UK Online Feminism:
The Reluctant Feminist... No Need to Fear the F Word
Why are so many female celebrities scared of being thought of as feminist? It seems this lovely and vital thing to be is still a bit radical after all.
Radical Feminism vs Transgendered Women
The RadFem 2012 conference excluded transgender women and speaker Jeffrey said they violate human rights. Um, that's undermining feminism right there...
The Rise and Fall of My Obssession with Glossy Magazines
The boys, the love advice, the sex tips... did glossy magazines create more problems than they solved?
Dear Samantha Brick...
Daily Mail columnist Samantha Brick thinks women hate her for being beautiful. Not true. We hope. This open letter states what we really hate.
Good Reasons Why the TV Show Girls Should Continue
The limitations of TV show Girls by Lena Dunham have been highlighted by feminist critics, but this empowering show deserves a season 3.
Funny Feminism... Is This The Fourth Wave?
As feminism gets seriously inclusive, public media acknowledgement that women can be funny is a big step. Ixnay on the banana skin.
Feminism is a Dish Best Served Diverse, Inclusive and Global.
If your feminism isn't diverse, inclusive and global then you're not doing it right. A response to the Sunday Telegraph piece on feminism in the lead up to International Womens Day 2013.
Happy Ever After... A Feminist Fairytale
You feed your boy sausage pie. He couldn't be a chauvinist pig if you wrapped him in bacon. Housewife stereotype, or feminist fairytale with happy ending?
I Need Feminism Because...
All round classy human being Greg needs feminism, and we fell in love with his impassioned speech. Too cool.
How to Not Tell a Woman What to Do
Is it okay to rile on women with lovely hair who support their famous partners and have no aim to majorly change the world? Also, daschunds.
Feminist Girls Walk in the Sun
I Want to be the One to Walk in the Sun. Tell yourself that. Society can turn girls inwards as they feel shy of standing out...
Pole Dancing and Slut Shaming
Slut shaming has affected language, dance styles and even what polers wear. Um. Just keep dancing?
Little Red Riding Hood Gets Feminist
How the Brothers Grimm did a hatchet job on Red Riding Hood. She was way more gutsy in the old folk tales...
Feminism in 2012
Feminism in 2012... A look at what Mookychicks have been up to this year. Kicking righteous ass, mainly.
Sex worker rights and the mysterious silence
The sex worker rights issue should be really, really simple. They should have them. All of them. If you had a child who grew up to be a sex worker, you would want them to be safe...
Girl Guiding and 'Ultimate Feminism'
The wonderful world of girl guides can only be as feminist as the women running the show...
Why No More Page 3 is a bad idea in almost every way
A FEMINIST take on why the No More Page 3 campaign to remove topless models from The Sun is a bad idea.
Spam Poem
Read, hear and share a romantic poem composed entirely of email spam.
7 Reasons Why Sex Is Not Like the Movies
If you've ever had sex, you can safely testify that it is nothing like it's shown to be in the movies...
What's in a T Shirt?
Why do we get so up in arms about a t-shirt? Because we value t-shirts and what's printed on them more than we think we do.
How to Start a Personal Revolution
We are up against a vast commercial system that preys on our insecurities. Breaking the cycle is hard, but we have to start somewhere...
Has the legacy of feminism been betrayed?
Jumpy the Play hosts a panel on what feminism means today, especially to young women, and about its rich legacy from Greenham Common and beyond.
Rise of the Woman Child
Is the Woman Child just shallow, obssessed with trends and superficial? Is it OK to like sparkly nail polish?
Yikes... 18 Again Vaginal Cream
The 18 Again vaginal cream ad has a disturbing message for women everywhere. Ageism even as it waves a feminist flag...
Gotye Lyrics Get a Dose of Feminism
Maybe it's just us, but don't the lyrics to Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye seem a little... passive aggressive?
You've Been Friendzoned
Two lovely brave guys, Nice Guy and Like a Brother, voice their feelings about the purgatory of the friendzone.
