Copenhagen must bring gender justice

"Marginalised women across the developing world will be hit hard by climate change – but their voices are rarely heard."Of course, we know by now that the Copenhagan summit has ended with barely a glimmer of progress. This was nothing if not predictable. Who thought for one...

Muslim woman 'abused' over dress by Christian hotelier

"A Muslim woman was asked by a Christian hotelier if she was a terrorist and a murderer because she was wearing Islamic dress, a court has been told. Ericka Tazi told Liverpool magistrates she faced a tirade of abuse from Benjamin Vogelenzang and his wife Sharon, at their...

Has Amanda Knox been demonised more than the male co-convicteds?

Feminist criminologists have been studying perceptions of female offenders for a number of years now. The data collected around this issue indicate that a woman will be demonised to a greater extent than a man for committing the same offence. For example: "With the murders...

Prostitution: a crime of purchasing

"Peers have been debating the policing and crime bill. Their deliberations mean that the government will take a historic step: instead of controlling prostitution by punishing women, it will penalise the purchasers – the men." This is an unpredictable development. (And one...

Women worked to death in Lebanon

"Four Ethiopian domestic workers are thought to have killed themselves in three weeks. Lebanon must protect these women. They mop floors, take out the rubbish, walk the dog, buy groceries and care for the children, the elderly or disabled. Many a well-to-do and lower middle...

Kate Moss' motto gives comfort to 'pro-anorexic' community

"When the supermodel Kate Moss, in a rare online interview this week, told readers that one of her mottos was "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels", the fallout was instant, vitriolic and damning." How horribly ill-conceived was this remark by Kate Moss? (Let's face it,...

Somali woman stoned for adultery

"A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people." Is this a sign of the patriarchy hard at work? Or is it evidence of the age-old practice of ritually humiliating 'wayward...

Fantasy Fest 2009 Photos of Girls and Bodypaint

More Fantasy Fest 2009 in Key West, Florida

Papal Cynicism

On October 20, Pope Benedict XVI approved a plan wherein the Pope will issue an apostolic constitution, a form of papal decree, that will lead to the creation of "personal ordinariates" for Anglicans who convert to Rome.John Hooper of the UK Guardian reports: "More than half...