Kiran Gandhi

Periods aren’t fun. Running 26.2 miles doesn’t strike me as much fun either. So when your period falls on a marathon for which you’ve been training for nearly a year, it’s easy to imagine the difficult position you are put in. Do you keep taking your pill to skip a period and face the consequences of being pumped with hormones? Do you give up and not run, waste the last year of incredible sacrifice and hard work just because your womb has decided to shed its lining? Do you run wearing a tampon, which could cause severe discomfort and worry about finding toilets along the way?

Kiran Gandhi decided to literally stick it to man when she got her period the day before she ran the London Marathon for breast cancer without any form of sanitary protection. She states a number of reasons including raising awareness for those women who do not have access to protection and the fact that it would be inconvenient for her. The response to her selfless 26.2 miles has shocked me, the media has branded her a ‘egotistical’ ‘unhygienic’ and ‘disgusting’. Everything that Kiran did for this marathon has been for women. She raised money for breast cancer, a disease where 99% of the sufferers are female [national breast cancer] and she raised awareness about periods. She has stated that she wants women to be able to talk about the pain they feel with their monthly periods because many women feel that their periods affect their careers, one in four stating that it affects how well they concentrate in the work place [daily mail], by talking about it, it may lead to a better understanding, less stigma and less shame.

Kiran has succeeded in bringing the topic of periods back into the media. She shocked people and she made a very awkward male radio 2 presenter say the word ‘tampon’. Yet there is a lot more to be done, we need to banish the idea that periods are disgusting, this only adds to the fear that young girls experience whilst growing up. They become use to the idea that periods are unnatural and something to be hidden away, which could cause them to be ashamed of their bodies. We are punished for having periods, we are taxed for having periods, we are losing out at work because of out periods. When in actual fact, periods are a part of everybody’s life. They are necessary. We need to normalise periods, my own mum who has had periods for 30 plus years and two children was horrified when she first heard about Kiran on the radio. But once Kiran explained why she did it and what she hoped the consequences would be, my mum began to understand it and by the end of the radio interview actually supported her. This shows that we need talk about periods and be honest about how they affect us, instead of hiding them out of embarrassment. This doesn’t mean we need to necessarily ruin our favourite jeans by not wearing protection if we don’t want to, but it means we need to speak up about periods and not make horrible comments about Kiran and what she’s bravely done. 

Written by Georgina

Picture Credit: Ellen

https://medium.com/absurdist/going-with-the-flow-blood-sisterhood-at-the-london-marathon-
f719b98713e7http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/male-breast-cancerhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-358454/Period-pain-cripples-womens-careers.html 

The JK culture

All over the world millions of young girls and women are viewed as sexual objects by men and society. But the situation in Japan, a country which has been called the most misogynistic in the whole developed world, seems far worse than some others.

In Japan, schoolgirls line the streets, dressed in uniform, selling services to older men such as a 30 minute chat or a walk around the block. They are very popular amongst Japanese men, but the creepiest fact is that older, middle aged men, frequently seem more interested. The age of consent in Japan is only 13, and if you type 'school girl' into google, the first hit is sexy school girl costumes, so it is undoubtedly an issue.

Whilst on the face of it many of the services being sold appear to be fairly innocent, unfortunately young girls are often offered more money to perform 'additional services', such as sexual acts including sexual intercourse itself. Seeing as almost all of these girls are underage, the fact that they are finding themselves in these compromising situations is very saddening.

The 'schoolgirl' (or 'JK' in Japanese) culture started in the 90's, and every year more and more young girls find themselves on the street, working for male bosses, selling themselves in this way. Many of these girls come from broken families, or have run away from home, so in such an isolated environment they have nobody to turn to for help.

There do exist some aid workers, and the Japanese authorities have performed some raids on the places where these young girls work, but it does not appear that enough is being done to combat this extremely inappropriate behaviour. Many people blame the girls for agreeing to this job in the first place, but it seems clear to me that they are the victims.

The very fact that there is such an obsession with young girls dressed in school uniform is sickening, and in a country which has agreed to the UN requirements for equality between men and women it surely must be stopped.

Written by Lili

Picture credit: Ellen




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NcIGBKXMOE

Career vs Children

In light of the recent moves by parliament to close the gender pay gap once and for all (it is now necessary for all companies with over 250 employees to reveal the difference between the average salaries paid to men and women, in an attempt to shame them into paying men and women equally), the real question for me is whether or not this policy addresses the root of the issue.

Shamefully British women continue to earn less than their male counterparts in spite of legislation intended to prevent this. However this is no longer due to open discrimination but instead it seems that, once again, womens' ability to reproduce is impeding their advances in the work place.

The problem appears to lie in the period of time during and after childbirth. For every new Mother, regardless of her ambitions, it is necessary to take time off from her job. Even with changes to paternity leave allowing men to share this burden the vast majority of Mothers end up taking a sizable break from their careers. This effectively means that many Mothers fall behind their male counterparts whilst having children, something that is near impossible to recover from, this great disadvantage prevents countless women from progressing in their careers and therefore they are less likely to be earning as much as men, simply due to the fact that they have not climbed as high up the career ladder.

