Jessica Reed was participation editor for openDemocracy between November 2006 and February 2008. She holds a degree in Political Sciences from Sciences Po Rennes, and previously interned for the Vancouver International Dance festival and UK think tank Demos. She initially wanted to become a Burlesque artist but failing that, decided to specialise in the Blogosphere universe while expanding her knowledge in dark pretentious indie music. She is also the co-founder of Volte Face magazine, a french bimestrial aiming to deconstruct gender-related stereotypes.

Recent articles

Shortly after the downfall of the Taliban regime, the media relayed many stories illustrating the great liberties given to Afghan women by democracy: their newfound ability to drive and go to school, their right to not wear the burqa and bizzarely, the establishment of beauty parlours.

Healthy discussion: In the fantastic sex education site Scarleteen (which I personally can't recommend enough for teenagers and young adults), Heather Corinna writes about rape with boys (and men) in mind:

"Those articles about rape prevention telling women all they can do to prevent rape? This isn't one of those articles. This one’s for the men."

A global generation of women: Imagining ourselves is an online multimedia project ran by the International Museum of Women, full of stories, photographs, films and much more. A true gem.

Women fighting violence: MADRE lists 16 ways women are fighting against violence

Feminist men: The concept makes some feminist bloggers raise their eyebrows at the mention of a "feminist men's blog", but here's one - Feminist Allies blogs 16 days.

A call to men: an men organisation working on ending violence aginast women. To read: 10 things men can do to end VAW. Shakesville's blogger Melissa comments on it.

Any links you want to share with us? Please post them in the comments... 

- Take back the tech: one of the campaign's daily contribution to "16 days" is the fascinating Who males history? Something to bare in mind: historical invisibility is a form of violence against of women, whose legacy to the world has been erased or conveniently not recorded and/or celebrated.

"The field of science and technology is particularly steeped in the culture of elevating ‘father figures’. Think of all the notable names in computing, and chances are, you’ll come up with Bill Gates, Richard Stallman, Steve Jobs, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing etc. It’s less likely for us to know names of women such as Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Betty Holberton, Kathleen Antonelli and more, who also played critical roles in the expansion of knowledge and innovation in this field".

- Interview with Imam Cheick Mohamad Diallo: Every Day a New Battle against Circumcision in Mali (via Qantara.de)

"The religious authorities must change their views, otherwise our education efforts will never succeed. I myself have been excluded from the Association of Imams since 2000, because I called circumcision non-Islamic in a televised sermon. This exclusion persists today."

Recommended by Jessica Reed: In many ways Douglas Coupland is like Andy Warhol. His art may not be mind-blowing at first glance, but contextualisation is everything: he captures the essence of a generation. Generation X is the post-modern Bible for hordes of self-defined slackers and alternative kids who feel they do not 'fit in' and demand more out of life than consumerism and pop-culture junk.