feminism
Top five Russian political music videos
Feminist punks called ‘Pussy Riot’, former paratroopers and joking Ukrainians blast current prime minister Vladimir Putin through their microphones, whilst a friendly Tajik and eurovision-esque duo croon in praise of him. Watch the best of the pro- and anti-future president videos
feminism, feminism, opposition, kitsch, music, politics, russian federation
Sexist grammar: the French and German cases
Poor adjectives need take their husband's name no more. Sort of. Whilst one French association has attacked a centuries-old 'oversight', the Germans (or at least their moderate feminists) have taken plural forms to task. In all, the debate succeeds in desexualising our common language
feminism, germany, best of cafebabel.com, languages, men and women, society, france
GPS: taking directions from a woman
Most satellite navigation devices predominantly use female voices – and German BMW drivers can’t cope with them. Is this sexism or science fiction?
feminism, germany, gps, techno-media, best of cafebabel.com, men and women, consumers
‘Why can’t German men flirt?’ - a German man answers
A few days ago I came across an article online by a young British girl who describes her experiences with men in Germany. I often stumble across articles from women who claim Germany to be a developing nation with respect to flirting. Yet why is this the case and where are all the emancipated women?
feminism, lifestyle, germany, men and women, lifestyle, society, emancipation
Feminist France: ‘mademoiselle’ vs 'madame'
Is it discriminatory that women have to tick whether they are a ‘mademoiselle’ (unmarried) or a ‘madame’ (married) on administrative forms, whilst men can just put a tick next to ‘monsieur’? The feminist association Osez le feminisme says YES, and calls on women to claim their right to be ‘madame’
feminism, germany, best of cafebabel.com, men and women, society, france, language
Catherine Hakim: women, use your erotic capital
Across the British media over the last few weeks, London-based sociologist Catherine Hakim argues that erotic capital is missing from the economic, cultural and social capital that we all command. The basic principle is simple: take care of your appearance! Beautiful people earn 13% more than their averagely attractive colleagues. However, this is just the beginning
feminism, labour, sexuality, christine lagarde, men and women, london school of economics, lifestyle
Zagreb’s Miss Independents
The higher educated woman in Zagreb is close to the 'western model' of female independence. In the Croatian capital a Serbian journalist meet feminists, students, musicians and actresses who she says are moving away from the ‘traditional’ – at least from a Balkan perspective
feminism, university, zagreb, balkans, youth, croatia, society
Ingenious genitals? Copenhagen’s Kussomat ‘vagina photo booth’
Is it the final frontier of Nordic feminism? The photo booth project aims to increase awareness amongst about their own bodies. Promoted by the K. Fond Vinders association, the idea was launched in celebration of international women's day on 8 March at the goethe institute in Copenhagen
100th International Women's Day: blow me down
8 March 1911, Copenhagen was about the right to vote. In 2011, the new borders separating the genders are in administration, where the door remains shut to those in heels, unless those are Spanish and French shoes. It's shut in literature, where male editors and literary critics have traditionally made up the majority. Yet in the Ukraine or Italy, it's only women who can denounce prostitution or oppose the trivilisation of political life. cafebabel.com is comprised of three (virile) male and three (voluptuous) female editors. In following these European news or trends together, we agree with something the French writer Rafik Smati once said: 'The world's biggest emerging market is neither Brazil, Russia nor China, but women'. Happy 8th March
- Read the special edition 100th International Women's Day: blow me down
- Ukraine feminists ‘Femen’: topless a political weapon
- Lithuania's female bloggers: cooking, sex and the city
- 40% for Norway’s ‘golden skirt’ board members: do companies need quotas for women?
- International Women's Day: no way we're reading a book by a woman
- Lorella Zanardo: real women 'endangered species' on Italian TV
German standards: men in speedos vs topless women
Summer might be over, the time when too many items of clothing are bothersome. Boys can jog around without a top, so why can’t women in their bikini tops? One woman rants
feminism, lifestyle, discrimination, men and women, society, burqa, summer
Committed female: end of a contradiction?
100 years ago, international woman's day was marked in Denmark. 8 March 2010 won’t iron out the incoherence of the general European feminine condition. Here, like elsewhere, women live out their freedoms on a daily basis, be it via the media in Cologne or their unique political engagement in Poland or France. Even the subtleties of a simple language honorific teach us to change our ideas on who we most jadedly slam as the ‘weaker sex’
Le Corps Mince de Francoise: 'fuck off saying we’re trendy. We sing about what we are'
The trio hail from Helsinki, record in Berlin and are managed in the UK. We meet in Paris to dissect their pan-European wanderings and find out why exactly they diss boys and Finland so much in their screamy surface pop-experimental sound
feminism, industry, finland, best of cafebabel.com, berlin, london, brunch
Angie Merkel wears the trousers (and the bowl cut) in Germany
Mushroom hair, brightly coloured blazers – preferably lilac, lime green or salmon – and a slight east German accent, ever-ridiculed in the media. The August 2009 issue of Forbes magazine has listed ‘Angie’ – as the chancellor is fondly called by her people – the most powerful woman in the world for the fourth consecutive time. What’s the chancellor’s (low-cut) secret?
feminism, political parties, angela merkel, germany, bundestagswahlen 2009, men and women, alice schwarzer
Swedish women, the ideal woman?
Tall, dashing, blond hair and a blue-eyed stare. The list of clichés regarding Swedish women is long. Courted by men, envied by other women; how do the women in question live with these stereotypes? Part II in a special edition marking the six-month Swedish presidency of the EU
feminism, seduction, men and women, feminism, society, sexism, sweden
FrauTV, Emma: women top the media tower in Cologne
Over a third of German national TV programmes are produced in Cologne. Alongside the eight channels based on the banks of the Rhine, in ‘media city’, are the offices of the young, resolutely feminist FrauTV and the militant magazine Emma
feminism, television channel, cities, men and women, europe on the ground, european media, gender equality
Men on British writer Charlotte Roche’s Wetlands
The 31-year-old’s polarising debut novel has triggered a media avalanche in Germany, topping its Amazon bestseller list and was released in the UK in January 2009. Is Wetlands a feminist plea or pornographic trash? What do men really think about Roche’s tour de force through the ‘moist areas’ of the female body?
Lívia Járóka: female, Roma and Euro MP
The first female Roma member of the European parliament takes stock of her first term in office and announces that she will run in this year’s European elections in June. We talk women, Roma statistics and the EU institutions
feminism, right-wing, employment, hungary, men and women, eudebate2009, roma
Spain, crisis and the difference between equality and parity
For the first time in the economic crisis, men are proportionally losing jobs faster than women are. Is it a victory for the latter? It’s a long road to equality – or should we say, to parity?
feminism, parity, work, men and women, gender equality, society, economical crisis
by
