Author Archives: Natalie Bennett

Powerful empresses (or rather female emperors)

July 19, 2007 – 12:42 am

You’ll often meet them here (there are so many more than you might have thought), but this time I’m talking medieval Japan, specifically the six women who between them were ruling Japan eight times between 592 and 770: Suiko, Kogyoku/Saimei, Jito, Abe, Gemmei and Gensho.

A piece (PDF) just posted on Medievalists.net tells their story.

Its thesis is that while traditionally they have been regarded as simply keeping the seat warm for male relatives, in fact most of them were powerful, active sovereigns in their own right.

Also just up there is a nice piece on 13th-century noble English widows (PDF), who seem to have also been a notably strong-minded lot.

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Carnival of Feminists No 41

July 19, 2007 – 12:05 am

It’s here, it’s huge, it’s great – Carnival of Feminists No 41 over on Cruella-blog.

So many goodies I hardly know what to pick out – an F-word podcast (yeah – let’s take the boys’ toys away), a great post of pregnancy and motherhood that reminds me hugely of all of the friends I’ve watched go through it over the years, and much, much more…

But don’t waste time here – go over there and check it out!

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Caroline Lucas selected for Brighton

July 18, 2007 – 8:14 am

Interesting. Caroline Lucas has won the pre-selection for Brighton Pavilion, generally considered the best chance for the Greens to win a Westminster seat at the next election (although there are a couple of other possibilities coming up close behind).

This is the first time the Green Party has had a pre-selection for a winnable seat, and it has gone better well – despite a snide report about it in the local paper, to which I won’t link.

She was selected by 55%, with Keith Taylor, who has previously contested it, and who leads the party on council, with 45%.

Update: Jim has written more on the selection.

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Safety first for sex workers

July 17, 2007 – 1:04 pm

Over on Comment is Free I have a piece about the need for complete decriminalisation of sex work, the only way to ensure the safety of the women, and men, involved.

(And, thus far anyway, haven’t had as tough a time in the comments as I expected…)

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Small piece of good news

July 15, 2007 – 11:27 am

China has ordered hotels to neither over-refrigerate with air-conditioning nor over-heat, and to meet other eco-standards.

It would be lovely to see this in Bangkok, where you frequently need to pack your woollies to visit second-class hotels with pretensions, which turn up the air-con in an attempt to show their “class”.

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The world on a stage

July 15, 2007 – 11:17 am

Over on My London Your London I’ve a review of The Great Theatre of the World by Pedro Calderon de la Barca – now playing at the Arcola, and well worth an evening.

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