The Lippy Blog
20th Febuary 2010
MISS ENGLAND AKA LANCE CORPORAL HODGE
It seems that 2009’s Miss England doesn’t fit the stereotypical pageant contestant: on quest for world peace, armed with scary white smile and perma tan. Katrina Hodge, nicknamed ‘Combat Barbie’ stepped in for the winner of Miss England 2009 after she was caught up in a bar brawl with ‘Miss Manchester’ and subsequently arrested (hil-ar-io-us!). Hodge stepped in and proves to be a far more respectable candidate; she has ambition, bravery, flare and dedication to her country. It seems she joined to army to prove her brother wrong on his assumption that she wouldn’t be ‘strong enough’, and that she has. At 18 she deployed to Iraq as one of just ten women from the Royal Anglican Regiment and whilst on tour managed to wrestle a prisoner to the ground as he clutched two rifles; showing immense bravery she received the rank of Corporal and was rewarded with a commendation. She has since used her dual role as beauty queen and member of the armed forces to become the face of ‘Uniform Dating’, claiming that the women in these occupations need to be represented and supported as much as the men.
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
21st December 2009
Happy Christmas From Lippy!
We love Christmas here at Lippy: although you're not likely to hear us singing 'Santa Baby', we still know how to get into the festive spirit!
Just a quick thank you to everyone who made the launch of the Privacy issue such a success, we're very proud of it and hope all our members and readers are too.
Don't forget to look out for us at the re-freshers fair in January in the Union, for those of you who still want to get involved. All you need to do is sign up!
So have a great festive season, and we're looking forward to seeing you all in 2010!!
Love Emily, Emilie and Sarah-Jane xx
21st December 2009
Adventures in Menstruating
Last Friday saw The Common Place (http://www.thecommonplace.org.uk/) fill with a happy mélange of women (mainly lesbians) and a small smattering of men (mainly gays, with a few of those rarest of creatures - male feminists) for a night put together by LUU's feminist society, which showcased some local under-the-radar feminist talent.
A brilliant start to the evening was half of the dynamic team behind the period-themed blog and zine, Adventures in Menstruating (http://www.chartyourcycle.co.uk/), Chella Quint (her partner, Sarah Thomasin, having illness to blame for her absence). Chella was a delightful reminder that commentary on lesbianism and feminism needn't be too heavy-handed, performing poems and songs with lines such as "I haven't gone down on any lesbians today", and telling the audience all about earning one's 'red wings' (yep, that would be going down on a girl while she's on her period). Over on their website, they explain that "we think menstruation is funny. This is why we write about it, talk about it and make up smutty jokes about it. Then we laugh. A lot. Why is menstruation funny? It's a taboo subject - the shock of it all always gets a giggle right away and, immature or not, the gross-out factor is still fun. It's the new fart joke. Laughter is therapeutic - sometimes periods are a pain in the uterus. Comedy as subversion is addictive - once you start undermining those stereotypes and analysing the euphemisms, you just can't stop. Menstruation has historically, socially and culturally been cloaked in fear and shame. Deconstructing these beliefs, with brute force when necessary, is empowering." Having seen it live, they're right, and a recent highlight on The Guardian's website (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/02/menstruation-feminist-activists) suggests their way of thinking is spreading.
Author: Ellie Hollington
21st December, 2009
Elli Hollington picks Shirin Ebadi as Lippy’s Woman Of The Month!
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, can be found at the centre of some of the most dynamic contemporary debates in the world: political censorship, fundamental Islam, and women’s rights. Fiercely intelligent and absolutely fearless, she has fought against state intimidation, almost insurmountable odds and even death threats to stand behind her beliefs; that, in her own words, “an interpretation of Islam that is in harmony with equality and democracy is an authentic expression of faith”.
Born in 1947, she became a woman during the corrupt regime of the Shah. Although far from perfect, it was a time in which female university students could wear mini skirts (even if they had to sit at the front of their classrooms, with the boys at the back), and women could enter high-powered jobs (even if they were expected to come home to the cooking and housekeeping). This conservative strain of gender equality was shattered by the reality of the 1979 revolution, in which the emerging powers cast aside democracy in favour of governing by an ancient penal code. Ebadi, at this point a highly successful judge, suffered the humiliation of being removed from her job and demoted to the position of court clerk. Furious, she resigned, and spent the following years publishing books and articles, all the while observing and commenting on the regime. She witnessed friends being arrested, intellectuals being picked off, and her own brother-in-law murdered in prison on extremely shady charges.
