Caroline Phillips: balancing life as a journalist and a suffragette in a Scottish city.

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Aberdeen Art Gallery holds a unique collection in the history of the Scottish women’s suffrage movement: the correspondence of Caroline Phillips, journalist and honorary secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the WSPU, 1907-09. Through her correspondence, Phillips wrestled with the demands of London headquarters for more militant action, was tempted to join the Women’s Freedom League, and finally saw herself and her friend Helen Fraser replaced by the Pankhursts. Because of her involvement in the suffrage movement, Phillips found it difficult to gain entrance to some political events in the city, making it impossible to complete her work as a reporter, and was threatened with dismissal by her employer. She was also torn between the demands for militant action of the WSPU leadership and her own instinct for a more conciliatory approach. Her correspondence reveals the emotional and personal costs of working for ‘the cause’ in a city far away from the heart of the suffrage movement, but also the fulfilling friendships that sustained and supported her

Believers in biology: a coordinated effort to disrupt the 2022 census.

This article investigates the attempt by some gender-critical Scots, led by organisations such as For Women Scotland, to disrupt the administration of the 2022 census in Scotland. They used their census returns to register a protest around guidance relating to the Sex question and around the wider issue of the Scottish Government's plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act. Protestors used social media to share images of their protest on the census forms over the whole census period, meaning that potential protesters were more likely to choose to protest because they saw a growing number of others sharing what they had done. It is suggested that this protest has contributed, and will continue to contribute, to costs relating to the administration of the census and the processing of census data, including the production and administration of paper census forms; the extension of the deadline for completion of the census; and the ability to use machines to read and process the data. Their action was linked by many protesters to the actions of the suffragettes in relation to the 1911 census, with the expectation that their protests would be visible in 100 years' time. However, data-protection policies mean many of their actions will not be recorded

Women users' motivations for establishing and interacting with blogs (web logs).

An investigation into the motivations of women who write blogs (web logs) and the audience for whom they consider themselves to be writing. From the outset of blogging, journal blogs have been associated with women. They offer them a safe place to explore their lives and communicate with like-minded people. Blogs exist in the public space of the Internet, yet are also safe spaces within which the blogger has total editorial control. Women bloggers can safely invite readers into their homes and family lives and at the same time receive virtual “ but safe “ support from their small group of readers. Above all, blogs offer a place where women can experience the validation of their opinions that only comes from being read by others and receiving feedback

Is it Friday yet? Mothers talking about sex online.

Inspired by the media furore over 'penis beaker gate' (October 2013), this article investigates the discussion of sex on the UK parenting website Mumsnet. It asks why there was such shock at finding mothers discussing sexual matters online, what types of discussion related to sex can actually be found on Mumsnet and why women use Mumsnet to discuss these matters. It suggests that the Internet in general offers a new place for women to discuss and discover their sexuality and that Mumsnet in particular offers an interactive and anonymous forum for women whose needs in this area are not met by the mainstream media. On Mumsnet women seek advice and support from others in similar situations, attempt to establish 'norms' relating to sexual behaviour, and supplement information given by health professionals

Where, when, why: academic authorship in the UK.

This article offers a snapshot of the status of and pressures on the academic author in the UK at the end of the twentieth century. The Research Assessment Exercise of 1996 and the Report of the Inquiry into Higher Education, published in July 1997, has made available new data on both these issues, and it thus seemed an appropriate time to begin to investigate the topics and to attempt to evaluate whether the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has academic authorship in the UK. The two subjects are closely intertwined since, as will be seen, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has intensified the pressure on academic staff in UK higher education institutions to publish - at all costs - but in certain areas and at certain times. It may be that the RAE is also a factor in the slow takeup of electronic journals and online scholarly publishing in the UK

Women bloggers seeking validation and financial recompense in the blogosphere.

Previous researchers investigating motivations for blogging have suggested mainly intangible benefits: for instance, documenting the authors life, providing commentary and opinions, expressing deeply felt emotions, working out ideas through writing, and forming and maintaining communities and forums. The research detailed in this chapter focuses on the materialistic motivations of women bloggers in the U.K. and U.S. The author suggests that a need for validation and a strong financial stimulus should be added to this list of incentives

Caroline Phillips: Aberdeen suffragette and journalist.

Aberdeen Art Gallery holds a unique collection of correspondence that belonged to a woman journalist called Caroline Phillips. As honorary secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), otherwise known as the Suffragettes, Caroline Phillips met and corresponded with many of the leaders of the movement and was also involved in the organisation of militant action in Aberdeen

The contribution of the Women's Freedom League to the cause of women's suffrage in Scotland.

We are all familiar with the traditional figure of the suffragette, usually associated with names such as Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, and the ferocity of suffragette militant actions in the decade before the outbreak of war in 1914. However, in Scotland, as indeed elsewhere in Britain, the campaign for the vote for women was not as clear cut as popular memory suggests. Other organisations, both constitutional and militant, were also involved in the campaign. The aim of this article is to investigate the importance of one of those organisations, the Women’s Freedom League, in the female political sphere in Scotland during the early twentieth century

Now read this: male and female bloggers' recommendations for further reading.

This paper investigates and contrasts male and female bloggers use of one specific part of a blog “ its blogroll. Most blogs carry a blogroll. It is a list of the bloggers favourite blogs or recommended reads. This research, part of a larger project, investigated the blogrolls of 120 US and UK bloggers, analysing both the sex and the geographical location of each recommended blog. Findings suggest that North American bloggers are far more likely to link to other North American bloggers while British bloggers are more willing to recommend overseas blogs to their readers, including a high number of US blogs. In addition, male bloggers are more likely to recommend other male bloggers to their readers. Such practices support the continued dominance of US bloggers, and in particular US men, at the more popular end of the blogosphere

They've got an absolute army of women behind them: the formation of a women's cooperative constellation in contemporary Scotland.

This study argues that a new women's cooperative constellation has been established in Scotland around the issue of the Scottish Government's proposed reforms of the Gender Recognition Act. This constellation includes women politicians, researchers, journalists, writers, and activists from all sides of mainstream political opinion in Scotland. The constellation works together to support its politician members, share information and form a supportive community. The constellation acts together to show support for those in the public eye, such as politicians or members being publicly attacked, to make them aware they have 'an army of women behind them'. The role social media plays has been an important one for the formation and continuance of the constellation, particularly during the pandemic. It has been game-changing in allowing women to identify each other, communicate, arrange to work together and show public support for others. It has also been important in raising awareness of the issues, both with politicians and the general public because, unlike previously identified constellations, this network has needed to generate broad public awareness and support because they have not been working as Government insiders. However, all interviewees were aware that it was not enough to engage in online activism and that they needed to be 'in the room' with politicians in order to make any impact