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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Hadley Freeman leaves her Guardian column

78 replies

ArabellaScott · 18/09/2021 11:33

I can completely understand this, but it is sad to see how the Guardian has become so diminished in the past few years.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/18/opinion-writing-has-changed-a-lot-since-i-started-out-its-time-for-something-new?fbclid=IwAR2otpLMDz7GHEZ3NL0mbOcIhUFGmOZOaOUj_1mNqAo4GiQ4HMlmLbF7LjY

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ArabellaScott · 18/09/2021 11:35

'where once people could argue with one another and then go out for a drink, now it feels as if people just argue. A difference of opinion becomes a seismic breaking of alliances, and certain subjects are verboten in social situations'

She makes a point about how polarised and moralising debate has become that is astute and - I think - worrying.

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Floisme · 18/09/2021 11:48

Very clever piece of writing, as usual from Hadley - hands some people their arses without mentioning them by name. I thought it spoke volumes that she doesn't thank her current editor, as is customary on these occasions, but gives a shout out to Seamus Milne, despite their many disagreements.

I think the Guardian is discontinuing the Weekend section so the decision was possibly forced on her. I'll continue to follow her interviews, which are superb, and I hope someone else snaps her up soon.

I agree with her about combat trousers too.

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KimikosNightmare · 18/09/2021 11:56

I could blame Brexit for this – a difference of opinion that pretty much broke this country

Did it ? I was a Remainer and I'm sure Freeman was too. I do get a little tired of the dramas Remainers come up with. ( and was extremely amused that Johnson was correct in not joining the EU vaccination scheme)

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Abhannmor · 18/09/2021 12:12

@KimikosNightmare

I could blame Brexit for this – a difference of opinion that pretty much broke this country

Did it ? I was a Remainer and I'm sure Freeman was too. I do get a little tired of the dramas Remainers come up with. ( and was extremely amused that Johnson was correct in not joining the EU vaccination scheme)

Was he though? Despite the lies and shortfalls in delivery by one vaccine company, many EU nations are ahead of the UK now. Anyway it's a stunt you can't pull off twice - like privatisation. Back on topic ; Hadley is very witty and I love her writing. Interesting that she respects Moncrieff , who is pretty left wing . Would have thought Viner and Hadley had similar political views. Just goes to show this issue cuts across party lines completely.
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ArabellaScott · 18/09/2021 12:20

Brexit could be symptomatic of deeper issues - a widening split between 'liberal' affluent middle class media types /and trad, conservative with a small c, maybe skewing more working class voters. It's very hard to see broad social movements clearly as they're all filtered through lenses of various media biases, of course.

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monkeysonthemoon · 18/09/2021 12:33

@KimikosNightmare

I could blame Brexit for this – a difference of opinion that pretty much broke this country

Did it ? I was a Remainer and I'm sure Freeman was too. I do get a little tired of the dramas Remainers come up with. ( and was extremely amused that Johnson was correct in not joining the EU vaccination scheme)

If we were still part of the EU we would have been able to influence that decision.
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KimikosNightmare · 18/09/2021 12:40

If we were still part of the EU we would have been able to influence that decision

Not sure what point you're making. The EU programme was a mess. The UK was well out of it. Or are you suggesting the UK missed out by not being in the EU shambles.

Freeman's ok, occasionally funny, but I've never quite understood the adoration she gets on here.

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ArabellaScott · 18/09/2021 12:58

'adoration'? I respect her for speaking up against the prevailing orthodoxy. It's not quite foot-kissing territory.

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andyoldlabour · 18/09/2021 12:58

Abhannmor

"Despite the lies and shortfalls in delivery by one vaccine company, many EU nations are ahead of the UK now"

Really?

Fully vaccinated

UK - 66.5%
France - 64.2%
Germany - 62.9%
Italy - 65.3%
Poland - 50.5%
Netherlands - 63.2%
Sweden - 61.9%
Greece - 55.2%
Czechia - 55.3%
Hungary - 56.9%

ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=GBR

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ArabellaScott · 18/09/2021 12:59

the UK did brilliantly wrt vaccines, but I'm not giving Johnson any credit for that, sorry. That was the work of three brilliant women.

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guinnessguzzler · 18/09/2021 14:18

Hadley was one of the only writers I still read the Guardian for. Don't blame her, however it went down. She certainly comes across as someone with integrity, as well as generally being a joy to read.

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andyoldlabour · 18/09/2021 14:27

ArabellaScott

I really hated the way that the US and France particularly tried to rubbish the Astra Zeneca vaccine, then France did a complete U turn, complaining that they couldn't get enough of the stuff.

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/14/life-savers-story-oxford-astrazeneca-coronavirus-vaccine-scientists

www.newscientist.com/article/2283005-interview-the-women-behind-the-oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine/

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mammajustkilledagnat · 18/09/2021 14:31

84% fully vaccinated in Danmark

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MissTheobald · 18/09/2021 14:33

What a shame - I wonder what she's going on to do. I love her writing but also her encyclopedic knowledge of teen films and books of the 80s. In fact I've just followed a link in that column to her interview with Judy Blume, whose books I was obsessed as a kid.

