When I was growing up, sex was everywhere in the household, except that the word ‘sex’ was never mentioned. Books about violent crimes against women were littered around the house and I read every one of them, thinking to some degree that I was reading – and learning – about sex. Living with a single… Continue reading Open thread: Sex education. Why are we so afraid?
Category: Feminism
Book cover of the day: The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III
Apparently, this is the author’s best work: “It’s difficult to love a woman whose vagina is a gateway to the world of the dead . . .” Book description: Steve falls madly in love with Stacy, but it isn’t until they move in together that he hears voices coming from Stacy’s southern junction. When a… Continue reading Book cover of the day: The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III
Seksualiti Merdeka: Coming to terms with the love that dares not speak its name
This was originally published over at Muslimah Media Watch last Monday, on the 31st of August – Malaysia’s national day, popularly known as ‘Merdeka Day’. Who would have thought that sexuality rights were being celebrated in the historical and cultural heart of the Malaysian capital two weeks ago? Malaysia, like anywhere else (Muslim-majority or not)… Continue reading Seksualiti Merdeka: Coming to terms with the love that dares not speak its name
Quote of the day
No amount of sex education is going to help a young person not get pregnant. It just makes them feel even more sexy. [More here] “Feminist” Fay Weldon and her thoughts on sex education and teenage pregnancy.
Purdah
When I was in school, congregations in the surau (small prayer halls or mini mosque) would be segregated by gender: women on one side, men on the other. We would enter the same door, pray next to each other but separated by a wispy thin, almost see-through curtain. I understood that women simply felt comfortable… Continue reading Purdah
Guest post: Asian fetishism is sexist and racist
The following is a guest post by regular commenter, Gareth: I am a white Englishman with an Asian girlfriend. I believe the so-called ‘Asian fetish’ is both racist and sexist, and here is why. Being a white, straight man gives me a ton load of privilege, and that privilege is systemic and global. I am… Continue reading Guest post: Asian fetishism is sexist and racist
Film Review: The Mosque in Morgantown
First published at Feminist Review. Muslimah Media Watch has also the goods. Reading the official synopsis of The Mosque in Morgantown, I quickly got the impression that it was a documentary film that revolved around the battle between journalist-activist Asra Nomani and “the extremists” in her hometown Morgantown, West Virginia. It is the kind of… Continue reading Film Review: The Mosque in Morgantown
Oh, by the way…
Cycads is now one year old!
Book review: Race, Space, and the Law
First published at Feminist Review Institutional racism: we all know it exists, yet many deny it does. In this book, Sherene Razack, author of Looking White People in the Eye, edits a set of deeply disturbing accounts of racially-motivated public policies and resultant public consciousness in North America. Beginning with the premise “Race is Space,”… Continue reading Book review: Race, Space, and the Law
Why do I find this so disconcerting?
Meeting Nicole Kidman up close, I realised that she looks like a beautiful doll. I have never met any woman as tall as her. I thought all the women from my slum would be so small in front of her. But her skin, lips and hands, they were all perfect. I thought if I touched… Continue reading Why do I find this so disconcerting?
Alicia Izharuddin 