“Nature abhors a vacuum, and society abhors a woman on her own”, I tweeted drunkenly and loftily in October 2020, and honestly, I stick by it. Our society is not built for the uncoupled, and no one is made to feel this more acutely than women who are mostly single, by choice or otherwise. Over… Continue reading Is single positivity good for women?
Tag: equality
What we accept as normal
You can judge a society by what it accepts as ‘normal’ and whose truths it takes at face value, I think. What it doesn’t see as particularly remarkable, or out of the ordinary. Who, when they speak, it decides to automatically believe, and who it chooses to doubt and interrogate. We started the week of… Continue reading What we accept as normal
It’s not about her health
I am a reasonably thin woman and every ‘news’ story of a celebrity losing weight feels like a tiny betrayal. That sounds mean-spirited, doesn’t it? It sounds like an ugly way to live. Especially since I couldn’t give a toss what the people I know and love weigh. It just doesn’t occur to me to… Continue reading It’s not about her health
Benign self-destruction
Last week, I sent and received this picture four or five times, my dearest girlfriends and I all marvelling at the unapologetic glamour and insouciance. None of us have won an Emmy – never mind four of them (yet, anyway) – but we all recognised the feeling. The deep exhale, the giddy pleasure of a… Continue reading Benign self-destruction
The greatest adventure
Recently, I’ve stopped looking at men. When I’m pottering round the Lanes at the weekend, on the bus to work, or in the park with the dog, it’s not men that catch my eye. Sure, I can still clock a stylish pair of glasses on a whippet-boned face at twenty paces – like the most… Continue reading The greatest adventure
Call it what it is
I wish they’d just be honest, you know? I wish the 25 Alabama senators who voted to pass a bill effectively banning abortion could just be honest about their reasoning. Because of course, they say it’s about protecting the unborn child. Protecting a potential new life. They turn it into an argument about defending the defenceless,… Continue reading Call it what it is
Tumblr-ing down
A few weeks ago, Labour MP Jess Phillips commented that one of the ways sex education could be improved is by discussing female pleasure. “We should be telling girls about orgasms during sex education,” she said in an interview with Grazia. “I’m not suggesting we teach children how to masturbate, I’m suggesting we talk to them… Continue reading Tumblr-ing down
The houseguest
If you invite someone into your home, you do so because you want them there. If they turn violent, start to smash your belongings and pose a danger to you, you’re entitled to make them leave, or call for help. If someone breaks into your home – kicks the door down, batters their way in,… Continue reading The houseguest
Too many men
I’ve always thought I’ve been extraordinarily lucky with men. Most of the ones I’ve come across have been good, kind, decent guys. Pretty much all the ones I have in my life right now would rather remove their own eyes with a spoon than hurt a woman. I can honestly count on one hand the… Continue reading Too many men
Changing the agenda
I don’t listen to the Today programme anymore – I did for a while, and when I’ve got the hang of leaping out of bed on the dot of 6am rather than hitting snooze five times and eventually stumbling into the shower at 6.20, I daresay I will again – but I was quite intrigued*… Continue reading Changing the agenda
Inbetween Girl 