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Bruhgirls NobodiesUprising
Awhitegown.Thefirstthingsheseesasshe wakes.Hermindwanderstoplacesshewishesshe couldforget.Sleepallowedhertoescapefora whilelonger,delayingtheinevitable.Closingher eyes,sheletsasingletearescape,feelingthe weightofitstraildownhercheek.
Pretendingwasnolongeronheragenda.Asalog shelied,waitingfornight.Handingherpills,they couldn’tunderstand.Swallowingacid,burningher mindandleavingitempty.Societycouldmould heraslongasshewasthisway.
W hitecloaksforcingonheraforeignidentity
“Normalshewillbe”,theysaid Butlendingwas neverconstant,sheknew Soonhermindwill rejectheragain,didshehavethestrengthto continue?
Awoken,shewantstofight.Fightagainstthecloaks, fightagainstthebittertaste,fightagainstherself.For sheistheonlyonewhocanturnitaround.They knownothing theydon’tcare.
Dayafterdaythelightwillconvincehertopersevere Thethoughtofasmileetchedonherfaceanda feelingofaccomplishmentwillpushherforward She knowsit.Sheknowssheisworthtrying.Thefight againstthedarkison.
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Kajal
S.IqraaBukhari
Metallicyetsheer, Ironyetmere
Blackbeauty,majesticanddash, Falsepromises,sexandsomeclassytrash
Darkchocolatemeltsintoash, Duskydreamsturnpitchblack
Thenightmissingitsglitterystars, Themoontryingtodenyitsbruisedmarks
Afewpegsofblackjackonanemptystomach, Afewwordsofcomfortthatsoundslightlyrugged
W hatbeautifulonyxchampaignedresses! Aslitonthelowerside-endformyslenderblesses
W ewalkandwemarchandwerunandwecrawl, W ewhisperandwetalkandwesmileandwestandtall
OhhowIlovetheblackhuesonmyeyes, Howcleverlytheyconcealthedeepest,darkestsecretsofso manyunforgivablenights
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byMartaFranques
BruhGirlis2020’sversionofGillianFlynn’s CoolGirl.Theauthorintroducedustothe infamousandpreviouslyunnamabletropein her2012novelGoneGirlCoolGirlisa“hot, brilliant,funnywomanwhoadoresfootball, poker,dirtyjokes,andburping,whoplays videogames,drinkscheapbeer,loves threesomesandanals threesomesandanalsex,andjamshotdogs andhamburgersintohermouth...while somehow maintainingasize2,becauseCool Girlsareaboveallhot.Hotandunderstanding. CoolGirlsnevergetangry;theyonlysmileina chagrined,lovingmannerandlettheirmando whatevertheywantGoahead,shitonme,I do don’tmind,I’m theCoolGirl” Millionsof readerswerehitwitharushofawareness whenreadingthatdescription.The protagonist’swraththateruptedfrom the pressuretoemulateCoolGirl,resonatedwith manyreaders.Itmadethem realisethatCool Girlisalethalconstruct,andmadeFlynn’s n noveloneofthemostmemorableofthelast decade
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Inherarticle,‘JenniferLawrenceandThe HistoryofCoolGirls’,AnneHelenPeterson identifiesthisprototypeasabyproductof romanticcomedies,suchasThere’sSomething AboutMary(1998),How toLoseaGuyin10 Days(2003)andForgettingSarahMarshall (2008).Flynnmayhaveprovideduswiththe perfectdefinition,butCoolGirlhasbeenwithus sincelongbeforethen.
