On My Tits + Off My Chest - One option is not a choice and Peggy Olsening women.

This post is a bit of a mish mash of some stuff about equality, sexism, feminism that's been percolating in my head for awhile. I've been following the No More Page 3 campaign, the Everyday Sexism project and read the occasional Vagenda post (see this by Germaine Greer on their book/The New Feminism) and I think a debate about feminism, sexism and misogyny is bubbling along on social media. 

I'm often confused as to where I stand or what I think - it's hard to have a proper discussion in 140chr sentences. But I guess a lot of it boils down to a conversation between husbando and I last week....

Here is the cover artwork for Ellie Goulding's single Burn  - it came out in August 2013

Here is artwork for the single of Starry Eyed from 2010

Her look seems to have changed a little over the 3 years between the images. Looking at them, I made some comment to Husbando about how I felt she'd "sold out" a bit. Husbando accused me of not being a feminist and that she had the right to wear whatever she wanted, it was her CHOICE. Well hell to the yes, she does have that right and that choice. But what I think is,  it's not much of a choice when there's only really one option. 

See You On A Dark Night - Lyric Day

#WhyIDidntReport has been trending on Twitter and cropping up on my newsfeed. I've been shocked and saddened by the experiences I've seen tweeted. 

I don't know why I'm so shocked though, after my own (minor) sexual assault 7 years ago, so many female friends came forward to tell me of their own experiences, many of whom didn't report it - or even tell anyone. 

I've just started listening to Grimes (real name, Claire Boucher) and her particular brand of what has been described as "ABBA meets Aphex Twin" electro-y sort of music (and also as "witch-house" which I love!), but when I heard her song Oblivion, I just couldn't get the lyric "see you on a dark night" out of my head. Because, well, I got attacked on a "dark night". 

Becky's Book Review #7 - How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran

Title: How To Be A Woman
Author: Caitlin Moran
Rating: 4/5 for humour, 2/5 for content
Genre: Cultural/social studies

Note - today's book review is going to be a little bit different. Firstly I'll give you an overview of the book and then my opinion of it. I'm also going to follow up this review with a post about my opinion on some of the topics Moran covers. I really look forward to your comments at the end....

Book Overview
Caitlin Moran - a regular Times/Guardian columnist and paid up member of the British Twitterati- has written a modern feminist's handbook which aims to do exactly as per the title - how to be a woman. Following Moran's experiences of everything from porn to pubic hair, menstruation to abortion, we learn how it seems Moran thinks we should be women in the 21st century. This is a humourous call to arms aimed squarely at Generations X + Y......or is it?