Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image description: A pink paper heart torn in two, on a black background. At 16 I started my first relationship.The relationship became increasingly emotionally abusive. Having been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder the year before, it’s fair to say that my self-esteem was at rock bottom. Having never had a proper relationship before I was […]
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Fuckboy (also fuck boy) noun “someone who is only looking for a piece of ass to use then throw away” Woman #1: he’s so hot Woman #2: don’t be fooled, he’s a total fuckboy The easiest step to recognise a fuckboy is to know that the fuckboy does not have a penchant for meaningless small talk or fruitless conversation. In true fuckboy […]
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Image description: A mix of newspaper cuttings with the words ‘agony aunts’ written in block letters. This week, Elsie and Sonia are feeling a little… romantic. That is, in the sexually frustrated sense of the word. We’re talking touching (with a 2 metre wooden pole), feeling (that existential dread), and desire (for several pints). We […]
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Image description: scrabble tiles spelling out stay apart Picture the scene. You’ve been on a couple of dates, you’ve kissed, you’ve made tentative movements towards starting a relationship. Things are exciting. And then, just as you’re in the beginning stages of falling in love, coronavirus rears its ugly head. You go home for the Easter holidays […]
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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: A girl standing with different contraceptive methods. In the middle of a pandemic, with many of us stuck inside our homes for most of the day, it might seem a little counterintuitive to consider how much sex our generation is having. All that aside, it will probably not come as a surprise that […]
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Got any troubles, worries, concerns, or heartaches? Send them to the Dean of Hearts by filling out this anonymous form. “Dear Dean of Hearts, My boyfriend has not shaved his facial hair in over 2 months now, despite promising on multiple occasions he would. I am now unable to hold him to account in person […]
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I want to start by acknowledging how lucky I am. Many of my fellow LGBTQ+ people at Oxford will have been forced to lockdown without their significant other. Some are even shut away in hostile family environments, or trapped in the closet with no clear reprieve. I know how fortunate I am that that is […]
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Image description: My boyfriend and I at Wadham Commemoration Ball 2019 The life of an Oxford student can, at times, create a certain disconnect with the world outside. For me, my link to home is my partner, James. From the beginning, our relationship has been closely tied to my Oxford journey: our first date was […]
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It’s Fifth Week at Oxford, and a Valentine’s Day-inspired gloom has settled over the city. Seeking to relieve the community of the blues, a team of Oxford and Stanford students is working hard to launch a humorous dating event: with the help of a questionnaire and an algorithm, we reckon that every participant in the […]
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I imagine life feels pretty good for many of you at the moment. You’ve achieved some amazing grades that have got you into a great university. You have almost six weeks of summer left before you start the next big adventure in your life. You’re ready for new experiences, and yet, despite all these wonderful […]
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Relationships are complex at the best of times; most films struggle to depict a single relationship in a way that feels fair and realistic. Lebanese director Nadine Labaki rises to this challenge with a delicate and very successful approach. Her film Caramel (2008) seamlessly presents the lives and myriad relationships of a whole group of […]
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When I was in year 9, my state comprehensive high school became an academy. By the time I was completing my GCSEs, Citizenship classes had been removed from the timetable in order to make room for more Maths and English lessons. At the time we didn’t think much of it; we knew the importance of […]
Continue ReadingA team from Oxford University have discovered that kissing aids humans in the search for the perfect partner. A survey of 900 adults, conducted by the university’s Department of Experimental Psychology, looked at the importance of kissing in both long and short term relationships. The team constructed the experiment to see if there was evidence […]
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