A clear association has existed between Barbie dolls and the superficial concepts of beauty, femininity, and social pressures throughout time. They represent an idealistic view of “Kens’ universe” which corresponds to established male-dominant customs and constraining notions about gender roles. Yet, there has been an exciting modification in our approach towards and encouragement of Barbies. In contemporary times, a fresh surge of Barbie dolls have emerged that question established beliefs, utterly rejecting norms. This piece will illuminate the empowering metamorphosis ...

Science and technology have long — and fallaciously — been equated with masculinity. The result is that gender roles have been reaffirmed along with preconceived values assumed to be natural to femininity and masculinity in society, where it has been assumed that for girls and boys, it is natural to have opposite career paths and academics. For example, girls are associated with nurturing and caring, while boys are with rationality and self-sufficiency. In this article, we will discuss women and ...

As a boy, I remember being amazed by tales of Robin Hood but there weren’t nearly as many heroic women. The Amazons, to me, remained a distant concept, interesting warriors who were somehow relegated to the background in favour of men like Achilles. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes shows how a legendary tale can be revisited with a feminist perspective to develop the character of women affected by war or marked by a legend who beforehand remained merely two-dimensional. 

His name was Lars. A typical Swedish name and a typical Swedish man in his 40s. He had a soft manner of speech and peppered his English with old Swedish phrases I never understood. He was an artist and his paintings were electric. I was mesmerised whenever I looked at his work. The first time he touched the small of my back, handing me a glass of wine, I knew.  Dominance and submission (D/S) is a part of BDSM that ...

With covid restrictions easing and lockdown becoming a memory of the past, our music scene has been expanding rapidly with a reopening of live music events. Unfortunately, reports of inappropriate contact and advances from strangers have risen since festivals, gigs and nightclubs have been given the green light to safely reopen. This growing issue requires our immediate attention in order to raise awareness and stay safe.

by Nuala Szler, translated by David Crowe “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” declared Simone de Beauvoir during the tumultuous 20th Century and couldn’t be heard. This is because Beauvoir asserted that femininity should not consider itself developed merely due to biology or organs, rather it should consider itself a social construction. Time has concluded that these were and are the fundamentals of the feminist struggle throughout the world. 

In 1952 Gloria Jean Watkins, the feminist writer best known as ‘bell hooks’, was born in Hopkinsville, a segregated town in the state of Kentucky. 

We all remember that scene from Friends, don’t we? The one where Joey used the phrase ‘friend zone’ to describe Ross and Rachel’s painful situation where Rachel had allegedly chucked Ross straight in the friend zone because he took too long to make his move. Or at least that’s how Joey described it. Ever since that episode, we’ve been hearing the phrase being used so much amongst ourselves and the media; so much so, that we’ve failed to realize the ...

It goes without saying that if you grew up with Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, shows that you’re familiar with the ‘funny fat girl’ trope. You know the one I’m talking about.

For many people that experience periods, it’s a given that our periods inevitably sync up with the nearest uterus owners – usually being our flatmates. But is there actually any science that proves this?