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Wish you were here


by Kate Belgrave    
October 19, 2008 at 6:33 pm

Good to see that the MSM has finally rallied from the coma and started acknowledging this week’s vote to extend legal abortion to Northern Ireland – I’ve seen Guardian, Times and Independent articles on the subject now. The Beeb ain’t exactly going mad with coverage, but am quietly confident that they’re getting round to it…

Even so, these articles feel like a kind of tokenism – a (very) distant second in significance to banking dramas, US elections, Gordon’s renaissance, Rooney’s rebirth, and endless other masculine priorities (although I admit I was kind of impressed by Rooney. At least he delivers from time to time, if only with his feet).

Anyway – SIGH. If only our issues generated even half of the ongoing, repeated coverage of the above stories, and a quarter of the hysteria (which I thought would have been endlessly doable on a topic like abortion. The fact that it isn’t says a great deal in my view).

Things might pick up for a bit, given that votes on Abortion Act amendments will be held this week,
but I ain’t holding my breath for coverage in an ongoing way.

I noted this week – as I was trawling through one of the mighty Iain Dale’s mighty, if endless, reader-analysis lists – that a staggering 86% of his readers are male. Suppose that shouldn’t have been a surprise over there, but it was.

Eighty-six percent is a great gender majority, even if you are a Tory. It even occurred to me, while I was over at Iain’s, that I could probably name, individually, every one of the few women who read him.

Then, I wondered if I ought to be feeling superior. Would our numbers be any better, I wonder? Is there anyone here, apart from Jennie, Laurie and me (great women all – just a rather small group)? Can you let us know if you’re female and here?

Still – on with the show, even if we sometimes wonder if anybody’s watching it.

As I say, the vote on the pro and anti choice Abortion Act amendments takes place this week, on 22 October.

This is the report stage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill – probably our last chance to change the law to improve access to abortion and to extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland, where rights are badly required. David Cameron may yet make prime minister, and I’d bet his last million that he won’t preside over a pro choice parliament. There’s still time for you to email your MP to ask for support for those all-important pro choice amendments, and a cold shoulder for the anti choice ones.

There will also be a pro choice lobby outside parliament on 21 October from 5.30pm, so there’s still plenty of time to organise to get your butt to that.

In the meantime, cast your eye over some of the excellent male and female coverage of the abortion issue that has appeared this year on LC: proof, in my view, that LC has done better than anyone on the issue – and we can’t do it without each other. If I can put it that way.

Northern Ireland women speak on their fight for abortion rights
Report from 7 October Abortion Rights lobby
Report from 7 October Abortion Rights lobby

Has Gordon Brown shagged us all with an anti abortion deal with the DUP?

LC work on Nadine Dorries hypocrisy makes news
Sins of Omission – delusions of the anti choice lobby
Gearing up for report stage of Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
LC complaint against Nadine Dorries upheld
Saving women’s lives with Sarah Palin


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About the author
Kate Belgrave is a regular contributor to Liberal Conspiracy. She is a New Zealander who moved to the UK five years ago. She was a columnist and journalist at the New Zealand Herald and is now a web editor. She writes on issues like public sector cuts, workplace disputes and related topics. She is also interested in abortion rights, and finding fault with religion. Also at: Hangbitching.com and @hangbitch
· Other posts by Kate Belgrave

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38 responses in total   ||  



Reader comments

Female and here, I read every day.

2. Kate Belgrave

Excellent. That is good.

Are there more?

3. Susan Francis

I’m female and I’ve got you on my Bloglines feed. I mostly read the daily blog-roundup and posts by women. I started off trying to keep up with the rest, but life’s too short for the same-old same-old.

4. Kate Belgrave

Well said, Susan.

Female reporting for duty as a reader of the best blog on the net!

Still here ;)

I’m also female and also read every day, via my RSS feed.

8. Kate Belgrave

This is excellent. We’re doing better than Iain Dale already!

9. Tim Ireland

1. I am not a woman… I just like to wear the uniform.

2. Iain’s poll of his readers totally undermines his Total Politics poll, which has been passed off as a widely-representative poll when it should instead be labelled a poll of (male) Conservative voters.

Compare the top ten in these two lists; they’re almost identical, and they’d be even closer to identical if Iain’s blog appeared in both:
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/10/blogs-you-read-every-day.html
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/09/total-politics-top-100-uk-political.html

In a shocking coincidence, Iain Dale’s readership turns out to be a totally reliable sample of the wider political blogosphere.

