Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Heteronormative language permeates almost every aspect of our society to such an extent that it is becoming casual and unconscious. It was not until recently when I sat down and thought about the implications of sexual discourse that I realised how much of an unsuitable medium language is at describing anything which contradicts fierce homogeneity, […]
Continue Reading
Image description: Janet Mock, Grand Marshall at the 2014 San Francisco Pride Parade Transgender Visibility Day, also known as ‘TDoV’, is celebrated on the 31st March. It was started in 2009 by Rachel Crandall Crocker, a trans-activist in the US and one of the co-founders of Transgender Michigan. Though distinct from the Transgender Day of […]
Continue Reading
Since decriminalizing homosexuality in 1997 and removing it from the government’s official list of mental illnesses in 2001, China has gone a long way towards equality. However, LGBTQ+ television is still a taboo subject for most in the country, and the state-controlled media has tightened its conservative policy in recent years. April 2018 saw a […]
Continue Reading
The thing that everyone says about coming out is that it’s never really over, and that’s especially true when starting at university. No one knows you, and you’re developing new and unfamiliar types of relationships every day. This is particularly true of tutors, a new person that you’re going to spend a lot of time […]
Continue Reading
Image Description: Alan Turing It was the year 2016 and I, a quiet and awkward sixteen-year-old girl, was trying to work out how to tell my mother that I had, since January, been dating another quiet and awkward sixteen-year-old girl. Realising that I was not actually brave enough to tell her outright, I found myself, […]
Continue Reading
Weeks ago, the Faculty of Law responded to concerns about the explicit bigotry (homophobia, transphobia, and more) of Professor John Finnis by refusing to investigate or take any action against him. While cursorily claiming to care about harassment and equality, they cited the need to protect free speech. This echoes similar responses when it comes […]
Continue Reading
As 8th week of Michaelmas started to reach its end, I couldn’t quite prevent myself from thinking about how near the Christmas holidays were. As a lesbian, I always wfound the holidays really quite strange: heterosexual couples dressed in visually unpleasant red and green Christmas jumpers would plaster my TV screen as early as November, […]
Continue Reading
On 23rd January, Angola adopted a new penal code, its first since its independence from Portugal. The former penal code was in effect from 1886 and had not undergone reforms since 1975. In doing so, it removed an article that prescribed a jail sentence of six months to three years for “vices against nature”, an […]
Continue Reading
Image description: Ellie Oppenheim (left) Recently, Pink had a chance to talk to the charismatic and capable Ellie Oppenheim, who is the current president of the LGBTQ+ Society. Love it or hate it, “the Soc”, supposedly the third largest student organisation here, is the core of our community’s social life in Oxford. I invited Oppenheim […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit:Facebook Earlier this year, the LGBTQ+ Society announced the introduction of a Careers Rep to facilitate the organisation and promotion of networking events within the society. The society has currently secured sponsorship with four firms – JP Morgan, Travers Smith, Boston Consultancy Group, and Credit Suisse – in order to generate financial support to […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Abhi Sharma On 7th November, the Department of Education concluded their public consultation on Relationships Education (RE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). This article is not a particular call for a contribution to that consultation; however, I do encourage everyone to have their voice heard by emailing their local MP if they […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0) It’s strange writing this piece for Oxford students—especially for students new to the Oxford LGBTQ+ scene—while being far away. It would be an understatement to say that the LGBTQ+ community, in its many iterations, shaped my time at Oxford. I’ve been thinking about what I would’ve wanted to know […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Dom Fellowes One of the most successful Stonewall campaigns of recent years has been its “Rainbow Laces” initiative. Through this campaign, the LGBTQ+ charity has aimed to promote equality and inclusivity in sport by challenging homophobic, biphobic and transphobic attitudes. A study commissioned in the course of the campaign found that there is […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Facebook Rainbow Peers is a support network run by and for LGBTQ+ students at the University of Oxford. As an organisation, it recognises the unique challenges and pressures that queer students face, and aims to provide a safe space for queer people to talk about whatever issues they might be confronting in a […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Len Williams I discovered I liked girls right before my second year: after I’d discovered I liked boys but before I figured out I wasn’t interested in sex. My friend was joking about how sapphic my writing was and something in me clicked. I told her her suspicions were true. She asked, “Would […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Wikipedia Thank them, first and foremost. Say, “Thank you for your courage and for trusting me.” For some, coming out – declaring one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity — is as easy as breathing. For others, a brief moment follows weeks or even months of antagonising about how you would react. Reassure them […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Roger Templeman Last week, it was announced that Plush, Oxford’s largest LGBTQ+ venue and only gay nightclub, will be closing down – although hopefully only temporarily. The owners are currently in talks to source a suitable replacement venue, but there are no signs yet where this could be. While the search is underway, […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: JarmolUK National Coming Out Day, celebrated earlier this month, is a day to be open and proud of who you are. A day to shine a light on the LGBTQ+ community, the milestones we have reached, and the ones yet to come. It is incredibly touching to see charities, businesses, universities, and other […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: PDPics Note: “Transgender” can be defined as someone whose gender identity differs from that which society has assigned to them at their birth; thus, people who identify as neither man nor woman (i.e. “non-binary”) often identify as trans as well. Already a norm in our Student Union and its campaigns, there is a […]
Continue Reading