culture
Digital Defenders: How Women Are Leading The Fight Against Cybercrime
"Cybersecurity is not just a technical issue; it's a societal issue. We need to consider the human factor in our security strategies." - Angela Sasse
The Politics of Contraception, Consent and Women’s Autonomy in India
Patriarchy and capitalism are intertwined systems that ensure women's main duties stay limited to providing care to others as well as carrying out reproductive obligations, thereby ensuring a labour reserve that capital may utilise as needed.
“No One Was Killed” - Confronting Conceptual Ladders of Violence
The feminist struggle, originally a campaign seeking to advance the rights of women, has intensified into an imagined conflict between men and women.
Progress and Setbacks: The Olympic Inclusion-Exclusion Game
In its attempt at inclusivity during the 2024 Paris Olympics, which included parades where queerness was a central element, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) was met with accusations of immorality and the embracement of blasphemy from self-appointed conservative moral police.
Hear Their Voices - OpEd: Afghan Women vs Taliban
Thirty-five articles have been enforced under the Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Under these laws, women must completely veil their faces and bodies... and must not be heard reading out loud, or singing, as their voices are considered intimate. Afghan women’s voices are being silenced under the militant thumb of Taliban, as their exclusion from society deepens.
Whose Pain Matters? Part II: Hierarchies of Caste Systems and Religion in India
The sequel to The Selective Outrage in India's Fight Against Sexual Violence addresses within the context of caste hierarchies and communal fault lines in India.
The Impact of Marriage on Gender Roles in Japan
Following a historical analysis of the transition from the Ie-normed family to the nuclear family, the article will investigate the current day situation of social dogmas related to being a wife and mother. The work and social spheres, including the exit from the labor force at maternal age, the figure of Kyōiku mama, and the stigma attached to the choice to remain unmarried will be examined.
Women in Protest in South Africa – A Feminist Struggle Continually Dominated by Women
Existence as a woman in a country with one of the highest rates of GBV in the world, means black women in South Africa have little choice but to be feminists.
Tradwives: Nostalgia’s New Political Power
A tradwife is a woman who adheres to traditional gender roles and marriages, often as a homemaker. The tradwife lifestyle is often associated with conservative or alt-right political values. Some say that the tradwife trend is a risky throwback, and that it can lead to learned helplessness for both men and women.
The South African Constitution Requires Men to be Feminist?
The promises of activists, constitutions, and legislature have continued to fall short of guaranteeing true gender equality in South Africa. Thus, whilst the Constitution expects male citizens to be feminists, South Africa has come to serve as a painful reminder of the limits of Constitutional reform.
The Silent Erosion of Afghan Women's Rights
The severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban on Afghan women and the international community's inadequate response to this ongoing crisis is explored, while the measures introduced by the Taliban, the global reaction and the resistance of Afghan women despite these challenges are brought to light.
Under the Surface: The Hidden Reality of Rape in Japan, Part 2
The previous article analyzed the situation inherent in rape in Japan through legislative shortcomings, and offered an in-depth reading of national statistics, and the example offered by Itō Shiori's Black Box. This sequel investigates the role of Japan's porn industry in more detail.
Misogyny and Femicide in Britain – Men’s Problem to Solve
Since the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021 by a serving police officer, The Independent revealed that over the next three years over 350 women had been killed by men in the United Kingdom.
Under the Surface: The Hidden Reality of Rape in Japan, Part I
This socio-cultural context in which the rape and quasi-rape laws in Japan were created are analysed to show that the law, and its subsequent amendments, make it difficult to report assaults and bring rapists to trial. This analysis demonstrates the fallacy of data which promote Japan as a forerunner state in the guarantee of safety against sexual violence.
Whose Pain Matters? Part I: The Selective Outrage in India's Fight Against Sexual Violence
Selective outrage is more than just a societal oversight, it is a manifestation of deeply rooted biases and prejudices. It's not unusual that the cases that elicit the most empathy and agitation include victims who correspond to a specific profile-young, urban, educated, and frequently from upper-caste families.
