The so-called sexualisation of children has been all over the news this week with a report for the home office being published by Dr Linda Papodopoulos. Amongst recommendations are those about softcore men’s mags such as Nuts and Zoo being made to be top-shelf publications, as they are often seen by eight to fifteen year [...]
With all the furore about a French parliamentary committee recommending a ban on Muslim women wearing Islamic face veils in public, I thought it was a good time to bring up France’s long-standing history of banning items of clothing…
Historically religion isn’t the only area to fall victim to the fashion police in France, sartorial expressions [...]
The taboo on relationships between older women and younger men is one of the stranger and more persistent ones in modern Britain. No one seems to think much of Rod Stewart being married to a woman 26 years his junior, but the love lives of Sam Taylor-Wood and Iris Robinson are the focus of a [...]
So the Tories want to incentivise marriage? Who says romance is dead?
I got married two years ago (please contain your disappointment…). Contrary to popular belief I did this by choice. It hasn’t made one iota difference to our relationship, it does however change how others treat you (I now get patronised even more by bank [...]
Next Friday my Students’ Union will host a ‘Playboy Mansion’ themed club night. Over the past few weeks at what is still quite a new University for me I have been more and more bothered by the sexualised atmosphere promoted by the union’s venues. But, with my attentions largely elsewhere (on job cuts, the fact that [...]
Across the left there has been an explosion of mockery and outrage at the formation of men’s societies at Oxford and Manchester universities. This is, in part, because of the reputedly dubious activities of the Manchester men’s society in particular. Equally there has been an instinctive – and to some extent reasonable – reaction against [...]
This week the identity of one of the internet’s most infamous bloggers was revealed. Belle de Jour, who wrote anonymously about her life as a highly paid call girl turned out to be Dr Brook Magnanti, 34, a research scientist in Bristol. Cue moral outrage and titillation – the favourite combination of the right-wing press.
“By [...]
As you’re probably aware, reports emerged this week that following medical tests, South African runner Caster Semenya has been discovered to be biologically intersex. This follows weeks of speculation after her 800m victory at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. On balance, I think these reports are probably true, if only because the International Association [...]
