Sometimes I forget that not everyone deals with sex on a daily basis like I do. Recently, I've had conversations where I've been reminded that the sexual revolution is still a work in progress. People are still catching up to the idea of sex, sex toys, watching porn, gender fluidity and sexual orientation becoming a bigger part of our mainstream culture.
I nearly used the phrase, "that these things are becoming 'normal'", but as there is no "normal" when it comes to sex in my opinion, maybe a better phrase is that "these things are becoming more accepted by the majority". That said, I still forget sometimes that we're not all there yet and like Alice coming out of her dream, I'm reminded that there is a world outside the wonderful AdultLand rabbit hole that I fell into five years ago.
A perfect example is a conversation I had during a meeting today regarding a project for the Harmony site. The guy that I'm consulting on it hasn't done any work around adult products ever before. He wasn't sure what to call a 'vibrator'. He tried 'tool' and 'implement', but didn't seem comfortable with either of those, so I offered up "vibrator", or "rabbit" and even "massager" as options to hopefully help put him at ease with something he clearly felt very unsure about.
By the end of our meeting he did appear to be getting the hang of it. Similar to that whole debate around "what should you call a penis or a vagina when talking to a child?", if we start labelling sex toys with daft words then it doesn't help get rid of the stigma around using them, or talking about using them. 'Massager' and 'love ring' are the limits of my prissyness and I only use those when totally necessary on social media.
The chap today certainly wasn't the first person to say, "Before I started working with you, I had no idea about all this stuff. I feel kind of naive, but I'm not a prude!" and I doubt he'll be the last. Undeniably, I do get a kick out of going to meetings with non-AdultLand professionals and see their faces light up when they get to say the words, "dildo", "butt plug", or "cock ring" in front of their CEO/manager in a meeting and it be perfectly acceptable.
Besides this, the real point to be got at here is but I think it's important that us sex writers, journalists - whatever you want to call yourself - do poke our heads out of the rabbit hole every now and then, because it's so easy to take for granted that we're all reading from the same page.
As we burrow through the latest sex science and psychology research, have our heads down writing endless reviews or product copy on yet another slimline silicone vibrator to be "the next big thing", but we're bored to the back teeth with yet another one that, actually, there are still tons of people that are only just coming into contact with this world. It certainly refreshed my view today and reminded me to look up from my porn infested computer from time to time.
So, yeah, that's all I got after being away for a few months writing about nothing but sex toys. Try not to judge me harshly!
RoseC
Friday, 10 October 2014
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
Blog on tour
When the internet was first invented and not long after everyone got an email address, it quickly became apparent that there was a dark side to connecting people and friends from all over the world so easily. Electronic evil came in the form of chain emails and letters. 'FORWARD THIS ON OR YOU WILL DIE!' shouted the subject headers. 'Send this to 10 friends you love as much as me or I'll assume you don't love me, you're a bad friend and you will die,' others stated.
I always deleted them. I fucking hate anything chain-related.
However, there is usually an exception to every rule and this is mine. Two weeks ago I was asked by fellow blogger and journalist Catriona Innes to take part in a blogging tour. The idea is you answer some questions about your writing (as you'll soon see), then nominate a fellow blogger who's posts you enjoy, then they answer the same questions and so the chain goes on. For audiences, it'll hopefully introduce you to something new and for us writers it gives us a moment of reflection to contemplate how we do words and stuff. Good all round.
So, like I said, I was nominated by Catriona (Katie), who is author of the wonderful blog Crocuses In The Snow. I first met Katie when I worked at Scarlet magazine and she came to an internship for a month. We've remained in touch ever since and her journalistic career has continued to flourish.
My nominations will follow at the end of this post, but first here are the Q&A's...
What am I working on?
At the moment there's a lot of copywriting going on for an adult brand's website, which is due to launch very soon. That's taking up the majority of my time. In terms of writing for consumer publications I have my regular four columns for top shelf men's mags, which puts me in a constant writing loop as they roll around one after the other. There there's my events page for the gardening website, which gets uploaded weekly. These are my biggest 'day job' paid commissions, but I do let myself have fun with my writing too.
