Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
As a student new to the English system of education, it has been heartening to learn of the stringent ethics approvals required to conduct research as part of my courses. Research in the Global South is no longer treated as an entitlement that scholars of the developed world can reap. In a way, this appears […]
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Anjali KawaImage description: An old book is open with a pair of glasses on it. Reading lists can always be daunting, but it is hard to explain the feeling of reading academic writing about your own heritage. Recently, I had a tutorial about immigrant experiences in post-war Britain. Scanning through the readings, I studied the […]
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Image description: Two hands clasped together. The hand on the left has had henna applied, a wedding tradition common in India. I still remember calling home to tell my parents about my partner, and my father’s response was “Why are you doing this to us?”. I was hurt by the blunt response, but honestly, I […]
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Image description: Legs crossed on a living room table with a background of a TV with Netflix on it, a guitar on the side, and plants around the room. Debate about who makes art and who features in it is a constant conversation in my life. It is hard to explain why seeing someone like […]
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Image description: A red bricked barn surrounded by trees. There is a scene in Lee Isaac Chung’s film Minari (2020) that features a brief conversation between a father and a son outside of a chicken factory. Both speaking in Korean: pointing to a chimney belching black smoke, the son asks, ‘What’s that?’, and the father […]
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Image description: Identitical outfits are hung on a clothes’ rack Fashion is a crucial part of anyone’s life, but students in particular revel in the ability to shapeshift with scraps of fabrics and bands of metal. It’s no secret that platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok mould and master trends nowadays using a combination […]
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Image description: Oxford students holding placards at protest In light of the recent farmers’ protests ongoing in India, a group of students from the Oxford South Asian Society (OxSAS), and Oxford India Society (OIS) decided to organise a solidarity protest on Saturday, 12th December 2020. On behalf of The Oxford Student, I have decided to […]
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A few months ago, I went on a first date with a white man. We decided to go to the pub, very casual. About ten minutes in, completely unsolicited, he launched into a speech about his fascination with Hong Kong (if you’re wondering how he knew about my family ties to Hong Kong, it was […]
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Image Description: Sandwich with kaya jam I carefully scrape out a small dollop of green kaya from its glass jar and spread it sparsely on two slices of toast. I’m wary of how conservative I’ll need to be with the servings each time so that I won’t run out before my next trip home. I […]
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Image Description: close up of lit diya lamps for Diwali Despite the cultural complexities that I have faced growing up as a British Indian woman in the UK, Diwali has always been one of the family traditions that has made me feel connected to my Indian heritage. It has always been a momentous occasion in […]
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Image Description: Women pose outside the barbershop in the Tule Lake Relocation Center, in Newell, California in 1942 or 1943. ‘Herro!’ *pulls eyes* He didn’t stop walking. I vaguely knew his name but we hadn’t had many interactions. I kept walking too. Behind me I could hear sniggers and a few imitations of stereotypical kung […]
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Image Description: Anti-racism protest outside the Oxford Union from May 2019 Joshua Virasami has recently posted on Twitter about his boycott of the Oxford Union, to which he was invited to speak this October. In doing so, he was ‘honouring the ongoing boycott by students and local activists’, referring to the ‘Boycott The Oxford Union’ […]
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Image Description: Salehe Bembury during a photoshoot. CW: discussion of racism “What’s unfortunate is I literally designed the shoes that are in the bag, and I’m fucking being searched for them.” – Salehe Bembury The fashion industry has seen a lot of changes over the past couple of decades. The faces we see on magazines, […]
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Image Description: Close up of the ‘fox eye’ makeup trend I have two main theories about East Asians who dye their hair blonde. The first is that it’s not just blonde hair, but that they want to stand out by any colour necessary. Although it’s of course true that anyone can want to change their […]
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The Pink section, and the Identity Section of The Oxford Student are collaborating for an exciting new series! We feel that this collaboration is important as it demonstrates a clear significant history of intersectionality – a term crucial to both of our respective sections. The experience of LGBTQ people of colour can and Black people […]
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Image Description: monochrome image of Fela Kuti with his arms raised. No musician has ever so suicidally walked the revolutionary walk as Fela Kuti in 1979, when he drove to the entrance of military head of state Olusegun Obasanjo’s barracks with a coffin, under gunfire, and demanded that the Nigerian Government take accountability for his […]
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Image Description: Jin Ha as Song Liling The fetishisation of Asian women is well-documented. Just one example, of many, is an article written by Jessie Tu for the Sydney Morning Herald. She describes the fetish of men who expect her to be ‘submissive, docile, compliant, accommodating, sweet in the kitchen, tiger in the bedroom’. Similarly, […]
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TW: Mentions of Islamophobia The term ‘moderate Muslim’, although commonly used without malicious intent, is a label I have always silently disagreed with. At a glance, it appears to be a vague, rather wide-ranging umbrella-term, invoking a range of perceptions; From imams making condemnations towards militant extremists yet again after each terrorist attack, to ‘Westernised, […]
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Image description: A figurine of Lady Justice. The Court of Appeal’s ruling last week offers hope for Shamima Begum. The so-called ‘Jihadi Bride’ left the UK aged fifteen to join Daesh. She was found, four years later in a refugee camp. She explained to The Times that, after giving birth to two children and watching […]
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