iGenders

In celebration and remembrance of all the beautiful and...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:01:03 +0000

In celebration and remembrance of all the beautiful and incredible women in the world, some of whom have risen above adversity and others who still struggle to survive as a citizen of the world.

Happy International Women’s Day

"I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they..."

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”

- Amelia Earhart

The Feminist quagmire

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:00:37 +0000

The Feminist quagmire

On this special day of perpetuating gender stereotypes and...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:29:00 +0000

On this special day of perpetuating gender stereotypes and unsentimental parasitic capitalism, lets just give in to what we all want, whatever our gender or sexuality.
Happy Valentines Day to All!

The Women of Irish History

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:25:57 +0000

History is written by the powerful. It is unsurprisingly that the significant role of women in Irish culture and history has been confined to a limited and specific stereotype of caring mother and supporter. To say that women haven’t played a significant role, is to be blind to the centrality of strong women in Irish culture. Any one who read in school Táin Bó Cúailnge will remember Queen Medb; hardly a beacon of feminine grace and purity. Or the pirate Grace O’Malley. Gender blind history often over looks some of the passionate and independent women who bucked the ideals of confined ideals womanhood from as Countess Markievicz to the Gilford sisters, the incandescent feminist firebrands Hanna Sheey Skeffington and Kathleen Clarke. All leaders and innovators that challenged repression and inequality.

It is in this context that The Women’s Museum of Ireland is being planned, to be officially launched in early February. The creators of this idea plan to cover themes such as “women trade union leaders and agitators,” “the Cumann na mBánn,” and “women who defended castles.” Equally important to any true discussion of history is the negative consequences and the dark role that some women played in running the Magdalene laundries. Its not always a pretty picture, but the very idea of a Women’s Museum of Ireland is one step towards creating a more rounded concept of our past by highlighting the role played by women throughout Irish history.

For some more details of Irish women in history have a look at iGenders “Great Irish Women through History”

"In a society where the rights and potential of women are constrained, no man can be truly free. He..."

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:45:00 +0000

“In a society where the rights and potential of women are constrained, no man can be truly free. He may have power, but he will not have freedom.”

- Mary Robinson

She- Hulk SMASH THE PATRIARCHY!!!

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:14:00 +0000

She- Hulk

SMASH THE PATRIARCHY!!!

The evolution of the Pro-choice movement in Ireland from...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:19:00 +0000

The evolution of the Pro-choice movement in Ireland from September to November 2012. Pro-Choice Protests have shifted focus from the image of the “wire hanger” abortions to that of tragic and avoidable death of Savita Halappanava. The urgency and mass support for abortion legislation that now characterizes public discourse is pressurizing the government from all sides to finally take action after 20 years of paralysis.

Thanks to Heather Thompson for the pictures

Ireland's Internet Bullies

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:42:00 +0000

In the last two months, two young Irish women have been driven to suicide by online bullying and harassment.

Erin Gallagher, a 13-year-old girl, was found dead in her Donegal home last Saturday. This follows the suicide of 15-year-old Ciara Pugsley from Co. Leitrim.

Both young women had been harassed on the social media website, ask.fm – which allows users to ask and answer anonymous questions and comments.

The public response has sparked off a debate about social media, bullying and mental health across Ireland and abroad. The calls to action have ranged from asking schools to be more proactive against online bullying to online groups trying to shut down ask.fm.

While the posts and comments against both girls have been taken offline, it seems that both girls received comments about them being attentions seekers and ugly.

The Sun quotes Erin Gallagher’s mother as saying that Erin was attacked because “she was beautiful, because of jealousy”

“I went to her messages and the garda took it off me. I saw a message, obviously a bullying message where they called her a slut.”

According to the Irish Examiner, Ciara Pugsley received messages accusing her of saying she was depressed for attention and was told she had no respect for herself.

How many other women spend most of their lives being told this, either online or on the street? We receive the message from an early age that how the world perceives us is more important than our own feelings.

