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Year: 2018

Guys, look out for us girls

The other night I was on a tremendously overcapacity Magic Bus. Stood in front of me was a man quietly minding his own business. To my immediate right was another who was so drunk that he was wailing non-stop about that day’s major football match. He would flit between doing this and picking out individuals to loudly converse with, or rather, at.

It was here that I noticed the stark difference between what men and women experience even during something so mundane and everyday as travelling on public transport.

Whilst the young man in front of me and other men nearby were humouring this drunk man, laughing at his incoherent jokes and answering his almost senseless questions, I found myself paralysed with fear. I’m not saying that I had already assumed that this man was a sexual predator. Instead my fear was the unknown. For all I knew, he could next turn to me, one of the only women in the vicinity, and steer his subject very far from football.

When we as women are forced to be within close proximity to men who have had their confidence heightened and their lips unrestricted — loosened from a brush with a few too many beers — our first instinct is to fear the worst. And we are not worrying unnecessarily.

We have developed this instinct from years of first-hand experience of gender-specific harassment and the vicarious experience of similar women’s struggles from throughout history. To the men who we fear daily, we are no longer people. We are objects that they have invited themselves to leer at.

Previous experience has shown me that many drunk men fail to see women as people, in the form of a rather different yet equally upsetting phenomenon: When a male stranger approaches a heterosexual couple for whatever reason, they will exclusively talk to the male.

You, the woman, are an afterthought, not worthy of being looked at in the eyes or receiving more than three words. You’re referred to as ‘her’ or, much more uncomfortably, ‘your bird’. You become an accessory to the men you accompany in the eyes of other men.

Of course, in the case of the stranger being intoxicated we women might actually appreciate not being talked to directly. These men are scary and, as degrading as it is to feel it, your male companion’s presence makes you feel safe.

However, this isn’t because you believe the man you are with is so strong and burly man that they will protect you. It’s because you know men respect what they perceive to be another man’s property more than they respect an individual woman’s body, so they will never need to try.

In the case of an approaching stranger instead being quite sober, the prolonged focus on only the man as if you are not there is just insulting.

If you’re a man and upon reading this it strikes you that you would never act like the above, then you have managed to abide by obligations of morality and sense so basic that it is not even worth congratulating.

But to you, I will say this: watch out for your mates, whether it be making sure your female friends are safe or making sure your males friends aren’t the thing they need to be made safe from.

Let’s talk about Everyday Sexism

Sexism happens everyday. People, of all genders, are discriminated against because of their gender. This happens on the street, at work, online, and in their own homes. Everyday sexism is so internalised that you probably aren’t aware of how often it occurs. Discrimination happens in all aspects of society, but gender-based crimes are still not taken seriously. There is, as senior Police Chief Sara Thornton, said more important and, bigger crimes to be prosecuted.

If you’re a young woman, like me, living in a city, then it’s almost certain you will have experienced misogyny. This could be in the form of cat-calling, unwanted attention, harassment, assault, or other more violent offences.

In these situations, it often feels like you cannot do anything. Even if you report this behaviour, the offender would likely get off. This is because misogyny is not recognised as a hate crime. Hate based on gender is not serious enough. No matter how minor some offences may appear, the fact that someone thinks that they can treat you that way is scary enough to demand change.

My own personal experiences have taught me how everyday sexism exists everywhere, even those places you’d expect to be safe. I used to work in a bar — a small pub that serves masses of men who ranged from 40 to 70. Men who thought it was appropriate to tell me I’m the age of their youngest and then discuss my bum and my boobs in full earshot and harass me for my phone number. It’s a place where saying “because I don’t want to” is an invalid reason for not flirting back. Yet, I couldn’t talk to my boss. These customers were his friends, and sometimes he’d join in with the misogynistic behaviour.

These shifts would make me feel powerless. A gentleman, sorry, not-so-gentle-man, once decided to refer to me as “old number seven”, as that was what was printed on the chest of my shirt. When I asked him to call me by my name, he told me it wasn’t his fault that my chest was in front of him and that was all he could see. Or rather, all he wanted to see. I ignored him whenever he shouted at me throughout the night, then he got angry and slightly aggressive until I served him — he won.

It’s a game. If I turn these men down, then I’m a b*tch who is only worthy of pouring a pint. But if I go along with the crass comments, then I’m easy and reduced to nothing more than a pair of breasts that can pull a pint. Which would you prefer?

Is that fair? Would you like that happening to someone you knew? My shared experiences aren’t that scary, it can be so much worse, and has been for many others. This is everyday sexism.  And it has come to be expected as normal behaviour.

But I don’t want to accept that anymore. As Laura Bates’ light-giving project has shown, misogyny and gender-based hate crimes are common place.

Whilst the Sara Thornton might think there are bigger crimes to deal with, misogynistic crimes are huge to the people who are affected. I believe it’s time to make misogyny a hate crime.

Gendered Eating: nothing but celery is safe

Food and eating is gendered in so many ways. There’s no denying it. I began to draft a piece on my experiences as a girl working around male derogatory chefs (cue ignorance and tea-towel whipping), but then settled on the phenomenon of ‘gendered eating’.

At first glance, you may be thinking that ‘gendered eating’ is the latest, wrongly picked fight by the social justice warriors. However, I promise this has some stock in it (pardon the pun). As I thought of all the times my ‘femininity’ had encouraged me to change my food choices, the list grew. I’m sure we’ve all had the advice of what foods to avoid on a date; spaghetti, curry, and big slabs of meat to name a few.

That’s essentially anything flavourful and substantial because, God forbid, your date sees you enjoy your pasta a bit too much and thinks you’re an animal. I also recalled the time I ordered a practically blue steak at a high-end restaurant and was greeted – with concern – by a male waiter who asked whether ‘madam realised that a blue steak was “very bloody” (yes, that did happen).

Whilst narrow-minded assumptions don’t threaten my being, the female food fads that populate Instagram and poison the minds of impressionable young girls are increasingly threatening. The fads I’m referring to are those circulated by the ‘icons’ of our generation namely; weight-loss lollipops and ‘clean’ eating to the point of only celery being safe. The premise of ‘clean eating’ is positive. Mindful over what you’re putting into your body and the encouragement to re-insert greens into a generation hooked on McDonalds and the teddy-bear fishcakes Jamie Oliver took from our primary schools is a bipartisan, positive move for diets everywhere. However, this is not what Instagram is selling to me and many other young women.

