Category: Politics
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It’s come around to toilets again, has it?
Like many campaigners, I got bored long ago with the media’s habit of limiting the sex self-ID debate to whether transwomen should use women’s toilets – thing is for the most part they always have so whatever you think of that, it’s not news. Here are a couple of points that are, or should be…
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First thoughts after FiLiA 2022
In the first half of my life, the prevailing opinion in the UK was that the authorities should not interfere in the mutilation of girls and young women because it would be disrespectful to their parents’ culture. In the second half of my life, the prevailing opinion in the UK was that the authorities should…
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It’s just not fair
To quote Mandy Clare, who will be joining me in a presentation about women and socialism at FiLiA, socialism is primarily about fairness. But even if you’re not a socialist, most people value fair play (see for example, Fair Play for Women ). Looking at Eddie Izzard, currently seeking to be Labour parliamentary candidate for…
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Politically homeless?
Analogies are melodramatic. That’s what makes them powerful. Outside of poetic language, real people die of being really homeless. It’s a shame and a constant anxiety to all of us that we’ve allowed bad government to continue for so long that in some areas, the homeless are as numerous about the streets as rubbish sacks…
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Half a Yellow Sun and the Whole of the Moon
Think of the starving children in Biafra. If you’re my age, you’ll remember being told that, probably over the pig-bins in the school dining room. Kids used to joke, asking if the school would send the contents of the pig-bins to Biafra. What did they know? My life changed a lot after my first visit…
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Seeing red lines
My partner tells me men rarely talk frankly about their feelings because they know if a bunch of men get steamed up, someone will start throwing punches. My older sisters tell me that by contrast, women’s politics is uncensored, and therefore has always had bouts of passionate screaming. That makes sense to me but I…
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What are the limits of freedom of speech?
<divers alarums, noises off etc> The tricky bit is that if you are a socialist and/or a feminist, there are limits to freedom of speech but they aren’t limits on who can speak, or what they can say. It’s more complex than that. I think it’s like this: freedom of speech is first and foremost…
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Words are important (an impolite commentary)
The man formerly known as Prince Charles has just become our liege-lord, apparently. I resorted to my dictionary. “liege” describes the relationships between a “feudal superior” and a “vassal”. A “vassal” (that’s you) is a holder of land “on condition of homage or allegiance” or a “person in a subordinate position”. So, peasant – have…
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We girls were double-divided
There’s a puzzling range of controversies raging over ‘entertainment’ and ‘the arts’. Social justice warriors are busy finding items – books, films, statues, to condemn for racism, and whilst libraries obediently bury offending books, the women’s movement battles over misogynistic and mind-bending traditions such as nightclub drag queens crossing yet more boundaries to present as…
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Clever, awkward and what was it again…?
Five years ago, I wrote a blog post called If I’m so clever… I didn’t say exactly what it was about, but if you’re interested in the different ways people think and work, do please take a look. I think you’ll be able to work it out… ( So sorry we didn’t manage to win…
Kay Green 