Finally allowed to practise as a lawyer again in 1993, she rapidly took up the cases of those whose relatives had been imprisoned or murdered by the state. Even though many of the cases came to nothing up against the concretely inflexible laws of the regime, it was enough to draw significant attention to Iran’s political failings. While doing so, she was at one time arrested and held in solitary confinement for three weeks, and even discovered during a case in 2000 that her name had been on a government death list.
Ebadi’s demands are simple: she wants an Iranian society in which women can be seen as devout Muslims, and competent wives and mothers, but without having to sacrifice their intelligence, careers or rights. However, she is battling against a regime in which women’s lives are legally seen to be half the value of men’s.
Despite what many Western politicians and members of the press would have you believe, Islam and women’s rights are not incompatible. As Ebadi herself argued in a 2006 interview with Time, “Nowhere in the world is there a place where women are treated as they should be. Even in America you have not had a female President, and the number of women in the Cabinet is much lower than the number of men. Women are suppressed both in Islamic countries and in the West. But the reason they are more suppressed in Islamic countries is not because of religion but because of the patriarchal culture in Eastern countries.”
The description she gives in her book, Iran Awakening, of her arrival back in Iran having won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 is extremely moving; hundreds of thousands of people, mostly women, flooded the airport to such a degree that other flights had to be cancelled; students singing pro-democracy folk songs and everyone desperate to acknowledge the achievements of a modest and awe-inspiring heroine whose work is far from done.
Author: Ellie Hollington
2nd December, 2009
Women in trousers, prostitutes and men’s-only clubs…
Sorry for the lack of blogging over the past week, I’m sure I’m not the only one to have been hit by a barrage of deadlines, it always gets a bit crazy this time of year and I hope everyone’s beginning to de-stress and get in the Christmassy mood! Get your trees up, rope your housemates into doing secret Santa and make that dreaded but essential trip to Christmas Fruity!
Also…some exciting dates to remember:
* Lippy Launch Monday 7th December!
Followed by the launch party in Vodka Revs 9pm+ Bring your friends, feminist banter and admire your handy work in the latest issue.
There have been some cracking news articles over the past week and as today’s blog title suggests, a rather diverse choice by journalists, predominantly in The Sunday Times (my favourite…).
India Knight wrote an article after her interview with Belle de Jour, real name Dr Brooke Magnanti; the London call girl who kept her identity as a researcher at Bristol University a secret until November this year. Knight’s article is well worth reading and questions the stereotypical view society harbours of prostitutes, namely: abused, depressed, oppressed and a threat to our ‘domestic contentment’. Knight attempts to reveal a different side to prostitution and uses Belle’s case as an example. However, what I think is this most poignant point of the article is her comparison of prostitution: the act of supplying sex to a stranger for money, to that of the ‘under-dressed “party girl” out on the town with someone loaded’. Knight urges us to disipher who is the victim here: the prostitute who recognises the transaction for what it is, or the “party girl”, who may remain reliant on a man’s wallet for years. It’s well worth a read!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/india_knight/article6926890.ece
Next up, Matthew Campbell reports on the inspirational Lubna Hussein. Hussein is a Sudanese journalist who defied the authorities ‘decency law’ which bans women wearing trousers, the sentence for which is ten lashings of the whip. As Campbell reports, Hussein showed unthinkable bravery by contesting her charge and so risked facing 40 lashings. Hussein is now planning on heading back to Sudan to help other women fight for their rights, knowing the danger she might face upon return. She really is an inspirational figure for oppressed women world wide.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6927088.ece
I thought this next article was extremely interesting, as Caroline Davies reports on the rise of men’s clubs in universities around the country. The argument is a controversial one: do these men’s clubs simply widen the gap between the sexes, engaging men in typically masculine activities such as drinking beer and wrestling? If this is the case and they openly exclude women then I think this says very little for such clubs. However, as raised in the article some of these clubs act to provide a support network for men today, something that is much readily available to women. If we think of Lippy as a feminist magazine and society, we have to remember that feminism isn’t simply a women’s matter, but one of equal rights for both sexes and so open to all. If these men’s clubs are to support men facing health or identity crises’ and to raise awareness of testicular cancer and the like, then they are extremely worthwhile and can involve women in their campaigning as well. The article highlights the fine line between societies tailored to the plight of one sex, to one simply excluding the other.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/23/men-students-support-groups-universities
