Tag Archives: Blog Hop

Here’s The Thing About Me and Feminism

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I am, indeed, a feminist. I believe in equal rights for all humans regardless of race, creed, colour, gender, sexual orientation, etc etc etc. I believe that the feminists did great things in the middle to end of the 20th century to let me be the kind of feminist I am.

What kind of feminist am I?

The kind that enjoys running her own company and enjoys cooking for her family.

The kind that appreciates the right to vote and appreciates when she’s cleaned her house.

The kind that knows there is still work to be done and knows we’ve come quite far.

What brought this on? Two things; the first being my feelings of complete satisfaction today as I folded the laundry and made slow cooked lamb for my family for dinner tonight. Some would say that because I enjoyed those things, I am not a feminist. They are wrong.

The second thing was wanting to join the Blog hop over at Salt & Carmel about the absolutely misogynistic and ridiculous advertising campaign that Ann Summers is currently running. They are giving away free ice cream with, (ready?) flavoured lube toppings, from I Scream Trucks (TM I’m sure) and asking people to make “‘O’ Faces” to win prizes.

I don’t know about you but ice cream trucks to me screams children. And “‘O’ Faces”? Don’t even get me started.

Ann Summers, for the Americans in the audience, sells sexy undies and sex toys on the UK high street, i.e. downtown. We have one at Belfast City Centre and I am not a prude but seriously, their windows are embarrassing. And their stock is crap.

But that’s neither here not there. What is here and there is this misogynistic ideal they are spreading through England (no I Scream Trucks here in NI, alas) in order to give away ice cream. And sex toys. To teenagers.

Several people have already written and Tweeted about their young children noticing the vans and not understanding why they can’t have a free ice cream. O_o

So we’re sending a message, Tweeting using #misogynytour and #annsummers. Having a blog hop.

Because some, I’m sure, male marketing exec thought this was a good idea. And, apparently, so did the CEO of Ann Summers. Who is a woman. O_o

Counting My Blessings – Blog Hop

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So I am joining in with Salt and Carmel‘s Blog Hop this week and counting my blessings.
They include:

  • A fantastic husband
  • A fantastic son who, while has constant colds and such, is relatively healthy
  • A career I love
  • A warm place to live
  • Enough food to eat
  • Great friends, near and far
  • A loving family
  • And, most of all, recently some fantastically pain free and productive days

I wish, very badly, that this was just another Blog Hop that I thought would be fun and/or inspiring. But it’s so much more than that.

Because this Blog Hop was started off because of this:

Source: http://saltandcaramel.com

This picture was drawn by Aillidh. She is 8 years old and has Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. She’s just started her third round of chemo and is desperately praying for a bone marrow donor. She is the daughter of a fellow Mumsnetter, which is how I, and many others, heard of her. She also has Facebook Page asking for help and encouraging people to register for or donate to the Bone Marrow Register.

That picture inspired this post at Salt and Carmel, the Twitter Tag #makemebetter, and this Blog Hop.

Everyone has problems and no ones problems are better or worse than anyone else’s.

But Aillidh needs a donor. So I am counting my blessings and helping to spread the word.

If you are eligible, please consider signing up to donate. Since Aillidh is of mixed race, finding a donor for her is harder, and actually most likely to come from the US as she is of white Scottish and meztizo – the mix of European and indigenous N. American peoples (Native American/Indian) descent.

In the UK you can contact the Anthony Nolan Trust.

In the US there is the Be The Match Donor Register website.

If like me, due to poor health and/or age you can do neither, please spread the word. ‘Like’ Aillidh’s Facebook page. Tweet using the #makemebetter tag. Pray.

It’s not just for Aillidh. But for all the ill children and adults who are looking for a miracle.

Let’s spread the word and use the power we have to help all of them live long and healthy lives.