We are being sold a gendered myth. A myth that if I deprive myself of everything I love, i.e. fillet steaks, creme brûlée, seafood linguine, and pork scratchings (much to my boyfriend’s horror), I will be better off. Even though I may be thoroughly sad and hungry at least I will be deemed “sexy”. Whilst malnourished, I’ll also be confused as to why I haven’t transformed into the perfect hourglass like Kim K. This is the poisonous message.

I am personally sick of being sold the lie that deprivation is happiness. That ‘self-control’ to a woman is pushing away the cheese sandwich and choosing the green juice, stomach rumbling. This is not self-control, this is a society obsessed with achieving unattainable plasticity: in body and in concept. This is a society that is still calculating the worth of  women by their appearance – this is something food fuelled. Return to love of food, return to everything in moderation and return from the plastic to the real! Choose the salad because you want it, not because Kim K said it’s how she shed her cellulite.

From inside the Misogyny Is Hate campaign

As a man I have been spared the harassment and sexism faced by women daily. Men in my experience tend to have little knowledge of how common sexism is. Whilst many of my female friends and partners have been victims — being followed home, groped on nights out, or worse. And through my experience with the Misogyny Is Hate campaign I have learnt just how scarily common these stories are.

The obvious impact of misogyny is the mental and physical effect it has had and continues to have on women. But a lot of men don’t realise that misogyny also hurts them as well.

Since my childhood I have been told not to cry, to “man up” and not be such a “big girl”. I was discouraged from showing emotions or talking about things personal to me as they weren’t macho enough, or were deemed girly or cowardly simply because they encouraged men to talk about deeper issues than football or ‘shagging’.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the UK. I can’t help but feel that this is in part due to the culture of ‘toxic masculinity’. Men are taught not to open up or talk about their feelings like girls are. There is a massive difference in how men and women handle mental health problems.

While female friends have encouraged me to talk about how I feel and learn more about myself, male friends have often suggested going out for drinks or other drugs to numb the pains I feel. Females have shown me how to help others going through tough times, whereas males, including some as close as my own father have gone to great effort to avoid any closure.

What some men don’t realise is that true feminism is about all genders being equal. It’s not about men being ‘overthrown’. Women face sexism and misogyny. It is behaviour that needs to be talked about and ended, but it doesn’t have to be a one-sided affair.

Men can benefit from the knowledge and behaviour women have to offer: how to form closer relationships; how to open up to others and talk about issues and tough times to help recovery, rather than just getting inebriated; to not be afraid to do something they enjoy because its not a typical manly thing to do, as opposed to trying to be someone they are not, just to fit in.

Half the battle is just changing the minds of these men as they are often exhibiting sexist behaviour because they learnt it in youth or from people they idolise. Often these men have their own battles going on that they refuse to let anyone see because it will make them appear weak.

Feminism is about empowering women. But it can also empower men in a different way, helping their mental health and encouraging them to grow into themselves, rather than rigid and tired gender roles.

I encourage every man to explore feminism and see the benefits it can have for themselves as well as women, so that we can finally put an end to toxic masculinity and let boys be boys in their own individual way rather than trying to match the archaic ‘macho man’ mould.

“Your future is f*cked!”: climate change protest causes Oxford Road chaos

A protest against the inaction on climate change by pressure group Extinction Rebellion has caused delays on Oxford Road.

The protest saw members of the group block the road in both at the pedestrian crossing outside the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons (Ali G) and Students’ Union (SU).

Despite announcing their protest would only last 15 minutes, people at the University were divided on the effectiveness of the method of protest.

Lizzy Haughton, a member of the group and also SU Activities Officer, said: “Conventional approaches, such as petitions, sit-ins, lobbying MPs, [to addressing] the massive climate catastrophe we’re in haven’t worked, and we’re calling for real change, right now. We have no more time left.

“History shows that civil disobedience brings about structural change, and that’s what we need. That’s why we were taking part in a roadblock for 15 minutes, which obviously caused quite a lot of disruption, but that’s what we need”.

However, some passers-by failed to see the merit in abandoning conventional protest means, with angry shouts being heard during and after the protest. One man argued with protestors that they should have kept their actions to the roadside.

Another member of the campaign during the roadblock shouted through a megaphone that students and passers-by alike were “f*cked” and that the current protests against the climate crisis are being done “to draw attention to the fact the world is facing the greatest emergency in is history, greater than world war”.

He went on to say that “people cannot solve this on their own. It’s so much bigger than shopping differently, reducing plastics – even though that’s positive. We need enormous systemic change. Imagine you are in a war, you would be talking about it every day. We need to respond to it as if it’s an emergency”.

Interview: Gareth Owen OBE, Humanitarian Director for Save the Children

Gareth Owen OBE, is the Humanitarian Director for Save the Children, as well as being an alumnus of the University of Manchester, graduating back in the 1990s. Since then, he’s been an aid worker in crisis-hit sites across the globe, co-ordinated international responses to disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and risen to a senior level at one the world’s most well-known charities.

In our interview, run in collaboration with the Student Inspire Network, Owen talked his university experience, advice for students now, and what lessons he thinks the world can learn as a whole from his years in charity.

As mentioned, Owen graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in civil engineering, and won an Outstanding Alumni award in 2016 from the University. So, what was 1980s Manchester like to be a student? “It was an incredible place to be a student. The big change now is just how vast the University has become, Manchester was always one of those desirable locations to be a student, and it didn’t disappoint!”

“I immersed myself in the social scene, and Manchester was known as as ‘Madchester’ in the 80s. I wasn’t cool enough as an engineer to get in to the Hacienda, I had to go with my artistic friends”.

Living through such a vibrant social period, oft-feted on BBC 4 documentaries, meant it was hard not to be distracted by the Mancunian nightlife, but Gareth learned to “pace” himself as his degree was “9-to-5, five days a week”.

It was this grounding in working hard and playing hard that Gareth began to feel the value of his time at uni. “The good thing about an engineering degree is that it teaches you to be numerate and literate, and that’s been really valuable to me in my career to date”.

“In engineering, you can’t build half a bridge. Half a road is no good to anyone — you learn you have to get stuff done. You learn about logistics… these things have been incredibly valuable to me as an aid worker”.

It is as an aid worker that Gareth’s journey to Save the Children began: “it was by accident!”

“I wasn’t a passionate engineer, I was a passionate humanitarian. The engineering gave me a great grounding and some useful skills, but I started a job in a design office in London — pretty soon I was bored, I wasn’t feeling it. So I made the brave decision to go back to university and do a Master’s degree”.

