to think Delia is a bit of a tosser for saying' I am not a feminist - I like men'

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

Stick to the cooking theres a dear

Is she really a freak? What kind of things does she do? To be honest I know nothing about her except that I don't like her recipes very much - Good Housekeeping is the way ahead. Didn't realise that being a feminist and liking men were mutually exclusive either.

the biggest myth peddled is that of "sisterhood".women arent a homogenous group

oh yes, ali. She came across as such an uncomfortable woman. It was painful to watch.

And Glados is right, I mean where is the sahm xenia equivalent?

Delia is a Catholic as well which is a patriarchal religion that allows women only narrow roles. If she is mainlining the edicts of Pope Benedict, then lets just say, she's probably a lost cause.

She is incredibly hardworking and entrepreneurial and an excellent cook, but she has obviously never really had to call on the sisterhood. If you are faced with domestic violence, discrimination, poverty, inequality, harrassment, lack of opportunities etc. because you are a woman; that is when you start thinking about how the world works and become a feminist.

I think the term just means that you are more conscious of gender inequality and are willing to act in some way to alleviate this.

Lots of interesting articles on contemporary feminism onthe F word site

" I agree bigmouth. It is scary how many young women reject feminism..............and I suppose if you look at the sheer numbers of plastic surgery procedures and the general "getting your tits out is the best way to be 'successful'" attitude amongst young girls, then I suppose feminism has failed on many levels ! "

Peas - Isn't there an argument that the normalisation of overt female sexuality in the media (nuts mag, FHM, ladettes, etc etc) is a response of the patriarchy to the success of feminism.

Northernlurker - I think the dungarees for feminists was a subversive statement to de-sexualise their appearance.

there are loads of sahm on mumsnet...they just don't feel the need to bang on about it at every opportunity...maybe they're the real feminists...happy with their choice and not trying to have it all.....when your happy and confident...you have nothing to prove.

Sorry Pruners, not a dig at you I promise, only just seen this thread and read a little. You said

'It's sort of a damning indictment of feminism, isn't it, that so many women don't really 'get' feminism and can therefore come out with shite like this.'

It's a damning indictment of the hegemony that still exists to exclude feminists, women, anyone who isn't a white middle class male, who are the decision makers in this society. It's harder to explain concepts like patriarchy; much easier for the right wing press to stereotype feminists as man-haters, lesbians etc. (Why are they so scared of lesbians?)

I can't believe that we are still having this debate or that women who one perceives as intelligent can come out with such tosh.

However, I reserve the right to still make Yorkshire Puds using her un-conscious-raised recipe!!

What else would you expect from a bunch of mutha's SM?

jesus wept how did this turn into Sahm Vs working.that is divisive

Best feminist book i've read recently is 'Who Stole Feminism' by Christina Hoff Sommers. Here's an extract geneva.rutgers.edu/src/faq/feminist-myths.txt

Why are they so scared of lesbians?)

Less scared, more jealous I suspect

I know Scottishmummy! And with straw women examples of SAHM who trudge around smallholdings like Vashti Bunyan and WOHM who wear powersuits and all work in the city (the city presumably being Dallas with JR Ewing).

Madness.

Well Sue Ellen was my primary role model in the 80s! A slave to her id!

cant stand her never have silly woman!

ach sue ellen wasnt so bad,she just had scary hair

This one's always guaranteed to induce a rant from me....

Can't think of another woman anywhere who exploits women more than men....

She preys on our feelings of inadequacy so that we HAVE to buy her books which almost always have references to ingredients and/or equipment that we just don't find in our local supermarkets, so each time we feel brave enough to attempt to cook Delia-style it is fraught with hurdles that eventually fend us off until the next time DH or DMIL want more than the local takeaway can manage of a Friday evening. To add insult to injury the cocky-cow (off course meant in an entirely endearing way) has the cheek to go into garage-mechanic-speak-slowly mode and produce her How To Cook books or Idiots Guide To Egg Boiling!

Will stay away from the woman at all cost and convince myself that Burned is The New BBQ this season darlings.

yes the wohm/ sahm issue is a dead end debate but is an inevitable topic when disussing the F word. Thems the (unwritten) rules

only on MN do folk get so incandescent about SAHM/Working.RL not discussed

That may be so SM and to an extent I agree - but as MN is a forum where real people discuss their opinions as shaped by their experiences the issue of how people feel about woh or sah - is a 'real' one no matter how you or I may feel about it or what importance we place upon it.

didnt say it was an existential state.just said no biggie in real life

I wasn;t being ironic!

the media representation of the feminism is a sort of pendulum swinging from the andrea dworkins to the jordans of this world - and not many stops in between..

delia, bit misguided but its the interviewer that i'd be annoyed with..what a howler, not pulling someone up for such careless fuckwittery on, er, Woman's hour wtf

Tallulahtoo- I so agree with what you said about her, but she is not really anyone to care much about what they say, I mean...Delia Smith....sheis hardly an influencial person (or is she and I am mistaken!?)
Perhaps I do not know enough about Delia because I spend far too much time focusing on my feminist side, nurturing my hate of men, clearly what feminism is all about sarcasm

My mother looks like her

It is feminisms reponnsiblity to promote feminism well. If people, espcecially women, don't take it seriously anymore, then maybe it needs to take a look at itself and ask why, not label these women "female chauvinist pigs", which was the nadir for feminism inho. Sadly, as there are women are still in need of a coherent advocate. Today's feminism isn;t that advocate.