Away from the pressures of deadlines (and writing to pay the bills), I've started typing out my first book about sex (sorry I'm reluctant to give too much away) and am working on a website idea with fellow writer, blogger and friend Faye Dalgleish. I'm especially excited about the latter project as it should be a lot of fun and will give me a bit of a break from writing about relationships and shagging all of the time.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
In the last year or so it feels like there has been an explosion of young women writing about sex. It feels like we've reached a point where we've become fed up and frustrated with what mainstream media portray as good sex advice and we're beginning to rebel against the candy-coloured ideas presented in SATC or Cosmo or whatever and are calling bullshit on what is considered "normal" or "healthy".
I like to think I have a place in this group of 20-something women, just trying to tell it like it is, be honest and sift the truth from the crap. The fact I was once called "disturbed" by someone on-staff at a women's mag, for simply being honest about sex and the fears some women feel around this subject, just proves my point. Sadly, there are still too many titles and writers that continue to try and dictate what we should consider regular and what is too out there.
My work differs from others because I like to have fun with what I write. So often (and I know I'm going on about sex writing a lot, but at the moment it makes up the bulk of my work load), matters of intimacy are over analysed and picked apart and although there is very much a time and a place for that and it's important we look at trends and issues within sex and sexuality, I sometimes feel we forget that sex should be fun and enjoyable too.
For me, I like to take the more light-hearted line when I can (but still get the facts right of course) and leave the serious analysis and reporting to others. Maybe this is why I enjoy writing for the men's mags so much? I know I can be cheeky, sarcastic and much ruder than any of the mainstream women's mags would ever allow. Having said that, I'm not afraid to throw my two cents in on issues around the rights of sex workers and comment on how sex is reported in the media.
Why do I do what I do?
The brutal and totally unromantic answer to this question is: so that I can pay the bills. Well, writing is my living, so I do what I do because I prefer this profession to any other. See this earlier post about how and why I got into freelancing specifically.
Going down the more abstract, 'writing is my art dharling' route, then I do what I do because I've always enjoyed telling stories. Ever since I was at primary school I loved using my imagination and writing things for others to read and enjoy. When my school got a computer and I'd learnt how to use Publisher, I got a few friends together and created a school newspaper. It was only one sheet of A4 and it was called Goss (short for gossip). We ran three editions, ever, and then I think we got too into playing kiss chase, or using the new skipping ropes, or something.
Since then I always knew I wanted to be a journalist: print, or documentary film (maybe I'll still try this one day) and uncover and write interesting articles. I've always been a pretty social person too, so a career where I get to talk to people, pick at their stories and makes contacts is very attractive to me.
Studying media from GCSE up to degree level taught me so much about the industry and how clever it is. I find it all fascinating. That's what drew me into it and then the sex writing kind of happened by chance: partly because of working at Scarlet and the subjects we'd write about, part because of who we shared an office with (Paul Raymond Publications) and part because the more I read in other women's media, the angrier I felt myself getting and the more bored I became, so made it a personal mission to write something better. I hope I'm achieving that.
The bottom line is, I write because I enjoy it, I give a shit and I believe there's a lot to be said and I want to put my voice towards that.
How does my writing process work?
Geez, this is a tough one, because every article, press release or copywriting job requires a slightly different method, or it does for me. Broadly speaking I'll get an idea for a feature or article after I've read/heard/watched something in the news, or if I've been chatting to friends on the phone, or down the pub. The thing with writing about sex is that (almost) everyone is at it and everyone has such vast and varied experiences of what it's like for them, so there's generally something to comment on, or another angle to find. Anyway, once I've grasped at an idea, I'll do the research to figure out if it's something workable, i.e. can it be turned into 500, 1000, 2000 word feature and then I'll think about where best to pitch it. Sometimes it's a goer, other times ideas fall flat on their arse within minutes of thinking them up.
For the more rigid stuff, like copywriting for a company, it involves doing a lot of reading about the brand, maybe speaking to the CEO and noting down good phrases and words which you can use later. Although it might not look it on the surface, copywriting still requires just as much creativity as penning an entertaining feature on spanking (or something).
So, that wraps up my contribution for the blogging tour. Now to the nominations of who's next...
Laura Lexx: We've heard from lots of authors and journos, so lets spin this blog tour into a slightly different direction by visiting the highly amusing world of stand-up comedian, actress and presenter Laura Lexx. Can't wait to hear about her writing process!
