Women's Views on News |
- Thatcherism did not just affect UK women
- Universities in “lad’s culture” backlash
- Helen Mirren crits the celluloid ceiling
- Fighting the girls boys toy divide again
| Thatcherism did not just affect UK women Posted: 16 Apr 2013 08:33 AM PDT
Trigger warning for mentions of rape and torture As Christopher Barrie remarked in OpenDemocracy recently, a brief survey of major news media in the UK suggests that a – sizeable – portion of Margaret Thatcher's legacy abroad has gone largely unreported. We should, he remarked, also take note of the glaring omissions in the obituaries written about the UK’s former prime minister, and be clear exactly what we are being told to “pay tribute” to. A survey of obituaries in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent and BBC News shows not one mention of her dealings with Chile, Cambodia, East Timor or Saudi Arabia. Only The Independent, he pointed out, makes any mention of her policy towards apartheid in South Africa – for which David Cameron recently apologised. Of course, this absence could be put down to the domestic bias of British newspapers, but other international adventures have been remarked upon, for example, the Falklands War, and interactions with Reagan and Gorbachov. There has been a lot of talk about her legacy regarding women in the UK. But her actions and her beliefs did not just affect the UK’s women. Let me take Chile as an example. General Augusto Pinochet, as Barrie pointed out, took over the government of Chile following a CIA-backed coup in 1973, during which the democratically elected socialist president, Salvador Allende, was killed. Following the coup, Pinochet's men rounded up and summarily executed large numbers of unarmed civilians in the national stadium of Santiago. It is estimated that during his regime he was responsible for the deaths of at least 3,000 and for a great number more who disappeared. Meanwhile, after the detention and torture of Sheila Cassidy in 1975, a British doctor living and working in Chile, the then Labour government subsequently broke off diplomatic relations. However, once in power, Thatcher restored diplomatic relations and rescinded a previous arms embargo, and the pair went on to 'enjoy a close relationship bolstered, in no small part, by their shared commitment to neoliberal doctrine'. As such, Thatcher was not just a supporter but a close friend of the late South-American dictator. In 1988, when Spain requested Pinochet be extradited from the UK to Spain to face charges of abusing human rights, Thatcher, in a letter to The Times noted that "Chile, led [during her premiership] by General Pinochet, was a good friend to this country during the Falklands War. “By his actions the war was shortened and many British lives were saved." But, as the 1991 Rettig Report found, 3,428 people disappeared or were murdered by Pinochet’s regime from 1974 to 1977 . And, in 2003, the Report of the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture was commissioned to create a comprehensive list of those who were imprisoned and tortured for political reasons between September 1973 to March 1990. As well as documenting that 35,868 people had been tortured or imprisoned improperly, this second report found that nearly every female prisoner was the victim of repeated rape. The rapes took many forms, from penile penetration by military men, to the insertion of foreign objects into victims. Numerous women (and men) reported spiders or live rats being implanted into their orifices. One woman wrote, "I was raped and sexually assaulted with trained dogs and with live rats. They forced me to have sex with my father and brother who were also detained. I also had to listen to my father and brother being tortured." Her experiences were mirrored by those of many other women who told their stories to the commission. And for those women not picked up and tortured? The military wanted women to be politically passive and uninvolved, and so encouraged them to embrace traditional gender roles through controlling the Mother’s Centers that had previously facilitated women’s political and economic participation. However, although the dictatorship sought to prevent women from being active outside of the house, its economic policies and political structure had the opposite effect: the extreme poverty forced women to seek employment and social involvement in order to survive, often by joining some form of pro-democracy communal group. When the legal battle over the fate of Pinochet, former dictator, life senator and alleged mass murderer, reached its climax in the UK's House of Lords in November 1988, it was watched, the Independent reported, by Christina Godoy-Navarrete and Sara De Witt. Godoy-Navarrete and De Witt were among four former political prisoners of the Chilean military junta and asked the UK's Attorney General to charge General Pinochet with torture and kidnapping. Both were victims of Pinochet’s secret police force when they were picked up in 1974 and detained in two of the most notorious of the regime’s torture houses, Jose Domingo Canas and the Villa Grimaldi. Prisoners at both centres were subjected to electric shocks, severe beatings, suspensions from ceilings until their wrists tore, and rapes. “The torture took place daily,” Godoy-Navarrete recalled. “We would be blindfolded, strapped to beds and then it would begin. There were electric shocks administered to all over our bodies, and then there would be a rape.” In 2000 the BBC reported, Pinochet ‘made a hesitant admission of responsibility for atrocities committed by the military while he was in power. “As a former president of the republic, I accept all the facts that they say the army and the armed forces did,” he said in a taped message on his 85th birthday.’ But, as Lauren Foote wrote in 2003, ‘the question of whether some human rights can be encroached upon in the interest of national (or global) security is one without an easy answer and it is a question that should be debated. ‘Perhaps,’ Foote continued, ‘some human rights will be suspended in tumultuous times. ‘But if you choose to argue that the trauma Chile faced during Pinochet's reign necessitated "some" repression, do so with a full understanding of what you are defending.’ And if you expect any or all of us to mourn the demise of any politician or friend of a politician who supports such behaviour, think again.  |
