Monday 18 February 2013

Troubling Gender: The Question of Multiple Identities

Reminder - The deadline for abstracts for Troubling Gender: The Question of Multiple Identities, a one-day interactive conference at the on the topic of intersectional feminism, is 24th February 2013.

We are also very excited to announce the keynote speakers for the conference:

Dr. Bridget Byrne (University of Manchester), who is known for her work on the politics and culture of social class, ‘racial’ and gendered identities. In 2006, Byrne authored ‘White lives: the interplay of ‘race’, class and gender in everyday life’ which was based on her earlier research into the construction of white identity in Britain.

Professor Avtar Brah (Birkbeck, University of London), the author of the influential ‘Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities’ which offered a new approach to the study of ‘difference’ and ‘commonality’ within the context of feminism and anti-racism. More recently, Brah co-wrote the article, ‘Ain’t I A Woman? Revisiting Intersectionality’ with Professor Ann Phoenix, which explored the intersections of gender, ‘race’ and sexuality with social class and argued that studying these intersections allows a more complex and dynamic understanding than a focus on social class alone.

In addition to the paper sessions, we will also be running workshops addressing issues of gender and age, neo-colonialisms and transnationalism, and the identity politics of research, as well as a roundtable discussion. Registration for the conference will open at the beginning of March. The cost will be £5 - £8 on a sliding scale. This includes lunch and a post-conference drinks reception.

The Conference is on Friday 24th May at the University of Sheffield. For more information, visit: http://troublinggender.wordpress.com/

Sunday 17 February 2013

Rachel Mann- Dazzling Darkness



Dazzling Darkness  is a true story about searching for one's authentic self in the company of the Living God. Rachel Mann has died many 'deaths' in the process, not the least of which was a change of sex, as well as coming to terms with chronic illness and disability.
Through these experiences she has discovered that darkness is as much a positive place as a negative one, inhabited by the Living God – the Dark God, the Hidden God. This is the God many of us, because we try to make our lives safe and comfortable, are too afraid to meet. This is the God who is most alive in those things we commonly associate with the Dark – failure, loss and brokenness.
The Christian church has legitimated certain ways of talking about God – male, fatherly, monarchical and so on. Many believe these descriptors tell the exhaustive truth about God. In accepting the complexity of her sexuality and identity, Rachel Mann has been able to explore with a greater freedom what God might look like to an 'unconventional creature' like her.

Rachel Mann is a Church of England priest and is Resident Poet at Manchester Cathedral. Her work – on rock music, poetry and theology – has been widely published in magazines, anthologies and newsprint



Friday 15 February 2013

ONE FULL-TIME VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ADVICE HELPLINE WORKER


Salary range from £20,208 to £22,613 (incl OLW) per annum
Salary scale according to experience
Spoken knowledge of Punjabi, Hindi, or Urdu, is essential
In light of the nature and context of the work of SBS, the organisation considers that the candidate’s race and gender (Black/Asian woman) to be an occupational requirement in accordance with Para 1, Schedule 9, of the Equality Act 2010
Deadline for receipt of applications Friday 1st March 2013 by 5.00pm


http://www.southallblacksisters.org.uk/vacancies/

Dialogue around Female Genital Mutilation



Thoughts on Lisa Wade's paper  DEFINING GENDERED OPPRESSION IN U.S. NEWSPAPERS The Strategic Value of “Female Genital Mutilation” 

This are some of the thoughts Calum Walker had on this paper and his discussion with Lisa Wade. Calum has an interesting blog (on the history of emotions ) here is the link   http://scotinexile.blogspot.co.uk//

I guess it makes sense for me to write from the perspective of a journalist who tries to cover issues like FGM on occasion, and agreeing entirely with Lisa’s assertions of what happens, I hope I can shine a little light on why such things happen.
 
I suspect many of the reporters might consider themselves socially progressive and keen to see their work as contributing to a debate on a subject that does not get much airtime and so therefore they see themselves as good journos for just raising the issue in the national or even regional media and might be quite shocked to see their work analysed in such terms.
 
Many would suggest that they did not see such contextualising (ie putting in the parallels with western examples of oppression/mutilation etc) as directly pertinent to the story, and in the brutal confines of limited space they may have a point. However, the concept of ‘what is the story?’ itself often requires challenging and that is something journalism prefers not to do, citing practical matters as ways of not having to address such things more profoundly. Journalism and the media can be quite unforgiving environments for making mistakes and this can lead to a conservatism in approaching the format or structure of what is considered news.
 
Sadly very few writers and editors or NGO activists will have read Edward Said’s ‘Orientalism’ and understood how crucial it is to avoid exoticising the other and lazily relying upon NGO’s as the new ‘experts’ to guide them through such things which means they do not have to examine the foreign and see how it might relate to issues in their own society, because they consider themselves the neutral or good norm by which other cultures fall short.
 
Lisa herself said in an email to me: “Despite the differences between what the journalists said and what they quoted the activists saying, in other forums some of the (especially early Western) activists did very much take a "exemplarist" tone.  So I think the journalists were mostly parroting the activists they were most exposed to.  I suspect they were also trying to be sensationalistic and, in this case, what got eyeballs to read their story also felt beneficial to the cause.  I did interview a couple, but this is mostly my sense of what was going on.”
 
Another level to that relationship in practice is the relationship of journalist to editor. Often a journo (often, though not always a freelancer who relies upon the editor for commissions) will write a piece and then have to edit/rewrite to better suit the needs of space and tone of the publication and sensibility of the editor, which can be fickle and not always considered. This then means the editor is keen to hype and sensationalise a story in order to make it ‘stronger’.
 
Editors would tend to describe in terms of making the narrative more powerful, simpler and clearer for the reader to understand but context is often the first thing to go in this quest for what they consider is a more clear story. Activists then see the finished piece and try to feed such styles as they see that as a way to raise awareness, which is an alternate currency in NGO circles as it often translates into cash when fundraising. It’s been quite interesting speaking to NGO activists over the last 15 years or so. It’s purely subjective on my part but it seems like there is less and less railing against how something is reported and a greater willingness to engage with the media on the media’s terms rather than by trying to improve the terms by which a debate or issue is reported.
 
But that then becomes a sensationalising loop which picks up bad habits so it comes as no surprise that lack of wider cultural context is quickly sacrificed if indeed it was there in the first place…

Monday 4 February 2013

FRRG - Film analysis Girl With a Dragon Tattoo.



Since we usually read papers why don't we analyse a film this time. 'The girl with the dragon tattoo' by Stieg Larsson (Swedish version with subtitles) created quite a stir when released in English.

It will be nice to analyse the film and look at the way it treats gendered violence in Sweden and how violence against women isn't dependent on nationality. The movies/books also looks at ideas of human trafficking it will be interesting to look at that aspect too.

Refreshments will be provided.

MMU only has the the DVD for the first film if you have the other two could we borrow them? Thank you. 


Date: 7th February 2013

Time: 4:00 pm

Venue: Elizabeth Gaskell Campus M13 0JA