Equality in Ireland

Today is a historic day for the LGBT community in Britain and Ireland. Firstly, in my homecity, the annual Gay Pride parade is in full swing. Secondly, tonight is Eurovision - if you are a reader from outside of the EU, and you are not familiar with Eurovision, it is pretty much like a gigantic, continent-wide party that you don't actually have to put any trousers on to participate in. Throughout Eurovision history, and particularly over the past few years, it has been very much a pro-equality platform, aired on the BBC in the UK and on other major European television channels. Last year's winner, Austrian Conchita Wurst, is a member of the LGBT community, and her win was definitely a two-finger salute to Russian President Vladimir Putin's anti-homosexuality laws and discrimination. But the most important reason as to why today is historic is due to the result of the Irish referendum regarding the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples. Ireland is now the first nation to leave the decision to its electorate, however, it is hard to believe that it has taken until 2015 for people to accept marriage as a basic right for all, in a way that is not exclusionary of anyone regardless of their sexuality. The Republic of Ireland has fallen victim to a battle between conservatism and liberalism, particularly in the build up to the referendum. Although the results have not yet been formally announced, the 'Yes' campaign is said to have pretty much a clean sweep, which clearly implies considerable change from a country whose law against homosexual acts still stood until just 22 years ago. Fine-Gael, the majority party in Ireland's political coalition, has been flying rainbow flags outside their Dublin offices, and in Birmingham - my hometown, where much of the population are either Irish migrants themselves or children of them - the Digbeth area and the city's Irish pubs are doing the same. 

One of the most promising aspects of yesterday's referendum is the fact that many Catholics are professing their beliefs in equality for all. Because of this, I have been given hope for a future change of face to the religion I was bought up in, but felt I could no longer identify to due to the general attitude towards women, other religions and the LGBT community. Despite the fact that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that homosexuality itself is not a sin, it does make clear it's ideas regarding acting upon homosexual urges - that this is sinful. However, as a Catholic country, it seems that the Republic of Ireland has begun to sway towards the liberal end of the spectrum, which makes me very optimistic for the future. 

Congratulations to all members of the Irish LGBT community, who are now one step closer to gaining equality within society. The battle is not over yet, but with the referendum being overwhelmingly in favour of gay rights, hopefully this is a sign of immense support in any future endeavours. Today I am proud to associate myself with my Irish heritage more so than ever. 

She For He

Following the recent attention around the shocking new revelation that men can identify as feminists (I know right, who knew?), a sudden spark of opposition has appeared in the form of 'meninism', which seems to quite literally follow the same principles as feminism, yet with more moaning. 

To me, meninism seems to be a complete misunderstanding, as many who agree with it seem to consider themselves as heroes of men's rights and warriors against the ghastly women who oppress them. What they don't seem to understand that feminism works for them, too. As a response to this, I thought that maybe I should clarify some real issues men have to deal with, rather than letting men be degraded by this new wave of 'meninism'. This post is very much inspired by a tweet I saw, but I can't remember who it was who tweeted it so just pretend I gave them credit. 

The exclusion of trans-men:

The struggle for equal gender rights is often seen as a battle of the sexes, completely disregarding any other gender than cis-male and cis-female. Transfolk often have to deal with the fact that people mislabel them by deliberately using the wrong pronouns, dehumanising them and sometimes excluding them altogether. What people often forget is that you do not necessarily have to have a penis to be a man; if, biologically, you are a woman but you believe that you would prefer to identify as a man (and vice versa), then you are one, and anyone who disrespects that is the one in the wrong. Those who are transgender should not be persecuted for being so, and this is why trans-men should be very much included wherever the topic of men's rights is mentioned. 

