Have you been watching ‘Borgen’? Some are calling it the new West Wing. I think it’s even better – because of the strong female Prime Minster at the centre of the drama and the way the show examines the political process, the relationship between media and politics but most importantly – the way politics leaves little room or energy for family life. By the end of series 1 Birgitte Nyborg appears to have grown into her leadership role, but is also utterly sleep-deprived, separated from her husband and realises that her children are paying a price for her job. Continue reading “Top Girls in 2012”
Difficult Intersections
On 3rd Feb. 2012 the Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research (LSBU) held a BSA Families and Relationship study group day conference ‘Intersecting Family Lives, Locales and Labours’. Plenary talks by Professor Diane Reay and Professor Michele Goodwin will soon be available on the Weeks Centre website. Continue reading “Difficult Intersections”
Launch of major new resource: Olive Schreiner Letters Online
Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) is one of the world’s great feminist writers and social theorists, with her novels including The Story of an African Farm and her political treatises including Woman and Labour among many other writings. She also wrote c4800+ exceptionally important letters between 1871 and 1920, a period of momentous changes in the world which her letters are concerned with, and which also brought changes regarding letter-writing and literary practices too. Schreiner’s letters – all of them, in full, detailed and easy to read transcriptions – are now available electronically world-wide. Continue reading “Launch of major new resource: Olive Schreiner Letters Online”
Rape and Reality TV
On Sunday night 15th January, an alleged rape was broadcast live on the current, twelfth season of Big Brother Brazil. Meanwhile, one week later, in the UK Celebrity Big Brother House one housemate pulled down another’s trousers. Both events raise questions about gender, power and reality in contemporary society. Continue reading “Rape and Reality TV”
Telling girls the truth about domestic violence
Constantly, I am dismayed by the reporting style used in national and local media when women lose their lives as a result of domestic violence. Continue reading “Telling girls the truth about domestic violence”
The Real Iron Ladies
At 12.30 pm on 6th January a banner was unfurled outside the Cineworld Cinema in Chesterfield. The banner read ‘The Real Iron Ladies’ Women’s Action Group Miners Strike 1984/85. This was in protest at the Hollywood re-writing of history in a film about Margaret Thatcher called ‘The Iron Lady’, starring Meryl Streep, which premiered in London in the first week in January. Continue reading “The Real Iron Ladies”
Boffins and geeks: geek or chic?
The labels swot, ear ’ole, boffin, keeno, geek and nerd resonate meaningfully across generations of school-goers and echo through the terrains of popular culture. Our Gender and Education viewpoint started life as a conversation about our own research into how such identities are imagined and lived. We wondered: Has ‘the rise of the nerd’ meant that being a ‘boffin’ at school has lost its stigma? Continue reading “Boffins and geeks: geek or chic?”
Education, Activism and Practice: Report from the BERA Sexuality & Youth Studies Event
November 11th 2011 saw an exciting joint symposium between the Youth studies and Sexualities BERA SIG at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Continue reading “Education, Activism and Practice: Report from the BERA Sexuality & Youth Studies Event”
Girl guiding survey reports austerity impacting on UK girls’ education and career aspirations
The 2011 Girls’ Attitudes Survey by the Girl Guides has reported that financial uncertainty is shaping girls’ and young women’s career and academic aspirations. Continue reading “Girl guiding survey reports austerity impacting on UK girls’ education and career aspirations”