In defence of Lara Croft

By James Southworth

The debate to which this post refers has come back into gaming circles recently due to the release of the Tomb Raider reboot, in which well-loved archaeologist cum pistol marksman Lara Croft has undergone a few fundamental changes. Gone are the bare legs with gun holders designed to look like suspender tops, the shining perfect skin (even when crawling through Egyptian ruins and muddy swamps) and, probably the most significant change, a reduction in breast size to something less evocative of two swollen basketballs. In steps a young woman wearing cargo pants, a generic vest top and covered in bloody grazes and dirt. It seems like a change for the better, no?

Miley, you can (and should) stop.

By Coralie Clover

I will defend Miley Cyrus' right to wear whatever she likes until the end of my days. The two piece costume she donned on Sunday was essentially no different to the beige set Lady Gaga wore in a great deal of the video to Alejandro (or, in fact, the underwear Gaga ended up in at the VMAs at the end of her performance), and I don't think simply vilifying her for that is useful or constructive; a topic which this blog covered very nicely a few days ago. The entire performance was problematic in so many different ways that simply plucking out her clothes and designating them the root of all evil – but only commenting on that, too, without considering the wider issues – is a bit reductive.

She's just being Miley

Two of our authors talk about our reactions to THAT performance:

Primary School Teachers: The Great Divide

By Mia Chapman

Before I begin, I would like to explain why this post may not come across as particularly feminist. Until recently, I would not have used this word to describe myself because for me, like many others, this label came with negative connotations of the extreme. I have now come to realise that I do, in fact, agree with the cause: equal opportunities and free choice. I am in no way a man hater, which is what I once believed you had to be, and that is why I am writing this post; because I believe in equal opportunities and freedom for men as well as women.

Think back to your primary school days and try to remember how many of your teachers were male and how many female, particularly in the early years. I believe I had two throughout my entire seven years, and these were in years five and six. I am about to go to study to become a primary school teacher at University, which is a particularly female dominated profession; further indication that there is still a huge amount of gender division within the workplace.  I have not yet started my degree and do not know exactly how many men are on the course but, from my experiences at interviews and talking to future coursemates via Facebook, it is clear that the men will be significantly outnumbered. The numbers of male primary school teachers are increasing, albeit incredibly slowly, and, from the most recent 2011 -2012 statistics, a mere 19% of trainee registrations were in fact male [Source: The Department for Education, 2012].

Male and female brains

By Madeleine Whybrow 

The idea that men and women are inherently different, particularly in psychological terms, is a popular, perhaps even obvious, view. Common sense tells us that behaviour depends heavily on gender; men are often more aggressive and prone to risk-taking, whereas women tend to be kinder and more communicative. Could it be that these differences are hard-wired into our brains?

If you don't like me, you can just jog on.

Dating is a minefield, right?

I am a child of Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Company, and because of this I have been operating under ridiculous dating rules, trying to present myself as someone entirely different, in the vain hope that my date will think me worthy of seeing again. Here are four of the main things I have been repeatedly guilty of:

First World Feminism

This year I took part in a feminism campaign organised by my university’s student union’s women’s campaign, in which pictures were taken of students holding a whiteboard with the message “I need feminism because...”. On my whiteboard I wrote the message “I need feminism because Private Eye, the Economist, NME, New Scientist, etc. shouldn’t be categorised under ‘men’s interests’”. Though mainly positive, the picture did elicit some negative feedback, perhaps most annoyingly a comment that read “Nice to see you all keeping the major issues in the spotlight...”.

Where are all the women scientists?

By Madeleine Whybrow

The workplace has seen significant progress in terms of gender equality in modern times and is a reasonable success story for the feminist movement. In Britain today women enjoy more employment rights than in any other point in history. We have better pay and more opportunities than any of our predecessors, and are less likely to be discriminated against. However, it is clear that some areas are progressing faster than others.

Girls who eat their feelings.

No one likes to be dumped. And this goes for all forms of rejection, whether by a man, job interview or friend.

 Rejection makes us feel unwanted, unattractive, unhappy. The list goes on…

 So we reach for that tub of the ice cream. We eat our feelings. We compare ourselves to Bridget Jones with that tub of Ben & Jerry’s. One last feast, and then tomorrow, we’ll turn our lives around, we’ll show them.

 This is a disastrous coping mechanism.

#shoutingback

 ‘Feminism’ used to be a bold, italicised, negative word to me. I saw it as connected to narrow minded women who refuse and discourage genuine chivalry. Those who in the process of fighting for women’s rights are treading on the voices and rights of decent men. And I would to this day still hold to that. The end goal is equal rights, but recently I’ve realised that to create a balance there needs to be a push towards working on the female side of that.