It's Always More Complicated

The Representation of the People Act, 6 Feb 1918. And eighty years since they got it on the same terms as men.

From today's Observer:

40 years on from the equal pay struggles of 1968 - still not there 120 years after the TUC passed an equal pay resolution in the aftermath of the Matchgirls' Strike.

Persistence of the Double Standard, let me show you it:

Male writers are allowed to record the most intimate or mundane details of their lives without being defined by them and yet when women do the same, we tear them to pieces.

BBC accused of sexism on news flagship.

Why can't we stop the spread of degrading adverts for sex? The number of strip clubs has doubled in the last four years, an unforeseen byproduct of liberal licensing laws.

A bit more cheering:

Inside the world of UK Muslim women - Na'ima B Robert comments on a 'refreshing' survey.

DNA explodes Greek myth about women: British researchers have unearthed evidence that proves Helen was much more than a chattel - information possibly already well-known to classicists?

I am so not going to link to interview with Katie Roiphe: it still sounds to me as though in her forthcoming book on people trying to have radical relationships in the early 20th (oh, Virago, what are you thinking of?) she confuses the desire for a man who doesn't require propping up all the time or expects his female partner to interrupt what she's doing to make the tea, who may even be capable of being leant on during trying times and crises, and is generally there with support and protection as and when needed, with a desire for 'male dominance'. Though I will link instead to a piece that reminds us about the banality of being 'shocking' (scroll down).

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In entirely other business, does anyone know why zandra_x has deleted her lj?