What Loose Women Is Missing

I’m all for powerful women. Women with opinions, career women, ballsy women and, above all, women supporting each other which should make me a fan of the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women but something about the topical programme just doesn’t do it for me.

For the average mum or middle aged (or older) woman, Loose Women will most likely fit the majority of their opinions and topics of interest but as there are no panellists representing students or even women under 30 years of age (the youngest panellist being 34-year-old Jamelia), there is a certain generation gap, almost like a time lapse in opinion as some of the panellists views are still slightly out of date with modern ideas. In today’s episode (May 28), breast vs. bottle-feeding was the topic of discussion among the loose ladies. Following the publication of a report detailing that around 40% of women who bottle-fed their children said they received verbal abuse that made them feel guilty and ashamed for not breastfeeding, most of the panel including Judy Finnigan, Jane Moore and Andrea Mclean supported a woman’s right to choose and condemned these new so-called “pressure groups” who verbally abuse women who bottle-feed. But Nadia Sawalha took a slightly different stance.

Local Focus: New Girls “We’re Gender Confused Punks”

Have a read at my new review/interview/music feature introducing up-and-coming Glasgow/Ayrshire band New Girls! If you like The Stooges, Queens of the Stone Age, Sex Pistols or Guns n Roses, you’ll love this band.

This piece is now live on the Strathclyde Telegraph website and you can read it here!

After Equal Marriage, Is an Abortion Referendum Next for Ireland?

“Currently in the Republic of Ireland, it is a criminal offence to commit the “intentional destruction of unborn human life” which carries a sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment. Amendments to this law were made in 2013 as part of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act which states that a woman may have an abortion if there is a substantial risk to her life (this includes the possibility of suicide) but refuses access to abortion in cases of rape or any other circumstance. As Ireland is a largely Catholic country, it is understandable that much of the population are against abortion but the reality of the matter is that the termination of pregnancies will happen regardless of laws and legislations.

Criminalising abortion does not prevent abortions, it prevents safe abortions.”

Read my new current affairs article for Cult Noise magazine on the attitudes surrounding ROI’s abortion laws.

7 Reasons to Hate Summer

“By this point in my life, I have become, not quite comfortable, but accustomed to the sun setting at 2.30 in the afternoon, accompanied with endless days of icy cold rain. So when summer does roll around, I find myself adopting into the persona of the typical pessimistic Scot and complaining that it’s too warm or ‘awfy close’.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like summer but there are a few aspects of the sunny season that just get under my skin.”

Read my new Scotcampus article on the 7 Reasons to Hate Summer!

Sophie’s Choice: Keeping Up with the Kardashians – About Bruce (TV Review)

As part of my new Sophie’s Choice feature with the Student Rag, I will be writing 3-5 reviews a week of TV programmes, films, documentaries – pretty much anything and everything I watch on TV.

For my first feature, I choose to write on Sunday’s Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s special About Bruce in which Bruce and the rest of the family finally open up about his gender identity issues and his decision to transition into a woman. Have a read on the Student Rag website and stay tuned for more TV reviews to come!

The F Word: The Reason Why It’s Called “Feminism”

Read my new article, Cult Noise magazine’s pick for Article of the Week (yaaaaay!) on the reason why it’s called “feminism”.

“There seems to be this idea that a feminist must be a radical, butch, overweight lesbian who rejects femininity, hates men and wants them to become obsolete. But celebrities like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Legend, Miley Cyrus, Ashton Kutcher, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and many more all call themselves feminists and they certainly don’t fit this ridiculous stereotype.

Feminism means equality and if you’re a decent, sensible human being who believes we should all have the same rights and opportunities, then you are a feminist. It’s that simple.”

Alternative Holidays At Home

My second article for the Student Rag is now live!

If you’re looking for somewhere strange and unusual to stay in Scotland like a yurt, a treehouse, a haunted castle or a converted train carriage, read my guide to Alternative Holidays at Home!

The Good, the Bad and the Bone-Crunching Game of Thrones Fan Theories

My first article for the Student Rag is now live!

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love Game of Thrones and with all the wonderfully weird fan theories about who will end up on the Iron Throne, I just had to write a piece about it!

How is Jon Snow’s real mother? Is Tyrion really a Lannister? Is Cersei’s demise fast approaching?

Find out here and read my new article on the best Game of Thrones Fan Theories!

Readers Becoming Reporters: What the Media Are Hiding from Us

My other new CultNoise magazine article called “Readers Becoming Reporters: What the Media Are Hiding from Us” examining the censoring of the media in relation to the London protests contesting the Tory government is now live!

If you haven’t heard about these protests in London, it’s probably because the mainstream media have completely sidelined the story and it has been ordinary people using their camera phones and social media accounts to spread the word.

We have a right to be angry and to voice that anger, we have a right to peacefully protest and demand respect and we certainly have the right to demand an answer to why our media are ignoring this major news story. Read my new article, share it and spread the word!

My Anaconda Don’t Want None Unless You Got Positive Body Image, Hun

My new CultNoise Magazine article is now live!

For quite a while, I’ve been wanting to write a piece on the body expectations pressuring young women nowadays with the stick thin Barbie doll ideal being thrown out for yet another unrealistic body image, the big boobs, tiny waist and huge bum look. Women like Meghan Trainor and Nicki Minaj have, probably unknowingly, discriminated against slim women by skinny shaming and in doing so have undermined their own argument of apparent ‘positive body image’. True body positivity is accepting and loving your body and empowering other women around you.

Nothing about shaming someone else’s body is ever acceptable or empowering.

Click to read my new article, cunningly called >> “My Anaconda Don’t Want None Unless You Got Positive Body Image, Hun”.