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Image description: a miniature portrait of James Barry by an unknown artist, c. 1813-16 Transgender Awareness Week occurs annually between November 13th-19th. This week is meant to celebrate the achievements of the trans community, as well as memorialise the victims of transphobic violence. This is done in the hopes of bringing attention to the necessity […]
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Image Description: the trans flag drawn in chalk on concrete There’s a sense in which I love that I am transitioning. I see my own development into who I want to be as a kind of art form. After a difficult, tumultuous childhood I have come to realise what the end is; that is to […]
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Image description: a large wooden book case with many books As a French student at Oxford, I do a lot of reading, whether it be entire volumes of poetry, chunky novels, philosophical texts or the “Cambridge Companion to __” when the next essay crisis is just around the corner. Even in between terms and during summer […]
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Image description: two LGBTQ+ pride flags waving in the wind According to the Oxford Dictionary, a safe space is a “place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.” Safe spaces can look […]
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Image description: Ancient Greek pottery art of two men in the Greek symposium TW: Mentions of pederasty and non-consensual sexual activities. The Greek symposium was a respectable affair… until it wasn’t. The men of ancient Greek societies gathered in small groups with their friends and enjoyed a night of engaging discussion, exciting entertainment and (most […]
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Image Description: Nathaniel Hall spraying an aerosol can in front of him and smirking. Starring in Russell T Davies’ channel 4 series, Its a Sin, Nathaniel Hall is a director, actor, and storyteller. He’s performing his play ‘First Time’ at the North Wall Gallery in Summertown on Tuesday 19th October. First Time is a raw, […]
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Image description: Azealia Banks performing at O2 Academy Brixton TW: Homophobia, Transphobia It was around 3 AM in one of London’s iconic LGBTQ+ spaces and clubs when I began to feel uncomfortable. It was not from drinking too much nor was it because someone was acting inappropriately – it was because Azealia Banks’ song 212 […]
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Image description: two fists with “LGBTQ+” painted on the fingers Currently in the 21st century, our identities are often closely linked to gender and sexuality. While the former has been an identifying factor for centuries if not millennia—although the perception of gender has changed—the latter is a comparatively new concept. We might not pause to […]
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“When you’re a boy, you can wear a uniform When you’re a boy, other boys check you out” – David Bowie, Boys Keep Swinging There came a point in my teenage years when, without wishing to sound too self-indulgently maudlin, I reached breaking point with my general cynicism, ennui and discomfort. I wasn’t a bit […]
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Image description: bisexual flag colours of pink, purple and blue painted on canvas Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” is a queer anthem for a good reason: we never really stop coming out. Of course, there is the main coming out, which typically means your sexuality or gender identity to your family, but even this is […]
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Image description: girl holding flag silhouetted against sunset Disclaimer: What I describe in this article is inspired by my personal and my neurodivergent friends’ experiences with gender identity. Many neurodivergent people are very comfortable with and secure in their gender identity and the fact that their brain works differently does not invalidate who they are. […]
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Image description: Someone holding the asexual pride flag CW: Transphobia, sexual assault Alex* is a student at Oxford University who would describe themselves as being on the asexual spectrum. We met up last week to discuss the experience of being asexual at university over a zoom-coffee (a term I’m sad to admit is actually part of […]
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Image description: rows of neon rainbow lights silhouetting a clock In a video called “Queer Theory”, Youtuber Abigail Thorn (also known as PhilosophyTube) introduced me, and I’m sure plenty of others, to the concept of ‘queer time’, and suddenly my life made a lot more sense. The basic idea is that queer lives do not […]
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Image description: green letters formed vertically against a black background reminiscent of The Matrix “My name, is Neo!” And so marks the end of the transformation of the protagonist of the Wachowski’s breakthrough 1999 film The Matrix from “Thomas A. Anderson” into his true, and freer, self. The Matrix as trans allegory is a well-known and […]
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Image description: a child running with a trans flag with the ground illuminated in rainbow colours TW: transphobia, internalised transphobia, misgendering Disclaimer: this article is written entirely from a binary trans personal perspective. The feelings talked about, whilst possibly shared among multiple binary trans individuals, do not represent how every trans people feels and definitely […]
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Image Description: a row of books seen from above The prominence and popularity of LGBTQ+ fiction has been steadily rising for a number of years, with best-selling books such as Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda spreading across the globe and even being adapted for the big screen. These novels tell important stories and give […]
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Image description: many different Smiths albums scattered over each other CW: xenophobia, transphobia, Holocaust denial A dreaded sunny day So I meet you at the cemetry [sic] gates Keats and Yeats are on your side While Wilde is on mine Cemetry Gates, The Queen Is Dead (1986) A few months ago I was […]
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Image description: two rolls of stickers in a basket which say “They/them/theirs” and “Ze/hir/hirs” on them respectively A few weeks ago, I woke up to an email from my internship supervisor. I was expecting it to be a standard admin job, one of the usual tasks. Instead, I found that the email was asking me […]
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Image Description: Irene and Seulgi from K-Pop girl group Red Velvet at a concert in 2016 CW: mental health issues and homophobia Catchy songs, impressive choreography, well-produced music videos, creative concepts – if you have not at least heard of K-Pop by now, you must be truly living under a rock. South Korean “K-Pop idols”, […]
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