Today I saw an interesting charity stall in Coopers Square, Burton-on-Trent. Normally I avoid fund-raisers in the street like the plague; Birmingham City Centre is full of charity employees giving passers-by the hard-sell and I've learnt to avoid eye contact at all costs. My form of philanthropy is to volunteer for organisations or frequent charity shops. With a bit of anticipation and mental preparation I approached a young, friendly looking woman to ask about how I could get involved in her organisation's campaign.
What was it about this particular campaign that caught my attention? The campaign was calledBecause I Am A Girland the posters displayed facts about the fate of young girls and women in other countries, with particular emphasis on child marriage. After reflecting on what feminism means to me and assessing where I stand on current debates, I feel the need to actually contribute. The young woman running the stall told me that across the world there are girls as young as five being forced or coerced into marriage with grown men. The Human Rights Act states that the minimum age of marriage is 18 years old, or 16 with parental consent; these marriages of young girls are therefore violating the rights which are taken for granted in the UK.
What is my plan to contribute to the Because I Am A Girlcampaign? I asked about volunteering for the campaign and was provided with the details for Plan UK. For now, I have Taken the Vowand signed the petition to end early and forced marriage by applying political pressure to the UK's Secretary of State to work with other governments to end child marriage. The aims of the campaign can be found on the website, including providing at least nine years of education to all girls and to protects the right of girls to the same extent as boys' rights. For instance, sponsorship of the campaign is put towards the training of clerks across the world to record and issue birth certificates for baby girls as well as boys, so that it will be harder to marry girls before the age of 18. Please can you spare a few minutes to sign the e-petition and learn a bit more about this important campaign to find out how we can give young girls in other countries the same opportunities that we, our sisters, our mothers and our daughters have. It is only because of the geography of our births that this is not something that we struggle against ourselves.
So, last week I wrote about the inappropriate Derby Olympic Torch Celebration; after publishing the post, I sent an email to Derby City Council. Since then I have received three responses. The first was a acknowledge of my email, then the "Contact Us" Department informing me that they are now forwarding my email to the Complaints Department. Finally, the Complaints Department informed me that I had not gone through their official complaints procedure and that a formal investigation will need to occur. This could take up to two weeks whilst the relevant departments are informed of my complaint and then a solution is found.
InThe Noughtie Girl's Guide to Feminism, Ellie Levenson expresses her opinions regarding a wide-range of topics, including reproductive rights, career progression and sexual violence.
However, I can't help but feel that Levenson has cut herself short on some very interesting topics. For instance, I can feel Levenson's passion emanating from her writing but I do feel that she is stifling this to discuss as many issue as possible. The result is a book which feels more like a brief dictation as to what Feminism (wait, Levenson's Feminism) is really about. I personally wanted to see more analysis of current perceptions of sexual violence and also more of Leveson's own thoughts about this subject. There were too many topics for any to have justice done to its current debate. Having said this, The Noughtie Girl's Guide is indeed a guide for the hitherto uninitiated reader. If I look at it as an introductory text to allow others to develop an interest in Feminism, then this book is fabulous!
The language is quite basic, but this is a deliberate effort on Levenson's part to make her book accessible to a younger generation of feminists. I would have preferred The Noughtie Girl's Guide to Feminism to have contained a slightly more sophisticated vocabulary, but acknowledge that Levenson was attempting to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and not narrow herself to an academic readership.
Levenson references other current polemics in her writing, explaining how she came to formulate her opinions or the interactions between herself and these other writers. She even quoted Germaine Greer upon occasion, so she clearly has done a lot of research even if the book is rather condensed overall. The facts contained within were interesting and relevantly used to highlight as well as effectively support her many viewpoints.
Overall, I found this a delightful book and couldn't put it down. However, I was left wanting to know more; more about the topics covered within and about Levenson's own views. After a quick bit of on-line research, I was disappointed not to find any other books by Levenson. This book would have been a great foot-in-the-door to further writing in the same vein where her topics are even further analysed.
Today I was going clearing my SD Card on my camera for my upcoming camping trip when I found some footage that I'd taken at the recent Olympic Torch Celebrations in Derby; there was a child dance group who were dancing to songs such as Sexy and I Know It and Moves Like Jagger.
When I saw these children, who look between the ages of five to eight, dancing to LMAFO's club hit my jaw dropped. I wasn't the only one; the friends I were with mirrored my complete shock. For years I've been reading or hearing about the apparent "sexualisation" of children but treated this with suspicion. After all, I remember wanting to appear more like an adult or teenager when I was a child. Yet, when I took this footage I remember feeling that this was definitely a step too far!