Faye Dalgleish: Erm, ok, so Faye may have only just discovered I'm nominating her to do this, but I reckon she'll only be annoyed at me for a few hours (I can deal with that). My partner in crime at uni and much talented writer, Faye blogs here. Discussing everything from jogging to overheard homophobic diners in a restaurant, Faye's honest approach to blogging about every day occurrences certainly makes for an entertaining read.
Enjoy!
I always deleted them. I fucking hate anything chain-related.
However, there is usually an exception to every rule and this is mine. Two weeks ago I was asked by fellow blogger and journalist Catriona Innes to take part in a blogging tour. The idea is you answer some questions about your writing (as you'll soon see), then nominate a fellow blogger who's posts you enjoy, then they answer the same questions and so the chain goes on. For audiences, it'll hopefully introduce you to something new and for us writers it gives us a moment of reflection to contemplate how we do words and stuff. Good all round.
So, like I said, I was nominated by Catriona (Katie), who is author of the wonderful blog Crocuses In The Snow. I first met Katie when I worked at Scarlet magazine and she came to an internship for a month. We've remained in touch ever since and her journalistic career has continued to flourish.
My nominations will follow at the end of this post, but first here are the Q&A's...
What am I working on?
At the moment there's a lot of copywriting going on for an adult brand's website, which is due to launch very soon. That's taking up the majority of my time. In terms of writing for consumer publications I have my regular four columns for top shelf men's mags, which puts me in a constant writing loop as they roll around one after the other. There there's my events page for the gardening website, which gets uploaded weekly. These are my biggest 'day job' paid commissions, but I do let myself have fun with my writing too.
Away from the pressures of deadlines (and writing to pay the bills), I've started typing out my first book about sex (sorry I'm reluctant to give too much away) and am working on a website idea with fellow writer, blogger and friend Faye Dalgleish. I'm especially excited about the latter project as it should be a lot of fun and will give me a bit of a break from writing about relationships and shagging all of the time.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
In the last year or so it feels like there has been an explosion of young women writing about sex. It feels like we've reached a point where we've become fed up and frustrated with what mainstream media portray as good sex advice and we're beginning to rebel against the candy-coloured ideas presented in SATC or Cosmo or whatever and are calling bullshit on what is considered "normal" or "healthy".
I like to think I have a place in this group of 20-something women, just trying to tell it like it is, be honest and sift the truth from the crap. The fact I was once called "disturbed" by someone on-staff at a women's mag, for simply being honest about sex and the fears some women feel around this subject, just proves my point. Sadly, there are still too many titles and writers that continue to try and dictate what we should consider regular and what is too out there.
My work differs from others because I like to have fun with what I write. So often (and I know I'm going on about sex writing a lot, but at the moment it makes up the bulk of my work load), matters of intimacy are over analysed and picked apart and although there is very much a time and a place for that and it's important we look at trends and issues within sex and sexuality, I sometimes feel we forget that sex should be fun and enjoyable too.
For me, I like to take the more light-hearted line when I can (but still get the facts right of course) and leave the serious analysis and reporting to others. Maybe this is why I enjoy writing for the men's mags so much? I know I can be cheeky, sarcastic and much ruder than any of the mainstream women's mags would ever allow. Having said that, I'm not afraid to throw my two cents in on issues around the rights of sex workers and comment on how sex is reported in the media.
Why do I do what I do?
The brutal and totally unromantic answer to this question is: so that I can pay the bills. Well, writing is my living, so I do what I do because I prefer this profession to any other. See this earlier post about how and why I got into freelancing specifically.
Going down the more abstract, 'writing is my art dharling' route, then I do what I do because I've always enjoyed telling stories. Ever since I was at primary school I loved using my imagination and writing things for others to read and enjoy. When my school got a computer and I'd learnt how to use Publisher, I got a few friends together and created a school newspaper. It was only one sheet of A4 and it was called Goss (short for gossip). We ran three editions, ever, and then I think we got too into playing kiss chase, or using the new skipping ropes, or something.
Since then I always knew I wanted to be a journalist: print, or documentary film (maybe I'll still try this one day) and uncover and write interesting articles. I've always been a pretty social person too, so a career where I get to talk to people, pick at their stories and makes contacts is very attractive to me.