Teenagers can be cruel, but their taunts are learned from somewhere. We give teenage girls the message that their looks and popularity with peers are what give them worth. Our sexism gives them their ammo. They learn how to hurt from the way society hurts them.

Very few statistics available about bullying in Ireland talk about gender. How can we possibly prevent bullying if we do not look at all the roots and ways that children bully each other? We can take down websites and tell schools to pay more attention until the cows come home, but we need to look at how the messages we send affect how our children treat each other.

Testing institutional discrimination

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:27:00 +0100

On June 6^th, approximately 177, 000 students started the Leaving Cert,the controversial jewel of Ireland’s education system. Every year the Leaving Cert is criticized for its archaic use of rote learning and every year the academic dominance of girls suggests that the Leaving Cert is gender imbalanced.

For those applying to medical school there is the added pressure of the Health Professionals Admissions Test (HPAT),which is usually taken 4 months before the standard exams. Success in both the Leaving Cert and the HPAT is necessary for those wanting to go to medical school as an undergraduate and avoid the costly postgraduate fees. A high score in the HPAT can add 300 points to Leaving Cert results.

It was hoped that the HPAT would single out good potential doctors rather than just good academics and address the issue of gender imbalance in education. As Professor of Academic Medicine and Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning at Trinity College Shaun McCann said, “The pendulum has swung too far in favour of females”.

But gender imbalance is a subjective issue. The educational dominance of women is not reflected in their role in the professional world. The Central Statistics Office report, “Women and Men in Ireland in 2011” showed that while Irish women tend to be better educated than their male counterparts, men still overwhelmingly dominate senior and managerial positions.

According to the report he Education and Health sectors employed the highest proportion of women in 2010. In fact, women account for four out of five employees in the health sector but only occupy 36% of managerial positions. In primary school education, 85% of teachers are women but only take up 53% of managerial positions.

The vast majority of civil servants are men and they dominate the top positions. 82.4% of Secretaries General, 83.9% of Deputy and Assistant Secretaries and 69.4% of Principal Officers are men. The sectors with the highest proportions of men in 2010 were Agriculture, Construction and Transport.

The HPAT is a gender and demographics conscious exam. Candidates are required to state among others their gender and ethnicity. The worrying insinuation of this is that an unbiased test is strategically analysing the candidates pedigree not their individual quality.

It is also unclear to some if a two-and-a-half hour exam on reasoning and problem solving can really determine who will make a good doctor. Professor Bill Powderly, Head of Medicine and Medical Science at UCD has admitted that he could not see a difference in quality between the first years who had taken the HPAT and the students from before its implementation.

What is clear is the economic barrier that the HPAT poses to entering medicine. The inevitable tutoring and grinds industry has sprung up to prepare candidates for the test. These courses are expensive. Two years ago, one college was charging €280 for a two-day seminar while candidates this year have reported paying €900 for grinds. And then of course, there is the fee of €95 just to register for the exam.

has sprung up to prepare candidates for the test. These courses are expensive. Two years ago, one college was charging €280 for a two-day seminar while candidates this year have reported paying €900 for grinds. And then of course, there is the fee of €95 just to register for the exam.

One of the most vocal critics of the exams is Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly who, in January of this year, termed the test “grossly unfair” and called for it to be axed. He added that if a person who has scored well in the Leaving Cert wants to study medicine then “he or she has bloody well earned the right to do so”.

In 2009, the first year of its implementation, the exam did impact the gender ratio. Men secured 48% of places with women getting 52%. This was a stark contrast to the 2008 offers, which gave 60% to women and only 40% to men.

But the trend was reversed by 2010, with women again getting higher marks on both the HPAT and the Leaving Cert, illustrating that the exam can be prepared and coached for as much as many other tests. The students who cannot afford to pay for the extra help have been the real victims of the HPAT.