Unfortunately there is a fair amount of evidence to support this, if we look at the most influential female politicians, many are childless. Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Merkel, Theresa May and Liz Kendall to name but a few, are all women who have sacrificed having a family for the sake of their jobs. Obviously this was a personal choice on their parts, and there are women who have succeeded whilst raising children, but the problem is that this remains far less likely. Therefore it is unsurprising that so few politicians are female.

With young women today facing a choice between children and a high powered job, undoubtedly something needs to change, but how make this change is the real question.

Already there have been alterations made to employment laws in order to break the glass ceiling, but it is impossible to escape the facts of biology. Women are ultimately more suited to nursing babies soon after childbirth, and therefore, even when Fathers want to take the lion's share of childcare, this is far harder during early childhood without being at the expense of the children, for example depriving them of breast milk. 

Part time work is a solution, and although this is satisfactory for many Mothers, it is impossible to progress at the same speed as men without working the same hours as them and therefore there is only so high up these women can get.

To conclude, somehow women need to be able to pursue their own careers without this being at the expense of their children and family life, however this complex issue in not one easily solved. And perhaps it will never be possible for women to be successful in the work place and devoted Mothers, meaning that the best we can hope for is to give all women a choice between their career and family.


Written by Lili

Picture Credit: Ellen

The Week Magazine: "Motherhood: a political conundrum" (25th July 2015)

Are we forcing our students into sex work?

So the recent budget revealed that the Conservatives will be scrapping grants given to students from less well-off backgrounds helping them with their maintenance costs throughout University. Seeing as these grants will be largely replaced with loans, many argue that this won't negatively effect British students, after all they will still have access to the money the only difference being that they have to pay it back now. However, there is a curious link with sex work being done by students in order to earn money and reduce their debts.

In a recent study carried out by Swansea University, 22% of British students admitted to considering working in the sex industry, while 5% of students actually did. They also found that 45% of these students were entering into the sex industry in order to avoid debt. 

With the typical university student finishing their studies with around £44,000 of debt, the new plans put in place by the Tory government are likely to aggravate this situation. Perhaps with rising debts more and more students will be driven into sex work as a quick way to make money. 

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the study that was carried out, was the fact that more men than women admitted to working in the sex industry. This is a significant finding as it is stereotypically thought that women are more likely to enter into this industry, however this study suggested otherwise. This could either show the fact that this issue is becoming evermore widespread, and that men are suffering more, or it could be due to the fact that men felt more able to admit to being involved in this particular industry. Either way this definitely shows that this is something which effects both male and female students and therefore an issue which needs addressing.  

The fact that 49% of those involved in direct sex work had a fear of violence also demonstrates the severity of the issue, and the necessity to better protect those involved. It is important that universities take measures to educate students about sex work and hopefully the recent cuts to grants won't exacerbate the problem. But ultimately the our current method regarding university fees is clearly not ideal if so many young people are being forced into sex work. 

Written by Lili

Picture credit: Ellen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-32068673

https://www.google.co.uk/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=krulVLWkD4aB7Qby14HYCg#q=average+uk+student+debt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-33667829

Nipples and Nipple Tassles

The Free the Nipple campaign, for those of you that haven't heard, seeks to achieve equality between men and women's upper bodies. That is to say that they are fighting against the sexualisation of women's breasts and nipples. Whilst it is widely accepted for men to be seen in public shirtless, this is rarely the case for women.

As the law stands in Britain, it is not illegal for women to be topless in public, however it is up to the police officers' discretion as to whether or not this is disruptive, because if they deem it antisocial, women may be asked to cover up. Thus the double standard does not lie in the law, but rather in our social conditioning.

It used to be the case that both men's and women's torsos were deemed inappropriate. In fact, before 1936, it was illegal for men to go topless in the US, and they too had to fight for the right to take their shirts off in public. However, following their success, it seems unfair that women are not accorded the same rights as men. Why, when men's torsos have been de-sexualized do women's breasts remain objects of desire?

It is clear that we need to alter society's perception of women's upper bodies in order to reach equality on this matter, however this will, undoubtedly, take time.

Furthermore, campaigning on this particular issue is being damaged by claims that the 'Free the Nipple' campaign is contradicting battles against the sexualisation of women in the media. Many argue that women going topless is only leading to more objectification and therefore is counterproductive. Instead they say women should cover up more, and therefore escape the male gaze. However this is not at all helpful, why should women be forced to dress more modestly in order to avoid judgement from males? It does not seem at all fair that women should need to suffer when the problem lies with society's perception of the female body, clearly society needs to change, not the way in which we dress.

The main message here is that we need to appreciate that the problem is not women dressing provocatively, but the reaction that they receive. In our current society it seems absurd that women should have what they wear dictated to them, instead we need to alter society's attitudes, so that women are just as free as men with regards to what they wear. In changing our perception of the female body, in particular breasts and nipples, we can have a situation in which women no longer need to feel self conscious about their bodies, something which is essential in the fight for equality.
 
So please lets avoid misunderstandings of Free the Nipple, because it's aim it to de-sexualise women's breasts and normalize toplessness in public, a very important step towards equality.


Written by Lili

Picture credit: Ellen

http://gotopless.org/timeline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_the_Nipple_(campaign)