Une Femme Libre

Saturday, March 20th  saw a coalition of grassroots organisations and individuals gather in Birmingham's Victoria Square to raise their voices in solidarity. These past few weeks have seen other major cities such as Manchester, Brighton, Bristol and Liverpool holding protests of their own as outrage spreads across the nation following the murder of Sarah Everard. Sarah was walking home through Clapham Common in London on March 3rd when she disappeared. Her body was found just a week later inside a builder's bag in the woodlands of Kent, about 40 miles from where she was kidnapped. No sooner had this news reached the rest of the UK, than the vigil that was held Clapham Common in her honour turned violent between attendees and police officers sent to oversee COVID guidelines.  Occurring in tandem with this catastrophe is the proposal of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSCB) which was published March 8th of this year. If this bill were to come to fruition, it woul...

We're well into February - or 'Forever Alone' month - and lovers are scrambling for ideas on how to make their special day unforgettable, despite the looming cloud of bollocks that is quarantine. If you're like me, you've already trolled through the top searches on Google and found these: 20 Best and Most Romantic Valentine's Day Ideas 12 ways to enjoy Valentine's Day in lockdown from home Valentine's Day 2021 date night ideas All containing great ideas, but after 20 minutes of scrolling, you'll start to see a pattern arise. Suggestions like "cook dinner together", "have a spa day", and "breakfast in bed" are the top recurring suggestions; or if you have an affinity for the outdoors, "go for a walk" and "go for a picnic" are the two for you. But seeing as we're coming up on our one year anniversary of quarantine here in the UK, these brilliant ideas were already exhausted back in August.  Every da...

Another milestone to check off the 'life' to-do list: the long-awaited university graduation. This occasion is traditionally celebrated by decking out the 'graduands' in black gowns that more closely resemble poorly tailored capes and matching caps that are equally unflattering. You have to give them credit, though; it must have been difficult to design a co-ord that nobody actually looks good in.  It doesn't take a Paris Fashion Week judge to notice that the 'academic dress' is ill-fitting in general: students of extreme stature are especially cheated. Despite inputting measurements of height and head size prior to ordering the dress, this feels like a farce as they appear to be a one-size-fits-all deal. Taller individuals show an excess of leg (scandalous!) - rather than the traditional mid-calf hem ending - which looks comical. While shorter students are positively swimming in their gowns, looking as if the shroud is trying to swallow them. Nevertheless,...

When anybody says the word 'diversity', I immediately think of race and ethnicity. I think about people of color and the dominance of Caucasians throughout history. I may even think about women and the patriarchy and the overbearing male presence in everything that we do as a species. But never do my thoughts turn to those with disabilities, either learning or hearing or otherwise. Never do I think about individuals with mental illnesses. And, for some reason, nor does the LGBTQ+ community come to mind. Until now. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion on diversity in theater, in Stratford-upon-Avon, where I met a deaf actress, a bipolar director, a writer who struggles with depression. All of these people expressed a desire to make classical works of art accessible to more people. Meaning they want to create and adapt pieces that feature more diversity, so that the wider audience can see themselves portrayed in art and relate to it through that exper...

By now you will have probably seen ads for the new movie Unplanned (2019), and if you're on Twitter you can clearly see the controversy and uproar the trailer alone has sparked (as it's only just been released in theaters March 29th). I'm here to point out the many issues (personal and general) there are with this film and its premise. Firstly, the directors/producers/screenplays Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman also co-screen-wrote God's Not Dead (2014), God's Not Dead 2 (2016), and Do You Believe? (2015) (I'm getting a distinct vibe from these titles). All of these are faith-based films and arguably Christian propaganda, designed to convert non-believers and solidify the faithful by providing them with a feel-good theatrical reinforcement of their religion. For those who haven't seen the trailer, Unplanned features Abby Johnson, a woman who works in an abortion clinic and identifies as "extreme pro-choice". However, she resigns from her pos...

I was recently in the toilets of a local pub with one of my best friends (where some of the best stories begin, I swear). She's definitely one of the coolest people I know, and this particular night she had a single cigarette earring dangling from one ear and a purple jewel stud in the other, with a stud and chain in her second lobe piercing. I should also mention she's planning to wear a suit to her Archery Ball, consisting of black platform heels, tight black leather pants, and a baroque burgundy blazer with nothing underneath. She's basically the definition of confidence. Now, any woman who's been out clubbing knows that bathrooms are where friends are made. And these two slightly tipsy women approached my friend and immediately started fawning over her single cigarette earring, asking if they could take pictures of it, where she got it, was it real? I stood back and watched this merry scene with a sense of realization washing over me. So much of my high school...

Did you know high heels were originally invented for men? I know right. The most impractical, uncomfortable, and restrictive shoes were designed for and worn by the 'stronger sex'. In fact, contrary to the popular opinion that Europe (specifically Paris) is fashion-central, heels were brought to Europe from Persia by emissaries of the  Shāh Abbās I in the early 1600s. They actually used to serve a practical purpose. #shocker Historically, the Persian cavalry wore heeled shoes so that their feet fit into their stirrups better. After all, nobody likes falling off a horse going full gallop mid-battle. In fact, high heeled shoes have been dated as far back as 3500 B.C. when Egyptian butchers wore them to walk over the floors of their shops inevitably covered in the blood and guts of the carved up animals. And these butchers were all - you guessed it - men. (I know I know.. total badassery!!) (More on the history and development of high heels -  http://history-of-heels.we...