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
Tag: feminism
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
The myth of “ready”
One of the only cheering pieces of news to have caught my attention in the last month was Natalie Imbruglia’s announcement that she has both signed a new record deal and is having a baby on her own, using IVF and a sperm donor. (It is barely three weeks since Boris Johnson became our… Continue reading The myth of “ready”
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
The feelings gap
This is essentially a Fleabag fan blog now; deal with it. I think I’ve always been angry. Certainly since adolescence; I threw almighty strops as a teen and my mum used to say, “God, you’re so angry – what’s wrong with you?” Looking back, I see it clearly: I was a shitty teenager, that’s all,… Continue reading The feelings gap
Choose your camp?
A few days ago, I became one of those awful people who starts a conversation with a stranger on public transport. Ordinarily, I’d say there’s a circle in Hell reserved for these shameless types, but sometimes you overhear a morsel that’s so gosh-darn up your street that you’ve chimed in before you’ve realised what’s happening.… Continue reading Choose your camp?
So much left to do
Sometimes I like to play a little game with myself called, “What would a world designed by women look like?” (I know; I’m great fun at parties.) The first things that jump to mind are always fairly minor inconveniences, like high shelves and heavy doors. Shop space designed by women would surely bring the higher… Continue reading So much left to do
Leave no woman behind
I know I’ve been something of a one-issue pony over the last week or so, but funnily enough, as a woman, a referendum in a country just across the water on whether women should be forced to continue with pregnancies they don’t want feels quite personal. I don’t buy the often-trotted-out line that “feminism will… Continue reading Leave no woman behind
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
On mixed signals
In the 2012 film Mud, the eponymous hero – played beautifully by Matthew McConaughey – utters the line: “a boat in a tree – hell of a thing, ain’t it? A hell of a thing.” A hell of a thing. “Mixed signals” – hell of a phrase, isn’t it? It can mean whatever the person… Continue reading On mixed signals