“Then I made an even braver decision to go to a very dangerous place, a civil war. So I found myself in the early-90s in Somalia”.

“To this date, and I’ve been to many places over the world, getting on that plane in January 1993 to go to a civil war all over the telly… I was absolutely petrified”.

Gareth had the option of jumping and turning back, but he didn’t, and it’s clear he doesn’t regret going to war-torn Somalia.

“That was the initial leap of faith — since then, I’ve been going from country to country, getting increasingly more responsibility, and eventually ended up working at Save the Children in 2002, leading the response to the Asian tsunami in 2004”.

From his time at Save the Children, Gareth was offered the position of Humanitarian Director in 2007, which he sees as another leap of faith, not a slam-dunk most of us might see promotion as.

“Somebody said, ‘look, Gareth, you’ve got some leadership skills, how about you take on deputy director job?'”

“Again, that felt like a leap of faith. Suddenly, I felt like I was responsible for a lot of people, but I took it. Others believed in me more than I perhaps believed in myself, so I just trusted them and followed their advice”.

“A few years later, the Emergency Director job came up and I thought I could go for it, and that became Humanitarian Director”.

“Life isn’t a smooth curve, there are jumps. Each jump is scary. If someone says to you, ‘I believe in you, you can do this’, then believe them!”

Filling the room with wisdom, Gareth was now in his element. We pushed him for his lessons for humanity as a whole. After all, who better to advise us on how to be better people than someone who sees people at their worst?

“Anybody listening to this, my message to them is to mobilise”

“We’re a tiny blue dot, spinning around in space, and we’ve got to fix some stuff.”

“Politically, develop some conscience, your own understanding of the world. We can all be our own island, so if we bring ourselves together we can be a powerful force”.

“We need to change it up. There’s too much inequality, there’s too much marginalisation. That can seem fearful, but if we have the determination, the power, the compassion, and the knowledge then we can do miracles”.

The simplicity of Gareth’s message really did strike a chord with those of us in the room, and it served as a welcome reminder that students can not only do amazing things at university, but also can go on to become great with the skills they learned there.

You can find Gareth’s video interview with the Student Inspire Network on their Facebook page.

This is the Female Gaze: Challenging the artist and subject

The ubiquity of the patriarchy prevails in art and culture throughout history in the form of the so-called ‘male gaze’. Turning this concept on its head, however, are the curators of the upcoming exhibition: ‘The Female Gaze’, organised by Manchester student Lara Dixon. Featuring artworks by female students from across Manchester, this exhibition hopes to challenge the mainstream, masculinised perception of the female subject.

We are all far too familiar with the concept of the ‘male gaze’. Coined by film critic Laura Mulvey in the 1970s to describe how cinema and media are produced for the pleasure of the straight male viewer.

The curators of this exhibition, however, aim to give a platform to the perspectives of female-identifying individuals. One of the exhibitors, Maisie Lee, explained this saying, “The male gaze, historically, has tended to disregard the female experience, treating female subjects as little more than objects of male desire.”

Philosophy student at Manchester University, Maisie is exhibiting a number of photographs at the Female Gaze exhibition on the 20th of November. She sees it as an opportunity to give “a sense of autonomy to a traditionally passive subject.” Although she feels this does not have to be an inherently gendered notion, it is within the context of a historical tradition of male photographers seeing female subjects from the position of a voyeur; the woman’s role solely to remain the muse.

The aim of this reimagining is not to discredit the men’s art, Maisie goes on to say that the male gaze has “evolved in recent times and does hold great potential for shedding light on the male experience”, however, as yet “it still proliferates in mainstream culture in this normatively masculine sense.” In art, cinema, and popular culture, female subjects are often hypersexualised and created with little concern for the individuality and feelings of the model.

Considering the artist’s relationship with the subject and their voice as “paramount to the force and importance of their work,” Maisie sees her photographic subjects in an entirely different light to that of artists like Andy Warhol. “He treated actually interesting women like blank canvases on which to project his own ideals, not long before chucking them and moving onto the next.”

This kind of attitude towards women demonstrates that male dominance is not just exerted through violent acts of hate, but it can direct our eyes and dictate how all of us see the world. To see the world through female eyes, and indeed of all minority or oppressed groups, is to throw off the shackles of the patriarchal tradition and to carve out a new way of the seeing the world.

The exhibition has been funded by Bumble and features photos engaging with a range of themes such as portraits, femininity, travel photojournalism, and much more.

‘This is the Female Gaze’ will be at Goodstock charity shop on the 20th of November from 5 pm.

Burlesque: an interview with Cherie Bebe

Cherie Bebe is a renowned burlesque performer and actor from Manchester. She has appeared on TV, most recently in Hollyoaks, and has also appeared in the acclaimed ‘Kunst Kabaret’ at German-themed bar, Albert’s Schloss. Needless to say, she is well-respected in the cabaret and burlesque community.

Burlesque is more than just a dance or a striptease to Cherie; she points out that it is a “literary, dramatic, or musical work that comes from the Italian word ‘burla,’ which means to joke or mock”. She explains that she loves to create a fantasy for her audience.

Burlesque differs from performer to performer, and Cherie’s revues showcase a wide variety of different styles. She channels the Golden Age of Hollywood “glamour” with big feather fans and gowns, and as a trained theatre performer, she takes further inspiration from films, literature, and music.

It is important that people recognise the difference between ‘stripping’ and ‘striptease’; the former is arguably objectification, whilst the latter is indisputably about empowerment, glamour, and art. Cherie herself states she feels incredibly empowered as a burlesque performer, and in her 10 years as a performer and 7 years as a producer, has never once felt degraded whilst onstage. If a burlesque performer is an object, that object is a star, and nobody owns the stars — they shine themselves.

Cherie is from a mixed-race background and when she first started performing, there were no other dancers that “looked” like her. She states that the performers she admired were mostly white, and whenever she attended burlesque shows, the audiences were mainly “retro” and “vintage”. She believes that the growing popularity of burlesque has led to its increasing inclusivity and cosmopolitanism. One just needs to attend a burlesque or cabaret show to appreciate the incredible mix of people, and Cherie loves the diversity of her audiences. She explained that burlesque caters to anyone and everyone.

Indeed, burlesque has become much more diverse in recent years; it is not just about glitter, feathers and tassels, or pin-up posters coming to life onstage. Burlesque is an art, a social commentary, a refusal to be objectified, and a mission to take control of one’s own body.

