Hyper-femininity can be subversive and empowering – just ask Barbie: I found Barbie again during 2020’s COVID lockdown. Indoors, confined to Juicy Couture tracksuits, I was missing excuses to express my hyper-femininity through clothing, as I had done pre-pandemic. Collecting Barbie dolls became a way to display my love of femininity in all it’s fun, …
What does it mean to be ‘educated’? In Uganda it’s not just schooling that counts: The experience of schooling matters as much as the practices it teaches. Richard Juilliart/Shutterstock (Editorial use only) How do you gauge whether someone is educated or not? In many parts of the world, the answer relates to the level of …
Fungal infections in the brain aren’t just the stuff of movies – Africa grapples with a deadly epidemic: The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. This fungus can cause a number of disorders in people with compromised immune function or other lung diseases. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/GettyImages In the 2023 American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of …
Weight loss: why you don’t just lose fat when you’re on a diet: Muscle loss can slow your metabolism. Felipe Mahecha/ Shutterstock When you go on a diet, you don’t just lose fat – you lose muscle too. This can have many repercussions – not only on your fitness and strength, but on your metabolism. …
Rwanda: Paul Kagame is a dictator who clings to power but it’s not just for his own gain: Paul Kagame at a commemoration of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in April 2023. Mariam Kone/AFP via Getty Images Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame recently said he was looking forward to his retirement after 23 years in power. …
‘Shy girl workouts’ aren’t just a great way to get fit – they may also help women gain confidence in the gym: Many young women find the gym to be intimidating. oneinchpunch/ Shutterstock Social media is full of fitness trends. While some of these are outlandish or verging on dangerous, others are actually helpful. Take …
‘They just ignored my tears, they ignored my unhappiness’: former Irish nuns reveal accounts of brainwashing and abuse: Shutterstock/Thoom Any thoughts of escaping to a more natural life was regarded as being sinful. The idea of being unfaithful to your vocation was a step on the way to hell. It would be a mortal sin. …
Tackling sexual misconduct in the NHS will require education and empowerment – not just words: M_Agency/Shutterstock Many were shocked by the recent revelation that more than 35,000 incidents of sexual misconduct, ranging from abusive remarks to rape, occurred in the NHS over the five years to 2022. Nearly 21,000 incidents involved patients abusing staff, almost …
I’ve just returned from Kyiv where they are expecting a long war and want more help from the west: For an academic, there is nothing like a focused, concentrated encounter with the reality of what you are studying. I was recently part of a delegation to Kyiv of military, intelligence and diplomatic experts organised by …
‘He is always there to listen’: friendships between young men are more than just beers and banter: Matheus Ferrero/Unsplash Male friendships are often presented in the media and popular culture as relatively superficial, competitive and lacking in emotional depth. With this in mind, it’s not entirely surprising that some people seem to think men have …
Humza Yousaf becomes Scotland’s first minister: a decade of polls suggest he’ll struggle to deliver independence, just like Nicola Sturgeon: Humza Yousaf is to be the first minister of Scotland after narrowly winning the election for leader of the Scottish National Party. In his victory speech, he said he was “determined to deliver” independence for …
Naked women have long been seen as a threat – today’s puritanism is just the latest cycle of western history: Lady Godiva by John Collier (1898). Herbert Art Gallery and Museum In the middle of the fourth century BC, an ancient Greek woman named Phryne cast off her clothes and walked naked into the sea …
Putin and the ICC: history shows just how hard it is to bring a head of state to justice: The arrest warrants issued recently by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, represent the first time officials of a permanent member of the United Nations …
How just walking around – even when accompanied by an adult – is empowering for children: The 15-minute city has, in recent months, become the focus of conspiracy theories. Politicians and pundits have described it variously as “an international socialist concept”, a “dystopian plan” and a surveillance tool “that would make Pyongyang envious”. Quite what …
Frozen and tinned foods can be just as nutritious as fresh produce – here’s how: Freezing lowers the amount of nutrients lost after harvesting. SerPhoto/ Shutterstock The ongoing cost of living crisis and fruit and vegetable shortages have left many people worrying about how they’re going to get these important foods in their diet. Yet …
ChatGPT: why it will probably remain just a tool that does inefficient work more efficiently: Jirsak/Shutterstock ChatGPT is a remarkable technological development, capable of writing compelling prose that comes across as natural, coherent and knowledgeable. But it has its limits, and can be made to say silly things. I managed to get it to say …
How we discovered flamingos form cliques, just like humans: Brendt A Petersen/Shutterstock As social animals we have an innate understanding of the joy a good friendship can bring. So it’s unsurprising humans delight in seeing such closeness between animals. We can see ourselves reflected in the behaviour of cuddling chimpanzees, but a new wave of …
With the two top jobs in politics now held by women, Italy just became a real-time case study in female leadership: Italy elected its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, in October last year. Now, the leftwing opposition Democratic party has elected its own female leader for the …