Sigh.

Apparently it’s not enough that there are currently only 4 female cabinet members. No, now we have to have a discussion about how badly dressed they are as well.

Comments made by Mary Portas in an interview with Heat magazine (another publication we're not putting in live links to) calling the quartet an “ugly bunch” in need of a “restyle” have attracted a predictable amount of coverage. Unlike any of the actual work of the cabinet members, that’s not important.

Because looking like a glamorous model is of course a prerequisite for being the Home secretary, Conservative Party Chair, Environment Secretary or Welsh Secretary. Not having knowledge of law or policy. That is, of course, highly arguable given the previous incumbents of these positions…

Portas’ PR insists her comments were "firmly tongue in cheek and again made in very much a light-hearted way, as is the nature of (Heat) magazine."

The interview follows the release of a recent Proctor & Gamble sponsored Harvard study which found women who wear little to no make-up are seen as less trustworthy than those who really slap it on. Scrubbed clean you’re probably a lying lesbian but wear kitten heels ONE TIME and every report about you will mention your ‘passion for shoes’ in the first paragraph.

So ladies, what have we learned? Less time on policies, more time in Debenhams buying sensible shoes and matching eye shadow. Or we’ll never get out of this recession. 


Louise & Kate

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Weird Politics

Instead of starting the Tory conference scraping the barrel of positive things to say, maybe taking a strong stance against people being forced to drive at 70mph when they really, really want to go faster. Cameron began with what he knows really matters. Mumsnet votes.

Cameron fretted to the Sunday Times that people were mistaking him for a “sort of 'all right luv, I'm down the pub tonight’ man”, which as The Guardian’s Jackie Ashley pointed out hilariously misses the point. Of course Cameron is not that kind of man, you have to visit pubs for a start, and they have to be the kind of pubs that have fruit machines. 

It’s hard to believe Cameron really believes this is the impression he’s unintentionally given. We are talking about someone with a background in PR here. You do not have to be a feminist to know that men who visit the pub every night without wifey’s permission are not the threat. It is the men in power who have yet to reel in the overwhelming condescension they feel towards grown women. The men who refer to all women as ‘girls’ and believe we are all fools for shoes, diets and chick flicks. Feigning baffled concern when secretary knits her brow at being called ‘sweetheart’ yet again (girls! Knit scarves not brows, you can’t afford the wrinkles). David Cameron knows its better we all have a little snigger a little at the image of him shuffling into a piss-stained pub with his dog on a string than as the posh establishment figure he is. 

Kate

The 40 Days for Life people are back in the UK. Funnily enough I am not going to link to them. For those who need filling in these people hold vigil for 40 days outside clinics where abortions are performed in the hope of deterring people going in. Pro-Choicers have had a rather marvellous idea.  Instead of holding debates or protesting the pro-life vigil, Pro-Choice people have organised their own 40 days.

Apparently coming out of nowhere, a Tumblr has been set up urging people to take treats in a show of support for those working at BPAS and other such charities. Squeamish Bikini thinks this is just bloody lovely and will cheer those who are just trying to do their job.

If you want to take part you can find out where your nearest clinic is at here and go deliver them a treat to brighten their day.

The 40 Days of Treats begins now.  Pass it on.   


Kate

So. A former London School of Economics Masters student is suing the university  for “breach of contract, misleading advertising, misrepresentation, and breach of the Gender Equality Duty Act.”

Tom Martin was studying for an Msc in Gender, Media and Culture. He’s quoted in the Evening Standard as saying that:

"The core texts we had to read before each class were typically packed with anti-male discrimination and bias - heavily focusing on, exaggerating, and falsifying women's issues perspectives, whilst blaming men, to justify ignoring men's issues. There was no warning of this sexist agenda in the prospectus."

Does this seem a little... odd to anyone else?

It feels like we hear about another club closing down every other week at the moment, and now there could be another, huge, name to add to the list.

Ministry of Sound is facing a challenge to its entertainment licence in the form of a planning application for an apartment block nearby. The chairman of Oakmayne, the property developer that put in the bid, is quoted on djmag.com as commenting “nightclubs come and go”, showing a staggering disregard for the future of one of the most famous venues on the planet.

Ministry of Sound aren’t taking it lying down. They’ve put out a statement that reads:

Ministry of Sound is not just a nightclub. Millions of people have passed through our doors over the 20 years we have been open. 300,000 people visit us annually, bringing trade to Elephant & Castle and the surrounding area. We have always strived to create the moments that people live for, and we will continue to do so. We are the people that come here, the people that work here, the music that is played here and the lifelong bonds that are made here. If we lose Ministry of Sound, we are losing a vital piece of youth culture in this country. Nightclubs may have existed before Ministry of Sound, but they were never the same afterwards.

With a link to a petition opposing the development. You can sign it online until the 12th of September.

Squeamish Louise