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Reasons to be Cheerful •

How Afghan Women Are Rebuilding Reproductive Health Care

In Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, Ram Bibi, a 30-year-old mother now pregnant with her sixth child, counts herself as one of the lucky ones. She gets regular prenatal checkups at the Qari Safed family health house not far from her home. Here, midwife Marzia screens her for anemia, provides supplements and vaccinations, and has taught her to recognize danger signs in pregnancy. When her time comes, Bibi plans to deliver her baby at the family health house.
In another remote village in...
Shout Out UK •

Balletcore Fashion Says 'Thin is In': Should We Obey?

From tulle skirts and shoe ribbons to ballet flats and Ozempic, the last few years have seen ‘balletcore’ enter the mainstream world of fashion. The term, often described as cutesy, sleeker-lined fashion, includes tulle or puffy skirts, flat pumps, ribbons and corsets as key staples of the look. 
But I suspect the flats mean more than a blister-free foot. This trend confirms society is leaving the body-positivity movement firmly in the 2010s as emaciation makes a comeback. 
Ballet has always had...
Woman's Trust •

World Cup and domestic abuse: If his team lost, he would take it out on me - Woman's Trust

“If you walked in front of the TV, he’d swear at you. If his team lost, he’d take it out on me.”
For one domestic abuse survivor, Isla*, who was supported by Woman’s Trust, major football tournaments were not a cause for celebration but a source of dread.
As millions of fans prepare to cheer on their team at this year’s World Cup, she remembers spending match days walking on eggshells, carefully monitoring her partner’s mood and fearing what might happen if the result did not go his way.
“I woul...
Shout Out UK •

The Problem With Social Media's 'Female Gaze' Trend

The female gaze …
A success on the screen, but one that has not transferred all too well onto our smaller screens. The term originates in film theory, countering ‘male gaze’ cinema and the objectification of women that follows. But on social media, the female gaze appears to morph into its misogynistic predecessor, used to rank women based on appearance, judging and objectifying them just as before.
This disturbing similarity highlights the deep-rooted and often subconscious nature of the male g...
East London Times •

Black Eats Festival Returns to Hackney Bridge This Weekend

Returning to Hackney Bridge this weekend (11 – 12 October), for its fifth year running, is the award-winning Black Eats Festival. If you’re looking to celebrate Black History Month with eats, beats and booze, this isn’t one to miss.


Expect Black-owned street food vendors, with dishes from the Caribbean, Africa and beyond. As well as a Windrush 1027 Cocktail bar, prizes from Deliveroo and others, plus pop-ups, including a Fresha x Slider Cuts booth if you’re in need of a free trim.


If that’...

The Witchy History of This Viral Decor Item - Your Coffee Break

You may have seen it on your underground commute, or in your local bank. More recently it’s gone viral as a funky feature piece for flats, it’s the convex mirror and it has a bewitching backstory you may not have known. The clue is in the name. The convex mirror is an outward facing, rounded mirror, encapsulating a fish-eyed like image in its reflection. These mirrors are often used for surveillance, hence their common name “banker’s mirror”, or to make a space appear bigger than it actually is....
East London Times •

Whitechapel Gallery: New Exhibitions Opening This Week

This week sees the opening of three new exhibitions at Tower Hamlet’s Whitechapel Gallery. The hub for contemporary art in the East End presents the work of Joy Gregory and Candice Lin, with the exhibitions running from 8 October to 1 March.


Spanning forty-years of work, this exhibition is a celebration of Joy Gregory’s art, and the first major survey show of the artist. Expect over 250 works from photography and film to installations and textiles exploring race, history, identity, gender and...
East London Times •

London College of Fashion Hosts Free Immersive Exhibition

This week, UAL’s London College of Fashion are opening their studio to Darcey Fleming for her immersive exhibition. Free to the public, the studio takeover will run from 7 October to 11 October at the London College of Fashion campus in Stratford.

Fleming completely transforms the space into “wearable” sculptures, and “squares” of discarded twine donated by local farmers. Visitors are encouraged to walk through her work and chat to Darcey herself as she weaves even more twine in the studio. Th...
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Chloë Grace Moretz announces secret wedding – and we’re obsessed

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz has secretly tied the knot with her long-term partner, Kate Harrison, over the weekend. 


On Monday, Chloë made the announcement through Vogue, not long before taking to her own Instagram to share the happy news. 


Speaking to Vogue prior to the day, Chloë revealed: “A big part of the wedding [is about] sharing things that Kate and I love with everyone that’s going to be there… so there’s fishing, horseback riding and poker. Kate made a custom poker mat herself, so w...
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S-Bars on hosting open mic poetry nights: “I can be unmasked” 

Letting vulnerability and authenticity shine through spoken word, non-binary poet S-Bars brings something raw and real to queer poetry. The poet hosts LGBTQIA+ open mic poetry nights throughout the year, amongst many other queer-centric events. 


We chatted to S-Bars about these poetry nights, the importance of queer spaces and their journey. 







The support. There’s such support and wholesomeness in the room, and everyone is truly just so lovely, whether that’s the audience or the per...
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Here’s what you need to know about Bisexual Visibility Month

It’s almost September, which can only mean one thing… It’s time to celebrate our brilliant bisexuals. 


September is bound to be bi-conic with Bisexual Visibility Week running from 16 September to official Bisexual Visibility Day, 23 September. The entire month is seen as a celebration of bisexuality, so how did Bi Visibility Day come about, and why is it so important? 


