Feminism
Thoroughly modern Marie: Matrix, by Lauren Groff, reviewed
It is 1158. A 17-year-old girl, born of both rape and royal blood, is cast out of the French court…
The genius of Basic Instinct
Our occasional series on cinema’s most underrated films arrives at what many have considered the peak of misogynistic trash. We’re…
Lucy Ellmann is angry about everything, especially men
Is Lucy Ellmann serious? On the one hand, yes, very. The novel she published before this collection of essays was…
Godot Is a Woman will have you laughing all evening and arguing all night
Godot Is a Woman opens with three tramps standing on a bare stage beneath a solitary upright. This isn’t Samuel…
When feminists fight back
We have been told that our mere presence as academics makes students feel unsafe. We have been threatened with violence,…
The gender identity issue: Kathleen Stock puts her head above the parapet
‘Something is afoot,’ wrote the academic philosopher Kathleen Stock in 2018: Beyond the academy, there’s a huge and impassioned discussion…
Why are London police telling women to stay at home?
The disappearance of Sarah Everard in south London has once again led to women being advised by police to stay…
The life and loves of Mary Wollstonecraft
Ruth Scurr reveals what an impulsive, life-loving individual Mary Wollstonecraft was
Maggi Hambling's Wollstonecraft statue is hideous but fitting
Frankly, it is rather hideous — but also quite wonderful, shimmering against the weak blue of a late November sky.…
The mystery of Melania Trump
Melania Trump should be a feminist icon. She is determined and self-assured. Despite being one of the most criticized women…
Masculinity in crisis: Men and Apparitions, by Lynne Tillman, reviewed
Masculinity, we are often told, is in crisis. The narrator of Men and Apparitions, Professor Ezekiel (Zeke) Stark, both studies…
The subtle sexism of ‘feminist’ Democrats
Over the past five years, we’ve seen an endless stream of hand-wringing and hysteria around the misogyny of Donald Trump.…
The mix of slapstick and sermonising is certainly original: In Bad Taste reviewed
In Bad Taste is a slapstick comedy about five female terrorists who murder the governor of the Bank of England.…
Meghan Markle, voting rights activist
The biggest voting bloc in America is that of the non-voter. As a result, most prominent calls to Americans to…
Hats (and knickers) off to the hosts: The Naked Podcast reviewed
I spent half an hour this week listening to a woman make a plaster cast of her vulva. Kat Harbourne,…
How come the less something is a problem, the more people talk about it?
The less something is a problem, the more people talk about it
A fine, even rather noble drama: BBC1's The Salisbury Poisonings reviewed
This week, BBC1 brought us a three-part dramatisation of an ‘unprecedented crisis’ in recent British life. Among other things, it…
Slayed queens: the girlboss, dethroned
The girlboss is dead. Intersectionality killed her. Female CEOs who sacrificed their twenties to build their women-focused businesses are being…
Speak up for J.K. Rowling
Nerds everywhere are frantically googling tattoo removal services this week, as the author who inspired their ink failed to STFU…
Hiding Biden is the best way to get him elected
So Mrs American Voter, which septuagenarian sex abuser do you want to be President? The whole ‘#MeToo’ business probably should…
Astonishing to think Miss World ever existed: Misbehaviour reviewed
Misbehaviour is a film about the 1970 Miss World contest that was disrupted by ‘bloody women’s libbers’ — that’s what…
Tales from behind the veil: Moroccan women talk about lies and sex
The Moroccan-born Leïla Slimani has made her name writing novels of propulsive intensity. Lullaby, the story of a nanny who…
Are you suffering from Elizabeth Warren Denial Syndrome?
Elizabeth Warren did not die in a tragic accident yesterday. But judging by the reactions of America’s journalists and academics,…
Is Monopoly feminist?
I’ve been playing a lot of Monopoly recently. My son got his first grown-up set for Christmas and, even after…
Why I’m standing by my old enemy Selina Todd
Most people won’t have heard of Selina Todd. The only reason I had was because some years ago the BBC…
