Ask Steph

Caster Semenya is in the news again.  Again.  And not because she is a blistering athlete, who runs world record times. Not because she is a champion competing in the Olympics.  Nope. That ugly part of humanity has reared up again as she whooshes past the spectators on the running track.  That part of humanity , the one thinks it's OK to dehumanise and humiliate a young women in public by discussing her gentialia and body parts .  Funny how all the armchair experts are more annoyed by this young lady than they are by actual drug cheats.  Funny that.  There is something more important that taking a side in the Caster Semenya debate, and that is choosing not to participate in the debate at all. Especially if you have daughters.  Because what you say about Caster Semenya, will do more damage to your daughter and her self image than anything any other person or the media can throw at you.  Caster Semenya was subjected to humiliating reports on he...

I woke up this morning to the news that a gorgeous women,  an Instagram celebrity in Pakistan had been murdered in cold blood by her brother.  The headlines screaming out about honour killings and so forth.  So how about this, collective Bad-Ass women of the world, how about we collectively refuse to call these things Honour killings.  It demeans and degrades the word Honour to do so, it implies that there is some kind of twisted honour in being a sociopath whose worth is determined by the behaviour of the property of your family. Girls are property in certain parts of the world let's not forget.  How about we all call it what it is , a murder that's all about male shame. A great big shame for the family for harbouring and promoting murder. Shame for the family because they think women and females belong to them.   Shame for the brother who right now looks sub-human to me, in my angry raging feminist tirade.  Can we stop implying there is something goo...