However, I was in for a even more shocking surprise when the music changed to Maroon 5's recent hit Moves Like Jagger; the children proceeded to straddle each other suggestively on floor and then slide their bodies together! I was appalled! Surely the choreographer of the children's group would have realised the implications behind this before broadcasting this as part of the Olympic Celebrations? And why didn't the council politely ask the choreographer to change certain elements of the routine?
I think now I am beginning to understand Levy in Female Chauvinist Pigs. This is clear evidence of the introduction of children into Raunch Culture, and I wouldn't want my nephews or niece or be a part of a group like this. This type of music is quite clearly sexual, something which I doubt the children were able to understand in its entirety. What does it say about our culture when this type of sexualisation of children occurs right in the open, in a highly publicised event? Maybe it's time we had a good long look at ourselves and the music we pipe down the radio into our children's ears. That's not to say that this type of music is inherently bad, I rather enjoy both of these songs myself, but I'm not sure anyone is paying attention to the effect it is having on children.
The rest of the celebration wasn't a completed wash-out, my friends and myself had front-row view of the Olympic Torch as it passed us on Full Street Derby and we finished off the night in the local Book Cafe' listening to some live music; the evening entertainment arranged by the Council was three women dancing on stage to Brazilian music... in bras and thongs.
I've just started reading Ariel Levy's Female Chauvinist Pigs; this might be something that I need to reread several times just to form a solid opinion on her writing. At least when I was reading Greer or Levenson I knew as I was reading what I identified with and what I rejected. With Levy I'm torn. On one hand, I agree that (some) women are demeaning their selves and flaunting themselves as objects; I've lived in Birmingham for two years and been to the party scene, witnessed this degradation and even borne the brunt of it myself when two men decided to push their luck with my boundaries. I've always been morally against Playboy and Hugh Hefner, even when as a teenager most of my friends had pencil casing sporting the Bunny Logo. However, there is something in the writing style of Levy that baffles me. Hopefully I'll understand why there is a niggling feeling inside of me that says, Something is not quite right with this book.
Keep your eyes on this space for more of my thoughts of Female Chauvinist Pigs.
I've been reading more of The Noughtie Girl's Guide to Feminismby Ellie Levenson and have come across the topic of parental leave. I never knew that I had an opinion on this topic until recently when I was discussing my expectations for parental leave with my partner. I personally don't feel, like Levenson, that women should be expected to take more parental leave than men; granted having a baby is physically exhausting and this needs to be taken into consideration when calculating parental leave, but I do think that both parents should be entitled between them to take a year off from work. At the moment (as far as I am aware) men are only entitled to two weeks leave, whereas a woman can take six weeks at 90% of their earnings and then another 36 weeks with some sort of pay. Their job is secured for them if they return within a year after their babies birth.
In my ideal world, I'd prefer have enough time to recover physically and then share days off with my partner. Maybe I'd work Monday and Tuesday with at home, both of us have Wednesday as a family day or use childcare provision and then him spend Thursday and Friday with the baby whilst I work. Maybe, given my own ambitions and my partners, we will be able to achieve this. Maybe we won't.
I must say, though, that I am heartened to see that Parental Leave (available for thirteen weeks a year, until the child is up to the age of five) is applicable to both parents. How disheartening would it be to put my career on hold whilst I watch my partner continue to progress; I've never considered myself as a career woman but recent experiences at my work experience placement have left me with a thirst for more. And I'm sure that my partner wouldn't want to miss out on experiencing important moments, like discovering their first favourite foods or watching our child develop from independent baby to fully-fledged individual.
Finally, I know that I won't have to worry about this for a loo-ooo-oong time (after all, I'm a young woman in my final year of university who aspires to start her career next year) but it doesn't hurt to start pondering now, does it? Besides, it means that should an opportunity present itself where I can apply some political pressure to change this situation occur, I can grasp it with both hands already secure in the knowledge of my own opinion.
What are your thoughts and opinions on this topic? Feel free to comment!
Another trip to the Library today and checked out a copy of The Noughtie Girl's Guide to Feminism. I sat down in a local cafe' to read the introduction and was blown away. I was struck by the writing style that Leveson used when writing The Noughties Girl's Guide; she spoke with perfect common sense and does not over-complicate her ideas. This is a perfect book for the modern reader. It outlines issues affecting both men and women in the 2000's and I'm already on chapter three. Keeps your eyes on this space for my official verdict.