If the medical establishment does find the gender imbalance in favour of women so objectionable perhaps a healthier solution would be to help boys improve their CAO points rather than hide behind an inefficient exam that excludes and discriminates against poorer citizens. The HPAT is fine, if we want all white, male, middle-class doctors.

Auveen Woods

@auveenwoods

Online dating; commercializing relationships?

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 17:11:00 +0100

Preliminary admission of guilt: I’ve always been sceptical of online dating. I know that there are people who find the love of their life online but I suspect that they are in the minority.

An online profile lets you highlight how cool your taste in music is, or how “you’re a total sweetheart” or “always up for a laugh”. And when you are your own judge and editor you can totally ignore the things you don’t want to admit.

We do this in everyday meetings too but when you’re face-to-face with someone you pick up on the more subtle personality traits. Maybe you’re saying all the right things, but are you making eye contact?

But what really bothers me about online dating is how dating sites present people as products.

Take Adopte Un Mec, the French website that bills itself as a supermarket for women looking to meet men. That’s not hyperbole; it actually calls itself a supermarket. But it’s more Fallon and Byrne rather than Tescos; artisan guys from small organic farms and such.

On the welcome page, you get to see a line up of the “promos du jour” (the guys) and the “nouvelles clients” (the girls). Oh yes, and don’t forget your shopping basket a la Amazon.

But it’s not just the small sites that dehumanize and package their clients. Plenty Of Fish is the biggest free dating site going. It claims to use personality tests to find you the right match. So, it being free; I signed on to experience it for myself.

It was an odd and sterile experience, beginning with the tests. For one thing you have to say whether you want a man or a woman, which rather excludes bisexuals. Most of the other questions were things I don’t really see as relevant. Are my parents married? Are you implying that old chestnut that those of us with separated parents have relationship issues?

As for the personality and needs tests, they fall into the category of the most superficial self-help garbage imaginable and that’s enough said on that.

The profile this created is the dullest presentation of myself I’ve ever seen. Your features are listed like technology specs; single, caucasion, Libra, runs on Mac OS, etc. (Okay, now I’m using hyperbole.) I may not be the most exciting person in the world but I’m not that boring.

There is a self-composed introduction at the bottom of the page, but before you can see that, you can look at the list of things to tick off. I think it could be very easy to just stop if there’s something on the list you don’t like.

We all have relationship deal breakers; if someone tells me they think Hitler was a misunderstood dreamer then it’s just not going to work.

But when we present people as a list of features, as part of a category, don’t we miss out on one of the best parts of human interaction? The unexpected chemistry, the discovery that someone superficially incompatible with you buzzes off you better than your presumed ideal?

There probably is a place for some kind of online dating services, especially for people who have time and geography constraints for meeting new people. That’s fine. But do we have to use gimmicks and personality tests that inherently simplify and dehumanize people?

Jennifer Clayton

@msclayton1987

Marine Le Pen: Proof that a woman candidate isn’t always a women’s candidate

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:43:00 +0100

In light of a growing social movement to support women entering politics in Ireland, failed French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen offers us a compelling reminder that a woman in power does not necessarily work for gender equality.

Marine Le Pen marketed herself as the new face of the Front National; France’s extreme nationalist party. Superficially, she represents a change in the party’s founding patriarchal ideology.

This educated, successful and in comparison to most French politicians, young blonde made her name in feisty debates with mainstream figures. While the men at the table in shirts and ties attempted diplomacy in their disagreements, she would interrupt, accuse and proclaim. She had a voice; she was going to use it!

It’s a shame that instead of demanding stronger sexual harassment laws and an end to the glass ceiling, she was ranting about the horror of halal in French supermarkets. Alors, c’est la vie.

You could argue that Le Pen was one of the least feminist candidates. Take Madame Le Pen’s position on abortion. While not being against all abortions, she does oppose State reimbursement for the procedure, making choice something only the wealthy have.

