In conversation with: Barbara Brownskirt
Coming out via the front page of The Independent, shouting “who put the word ‘men’ in menopause?” outside Penge Conservative Club, and writing poetry at bus stops, Karen McLeod tells me about her reverse-drag act: Barbara Brownskirt. Barbara is cagouled, pop-socked, Judi Dench-
Queer love letters
Letter from Wilfred Owen to Siegfried Sassoon. (University of Aberdeen) In the enduring shadows of war, prejudice, and cultural turmoil, the resilience of queer love shines through. From the poignant letters of poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, to the clandestine journey undertak
Icon of the Week: In defence of ‘Catz’
Yes, I know. Hear me out. I’m being defensive, but my time at Catz has made it almost instinctual; it is such a point of such contention in the wider Oxford community – it sticks out like a sore thumb among the warm sandstone-yellow buildings and towering spires of Oxford. A quick
Opposition in exile: in conversation with Ivan Zhdanov
I fiddle nervously with my computer. I’m waiting for Ivan Zhdanov, a leading figure of the modern Russian opposition, to join a Zoom call. I sit in my university bedroom, Zhdanov against the backdrop of his children’s playroom; talking about how Alexi Navalny’s murder has shaped the Russian op
Guest edit: The Tao of Trash
One of the most successful TV shows I ever produced was pure, throwaway trash of the highest order – and all the better for it. It was the first series of The Graham Norton Show, and it’s still going today, over 25 years later. The reason? Back in that first season in 1998, no […]
At what cost do we perform the ‘Cool Girl’ aesthetic?
Images: Me, in my best moments of performance. “The mob wife… is a little more grown up. It’s right there in the name: She’s a wife! She’s not a girl; she’s a woman” claims Harper’s Bazaar. Amazing news for anyone stuck living like it’s the 1950s. Because, as we all know, th
In conversation with: Oxford Action 4 Palestine Encampment
I walk into the Oxford Action (OA4P) for Palestine encampment at Pitt Rivers Museum; the path is littered with boards to keep the boggy ground at bay; a Palestinian flag greets me along the way with two massive whiteboards; one for the schedule of the day, and one for the list of chores to [&
BEST BEFORE: Mock-the-Week of an election
Last week’s announcement of a general election, given by Rishi Sunak in the pouring rain, will likely have put a damper on some people’s evenings (yes that is a water pun, yes I think I’m funny, yes there will be more). A week in, we’ve already had enough memorable moments to fill a scrapboo
Top G Diffusion Filter
Andrew Tate. Dostoyevsky. Subterranean Homesick Blues. Couperin. Turbo-folk. Durex. Henry Fielding. Capital (by Kenneth Goldsmith not Karl Marx). Žižek. Ode to Joy. Dichtung. und Wahrheit. Zoom virtual backgrounds. Deloitte. Jean Luc Godard. Uwe Boll. Snapchat. 25mm Cooke S4 Lens. Gold diff