The Relationship Gap
Women’s social and financial independence is disrupting the status quo of heterosexual relationships, but the impact of women’s liberation on LGBTQ+ relationships is harder to assess as there is much less data on this subject.
Too Posh to Push?
Striking where it hurts most, at the class anxieties omnipresent British culture, ‘too posh to push’ insinuates that richer mothers seek to minimise their birthing experience to a relaxing day out by seeking a caesarean. The pejorative assumption that a 'natural' and non-medicalised birth is inherently 'better' than one requiring a large amount of medical intervention, but 'natural birth' above all else is one that has been widely disproved in the medical community.
Generation Z and the Great Gender Divide
Young women are more liberal than ever, but the same cannot be said for young men. Why has this gap emerged, and is it too late to close it?
Street harassment in the UK: How far does new legislation go to protect women from harassment?
When public spaces, particularly late at night, are so deeply associated with fear for women, how far can legislation actually change our perception of public safety as women?
Motherhood and Feminism in Giorgia Meloni's Italy
In Meloni’s Italy, to be a woman is to be a mother, and the duty of motherhood is ensuring the continuation of a Christian, Italian nationhood through future generations. Immigrant or LGBTQ+ families are not part of this political imagination. They are instead treated as ideological threats to this unified identity.
In Conversation with Hannah Smith: Erdoğan the ‘Original Modern-Populist’
Elections are just the tip of the iceberg, underneath all that there’s so much that you need, you need a healthy civil society, you need people who are educated enough to make the right decisions, you need a political culture which isn’t just about worshiping the strongest guy.
The Grammy Awards & Female Artists Impact on 'Girlhood'
Whereas in the past, a female singer would be controlled by a team of male executives and producers, [but now] global popstars are actively managing their own production lines. This is an important shift, as it not only allows them greater artistic freedom, but signifies to fans how women in power positions are not a myth.
Female Genital Cutting in Kenya: How do you end a cultural practice?
Around the world, Female Genital Cutting remains a deeply entrenched tradition marking the transition to womanhood for young girls. Yet this practice inflicts severe physical and psychological harm and has rightfully been recognised as a violation of human rights.
OpEd: Perceptions of Period
"If I was on my period, I couldn’t outwardly say. I had to dance around the fact... Why? Because it was SHAMEFUL. It was a woman’s problem, not a man’s..."
Girl Math: More Makeup, More Money
Girl math, a trend originating in New Zealand, has become a Tik-Tok phenomenon. The idea is that any impulse purchase can be justified using the girl math logic. However, jokes a side, given the statistics highlighted in the research reports, it is in fact not bad logic to spend £50 on new makeup for an interview, if your paycheque is going to increase as a result.
LGBTQ+ History Month
The teaching and celebration of LGBTQ+ history is integral to broadening people’s understanding of themselves, the people around them, and society as a whole.
Diet Culture: A Feminist Perspective
Diet culture is promoted through social media, fashion and magazines. Binary notions surrounding dieting often categorise food into ‘good’ and ‘bad’, leaving foods with higher calories labelled as ‘bad’.
Inequality at Home: Household Labour, Education and the Labour Force in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia
In the Global South, expectations of women’s role as ‘home-maker’ start young and can damage girls’ attendance in school and subsequent life opportunities. For adults across the Global South and North, the disproportionate gendered split of household labour is damaging for women’s careers and leisure time.
Empowerment or Objectification? Beauty Pageants in Limbo Between Gender Equality and Patriarchal Culture
From adhering to Eurocentric beauty standards and the objectification of women’s bodies, to the lack of inclusivity towards the LGBTQIA+ community, these competitions magnify elements of patriarchal culture.
Woman, Girl, Wife? Investigating Global Discourses on Childhood, Consent, and Maturity
Earlier this year a young, a South Sudanese bride captured the attention of social media, being dubbed ‘the most expensive bride in South Sudan. Pursued by men in their 40’s, her father affirmed the bride to be 19 years old, while her mother brought evidence that states the bride was 14.