Rather than fight income inequalities and the deficit of available, affordable childcare, the FN proposed a parental allowance system to keep women in the home. While the idea is attractive to women who choose to stay at home which is of course a legitimate and respectable choice, the proposed allowance is so small that it would still keep such women financially dependent on partners. This from a party with a divorced, career woman in the driving seat.

Finally, in a fun overlap of Islamophobia and sexism, Le Pen is completely in favour of the ban of the niqab and supports a ban on the hijab for public servants too. Because of course, nothing protects a culture better than controlling what women wear and how they express themselves.

Marine Le Pen would politicise women’s bodies as much as any conservative male candidate would. Despite her own financial successes, she would rather keep women in the kitchen with just enough to get by on; which would really restrict their access to abortions in her ideal France.

Truly a woman candidate against women.

Jennifer Clayton

@MsClayton1987

Female Genital Mutilation banned in Ireland

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:52:00 +0100

The Irish government shall provide “culturally appropriate” training to teachers and doctors in order to “treat and identify” cases of female genital mutilation (FGM), according to a spokesperson for Amnesty International Ireland.

The Seanad last month banned the practice of FGM in Ireland. It is also made it illegal for someone to take a girl abroad to have the procedure performed.

“This legislation needed to be brought in because of previous loopholes regarding extraterritorial jurisdiction,” said Eilís Ní Chaithnía, Campaigns Officer at Amnesty International Ireland. “There is no evidence that FGM is being carried out on Irish soil, but the risk is greatest when parents are returning to their home country with their children. Pressure is often placed on the parents there to have it done.”

FGM is not a religious practice but a cultural one. Girls are often subjected to FGM in order to make them more acceptable to society by ‘purifying’ their sexuality and raising their value as wives, rather than to purposely harm them.

“We will be training and informing NGOs that work with practicing communities in the field,” said Ms Ní Chaithnía. “The best way to eliminate FGM is with the voluntary abandonment of the practice within the community, through education and discussions.

“For example, the NGOs can help the communities learn about the long-term health implications of FGM and to realise that it actually creates instability. Young women who have had the procedure tend to be sick more often and it can cause them to miss school or job opportunities because of the increased frequency of illness.”

Women who have been subjected to FGM suffer from higher levels of infection, cysts and infertility as well as frequent damage to mental health.

In Ireland, training will be provided to “teachers, Gardaí, medical professionals, protection officers or anyone working with parents of children at risk of undergoing FGM,” said Ms Ní Chaithnía.

“They’ll be trained to identify children who have undergone FGM, such as if they seem uncomfortable or are sick more often after having been on holidays.

“Work is also being done by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to inform staff in maternity hospitals on how to know what they’re dealing with when they’re presented with FGM.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines FGM as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”

This can range from partial or total removal of the clitoris—a sexual organ filled with nerve endings—to removal of the clitoris and labia, to procedures where the labia is sewed together, leaving a small hole for menstrual blood. In cases of the latter, the skin is cut apart again for sexual penetration and childbirth and is often resewn following labour. Tools used range from sterilised scalpels to razors, scissors, cut glass, thorns and fingernails.

The WHO defines a fourth category of FGM as “all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.”

FGM is most frequently practiced in regions of the Middle East and western, eastern and north-eastern Africa. In some areas nearly all women of reproductive age have undergone the procedure, such as in Somalia, where 98% of women are affected, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In Egypt the figure is 91%. More than 120 million women worldwide are thought to have had the operation.

Mutilation of female genitalia is not exclusive to Africa and the Middle East. A debate was held last month in the Dáil to discuss the practice of symphysiotomies in Ireland. An estimated 1,500 Irish women had their pelvises broken during childbirth without their consent between 1920 and the early 1990s. The surgery often left women with difficulties walking as well as lifelong pain and incontinence.

FGM was used until the 1950s in the US and England to treat lesbianism, masturbation, hysteria and epilepsy.

Heather Thompson

Abortion and Transgender Motions Passed at Labour Conference

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:19:05 +0100

Members at the Labour Party Conference in Galway this weekend passed separate motions relating to both to transgender equality and abortion legislation.