See no Hear no Speak no Slut
Teenage feminist discovers miracle cure for sluttishness! The cheap and easy way to get rid of every slut in town! The secrets the media don't want you to know!
10 Reasons Why I Hate Cosmopolitan Magazine
Cosmopolitan Magazine has been irking feminists for some time. For, it must be admitted, more than 10 reasons.
18 Year Old Olympic Weightlifter Told She Does Not Look Hot
Olympic weightlifter Zoe Smith responds to sexist comments on her Twitter feed, combating internet troll FAIL with feminist FLAIR.
Feminism and Pacting with the Enemy
When a Mookychick contributor told her friends she had written for a feminist website, she did NOT get the reaction she was expecting.
Gender Hypocrisy and Wearing a Short Skirt on a Bus
Just when you thought you wouldn’t have to worry about feminism today, along comes a bit of hypocrisy on a bus...
Youth Defence Campaign Triggering Pro Life Ads
Rallying against the possible legalisation of abortion in Ireland, a Youth Defence campaign is putting up triggering and misleading pro life ads in public places.
Shocking EU Video... Science, It’s a Girl Thing
We want you to watch a video funded by the EU encouraging girls to take up science. Savour its stereotype enforcing bullshit. Then go to YouTube and dislike it immediately.
A Little F’ed Up... Why Feminism Is Not A Dirty Word
Founder of prominent teen feminist website the FBomb Julie Zeilinger has written a feminist primer primarily but not exclusively for teens.
Feminism and Gender Equality in Korea
Korean men who want to become nurses are told they are disgracing their penis. Girls who DO NOT cry in school are told they are creepy. A look at why modern Korea refers not to feminism but gender equality.
Sexist T Shirts of 2011 and 2012
In 2011, Zazzle were banned from selling "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" T-shirts to girls as young as ten. We showcase some of the 'best' sexist T shirts from 2011 and 2012.
Beauty Pageant Row Over MTF Transsexual
Jenna Talackova has become the first known transsexual to enter and be disqualified from the Donald Trump-owned Miss Universe Canada competition. Once again, beauty pageants become a platform for cultural comment.
Defending Your Right Not to Have Children
Extreme positions on procreation create a divide, as evinsced by hurtful labels like Mumzilla, breeder and babyhater. How to answer the baby question if you have opted out.
Gender and Poverty from a Feminist Perspective
Childhood. Church. Votes. Wages. Feminist factions suggesting different causes for social gender divide. Lashings of history, building up to Slutwalk and Online feminism. Yes.
This Is Abuse
Analysing the new shock tactics ad by This Is Abuse, a government web campaign offering support and information about abusive relationships and domestic violence.
Breastfeeding vs Formula
Why Breast is not always best. The eternal battle between breastfeeding and formula seen from the perspectives of health, society and personal choice.
Body Hair is a Personal and Feminist Issue
Puberty? We can all relate. Just as you're exploring what it is to be a woman you sprout body hair like some kind of infernal Ewok. Like, you whisper to yourself, a man.*
The Female Ninjas of Iran
In the build up to International Women's Day on March 8 we look at the female ninjas of Iran, women who confound gender stereotypes. Feminism at work... now with added NINJA.
Top 10 Feminist Quotes
Ten of the best feminist quotes to inspire us all to keep growing and stay aware.
Modern men, women and prawn... A contemplative female's point of view
The potential cons of prawn. Editorial note: The spelling of 'prawn' is - long story short - to do with Google. It is in no way an attempt to be disengenuous or cute. Thanks for your understanding.
Diary of a brand new feminist
As a newly converted feminist, Lolita Brown writes up a short diary entry on her first week. Find out how it's affected her general life. Thanks, Lolly! Trigger warning.
Anti Body Standard
Skinny isn't necessarily unhealthy, and slogans like "Anti Size Zero" can mislead. Don't be anti size-anything. Be anti body standard. Women shouldn't be expected to be a size 2 OR a size 12. We should just be.