Studying media from GCSE up to degree level taught me so much about the industry and how clever it is. I find it all fascinating. That's what drew me into it and then the sex writing kind of happened by chance: partly because of working at Scarlet and the subjects we'd write about, part because of who we shared an office with (Paul Raymond Publications) and part because the more I read in other women's media, the angrier I felt myself getting and the more bored I became, so made it a personal mission to write something better. I hope I'm achieving that.
The bottom line is, I write because I enjoy it, I give a shit and I believe there's a lot to be said and I want to put my voice towards that.
How does my writing process work?
Geez, this is a tough one, because every article, press release or copywriting job requires a slightly different method, or it does for me. Broadly speaking I'll get an idea for a feature or article after I've read/heard/watched something in the news, or if I've been chatting to friends on the phone, or down the pub. The thing with writing about sex is that (almost) everyone is at it and everyone has such vast and varied experiences of what it's like for them, so there's generally something to comment on, or another angle to find. Anyway, once I've grasped at an idea, I'll do the research to figure out if it's something workable, i.e. can it be turned into 500, 1000, 2000 word feature and then I'll think about where best to pitch it. Sometimes it's a goer, other times ideas fall flat on their arse within minutes of thinking them up.
For the more rigid stuff, like copywriting for a company, it involves doing a lot of reading about the brand, maybe speaking to the CEO and noting down good phrases and words which you can use later. Although it might not look it on the surface, copywriting still requires just as much creativity as penning an entertaining feature on spanking (or something).
So, that wraps up my contribution for the blogging tour. Now to the nominations of who's next...
Laura Lexx: We've heard from lots of authors and journos, so lets spin this blog tour into a slightly different direction by visiting the highly amusing world of stand-up comedian, actress and presenter Laura Lexx. Can't wait to hear about her writing process!
Faye Dalgleish: Erm, ok, so Faye may have only just discovered I'm nominating her to do this, but I reckon she'll only be annoyed at me for a few hours (I can deal with that). My partner in crime at uni and much talented writer, Faye blogs here. Discussing everything from jogging to overheard homophobic diners in a restaurant, Faye's honest approach to blogging about every day occurrences certainly makes for an entertaining read.
Enjoy!
Monday, 28 April 2014
The inevitable 'I'm ill' blog post
I have a really shitty cold. It's only a head cold - scratchy sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, blocked ears - which is even more annoying as the rest of me feels fine(ish). To put it into perspective, annoyingly it's one of those colds where you're not quite sick enough to justify a day in bed feeling sorry for yourself, but you're also not feeling up to scratch and as you sit at your desk working and really all you want to do is go back to bed. I'm so conflicted right now.
However, I am trying my best not to be totally pathetic (which I usually am when I'm ill), so have endeavoured to see the bonuses in my current not-so-healthy state. Here's what I've come up with...
Hot Toddies
Bollocks to mugs of sickly tasting Lemsip, the only drink worth having when you're ill is a hot toddy, preferably just before bed as the shot of whiskey/brandy/gin (that's right, you can make them using gin as well) will mean you sleep just that little bit easier thanks to the warm booZZZe. Lovely.
Stuff Yer Face
It's a well known medical fact (maybe) that you should 'feed a cold and starve a fever'. I'm not one that's usually conscious about my calorie intake anyway, but for those who are on a health kick, here is your perfect excuse for a guilt-free face stuffing opportunity. Eat, eat and eat some more until you feel better! It is for exactly this reason that I am allowing my friend to cook me a lasagna tonight and I intend to eat the majority of it (sorry fellow dining-friends). On the down side, I've found chocolate doesn't help, it just makes your throat feel worse: why is that, when obviously it's supposed to be the ultimate comfort food?
Do Those Little Jobs
There's no way that when you have a head stuffed full of cold that you can tackle that big assignment/project/annual report, so leave it to the side for a day or two until you're less fuzzy feeling. However, we're not slacking, there's still work to be done! Instead let yourself finally get round to doing all those little, less important admin jobs you've been needing to do for aaaages, but can't justify the time. It's still getting work done, so that's definitely a win.
Use A Nasal Spray
Honestly, they're just hilarious and make you pull the stupidest faces (or, is that just me...?).