Gender stereotypes and emasculation: 

Amongst feminists, the abolishment of gender stereotypes is a primary aim. Gender stereotypes cast chains around both men and women, and disallow individuality, diversity and anything that does not fit the mould. Men are frequently ridiculed for being "too feminine" (which is sexist in itself) and for partaking in anything remotely 'female'.  Even trivial things such as being demonstrative and expressive are labelled as being 'in touch with your feminine side'. This belief is damaging as it restricts men from being open, which I believe is a factor towards why suicide is the 2nd most common cause of death amongst men aged 18-24 in the UK. Homophobia often links into this, with men who show any sign of emotion being branded as "faggots" (an offensive slur used to refer to gay people). If gender stereotypes are disbanded, all genders will be freed from the mould they supposedly must fit. 

Disregard of male issues: 

The only time I have ever seen men mention the subject of rape or domestic violence is to degrade or lessen the severity of that against women. Never have I heard a man openly condemn or even accept the fact that men can be raped, and men can be victims of domestic abuse. Once again, this is an example of the emasculation of men, as many believe these to be predominately female problems. Although the majority of rape/abuse cases are against women, it is still an issue for men and must be prevented. 

In theory, meninism seems like a rebellion against the idea of female supremacy, however, it was born simply of a misunderstanding towards what feminism actually is. Feminism is about equal gender rights, which eliminates the need did 'meninism' in the first place. Furthermore, meninism seems to complain about trivial issues such as so-called 'double standards', yet completely disregards the need to rectify significant issues like the ones mentioned. If men's right activists educated themselves about the meaning of feminism, perhaps men's rights activists would not be needed at all, as feminists are gender rights activists and work for everyone. 

Rules 4 Girls

Ladies, do you ever find yourself tossing and turning in bed at night, unable to sleep due to the crippling anxiety you have towards the notion of not being perceived as a ‘real woman’ by misogynists? No, me neither. Gentlemen, does the thought of a girl not mutilating their bodies with razor blades in an attempt to remove the same hair you have in the same places make you want to gag? No? Still, have no fear because the people of Twitter (yes… again) have simplified womanhood into a few concise rules that every member of the female species must follow. NOTE: These are all quoted directly from the account.

Rule Number One: “Don’t dress like a slut if you don’t wanna be perceived as a slut #keepitclassy”

Don’t you dare dress how you want to dress, and don’t even think of crafting your appearance for anyone but the men you are undoubtedly attempting to seduce! With the definition of slut being someone who has sex with multiple different people, might it be possible that a woman could be desirable and sensual? Be careful, you wouldn’t want people to think you get laid often! Or, instead of abiding to this ridiculous and offensive ‘rule’, you could wear whatever the hell you want and dress in a way that makes you love yourself? If you want to cover every inch of skin you have, go for it, that’s fine. However, remember that if you want to wear something slightly more revealing then that is equally fine. Dress to impress whomever you want, but dress to make yourself feel comfortable and confident – prioritise yourself.

Rule Number Two: “Don’t ever say ‘Hi’ to a guy first.”

Always remind yourself that it’s vital that you continue the segregation of the sexes in our society. Don’t speak unless spoken to, seen and not heard… etc. Whilst doing so, you must blame yourself for the ‘friendzone’/being seen as rude/being seen as cocky, conceited or stuck up, despite the fact that you are being instructed to ignore your male friends and colleagues. Remember, you’re a stern, cold-hearted bitch, and it’s your own fault, not that of the people restricting you from interacting with others! On the other hand, you could always decide to ‘rebel’ and speak to who you like, when you like, if you like. After all, you don’t owe anyone your time or your thought, but if you want to give it to them then you have every right to.

Rule Number Three: “Shave.”