Finally, Niamh sent us in a link to a Guardian article written after the release of Cheryl Cole’s new album. It looks at the oh-so-familiar ‘twist and pout’ that is emerging on the front of many female artists’ album covers; highly unoriginal but also highly embedded with connotations of beauty, vulnerability and seduction. Drawing back to a past blog post that looked at Shakira’s new video and the infamous nude body suite, it seems that female artists are really embracing the ‘sex sells’ ploy this year. Bring back Lilly Allen’s dress with trainers combo I say!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/nov/19/cheryl-cole-new-album-cover
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
20th November, 2009
Palin vs. Newsweek
This week we saw Sarah Palin’s publicity stunt gone oh-so-wrong as she graced the front of Newsweek in minimal sports wear attire. The photograph, originally taken for a piece in ‘Runners World’ was used out of context and so accused by Palin as being inherently sexist. The article below and others to be found in yesterdays G2 offer an interesting perspective of both sexism in the media and of Palin’s exploitation of herself as a woman in her career.
Are scantily clad women, both in and out of the media spotlight acting up to a sexist environment for their own gain, or are they liberating themselves, using their bodies, clothes and behaviour to go against what is expected, proper, and considered ladylike?
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/11/17/sarah-palins-entire-existence-is-sexist/
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
20th November, 2009
A Note from the Editor
Hi All!
I hope you’ve survived this horrendously rainy week and are ready for the weekend; hopefully soggy feet free! If you’ve spotted the Coca Cola advert, then the count down to Christmas has truly begun! Otherwise, remember its Children In Need tonight, so get donating and of course, another chance to pray ‘Jedward’ will be removed from our screen….or are you all starting to like them just a little bit??!
Please keep your ideas coming in for the blog and send in contributions; it would be great to share views on the world through our feminist-tinted glasses and get some discussions going. Remember, it’s through awareness, discussion and debate that we work towards a more equal environment. The Lippy Blog is here for you to rant, offer insight or praise influential figures you come across who have done or said something that would interest us feminists!
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
17th November, 2009
Mind the Gap
Here are two articles recently featured in the news that are concerned with the shameful pay-gap that still exists in our society. Although, as the more positive article states, this gap is shrinking, its still very much a prominent factor for women in the workplace. With loopholes such as child-care acting against women in positions alongside and in competition with men, it makes you wonder if the gap will ever be non-existent.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/10/pay-gap-salary-doctors-nhs
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8357371.stm
For info on careers that female graduates are underrepresented in, take a look at the magazine Number Ten, which can be viewed electronically at:
http://www.numberten.co.uk/
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
3rd November, 2009
Feminism directly confronts the idea that one person or set of people [has] the right to impose definitions of reality on others. ~Liz Stanley and Sue Wise
Check out Women’s Hour on BBC radio 4 Monday-Friday 10-11 am or catch the podcast online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/whnews/
3rd November, 2009
Women in the News
An array of articles concerning women’s issues.
In politics:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/03/liz-truss-women-politics
In the workplace:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8338730.stm
Under the knife:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6900116.ece
In prison:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/record-numbers-of-women-imprisoned-1813174.html
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
27th October, 2009
Age 8 and wanting a sex change!
Last week’s channel 4 ‘bodyshock’ episode raised the issue of body dysphoria; a condition that affects children (in this case) who feel they are in the wrong body, and so dress, act and live, as if they were the opposite sex. The programme is set in the USA, where children under the age of 16 can be prescribed hormone ‘blockers’ to prevent puberty, combined with hormone treatment to begin them on their journey to becoming the opposite sex. These hormone ‘blockers’ are subsequently irreversible and so the decision to prescribe them to such young children, who are prone to going through ‘phases’ is extremely controversial.