Why feminism is not dead
Why is it that feminism isn’t dead (or outdated, or irrelevant) in today’s society? What is feminism, anyway? And what can we do?
Feminist Flash Fiction 2011 - Enter now!
Enter our feminist fiction writing competition - judged by a panel of noted feminist writers - to win £100, 1 yr BUST Magazine subscriptions & get your blog and writing promoted. Start writing & pass it on! Comp ends 30 Nov 2011
Beauty standards, B.O., body hair and me
Body hair has been a feminist conversation point for decades. Vix has been a Hairy Mary since she was a teenager, when hygiene products were badly designed to the point of being torture devices. And now, yes, she shaves. Furry? Smooth? Here's an idea: Go with what's right for you. The rest of the world can go hang.
Ladyfest 2011 UK - Go Nottingham, go!
Ladyfest Nottingham 2011 will be taking place on November 19th 2011. The organisers chat about the growth of on/offline feminism, how they've made the fest bigger, and what their dream acts would be for Nottingham 2012. Lydia Lunch, get on it!
Feminist Exercise: Try replacing the phrase 'objective beauty' with the word 'canoes'.
A suggestion for the world at large: Objectifying beauty, insisting that 'hotness' be present in everything from advertisements to UN ambassadors, is about as appropriate as doing the same thing with canoes.
Feminism Tumblr
Feminism Tumblr - A selection of feminist Tumblr blogs all in one place. We're helping to reclaim feminism one Tumblr at a time...
Lena Chen - Chicktionary Feminist
Lena Chen is an inspiration. The founder of feminist website Chicktionary talks about coming out, the pros and cons of online feminism, sex working for college tuition fees and a whole lot more.
Feminism and Abortion - The Silent Treatment
Shhh... Let's talk about feminism and abortion. Why are women who have had abortions not getting grievance counselling? Why is society so quick to blame, and to place that blame on the woman, when it should be geared towards healing abortion victims to encourage them to suffer and self-harm in silence?
Reclaiming Feminism
Michelle proclaimed herself to be a feminist in high school at the age of 16 and found the label deliciously radical. The opinion of friends and family was more lukewarm. Michelle spent the next few years considering why...
Sexist Topman Tshirts - Does Topman not like women?
Topman has just brought out a new line of Tshirts that seems to assume its male customers are idiots. Sexist, racist AND potentially pro domestic abuse - oh my!
Slut Shaming
Feminists unite: Slut shaming is a school / Facebook trend that shallowly judges people (mostly girls) for their looks, popularity, sex drive, dress sense or even just individuality. It's time to make the nasty badness go away. Or at least be poked in the wriggly bits with a sharp stick.
Women and Ambition - a Feminist Approach
There's nothing shameful about being a woman with ambition. If you have ambition, pretending you don't is a kick in the teeth to the feminists who fought for your rights to get a fair wage and realise your dreams.
Slutwalk interview
What is a Slutwalk? Why does every city need one? Did media coverage take the Slutwalk marches seriously? Strip dancer and Slutwalk demonstrator 'Peaches' talks about the message behind Slutwalk and the needs for improvement and change.
Hacked photos stolen and used on adult websites - how safe are yours?
There's a worryingly misogynist trend on the web - Hacked Facebook (and other) photos of women and teenagers are being used unscrupulous adult websites without the models' knowedge or consent. Help us name and shame the websites, and contact the social networks from where the photos are being hacked. Please spread the word.
Pretty role models are important - discuss
Let's strip away the veneer of the 'are musicians good role models or bad ones?' discussion. Why should they have to be role models at all? And why are they being sold as such?
Mooncup Song!
We're delighted to present the Mooncup Song, an enchanting video featuring 25 different names that women call their nunus. We at Mooky Towers refer to ours, of course, as El Bandito.
No Label Needed
Is it such a felony to have Tupac rotating with Babes in Toyland on your iPod? In escaping labels many of us are going hybrid - splicing the music and lifestyles we like to form something new. For one brief second before the media catches up, there's no label...