If you do not take this sharp object – which is often used as a murder weapon – to your skin and remove the hair that naturally grows, and re-grows, and re-grows, then you cannot be a ‘real woman’. If you do not deny yourself the right to possess the same bodily feature as your male counterparts, then you cannot be a ‘real woman’. If you think for a second that ditching the razor and embracing the hair is A-Okay then you cannot be a ‘real woman’. However, if you’re not a fan of razor rash, and you’d rather not walk out of the door with plasters covering your scabby knees, there is always another option… just don’t shave? Don’t get me wrong, if, like me, you prefer to get rid of hair for personal reasons, then that’s groovy, but if you can’t be bothered to endure the effort then why listen to those who tell you to do so? If someone cannot accept your body in its natural, untarnished state, and if they cannot accept you in a way that makes you feel happy and self-confident, then what’s the point? Besides, if your forearms are as hairy as a man’s then that’s a bloody good competition. Stay warm in the winter if you want to. Shave if you want to. Do whatever you want to, and whatever you think is best for you.

Having looked through each and every tweet posted from this account – all the while trying my hardest to refrain from tearing my hair out of my head and snapping my phone in half – I have decided that it is all bullshit, and should be whole-heartedly ignored/opposed. The thought that people in the world still think this way is extremely worrying, and thoughts like this can be unbelievably damaging. When will people realise that people can do whatever they want so long as no one is being harmed in the process? Not only are these ‘rules’ inappropriate, discriminate and degrading to all genders, many of them are simply rude. It seems to me that many forget how to go about being a decent human being. To anyone reading this: be nice.

The Magic Numbers

As if by magic, my view count has rocketed over the past month or so and is now at... wait for it... 25-bloody-thousand!! 

Thank you to every single person who has read this mediocre little blog of mine, I want to grab you all by the face and kiss you, even if it's just one person who's refreshed the page 25,000 times. Considering I only started this blog in April, things aren't going too badly :~) 

Thank you millions X 

Crazy, New, Exciting!!!

Due to much deliberation regarding the direction of this blog, I’ve decided to change things up a little. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be my usual angry-feminist-who-doesn’t-take-any-shit self, and will still spend a lot (possibly too much) of my time arguing with misogynists on twitter, however, I intend to do a bit more than just the ranty stuff. Although I seem to have a shit tonne of work to do practically all of the time lately, hopefully extending the variety of things I can write about will lead to me actually writing more, rather than leaving it for three weeks, desperately trying to think of something mildly entertaining/informative for you to read. I hope those of you who have been here since the beginning don’t start to think I’m too crap :~)

X

The Mighty 200,000

If you clicked on this post thinking that the "200,000" was referring to the amount of views on this humble little blog of mine then all I will say to you is "I wish!!" No, I'm talking about one of the few things born on the internet that I can actually praise rather than rant about like I have done lately. No More Page 3 is an organisation who are trying to get rid of the topless photos which leap out at readers of British tabloid, The Sun, the second the first page is turned. This once small group just hit 200,000 members! 

Why do naked women appear in newspapers? Surely people who purchase The Sun (no matter what personal prejudices I have against them) want news, not nudity? It is hard for me to understand how degradation and objectification of women found it's way into mainstream publication in the first place, but 42 years on, isn't it old news? 

Former Green Party representative and MP, Caroline Lucas, recently caused quite a stir in Parliament by revealing her No More Page 3 t-shirt. Not only are political figures becoming aware of the campaign and it's desire to change the way the nation broadcasts and receives the news, celebrities including Russell Brand, Eliza Doolittle and adamant feminist/Times columnist Caitlin Moran are supporters, too. Moran even commented "teenage tits aren't news OR a feature". Too right. 

My mother tried to tell me that Page 3 is perfectly fine because the girls being featured are doing so out of choice, and are not being pressured into doing anything by The Sun. Whether this is true or not, this is still irrelevant to the topic of whether boobs should be in the news. And anyway, I doubt the page 3 girls think "woop-de-bloody-doo, I love being objectified by men I don't know! Let's plaster my bare boobs in one of the most popular newspapers in the country, which is displayed well in reach of young children, and suggest to them that my body (and eventually theirs) is the only part of me that anyone really cares about!!" with much delight. 

Let's make 2014 the year boobs were taken out of the news. 