Early To Bed
Being sick is a great excuse to be tucked up in bed and watching crap on NetFlix by 8pm and asleep by 9pm. Usually you can't get away with this, as your so-called "friends" refuse to believe you're getting old even though you've explained time and time again that "things are different when you reach your late twenties. I like being in bed and sleeping for longer on a school night."
*Le sigh*
However, I am trying my best not to be totally pathetic (which I usually am when I'm ill), so have endeavoured to see the bonuses in my current not-so-healthy state. Here's what I've come up with...
Hot Toddies
Bollocks to mugs of sickly tasting Lemsip, the only drink worth having when you're ill is a hot toddy, preferably just before bed as the shot of whiskey/brandy/gin (that's right, you can make them using gin as well) will mean you sleep just that little bit easier thanks to the warm booZZZe. Lovely.
Stuff Yer Face
It's a well known medical fact (maybe) that you should 'feed a cold and starve a fever'. I'm not one that's usually conscious about my calorie intake anyway, but for those who are on a health kick, here is your perfect excuse for a guilt-free face stuffing opportunity. Eat, eat and eat some more until you feel better! It is for exactly this reason that I am allowing my friend to cook me a lasagna tonight and I intend to eat the majority of it (sorry fellow dining-friends). On the down side, I've found chocolate doesn't help, it just makes your throat feel worse: why is that, when obviously it's supposed to be the ultimate comfort food?
Do Those Little Jobs
There's no way that when you have a head stuffed full of cold that you can tackle that big assignment/project/annual report, so leave it to the side for a day or two until you're less fuzzy feeling. However, we're not slacking, there's still work to be done! Instead let yourself finally get round to doing all those little, less important admin jobs you've been needing to do for aaaages, but can't justify the time. It's still getting work done, so that's definitely a win.
Use A Nasal Spray
Honestly, they're just hilarious and make you pull the stupidest faces (or, is that just me...?).
Early To Bed
Being sick is a great excuse to be tucked up in bed and watching crap on NetFlix by 8pm and asleep by 9pm. Usually you can't get away with this, as your so-called "friends" refuse to believe you're getting old even though you've explained time and time again that "things are different when you reach your late twenties. I like being in bed and sleeping for longer on a school night."
*Le sigh*
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Ah, Nuts!
So, Nuts magazine is apparently closing after over a decade of offering us boobs, boobs, tits and a smattering of sport and 'news'. Admittedly, I've not picked up an issue of Nuts since Johnny Vaughn's celebrity was considered worthy of being on the front-cover. That's right, a long time ago. This comes only a month after the announcement that Front was to shut-up shop too. What's happening to the male magazine market?! More importantly, should I be worried?
Erm, well, yes and no.
There are many things the closure of Nuts could signify - another nail in the coffin of "lad culture"; a "win" for those radical feminists (a.k.a rad femmes) that believe these magazines existed only to objectify women; proof that if you fuck with the Co-Op then they will break you.
Personally, I was never that bothered by Nuts, or Zoo for that matter. As a woman that writes for a handful of well established porn magazines (good grief, don't let too many women's magazine commissioning editors hear me say that!) it would be difficult for me to say I was ever offended by them, but nor was I aroused. It was just a bit of titillation, a bit of fun. Bear in mind I write this from the point of view of a body confident female, that has the luxury of not being swayed so much about how my body should look compared to that of the women in the magazines. Anyhoo, the models I met that shot for them were always happy, contented and excited about being in the magazine, so fair play. However, I did always think Nuts were a bit in limbo after the height of laddishness had passed.
They weren't welcome on the middle-shelf, because kids might see cleavage, but nor were they really welcome on the top. Compare an issue of Nuts to the latest copy of Escort that I got through the post and it's fairly obvious why the two shouldn't sit next to each other. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it when she saw the pornography lying around my office: "This is well in-yer-face stuff. Don't see that in Nuts!"
Correct, you don't. If lad mags started showing full frontal pussy in their pages I don't think they would have got within 10 feet of the Co-Op. Ever. Let alone being taken off the shelves just last year. (That was the "no" I'm not worried part of the answer, they're just too different areas of the market to really compare them, alas people do, which leads me on to...)
I find it odd, then, that there have been (mostly feminist-led) suggestions the reason Nuts is closing is because of that cliched argument: there's too much free porn on the internet. Cue next wave of internet porn hysteria in a few days time (this will be the "yes", get worried, part of my answer).
