Am I the only person that is bothering with dating while in lockdown? From the radio silence on social media and the responses I’ve been getting from my friends (‘What is the point?’ or ‘That’s weird’) it would seem most people aren’t too keen on the idea. Why bother when we can’t meet up with anyone? Why don’t we just wait until the end of lockdown?
I never really considered the environmental impact of my bedroom escapades. Even after being vegan for a year, I had no clue that condoms weren’t vegan, and I never really considered the environmental impact of the glittery silicone dildos I was ordering in abundance from LoveHoney…
Home.
Where within the space between cotton and skin, did one decide that this would be home?
Home is not anything but not the fabric of one’s clothes.
We cannot fashion anything larger than ourselves.
Impermanence is our home and everything around us is material.
So fashion yourself, make yourself your home.
Put ink to skin if you must, cut hair, dye green or pink.
Find leathers, cottons, silks anything to bring you back to your skin.
Home is the coat we wear on our back, collar turned up to the wind.
From walking to sleeping we wear clothes.
Make them your home.
Walk in shoes that never come off at the door but rather welcome you to meet the world.
We are all inhabitants.
Our identity is our home.
Honor Crean
A beautiful explanation and history of Belly Dancing, a cultural practice which is a deeply personal and powerful act to many Middle Eastern women…
Life drawing exposed me to the beautiful uniqueness of bodies that mainstream media simply ignores. During the pandemic I found that drawing has helped me find a sense of inner calm and provided an escape from the sadness of everyday life…
Do books tell us much about a person? I often find myself wondering whether I should be embarrassed by my selection. Whether the endless amounts of dystopian fiction I read in my early teens says something about who I am as a nineteen year old. I wonder if people will be able to decipher the books that have been read countless times to the books that are still on my TBR (to be read) list…
After over a month of adjusting to our new way of life, here are my Top Tips for Ethical Consumption under Capitalism and Covid to As Much of a Degree as is Realistically Possible…
Our co-founder Laila examines the sexual racism prevalent in the language that white men use to approach brown women…
When quarantine began a very small part of me was excited. Without societal pressure and with nowhere to go, I could wear whatever was comfiest and closest, and not care how bad I looked. A luxury I never allow myself in the ‘real world’. And thus, my quarantine chic was born. Giant purple dungarees, a bare face and slipper socks became my daily uniform…
Mindy Kaling’s new show Never Have I Ever debuted on Netflix recently, exploring the life of Devi, an American teenager of Indian heritage. Whilst trying to navigate high school, friendships, family and relationships, Devi finds herself caught in some cultural traps. It’s something that us brown girls growing up in a Western world can relate to. Whilst Never Have I Ever wasn’t intentionally all about race, it still showed some of the modern-day problems of girls torn between two cultures…
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, sex worker Lilia Lilith explores the history of how the public sphere has shaped attitudes towards the industry and touch…
Normal People is a book I read around a year and a half ago, whilst at home from university for Christmas. It left me feeling haunted due to its sense of such familiarity – leaving your hometown for a new city, to a university with elitist tendencies, only to face a life you could never had imagined had you decided to stay at home…
Earlier this month, we reached out to several talented artists on Instagram asking them to explore the shift in their relationship to themselves through their artwork. As predicted, the artists have interpreted the lockdown differently, each pointing to something hopeful and affirming…
Many students, who have been working towards an end of year show, are now unable to exhibit because of social distancing and safety. Here’s a way to showcase some of the works by six talented new artists who are soon to be new graduates from institutions all over the country…
The coronavirus crisis has ground the world to a halt. Originating in Wuhan, China in November 2019, before spreading throughout Asia, to Europe and the United States and now to Africa, at the time of writing there have been over 2.2 million cases globally, with over 155,000 of those people having sadly lost their lives…
Currently, I do not know what my sense of self is. I don’t know where she went. I don’t know if I want beans or peas with my dinner, I don’t know what time I should go to sleep, I don’t know what to wear for another day of the panny-D (an expression I have recently used to add a bit of light chic to the situation). What I do know is…
How do you exercise? Is your main focus how much you are “burning”? Do you feel as though food is something you must “earn”? For a long time, thoughts of a punitive nature would pop into my head during workouts, and I unfortunately know that I am not alone. I also know that is a sad way to live life…
Our co-founder Laila questions the potential long-term effects of corona on our relationships…
Our new series on the site, Interpreting the Self in Quarantine allows artists to explore how their relationship to themselves has altered in this time
For those of us who are locked-down in our homes, working remotely or just trying to fend off the anxiety of unending news updates, it can often feel like we are trapped and unable to enjoy what we once did…
Our beautiful Society and Community editor Beth speaks about the profound role the NHS are playing in this time of crisis…
Our lovely Poetry editor Sophie explores the relationship between privilege and productivity…
I know what the best form of self-care is. Unionising. The pandemic is widening the cracks in our society every day, and the divide between rich and poor has never been starker. But lo, light out of the darkness: Amazon workers in Chicago have won paid time off by forming the organisation Amazonians United and presenting a petition to upper management…
Solitude In An Empty Box
If I were a cardboard girl
with a paper plate and paper spoon,
I’d sail across Blanche’s cardboard sea and peer up at her paper moon.
My mind spins in orbit; love, loathe, like, lust.
A practiced pace of round and round,
never arriving, never found.
The fire and blue of the swirling below
would surely swallow
a cardboard girl whole.
As a cardboard girl, I have infinite time.
I can paint and print and sing and rhyme.
I am recycled, over and over.
The dog jumps over the dune, and I laugh from my high vantage point.
Nothing can touch me here,
The stars are so clear.
Who knew that being made by man meant making myself?
Made and remade. The self is the soul, the centre, the mother.
Why would I need another
Person to complete me?
Robyn Barclay
Dear Agony Aunt
Do I look good?
Tell me, I need to know.
I wake up naked and I dress my face,
It’s war paint for the workplace.
How to dress in a rush, with a brush, in the car
– Zoella got me this far.
Am I too fat?
Tell me, I need to know,
So that I can dress for my figure,
And figure out what the fuck that means.
Am I a peach or a pear?
You see, I only have magazines to compare
and they don’t look like me.
Am I too loud?
I’ve heard that’s not good.
Maybe I’ll buy one of those rings,
So that I can match my mood
To the boys around me.
It’s important to read the room,
A woman should never assume
She is safe.
Am I too hard to define?
Have I crossed a line
That somebody else drew for me?
I’m tired of the conversation.
How I look, how I am, is my business.
Beauty’s in the eye of the corporation.
And I don’t owe anyone anything.
Robyn Barclay
