by editor
Once upon a time in middle school, I came out to my mother as bisexual. Like many girls that age who have non-hetero tendencies, I had a mother who didn’t buy it. It’s normal to experiment with other girls, she told me. She clearly thought I was having make-out sessions with my girlfriends and was […]
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by editor
In my daily trawling of the internet in my pyjamas, a few weeks ago I saw that Kim Gordon has published a memoir. But my initial excitement for this release died an untimely death because, much to the joy of all bored journalists across the globe, she’d thrown in a few insults to spice it […]
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by editor
In 1908, a year after she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union (better known as the militant suffragettes) and became the Birmingham branch’s paid secretary, my great-great-great aunt Hilda Burkitt appeared before a court in Wolverhampton charged with preventing a police officer from entering a political meeting. While onlookers laughed, the judge told her […]
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by editor
Before I begin, a disclaimer: sport is not my thing. For most of my time at school, I had a highly unoriginal excuse to get out of it (three periods a month was my personal best.) So I’m not exactly the kind of person you’d describe as ‘active’. Nor am I the type to shop […]
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by thevagenda
Photo: Isn’t cystitis CUTE? “Having your period does not mean you’re ill” barked our school nurse, as a hundred awkward 14-year-old girls fidgeted in their seats, the braver ones exchanging raised eyebrows and remarks. This was one in a series of puberty talks that tried to make us feel ‘normal’ about our changing bodies. A noble […]
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by editor
In 1167 a sixty-five year old woman died in Rouen. She left behind a son on the English throne – which she had been instrumental in securing for him – and in so doing established the Plantagenet house that would rule England for nearly three hundred years. She would also remain for another four hundred […]
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by editor
I recently inspected my hairline and I found a strand that may or may not have been a grey hair. I squinted and tilted my head towards the mirror, catching a glimpse of my tongue curling unattractively over my top lip as I concentrated as much as possible. In the end, I plucked it from […]
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by thevagenda
Being a placid kind of person, not much riles me. The other day a lady pushed in front of me to get on the bus and I simply bit my tongue and rolled my eyes theatrically. Another other day, a man on a motorbike accelerated towards me as I crossed the road (whilst the crossing […]
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by thevagenda
Usher has brought us some classics – U-Turn, U Got It Bad, Yeah – and I am not ashamed to admit that my sister and I took the time to learn the words and any relevant dance routines to these songs. Outside of his work, he has also gifted the world with his wisdom on […]
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by thevagenda
Above: the new, paperback edition of our book. Available in bookshops, and here Below: the trade paperback, which is also still available It’s been a crazy year, and today, being World Book Day and the also our paperback is release date, we thought we’d share with you, our loyal and eternally hilarious readers, some […]
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by thevagenda
I am, as I imagine many are, reaching Fifty Shades of Grey saturation point. I’ve read reviews defending it and reviews slating it. I’ve read commentary after commentary: from the blustering pontificators urging immediate incineration of both book and film lest it ‘corrupt’ the youth, to the self-proclaimed sexual savants who welcome a mainstream foray […]
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