In advance of the "too much porn" debate being raised for the umpteenth time, and while I don't want the magazines I write for to be the next target for feminazis, I'd like to say...
Stop grabbing on to the sad demise of one magazine to stir up more arguments about our supposed porn saturated culture. What young 20-something men want today isn't the same as what the 20-something lads of 10 years ago wanted from their media. Quite why we jump to the conclusion that it must be sex related is beyond me? Men stop looking at tits in magazines, so it simply must mean that they're replacing it by watching hardcore online? Give over.
Show me the definitive proof that's where their readers have gone before we start pointing the finger.
Also, if online porn is to blame for the closure of this magazine, then why haven't actual porn mags become extinct? Surely that should have happened long ago?
It's the fact that the publishers are running at a loss. It comes down to cold, hard facts and figures that generally speaking, as the internet grows, you're print figures are going to decline. It's then up to the publisher if those figures keep them happy or not. Realistically, I suspect the decision and reasons to close had very little to do with where blokes go these days for their wank-fodder.
Whatever may have caused the circulation to drop doesn't compensate for the fact that around 30 people, plus all of the models that posed for the magazine, are currently at risk of loosing their jobs and a form of income. As someone that has been through redundancy consultations, where the life of your much-loved magazine is hanging in the balance, I can say that it really does suck. Hugely. Try to explain to any one of them, "internet porn made you loose your job" and I think they're well within their right to tell you where to stick it.
Erm, well, yes and no.
There are many things the closure of Nuts could signify - another nail in the coffin of "lad culture"; a "win" for those radical feminists (a.k.a rad femmes) that believe these magazines existed only to objectify women; proof that if you fuck with the Co-Op then they will break you.
Personally, I was never that bothered by Nuts, or Zoo for that matter. As a woman that writes for a handful of well established porn magazines (good grief, don't let too many women's magazine commissioning editors hear me say that!) it would be difficult for me to say I was ever offended by them, but nor was I aroused. It was just a bit of titillation, a bit of fun. Bear in mind I write this from the point of view of a body confident female, that has the luxury of not being swayed so much about how my body should look compared to that of the women in the magazines. Anyhoo, the models I met that shot for them were always happy, contented and excited about being in the magazine, so fair play. However, I did always think Nuts were a bit in limbo after the height of laddishness had passed.
They weren't welcome on the middle-shelf, because kids might see cleavage, but nor were they really welcome on the top. Compare an issue of Nuts to the latest copy of Escort that I got through the post and it's fairly obvious why the two shouldn't sit next to each other. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it when she saw the pornography lying around my office: "This is well in-yer-face stuff. Don't see that in Nuts!"
Correct, you don't. If lad mags started showing full frontal pussy in their pages I don't think they would have got within 10 feet of the Co-Op. Ever. Let alone being taken off the shelves just last year. (That was the "no" I'm not worried part of the answer, they're just too different areas of the market to really compare them, alas people do, which leads me on to...)
I find it odd, then, that there have been (mostly feminist-led) suggestions the reason Nuts is closing is because of that cliched argument: there's too much free porn on the internet. Cue next wave of internet porn hysteria in a few days time (this will be the "yes", get worried, part of my answer).
In advance of the "too much porn" debate being raised for the umpteenth time, and while I don't want the magazines I write for to be the next target for feminazis, I'd like to say...
Stop grabbing on to the sad demise of one magazine to stir up more arguments about our supposed porn saturated culture. What young 20-something men want today isn't the same as what the 20-something lads of 10 years ago wanted from their media. Quite why we jump to the conclusion that it must be sex related is beyond me? Men stop looking at tits in magazines, so it simply must mean that they're replacing it by watching hardcore online? Give over.
Show me the definitive proof that's where their readers have gone before we start pointing the finger.
Also, if online porn is to blame for the closure of this magazine, then why haven't actual porn mags become extinct? Surely that should have happened long ago?
It's the fact that the publishers are running at a loss. It comes down to cold, hard facts and figures that generally speaking, as the internet grows, you're print figures are going to decline. It's then up to the publisher if those figures keep them happy or not. Realistically, I suspect the decision and reasons to close had very little to do with where blokes go these days for their wank-fodder.
