As a way to process the chaos and beauty of 2021, we asked the Clitbait community to share two photos of their past year, inspired by the prompts of ‘Movement’ and ‘Stillness’. Have a scroll through the beautiful photography submissions we received…
Bouncers and Biases
On that night I was outside with the bouncers doing bag checks while also keeping an eye on them, as bouncers in general have a reputation for their bias against minority groups. So there I was, nestled in between two large and looming men in black wearing a pink beret and red lipstick. It was a terrifying sight indeed.
Merry Christmas Africa, the Continent of Misrepresentations
I was out with my friend enjoying festive foods and an overdue catch up when ‘Do They Know it’s Christmas?’ started playing on the radio. Despite being blasted loud and proud for all to hear, I wondered, aren’t people concerned about the lyrics of this song?
Reflections on ‘Feminist Futures’ at the Lighthouse Radical Bookfair, Imagining an alternative world
The Radical Bookfair hosted by Lighthouse Books has become an annual meeting ground for creative discourses that often live on the margins of our mainstream media, to be thoughtfully considered. This year’s event saw a host of panels and discussions based on the theme ‘Futures Worth Fighting For’ which focused on how to materialize our radical imaginations for a better world.
Cricket and Afghanistan: remarkable but expected?
For those of you who follow cricket, you might be aware that the T20 World Cup is currently taking place. To the surprise, or lack thereof, of many, Afghanistan is also playing despite the country currently experiencing the aftermath of a Taliban takeover. The question of whether or not their presence is a surprise comes from an intertwined history of the rise of cricket and political turmoil in the country. And whether you are shocked or not, either feeling is likely to inspire an uneasiness about the short and long term state of this country, and the consistency of cricket in the midst of this.
Hunting for Change: Why we can’t trust those in power to get anything done
Fox hunting is a countryside tradition that goes back centuries. It involves a bunch of richly dressed men, women, and children mounted on horses and accompanying a pack of hounds, tearing around the countryside in search of a fox to kill.
Biphobia and Me
Like so many things in life, my sexuality makes so much more sense in retrospect than it did when I was in the stages of “figuring it out”. I now know I have been bisexual all my life. I either just didn’t know it earlier on, or didn’t know what it entailed.
We Will Not Criminalise Our Way Out of Misogyny
Last month there was a minor kerfuffle in the internet spaces when Boris Johnson said he would not support expanding the definition of hate crime to include misogyny. This was mildly controversial, with some protesting that it was a crucial step to aid women.
As White Women We Have to Put the Microphone Down
“White women need to learn how and when to follow — not lead. They need to do their part to uplift, learn from, follow and support Black and Indigenous women in dismantling white supremacy. But again, not lead.” Amanda Svachula.
An Interview with Living Rent’s Meg Bishop
Living Rent was founded in 2014, as part of ACORN International, and is a mass-membership tenants union serving communities all over Scotland within the private and social rented sector. I was really excited to interview Meg Bishop, the organisation’s national secretary who addresses grassroots activism, organising and housing as integral parts of the feminist struggle.
About Faces: In conversation with Grace Payne-Kumar
There are some people out there who are blessed to know exactly what they want to do from a young age. Luckily for us, Grace Payne-Kumar is one of them.
When will Black History Month be history?
In the UK, history textbooks often reflect a deep unwillingness to acknowledge the full story of our blood-soaked colonial past. Consequently, very little is said to challenge the racism and injustice which forms the backdrop to our present day…
Not Sure I was ‘Born This Way’
I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while now. For many years now, it has been a staple rhetoric of the queer liberation that nobody ‘chooses’ to be gay: a backlash against those who call it a ‘lifestyle’, who try to push conversion therapy and deviant labels on us.
Meet the CB team: Trisha Mendiratta
Meet the Clitbait Team: an interview with Trisha Mendiratta, Society and Community Editor
Meet the CB team: Izzy Hodgson
Meet the Clitbait Team: an interview with Izzy Hodgson, Poetry Editor
Meet the CB team: Robyn Barclay
Meet the Clitbait Team: an interview with Robyn Barclay, Poetry Editor
Meet the CB team: Peggy Mitchell
Meet the Clitbait Team: an interview with Peggy Mitchell, Graphic Designer
My Crush, the Far right Troll
As my time at university comes to an end, I look back at moments that changed my education. From relative deprivation to conflict theory to homegrown vs lone wolf terrorism, the first year of university would hold lessons I’ll carry with me all my life as a politics enthusiast. But nothing could prepare me for the lessons of the summer of Roman*. This was my first brush with heartbreak and politics of the real world.
Paradise Found: Home Lost
Don’t you just hate it when you’re looking at a piece of art in a gallery and there is no writing to explain what on Earth the art means? You just stand there, perplexed, wondering how much of an idiot you are for the kinds of interpretations you’re coming up with.
Meet the CB team: Lucia Villegas
Meet the Clitbait Team: an interview with Lucia Villegas, Graphic Designer
Change is inevitable, why am I even surprised?
September. Autumn. A new season has begun. As I look to the year ahead, I realise that things have changed, and I consciously try to reorientate myself to a new reality.
Western Countries are Hoarding Vaccinations
Here in the UK, life appears to be returning to at least some semblance of normalcy. Pandemic restrictions in England are gone; in Scotland, whilst masks remain, there are no limits on gatherings. Nightclubs are opening up again. Students are going back to universities.
Liminal Space
I’m sitting, staring at my emails as the ninth rejection of the week pings into my inbox. There is perhaps no task more tedious and ego-destroying than the relentless post-graduation job-hunting grind. I’m currently in the ether space.
Non-Binary People Don’t Owe You Androgyny, Fuck Off
first thought that came into my head when I realised I was non-binary was fuck, I don’t want to chop all my hair off. This was swiftly followed by a succession of minor panics: I don’t have the face for short hair, I don’t have the shoulders for androgyny, and everyone knows that my arse is simply too big to pass as anything but a woman. These thoughts accompanied thousands more over the next few months as I embarked on an excruciating – but ultimately liberating – internal journey.
Women, Pathologisation and Crime
Have you ever told someone about a problem you’ve been having, and had the always-infuriating response, “Oh, that’s all just in your head”? Have you ever been told that by a doctor?