Il Corpo Delle Donne
Zanardo's 25 min YouTube doc 'Il Corpo Delle Donne' is about the objectification of women on Berlusconi-owned Italian TV. Imagine a woman sitting in a cage while the TV host hurls insults at her. Or a woman hung from a meat hook and having her backside branded like cattle. Just imagine.
Was Shakespeare Misogynist?
So many 'scandalous' question surround Shakespeare because we're fascinated by his personal life but know so little about him. Was Shakespeare gay? A spy for the Queen? An atheist? Was Shakespeare... misogynist?
The portrayal of women in media
Do we need to re-think the portrayal of women in the media? Do we need to re-think Barbie as a female icon rather than a tool of the goshdarn evil patriarchy? Do we just need to think a bit more?
Acid burning - a look that lasts
Across the world, acid attacks are being used as a form of personal revenge against women. It's a nasty trend, but trends can and do change...
Beauty baddies
At Mookychick we never get tired of reminding you to keep a level head when surrounded by impossibly airbrushed magazine beauty. And one mustn't forget that all the major makeup companies are run by men...
Ruby Reject Barbie
Time for some feminism. Can someone explain why a little girl was apparently 'traumatised' on seeing Ruby, a Body Shop doll based on real proportions not Barbie ones? This one complaint made Barbie manufacturer Mattell send the Body Shop a 'cease & desist' order...
Being me
Just out of interest, what's more important? To be the prettiest or most popular one? Or to be the funniest, cleverous and most generous person you know? If you're already an Alpha Female it might be a tough call. If you grow up an outsider, you make the very best you can out of what you've got... and that's a lot.
Sexed up
Sex sells. Fact. Practically every aspect of the modern media relies on it, from TV to film, music videos and advertising campaigns. Is it a form of female liberalisation? If not, is it really necessary?
Plus size abuse
"I hate my thighs." "My arms are so big." "I'm just fat." Have you ever heard girls or women say this about their own bodies? Have you ever said it to yourself? That's the kind of plus-size abuse we're talking about - the kind where the cruellest detractor is you.
How to be mooky in Malaysia
KathTeaChin: It's hard to be inked, pierced and proud in a country that combines conservative Asian and Muslim cultures.
10 Steps to becoming fierce
Change from who your caterpillar self into an even hotter, more confident butterfly more brains. Yes, fierce. But this isn't a word to be used lightly. Lady Gaga is fierce. Juliette Lewis is fierce. It's a hard nut to crack. Here's how to make the fierce happen.
Body hair and body confidence
If you were trying to undermine a woman's body confidence, what would be the best way to do it? How about telling them that something natural about their body - like their body hair - is unattractive?
Feminism, women shaving & the Western Harem
Feminism: Feminist = hairy legs is potentially boring. Ah, just gender stereotypes, you say. But let's look beyond the feminist cliche as our intrepid miss M throws her shaving kit in the bin...
Teenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy: Bad attitude, college dropout, PREGNANT. You see these words and think of teenage mums lining up at the Job Centre for their weekly cigarette money. That was what BinaBean was led to believe, until she fell pregnant at 16
Polyamory
Polyamory (from the greek for 'many' and the latin for 'love') believes a person can have more than one intimately loving relationship at the same time. Do you?
Surviving life with an anarchist mother
Anarchism: Your mother may be the best anarchist (and mother) in the world, but sometimes her teachings get amusingly lost in translation...
Being Joan Cougar
Feminism: We find a trapdoor into the mind of Joan Cougar and she invites us to peer inside... for free.
Online feminism & feminist sites
Online feminism: We modern girls know what we want. We want choice, we want freedom, we want equality. We want feathers and corsets. But do we ever stop to think about how we came by all this freedom? These online feminist sites can help us think...
Hunt for the cougar
Feminism: The Cougar is an older woman who prefers to date younger men. We find out more about the cougar and her not so predatory nature...
Yes, but what is anti-fashion?
Riot Grrl: What does anti-fashion actually mean - both for alternative fashion and for society as a whole?