‘Hot Brown Honey’ are an Australian cabaret group who performed at HOME theatre in Manchester last year. Cherie admires the way in which they “smashed stereotypes with an eclectic mix of music, cabaret, and burlesque.” Her biggest idols, of course, include Dita Von Teese, the indisputable Queen of Burlesque. Cherie says that she “oozes glamour and is a fantastic businesswoman too.” She also admires Angelina Jolie, and her performance in ‘Girl, Interrupted’ contributed to her desire to be an actress. Her humanitarian work is something Cherie loves about her too.

Outside of the arts, Jane Goodall is one of her idols; she is fascinated with her work as a primatologist and anthropologist and finds it incredible that she is still working at 84. Who knows, perhaps Cherie will be too; she certainly has the talent and determination to go on forever.

Cherie is performing in Manchester throughout November and December, follow her here.

Review: ReFrame

Up until quite recently, when women were depicted in art, they were shown in very traditional, gendered dimensions. They were objects of desire, denied any true humanity or individuality. Other times, they were depicted in ‘feminine’ roles, cleaning, sewing or caring for children.

With ReFrame, held at the Manchester Art Gallery, mother and daughter Caroline and Maisie Broadhead interrogate representations of women and ‘women’s work’. They respond to historic paintings of women by famous male artists – such as Lord Frederic Leighton and John William Waterhouse.  The viewer is invited to reflect upon ways in which women have conventionally been portrayed. One is also brought to think about how this has evolved over time, how women are seen today and what roles they play in our current society.

Caroline and Maisie do this through the careful manipulation of the frames surrounding the pictures as well as the materials used to create their pieces.

Maisie Broadhead, through her use of distorted frames, boundaries of the pictures, introduces an element of chaos and disruption to her art. This is also achieved within the actual picture. Maisie’s reactions to the original paintings seem to give back to the women in her art the humanity, agency, and individuality that they were denied in the original pieces.

The honesty in Maisie Broadhead’s depictions of what it is to be a woman is rather refreshing, especially if one has explored the other rooms in the Manchester Art Gallery beforehand and seen the female depictions produced by older male artists exhibited.

Caroline Broadhead leads the viewer to more abstract interrogations about how women have been framed in art. She explores notions of emptiness, openness, and flexibility through the use of beads, pearls, hair, and other materials. He response to Harold Knight’s ‘Sewing’ (1924) is particularly intriguing. Using beads and thread, Caroline has recreated the image. However, this one can be shifted and disrupted, just as Caroline wishes to shift and disrupt the idea of female virtue represented in Knight’s original piece.

All in all, this exhibition brings visitors to ponder upon how women have been and are seen in art and more broadly in society today. It is fair to say that traditional ideas about women’s role have been greatly challenged in the past few decades. It is gratifying to witness artists taking up the fight to change ideas about gender roles, leading the greater public to reflect upon these crucial issues. One just wishes that Caroline and Maisie Broadhead’s ‘ReFrame’ exhibition would be larger than only one room in the Manchester Art Gallery.

Parliament calls for re-introduction of means-tested grants

The House of Common’s select committee for Education has called for the reinstatement of means-tested grants at UK Universities.

The system was replaced in 2016 with income-related loans, a method widely criticised for leaving poorer students out in the cold.

Since the change two years ago, it is now impossible for Student Finance England to award fully non-repayable grants to cover living costs. Although the income-based format can award students from lower-earning households a loan at a higher value, they must begin to reimburse the company when their post-graduate wage reaches £21,000 per year.

Such a financial strain is, however, dissuading students from certain backgrounds from going to university, with an average post-graduation debt of over £57,000 reported for the poorest bracket. A decrease in part-time and mature learners has also been attributed to this, as people outside the traditional student age group struggle to finance a degree.

The committee, headed by Harlow MP and Conservative Robert Halfon, recommended in its final report that, ”Based on the overwhelming evidence we have heard during the inquiry, we recommend that the government return to the pre-2016 system and reinstate the means-tested system of loans and maintenance grants.”

The House of Lords sister committee offered similar proposals, describing the structure of the current loans system as ”unfair,” when publishing its findings in June of this year.

“The blunt reality is that too many universities are not providing value for money and that students are not getting good outcomes from the degrees for which so many of them rack up debt,” said Halfon.

The debate intensified this week following the revelations of the Student Loan Company’s chair, Christian Bodie, who defended detailed vetting of social media accounts as part of the process for loan applications.

Speaking to the committee in parliament, Bodie argued that social media profiles constituted public sources of information, and therefore would be investigated alongside other sources to determine the level of finance awarded to students.

The former UBS investment banker claimed that the company’s role was to ensure that taxpayer’s money was spent correctly in the area, but was rebuffed by a senior MP that labelled the firm’s practices as “sinister, KGB knock-on-the-door tactics.”

Questioning MPs used one particular story to demonstrate their opposition to the policy. Said story saw an estranged student applying for a full maintenance loan denied the top band of funding because of a £70 Christmas present received from one of her parents.

Halfon strongly criticised the SLC’s handling of the case, arguing that, ”a decision was taken, on the basis of that, to withdraw and review that student’s finance. I just think that’s unbelievable.”

The SLC has also been hit by the refusal of new chief executive, Paula Sussex to deny that the organisation needed to be humanised in the way that it operates.

The arguably-intrusive investigation process into the assignment of loans, along with the complete withdrawal of grant awards for the most financially-challenged of students, has now produced serious dissatisfaction in the political arena, stretching beyond those in the higher education field.

With the SLC’s methods brutally stripped bare by Halfon’s committee, many are now pushing for the government to reverse a policy that was widely unpopular when first suggested in 2016.

With a panel set up by the Prime Minister proposing a tuition fee shake-up last week,  that could see costs decrease to £6,500 per year for certain degrees, the climate for wholesale changes in higher education is slowly appearing.

It has already been suggested by the committee that information surrounding vice-chancellors’ pay and benefits should be regularly published.

Whether Universities will choose to adopt these recommendations voluntarily, or will be forcibly made to agree to certain changes, remains to be seen.

Review: ‘The Political History of Smack and Crack’

The Political History of Smack and Crack is fresh from a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe, this show was compelling and powerful in its return to Mustard Tree as a part of the ‘With One Voice International Homelessness Arts Festival and Summit’. Written by Ed Edwards, this performance is an hour-long education about, you guessed it, the historical development of smack (heroin) and crack [cocaine] in Britain.