Whatever may have caused the circulation to drop doesn't compensate for the fact that around 30 people, plus all of the models that posed for the magazine, are currently at risk of loosing their jobs and a form of income. As someone that has been through redundancy consultations, where the life of your much-loved magazine is hanging in the balance, I can say that it really does suck. Hugely. Try to explain to any one of them, "internet porn made you loose your job" and I think they're well within their right to tell you where to stick it.
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
#Nomakeupselfie update
So it seems that vanity does pay. To be more specific it pays for 10 clinical trials to go ahead, which a week ago didn't have money for funding.
According to the latest statement from Cancer Research UK, the #nomakeupselfie trend has raised £8 million from people texting BEAT to 70099 or donating at www.cruk.org, which, as much as I snubbed the trend and continue to question the narcissism behind it (especially even after all the publicity I am still seeing people simply posting 'here's my selfie, I nominate X, Y and Z #cancerawareness'), it can't be doubted that it has achieved something amazing.
The trials that now get the go ahead are nine clinical trials and one tissue sample collection. The trials will look at new treatments for sarcoma, acute myeloid leukaemia, abdominal neuroblastoma, liver, head and neck, breast, prostate, bladder and oesophageal cancers.
According to the latest statement from Cancer Research UK, the #nomakeupselfie trend has raised £8 million from people texting BEAT to 70099 or donating at www.cruk.org, which, as much as I snubbed the trend and continue to question the narcissism behind it (especially even after all the publicity I am still seeing people simply posting 'here's my selfie, I nominate X, Y and Z #cancerawareness'), it can't be doubted that it has achieved something amazing.
The trials that now get the go ahead are nine clinical trials and one tissue sample collection. The trials will look at new treatments for sarcoma, acute myeloid leukaemia, abdominal neuroblastoma, liver, head and neck, breast, prostate, bladder and oesophageal cancers.
Friday, 21 March 2014
Not so made up about #nomakeupselfies
What
the hell is all this #nomakeupselfie thing about? I was nominated in
a Facebook post to take a photo of myself without any make up on and
plaster it all over social media to help raise awareness of cancer,
although, how exactly this will help to beat cancer was beyond me?
Having
recently lost someone very close to me to cancer, I am all for active
promotion of cancer awareness and fund-raising initiatives, but I
failed to see how this social media trend would help to make a
difference. Looking through my FB feed there was image after image,
but very few of them at the time contained any information on how to
donate, or any knowledge of how doing this will actually help to
raise cancer awareness in a positive light.
Before
taking a snap and adding myself to the #nomakeupselfie
#cancerawareness trend, I wanted to check the background. Where had
this come from and in aid of what exactly?
WHERE'D
IT START?
The
idea of the 'selfless selfie' was capitalised on by act!onaid. The
idea was to buy a t-shirt, the funds of which went towards the
Typhoon Appeal, then take a selfie while wearing your charity
t-shirt. Escensual.com beauty retailer also launched a selfiecampaign back in September 2013 to help raise money for Breast Cancer
Care. This seems to be the most similar campaign so far to the trend
we've seen in the last few days. Elsewhere, it's reported that the
viral trend began when author Laura Lippman posted a photo of herself
without make up as a way to support actress Kim Novak, who was
slammed in the press for how she looked at the Oscars.
There
has also been the launch of a new app this week, Put Yourself In The Picture, by Jo's Cervical
Cancer Trust - the only dedicated cervical cancer charity in the UK - encouraging women to take a selfie with their reminder
to go for a cervical cancer test. The app has been launched following new research* which looked at the reasons why women in the first (25-29 years) and last (60-64 years) screening ages had delayed or not been for their cervical screening. Thirty percent said that a friend reassuring them about the procedure would encourage them to attend.
I get this, more than I initially understood the social media selfie trend.
Like
with most internet virals, it's hard to pin point where it began. I
did double check with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) press office,
thinking Perhaps this was something they started? Carolan
Davidge, director of communications at Cancer Research UK told me:
“The #nomakeupselfie Twitter trend isn’t something Cancer
Research UK started – but it’s great to see so many people
getting involved to help raise awareness of cancer amongst their
friends and family. If people would like to choose to support our
work to beat cancer sooner, they can visit www.cruk.org.”