Motion 19 called on the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton to bring forward legislation that takes account of the human rights and dignity of transgender persons in accordance with the recommendations of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe in 2007 and to widely consult those affected during the legislative process.

Mrs Burton had announced in June 2011 her intention to introduce legislation to address the acquired gender of transgender people with the publication of a report by the inter-departmental Gender Recognition Advisory Group (GRAG). GRAG was set up to in May 2010 to advise the Government on a 2007 High Court ruling that Ireland was in breach of the European Conventions on Human Rights for failing to have a legal mechanism to recognize the changed gender of transgender individuals.

As previously reported by iGenders, Ireland currently has no legislation to recognize the acquired gender of transgender individuals. As a result of this transgender people are excluded from entering civil partnerships. But in February a transgender foreign national woman, legally recognized by her home state in her acquired gender as “Maria”, was able to marry her partner in a civil partnership, creating a legal anomaly in Ireland.

Members of the Labour Conference raised concerns with some of the stipulations in the GRAG report for a transgender person to fulfil before being legally recognised in their preferred gender by the Irish State. The GRAG report recommends that transgender people in Ireland must be diagnosed with the mental condition Gender Identity Disorder (GID) as part of the acquired gender recognition process. The report also insists that a transgender person must divorce or dissolve a civil partnership before legal recognition of his or her preferred gender can be granted. These are the same issues that had been previously highlighted by advocacy organizations such as Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and Gay Community News as areas of concern. The motion was strongly welcomed by TENI:

We welcome Conference supporting the separation of mental diagnosis from access to legal recognition. We also strongly welcome the resolution to dispense with forced divorce in order to access legal recognition. This is a strong affirmation of policy passed by the Labour Conference on the rights of transgender people to full equality in law,” said Louise Hannon, Co-Chair of Labour LGBT, who spoke on the motion.

The Conference also passed Motion 138, calling for legislation allowing for abortion to implement the European Court of Human Rights decision in 2010.

Legislation to provide for limited access to abortion in Ireland where there is a “real and substantial risk to the life” of the pregnant woman was introduced in the Dáil in February by Socialist Party TD Clare Daly.

The proposed legislation that will be debated in the Irish Parliament on April 19^thcomes two years after the European Court of Human Rights found that Ireland had failed to properly implement the constitutional right to abortion that had been acknowledged by the Irish Supreme Court ruling in the infamous “X Case” 20 years before. An expert group set up by the Government is due to issue its review in June.

The Conference stated its support for the legal recognition of a woman’s right to abortion when she has become pregnant from rape or incest or if there is a substantial threat to her health, and the implementation of statutory guidelines outlining, for medical practitioners, instances of legally permissible terminations in accordance with the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in 2010.

Senator Ivana Bacik said inaction by a series of governments on the X Case was inexcusable.

Minister Kathleen Lynch said governments had to meet their obligations regardless of how difficult the issue was.

There were scuffles as protesters opposing the household charge and austerity measures clashed with gardaí. After about 1,000 protesters arrived shortly after 3pm, the doors of the conference were shut. Some of the afternoon sessions were postponed.

Auveen Woods

@auveenwoods

Fine Gael vote sparks optimism on marriage equality

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:47:00 +0100

Fine Gael delegates at last month’s Ard Fheis have voted in support for a motion, put forward by Mark O’Meara of Young Fine Gael, that the upcoming Constitutional Convention should prioritise an analysis of the proposals for same-sex marriage in Ireland. The Constitutional Convention was one of the tenets of the Fine Gael 2011 election campaign; promising to examine articles of the constitution covering the institutions of the state - principally the Executive, the Dáil, the Presidency and the Judiciary.