Join in the discussion on Twitter with the #NoMorePage3 hashtag, or sign the petition on change.org (https://www.change.org/p/david-dinsmore-take-the-bare-boobs-out-of-the-sun-nomorepage3 here's the link if, like me, you're a lazy sod who can't be bothered to google it. You have no excuse now!!). Hopefully, I will not have to make any future posts on this issue, as it's nearing the final push it needs to come true. Fingers crossed!! 

Social Media Misdemeanours

Following my previous post almost a month ago now (sorry!!) regarding a trending topic on twitter entitled #WomenAgainstFeminism, I have decided that now is as good a time as any to address yet more social media stupidity. God, I wish I didn't have to, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

As I write this, there is a hashtag circulating around Twitter called #FeministsAreUgly. So, as you've probably guessed, some people got a bit of a roasting from Yours Truly. All I'm currently seeing on my timeline is witty comebacks being fired against this statement. Man, I'm so proud. Is it just me, or is the phrase "Feminists are ugly" completely promoting feminism? After all, it just proves feminism is needed to stop people from objectifying women and suggesting that the only thing about them relevant to men is their appearance. And guess what, even if we're ugly, we genuinely don't care. I'm sure we'd all rather be ugly but bad ass, educated promoters of equal rights than pretty and naïve/so narcissistic that we do not want anyone to be on the same societal platform as we are. 

 

Whether it's to take the piss out of the derogatory hashtag, or argue against it with a more serious tone, pretty much everyone had something to say. But it's hashtags like this that allow misogyny to be broadcast in the first place, and with social media platforms like twitter now attracting a user demographic of mostly teenagers and young adults, it can easily be passed on to people who may grow up to be fully-fledged misogynists. 

I cannot believe it has gotten to the point in which I am even having to comment on things like this, but the latest large-scale act of digital sexual harassment is revenge porn. Revenge porn is when someone (this 'someone' being presumably angry and bitter... and demented) posts indecent images of someone else (normally their ex-partner) online for the world to see. These images are usually of a sexual nature, 90% of the time are of women, and most importantly, are posted without their consent. 

Not only is this practice illegal and incriminating, it is also highly damaging to the individuals in the pictures. A high number of images are of under 18s, which means that people in possession of them can be prosecuted for owning or being involved in the distribution of child pornography. This is an extreme case of internet-based misogyny, and it needs to stop. 

Since the steady growth of the internet, new technological methods of sexism have been introduced, so much so that they have started to make themselves known 'IRL'. I have already written a post regarding 'laddism', which is a predominantly internet-based idea, and I have touched on rape culture in today's society and how it has almost been given a digital regeneration right at the time when we thought things were changing. Rape culture is the idea that sexual assault is something that can be joked about, and that it is the victim's own fault. Whether it be the clothing he/she was wearing, where they were, or who they were with at a specific time, people are excusing the rapist and pushing the blame on the victims. Thankfully, I myself have never been raped, and I honestly feel for those who have been. It makes me sick how they could possibly be blamed for another individual's vile actions. 

These are some messages I received on twitter (good old twitter) last week which truly prove my point: 

So what we've learnt from this is, the way a person decides to express themselves through clothing is subliminally saying "please rape me." Moreover, rape is a compliment, as you definitely need to be attractive to be a victim (what a shame, apparently I'm too ugly to be sexually assaulted). Additionally, rape is just another excuse for bra-burning, hairy-legged feminists to cry and complain about how men are shit. Oh and finally, who could forget the amazing revelation that rape culture doesn't even exist. It is just fiction. We made it up so we'd have something to moan about. Well no, I refuse to gloss over it, I refuse to excuse the perpetrators and I refuse to blame the victim. I refuse to receive hateful messages for not wanting people to be raped.

This is not the first post regarding World Wide Web wankers, and I'm sure it won't be the last considering the fact that new ways of being a sexist, misogynistic moron are invented everyday. So, until next time folks...