W heredidshecomefrom?Itisn’tpossibleto traceCoolGirlallthewaybacktocaveman(or mancave)days,butitisnosurprisethatallthree filmsPetersonreferencesweredirectedbymen. ThereisnodenyingthattheconceptofCool GirlorBruhGirlissimplyourgeneration’sway ofidentifyingwomenfrom theview ofthemale gaz gaze.In1975,LauraMulveycoinedtheterm malegazeinheressay,‘VisualPleasureand NarrativeCinema’Sheproposedthatwomenin themediaareobjectifiedwhentheyareshown onlythroughtheperspectiveofheterosexual men It’sastonishingthateventhoughwepride ourselvesonbeingthemostprogressive g generationinhistoryanddoourutmostto activelyrejectlong-heldgender,sexualandracial stereotypes,wewillhappilyembraceidentity damagingclichéslikeBruhGirl.Thismust change. Girlscan’tstopthemediafrom dictatinghow we shouldlookandbehave.However,wecanoptout oftherhetoricandfocusourattentioninamore self-affirmingdirection.Onceweactively recognisethatthemedia’sidealtypeofwomen isaform ofmanipulationtowardswomento conform tothesepatriarchalideals,weareable totakecontrolLet totakecontrolLet’sembraceourselvesas individualsandstartcelebratingwhatmakesus uniqueandbeautifulLet’sencourageeachother asweeachtakeourownjourneytoward self-acceptance.Thefirststepistounfollow or blockaccountsthatdon’tempoweryou. Diversifyyourfeed!
WomenDon’tOweYouPrettybyFlorence Given(@florencegiven)
TheseInstagram accountsgiveafresh perspectiveonwhatismeanstobeawomanin 2020:
JadeGiliberti(@sadegliberti)52kFollowers J JessamynStanley(@mynameisjessamyn)448k Followers
TanyaCompas(@tanyacompas)25.6k Followers-MunroeBergdorf(munroebergdorf) 509kFollowers Let Let’sstopcategorisingwomenandshaming them whentheydonotfitintoacertainimage WeareindividualsLet’sembracethefactthat weallhavelivedverydifferentexperiencesand haveuniqueperspectives.Thiswillcreatea moretolerantandunderstandingsociety.Once wehaveabroadunderstandingandtheabilityto seebeautyinallfo seebeautyinallforms,itwillpreventusfrom fallingintothistoxictrapofconformingtothis unoriginal,outdatedprototype.
Bruh... don'tbeshy... idoliseyourself!
W heretoBegin 11
F
BellaHopper
I. Can. Dothis. Ipromise. JustLetmetry. Iwanttosucceed.
ToreachthetopoftheWait. Letme. Tryagain. Iwillreach thetop.Goals arewaitingforme. Andyouarehelpingmesucceed.
Again. Wetry. You’vegot myhandasI restuponyour weightandIclimb. Yourweightsupports meandfinallywehave madeit.Thankyou,Asa.
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ByEmilyMaclennan SocialMediaManager
The Reopeningof Universities isKeyfor Human Development
NoahKeate 20
Therecoveryfrom thecoronaviruspandemic feelslikeamarathon,notasprintWehaveall beenaffected,eventhoseofuswhohavenot actuallycaughtthevirus Initiallystuckindoorsat theheightoflockdown,wewerealltreatedas thoughwewereallinfected Remaininginside, awayfrom otherfamilies,wasseenastheonly responsetoreducethetransmissionofthevirus andpreventtheNHSfrom becoming overwhelmed Thankfully,bothofthosethingshappened. Althoughthenumberofdailycasesisstartingto increaseagain,theUKisinacompletelydifferent placenowthaninApril.Non-essentialshopshave reopened Eachofuscanvisitpubs,garden centresandrestaurantsagain Throughout August,the‘EatOuttoHelpOut’scheme,in whichdinersgaveupto50% o offoftheirfood,was usedover64milliontimes Lifewasfarfrom the exclusionofeveryoneremainingindoors. TheNHS,broadcastersandsupermarketswere seenasessentialinstitutions Yetorganisations thatshouldberegardedasessentialwereshut down:universities.Abeaconforknowledgeand thepursuitofideas,theirthirdterm ofteaching andresearchacrosstheworldwasboughttoan abrupthalt.Despitetheirvitalworkforscientific andsocialdevelopment,thecontinuationoftheir workwasdeemednon-essentialAndso,they closed.
