On Tuesday, the Tories hit out at lads’ mags, and someone wrote into thelondonpaper about the issue, beginning her letter with “I’d like to point out that I’m not a feminist, a man-hater, a lesbian or a Tory.”. Unfortunately, my email didn’t get published, but hey - this is what blogs are for, right?

Marissa (Too Much Smut, Tuesday);
You started your letter by saying “I’d like to point out that I’m not a feminist, a man-hater, a lesbian or a Tory.” - I’d like to ask, what exactly is wrong with lesbians and feminists? Misandrists, or man-haters, I would take issue with, and perhaps Tories too, but you make it sound like calling somebody a lesbian or a feminist is an insult! Look at it this way: lesbians like women. What does it matter what they have between their legs? Lesbians aren’t all feminists, and feminists aren’t all lesbians.
As for feminists, we’re simply fighting for the rights that women deserve. To quote Rebecca West, I dare to express sentiments which differentiate me from a doormat. I’m a feminist, and I’m okay with that, because I recognise that feminism isn’t about going on hunger strike or chaining yourself to Parliament anymore - that was 100 years ago - and it may seem over the top now, but look at what it, and feminism later in the 20th century, did for us. Do you have a credit card? Do you have access to birth control? Can you wear trousers to work or school or college? I’m not saying that not wanting to label yourself feminist is wrong, but to make it sound like an insult is just going to scare people away from this very important movement: “feminist” isn’t an insult or an accusation, and it isn’t about hating men: it’s about looking after yourself and your daughters and your grand-daughters, making sure that women get and keep the respect we deserve.

The next day, I opened the paper to find ranting from others; people saying “but girls’ mags are just as bad!” and “well, the women who pose are okay with it, so what’s the big deal?” - well, yes: girls choose to pose nude for lads’ mags. Yes: guys do it for the girls’ mags. Yes: girls’ mags are rife with “articles” on how to score, how to impress your bloke in bed, how to have better orgasms… whether you think the lads’ mags or the girls’ mags are worse, Nuts and Scarlet both paint the image women desperate for sex and gossip, and perhaps it’s true for some women but here’s one woman it’s not true for: me. My idea: scrap the bloody lot.

In other news, some women have been complaining about contraception, and how pharmaceutical companies are misogynist because the majority of contraception available is for female use, e.g. the Pill, hormonal implants, diaphragms and IUDs (to name just a few).
Newsflash: this isn’t misogyny. It’s science. Men can buy condoms and have vasectomies, and many do. They can’t take the Pill or get implants because the science for male hormonal contraceptive devices doesn’t exist yet. That’s about all there is to it.

I sometimes wonder if I’d be a calmer person if I didn’t read the news.