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Royat · 18/09/2021 14:37

Why did they turn off comments? Do they normally do this so soon? Hadley Freeman writes in the magazine which comes with the Saturday edition. There will be loads of people who won't have even read theirs yet. I was going to create an account to say thanks and good luck ☹ Have been a big fan for years. I'm sure lots of other people would have liked to do this too and now they won't be able to.

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SuperLoudPoppingAction · 18/09/2021 14:41

I just finished 'life moves pretty fast' and it is one of the best and most feminist books about film I have read. (My MSc covered film so it isn't like i was previously starved for film related books.)
I really recommend it.

I hope she writes more books, honestly.

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RedToothBrush · 18/09/2021 14:43

@ArabellaScott

Brexit could be symptomatic of deeper issues - a widening split between 'liberal' affluent middle class media types /and trad, conservative with a small c, maybe skewing more working class voters. It's very hard to see broad social movements clearly as they're all filtered through lenses of various media biases, of course.

Brexit broke Britain. But it happened because people in positions of power stopped listening to grass roots problems.

In turn this was exploited by Leave Campaigners.

And this lead to further entrenchment rather than listening.

There was a point at which both sides could have reached a level of agreement, but both sides decided 'winning' outright was more important.

And now we find ourselves with supermarket shelves empty because everyone was too up themselves to start listening rather than enjoying the sound of their own voices.

Its frustrated me for a long while.

On a practical level things aren't getting done because of barriers put up by ideology.

This was all amplied by social media and the Guardian instead of playing to the strengths of journalism seeks to carve out a further for itself as a leftie opinion column blind to the day to day difficulty of a huge percentage of the population.

I don't see the point in the Guardian. Once upon a time I'd have read it. Now its just like the Mail but for the university educated.

Its no longer a newspaper.
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PermanentTemporary · 18/09/2021 14:44

Yes after the success of House of Glass I should think she has a pretty good book deal? I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, embarrassingly, despite always enjoying her writing.

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lanadelgrey · 18/09/2021 14:44

She is staying at the Guardian, but despite her reservations about becoming a columnist she has been a damn fine one. We could try pester power to get her back Grin

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Abhannmor · 18/09/2021 14:51

@mammajustkilledagnat

84% fully vaccinated in Danmark

73% fully vaccinated in Ireland. Including moi. But I still got the bloody thing 🤪
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Fawnor · 18/09/2021 14:57

.

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Royat · 18/09/2021 15:02

@ArabellaScott

the UK did brilliantly wrt vaccines, but I'm not giving Johnson any credit for that, sorry. That was the work of three brilliant women.

Totally agree with this. Also maybe because the system of health care here in the UK (NHS) lends itself to rolling out vaccines in a crisis. We are all on its books, rather than being spread across a variety of different insurance providers etc
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TurquoiseBaubles · 18/09/2021 15:13

The UK vaccination roll out might have started ahead of other European countries, but it's certainly not far ahead (and even is behind in some countries now).

According to the Financial Times ig.ft.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker/?areas=gbr&areas=isr&areas=usa&areas=eue&areas=can&areas=chn&areas=ind&cumulative=1&doses=total&populationAdjusted=1 percentages fully vaccinated are:

UK 66.3
Spain 76
Portugal 81
Netherlands 62.9
Malta 83.1
Italy 65.1
Ireland 72.2
Iceland 75.7
Greece 55.1
Germany 62.8
France 64.2
European Union (average) 60.9
Denmark 74.2
Cyprus 61.6
Belgium 72.2
Austria 60

So it seems that the UK isn't as ground-breaking as it was thought to be early on in the vaccination rollout. Most of the early EU member states have higher vaccination rates than the UK, with the average being brought down (it seems) by the low uptake (not low supply) in the more skeptical eastern European countries.

I'm rather surprised by this. I though the UK was way ahead.

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AGreenerShadeofKale · 18/09/2021 15:19

I think the vaccination of children in EU countries might have had an influence?
Just guessing as I've stopped following now. We are left with a group of adults who don't want it now which makes it tough to increase %. Not sure what any Government could do about them.

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Royat · 18/09/2021 15:21

@TurquoiseBaubles

The UK vaccination roll out might have started ahead of other European countries, but it's certainly not far ahead (and even is behind in some countries now).

According to the Financial Times ig.ft.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker/?areas=gbr&areas=isr&areas=usa&areas=eue&areas=can&areas=chn&areas=ind&cumulative=1&doses=total&populationAdjusted=1 percentages fully vaccinated are:

UK 66.3
Spain 76
Portugal 81
Netherlands 62.9
Malta 83.1
Italy 65.1
Ireland 72.2
Iceland 75.7
Greece 55.1
Germany 62.8
France 64.2
European Union (average) 60.9
Denmark 74.2
Cyprus 61.6
Belgium 72.2
Austria 60

So it seems that the UK isn't as ground-breaking as it was thought to be early on in the vaccination rollout. Most of the early EU member states have higher vaccination rates than the UK, with the average being brought down (it seems) by the low uptake (not low supply) in the more skeptical eastern European countries.

I'm rather surprised by this. I though the UK was way ahead.

So did I! The media was telling everyone we were miles ahead. Maybe to begin with we were but now everyone else is catching up. I think vaccine rates in Australia and New Zealand are still considerably lower. Not sure why.
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