Actors Eve Steele (Coronation Street) and Neil Bell (Dead Man’s Shoes; Peterloo) took us the through the intertwining stories of Mandy and Neil. These two people allowed us, as the audience, to experience a whole history of drugs, whilst relating to two very genuine characters who felt like real people. Set in the round, the actors made great use of the space, whether this was interacting at diagonals or creating dynamic shapes that were striking on all sides.

The stories of the drugs and Thatcherism were brought to life. Of particular interest was the paradox of Thatcher supporting opposition groups in Afghanistan and Nicaragua whilst those same groups were making a living from the influx of drugs into the UK. Neil and Mandy frequently remind us of the fact that before 1981 only upper-class people could afford heroin — then everything changed.

The story follows Mandy and Neil’s lives, flashing between 1981 Moss Side and present-day Manchester. We experience their childhood memories of 1981 Manchester, of working-class riots against heightened police forces and of racially prejudiced ‘stop and search’ procedures. Mustard Tree in Ancoats was the perfect venue as the two recounted present day Mandy’s shoplifting exploits, naming the familiar streets and places she ran through to evade the security guards.

Powerful performances from both Steele and Bell were compelling. Direction by Cressida Brown had the two of them delivering Edwards’ words fast-paced, and at times in the style of spoken word poetry. Even more impressive was their ability to synchronise sharp physical movement which, despite being contemporary, worked perfectly to demonstrate the importance and gravity of different movements. Bell was particularly good at changing his posture to show how addiction had degraded Neil over time. Steele had a hilariously realistic ability to take on other characters that were completely believable, particularly other men in the story of Mandy and Neil.

It must be stressed that this performance managed to communicate so many elements and perspectives of addiction from a personal and historical perspective in such a short time. We watched as Mandy and Neil seemed to dance around the idea of a loving relationship, fighting against their attempts to get clean.

If I have one criticism, it was the questionable New York accents at the beginning of the show, however, this was quickly forgotten. It was also impressive that the performance was so striking and dramatic despite the reduced technical abilities of the venue. The whole performance was in full florescent lighting. If anything this enhanced the performance with the focus being entirely on the impeccable acting.

‘The Political History of Smack and Crack’ was an ingenious way to educate its audience about such a destructive force. The performance felt completely truthful, in that it didn’t attempt to sugarcoat how drugs can affect and control people’s lives.

Review: ‘Often Onstage’

The brilliant ‘Figs in Wigs’ brought their farcical play ‘Often Onstage’ to HOME Theatre. Opening with a lesson in how to milk an audience, this play gave a glimpse into the world of ‘backstage’.  They created a permeability between the onstage and offstage by showing the pre-amble, side stage, and post-show faff of theatre.

Decked out in comically Shakespearean outfits of purple velvet capes and lime green socks, the five ‘Figs in Wings’ began their production with a curtain call. The pantalooned performers called for donations to their crowd-funding campaign to finally get the Globe a roof.

After their opening bows, and in green one pieces that resembled professional cycling gear, the performers began sound tests and last-minute rehearsals for another show. Despite the apparent banality of the events they were recording, they managed to have the entire audience in absolute stitches. Never did I think great theatre could be made out of two actresses in green velvet bike shorts comparing whether or not they had a camel-toe.

When the much-anticipated play-within-a-play began, through a smoky haze and some electric green lighting, the velvet one-pieces emerged. With Sia-eqsue wigs and light-up bum bags, they embarked on a painfully obscure dance show. Whilst hilariously slap-stick, in revealing the awkward shuffles on and off stage, it somehow highlighted the poignancy of the entrances and exits of everyday life.

When the Sia wigs were exchanged for longer, bright green ones and the dancers donned equally bold green 80s power suits, they did so behind see-through screens; finally capturing the difficulties of 5 women standing on one leg squeezing skirts over trainers in a cramped wing of the stage. Their return to stage was done so in order to shout motivation clichés at the very bemused but enchanted audience. A treat I never thought I needed, but judging by how much I laughed, I absolutely did.

Just as I was beginning to wonder where on earth this was all going, their finale topped off the play and indeed my whole week, with a beautiful tribute to the one and only Backstreet Boys. An emotional monologue describing their struggles with being a tribute act and embodying the life of someone else ended with these grown women bursting through the projector screens to sing ‘Larger than Life’. Complete with white cargo pants, painted facial hair, and awful choreography, it turns out this was the only way such a bizarre play could have ended.

Not to be conventional, however, their ending continued to play with the boundaries of the performers; collapsing in breathless triumph and slowly packing up the stage. They only remembered in the midst of their half-dressed tidying that the show had now ended and we could all go home. Dazed and with cheeks painful from laughing, I stumbled out the HOME Theatre with a page full of garbled notes and a whole new outlook on wigs. My very own absurd exit to match theirs.

Review: Dita Von Teese: The Art of the Teese

Dita Von Teese’s latest show, The Art of the Teese, played at Manchester’s O2 Apollo, following three sold-out nights at the London Palladium. Von Teese is the undisputed Queen of Burlesque, and at 46 years old, she has no plans of giving up her seat on her (glistening) Iron Throne.

The show took the format of a traditional burlesque revue, with a compère and several burlesque acts. The compère was the hilarious, Jonny McGovern; McGovern, whose character name is ‘The Gay Pimp’, is a stand-up comedian, musician and podcaster. He is also a cast member of ‘The Big Gay Sketch Show’. Govern was rude, crude, and a lover of the nude, and his hand fans were nothing short of fabulous.

Following Dita, the next performer of the evening was Ginger Valentine, a classic striptease artist whose award-winning acts have earned her the tagline: ‘The Professional Tease’. She gave birth to sex and love inside a giant heart frame, and she certainly kept the audience’s hearts beating the entire time. Up next was Zelia Rose, an illustrious talent who won ‘Best Debut’ at the reputable Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas to a standing ovation. She definitely drove the audience bananas with the bananas dangling from her waist, her dancing, and fiery energy oozing empowerment.

After the interval, we were greeted by Jett Adore, the ‘Most Innovative’ performer in burlesque (Las Vegas Burlesque Hall of Fame) and “the LeBron James of Burlesque” (Playgirl Magazine). With a flamboyant cape flowing from his broad shoulders and diamond studs covering his nipples, he wafted his shimmering sword through the air.

The final solo performer, before Dita returned for her final act, was Dirty Martini. Dirty drove the audience wild with her crazy curves and big personality, so much so that McGovern ordered an encore.