The success of Young Fine Gael cleavage in promoting the motion is a victory in itself, illustrating a possible liberalizing stance within the Party. During the 2011 election campaign Fine Gael’s election manifesto mentioned civil partnership only in terms of amending tax law in accordance with the 2010 Civil Partnership Act. Fine Gael’s support for prioritising same-sex constitutional proposals is the first illustration of willingness on the part of a political party to elevate civil partnership to the status to that of marriage. In January a report by academics and polling company Red C revealed that 73% of the public surveyed supported the inclusion of same-sex marriage in the constitution. The report had been commissioned by the government in the wake of the referendum defeat on Oireachtas Inquiries in November.

Currently civil partnership is not equal to that of civil marriage in the constitution. Civil partnership guarantees certain and separate legal rights, specifically in relation to tax and inheritance. Marriage on the other hand, apart from the cultural and historical significance of the institution, guarantees many rights and obligations regarding the privacy of the family and the primacy of parents as educators of their children. Crucially, civil partnership, unlike marriage, does not permit children to have a legally recognised relationship with their parents - only the biological one. This fundamentally undermines the notion of family that would be ensured if civil partnership was granted the equal legal rights and obligations of a marriage; such as right of parents to be the main and natural educators of their children. This creates all sorts of problems for families in Ireland, such as being able to collect your child from school, make medical decision for your child in hospital as well as guardianship for your child should your civil partner pass away. The marriage ban affects up to 10% of the population in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Of this it is estimated that 230 same sex couples with children are affected.

The vulnerability of same-sex families under civil partnership has most recently been illustrated by a European Court of Human Rights case. In Gas and Dubois v France the Court found that the French government was not guilty of discriminating against a lesbian couple or of violating the privacy of the family by refusing to allow one of the partners in the same-sex couple to adopt the biological child of the other. Ms Valerie Gas and Ms Nathalie Dubois are a lesbian couple who obtained the French equivalent of a civil partnership (pacte civil de solidarité or PACS) in 2002. Ms Dubois gave birth to a girl in September 2000 and conceived the child through artificial insemination. Her civil partner Ms Valerie Gas was denied her application to adopt the child even with the consent of her partner, because under the French Civil code because she is not legally considered a spouse. When a spouse adopts a child, parental authority can be shared between spouses.

Currently in Ireland, while civil partnership means that hospitals and other service providers are required to treat civil partners in the same manner as married opposite-sex couples they do not have equal weight under law as that of “spouse”. Thereby even under the European Court of Human Rights, there is no redress or protection for the children of same-sex families in Ireland. Clearly the status of civil partnership is not just about equality but the protection of children. The long awaited Children’s Rights Referendum must include a segment on children in same-sex families in order to ensure such children’s safety and health.

After the Fine Gael Ard Fheis there is at least a sign that this legal discrepancy in Irish legislation may be rectified. But there has still been no indication from the government to addressing some of the other outstanding legal loopholes. In March the Government stated it was considering paying compensation to Dr Lydia Foy for its failure to officially recognise her as a woman for many years. However there has been no mention by Fine Gael of a timetable or commitment to enacting the Gender Registration Legislation, which as previously reported by iGenders, is supposed to be drafted this year but has been a victim of the continuing procrastination on the part of successive governments.

Legislation to address absence of surrogacy laws in Ireland was published seven years ago but again has never been produced by successive governments. the continuing absence of surrogacy laws in Ireland as reported by Prime Time Investigates leaves parents in a legal limbo and does little to address the possibly exploitative nature of surrogacy. In cases reminiscent of that faced by same-sex families, mothers of children born by surrogacy are not recognized as their child’s legal parent nor are they able to adopt them. Under current Irish law the biological father and birth mother are automatically the parents of the child. It is estimated there are several hundred children living in Irish families who were born abroad to surrogate mothers but whose legal status under Irish law may be uncertain.

The forthcoming Constitutional Convention offers the possibility for addressing these legislative loop-holes while also fulfilling the Government’s promise when assuming office:

The Government for National Recovery will strive to ensure that every one of our citizens has an effective right, free from discrimination, to contribute to the economic, social and cultural life of the nation. Our aim, when our legislative and constitutional changes are implemented, is that Ireland will be a transformed country. By the end of our term in Government Ireland will be recognised as a modern, fair, socially inclusive and equal society supported by a productive and prosperous economy.

