Every day, people select an outfit that speaks to them but, in a world rife with gender-based violence, people with femme-presenting style are often forced to use fashion for expression and protection. Throughout history we have been targets of unwanted male harassment, violence and sexual assault, and the blame is often placed on us for wearing clothes – of any kind.
Category: Journalism
How Queer People Wear Colour To Celebrate, Communicate & Thrive
LGBTQIA+ people throughout history have fought battles for equality, shown solidarity with other oppressed groups and struggled for the right to live proudly. To survive in oppressively heteronormative societies, especially before homosexuality was legalised in the West, we’ve used fashion symbols to interact safely and show pride without endangering ourselves.
Love Island, disabled reality TV stars, and the ‘inspiration porn’ deluge
Love Island has announced what it says is its “most diverse” cast ever, which includes their first physically disabled contestant: Hampshire PE teacher Hugo Hammond, who has a clubbed foot.
Harriet Eccleston is the adaptive fashion designer making her mark at LFW
While fashion sometimes moves too swiftly a pace to even keep track of, the process of diversifying its catwalks is happening at a glacial pace. Yes, we are finally seeing a broader range of shapes, sizes, colours, and genders grab the spotlight they deserve, meaning it would be easy to assume that adaptive fashion was having an equally heart-warming surge. In reality, the fashion-starved disabled community continues to be be passed over again and again. However, to combat the style exclusion of 14.1 million disabled people in the UK and the one billion disabled folks worldwide, a colourfully dressed, fashion powerhouse is embarking on a mission to affect change.
Stop desexualising disabled people like the Victoria’s Secret model with Down’s syndrome
Last week, Sofía Jirau made history as the first model with Down’s syndrome to pose for Victoria’s Secret. The images are stunning, yet the shoot’s launch set off ableists everywhere.
Critics have denounced her history-making achievement as objectifying, arguing that it is wrong to sexualise a person with Down’s syndrome. While vast swathes of the internet are embracing a significant milestone in disabled representation, others are alleging concern for her welfare.
The ‘10 second grope’ ruling is ridiculous. Sexual assault has no time limit
To state what should be the obvious: sexual assault has no time limit. Whether it lasts one second or one hour, the violation of another person’s body is equally unacceptable. Yet, apparently, this is difficult to grasp – for an Italian judge has cleared a school caretaker of groping a teenage schoolgirl because it “did not last long enough” to qualify as sexual assault.
I survived child sex abuse – here’s why Huw Edwards’s sentencing matters
Social media is incandescent with rage about Huw Edwards’s suspended sentence, but I’m not remotely surprised. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who was actively discouraged from pursuing charges at all, I know it’s par for the course. This country is essentially on the edge of decriminalising childhood sexual abuse and possessing indecent imagery of children, just like it has with rape.
Endometriosis has not stopped my dream of being a digital nomad
I made the decision to become a digital nomad after experiencing burnout. But, unlike so many of my 35 million nomadic peers, my Odyssean journey is haunted by an array of disabling chronic illnesses.
I left the UK for Canada and can’t afford to come home
In April 2022, I flew to south-east Asia for a backpacking trip designed to relieve the stress of post-pandemic life. Now, with the cost of living crisis taking over the UK, I’ll never return to live in my home country – I cannot afford to.
I left full-time work in February 2019 to better manage my collection of chronic and disabling illnesses; the current headliners are endometriosis and fibromyalgia. Remote, part-time work transformed my quality of life by allowing me complete control over my time and distribution of precious reserves of energy.
We open and close our relationship based on feelings
“I should tell you, I’m not great with monogamy, so I only do open relationships now,” read the WhatsApp message. Frozen in my once tranquil place on the sofa, I flicked away the notification as if its disappearance could erase the message’s existence. “What on earth does that mean?” I thought.