if not clearly, then subliminally designed to get us if not back in the kitchen, then back in the bedroom where according to this 'So-much-ass' attitude is where we belong.

At NUS Women's Conference and NUS LGBT conference we passed progressive policy against objectification through these sexist events, and to campaign against advertising by companies like Sub TV that plays in our union bars. This links to further policy passed to fight for free education, and against corporatisation of the education system so that students have control over our education establishments , so they represent us and not market demands.

We must get these corporate sexist events, advertising agencies, and promoters masquerading as students, out of our unions if we are to stand as equal to men in our lectures and tutorials. University is meant to be an equal platform of opportunity from which to spring into later life. On this platform, companies, and especially students must not be allowed to sell other students for profit.

Come to our activist training day 12th of September, so we can learn to set up societies, plan actions, and prepare for freshers week- where Amjad and co will most certainly be fliering in a campaign to curtail YOUR freedoms. More details to follow....

Event invitation for facebook- Add your friends

2009-07-09T14:04:00.001-07:00

Link to the facebook event- Join and invite away...

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=96686983324&view=user#/event.php?eid=96686983324

Miss England Protest Flier- print off and distribute

2009-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

No to Miss-Ogyny! Protest against Miss England Monday 20th July 6:30pm

2009-07-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Rally 6:30pm Monday 20th July Hilton Edgeware Road.

Called for by Mind the Gap: London Student Feminists, Object, London Feminist Network, Feminist Fightback, NUS, UNISON, UCU, and Socialist Worker Student Society.

Speakers include

JUDITH ORR- author of ‘Sexism and the System’

JO ROBINSON- from the famous 1975 protest against Miss World at the Royal Albert Hall

ALEX CALLINICOS- Author and professor from Kings College

KATIE TOMS- London Feminist Network, Anti Porn London

SANDRINE LEVEQUE- OBJECT

LIV BAILEY- NUS Women’s Officer

40 years ago feminist activists succeeded in banning the Miss World contest. In celebration of this eminent anniversary, we will ban it again and invite you to join us in the struggle.

WHY PROTEST?

The 2009 Miss England claims to be ‘Myth Busting’ including degree students, war veterans and sports women. It also supports B-eat and eating disorders charity and claims to have ‘no size zeros’. Yet, whatever shape, size, ethnicity, and occupation the contestants are, the competition still remains a beauty contest; promoting the judgment of women according to set parameters. Whether they are an Iraq veteran, or a clinical psychologist, upon that platform their worth is reduced to a vacuous stereotype.

OBJECTIFICATION

We see the resurgence of beauty pageants as indicative of a backlash against the fragile gains that feminism has won. In a society where 1/2 women will experience violence, 92% of vice chancellors are men and 75% of people living in poverty are women, challenging the objectication of women is becoming widely recognised as attacking the roots of gender subordination in wider society. OBJECT sees the objectification of women as seen in advertising, lads mags, strip clubs, and beauty pageants as promoting the dehumanisation of women, that leads them to be seen as subordinate in society, encouraging and legitimising exploiation and violence. See OBJECTs website for more info, evidence and how you can take action.

DISCRIMINATION AND WELFARE

The notion of beauty attached to the image promoted by beauty pageants is discriminatory according to gender, sexuality, age, race, and disability. In a society where we are bombarded with commercial images, trying to uglify us into buy into this notion of beauty, it is almost impossible not to judge oneself and each other according to these ideals. Whether we choose to accept or reject them we are left chasing what is essentially a mirage of digitally touched up perfection, creating body disphormia that leads to eating disorders, depression, and pits women against one another in life, not just on a platform.

Only one woman can win a crown, pageants divide rather unite us, preventing us from demanding our rights and freedoms.

Sky News and Rape Crisis in Crisis

2009-07-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

I am scandalised at Sky's 'The Woman Who Cried Rape' documentary 7/7/09- contact OfCom now! However, I am not very surprised, considering the general quality of journalism Sky display, and the type of advertising they use, it would be quite frankly inconvenient for its viewers to think of 'consent' as anything other than consent to be objectified and dehumanised (much as in a pageant... argh don't get me started)

The issue under dispute was that the woman was so drunk she kept forgetting the details and thus there were inconsistencies in her case, and there was a lack of evidence, and she ended up being convicted for perverting the course of justice. Sky has therefore exposed themselves an instrument of the oppressors rather than vehicle of emancipation for the oppressed- as all responsible journalism surely should be, pushing for accountability and transparency of the system under which rape occurs.

No wonder conviction rates are so low- 1/20 and Boris is continuing the cull of Rape Crisis centres despite election promised to the contrary. When have sky ever documented this?????? Journalists should be investigating the social attitudes, media representation, law enforcement agencies, binge drinking culture, and most importantly the objectification and villainisation of the victims of rape, that all contribute to its cause, fail to instigate its prevention or being perpetrators to justice.

Subject for socially responsible journalism- 'The Tory who cried social progress'- join Mind the Gap for actions against the GLA consultation on Rape Crisis 20th of June (more details to follow) and now of course targeting Sky news....

