I tightly pull back my hair into a slick, low bun, parted far on the right side of my skull. With a several pumps of hairspray, I even out the edges and create a stiff look. I squeeze the top button through its hole and stand up straight as I clip the bow into its…
Category: gender
POETRY – Chavonne Brown
She was not like unwitting prey,
That had never sighted the lion;
She fled from him, knowing
As she did what it meant…
Feeling Myself – Dolly Church
When my body was made up of straight lines it felt boyish and uninteresting, and when those lines finally bent, they felt uncontrollable.
An interview with Claudia Knight
Born in the heart of the Black Country, Claudia Knight is predominantly a writer who is exploring the capabilities of her creativity after moving to London and discovering the freedom in taking more risks in life. Having discovered the endless possibilities when creating digital art, her bold yet simple pieces explore her relationship with herself, her body…
ONE POEM – Nora Selmani
what it would be like to be a skeleton.
what would happen if each dermal layer melted into the air
& my red stop light flesh went with it
without so much as a snap, crackle or pop?
TWO POEMS – Penney Knightly
we are wrestling for the same
hooks in time
we are bitter catches
broken holed and punchy
ONE POEM – Debatri Das
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash Debatri Das is a student studying English Literature in Kolkata, India. Her work has previously appeared in LangLit, Muse India and Esthesia Magazine. Her interests include feminism, gender constructions and how that operates within her immediate surrounding. Things they said to young girls i.…….Don’t say that you don’t like this ………Or you…
Whiplash: A Queer Theory Investigation Of Jazz Music – Rhi Storer
Rhi Storer is a politics graduate from the University of Birmingham, and an aspiring digital data journalist. Her academic interests include the intersection of cultural theory and data for a new radical journalism, musicology, and critical theory. She tweets @rhistorerwrites Outside of academia, she enjoys jazz, painting, poetry, and rock climbing. Don’t forget the…
TWO POEMS – Kristin Garth
Photo by David Becker on Unsplash Kristin Garth is a Pushcart & Best of the Net nominated sonnet stalker. Her poetry has stalked magazines like Glass, Yes, Five:2:One, Former Cactus, Occulum & many more. She has four chapbooks including Shakespeare for Sociopaths (Hedgehog Poetry Press). She has another forthcoming, Puritan U (Rhythm & Bones Press March 2019). Her…
What does feminist dating look like? — Jennifer Maidment
Jennifer Maidment is an intersectional feminist who’s very active within her local community and also very single, so figured she’d would write about her experience/struggles. She’s an aspiring writer and is currently on leave from studying international law as an undergraduate at University of Birmingham. What does feminist dating look like? Meet Jennifer, a Gemini,…
To what extent do experiences of conception and/or infertility challenge mind/body dualism? – Frances Tuoriniemi
Image: Keith Haring – Fertility, 1983 Frances Tuoriniemi is a final year English and Creative Writing undergraduate student at the University of Birmingham, who will be continuing on to study an MA in Writing at Warwick next year. They particularly enjoy work that plays with color and feels alive, work that moves and shifts to…
Lady in the streets, freak in the sheets: challenging the virgin/whore dichotomy on ITV2’s Love Island
Milly Morris likes Foucault and feminism. She is currently chasing a PhD in political science at the University of Birmingham. She is a runner, as well as a lover of chickpeas and Game of Thrones. This essay was originally published on her website during the 2017 season of Love Island. Featured image: Clem Onojeghuo at Unsplash A foreword…