It Gets Worse: WordPress’ New Comments Policy

A slightly worrying note from anna racoon’s blog: http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/wordpress-com-and-comments/#comment-55815 ‘Apparently the problem can be traced back to a troll who had been posting comments using the e-mail address and avatar of Matt Cutts. Matt who? For the uninitiated, Matt Cutts is the CEO of Google, and when you are the CEO of Google being annoyed [...]

QRG LIVES! A Links Round – Up

The last week or so has not been brilliant for QRG Towers. There is a chance you may have read some pretty nasty things about me online. At one point I considered the possibility that I might have to shut up shop altogether. So I am very relieved and delighted to announce that… QRG LIVES! [...]

Freedom Of Speech – Again!

  Suzanne Moore has a column in The Guardian this week advocating for ‘freedom of speech’: http://graunwatch.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/does-suzanne-moore-practise-what-she-preaches/ I critiqued her article at Graunwatch here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/18/outrage-culture-limits-free-speech?INTCMP=SRCH In my piece I wrote: In an early paragraph Moore writes: ‘If one’s default setting is now to be part of some anonymous but offended mob, somehow the hierarchy of outrage [...]

What is #SOPA ?

I find, in the contemporary social-media dominated world, that when people discuss politics they never explain what is going on! Rather they tend to just demand that you support their cause. Sign this petition! Save the children! Come to this important meeting! Occupy Wall Street! Stop the killings! Well. I like to understand an issue [...]

Freedom In A Puritan Age – Or Not.

Just before Christmas I received a lovely email, from the editor of Freedom In A Puritan Age online journal, enthusing about the book,  Metrosexy by Mark Simpson. The editor asked me to write a review and of course I agreed. I am the only person who has properly reviewed Simpson’s brilliant survey of the rise and rise of men’s [...]

Mark Simpson’s Body Talk

This is the latest post from www.marksimpson.com It relates to my post on ‘Masculinity isn’t good – it’s great!’ in some ways. http://quietgirlriot.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/masculinity-isnt-good-its-grrreat/ It doesn’t reference my ace piece about Geordie Shore, a programme that he hasn’t written about hardly at all: http://quietgirlriot.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/death-on-the-tyne/ But it  is an interesting exploration of the wonderful world of men’s body image [...]

Safe Spaces, ‘Silencing’, Sisterhood

If you are not much of a participant on the feminist or transgender politics blogospheres, you might not know what a Safe Space is. I wish I didn’t. According to wiki, A safe space ‘is a term for an area or forum where either a marginalised group are not supposed to face standard mainstream stereotypes [...]

Feminism is Stalinism

I had some adventures in Stalinism, I mean feminism yesterday and today. I may well write about them in more detail at a later date. It is no coincidence that all my interactions, which involved me getting blocked from ANOTHER feminist blog, and being called an ‘asshole’, and a ‘contrarian’ and a ‘troll’, were to [...]