‘Being a Slut Really Means You Are Untouchable’: On Shame, Power and the Reclamation of Words
‘Toilet Cubicles are a Strange Hybrid’: Graffiti as a Medium of Political Action
Toilet cubicles are a strange hybrid. They aren’t the main event, yet most people in a venue will visit them at some point. In other words, it’s guaranteed that a lot of people are going to see what you write in the cubicle. What makes this more interesting is that no one can prove it was you who wrote anything – it’s anonymous. This adds a level of honesty that isn’t always present in public debates and discussions…
‘Rat Infestations, Mould and Poor Plumbing? Sounds Like a You Problem’: How Landlords Exploit the Inexperienced Position of Student Renters
The reality is that many students would not fight the faceless authority of the landlord; we are too preoccupied with everything else, or we’re afraid of the power they wield over us, from withholding our deposits post-tenancy to eviction. It is also important to highlight that these issues disproportionately affect working-class students, who are even more vulnerable if their deposit is lost…
Queer Kids and Culture Wars: The Tories and the Return of Section 28
Local authorities were banned from ‘promoting homosexuality’, and schools could not teach ‘the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’. I went to school between 1982 and 1996. In other words, Section 28 cast its shadow over most of my formative years. There were no known prosecutions resulting from Section 28, but this did not limit the damage it caused…
‘Naming is Not a Neutral Act’: Why it’s Time to Reclaim the Word Cunt
The history we see traced in the OED is one of repression and control, as people with vaginas are taught to be ashamed of their bodies and, by extension, their sexuality. As such, it is essential that we reclaim control over the labelling and the knowledge of our own bodies…
Ratifying The Istanbul Convention into Law: What This Means for the Prevention of Violence Against Women in the UK
In July of this year, then Home Secretary Priti Patel ratified the Istanbul Convention. After ten years of delay by our government, with effect from the 1st of November 2022 the UK agreed to update its legal and global position on the prevention and protection of women in the UK from all forms of violence and, crucially, domestic violence…
‘Revolutions are Happening that Refuse to be Ignored’: Why Does the West Ignore the Suffering of Sri Lanka?
I can’t help but think of something my friend said to me when I was complaining about how I haven’t seen anything shared by my friends from the Western world about Sri Lanka. They said: ‘Sri Lanka is too small of a country and hasn’t done anything significant enough for the world for it to care.’ But why do we have to do something significant to be acknowledged as a country that’s suffering?
‘But it Couldn’t Possibly Happen Here!’: A Rebuttal Against Comfortable Thinking After Roe v Wade
This current government don’t see codifying reproductive rights into law as important. After all, when you have potential future PM Liz Truss spouting transphobic statements and reducing women to merely ‘people with cervixes’, it’s obvious how little importance the current government places on any person who has a uterus and requires medical assistance or an identity beyond their reproductive organs…
Violence is Never the Answer Unless Women are the Question: What 2022 Has Taught Us So Far
It is scarcely open to doubt that the system will punish those that lack the money and resources to defend themselves, namely women of colour, lower-class people and transgender men. Furthermore, race and wealth will always override policy…
No Steps Forward, Only Steps Back: An Opinion on Canada’s Supreme Court Decision on Extreme Intoxication as a Legal Defence
Between this decision in Canada and Roe v. Wade in the American Supreme Court, I am enraged and deeply saddened to see legal motions being put into place that will negatively impact women. That boys will be boys and that other people, women in particular, will suffer the consequences of what that means has prevailed yet again…
Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill: What it is and Why You Should Care
Just the potential of this bill passing spoke volumes, but now that it is in place, the message is even more clear. This bill tells LGBTQ+ youth that they do not matter. It silences them and will undoubtedly force some back into the closet. This bill is making a statement that discrimination is okay in the eyes of Florida schools and the law…
‘I Wasn’t Ready’: Mourning Getting an Abortion While Wanting to be a Mother
I made an appointment and pretended that I wasn’t growing something inside me. I called it a parasite and cursed the ferocious hunger within to cancel the appointment and grow up quicker. Becoming attached to the cluster of cells was futile, though. It wasn’t our time yet…
Teaching and Parenting in a Gender Identity Movement
Every day, I find myself learning from my daughter and my students. I tread softly when labelling my students at work, mentally hitting myself if I slip up and address a whole class as ‘you guys’. I make sure I clearly call a student by their chosen name, not their name on the school roster, and use names instead of pronouns…
The Archaeology of Internet Memes: What Memes Can Tell Us About Modern Culture
Internet memes are no longer just funny pictures to send to your mates when you should be working. They’re special to us in a way we didn’t realise initially. When we take memes seriously, they work by transferring small units of culture from person to person that can tell us a lot about what those people are experiencing and how they’re feeling, much like our Greek pots did for Ancient Greece…
Why Going Vegan is Essential for Your Feminism
Feminism broadly recognises other ‘-isms’ as oppression in society and regularly allies with other social justice movements. Why not recognise Speciesism? Two facts should be acknowledged by non-vegan feminists: firstly, you aren’t able to eat meat without the death of another living being. Secondly, that being suffered…
Rituals and Rewilding the Self: An Interview with Women’s Circle Facilitator Gaia Harvey Jackson
Gaia Harvey Jackson is a facilitator of women’s empowerment, ecstatic dance and authentic connection. In May 2017, she founded the Psychedelic Women’s Circle and has since developed a number of popular workshops, including: Rave Ritual, Slow Dating, Window to the Soul and Awakening the Wild Woman. Weaving together many practices in a unique style that is both playful and profound, Gaia talks to us about her inspirations, her understanding of ritual and what she’s learned in her years of facilitation and women’s work…
Feminism, Regeneration and Cyclical Living: An Interview with Activist Alana Bloom
Alana is an artist, facilitator, mentor and activist committed to regeneration. Her mission is to support a shift towards a more nature-based eco-centric society and to support others to live wild and soulful lives. Alana leads transformational experiences for people to explore their creative gifts through community, connection and many practices inspired by theatre and dance. Here, we discuss the themes of her work and talk about all things social activism…
The End of Offence: Is It Time to Cancel Our Cancel Culture?
We can try and police what people say, but it takes away the opportunity to respond, to try to educate, to share the experiences and perspectives that may ultimately change someone for the better. The viciousness with which we demand penance from those who, oftentimes, we judge for a small out of context snippet stops conversations before they have a chance to happen…
Why it’s Time to End Malta’s Century-Long Abortion Ban
There are still twenty-four countries that do not allow abortions under any circumstances. Among those twenty-four countries are the Philippines, Jamaica, Egypt, Iraq and Malta. One thing that sets Malta apart from other countries is that it is part of the European Union: a union that takes pride in its health care and equality…
Sexual Harassment and the Absolute Lack of Male Allies in the Hospitality Sector
I shouldn’t have to take this. I should tell my colleague that I know from experience that men who get rejected get violent. I should say that I’m terrified of walking home alone, and I wouldn’t do anything to make the situation worse. Maybe it isn’t his fault he’s so ignorant. Maybe he never had a female figure in his life who took the time to explain to him what it means to be a woman in this society…
‘Rise and Grind’: Why We Need to Stop Normalising Grind Culture
‘The grind never stops’, a popularised slogan, appropriates hustle culture and leaves us no room in our lives to just slow down and breathe. From the moment we wake up, we are bombarded with messages of productivity and what it looks like. This bombardment normalises that we should be pouring maximum energy into the career and money-driven aspects of our lives to the detriment of other areas…