Research by Pregnant Then Screwed found that over half of all mothers - 52% - have faced some form of discrimination when pregnant, on maternity leave or when they returned. 1 in 5 mothers have left their job following a negative or discriminatory experience. And, disgustingly, 1 in every 61 pregnant women say their boss suggested they terminate their pregnancy.
Read MoreCulture has long been considered a vital part of society; a shared experience that brings people together through music, film, theatre, creative endeavours and art. However, as ticket prices soar and the cost-of-living crisis tightens its grip, a question arises: is culture becoming a luxury that only the privileged can afford?
Read MoreSilence is unsettling.
It’s why we fill every pause in a conversation with half-thought-out words. Why we scroll mindlessly while watching TV. Why we blast music, stick on a four hour podcast, or declare we “need background noise” as we get on with our day.
We talk about slowing down, mindfulness and presence, but we’re constantly going, go, go - mentally, digitally, audibly.
Read MoreWe've been together for five years. We have a baby…so why does the world make me feel silly for wanting a Valentine’s Day gift?
Read MoreAn exploration into how viral clips of a Ukrainian rendition of the musical Cabaret led to blissful ignorance amongst TikTok fans.
Read MoreDo we destroy the places we love by sharing them on social media? Are we inadvertently contributing to the demise and over-development of destinations? Simply put, are we loving places to death?
Read MoreFebruary, though the shortest month, somehow feels double. This is the month people start waking up from the winter daze and making plans for brighter days. The spring and summer calendars have started filling up. And what’s happening here? We’re grasping at the promise of better days ahead, stuck in a seasonal limbo that asks more of us than we have the energy to give.
Read MoreMoney. We love it, we hate it and we’re not so hot at talking about it. In this day and age, should discussing money still be something draped in red tape? I think not! I went on a mission to talk to my social circles about the topic of money; the main question to them being, ‘How do you split your finances with your partner?’ The responses garnered opened up discussion points around gender roles, girlboss feminism, and toxic masculinity.
Read MoreRecent Christmas and New Year festivities saw families gather, swap gifts, and “make merry” - something widely expected by social norms. But for those, who are estranged from their family, the picture can be a very different one.
Read MoreDid you know that 1 in 100 of those who are assigned female at birth will go through recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL)? In the United Kingdom, a recurrent pregnancy loss is when someone who is AFAB goes through 3 or more pregnancy losses (with or without a successful pregnancy between the losses).
When you start trying for a baby, you don’t ever think that you’ll become part of that 1 in 4 statistic, and you definitely don’t expect that you’ll become part of that 1 in 100 statistic.
Read MoreWe all know how this goes: you sit down in December to reflect on the past year, maybe you revisit resolutions that you’ve already forgotten; and suddenly, you feel the urge to create a new self. A version of you that is much better than your present self, more disciplined or polished, capable: someone who checks all of the boxes from the long list of ideas about this better version of you.
Read MoreA slightly more macabre wassailing tradition takes place in Wales, the Mari Lwyd. Mari, who’s head is made from the skull of a horse, with baubles for eyes and flowing ribbons for mane, is operated by a long pole hidden under the white sheet that acts as her body. Snapping her jaw at passers-by, she leads a procession around the town going from house to house. The terrifying nature of the Mari Lwyd is only exaggerated by the fact that she is sometimes so tall that she can knock upon the second-floor windows (Firestone, 1978).
Read MoreGroup chats, while at times helpful, rarely spark pleasure. Instead, they’ve become another layer of digital noise in an already overwhelmed world brimming with emails, notifications, and the existential dread of blue ticks left unanswered.
Read More51% of industry workers are burnt out from the holidays, so is it a holly-jolly Christmas after all? Overworked, understaffed, and high expectations. What’s going to give?
Read MoreEvery year as December approaches, I’m struck by the magic of the season - the streets lighting up, festive music filling the air, and the sense of anticipation building around the holidays. But alongside the charm, I can’t shake a sense of discomfort with what Christmas has become for so many of us: a whirlwind of consumerism, waste, and, often, unmet expectations. I find myself wondering how we got here - how a holiday meant to bring joy and connection has morphed into something that can feel so forced, stressful, and detached from its original purpose.
Read MoreSure, I knew he had kids. We met on Tinder and it was on his profile that he had two daughters aged eight and eleven. We talked about them on our first date; how they both played football and how he’d tried his best to be the best dad he could to them after the breakdown of his marriage. I’d dated men with kids before, but never got to the stage of meeting said kids. I’d never been against it, but honestly, when you first start dating, they’re kind of a concept rather than a reality.
Read MoreI’ve been seeking connections with people my entire life and throwing myself into different iterations of community.
My need for connection hasn’t decreased as I’ve grown into an adult, nor has my love of dance, which is why I began taking Lindy Hop classes seven years ago. Lindy Hop is a Black American swing dance that originated in Harlem in the 1920s before gaining huge popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. It’s a partnered dance with lead and follow roles, designed to encourage improvisation on a social dance floor.
Read MoreWhen did our internal monologue suddenly adopt a no-nonsense, authoritarian approach rivalling the Wormwoods? Why do we become self-flagellating adults who berate themselves for every little misstep?
Read MoreWhen I got in the room I was told to sit down and then a couple of nurses came and got me. They pulled back the curtain that wrapped around the bed she lay in. I saw the redness of my partner’s face, the wet around her eyes. I asked ‘What’s happened. Did it hurt?’
And she said ‘no, but they think I have cancer.’
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