It therefore follows that 86% of the blog-reading population is male. Oh, and 70% vote Conservative and have done so for years:
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-you-vote.html

3. A quick word on Nadine Dorries; I’m writing a special little something about her shortly, and would appreciate input from fembloggers (even if no woman is ever going to read the item, because my blog totally oozes testosterone). Drop me a line via email if you’d like to pitch in.

(Psst! It’s your only chance to have a say, ladies. Blogs are for boys!)

10. Kate Belgrave

‘1. I am not a woman… I just like to wear the uniform.’

Any pictures…?

11. Tim Ireland

Oh, yes.

But releasing photos of myself wearing nothing but lacy panties will compel me to express a political opinion on Page 3 of The Sun, and I’m just not ready for that.

12. Kate Belgrave

Well – how about just a picture of the panties?

13. Tim Ireland

And stifle your imagination? Never!

14. Kate Belgrave

Timbles – rest assured that no picture of your frilly drawers is going to stifle my imagination. Quite the reverse. My mind will race for days.

C’mon. Let’s see them.

Even just one of the leg-holes…?

Or the gusset…?

Or even just the label…?

15. Aaron Heath

Kate,

I’m sorry but you’re objectifying Tim. I find this very offensive.

He’s a person y’know? Not just a piece of meat.

Women(!). *sighs*

16. Jennie Rigg

* really doesn’t need to see the word “gusset” first thing in the morning *

17. Aaron Heath

Really?

It’s usually one of the first things that run through my mind.

A few seconds after “cheeseburger”.

18. Kate Belgrave

gussets and cheeseburgers first thing?

…. may God help us, Aaron – who are you!!!!????

May I also just make the point that Tim in his frilly knickers would indeed be an object – an object of wonder and glory, of course, but certainly an object.

can’t wait.

maybe i’ll do a drawing while i wait

19. Aaron Heath

…. may God help us, Aaron – who are you!!!!????

I suppose the obvious answer would be a fat pervert, but I’d like to think I’m neither. ;o)

20. Tim Ireland

Actually, I must admit to using conservative y-frontish cotton for the most fundamental undergarment; I wanted support I could count on if I was going to go on stage.

Can you let us know if you’re female and here?

Well, I might be.

(That’s the wonder of the internet.)

22. Kate Belgrave

‘I wanted support I could count on if I was going to go on stage.’

Well – I was thinking more that you could just give us a quick flash in a bus stop somewhere so I could get my picture, but hell – you’re right. Let’s make a night of it and get some music going, and a round in. Just let’s know when and where.

I’m female and I lurk via a rss reader.

24. Kate Belgrave

Brill, Hazel – this is really good.

25. Jo Christie-Smith

I’m female and I read every day!!

26. Kate Belgrave

Ten points to Jo.

It’ll be even more worth your while coming back very soon, what with the upcoming pictures of Tim & all

27. Cath Elliott

*cough* I’m here *cough*

Female, read every day, occasionally comment on posts about abortion rights or the green party.

29. Kate Belgrave

Ten points to Pippa

and shit sorry cath i meant to include you in the original lineup and then got totally distracted by the tim ireland lacey smalls narrative

i trust you’ll be back when he is…?

30. Cath Elliott

Hehehe

I wouldn’t miss it for the world Kate :)

31. Kate Belgrave

… thought maybe we could rent out a pub for the night – we need something that’ll cater for the whole act…

32. Tim Ireland

And a sound system. I’ll be damned if I’m going to dig my knickers out for anything less than a full set.

(That’s three songs, girls… and no f**king ABBA.)

33. Kate Belgrave

Ok.

How about this for a set:

great balls of fire
rocket man
losing my religion
dream on
touch me
still haven’t found what im looking for

you can have great balls first, just in case you need a bit of a booster…?

altho

can’t we have dancing queen…?

34. Tim Ireland

No. F**king. ABBA!!!!!

35. Kate Belgrave

ireland,

you are a disgrace to your home nation.

abba the movie was made in oz
muriel’s wedding – ode to abba – was made in oz

oz is the home of abba

much much more so than sweden

it’s in yr blood bro

give yrself over 2 it

36. Tim Ireland

oz is the home of abba

Yet another good reason to leave. I’ll add it to the list along with redbacks, funnelwebs, venomous snakes, sharks, box jellyfish, and blue-ringed octopii.

I’m here.

I follow LC through an RSS feed, so I don’t comment much. But I’m reading!


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