Studentsarebeginningtoproperlyreturnforthe firsttime Theirimportanceandlayoutison almostadifferentleveltoschools.There,a comparativelysmallnumberofchildrenareinan environmentforsixhoursadayAtuniversity, tensofthousandsofstudentsdescendontowns, citiesandcampusesformonthsatatime Many areoftenuplateandmovingfrom locationto locationthroughouttheday.Thereisfarmore volatility
Withthiscomesafargreaterriskofcatchingthe virus Thoughmoreseverethanthenormalcold, assessinganddealingwithriskarea fundamentalpartofbeinghuman Everytimewe wakeup,humanshavetoassessthepotential problemsthatcouldtakeplaceanddealwith them appropriatelyThisisalwaysgoingtobethe caseandindeed,isoneofthebrilliantthings aboutbeinghuman.
Universitiesthereforemustreturn Though lectureswillremainonlinefortheautumnterm,it isvitalthatasmanyin-personseminarsareable totakeplaceaspossible Thismustcome alongsidesocietiesbeingabletomeet,Student Unioneventsreopening,culturaleventsreturning andindividualscommunicating
Why?Becauseuniversitieseducateand inspirethenextgeneration Forcenturies, individualshaverecognisedtheexistenceand autonomyofuniversitiestobeessential. T Takeseminars Whilea9am startmayseem extremelytiresomeanddull,theyarebrilliant forlearningandimprovingone’sintelligence. Whengreatdebatesareabletotakeplace, everyonebenefits Ideasaresparkedofffrom oneanother,theconversationdeepensand individualsleavethediscussionswithnew thoughtsthathadneverpreviouslyentered theirminds
Onawiderscale,societiesandcultural activitiesprovidethistoo Theydon’tsimply needtobeexclusiveplacesforentertainment andamusementoutsidetheacademic confinesofthelibraryInstead,theyaddto someone’sexperienceandcouldsparkan interestfarbeyondthethreeyearsat universit universityImprovingsocialskills,theyallow friendshipsforlifetobeproperlyformedand enableconfidence.Whilemanysocietieshave attemptedtoreplicatetheirexperienceonline, thatisnothingcomparedtomeeting individualsinreallife.
AcademicresearchiskeyWhilesome academics,withlessmarkingsandno lectures,mayhavehadmoretimetoconduct someresearch,thatisunlikelytohavebeen fullythecase Accesstolibrariesinperson wasnon-existentAcademicsmighthavehad childcareresponsibilitiestodealwith. Experimentscouldbeconductedonline,but wouldneverreflectthein-personaccess Suchchoiceswerealwayssecondbest.Ifa universityistobeanything,itmustbeaplace ofresearchthatstrivestopartakeinnotonly thetransmissionofknowledge,butitsvery productionandinitialdiscovery Universitiesmustbephysicallyopenif academicresearchistothrive.From undergraduatetodoctoratelevel,individuals arealwayslearningnewinformationthat hasn’tbeenpreviouslydiscovered.Thiswill benefitthem academicallybutalsosocietyas awhole Universitieshavebeenkeyinthe battleagainstcoronavirusforfurthering research,medicalknowledgeandhelping hospitals Universitiesareessentialtoa developedsocietyandhelp,directlyor indirectly,everyone.Itistimenowforstudents totakepartinthatlearningonceagain
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NaoiseGale
Downhereinthegutter,wepaceandstrikethesunwithamatch, Aimingforsomethingotherthanlimitlessdrizzle-dirtysheets Ofrainandobeseautumnclouds.Webuyfastfoodfrom the Takeawaydownthestreetandeatitinourshit-stainedbeds, Cryingcrumbs.Weareparanoidandpleadingwiththepolice, wearetalliesonourarms,wearedowntroddengradesand nomon nomoneyinthebank.Wearebricksthroughwindows whichshatterlikethiniceonafrozenlake,notthatwe’dknow becausetherearenolakesaroundhere,onlycouncilestates andgreenpillsthatmakeeverythingdrown.Weareabunch ofaddicted,neglectednobodiesrisingupagainsttheoppression ofourownharshhands.
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