The darkly dreaming world of child pageantry
Riot Grrl: Beauty pageants have always been a subject of controversy when it comes to women's rights. Beauty pageants are seen as blatant objectification of women as sexual objects, admired for their physical appeal yet downgraded to something less than human. The controversy is increased tenfold when the focus is not on women but on little girls...
Annie Sprinkle: Post pr0n Feminist
Riot Grrl: Frank Zappa said: "Annie Sprinkle, America is better for your efforts." Annie Sprinkle is an ex stripper, ex prostitute, feminist pr0n activist artist. She heals us through controversial performances on the theme of sexuality. She's the sort of person that makes you glad to be a person. Annie Sprinkle, we salute you.
The choice to live child-free
Grrl: Regulars will know Mookychick is pro (loving) motherhood, but here's a personal account and manifesto of a person who has decided to live as a child-free woman. Pro-choice = HURRAH!
To write love on her arms
Grrl: 'To write love on her arms' sounds like a cutter's motto, but TWLOHA are dedicated to making every single person going through the blackest moment in their lives have the strength to pick up a phone, meet a counsellor or find meaning in their lives. We like them. We don't ever want to see a spate of suicides like Bridgend (23 suicides in a quiet little Welsh town in 2008) ever again.
Women, The Vote, and 2010
Riot Grrl: Clare Boothe Luce said, "Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, 'She doesn't have what it takes.' They will say, 'Women don't have what it takes.' Why is it so important for women to vote in 2010?
College: Boot camp for the real world
Grrl: Robert Ingersoll said that "college is a place where pebbles are polished and diamonds dimmed". Well, hey, little diamond. Treat college as a boot camp for life and you'll only end up shining all the brighter...
Losing your protest virginity
Activism: Go alone, or bring a friend? Thalia addresses this and other questions (Keep it legal? Protest panic?) on her first ever protest march...
Will you lose your favourite magazine?
Society: Things are, especially if you live in Britain, pretty crappy at the moment. We're in the middle of a global recession and our government is crumbling away in front of our very eyes. Inked, Kerrang and all those lovely shiny magazines can make it all better. But can they last?
Virgin voting - But what exactly is going to change?
Politics: With the country ripping its gizzards out with financial scandals and whatnot, our first-time voter looks at the three main UK parties and what they say they believe in. National policy? Foreign policy? Is there any difference between the parties at all?
Yes... But is it feminist?
Riot Grrl: A call to action. Has Mookychick's feminist message become diluted over the years? Is "Siblings are doing it for everyone" a better, though less catchy, ethos than "sisters are doing it for themselves"? This is a jolly important article and we hugely respect the message in it. Please read it with your eyes.
"Fish Are Plants and Other Myths" - the fish-eating 'vegetarian'
Vegetarianism: Emma-Jayne is tired of explaining to waiters in restaurants that a fish is an animal. She looks at pescatarians and vegetarians and asks why there is no such thing as a "fish-eating vegetarian".
Girl guides, third wave feminism and beyond
La Femme est Forte: You don't need to know what a third-wave feminist is to feel you are one. It all starts in primary school, when that first boy answers an argument on gender position in society by calling you a big pineapple head...
Protect and survive
Campaigning: The eighties, god bless them, weren't all lace bows and pop socks. In honour of how close to WW3 in 1983 we really were, Mookychick reprints a scary-scary leaflet from the 1980s called 'Protect and Survive'. If you were a child of the eighties, forget the bogeyman - The Bomb was the bogeyman. Let's admit the Bogeyman exists - then put him back in the closet.
Financial assistance for pregnancy and mothers
Society: Becoming a parent can be an expensive business. However, there are a number of grants and benefits for new parents that you might be able to apply for. From child benefit to food vouchers, we look at ways for UK mothers to get financial aid...
