Should we allow our 13yr old daughters to get on the pill without us knowing..?

Of course they should. I feel like stopping there, but I should explain. The potential alternatives are either having a baby, or being pressured into abortion - these are not positive results. I would hope my daughter would tell me what was going on at age 13, but I know I never did, or would have done in a million years - I took myself off to the Family Planning Clinic instead - not ideal, of course, but what are the alternatives to those 100 of families who may or may not feel able to discuss sex with their parents?


They, at only 12 or 13, own their body and they're out there whether we like it or not, and always have been according to my mum - let's make the situation easier for them, it won't "advertise" sex with Anon, et al, it will educate and we all know the knowledge enables, not disables. These so called children are a lot more capable than we think.

Here's the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/02/girls-contraceptive-pill-isle-of-wight

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.

Sheep and Other Racists

THIS is apparently old news, but what the Freak is a Rainbow Sheep?  My brother-in-law's niece sings Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep at Nursery.  I was stunned.  This could set a generation of kids who think it's right to change history - possibly a minor over reaction, but I really don't think it's right.

When I discovered that many nursery rhymes had a dark element, I was fascinated, not disturbed or upset - it's a connection with history, just as Alf Garnett is. 

You can't be retrospectively racist, can you?

Outing Prostitutes in East London - Hurrah!

HERE'S the article


"Association of Chief Police Officers guidelines clearly state that working with the media on operations can assist in the prevention and detection of crime."

Working with the media meant publishing the full names, photos and dates of birth of 6 women working in Newham as prostitutes, but also childminders, cleaners etc, in the News of the World. The women were baffled, the NHS were too - what are they doing??

These women claim that they don't use drugs and are always sober when they're working - I'm a sceptic, but my drug of choice while being raped in a socially acceptable way would be Rohypnol, but this is what they claimed, and they’ve no previous convictions, so it’s as believable as anything else.

So what possessed the police to ‘out’ them as criminals? Who allowed this blatant misogyny to occur?!

_____

According to mother, there was a piece on Radio 4 a while ago looking at the effect of prostitution in cities due to hold the Olympics – apparently the number rises dramatically with home and international working women and traffickers. The reason for this is, obviously, because men “need” servicing as they can be away from home for at least two weeks. You have to sympathise. Women’s choice, is it? I don’t agree. Men have the choice, and women are under personal extreme pressure, or have been trafficked so have no choice at all.


I get incensed by the ‘choice’ argument. It was barely my choice to have a baby – it is any woman’s actual choice? I’m not saying there is rife coercion – but many women are made to feel freakish if they don’t have kids, I know I would have been!

Blood Diamonds, Warlords and Ignorant/Arrogant Super Models

Here's the article

Naomi Campbell accepted two diamonds from Charles Taylor who is accused of war crimes such as rape, enslavement among other atrocities in Sierra Leone during the 1990s - and he compares himself to Jesus. Such a catch for the likes of arrogant fools such as Campbell.  People in their 1000s were, and still are, being affected by the civil war - there are 100s of people without hands, 100s of adults who were forced into become violent rapists at 10 years old and are still recovering from their past, and dickheads like Naomi Campbell thinks it's acceptable to receive diamonds from this maniac who was fully instrumental in blood diamond mines.  Some people say models don't need brains so they're under-developed.  Maybe so, I just doubt it. 

I thought the film was very good - I recommend it to those unaware of the war, I think it's quite fair - but the journalist is a bit wet.

Sarah's Law Continued

The Article

What was I just saying yesterday...

(I'm going to look for something less controversial to moan about)

The Case For – And Against

For
Some sex offenders are skilled at inveigling themselves into positions of trust, so the checks will help parents to act on suspicions about people with access to their children. Youngsters would be protected while parents would be reassured.
Against
The new law does little more than the current arrangements for monitoring offenders in the community. Yet it threatens to encourage paedophiles to lie low and could encourage vigilantism. It could require police to act in response to gossip and innuendo in the community. Complaints could be prompted by malice, such as a former partner's desire to wreck a new relationship.