Chivalry isn’t dead, but it should be
The wave of social change that has taken hold over the past six months has sparked major progress in the move towards gender equality. Yet while so many of our…
I can’t stop myself from criminalising Woody Allen
Woody Allen. A man who has been talked about endlessly in the wake of the MeToo campaign, in light of his marriage to his step-daughter, and the ‘false’ accusations of…
Mentioning Down Syndrome is a dirty pro-life tactic
As the Irish referendum looms, more and more dirty tactics have emerged from the pro-life camp. With the aim of persuading the country to vote against repealing the 8th amendment,…
Justice for Noura: feminism is not just for white women
When I have conversations about feminism, they go one of three ways. Either it’s me, five glasses of Cava deep, singing happily into the ideological echo chamber that is my…
Friendship is vital for your mental health, regardless of gender
Intimate female relationships are absolutely central to the lives of countless women, and yet there has never been a point where we have felt the need to assert our own…
Weinstein traumatised the world – and his wife
Just one week ago, on 10 May, Vogue released an interview titled ‘Georgina Chapman on Life After Harvey Weinstein’. Much controversy has surrounded its publishing, with many praising its…
Another one? DJ Khaled won’t go down on women
The internet went into melt down last week when footage of a 2015 interview with DJ Khaled resurfaced. I try to pay DJ Khaled as little attention as possible, as…
Warwick rape threats: middle class white boys need to learn the word ‘no’
This week, Warwick University temporarily suspended 11 students for some of the most abhorrent rape threats I’ve ever been unlucky enough to read. These threats were madein a Facebook group…
The Butch, The Bitch and The Mummy: the women in Westminster
Let’s go back to the tripartite I suggested in the first article; the Butch, the Bitch, and the Mummy. If you’re a woman working in politics, expect to see your…
It’s time to talk ‘vaginas’. Period.
For women, so many sexual encounters are ruined by that not-so-little voice from down below, asking, begging, pleading: will it work? will it hurt? And if it doesn’t work, and…
If you’re saying ‘not all men’, it’s probably you
I wanted to start this article by talking about how much I actually really like men. I felt like I needed to preface my argument with saying that I have…
Water is wet, and misogyny is the cause of femicide
As more emerges about last week’s Toronto attack, it seems the driver, as he swerved from side to side down 13 city blocks, was aiming to hit as many women…
We are all stranded in a no-man’s land of expectation
I think I’ve probably spent a solid quarter of my time as me, as a sentient young adult, worrying about men. Worrying if I’ve texted them back too quickly, not…
The Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy is not your property
Pictured above: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after the birth of their first child, Prince George Have you heard? There is a new royal baby. Not a single detail has…
Vaginal mesh: another way the patriarchy damages women
On 19 April, MPs in the House of Commons spent two hours debating whether or not to ban vaginal mesh surgery. Vaginal mesh surgeries, for those of you not avidly…
Don’t use the Bible to embrace the ignorance of the past
Christianity has probably been one of the most successful influences on Western society, from the permanence of the Ten Commandments to a couple of choice blasphemous phrases. However, it cannot…
The commercialisation of feminism
The presence of feminism is inescapable. It’s an alliance demanded of major figures, whether actresses or celebrity cooks; it’s a word featured almost daily in magazines and newspapers; it’s an…
Broadway is doing too much with Doolittle
Eliza Doolittle, the protagonist of My Fair Lady, is arguably one of my favourite characters of all time. My friends will attest that it takes worryingly little encouragement for me…
Financial sector’s ‘gender quota solution’ presents problems
Spending two weeks interning in the financial sector made me fully appreciate the stark disparity between male and female employees. The institution I was working for released their gender inequality…
Well said Ealing Council, let’s hope others follow
Despite being a difficult topic to discuss, it seems abortion has been on everyone’s minds. In light of the Irish referendum, the recent action of Ealing council bears more significance…
Interviewing Ruth Davidson: the women in Westminster
There seems to be an ‘all-eyes on Ruth’ effect in the media. Everyone is listening out for what she will say next, or anticipating which armoured vehicle she’ll jump into…
I’ve learnt the hard way Ireland’s attitude to abortion must change
In 2016, 724 women from Northern Ireland travelled to England or Wales to have an abortion, an illegal operation in their home country. South of the border, a further 3,265…
Government pay gap report ‘effectively comparing chief executives with secretaries’
Britain has one of the largest gender pay gaps in Europe. Women earn a mere 80p for every pound a man makes, and this inequality has increased slightly over the…
The Ulster case is sickening, but don’t look away
The case of the Ulster rugby players already concerned me even before I read the text messages sent the morning after the night before. The messages sent between the men,…
Power plays: the women in Westminster
The ‘visibility issue’ of women in politics is not just how many are sitting in Parliament. It’s also an issue of who they’re allowed to be once they’re there. If…
Why is ‘The Virgin Bride’ still on a pedestal?
