Feminist Pub X: Regulars and new faces welcome, consciousness raising is a possibility.

[CaptChaos]

The old pub now has less than 10 posts to go, so I thought I'd start a new one. The old one can be found here

This is a place for feminist pom pom waving and talking about stuff which might not need a thread for itself.

Fill your boots.

I wandered onto MN for a little distraction, read a NAMALT thread, got depressed and now I'm leaving. Oh well, figures need inserting, it's probably for the best....

I too have "wandered in." I wanted to blurt out how sad I am about the Oscar Pistorius verdict. I've been very busy all weekend but it's just been there at the back of my mind, just so very unfair and depressing. Occasionally I feel moments of rage, but mostly I just feel so so sad.

Sabrina, the pasting you got over there was horrible. One of the posters showed their true colours though and the other obviously doesn't believe wen when they say they have been abused, so their opinion ain't worth much really.

Have a calming glass of something and relax!

Women ffs, women!

Can't wait for internet back, this phone is doing my swede in.

I haven't wandered anywhere...

Glass of something in hand and not thinking about anything in particular for a change. But booked tickets for the opera! V. exciting. Must mug up before turning up.

Sabrinnnnnna just read that thread you were on. You were amazing! As was basghetti and ABland. I think the post about us all being mummies kept by our husbands showed true colours and demonstrated how tenuous and misogynistic their arguments were.

It's one called Watching the Pistorius Trial (or something like that). Begins with watching anyway .

Here you go

Thanks, scallops.

I'm really not sure why many people are so unclear about what trial verdicts mean. There are no "proven innocent" verdicts, only "guilty" or "not proven to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt" verdicts.

Now, that's not to say in some trials that there's not oodles of doubt! But in some trials the amount of doubt could be small, yet still not past the "beyond reasonable" threshold. Especially when the distinction is due to intent and state of mind rather than physical evidence like bullet trajectories etc.

And yet a "not guilty" verdict is seen by some as a "100% certification of innocence" rather than a "somewhat less than 95% certainty of guilt" - I don't get it.

He'll be milking the tortured-soul, it-was-an-accident thing for a good long time I imagine.

Can I ask for help? I'm trying to do a bit of reading, just general good texts to start from, as I haven't done any proper reading (esp feminist reading) since university. I'm struggling for time though (aren't we all) and was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some pod casts or even audio books so I can 'read' while I'm at the gym? Most of my studies were around globalisation/feminism in developing countries/feminism and economics in developing countries, but I'm open to anything really. Any links or pointers for good sites?

Evening sisters, definitely a for me - been on day with the dc and various friends Nice but exhausting.

Thanks re. the Oscar thread - I also got supportive pm's. I can't decide whether the poster in question is actually a misogynist, someone rather unhappy who just likes a scrap on the internet - or a bit of both.

Oh there's a really good feminist book about global economies and women's work. And it's popped right out of my head. It's by someone called something like Marilyn Waring.

Fuck I really could do with a decent memory tonight!

I suspect a bit of both. I think they were on a bit of a wind up mission Sabrina. Bloody annoying anyway!

Counting for Nothing. That's it! Not sure if there is an audio book though. It may be out of print.

Sabrina, the one who accused us all of being kept women has a very different POV on another OP thread. Maybe they are just having a bad day?

Evening All! I've been following that Oscar P thread, although I've only posted on it once, after that horrid comment about being a 'keep woman' was made . Never seen that poster's name before, but geeze, what a regressive statement he/she made!

Oh Buffy - they were far nastier to you on that thread!

I've just read the other OP thread - and she's posting in a completely different style tonight. Perhaps a wee bit too much last night? She seemed to take what I (and others) posted incredibly personally, and I still don't really understand why.

The lolololol comment about us all being mommies and kept women was just so ridiculous it didn't even register. That and her comments about believing someone just because they have a vagina, and dumped, lying women...Internalised misogyny?

This whole thing has really made me think about the plight of abused women. Women are either vilified for not leaving their abuser, but if they do, or are left, they are the bitter ex. They are not believed.

Men are believed - even when their testimony defies all reason. Even when they have killed a woman - their supposed beloved partner. Which is ironic when you think we were criticised for believing someone 'just because they have a vagina and a womb' - when it seems the exact opposite is the case.

LRD made a very interesting comment on the OP thread in FWR (which I've only just noticed) about the Glosswitch article "clearly points out how men assume the role of 'objective' commentators while women's stories are seen as inherently unreliable." So true.

Glad you liked it! (This is me, LRD).

I think Glosswitch is such a great writer.

Also, I am totally stealing her point (as paraphrased by me there) for what I'm researching.

Urgh, MN is just downright depressing at the moment. From NAMALT and rape apology to racism to anti-Semitism to women who think they're irretrievably fat at size 12. Where has the intellectual and emotional intelligence of the site gone?

I may need to take a break for a while.

I haven't ventured anywhere lately. A bit dull, me... In fact I feel a bit dull. Lots of dull work to be got through. After that I'll be sparkling again.

Annie - I found the size 12 thread really depressing, mainly as I'm a UK 12 myself (an 8 here in the US).

One of my friends is a US 4 (UK 8), readily admits she's under the minimum healthy weight for her height (she's tall, like I am), but says she mentally cannot be more than a size 4. "Times have changed," she told me, "a size 6 used to be the ideal, but now it's 0-4 that's ideal." How fucking depressing.

And I've got to raise three daughters in this society.

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On a separate note, I see that Oscar Pistorius is apparently planning to write a memoir about the night of Reeva Steenkamp's murder (or "death" as his spokesperson worded it).

Not content with robbing a young woman of the rest of her life, he now wants to profit from it.

Oscar Pistorius fucking disgusts me.