| Universities in “lad’s culture” backlash Posted: 16 Apr 2013 06:00 AM PDT
“Lads culture”is defined as a culture of drinking, clubbing, and picking up as many girls as possible and is a common feature across university campuses. However, there are increasing worries that it has created an excess of misogynistic behaviour, sexism, harassment and even sexual abuse towards female students. Interestingly, the majority of universities were completely unaware of any demeaning behaviour taking place in their campuses. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, said: “Large numbers of female students are experiencing sexual assault, unwanted sexual contact, groping and sexual harassment on a frequent basis.” Yet these female students were unwilling to report the issue, for various reasons. It was found that 71 universities were aware of only 98 incidents of sexual abuse and harassment in 2012. Universities were therefore left to assume that such cases did not exist. Bates added that one of the key problems was the emergence of a “lads culture” where sexism and harassment was rife, because female students bore the brunt of its consequences. “The normalisation of ‘lad banter’ and victim-blaming attitudes – both from the media and within student social circles – make female students unlikely to report these incidents. “They either feel ashamed or somehow to blame for the incidents, or think that they will not be believed,” Bates said. The National Union of Students (NUS) presented some surprising findings after interviewing 2,000 female students for its Hidden Marks report. It emerged that 1 in 7 women had experienced serious physical or sexual assault at university. Only 10 per cent reported these crimes to the police and only 4 per cent of these women had reported the incidents to their university. Those who had remained silent had done so because they felt ashamed or embarrassed; 43 per cent believed they would be blamed for what had happened to them. Kelley Temple, Women’s Officer for the NUS said: “There is more of a problem than is being reported. “Women are reluctant to report sexual assault as they feel they won’t be taken seriously. “There are extremely low conviction rates for victims of sexual assault, as well as [issues of] victim blaming. “This is present in people’s minds when they consider reporting such incidences, which needs to be challenged.” But many have criticised the emphasis placed specifically on “laddish behaviour”. Writing for the Independent, Adam Bouyamourn claimed that it was wrong to paint all ‘lads’ with the same brush. “It is misguided to blame cultures for the actions of individuals. To do so is to exculpate the guilty and to make the innocent complicit. “Members of a culture who act wrongly are less guilty because their actions can be sympathetically put in context. “Members of a culture who are neither sexist nor racist nor homophobic are nonetheless tainted with membership of a culture that is each of these things,” said Bouyamourn. “Universities face real policy dilemmas surrounding women and violence. To blame a culture, instead of individuals, is to focus efforts where they are not needed. “On women's safety, as on mental health, and disability access and welfare provision, universities in the UK should do more. “Targeting laddish behaviour may not be the best way to solve social problems.” But “lad culture” is not exclusively limited to only male students. University drinking culture in general has spread rapidly among both sexes, with female students also creating their own sorority-style clubs and societies. Oxford University houses an all-female drinking society called The Spritzers. Many of The Spritzers believed that misogyny was not an issue, and said feminism was hugely popularised. "Being a feminist is about being free to be whatever kind of woman you want, and a more confident woman has no trouble keeping up with the ‘banter’. “If you let yourself feel objectified or patronised, that’s not the men’s fault,” said one Spritzers member. "I’m not a feminist as many people seem to interpret it which basically comes down to resenting men – I’m more of the opinion that you’re only treated how you allow yourself to treated, and that women should know how they want to be treated and feel able to speak up for that.” The Chief Executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge, said, “Universities take the welfare of their students very seriously and have internal rules relating to student behaviour. “Where students require support, there are a variety of services available, including welfare officers, advice centres and university counselling services. “It is important to remember that this is an issue for society generally, not just one confined to university students.”  |
| Helen Mirren crits the celluloid ceiling Posted: 16 Apr 2013 04:34 AM PDT