Back in 1990, in San Francisco, it was first officially declared that there would be a Bisexual Pride Day. Originally, thi...
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Here are 4 artsy things to do this September

As we roll into autumn, the queer arts scene is prepped and ready to share the incredibly exciting events and exhibitions they have to offer. So, get your diaries out, because we’ve got all you need to know about what’s on this artsy September!


For all the lovers of queer cinema, Fringe! will be hosting its annual film and arts festival running from 13 – 21 September. Since 2011, Fringe! has been celebrating LGBTQIA+ stories on screen, so expect shorts and features from up-and-coming queer fi...
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Who is CMAT? Everything you need to know about this rising star 

Irish singer CMAT has been all over the festival scene this summer. From her music going viral on social media to her political activism on stage, we’ve got all you need to know about this brilliantly wacky queer icon. 


The 29-year-old uses the acronymic stage name, CMAT, representing her full name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. She spent most of her childhood in and around Dublin, including her studies at Trinity College Dublin, before dropping out to focus on her music in Denmark. Now living in...
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Iris Prize announces shortlist of 35 LGBTQIA+ films 

Iris Prize, the world’s biggest LGBTQIA+ short film prize, has revealed the films competing in this year’s festival for the grand prize of £40,000. The Iris Prize aims to celebrate LGBTQIA+ stories from around the world, which are often overlooked in mainstream media, by providing budding filmmakers with a platform and support. 


A total of 35 films were shortlisted for the 2025 festival, with diverse queer stories spanning topics from disability to race to witches. 


Director of the festiva...
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New animated series showcases how to do representation right 

Today (22 August) sees the return of Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of BoJack Horseman, with his new animated series Long Story Short. Praised for his emotional and sharp animation, BoJack Horseman, Bob-Waksberg knows just how to do queer representation right, and this new adult animation is no different. 


Long Story Short is centred around a Jewish family, the Schwoopers, with key focus on the overbearing but proud mother and her three children, Avi, Shira and Yoshi. The series takes the uniq...
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Scream VII director opens up about why he left the queer fan-fave film franchise 

The original director of the upcoming film Scream VII, Christopher Landon, has spoken out about his decision to quit the franchise after actor Melissa Barrera was fired. 


Scream VI saw the new additions of queer fan-favourites like Jenna Ortega, alongside Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. Plus, the film included the return of icon Courtney Cox, who starred in the original Scream. 


Now, however, both Jenna and Melissa have left the franchise during the pre-production of...
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Julia Fox: “I’m pansexual; I could be attracted to anyone and anything” 

Actor and model, Julia Fox, has revealed she identifies as pansexual in a recent interview with Allure, stating, “I’m pansexual; I could be attracted to anyone and anything.” 


The fashion icon previously had been thought to come out as lesbian, via a TikTok video she shared last year, and back in 2022, suggested she has a “gay bone” and was ready to explore dating women.


Fox has admitted her queer awakening was a difficult journey, explaining that she had to find a chosen family after her...
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Here’s what you need to know about this year’s Iris Industry Day

This year, Industry Day will take place on 15 October, during the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival in Cardiff, supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation. The festival, running from 13 October to 19 October, aims to celebrate untold queer stories and Cardiff charm, supporting all that is not covered in mainstream media. 


Iris Industry Day offers the chance for budding filmmakers to learn with a day full of everything you should know about working in the film sector. Director of the festival, B...
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Don’t miss this powerful lesbian play tackling hidden abuse 

Best-selling WLW author, Jade Winters, is bringing her play, The A Word, to three stages across London this year. 


The A Word, originally staged in 2023 and now re-imagined, puts centre stage a hidden story of emotional abuse in a lesbian relationship. A tale of when love turns controlling. The audience will be drawn into the quiet reality of coercive control behind closed doors, in this upsetting and intimate drama on stage.


Winters tells the story of Brooke, battling an abusive relations...
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Get stuck into these books all about butches 

This month brings us Butch Appreciation Day, so we’ve compiled a list of books you need in your collection on all things butch. From non-fiction to fiction, memoirs to illustrations, these are some must-reads for those looking to expand, or simply revel in, their knowledge on butch history, identity and culture, as well as touching on the butch-femme relationship and the gender discourse. 


Starting off strong is one of, if not the most, groundbreaking pieces of butch literature, Stone Butch B...
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Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund announces shortlist 

Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival has announced the three filmmakers shortlisted for their Documentary Film Finance Fund, supporting underrepresented queer stories in the UK. 


The fund, sponsored by OUTflix and the University of South Wales, is offering up to £20,000 as economic support for the winner, as well as help from the Iris Prize team in creating the final film. The documentary film awarded by the fund will also premiere on the opening night of the 2026 festival next October. 


Organi...
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Drive Away Dolls writer reveals focus of final film in their “lesbian B-movie trilogy” 

Writer Tricia Cooke has teased a third film to conclude her “Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy”, and we couldn’t be more ready! 


Last year saw the release of the first film in the queer trilogy, Drive-Away Dolls. The story followed a road trip gone wrong for two lesbian best friends when they somehow got involved with a criminal group. The second chapter is the very soon-to-be premiering Honey Don’t!, a mystery where private investigator, Honey, explores a death with links to a mysterious cult. 


Coo...
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Aubrey Anderson-Emmons reveals coming out was “not intentional” 

Modern Family star Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, known for playing Lily, daughter of characters Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler-Ferguson), revealed her coming out as bisexual in June was a complete accident. 


The actor went viral after sharing a video of her lip-syncing to a hilarious clip from the show, where Sofia Vergara’s character (Gloria) tells Lily she is Vietnamese, to which Lily protests: “No, I’m not, I’m gay! I’m gay!”, and Mitchell, her gay Dad, respond...
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