The documentary followed the journey of two young boys (Jose and Kai), who were living as girls and sixteen-year-old Chris, who had previously been a girl. It also documented the views and support, or lack of, given by their parents and raises issues of how seriously parents take the decisions of such young children and what influence they have in ‘gendering’ them from a young age. For example, are these children born in the wrong bodies, or are they socialised in a non-typical way, crossing the stereotypical boundaries of what is considered masculine and feminine behaviour? As gender is of course, a social construction. It also highlights the distinction between sex and gender, the former a biological trait and the latter belonging in the social realm, which has become inextricably linked with a person’s biological constitution.
The children featured came out with claims that they ‘thought like a boy’ meaning they thought about sports and playing with guns, whereas the young boys, living as girls played with dolls and had ambitions to ‘become a mummy.’ This revealed the heavy emphasis that’s placed on social roles and what constitutes masculine and feminine behaviour that is so deeply embedded into modern society. A young boy playing with dolls, wearing pink, who learns ballet, is likely to be labelled with either body dysphoria, or else, a homosexual. It was sad to see the pain these children went through, in the un-acceptance of their own bodies and the desperation they displayed, to fit in with their desired gender role. They will probably never be fully accepted into either gender role, unless they keep their true identity under cover, but as part of the transgendered community which has to fight for its own social acceptance.
Catch ‘Age 8 and wanting a sex change’ on 4OD or on demand, if you're quick!!
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
16th October, 2009
Ellie's First Blog Post!
“Coolest f-word ever deserves a f**king shout! I mean, why can't all decent men and women call themselves feminists? Out of respect for those who fought for this. I mean, look around, we have this.”- Ani Difranco- American singer
Trust Pink?
Now here’s a gender-stereotype if I ever did see one! The sexism behind this advert is astounding, literally, it’s as if the producers thought, ‘hmm, what’s the best way to prevent men from doing the washing?’ well here it is: a fushia pink bottle, an advert containing absolutely no men (in cleaning mode at least) and an overtly feminine title. Now I wonder who their target market was….. Shocking!
In The News
This is a very topical article by Jess Cartner-Morley and highlights inconsistencies in the way women’s fashion is viewed and more importantly, judged. It also raises the issue of ‘sex sells’- I personally wouldn’t class an all-revealing, thrust-in-your-face, skin coloured body suite sexy at all, I wonder what you think!
On TV
This documentary on BNP wives was quite an eye-opener. Not only for its in-your-face fascism, but the pure dedication of some wives to their husband’s job, with one even claiming she felt like a ‘BNP widow’ rather than a wife. It made me wonder how much these women actually understood about the BNP or if they were simply complying to the dutiful housewife role whilst their husband’s preached race-hatred. On the other hand it also reveals some of the women’s dominant role within the BNP and reminds us that politics isn’t all about white middle class men! Look out for articles in the next issue of Lippy on MP’s wives and women in the media spotlight…
Author: Ellie Davis, Blog Editor
3rd October, 2009
A Taboo Subject?
Those waiting in anticipation of Lippy’s forthcoming ‘Privacy Issue’, as well as those who enjoyed the most recent ‘Taboo Issue’ can read an interesting article from Friday’s G2 section of the Guardian. ‘It’s in the blood’ tells of women who are campaigning for a more open approach to talking about menstruation, which according to journalist Kira Cochrane, ‘is a subject long mired in shame and confusion’.
I don’t know about you, but I have found that my friends speak quite freely and unashamedly about their periods, and like to compare experiences! I’d be interested to hear anyone’s thoughts on this topic...
Author: Hillary Carr
3rd October, 2009
Harajuku Girls
...Well, Wikipedia states that she was infact born in China, but by all accounts Japan’s new (age) First Lady would be colourful enough to appear in a Gwen Stefani Video. Since her husband’s election victory in September, Miyuki Hatoyama has been the subject of several articles in the British Press citing her claims to have been abducted by aliens among other things- I strongly recommend this one from the Guardian...
