Culture
Bristol’s Strip Club Closures Hurt more Women than They Help
Article by Abbie Warner
So, despite noble intentions, the criminalisation of strip clubs does not protect women. Instead, it puts those women who rely on sex work to support themselves and their loved ones at much greater risk of sexual violence. It is difficult to imagine that criminalising sexual entertainment venues, which forces sexual violence underground, would have any positive impact on advancing the equality of women in the way all feminists desire.
Does Alexa Reflect or Reject Patriarchal Values?
Article by Emily Daly
While many of us first heard a feminised AI voice in Spike Jonze’s award-winning film, Her, in which a lonely male character falls in love with a disembodied female machine, today this voice has seeped into different facets of our lives such as voice assistants, sat-navs, at supermarket checkouts and public service announcements. However, it has been widely recognised that feminised AI voices are mainly employed in assistive roles, which raises questions around gender: do female AI reinforce gender roles and affect our attitudes towards women in actuality?
The Publishing Industry is where Social Media Meets Capitalism
Article by Lucy Miles
In essence, it is commonplace for female influencers to be picked up by the publishing industry, which will then standardise their artwork and ethos to fit into a mould that is known to drive in profits. The publishers collate the artwork and feminist online content from the individual influencer, and package it into a purchasable survival-guide to being a modern woman; in essence, the publishing industry is where social media meets capitalism.
Overcoming the ‘50 Shades of Grey Defence’
Article by Izzy Payne
Using this defence can result in a lighter punishment, shorter prison sentence, or even an acquittal. It has been increasingly used in the courts as a defence for sexual violence that ends in serious harm or murder, pinpointing the style of ‘consensual’ sex as the reason for the violence occurring, absolving the person who inflicted the violence from blame.
Transphobia Within Feminism Fuels Misogyny
Article by Justine Brooks
Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) assert that transgender women cannot be women, nor be supported by feminism because they do not share the experiences of cisgender women. In reality, trans women share a multitude of barriers with cisgender women. Ignoring these commonalities and campaigning against the protection of trans women only empowers prejudice and those who employ it. Ultimately, this scores an own-goal against feminism’s own objectives.
Porn or Person? The Social Impact of OnlyFans
Feature by Izzy Payne
OnlyFans and platforms like it allow for more constructive and balanced forms of intimacy between the entertainer and the viewer. In addition, this formula for sex work improves the larger societal effects of watching pornography.