Fear and Loathing in Gender Equality

Following on from the Feminism in London Conference at the Friends’ Meeting House on Saturday, Josef and I came away full to bursting with ideas on how to make the world a better place – exhilaration doesn’t cover it. So we were quite disappointed when immediate reactions to our ideas have been met with such missed-point angst. The women at the conference did touch on the vitriolic nature of gender equality opposition, but because I was shaking with positive energy, I didn’t quite understand the theory, until...

Facebook status updates. Plan One was to add a serious fact that marginalises women on my status every day for a month - a social experiement logging the reactions of horror from my male and female comrades. Not trying to use shock tactics and controversy, but it is a challenge when we’re talking sexism – the subtle brutality of which is both seamlessly related to every part of our lives, yet apparently invisible or “harmless” to the majority of us.

From my tiny amount of feminist activism I have only been confronted (aside from two mates and my mother) with defensive statements as counter-arguments to the simple fight for a just society. I am not sure why this ideology is so feared/controversial – I guess I have a lot to learn, and a long road ahead, but as advised, I will chose my battles carefully. The global injustice is simply too big for me to grapple with, but here in the UK I think my research will contribute well to the fight– so nothing’s going to put me off no matter what challenges are out there. Utopia would be an equal socio-economic standpoint – a fair playing field – it’s not that weird a concept... is it?!

This morning I contacted Amazon and asked why the book Men Are Better Than Women was on sale via their website – I knew the answer, but logging my outrage was the exercise. They explained that they had to remain a political-free zone and they would only not sell a book if it's genre were illegal in the country that hosted their website. I thought – yeah, good point, why on earth are books like this not banned here? Free Speech.. . No, sexism in the same league as racism, holocaust denying, hate crime – yet it’s free from legislation and so, so far from it with the ingrained nature of misogyny here, there and every-bloody-where – in our families, relationships, schools, the Cabinet, workplaces – I would welcome examples of areas of life where it doesn’t exist, yet it’s all but invisible to the regular naked eye – not for long!

Get your complain-hats on, Comrades – don’t let a single thing go by without questioning it – doing nothing achieves nothing.

KB OUT.

The Mulberry Bush

With MoronCam on red alert as he and his cronies slash spending everywhere but from the top 10%, one of the arguments so convincingly put by Clegg-Over, was the idea that “normal” people have children if and when they can afford it, and not before – so people therefore shouldn’t be rewarded for having 10 kids and scrounging the state thereafter. It’s so easy for the ignoratti to nod ‘fair dos, though...’ when really this is just yet another punishment set by those from privilege to Out the Undeserving Poor. There’s no way Piers and I will have another baby until the current small one is at school – two babies in nursery at a grand a month each – as if, but I am in no way superior to parents who stay at home. It’s not my business if they’ve had half a dozen children and don’t work – but it is my responsibility as a human being understand the reasons why and not take the stereotype of ‘the poorer the person, the bigger the flat screen’ purported by the Daily Mail. It’s also everyone’s responsibility to understand why the divisions are set when a child is born – why will one 'succeed' becoming VC of their father’s company, and the other be the one at home in poverty and uneducated – just like their parents? Who designed this system, and why won’t anyone challenge it? The rich, of course, and because they want to keep it that way – yet no one ever really blames them for anything. "But the Queen brings in so much money to the country in tourism", and "the talented bankers will leave the UK if they're not rewarded with bonuses, we must invest to bring money to benefit all of us". I would be first in the queue to look around Buckingham Palace if the old goat and her sub-normal thick-as-sh*t children went with her - the access to this world would bring in millions of tourists in - why would toffs open up "their" grounds to the public if it isn't to make money - how generous of them. Plus - the Bankers - I would like to know who really benefits from their illegal investing apart from them personally - made millions and escaped punishment for de-housing 100s of families because there is no law to help those who suffered and will suffer in the coming years because of the greed of others. If the whole lot left the UK today, I wouldn't worry about the health of regular people's bank balances and mortgage repayments. The bizarre scenario appears to be that they have stolen the pensions of British people who then went out and voted Tory – and politics won’t get a look in on the school curriculum. This rant is throwing up more questions than it’s answering – my head hurts.

KB OUT.