‘Just because you lost your virginity doesn’t mean you can go around throwing your cat at everybody!’ Emma Stone’s Olive Penderghast, the self-proclaimed ‘slutty’ version of Hester Prynne, spends the…
The Tories are trying, but they need to do better
Worryingly, this is the second time this year that I’ve agreed with a Tory policy. Although it may be throwing my political identity into chaos, the recent government-sponsored report into…
We should not tar the diverse drag community with the same brush
Last week, The Broad’s Lucy Hodgeon criticised the use of cultural appropriation in the world of drag, and more specifically in RuPaul’s Drag Race. I feel there are a few…
Closing the pay gap is in the limelight but what we need is reflection
Ladies, we’ve been liberated from our rubber gloves. Put down your feather dusters because we’ve got Equal Pay Day, MeToo and TimesUp all under our belt in the short space…
The gender pay gap should be the stuff of history lessons
As a working woman in the 1960’s, my grandmother was paid significantly less than her male counterparts. But it wasn’t a problem for her as she would be expected to…
A love letter to the girl who chokeheld me
I don’t know if anyone who reads my column has noticed, but I’m a pretty big fan of feminism. After a couple of glasses of wine, I will talk about…
Philsoc and a discriminatory discussion: The Inside Story
Wow. On Saturday, I wrote an article, published on The Broad, highlighting the discriminatory nature of the University of Edinburgh Philosophy Society’s event, ‘Philosophy discussion on Feminism (for Women and non-binary folk)’….
Discrimination on campus: Men barred from Philosophy Society event
UPDATE: The University of Edinburgh’s Philosophy Society have now distanced themselves from the event. It is still going ahead, however, it will no longer be hosted by the Philosophy Society…
Drag culture or cultural appropriation?
Drag culture has long been a site for pushing boundaries and shocking society. From Divine eating dog shit to, well, pretty much every moment of RuPaul’s career, drag queens have…
Sex and the City for president
As Carrie Bradshaw once said, ‘The universe may not always play fair, but at least it’s got a hell of a sense of humour.’ On this week’s episode of ‘Keeping…
Let’s slim down media criticism of the female body
Do I hear a groan? The sun is sort-of out and bikini season is suddenly a reality. Unfortunately, we girls can no longer swaddle our insecurities in knitwear while dunking…
If marriage is a construct, I don’t want to be a construction worker
Marriage is steadily on the decline. While many articles have lamented the breakdown of this ancient establishment, there are a lot of practical factors behind the fall in marriages in…
It’s International Women’s Day and pink beer ‘for girls’ feels inauthentic
It is no secret that we live in a society where marketing is often as important, if not more so, than the product on offer. Campaigns and strategies are tailor-made…
In a world without equal opportunity, no one wins
The Oscars, as always, bring a semi-climactic end to awards season. I’m personally a sucker for red carpet pics, for no reason other than I live vicariously through those lucky…
Don’t forget about men like Roy Moore
The whirlwind of the patriarchy moves at such a dizzying pace these days that its hard to find time to be upset about something before some new famous man you…
Does the MeToo movement mark the death of flirting? Absolutely not
Catherine Deneuve seems to seriously believe (or believed, given her hasty apology) that sensuality is under siege. Her argument against the MeToo movement seems to focus on the joys of…
Saying ‘three cheers for a century of female suffrage’ is not enough
True irony: the fact that the female suffrage centenary is currently sharing column space with the revelation that Tesco, one of UK’s largest supermarkets and employers, could be sued up…
For women, real justice can be elusive
I don’t know a single woman who hasn’t been sexually harassed or assaulted. For every woman who is harassed, there has to be at least one man doing it. If…
The politics of forgiveness
It seems now that not only are we living in a post-truth, post-science, post-genre age (thank you Beyoncé for that last one), we are also living in a post-Weinstein age….