Invitation to Mr. Humphrys

PHOEBE MCINDOE On Radio 4’s Today programme Humphrys discussed the increasing levels of knife crime in England attributing the increased levels to Theresa May’s stop and search reforms. May’s reforms were carried out in 2014 in an attempt to reduce the number of illegal and indiscriminate searches that were taking place. At that time May […]

There are no vaginas in Myanmar?

PHOEBE MCINDOE In Burma there isn’t a medically precise word for vagina, they use another word meaning “woman’s organ”. The good news is that as part of The Vagina Monologues 20th anniversary, vaginas are finally coming to Burma. Women’s hour discusses. Audiences in Myanmar talked of their surprise upon watching the show (which has recently been […]

Witch Hunt or Awakening? Thoughts on the Globes.

At this year’s Golden Globes, both women and men in attendance dressed in black to signify what actress Amber Tamblyn called “an awakening”. And perhaps in some ways it was. As the New York Times explains, “[the Hollywood establishment] used the Globes to insist that it would reform itself– that the harassment of women would […]

Body Image and Social Media

This week we wanted to look at body image issues for both young men and young women and synthesize some of the resources out there on the topic. We should begin by acknowledging the rather obvious fact that both boys and girls, men and women struggle with body image. As current research has shown, mass […]

#RAPstories

What is your story? A LOT of attention has been paid to sexual harassment as of late. We have heard about extensive sexual harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment on college campuses, sexual harassment perpetrated by adults against children. Less discussed is the growing issue of sexual harassment among children or peer-on-peer sexual harassment as […]

This week’s top resources for parents

For the NYT’s guide to mindfulness for children at every age and what parents can do to help their children practice being present and accepting, click here. For the Washington Post’s top six tips for how parents can help their teens deal with sexual harassment, click here. Or, to read about how you can teach […]

Sexting and Consent: Takeaways from Amy Hasinoff’s TEDx Talk

Amy Adele Hasinoff, an assistant professor of communication and author of Sexting Panic, has been researching sexting since 2008. She defines sexting as “using any form of digital communication (via phone, app, email, etc.) to send a sexual image or text message to another person.” In her TEDx talk about sexting and consent, she points […]

For parents: How to speak to your kids about consent, sex and sexual assault.

Phyllis Fagell provides some useful tips about how to incorporate talks about sex and healthy relationships into daily conversations with your kids. You can watch the video or read the article. The Rainn Organization, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S., has a number of suggestions about how to speak to children about sexual […]

FEMINISM?

26 September 2017 Last week we visited St Mary’s Ascot school to deliver a talk about The Big Leap, the challenging transition between secondary school and what comes next; university, a gap year or work. As we walked into the Rose Theatre, we were greeted by a group of bright and engaged young women who […]

Useful Sites

Talking to your child about porn The NSPCC recently published guidelines on how to talk to your child about online porn. The Parent Zone The Parent Zone provide information, help, advice, support and resources to parents, teachers, health professionals, police officers, e-safety officers and HR professionals – anyone who engages with parents. The Mix The […]