But the reason everyone went to see the show was of course to appreciate the Goddess that is Dita Von Teese. Accompanied by ‘The Vontourage,’ two fiery men with killer moves, Dita, “the girl in the glass,” opened the show with her renowned ‘Champagne Glass’ act. She soaked the stage in a matter of minutes, and the audience were drunk in love. Her next performance was the glamorous ‘Lazy,’ in which she took us back in time and made us feel nostalgic for a time we never knew. Lazy never looked so good. Her penultimate act was ‘Swan Lake,’ a brand-new performance. It was definitely a ballet striptease fantasy that had the audience longing to take a swim in that lake and never wake up from Dita’s “fetishistic ballet dream”. Dita closed the show with ‘Rhinestone Cowgirl,’ in which she stripped and danced on a pink mechanical bull.

The revue showcased the crème de la crème of burlesque and solidified Dita’s reign as the invincible Queen of Burlesque.

Live Review: Bonobo at WHP

What’s for sure is that Simon Green (aka Bonobo) has developed into a star-studded figure of UK twilit house and electronic music, with shows at Glastonbury and Sidney Oprah House already under his belt.

Green has become a prominent feature across the European and American festival scene, playing an impressive 22 shows in just 27 days last year after the release of his most recent album Migration, which was coincidentally written whilst touring.

Simon Green’s most popular release so far, Migration debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart last January. It saw a distinct change in style for Green, perhaps sparked by a recent move to L.A. The beat-driven tracks are often delicately tied with features from the likes of Rhye and Nick Murphy.

Despite the popularity of the album it wasn’t well received by all, with some critics referring to some of the tracks as “groggy” and “disappointing”. In this regard, live performances for Green are anything but certain.

With dazzling support from the likes of Giles Peterson, George Fitzgerald and many other stellar DJs, Bonobo’s headline set ‘Outliers’ was something to behold.

Green decided to ditch the 12-piece band he often performs with, and graced the night alone behind the decks — something Green developed in his residency at Outpost, an edgy club known to many on the New York scene. He had a tough act to follow however, after Berlin-based DJ Palms Trax delivered a punchy set that seamlessly drifted between vintage house and esoteric disco tracks.

Bonobo played at the Mayfield Depot: a large, bare warehouse matching the austere approach of Green’s music that his fans were so eagerly anticipating. He entered the stage bathed in smoke, instantly filling the previously vacant room with both music and visuals.

His set was extensive and varied, ranging from low-fi, deep, base-driven house, to highs of ethereal disco-dance fusions, taking the crowd from gentle swaying to bounding on the dancefloor. A matching ostentatious light show matched the set performed by Green. It had a minimalist feel, sticking mostly to a few lasers creating geometric shapes around the stage and a gentle backlight, casting a silhouette from behind the decks.

However, this is not to suggest that the set was flawless. Despite being able to take his audience to dreamy, spiritual places with his trance-inducing stripped-back beats, there were moments over the two-hour set where the crowd were most firmly grounded in an old, somewhat dank warehouse just outside Manchester’s industrial city centre.

This may be down to Green’s fatigue after a year of constant touring, or simply the difficulty of finishing a night which had an early first entry of 4 pm. But it’s not to suggest the night was at any point dull, rather having peaks and troughs.

The return of the Hampshire-born DJ to native soil after a long stint in the US was a definite success. One attendee quoted saying he “felt like I’d been on a gap year” during the performance. Bonobo will now go onto more shows in the US and Australia, meaning many fans may have to wait until the summer festival circuits to see a performance like that again.

7.5/10

Live Review: Insecure Men

“I am an insecure man,” come the looming, opening words of singer Saul Adamczewski. Insecure is perhaps something he needs not be this evening. Straying away from his Fat White Family roots, the Insecure Men side-project, formed with former schoolmate and childhood frontman Ben Romans-Hopcraft, has very much become a band of its own right, having sold out YES’s 250 capacity Pink Room.

Insecure Men aren’t the first to grace the stage for their set; forever the more idiosyncratic of performers, the band choose to kick off the show with weirdness. First comes a woman dressed in funeral attire handing out, what resembles memorial programmes bearing Adamczewski’s face on the front page, to who she deems to be “sexy” members of the crowd. Next, a man of equal formal dress delivering a rousing, if a little comical, speech on the subject of death, before introducing “the Devil’s favourite pop band.”

It would be daring to say that there is great variation in how this Devil-pleasing pop band’s songs sound but when performed live something just works – with ease these melodies weave together and you find yourself transported to the dream-like world of emotion Insecure Men have created.

From the sound in question, you don’t get the feeling that if you overheard a tune of Insecure Men playing in a bar you would immediately sense it was by a band that takes itself not at all seriously. This is a band, however, who have recently revealed their studio cover of Peter Andre’s ‘Mysterious Girl’ to the world.

“This is a song about the working day – this is a song about grafting,” comes Adamczewski’s conspicuous London twang to launch the band into a brand new track. Struggling on the working grind is perhaps the most relatable of Insecure Men’s themes. Pivoting again around a fascination of death and celebrity demise, there are lyrical tales of Whitney Houston and Cliff Richard laced within their discography.

There’s something about the dulcet tracks from Insecure Men’s eponymous debut album – tracks that make up the rest of tonight’s hour-long set – that is steeped in nostalgia. Even deep within the band’s more upbeat songs, there are undertones of sadness and of longing, if you choose to listen hard enough. But take these songs, ‘Teenage Toy’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance (With My Baby)’ to name a couple, and throw them on stage and the effect is quite different. Instead, there is simply a gathering of beaming life-loving music fans enjoying a few minutes of joyous, carefree abandon.

“Hail Satan!” Adamczewski brashly instructs the crowd before removing his hat and turning his head to the side with a look of sincerity, as if posing for a Napoleonic military portrait.

The oddball move marks the end of an oddball performance of not so oddball music.

8/10

Women along the red carpet

The English language generally doesn’t distinguish between male, female, or neutral nouns. The endings of words don’t change depending on what is being described. There are exceptions, one of which includes job titles: waiter and waitress, air-host and hostess, actor and actress.

The addition of these extra letters to “actor” should have no consequence on the prestige of the reality it describes, but it appears to. The most obvious, and prominent display of this is when watching red carpet interviews. On numerous occasions, female actors have been praised for their quick-witted response to questions like “what are you looking for in your next man?” Whilst I am glad that actors are able to navigate these boring and irrelevant questions, they shouldn’t be required to do so as men glide across the red carpet answering “real” questions that are actually about the films.