Object's Support for Beauty Pageant Campaign

2009-07-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Object who have consistently supported us at the beauty pageant protests, spoken on our panels, conducted workshops with us at NUS conference, passed policy and generally been a fantastic ally have now made an official campaign against beauty pageants- wooo hooo!

Considering how successful Object have been on their other campaigns, including against sexist advertising and in changing licensing laws for lap dancing clubs beauty pageants will be out of out universities and with any luck wider society very soon- join us now!

See http://object.org.uk/index.php/campaigns/beauty-pageants

It contains a fantastic factsheet and FAQs- v useful in campaigning and for dealing with the press.

BIG BIG hurrah for OBJECT!

Tuesday's Demonstation- Women's voices the world is listening!

2009-03-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday- A Singing Dancing ROAR of Feminist Liberation- Well Done sisters!!

Tuesday's protest was a true inspiration, a MASSIVE success, feminists from London descended upon the Crystal Club in protest. Students from SOAS, Kings, Goldsmiths, UCL, LSE, Kingston, and activists from Object, Smash Miss, the Muffia, Womensong and the Space Hijackers stood together in solidarity, numbering over 100. Women and men outside with banners, chanting dancing and singing. Some chained themselves to the doors, preventing entry for an hour, and others disrupted the event infiltrating the club and the queue.

The pageant is a symptom of the systemic objectification of women in our culture today, where we are bombarded with sexualised images of women. We abhor this objectification, in wider society, and especially at university where we are meant to be on an equal platform from which to enter a world were we are still subject to the gender pay gap at work (17% and 20% for BME women), threats to reproductive rights, and where the home is still where we are most at risk, with 1/3 women experiencing assault, 1/20 of which reach conviction. Objectification dehumanises women, reducing us to a sum of body parts, legitimising this oppression.

Insitutional equal opportunity policies are not enough. They are rendered impotent unless we are active in creating a dialogue which factilitates a social attitude of mutual respect, and appreciation of diversity. We deserve an educational environment that does not merely promote equal opportunities, but which demands them.

Objectification aims to marginalise our voices, as we feel that this vacuous consumer image of femininity does not represent us. On Tuesday we proved that objectification in our university system will no longer go on in silence. We proved that we can unite, that we can fight, that we can Reclaim our students unions, our streets, and our voices. We Reclaimed feminism from a commerical cipher of sexual liberation to mean liberation for all.

Liberation is not through judging one another on a platform, it is through uniting in diversity. Empowerment cannot be bought over a beauty counter, it is won on the streets. We won on Tuesday in a dancing, singing, roar of liberation, and we will win again.

In solidarity sisters,

Elly

Rheem vs Miss England on the Richard Bacon Show on BBC 5 Live- fanbloodytastic!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00j2j86/Richard_Bacon_11_03_2009/

Other coverage of the protests against the Miss University of London

http://www.worthingherald.co.uk/latest-london-news/Beauty-contest-protesters-storm-stage.5063438.jp

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4972895/Protesters-throw-stink-bombs-at-university-beauty-contest.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/4970633/Protesters-disrupt-Miss-University-contest.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23660713-details/Chain+reaction+to+beauty+contest+-+feminists+protest+as+university+winner+is+crowned/article.do

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2312666.ece

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161117/Protesters-storm-sexist-Miss-University-London-beauty-pageant-set-stink-bombs.html

Miss-Ogynist University of London- The Stereotypes Rally- 10th March

2009-03-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

The campaign that originally united us is Miss-Ogynist University of London, a campaign against the Miss University of London Beauty Pageant.

On the Tuesday 10th of March we will be the 'Stereotypes Rally', a day of action in the SOAS JCR.

Join us to unite in celebrating and exploring the beauty, diversity and talent of our sex...

11am- 11pm "Beauty is not a contest" ART, film and photography EXHIBITION

2pm Sister circle for interfaith dialogue- tea, cakes, and discussion.

7-10:30pm The Stereotypes Rally
Female talent showcase- open mike MUSIC, comedy, speakers- performances include the Muffia, Ellie, Luisa, Suswati, Elena.... contact us to get melodic/ voice dissent etc etc!
Fancy dress- interpret the Stereotypes theme as you will....

*** THE PROTEST- Meet SOAS steps 10:30pm or at Crystal at 11pm
A protest set to be a carnival-esq cornucopia of surprises with art, feminist choir, costumes, tea, doughnuts...don't forget your duffel coats!

If you wish to contribute art, photography or music contact women@soas.ac.uk

Campaign website is www.miss-ogynist.org or facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=31412009878&ref=ts

The pageant website is: http://www.missuniversitylondon.com/

Welcome to Mind the Gap: London Student Feminists

2009-02-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

A network for student Feminist activists from the University of London, to coordinate on cross liberation campaigns that support gender equality and foster an appreciation of Différance (note the a).

This group is free of political party or NUS affiliation, but is proud to work with a range of actors who support our aims.

Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=59200549800&ref=ts