'Losing' or 'giving' virginity?

Excellent and clear post on this topic by a blogger known as @fearlessknits on Twitter.

Well worth a read - here's a very brief quote from the article:

If virginity is something that is given rather than taken, then that subtly shifts sex from being something that one person does to another, to something that two people do together. All in a mode of speech. That, if widely used by teachers in sex ed classes, should only take 15 - 20 years or so to become the accepted and expected way to discuss this.

Girly bikes for kids

Gendered marketing for bikes - Raleigh promises to look into the comments


more later

Three faces of feminism - Libertarian Lou's blog

Why Jodie Marsch is more interesting than the Mensch-Penny discussion on Newsnight. I confess to turning off partway through Newsnight, but didn't even think of Channel 5.

Post from Left Eye Right Eye on the 3 faces of feminism 

Worth a closer look.  Last two paras are very good.

Why are so many men scared of feminism?

http://www.michaelkaufman.com/

worth a read.

Men and depression

An article in the Guardian by Ally Fogg argues that the 'boys don't cry' culture is largely to blame for the suicides of under-35-year-old males.  They need to be more open about their emotions, and more prepared to ask for help.  The Dean Windlass story, and Gary Speed's death were the immediate triggers for the article.
As ever comments beneath are enough in places to drive me to despair - in others they are brilliant.  
My own take?  Definitely an issue for anyone concerned with gender equality.

Go, Riley!

Watch this

Yay, kiddo! Right on.

Female 'Faces of the Year' . Thanks Beeb!

London Feminist points out :

Our active women, and their reasons for making the news, are: Adele (pop star), Sarah Burton (dress designer), Pauline Pearce (“heroine of Hackney”) and the Duchess of Alba (got married aged 88.)

Our passive women are: Gabrielle Giffords (got shot in the head and survived), Eman al-Obeidi (beaten and gang-raped by Gaddafi’s militia), Nafissatou Diallo (was allegedly subjected to a sexual attack by DSK), Jelena Lecic (her identity was stolen by a man pretending to be a Middle Eastern blogger), Charlene Wittstock (wept as she reluctantly married the Prince of Monaco – seriously, this woman’s fame is not something we as a society should be proud of), Rebecca Leighton (got falsely accused of murder) and Kelsey de Santis (got taken on a date by Justin Timberlake).

and don't forget the panda.

BBC link - Faces of the Year

Cuts hit women hard in the UK

Report from the Fawcett Society and various other groups. Article in the Guardian

As always some of the comments below the line show that some people's attitudes are well in reverse already.