Tweet When I was an undergraduate I probably spent more time dosing up on heavy duty social theory than drinking until blindness set in. One module I took was on feminist social theory because, at that time, I was deeply concerned with questions around revolutionary subjectivity and the place socialism had in a fragmenting and [...]
Posts under ‘Sexual Politics’
We need to talk about porn
May 28th, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Tweet You can’t move for it. Porn, that is. So ubiquitous has it become that the Graun even has its own dedicated porn page. We are, apparently, living in something called ‘pornified culture’. Diane Abbot has very recently partly blamed this for a crisis of masculinity. Christians lament the damage pornified culture has on relationships, and feminists have consistently critiqued the adult industry for [...]
UKIP and masculinity
May 16th, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Tweet This morning, Diane Abbott gave a heavily trailed speech on the crisis of masculinity. Simplifying her argument somewhat, cultural change and the restructuring of the jobs market has thrown young men into a state of anomie. In one direction they’re being flattered as gendered consumers into clothes, gadgets, cars, booze and footy. From another [...]
Have the feminists won, or did Blairism see us off?
Apr 3rd, 2013 by Christine Shawcroft.Tweet NEC member Christine Shawcroft looks at the history of women’s organisation in the Labour Party. When I first tried setting up local women’s organisations in the Labour Party, it was the late 70s and they were generally known as Ladies’ Sections. The word “women” was considered rather uncouth. You needed the agreement of your [...]
Labour must fight for women – and not just one day a year
Mar 9th, 2013 by Megan Davies.Tweet It’s nearly three years since this government was formed, and every day we see more evidence to shred Osborne’s myth that we’re “all in this together”. With a cabinet whose combined personal wealth is around £70 million, it’s hardly surprising that the poorest are bearing the brunt of austerity while millionaires – like themselves [...]
Wear your colours for Emily’s centenary
Mar 4th, 2013 by Mark Perryman.Tweet 04.06.1913 One hundred years ago the Epsom Derby was disrupted by perhaps the most famous protest at a sporting event in history. Britain at the time was bitterly divided. The early Trade Unions and others striking against poverty wages and appalling working conditions. The cause for Ireland’s Freedom was attracting support on both sides [...]
How sixth-formers took on lads mags and Tesco – and won
Feb 25th, 2013 by Tania Shew.Tweet Recently, or so I have heard, Rupert Murdoch said he was ‘considering’ reforming page 3. After a day of being bombarded by tweets from supporters of the ‘No More Page 3’ campaign, stating why they thought that Page 3 should be consigned to the past, Murdoch responded: “page three so last century! You may [...]
Same-sex marriage – going global?
Feb 20th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.Tweet (Now Updated) When Laura Bush, Colin Powell and Dick Cheney come out for same-sex marriage, you know the tide is turning. Respect for Marriage Coalition describes itself as “a partnership of more than 80 civil rights, faith, health, labor, business, legal, LGBT, student, and women’s organizations working together to end the Defense of Marriage [...]
The compulsive radio of a fascinating, worrying interview
Feb 16th, 2013 by Keir McCormack.Tweet “I’m a painfully truthful person often to the point of self-immolation or self-destruction,” said Julie Burchill appearing on Desert Island Discs. Burchill was bound to draw an audience, and only a few weeks after the BBC programme hosted its dream guest Aung San Suu Kyi. We were certainly in for some self-immolation. Burchill’s mantra [...]
Cameron’s dilemma on marriage equality
Feb 4th, 2013 by Andy Newman.Tweet It is amusing to see the Tories tearing themselves apart over gay marriage. After all this is the party who introduced the homophobic Clause 28, and now Cameron is seeking to drive the agenda despite the Conservative Party not having included gay marriage in their manisfesto. There is a political minefield here for the Tories, where public [...]
