links – Bad Reputation

It is a festive time and the Linkpost is BACK

linkpost bot — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:01:38 +0000

Been a bit of a gap with the linkposts lately, while the ed got a new job and we all remembered about mince pies coming back on sale.

Let us fix that for you now.

“History needs to stop being used as an excuse in the fantasy stories of TV, film, and video games that are, in general, male-dominated whether they’re history-based or not.” Word. Dan Wohl at The Mary Sue: Is ‘historical accuracy’ a good defence of patriarchal societies in fantasy fiction?
“…this notion that History Is Authentically Sexist… what do you mean when you say ‘history?’ History is not a long series of centuries in which men did all the interesting/important things and women stayed home and twiddled their thumbs in between pushing out babies, making soup and dying in childbirth.” Tansy Rayner Roberts follows the Mary Sue’s post over on Tor: Historically authentic sexism in fantasy. Let’s unpack that.
“The so-called middle ground that’s supposed to prevent disunity always ends up excluding women in an attempt to keep those who want to restrict their ministry happy. And funnily enough, this doesn’t exactly instill in women a sense of unity and grace. It makes some of them feel as if they can’t do what they feel called to do, what they are gifted to do.” A thoughtful set of reflections from Hannah Mudge: Bristol Christian Union and the ‘ban’ on women speakers.

And finally…

“Announcing Valentin & The Widow, a free weekly audio book series! It’s a globe-trotting 1920s adventure about plucky English aristocrat Eleanora Rosewood, brawny Russian sailor Sacha Valentin, and their fight against a secret organisation that seeks to oppress the weak and destroy the different.” We are listening to this with interest – it’s written by Andrew Wheeler, who among many other things penned the No More Mutants columns on inclusion and geek culture over on Bleeding Cool, which we linked from this site a while ago. Plus, “courageous women! Sexy men!”. How often do you hear anything advertised with the words in that order? (The second instalment just came out.)

Links of Friday

Miranda — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 11:59:27 +0000

“It is crucial, therefore, that we do not fall into the trap of seeing honour killing as the expression of an alien culture, religion or tradition that has no resonance in the West… It is no less crucial to insist that honour killing cannot be equated with Islam.” Jacqueline Rose for the London Review of Books.
Heroines and Harlots blogs about the constant beauty tips and fat-paranoia that come with the iPhone app that’s meant to teach users useful things about their pregnancies.
Owen Jones for the Independent on Assange.
On gender, Wenlock and Mandeville.
Captain Awkward on the challenges of friendship groups and not legitimising creepy gendered behaviour and sexual assault.
The F Word on that awful One Direction magazine and its attack on Caroline Flack. Surely a new nadir.
And finally, Le Tigre’s Kathleen Hanna on Pussy Riot. Who, appallingly, have just been found guilty.

First Friday Links of August: Olympic Edition

linkpost bot — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:00:22 +0000

“Athleticism in women has generated social unease going back at least as far as the Greek myth of Atalanta”: Amanda Marcotte for the American Prospect, in a piece titled Olympic Girls Go Bad-Boy.
THIS KICKSTARTER HAS HOURS TO GO! “T-Rex: a documentary about 17 year-old Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, the youngest woman – and one of the first – to ever box in the Olympics.”
Two Saudi Women Walk Different Paths To The Olympics.
“Women have struggled to find a ‘home’ in this sport for decades, and the struggle doesn’t end with this momentous occasion. However, becoming an Olympic sport does help to legitimize what many of us have known for years: women can box.” – Women’s Olympic Boxing 2012: History in the Making (boxing.com). Posting this link because Miranda’s off to the Women’s Boxing Semifinals next week. (Remember this post? The skirts idea got quashed, hurrah!) Expect some sort of frothy post on here.
“What makes you think we actually give a toss that you, personally, do not find us attractive?” – 18-year-old Team GB weightlifter Zoe Smith blogs on body image and Twitter.
“As for the insistence on punctuating the seconds between points in the women’s games with bursts of numbers such as I See You Baby (Shaking That Ass) – well…” – Marina Hyde for the Guardian on Benny Hill, beach volleyball, and the different ways women and men are filmed as athletes.
And a point very well made by Metro US: What If Every Olympic Sport Was Photographed Like Beach Volleyball?

The First Linkpost In A While

Miranda — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:54:23 +0000

Let’s get back into this Friday linkpost thing, shall we?

Texts From Jane Eyre at The Hairpin.
Rape Jokes and the Taxi Driver Theory of Comedy (Ally Fogg). Also, from Lindy West at Jezebel: How To Tell A Rape Joke.
Bad Salad (nice site, by the way!) on Ghost World and the 1990s.
“I was a teenage sexist” on Unwinnable.
“The gaming industry is currently in the process of transforming as more and more people from across the gender, sexuality and racial spectrums come to love gaming”: Anita Sarkeesian interviewed by Games Industry International.

Mildly Overheating Friday Linkpost

linkpost bot — Fri, 25 May 2012 07:00:58 +0000

Spring-Flavoured Linkpost

linkpost bot — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:00:58 +0000

That’s your lot! See you Monday!

Links for Friday

linkpost bot — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:00:54 +0000

It’s Women’s History Month. Here is the UK Women’s History Month blog. And here are some more links on the topic.

Daily Kos recently ran a three-post series titled Women of Colour in Women’s History. Part One: Native Americans, Part Two: Latinas, and Part Three: African Americans.
The legend of Katherine Ferrers, heiress turned HIGHWAYWOMAN. Well, possibly…
A nice resources page – with lots of original leaflets – on Women and the Miners’ Strike.
Finally, as we blogged earlier this week, the Women’s Library is seeking a new home. If you can help, send them an email. More details here.

Mid-March Linkpost

linkpost bot — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:00:13 +0000

Salon on the ethical and aesthetic challenges of designing covers for Nabokov’s Lolita – and “how a cover can also add to or change the book’s meaning”.
It’s not new, but it’s worth a re-read: Social Justice League’s How To Be A Fan Of Problematic Things.
BEHOLD. The 1970-1990 Women’s Liberation Music Archive. Can’t wait to go exploring in here. Alexis Petridis for the Guardian is ahead of us, but it’s on the list…
And Going Underground tells us all about Hannah Dadds, the first female Tube driver.

Friday Linkpost

Miranda — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:51:21 +0000

“It so happens that I smoke CHESTERFIELD”: A history of cigarette advertising to women
Alexis Petridis on gay culture and pop music
“It has been something of an in-joke for a while now, the proliferation of book covers featuring women with their heads chopped off” – The Sinister March of the Headless Women
Daphne Oram: sound engineer and composer

Friday Links Of The Post-Valentines Lull

linkpost bot — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:00:15 +0000

Quite an artsy one this week. Well. Sort of, anyway.

Awesome photo of two 1980s punk girls on the Tube.
Retronaut: the most horrendous and terrifying vintage valentines imaginable. More here! And finally, a bit of 1900s those-humourless-suffragettes sentiment here via Brainpickings… some things never change, eh ;)
The Case of the Sudden Femme Fatale: author Delilah Des Anges guest blogs for author Melanie Clegg (whole lotta authorship in here) on reimaginations of Irene Adler.
Scandalous Women Celebrates Black History Month (note: the USA has BHM now, the UK in autumn)
Female Illustrators You Should Know, plus more, more, and more!