Please
note the last bit about where to go to donate, because the odd thing
with the current trend is that people were forgetting to actually do
anything. It became, for some, an exercise in narcissism: taking a
photo without make up and posting it and putting the correct hash
tags doesn't mean you've done your bit for charity. You've aided
nothing. Added nothing. It's just a picture and a comment that (well
done you), you know cancer exists. Text a donation, go out and buy a
Marie Curie daffodil; buy a pink ribbon; donate some clothes to your
local Cancer Research Shop or hospice; donate some money to the
cancer ward at your local hospital, because that's when it starts to
make a difference.
HAS
IT ACTUALLY HELPED?
Luckily,
in the last 12 hours and since I've started writing this blog, many
people realised the flaw in the plan and (finally) started to post
details on where and how to donate to various cancer charities –
the most popular being CRUK. Many cancer charities aimed to
capitalise on this awareness viral too and began to promote all the
ways and means people can actively donate. Soon, selfies were
appearing with people adding in a snap of their text confirmation to
show they'd donated.
The
latest update I have received from CRUK says, “Thanks to people
choosing to donate to us as part of the #nomakeupselfie trend, we’ve
been overwhelmed with donations and support in the past 48 hours.
We’ve raised over £2m so far, and the #nomakeupselfie is still
going strong! If people would like to choose to support our work to
beat cancer sooner, they can text BEAT to 70099 to donate £3 or
visit www.cruk.org.”
SO,
WHAT'S MY PROBLEM?
Although
the money raised is staggeringly amazing, there is one particular
aspect about this whole thing that really grinds with
me: the use of the word “brave”, the wider issue of how much
attention is created when a woman publicly appears without wearing
any make up and then the crude link of associating it with 'cancer
awareness'.
It's
a sad sign of the times when women after posting a photo of
themselves sans slap were being told how “brave” they are. I
couldn't agree with this more if we were having a conversation about
the societal conditioning of women and what is 'expected' of them in
terms of appearance. It's crap that it's surprising, 'not normal', or
brave to see a woman without foundation and blusher. But that's not
the debate we're having. We're discussing cancer and I believe the
word “brave” means a lot more than the choice of whether or not
to forgo wearing make up for a single picture.
Some
context of what brave and cancer means: brave are the patients that
have to undergo painful treatment, sometimes trying new, mostly
untested drugs; brave is finding the words to explain to your loved
ones that you might have less than a year to live; brave is the word
to use to describe those carers that do all they can to make sure the
person suffering from cancer is as comfortable as they can be,
despite how painful it is for them to watch a loved one slip away.
One
friend I was discussing this issue with summed it up well: “To
me, 'bravery' or looking like yourself, vs what someone with cancer
goes through is staggeringly offensive comparison.”
Like I said, I'm all for raising awareness and the promotion of
fund-raising initiatives, but why in this way? Why when cancer is
such a degenerative disease that strips away and changes the
appearance of someone, sometimes to the point where they no longer
look like the person you know, did this have to run?
Think
I'm being over sensitive? Please take a minute (literally) to watch
the following video: a series of selfies taken by EmilyHelck who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and took a photo
each week for a year while undergoing treatment. This is why I will
not be posting, because my face without make up is not a big deal.
* Research conducted by Censuswide, with 2,021 women aged 25-29 and 60-64 during 6th-12th December 2013. Surveys were conducted from a random sample of a representative panel across the country. Censuswide employs members of the Market Research Society and abides by its code and rules.
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
What's In A Kiss?
Kissing is one of my most favourite things. A kiss can be loaded with so much, or so little. Kiss for love, kiss to greet someone, or to say goodbye, or goodnight. You can kiss anyone: a lover, a friend, an acquaintance, a baby on the head and even a stranger as this really touching, smile-inducing short film by Tatia Pilieva shows.
Posted yesterday on YouTube and with over six million views already you may well have spotted this on another site, so I apologise if I'm repeating it. However, last week I was writing a science based article which included some research on how a first kiss can make or break the chances of a relationship, so this film was too beautiful a thing and too relevant to what I read last week to not comment on. Pairing up 20 strangers, they were asked to share a kiss and it was captured on film. It's super interesting to see which type of kiss some of those couples chose to share. Enjoy.
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