Female sexuality and the Extreme pr0nography Act
Society: Sexual arousal is a beautiful thing: You go about your day and then something a little bit kinky pops into your head. Hurrah! You may be pro sexual arousal, and anti-pr0nography. Lovely. No problem. But there's a potentially nasty and sour lemon-mouthed little thing called the Extreme pr0nography Act, and Kate Morrison digs a bit deeper...
Is super-sizing the problem super-shrinking the people?
Society: Language gives away a lot about the state of society and the people in it. We have words for fat. We have words for super-fat. We label some things, and not others. Should the world turn into a nanny state that labels everything it can get its greedy, mollycoddled hands on? Or do we need to draw a line, and start taking some real responsibility for our actions?
Heroine Chic - Grrl icons for 2008/9
Riot Grrl: Tina Fey ridiculing Sarah Palin... Laura Marling bringing us her indi-folk-pop... Hillary Clinton giving it some grr... 2008 was a good year for women. And 2009 looks set to be even better...
29 Ways to find yourself
Self development: The wise philosopher Heraclitus once said that sea water is good for fishes and bad for men. Only you can find yourself, really. But - you never know - these 29 (sod 30, the number 30 is so overrated) pointers might help you find joy and happiness. It's your own personal journey, baby. Bon voyage!
How to survive being teased for being alternative at school
Self development: If you are an alternative dude/dudette and love it, but the others around you at school aren't, you can rarely change other people's actions - especially if they're teasing you mercilessly - but you can change your own. These pointers may help make your life a little easier.
The Battlefront Project - Support 'Anti Size Zero'
Riot Grrl: Anyone who's watched the film 'The Devil Wears Prada' knows that what you see in fashion magazines is supposed to be aspirational. And that's not just the film; women across the world, consciously or not, aspire to the images of the supposedly perfect women they see in magazines, on the catwalk and on television...
How to call yourself a feminist without biting your own tongue off
Riot Grrl: "I'm not happy being a feminist. It should all be over by now." - Tracey Emin
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." - Rebecca West
Don't burn your bra, know the facts. It's time to find out more.
A sweet 'lil thing called atheism
Carl Sagan said "Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that looks at the world objectively, fearlessly, always trying to understand all things as a part of nature." Holly-Rae Smith says she came out as an atheist to a room filled with half the church congregation...
Dealing with an abusive relationship
Opinion: It's comparatively easy to tell someone to walk away from an abusive relationship - it's harder to take a stand and actually do it. Although now on the road to recovery - taking the road less travelled - Miss Anonymous had the bad fortune to end up in an abusive relationship with a death-lover that had legal repercussions.
Winter depression diary - S.A.D.
Welcome to Tamara's month-to-month depression diary. She's suffered from S.A.D. and her mood changes wildly over the year - from anxiety and insecurity in September through to depression in December and mania in January. She got help from loved ones after trying to kill herself. Read more.
Sleeping with the Frienemy
The Kat in the Hat argues that at the risk of perpetrating some girl-on-girl crime, sometimes it's important to keep your friends close and your frienemies closer
Ann Coulter - Feminine, Famous, Fascist...
Ann Coulter represents the foxy face of fascism and is getting away with saying incendiary bullshit that her male Republican counterparts would never dare to. She's not bright, she's rude and she's repetitive - so why has she hit the bestseller list 5 times? Prepare to be afraid...
Self-development: Creating courage
We create the world through our decisions. Whether it's being 'creative' but faced with a blank page, or fearing to even risk failure with the unknown cutie across the room, Wendy Withers knows that it's courage, not fearless bravery, that draws us on and makes us take charge of ourselves.
The evolution of 'girl power' in music
From 'girl power' to 'riot grrl' and back again
The Spice Girls coined 'girl power' and it's a fluffy term for a female perspective that deserves to be popularised but not cheapened. Music is a great platform for feminism. From the blues and Motown legends to Riot Grrls like Bikini Kill and modern Power Girls like Beth Ditto, Hayley Foster gives us a short and sweet history of musical girl power.
Riot Grrl
Read our Riot Grrl blog for modern feminist views and empower yourself with feminism, pro choice and more - Mookychick