Guest post by Thea Raisbeck. Helen Mirren received the ‘Legend' accolade at the Empire Film Awards recently, and she used her acceptance speech to highlight filmmaking's glaring inequality of representation. Taking her cue from Sam Mendes, who cited the typical cannon of masculine influence as he received his award for ‘Skyfall’, Mirren pointed out that there was not one woman’s name there behind the camera. She had nothing against Sam, she said, she just hoped that in five or ten years' time there would be two or three or four women’s names there. Her comments were well-received on the night but, predictably, somewhat disingenuously reported. The Independent had Mirren-as-harpy, 'taking a swipe' at Mendes, while the Daily Maal saw it as a very public 'telling off'. However, her speech was not the premise for a public spat but an indictment of the gendered bias in filmmaking. Indiewire nailed it: Mirren was not attacking Mendes but 'dissing [an] industry that only provides male role models'. Criticising masculine dominance and publicly advocating for female talent is a strident act. Unfortunately, Mirren's feminist credentials have not always stood up to close scrutiny. In 2008 she proclaimed date rape a 'tricky' area; not a crime but a subtlety that needed to be 'worked out' between men and women. Her recent choice to star in a film that allegedly 'trashes' the reputation of murder victim Lana Clarkson has also drawn dismay. On Hollywood, however, even her most vocal detractors must concede the point. In January the Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film revealed that women directed only 9 per cent of the 250 top grossing films in 2012. Peer acknowledgement is bleaker still. Jane Campion remains the only woman to win the Palme D'or and we had to wait 81 years to see a woman clinch the Best Director Oscar: Kathryn Bigelow for ‘The Hurt Locker’ in 2010. Bigelow stands alone as Hollywood's career-established, statuette-clutching, bone-fide Female Success Story. Yet recognition of The Hurt Locker was still muddied by accusations of tokenism and sullied by a depressingly inevitable focus on her appearance. Encouragingly, the Sundance Institute recently reported that women are better represented in the independent sector. Over the last ten years of the Sundance festival, women made up 29.8 per cent of filmmakers. Another study has asserted that 'when female and male filmmakers have similar budgets…the resulting grosses are also similar'. Obtaining bigger budgets, it seems, is a woman's problem. Callie Khouri, scriptwriter of the seminal ‘Thelma and Louise’, has spoken of the industry's fear of mainstream, big-budget, female filmmaking. Reflecting on the bind she said: "I would like to work outside the female centric world…but if [the film's] got a woman in it, I've got a much better chance of getting it made". The Sundance report recommended increased peer promotion of women's filmmaking and raised awareness of gender bias. Mirren was listening, but what about Mendes? One critic helpfully reminded us it is not Mendes' fault the industry is fundamentally sexist, pointing out that we should stop moaning because ‘Bridesmaids’ had lots of women in it. The point is, surely, that the industry could do better. There have been many important films made by women. Kimberly Pierce's ‘Boys Don't Cry’ was groundbreaking, heartbreaking and fierce all at once. Surely the late, great Nora Ephron taught us all a thing or two about the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the male/female dynamic? Until women are accepted as equals with something to say, their films will never be as zeitgeist-forming or genre-defining as the heroes in whose wake Sam Mendes treads.  |
| Fighting the girls boys toy divide again Posted: 16 Apr 2013 01:09 AM PDT
The campaign group Let Toys Be Toys have set their sights on the UK's largest independent toy retailer, The Entertainer. The latest attack on the gender divide in toy shops includes, along with a series of sustained social media posts, an open letter to the store's CEO, Gary Grant, asking that the Entertainer take down their pink and blue 'Girls' and 'Boys' signs. The letter goes on to say; "We feel that making a change will benefit your business by giving children a wider choice and showing parents that The Entertainer is a progressive company, willing to step into the 21st century and discard these outdated attitudes". On their Facebook page Let Toys Be Toys named The Entertainer as "one of the worst culprits for gendered toy segregation" and went on to publish a poster that shows photographs of the store's gendered shelving under the caption 'Why Do We Entertain This?' Commenting on The Entertainer's place on the Paypal Etail Awards shortlist, in the Best Re-Design category, Tricia Lowther from Let Toys Be Toys said: "We don't think much of The Entertainer's re-design. “The pink and blue divide is a regressive step. This is 2013, not 1913." "It's just not acceptable to place all the science toys in a shop under a 'Boys' sign", Tricia continued. "In my local store even toys specifically aimed at girls such as spa science sets and Lego Friends had been placed on 'Boys' shelves, making a mockery of the claim that gendered labelling makes toys easier to find. “What's wrong with a 'Science and Construction' heading instead? “It's not just girls that suffer either. “Retailers put too much emphasis on aggressive toys for boys and inhibit them from expressing their full nature when toys such as dolls, cuddly animals and arts and crafts are placed solely under a 'Girls' sign". Supporters of the group have joined in the campaign with tweets and emails, and while The Entertainer are yet to respond directly to the Let Toys Be Toys letter, replies shared by supporters show the store has received a lot of negative feedback concerning their boy/girl divide. A recent email response, shared by Margaret O' Hara on the Let Toys Be Toys Facebook page, suggests they may be beginning to take notice. The reply includes the phrase: "It seems as though a new approach may be necessary to avoid any risk of gender stereotyping". Let Toys Be Toys is a parent-led campaign that grew from a thread on the social networking site Mumsnet. We’re asking retailers to stop limiting children’s imaginations and interests by promoting some toys as only suitable for girls, and others only for boys. Follow us on twitter @lettoysbetoys – and sign our petition. Like us on Facebook – and sign our petition.  |
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