The year that Misogyny came into the open.

Mysogyny is still very much alive and kicking (and in some cases, literally, the evidence being the unrelenting statistics of battered women at the hands of their husbands/ partners).
I am a proud sixties girl who saw the start of the Feminine Movement bringing with it the long overdue real hopes of equality and am sad to see subsequent generations of women now more interested in uneducated 'self-centralism'.
Too many of them seem to think that the world is OK if they have on their 'uniform' of plumped lips, artificial hair extensions, boob jobs, pornographicly scant outfits etc. as if the ultimate accomplishment is to capture the attention of a man.
Cant they see how unequal and subordinate they still are? The glass ceiling is still very evident in every area of life. The male of our species will hang on to their power by their fingertips for as long as they are allowed to, and they are still very much allowed to.
I make a plea to the female bastions of education (if there are any) to force some sort of female self worth category of subject into the general curriculum.
To young women I say, being able to drink a guy under the table and curse and fight like the worst of them is not equality.

Beyonce has just written an essay on equality of the sexes but insists she is not a feminist. Damn. Opportunity missed. Maybe though, just maybe, feminism is about to become fashionable? As long as you don't say the F word and as long as you look like it has taken a squadron of hairandbeauty technicians to prepare you to meet the day.

www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25725526

Meanwhile the epidemic of violence continues, which was also skated over in the original article:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-25745283

I thought it was such a good article, I've also posted it on mumsnet. For some odd reason I can't get the comments link to open but can probably guess the general tone and content of some. I never really understood (some parts) of the Ladette, Grrl Power culture which was around when my daughter was in her young teens. And now young women are growing up with magazines such as Closer. Which is mostly full of pictures of 'celebs' on beaches. Who has a 'thigh gap' who has 'let themselves go.'
Not so long ago Woman's Hour were asking young women if they were feminists. Many said they weren't or there was no need to be a feminist these days.

Not pleasant remark feetlebaum .

What continues to interest me, is the fear that the word feminism inspires in so many people. Mollie's comments reflect my own views about the achievements in the 70s and 80's by women (and some men) of our generation. The casual use of the word c* and violent sexism used by so many 'comedians' and lyric writers genuinely scare me because of the influence on wider society, especially the young.

Something very important that was not in the article - the sexist venom used on Julia Gillard during her re-election campaign.

"not from the scum of the earth but from perfectly literate Telegraph readers."

There's a difference?

Indeed mollie65 . I find it heartening that there is a "new wave" of feminism with social media being used to campaign. There is a very long way to go though - men earn more, take less responsibility for childcare, there is still a lot of violence against women and there are a hell of a lot of gender differences in career choices.

having grown up and forged a career in the 70s and beyond - I find it very sad that 'girl power' and 'strutting their stuff' has become feminism in the eyes of both men and women of younger generation. What we acheived in the 70s and 80s was equality of work, business and money (remember the days when women could not take out mortgages) and being treated as not just an adjunct of a male.
I find the pop videos and songs of the many of the current 'entertainment' industry are prone to equate 'feminism' with being sexually overt - which I think is very unfortunate.

Good article, and if there was any doubt about misogyny being alive and well, the abusive comments that follow put that doubt to rest.

Gally, if you clear history and cookies then you get another ten visits. I think it just leaves a cookie on your computer for each visit.

The article rings true with me but if anything proved the veracity of what Ms Betts was saying it was the string of angry and outraged misogynistic comments that followed - not from the scum of the earth but from perfectly literate Telegraph readers. I was shocked by the venom.

Well, I would comment only apparently I have had my quota of 10 articles for a month with the DT so it won't allow me to view this article unless I pay . I had to google misogyny anyway!

A very well-written piece, I think. Perhaps now people, especially women, will stop saying that there is no need for political feminism because all the battles have been won. But I'm not holding my breath…