Yearly, we see “Best Actor” and “Best Actress” awards being celebrated, but I wonder if we will eventually be in a position where these two can be merged to create a non-binary “Best Actor” award. Surely these awards are to recognise the actor’s ability to embody and portray a character and tell a story — something that is not affected by the gender of either the character or the actor. Last year, MTV awarded its first gender-neutral “Best Actor” award to Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast and was presented by Asia Kate Dillon, a non-binary actor who plays Brandy Epps in Orange is the New Black, amongst other roles.

Whilst this was welcomed progress, I fear, as many others do, that the removal of the two categories would make awards another male-dominated event. This is probable as gender-stereotyping continues to leak into characterisation within films. The Bechdel Test is all you need to think about to realise that whilst more films now include ‘strong-independent’ female characters (something never used to describe men, because it is the norm for them and supposedly not for us) these are still few and far between.

The Bechdel Test was inspired by a comic strip created in 1985 by Alison Bechdel. A film must fulfil three requirements to pass:

  1. Have at least two female characters (who must have names)
  2. Who talk to each other
  3. About something other than a man

Given that films tend to be around 90 minutes long, this doesn’t feel like a big ask of creators to fulfil, but you’d be surprised how many recent films continue to fail this test. Recently, Bohemian Rhapsody, Early Man – a children’s film, and Deadpool 2 have all failed this. So naturally, if male and female actors were pitted against each other, male actors would have a significant head start even before the film is shot.

Whilst I feel that the distinction between the two words is unnecessary and futile, having separate awards does ensure that women are still recognised for their work.  For gender-neutral awards to become common, those who create stories and characters will need to venture out of their comfort zone and diversify female characters — because, believe it or not, women talk about more than just men.

 

Live Review: Superorganism

After interviewing Superorganism singer B a few weeks ago, I was buzzing with anticipation for their performance at the O2 Ritz.

B had told me “People can get excited for an all singing, all dancing, colourful, sparkly, multicentric experience!” and she certainly wasn’t wrong. Going to a Superorganism gig is like going to one big party and I would tell anyone if they get the chance to, that they need to see this band live.

Fun, quirky, techno-pop band Superorganism have been going through a meteoric rise since they released their debut earlier this year and their return to Manchester as part of their huge global tour was a welcomed event.

With such a diverse crowd, ranging from frenzied kids dressed in colourful outfits to people in their 30s, Superorganism puts on a show for everyone. The dancing was absolutely contagious all night long – you could tell it wasn’t just the crowd who were enjoying the set, the band were too.

As the room stood waiting, anticipation grew before their impressive visuals began to unfold on a screen behind the stage. Dressed in dazzlingly bright costumes, the group appeared to an uproar of applause and cheering. The visuals, courtesy of collaborator and visual artist Robert Strange made it abundantly clear that this is a band spawned from the age of the internet and managed to incorporate this into their live shows with ease and wonder.

The O2 Ritz was the perfect venue for this carnival-style gig. It was intimate and intense, with lead singer Orono Noguchi mentioning between songs how much eye contact she gathered from the wide-eyed audience before eventually crowd surfing on an inflatable whale.

The set began with self-titled ‘SPRORGNSM’, a flawless opener that really set the tone for the rest of the gig. Each subsequent song flowed into the next, seemingly in order from least to most well known.

Regardless of this structure, there would always be members of the crowd that knew each song religiously, and had no issue in screaming back the lyrics in between vivacious dance moves.

Occasionally, mysterious (and effortlessly cool) lead singer Orono would invest time and focus to the audience, even inviting a lucky few to party with them on stage whilst they played ‘Relax’. The set came to an almighty and colourful finale with their most well-known songs – ‘Everybody Wants To Be Famous’ and ‘Something For Your M.I.N.D’.

Visually, the band’s energy and the electrifying atmosphere combined to create a psychedelic whirlwind that allowed everyone in that room to feel as if they were a part of this technicolour wonderland.

An amazing night. If I were to find an issue, it would be that the set was suprisingly short (clocking in at just over an hour), leaving you craving more. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just makes you want to see them again and again to relive that insanity. Superorganism are set on world domination – I’d advise you not to miss out.

10/10

In Conversation with RUSSO

RUSSO are a Californian four-piece indie rock band who have recently released their debut EP House with a pool after their formation in early 2018.

As I had the chance to catch up with the band prior to their Manchester Academy 2 gig, it was clear that the touring blues had set in as they’ve spent the past few weeks supporting Black Honey on their UK tour.

Lead singer and founder of the band, Caitlin Russo laughed “we landed here and started the tour straightaway… it was brutal but we are getting through the jet leg!”, as they settled into their dressing room, fresh from their set.

As we began to discuss what their origins as a band were, it became clear that they are still very much in the process of transitioning across to their new collective sound. Caitlin had initially started making music as a solo artist but felt that there would a better dynamic and creative aesthetic in exploring the sound as a band.

Soon with the help of auditions and word of mouth, she began collaborating with Drummer Hayley Brownell, Guitarist Tyler McCarthy and Bassist Sean Richie to build up a style that they felt suited their newly discovered sound.

Their first EP release House with a Pool is admittedly a work that Caitlin created before their formation but Sean clarifies “we brought the concepts that were there to life” and gave the tracks a guitar infused electronic edge that they felt they could build upon.

As they relaxed, it was clear that these guys were eager, but incredibly tired from the past few days of shows. So I shook up my questions and asked playfully “okay, so if this house has a pool, what’s in it?” and almost without hesitation, they collectively agreed “noodles” and “at least four drink floats”.

It confirmed my sneaking suspicion that jet lag hunger had truly set in, and wasn’t going anywhere soon! I began to sense that we were drifting into a food dreamland with talk of burgers and milkshakes floating around in this imaginary, possibly saltwater pool that had been envisioned…

I quickly regained focus and continued our conversation on to the set I had just seen, which by all accounts had been rather flat in places due to said jetlag. Hayley explained that they were super excited to perform their leading tracks “Loudmouth” and “No time” which had been really fun to play on drums. Caitlin added “I love ‘Bad things’ and ‘No time’, they are in the same vein and I get to scream out those lines which is so fun and kind of emotional”.