Auveen Woods

@auveenwoods

Discrimination in all it's dirty forms

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:29:00 +0000

You might think to yourself “people in Ireland don’t get discriminated against”. If you’re thinking this chances are you’re probably well-off, a man, heterosexual and white. Anyone who doesn’t fit this build has probably felt discriminated against at some point.

Women feel discrimination based on the fact that they are a woman. If a woman gets a promotion in work she is often perceived as aggressive, taking on manly characteristics, and neglecting family and home life. On top of this when she does succeed in life she is defined as a successful woman, not just as “successful” in her own right as an individual. When men are successful they are labelled as such but when women are successful there seems to be an inherent need to place woman after it. An example of this is Madonna. She is known as the Queen of pop and has broken almost every taboo that was once the gilded cage of female artists. She has the similar swagger and unapologetic egocentricity of male artists but unlike them the media often portrays her as “un-female” and” hard”. This double standard is obvious in the rather personal criticism’s of her film W.E. while the extra-curricular indulgences of her males colleagues such as Tom Ford and Kanye West are received with singular expectation.

The other issues that relate to discrimination are apparent by the statistics; 1in5 women in Ireland suffer at the hands of violence. This fact isn’t just privy to Ireland. Women all over the world are subjected to violence at the hand of others in domestic violence. More importantly women do not somehow induce the violence reaped upon them. We as a society of women AND men should stand up for the rights of women and not just women and feminists who demand it.

But discrimination isn’t just a gender issue; it is multifaceted and can happen to men and women due to race, beliefs, sexuality as well as gender. In Ireland there is a growing number of cases being reported of racist attacks on persons of other nationalities and races, some of these people are Irish citizens born and raised in this country but have a different ethnic background and are seen as eternal “foreigners”. Since the beginning of the recession there has been a surge in xenophobic attacks, involving verbal and physical abuse, which is justified by the perpetrators as protecting Irish jobs for Irish people. Historically the Irish have been seen as having a culture of latent racism but since the global recession the instances have risen quite sharply. As concerned citizens of this country we should take seriously Ireland’s obligations as a signatory state to the UN Convention International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and all the hopes and values we attached to such an international promise.

There are two campaigns Storify by the UN is a campaign on “how to fight racism”. It encourages people to share their stories and for people to read and be inspired into action to fight racism. The second “lets fight racism”, is a campaign that encourages people to take an active part in trying to change policy in their signatory state and get the government to honour what they have signed up to.

Activism is necessary for all aspects of discrimination in Ireland. While we have not experienced the successive suicides of numerous gay teens and young adults which has rocked the psyche of American society, Ireland is not impervious to it. The recent focus of Irish TV of the issue of bullying in Ireland has not yet addressed this aspect of the phenomenon nor yielded any new legal precedents. Those who suffer homophobic bulling both inside and outside school, are those who are less publicly addressed by society and are at risk of being lost in our increasing awareness of the epidemic in general. “Gay”, “Fag”, “Puff”, “Fairy”, “Pussy” are terms used in such a regular and general basis that they become part of a social norm; an acceptability that spreads through every aspect in society making it that much harder to separate discrimination from language. It is something that must be countered.

BeLonG To, SpunOut, OutWest, Outhouse and GLEN are among those who champion the rights of homosexual teenagers, college students and those in the workforce respectively. BeLonG To to are currently and constantly running campaigns aimed at school anti-homophobic bullying in schools. The aim of this campaign is to show that homosexual people are just like all other people in schools and deserve the same respect heterosexual friends are treated with.

Discrimination, in all its many and insidious forms is not something that can be allowed to twist and violate the lives of individuals; of women, of men, of Irish Citizens.

John Lynch

@Johansarc