Women's Views on News |
Charlotte Church: from child star to Prosecco socialist Posted: 09 Jun 2015 07:48 AM PDT The music business is "a male dominated industry with a juvenile perspective on gender and sexuality". In recent months Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter Charlotte Church has become an outspoken feminist and anti-austerity activist. Looking at her life, it's not hard to see why. Famous from an early age – releasing a ‘Best of’ album at 16 – Charlotte Church has grown up in the public eye. Now 29 years old, she's had her fair share of professional and personal upheaval. In 2011 Church gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry, detailing how she had been hounded and targeted by the press since she was a young teenager. Unsurprisingly, much of the negative coverage she had received was sexist in nature; one website infamously ran a 'countdown clock' on the approach of Church's 16th birthday, at which time she would become ‘fair game’ for sexualisation by the press. And from that birthday on the tabloids were relentless, from breaking news of her pregnancy before she'd even told her family to publishing an article saying her mother had attempted suicide. Later, Church spoke of how "the facade fell away" after the Leveson trial, and she discovered feminism. In 2013, Church gave the BBC 6 Music's annual John Peel lecture, and she used the opportunity in a talk on the theme of ‘women and and their representation in the music industry’ to criticise the rampant sexism in the music industry. She said that the music business is "a male dominated industry with a juvenile perspective on gender and sexuality" and recalled being persuaded by male executives to wear revealing outfits that made her feel uncomfortable. "Whilst I can’t defer all blame away from myself, I was barely out of my teenage years and the consequence of this portrayal of me is that now I’m frequently abused on social media, being called slut, whore and a catalogue of other indignities." As well as becoming an outspoken feminist, Charlotte Church has become increasingly vocal in the fight against austerity. In May, she joined hundreds of protesters in Cardiff on a march against – further – proposed cuts to public spending. When the inevitable accusations poured in, calling her a 'champagne socialist', Church hit back brilliantly, saying she was "more of a Prosecco girl", and pointing out: "I was born in a working-class family who have for generations been active in political protest." Most recently, when promoting the anti-austerity demonstration planned for 20 June, Church said that she would be happy to pay tax at 70 per cent in order to protect public services. "I have paid all my tax since I was 12 years old, and I would certainly be happy if the rate was 60 per cent or 70 per cent. I wouldn't move away, I wouldn't have an offshore account. "That would be totally fine, for better infrastructure and public services and more of a Scandinavian model, which I see as far more progressive than the way we are, I would be absolutely fine with that." Charlotte Church could have taken her money and retreated into a life of luxury, but instead she has chosen to speak up on issues that affect us all – it is unlikely that the march she attended in Cardiff would have had so much coverage without her there. This is a woman who has experienced some of the worst of what the press and media have to throw at any of us, and is still willing to speak out. Instead of being called a 'hypocrite', she should be praised for using her platform to defend the vulnerable. After all, the real hypocrites are the people who benefit from our public services, get rich, and then say nothing as the ladder is pulled up after them. |
Petition against present distress and future problems Posted: 09 Jun 2015 03:44 AM PDT Call for a parliamentary inquiry assessing the psychological impact of austerity. Austerity policies have damaging psychological costs, both increasing mental distress in the present and storing problems for the future. This can be demonstrated with robust and well-established psychological research. Psychologists Against Austerity have identified five 'Austerity Ailments', which are specific psychological pathways between austerity policies and increased mental distress. Humiliation and Shame: Prolonged humiliation following a severe loss trebles the chance of being diagnosed with clinical depression. Shame and humiliation are endemic in experiences of poverty, which has increased during austerity. Fear and Mistrust: Austerity has been driven through with a politics of fear and mistrust. Loss of trust underlies several forms of mental distress. Low levels of trust increase the chance of being diagnosed with depression by nearly 50 per cent. Instability and Insecurity: Job insecurity, which has increased during austerity, is as damaging for mental health as unemployment. Isolation and Loneliness: Austerity has shut down many crucial communal resources. Social isolation is poisonous for mental health and recovery; loneliness is as damaging to health as smoking or drinking alcohol. Being Trapped and Powerless: Long term entrapping life experiences nearly treble the chances of being diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Psychologists Against Austerity was formed in 2014 after discussions within various UK Community Psychology forums, which are still ongoing on this interactive community website. Psychologists Against Austerity is a mixed group of different applied psychologists, including Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Academic and Research Psychologists, Educational Psychologists and Forensic Psychologists, as well as other health care professionals and community members speaking as a collective of individuals and not on behalf of their workplaces or institutions. They are petitioning the leaders of all UK political parties for an inquiry into the psychological impact of austerity. Please support them and sign and share their petition. Why is committing to a parliamentary inquiry assessing the psychological impact of austerity important? The evidence, the petition runs, is clear: ‘austerity policies are having damaging psychological costs, both increasing mental distress in the present, and storing problems for the future. ‘As a group of psychologists, therapists, service users and allies we feel it is our public and professional duty to bring these issues to light. ‘Britain’s poorest communities have been hit the hardest by austerity measures; nearly a million people in the UK had to rely on a food bank in 2014. ’84 per cent of people who attend food banks report being humiliated by the experience, and 43 per cent hide the experience from their children. ‘Prolonged experiences of humiliation treble the chance of being diagnosed with depression.’ And although some people still think that depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They are wrong. The NHS website is quite clear about this: ‘Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it’s not a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”. ‘The symptoms of depression can be complex and vary widely between people. But as a general rule, if you are depressed, you feel sad, hopeless and lose interest in things you used to enjoy. ‘The symptoms persist for weeks or months and are bad enough to interfere with your work, social life and family life. This, the petition continues, ‘is just one example of the damaging psychological costs of austerity, which include increased experiences of: fear; mistrust; instability; isolation; and being trapped.’ You can read their evidence in full in the Psychologists Against Austerity briefing paper here. ‘Brutal cuts to public services are a political choice, not an economic necessity,’ the petition points out. ‘Policies which directly increase mental distress in the present and future are not only inhumane, they also make bad business sense; mental distress already costs employers nearly £26 billion per year. ‘We therefore call for a parliamentary inquiry to assess the full psychological impact of austerity. ‘Social and economic conditions directly impact upon people’s mental health. To promote well-being we need to invest in building resilient communities, rather than slashing crucial public services.’ And as Rosie J says: It’s nonsense that parties are making pledges to prioritise mental health and protect NHS spending when they haven’t recognised the damage their other policies have done. The next meeting of Psychologists Against Austerity is on 9 June, from 6.30pm – 9pm at Ziferblat Cafe, 388 Old Street, Shoreditch, London EC1V 9LT. |
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