Having heard that they were coming to the end of their tour of the UK, I was intrigued to discover where they’d been and what their experience of the UK had been like. One thing that was certain was that they had really struggled with the often cold weather and had recently had a rather hard time up in Glasgow; “it was just so quiet and pretty dead” commented Caitlin. Sean agreed “it was definitely a different experience for all of us, in comparison it was so nice to have a supportive crowd here in Manchester.”

On the subject of one of their best shows, Tyler immediately called up Brighton as one of the best places they’d performed in: “it had one of the best atmospheres by far, it’s just a shame that we’d literally only landed less than a couple of hours before. We’re getting better at dealing with that though!”

Discussion into the next project is very much underway for RUSSO and they were eager to add that they were excited to start work on a full length album that they could all collaboratively build. Caitlin explained “I just want to make more music right now” with the hope of getting a tour ready for the next spring or summer time. “We might hibernate for a bit” said Sean “we’ve been on the road for a long time but definitely going to be working on new stuff for next year.”

RUSSO’s latest release, House with a pool, is available now.

Live Review: Bad Sounds

Bad Sounds, a rising British band, came to Manchester’s Gorilla as part of their UK tour this October.

Opening for the band was the grungy pop rock foursome, Indoor Pets who really took ownership of the stage. I was intrigued by their deeply fun and potently rock infused style that made for some brilliant mosh pits and created a very real and unexpected hype early on in the night.

Lead vocalist Jamie is a quirky personality, and I had to admit that it was somewhere between brilliant and slightly hilarious when the band broke out into some pretty spectacular instrumental breaks.

Their popular track ‘Being Strange’ really captures the essence of this strangely cool band and I will be interested to see what they have to offer when they go on their first headline tour.

After a short break it was finally time for Bad Sounds to spring onto the stage and without a moment of hesitation. They launched into lead single ‘Wages’ with a fervent energy and flash of lights across the banner-strewn stage. As Ewan and Callum took centre stage the anticipation for the highly regarded track is apparent.

However, the band don’t package themselves as great prophets of musical genius. In fact, they seem to have tapped into the art of successfully poking fun at the concept of being the “perfect” artist. There was a sense of acknowledging their limitations and that simply maximised their connection with their sounds and command of the room.

The way they dash and dart around the stage is really something to see, and absolutely shows how impassioned they are about their work. Every instance is used to build up a playful environment where the artist/audience barrier is broken and in its place, there is a collective appreciation for sound and visual joy.

Throughout the gig there were moments of downtime to break up the relentless force of sound and light. These moments of almost absolute darkness invited the audience to reflect on their experience in the Bad Sounds imagined ‘get better’ clinic.

Although it appeared rather gimmicky in places, there was a certain quirky charm about the idea of a voice from beyond bringing the room together towards the golden tone of a singular light bulb at the centre of the stage. It had a level of humour about it that captures their optimistic positive message, even in the face of fear and the unknown.

I quickly caught up with Ewan after the show and he explained that they had worked hard on creating a specific atmosphere and keeping the mood fairly light; “the voice your hearing is actually Olivia’s dad (the drummer) talking through this script that myself and Callum made”.

Adding that they aimed to be playful in the creative process of building the aesthetic image and sound of the wider tour. In tracks such as ‘Avalanche’ which has been re-imagined in the band’s various guises, there is a beautiful sense of progression from an initial idea into a central track that basically inspired the eventual album title Get Better.

The introduction of two guitars to their set-up for the track ‘Thomas is a Killer’ brought with it darkness across the stage and created a moody undertone that broke away from their otherwise upbeat outlook.

The lyrics in this track reflect a sense of time and fragility that paired with a deep blue-purple light, showed the varied capability that Bad Sounds offer. A sharp contrast that appeared to explore a painful moment for the songwriter which had an opportunity to resonate within the room without completely losing the positive ethos of the show. It certainly resonated with me.

The band re-emerged spectacularly with their final,  joyful burst of energy into ‘Are you high?’ which sent the crowd into a wild fever once again as a smattering of yellow and red balloons flew across the room.

In Bad Sounds there’s a clear genuine love for the exploration of music – a style which cannot be replicated or faked. Their dedication to creating a lively, fun experience at their gigs is so impressive and ultimately pays off for fans and critics alike.

9/10

A defence of the cupcake feminist

If you’ve attended a Feminist branded event in the last five years, whether a bake sale, art show, or your classic witchcraft ritual, you’ll definitely have seen a polka dotted table with trays of colourful, homemade cupcakes.

With its heap of sugary pink icing, nowadays often used to craft edible vulvas and areolas, the cupcake has become a staple choice within any feminist space, as unequivocally and unapologetically female. This however, has faced a growing number of critics.

Allow me to introduce you to the Cupcake Feminist. Coined by Meryl Trussler in 2012, the term refers to the recent return in trend of ‘twee’ 1950s homelife. Big bows, crocheting, and Rosie the Riveter; all of these are said to be seeping back into feminism in an attempt to emulate the domesticated role of women.

To its critics, the cupcake is now a vanilla cream travesty. It represents not womanhood and sorority, but vilification of the leather-clad, punk feminists of the eighties, intent on rebranding femininity back to its girlish, Cath Kidston roots.

Trussler’s argument has support. To a modern audience, the 1950s housewife is seen to many as a pie-baking, infantilised blonde (think Mad Men’s Betty Draper). But what is the solution? To replace iced gems with a bite of sausage roll and a manly swig of John Smith’s?

The problem with the cupcake appears to be that it’s a sugary, sweet treat, exclusively marketed to women. And anything a woman is seen to enjoy will be labeled as frivolous.

It’s a ridiculous attitude that holds women to a higher standard than men. One that says Susie from down the road can’t care about both FGM and getting her nails done.

But Susie isn’t claiming to be a UN representative, so why is it that we applaud men simply for ‘coming out’ as feminists, whilst constantly analysing and belittling women for their commitment to the cause?

We must accept that in a feminist’s daily activities, not all will be a Pankhurst-esque rebellion of the patriarchy. Women can decorate cupcakes in lacy sugar hearts half an hour before rallying outside the White House, just as we can eat a Yorkie without imploding. Yes, the world needs more high-powered female chefs working in industrial-sized kitchens, but this doesn’t have to mean the home kitchen is a step back.

The Cupcake Feminist is not a 1950s housewife. She is a 1950s housewife, reimagined. She might bake for herself, her friends, her family or her husband. She might do so dressed impeccably in seven-inch heels, or whilst hungover in a ketchup-stained jumper. It is her choice in the matter that we should be most concerned about, and not her apron.