I have a day job, but I’ve also spent much of my adult life as an activist. Over the years, the causes I have addressed include tenants rights, violence against women, pornography, bottled water, and global climate change. This spring I heard the most exciting news: Iceland will address violent and degrading pornography nationwide! This is after Iceland had already eliminated stripping. This is a country where women count.
An excerpt from a Guardian story:
Anti-porn activists…are hailing Iceland as a pioneer. Although the country has largely liberal Scandinavian values, it broke with most of Europe in 2010 by banning strip clubs. “This is a country with courage,” said Gail Dines, a professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston and author of the book Pornland. “Iceland is going to be the first country with the guts to stand up to these predatory bullies from LA [in the porn industry],” she said. “It is going to take one country to show that this is possible.”
The person quoted in the story, Gail Dines, is a good friend of mine. She has been fighting this fight for decades and it looks like her work has helped turn the tide. She has been to Iceland to consult with government officials. By sometime in April, Iceland will have made its decision regarding its future and pornography.
Don’t forget your bottled water campaign! Thanks for taking on these important issues, Rhea.
OMG, I can’t believe I forgot that. That was big! I will update the post!
Wow! That’s great news, Rhea! And to think the first country to take this action is Scandinavian — a group of little countries many people think of as “liberal” and “sexually loose.” (Well, at least Sweden has promoted this sexy image…)
: )
Great news!
Great news about Iceland> I wonder if it’s because Iceland is so influenced by women? quote:
“what makes Iceland extraordinary, even among its Nordic peers, is the political empowerment of women. The women who make up almost half of the members of Parliament are following in the footsteps of Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Iceland’s president from 1980 to 1996, the first democratically elected woman head of state in the world.
Iceland’s left government—a coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement—has passed a flurry of woman-friendly policies. A 2009 law, modeled on one in Sweden, criminalizes the purchase of sex, while continuing to protect women prostitutes from prosecution. Another closed down the strip clubs and eliminated lap dancing. A March 2010 law extended a 40 percent quota for women on most government boards of mid-size and large businesses. Other legislation last year included legalizing same-sex marriage. Longer-term achievements of Iceland’s feminist movement have also included generous government-provided parental leave to be shared by women and men and subsidized high-quality preschools and day care, which allow most parents to combine parenting and work.
- See more at: http://www.thenation.com/article/158279/most-feminist-place-world#sthash.bFlQCZdr.dpuf
There is something so incredibly different about Scandinavia.