To be honest, I’ve been getting sick of all the ‘too good to be true’ spouses of politicians: the likes of Michelle Obama, Sarah Brown and even Carla Bruni who act all demeure and devoted while analysers assess their outfits. Miyuki makes a refreshing change- long may she continue to eat the sun...
Author: Hillary Carr
September 2009
New Year, New Lippy!
As we being the new academic year, Lippy is so excited to be relauncing the Blog after its extended hiatus last year.
Under the new management of Ellie Davis, we expect the blog to be better than ever. Its a mouthpiece for our members to post the things they're thinking about every week and a great opportunity to share ideas and information.
Keep checking back here for more updates and articles, and as ever, get in touch with us if you want to get involved with the magazine!
Author: The Editing Team
4th October, 2008
Lippy Latest
Last Meeting: 3rd October 2008
Here is a quick update of everything that has been happening at Lippy in the past few weeks:
- We have delegated roles to the four Editors, in order to focus the necessary attention on each area of the magazine.
Sarah-Jane - Advertising
Imogen - Publicity
Emilie - Emails
Emily - Website
- We have booked a stall for the union foyer for the 26th November after the issue comes out. The stall is to flog lippy! Nearer the time we will arrange hourly shifts on the stall so no-one has to be hanging around all day. If you're not a member of the team, head down to the union on the day to pick up your eagerly anticipated copy and support the magazine!
- We are aiming to get to the printers by November 17th, so if you haven't submitted anything yet or have an article in the works, get it in ASAP!
- We're still holding meetings on Mondays at Room 5 in the ARC in the Union, so feel free to come along, we will be producing another issue in the New Year, Bring your ideas and some friends and get to know our lovely team.
That’s all for now, but keep checking back here for updates, news feeds and other Lippy info.
The Editing Team
xxx
4th November, 2008
History in the Making
Lippy is so excited. Not in memory can we recall such an important moment in American politics and there is no better place to get excited about it than here at Uni. Get on down to Old Bar tonight - open until Midnight - and then on to the Peanut Gallery, which will be open until 6am.
As feminists, the possibility of Sarah Palin getting anywhere near the White House leaves us terrified for the future of the women of America. Take a look below at one of the most affecting anti-Palin videos we have seen.
Dear Sarah Palin...
We can only hope America makes the right choice.
2nd November, 2008
Get Your Hoodie On!
Noticed anything different about the Lippy team lately? A certain spring in the step? Gleam in the eye? Put it down to the final arrival of the Lippy Hoodies! The stylish black design with the Lippy Logo is now availble to buy online:
Get one now! Go on - you know you want to!
We're hoping for as many of the team as possible to buy one, as it is a great way of promoting the magazine around campus. For those of you feeling short on cash, there is also an equally lovely T-shirt available - why not get a big one and put it over your own hoodie?!
So in the (slightly edited) words of Lady Sovereign, fling on an L I P P Y hoodie and just boogie woogie with us!!
31st October, 2008
Happy Halloween!
"Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."
~ Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls
Whether you're opting for the stereotypical fishnets, bra and animal ears combo, or taking the less-traditional feminist route (yes!), make sure you have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
1st October, 2008
Lippy Latest - The First Update
Greetings loyal Lippy fans!
So here it is, the first official blog post from the new Lippy Editing Team! We're so excited to have been given the opportunity to take over where the last team left off and get cracking on what we hope will be one of the best issues of Lippy yet for Winter 2008. During our first meetings (guided by the wonderful Ellie Stewart, last year's co-Editor), after an amazing response from students hoping to participate we set up the new Editing team and decided to go with the theme of 'Taboo' for the next issue. More recently we have been sorting out the basics - setting up the Publicity, Design and Content teams and discussing ideas for potential articles for the forthcoming issue. We are still keen to get as many people involved with Lippy as possible, so don’t be put off if you haven’t been able to attend any meetings yet – we are holding them every Monday at 7pm in the meeting room 5, the ARC in the student union. Come along and bring your ideas and enthusiasm with you!
That’s all for now, but keep checking back here for updates, news feeds and other Lippy info.
The Editing Team – Emily, S-J, Imogen and Emilie.
xxx