NOW OVER TO YOU...
LETTER OF THE WEEK TIME FOR A CHANGE
I was pretty disturbed by your article Can you rape
a robot? (14 August). Clearly, rape requires the act of non-consent, so it isn’t possible to rape either a robot or a sex doll. But that isn’t really the question, is it? The first thing that hit me was the name of the robot: ‘Frigid Farrah’. Women have been accused of being frigid for centuries if they, for whatever reason, decline the advances of a male and this name, I think, reflects male attitudes towards women. A refusal is an affront to men, their sexuality and their potency, and their anger rebounds on to us. Sadly, the sex robot seems to reflect a worrying window into society’s attitudes towards women. More hopefully, when I was in the US last year, I saw some amazing adverts that showed a father teaching his son various life lessons – and the most important one was that violence against women is never OK. Dr Lisa Stanton
WHAT A WASTE
I can relate totally to Celebrities
go with the flflow (21 August). I too sneak tampons up my sleeve to hide them on my way to the bathroom. I recently heard of something called Red School through an acquaintance. She has done a course with them where she learned that women’s creativity reaches its peak during menstruation and, in some cultures where women live closely together, and whose periods have synchronised, they club together to take full advantage of their enhanced creativity. It is definitely time we stopped being embarrassed and wasting this ability. Let men like Trump make their jokes – one day they’ll be jealous! Thanks for a great article. Margaret Given that a such a large number of women do not have access to sanitary products, is it not time to look for an alternative? The disposal of these items is also a huge problem for many. My daughter uses something called a menstrual cup. This small plastic item is washed out after each use and there is no extra packaging. I am still a little sceptical, but she is a convert. Why can’t these be made available to all women who have problems accessing sanitary wear? Manufacturers will lose out, but periods aren’t about profit. Kamla
THE RIGHT CHOICE
Shock horror, I’m a pharmacist who has needed to take the morning-after pill. More than once. For me, EHC isn’t about cost. It’s certainly not about what Polly Vernon refers to as ‘naughty girl sex’ ( Don’t get her
started… 14 August). It’s about embarrassed, anxious women who want the right medicine, but most importantly want the right advice, support and reassurance. I’d always rather you came to me to talk about sex so I can give you the right advice in a non-judgemental manner. Julia
FREE SPEECH COSTS
I wonder if things could have been handled differently during the recent unrest in Charlottesville for a better outcome. Should we have ignored the white supremacists’ protest while respecting their right to free speech? Should we have let them parade down the streets with no audience? The message would have been that we respect their right to have a voice but it doesn’t warrant action from us because of their ignorance. Why fuel their need for attention? Instead of being front page news, with the loss of innocent lives, they would have had a 10-second clip on the local news and perhaps the world would have moved on. Or was the fact that many concerned citizens rallied in solidarity with those that died, got hurt, and stood up for others, a better outcome? It’s sad but without a voice that reflects our values, we can’t hope to win against this type of hate. Mark Pinsley
STRUT YOUR STUFF
It was great to see Rihanna as a drop-in picture on the cover of Grazia (21 August). I was surprised to read that she feels she has to point out that she doesn’t need to apologise for her body. If she did, I’d worry for the rest of us. If you have it, and want to, why not flaunt it? Jennifer