Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
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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Asexual awareness week is the last week of October – did you know that? Because I sure didn’t, until a couple of days ago when I saw various ace-related things pop up on Twitter. Talking and thinking about asexuality can always be a little rough. Every time some kind of asexuality event shows up, it’s […]
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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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Whilst my escapades with you have not always been riveting, and often not positive, the bizarre social dynamics of this bubble we live in has broadened my perspective on casual sex. In coming to this university, I felt that I was equipped with enough experience to sleep around and ‘sow my wild oats’ as my […]
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Image description: Alyssa Milano, leader of the so-called “sex strike” Alyssa Milano, a feminist activist and actor, recently prompted a heated online debate after proposing a “sex strike” to combat new abortion laws. The so-called ‘heartbeat bill’ passed in Georgia plans to prohibit abortion once a foetal heartbeat can be detected. This can be as […]
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Sometimes, I feel like feminism has not fully completed its role – or even worse, that it has barely touched some areas. Despite the fact that sexuality has become less of a taboo than it used to be, I think that there has been much less progress when it comes to women. Young women still […]
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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 […]
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A Somerville College alumna has been posting on the JCR Facebook page asking students to “#makelovenotporn’.
Continue ReadingBefore coming to Oxford, I used to watch Sex and the City with morbid curiosity. Samantha’s surreal escapades were funny, but far removed from all reality. Since Michaelmas 2012 however, fornicatio illuminatio mea, and I want to share here just how life has been spiced up for this unsuspecting but fun-loving homosexual Oxonian. First on […]
Continue ReadingIt’s that time again when students embark on university life. A new throng of freshers will descend upon the Oxford nightclubs. That first week will be a wonderful blur of neon glow sticks and foam parties. For most, it will be the longest time you have ever spent from home and you will discover the […]
Continue ReadingThe Private Shop on Cowley Road is facing a battle to stay open after the city council received 10 objections against its annual license renewal. Residents and lawyers have claimed that there is a “sub-culture” of sleaze in the area, particularly after nine men were jailed in June for the sexual abuse of local children. […]
Continue ReadingSince its release in the spring, the ‘unrated’ version of Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ (for the full music video, see below) has attracted a lot of attention. But I think it’s high time everyone stopped banging on about the men in the video. I find the public focus on their well-cut, moderately edgy suits – not […]
Continue ReadingWhen you write a column about sex, it’s sometimes too easy to get caught up in your own assumptions about sex. I’m female and cisgender (meaning my traditional gender identity matches my biological sex) and I have sex with men. This is not true for everybody. Therefore, this column will be devoted to talking about […]
Continue ReadingControversy has emerged after the Sunday Telegraph alleged that Bianca Jagger had made comments accusing Oxford University of providing inadequate support to victims of sexual assault. The ‘Mandrake’ Column of the Sunday Telegraph claimed that Ms Jagger had accused the University of being dismissive about accusations of rape and sexual assault last Sunday. The column, […]
Continue ReadingEncased from the age of eight in a girls’ school, my formative years of sexual education were somewhat warped. Quite apart from lunchtime debates on whether it was technically possible to get pregnant from giving a boy head (answer: yes, but only if you swallow), our PSHE lessons were enough to get anyone wishing for […]
Continue ReadingRichard Longhurst has been making a buzz in the world of online shopping for over a decade. In 2002 he co-founded Lovehoney with friend and business partner Neal Slateford, and has since seen the company become the biggest online retailer of sex toys in the UK, and a major player in the online market worldwide. […]
Continue ReadingBeing as I am a modern, empowered and rampantly sexual woman, I felt it was time to look into the world of sex toys. Not that I can’t do the job myself but, as we know, variety is the spice of life. Here’s how to explore: First of all, put your web browser on private. […]
Continue ReadingMaryam Ahmed runs us through her “old fashioned” ways of showing love.
Continue ReadingReckon you’re going to flop finals? You’re not alone. Phoebe Williams and Rebecca Roughan chart Oxford’s most successful failures. Evelyn Waugh “You spend the first term at Oxford meeting interesting and exciting people and the rest of your time there avoiding them” So intently did Waugh try to avoid his contemporaries that he actually dropped out […]
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