I haven’t written anything very exciting today, for reasons I’ll explore in more depth below. I just want to include the link to my fund-raising page at the opening of this post, as I’ve been told it’s not easy to find in some of the other posts. I’m doing all this crazy blogging to raise money for One25, a charity that does amazing work with street sex workers in Bristol. If you’d like to make a donation, encourage me and even give me an idea for a blog post, please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=JeanMutch Thank you!
Today I’ve cooked heaps of fish and spicy wedges. I’ve planted a gooseberry bush and a loganberry cane on the allotment. I’ve sprinkled radish seed in the gully between the potatoes. And I’ve pushed words round and round and round on a page. Like picking at a meal I don’t really want. Hoping no-one will notice I’m not actually eating it.
I’ve been trying to write about gender inequality. The subject is massive. I also have a personal stake in it, for obvious reasons. As well as a lot of very strong opinions. Some of these may not sit well with everyone. To cap it all, I’m a chronic people-pleaser. It’s not really surprising I haven’t found a way of tackling the issue that works. I’ve done lots of research. Written a fair few words. But I’m by no means happy with the result. I’m going to have to cut it into bite-sized chunks, like any other oversized meal. Freeze it in small portions … OK, so I’m stretching the metaphor now … and do a number of shorter articles at different points during the next 100 days.
As a woman, I’ve struggled all my life with the idea that I’m worth less than a man simply because I was born with a uterus. Perverse of me I realise. I just can’t work out why being created with the ability to give birth makes me an inferior being. Rather the opposite you’d think. But that’s an argument for another day. Perhaps.
Despite legislation, gender inequality is alive and kicking. Recent figures suggest that women in full-time work in the UK earn on average £5000 less than their male colleagues. The gap is getting bigger. Meanwhile, women do the lions share of the housework as well. Domestic abuse, casual misogyny and sexual assault are commonplace. Even in our supposedly civilised society, a woman can receive horrific threats from men, simply for campaigning for equal rights. Women are exploited in the sex industry throughout the world. Trafficking for sex work is a live issue. The media obsess about women’s appearance. It doesn’t seem we’ve made much progress in forty-plus years of feminism.
So this is just a taste of where I might – or might not – be coming from on this particular thread of the blog. Plenty of space for a good rant or two, I think. And of course there’s the whole question of religion and the position of women … I can see I’m going to enjoy this after all …
bluesinateacup 