FARID.
THE SOCIETY ISSUE
editors letter
WE LIVE IN AN EVER-CHANGING SOCIETY WHICH INFLUENCES US EVERY DAY. WITHOUT THINKING, WE CONFORM TO EXPECTATIONS AND RULES, CHANGING OUR BEHAVIOUR ACCORDINGLY. THE WORLD IS ALWAYS CHANGING DRASTICALLY BUT THE MOMENT WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR FUTURE. SOCIETY IS COMPLEX, WONDERFUL AND A VAST PLAIN TO EXPLORE. SO PLEASE, JOIN US ON THIS JOURNEY AND WELCOME TO THE SOCIETY ISSUE!
NATALIE COOPER MAGAZINE EDITOR
ISAAC LEWIS WEB EDITOR
A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ISSUE. FARID IS AN INCREDIBLE CREATIVE OUTLET HIGHLIGHTING ISSUES IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE, WHICH IS SPECIAL TO SEE. 2
special thanks ✩Ashleigh Poole ✩Courtney Brodrick ✩Hesham Abdelhamid ✩University of Gloucestershire
✩UOG Student Union ✩UOG Journalism and
Magazine Journalism and Production
@faridthezine 3
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Contents Pretty privilege 8 differences in society 14 world against racism 18 beyond the rainbow 24 nature vs nurture 30 Crimson Foster Photography 32 Capitalism and climate change 40 the cost of being disabled 42 beauty filters in society 44 the expectation to drink 46 free the nipple 48 toxically trending 50 my body is a garden 54 the pressure to be on phones 56 nothing matters 58 economy of the depressed 60 the 80’s and 2000’s 64 Breaking ‘Heteronormativity’ 66 the issue with tax 68 5
Pretty p exists,
fuck suc
Go to school, university, to get of life sure is neat to be more than h succeed, but p
by katie 8
privilege , and it
king cks.
to get into t a job. The game t. Now you have hard-working to pretty too.
e lewis 9
‘The Game of Life’ is the second most popular board game behind the classic Monopoly, of which both games focus on players earning money to bypass life’s pitfalls. Neither game puts responsibility on a player’s appearance, as it would be certain to upset and cause arguments. They do teach however the hierarchical system of capitalism, yet the awareness of pretty privilege is missing within the game’s instructions. We are taught that success is achieved through hard work, but what about that pretty smile? Rarely acknowledged in its defining role in the game of life, is attractiveness. I for one obsessed over having perfectly straight teeth, emboldened by the dream of them transforming my life. But did my hopes bear any fruit? Is life better with a perfect smile?
People who are seen as physically attractive ear
This disparity is disheartening at best and infuriating at least. One’s leve by cultural upbringing, and more influentially, social media. The impossi obsolete. Beauty is entirely subjective. However, despite our best efforts matter, they unashamedly do. Is pretty privilege exclusive to dating and swiping right? Hardly. You’ll fin the workplace to the classroom. Studies show that children who are reco than their classmates, capture the teacher’s attention more, so have bet success. This gap only widens as they enter a career, as employers consi With perceived adept social skills, good-looking folks get it easy, as they treated better by others. This phenomenon is known as the ‘halo effect’, goodness from people who look ‘good’.
It’s basic human nature to like looking beautiful muses for us to gawk at? Not see attractive people as more confiden most well-known and celebrated in soc Coupled with fame, talent, and money being attractive is like picking up the ‘A Let us not put attractive people on a pe capability and skill. We cannot deny th strangers with kindness and others wi
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So, the next time you roll the dice in the game ahead, just because you had braces. u
rn 15% more.
el of ‘prettiness’ is defined ible pursuit of beauty is s to insist that looks do not
nd it everywhere from ognised as better looking tter chance at academic ider them more confident. are subconsciously , where we presume
at beautiful things. Why do you think artists paint such t only do we associate health with beauty, but we also nt and trustworthy. It’s this inherent bias that ensures the ciety are almost always considered as the most attractive. y, you’ve got a winning formula for success. In other words, Advance to Go and collect $200’ community chest card. edestal, for we should instead judge them based on their he ingrained bias that befalls us all. It’s why we treat some ith distrust and disdain. Do we remain blind to the struggles faced by those less fortunate, so lost in how we ourselves are perceived? We do not start life equal. We do not all start at the ‘Go’ tile on the Monopoly board, as much as we would wish it so. Though we may all roll the dice to decide what comes next, when one player is trapped in jail and cannot progress, the injustice is strikingly clear. How can we justify judging someone based solely on their attractiveness? Tragically pretty privilege is yet another societal prejudice. We must take accountability if we want this vicious cycle of judgment to cease. A wise woman once told me, my grandma, “never say something you would not want said to you”, and I think this message could really ring true among some of the situations I’ve heard from my peers. I tried to gather as many comments from as many students as possible as I feel that as a cohort, we can incite disruption and change. We will be the next generation of workers; we must contribute to capitalism after all. Yes, we will face bias and judgment from future employers, but must we contribute further to the already unjust system? We can make a positive impact; from how we interact with friends, colleagues, and strangers alike. Treat others how you’d like to be treated – and this goes for everyone, not just the cute ones. of life, remember you may already be ten steps 11
“Pretty privilege is definitely a real thing.”
“Growing up, I’ve always felt like I’ve had to look how the media want me to look to get noticed. I’ve always been under the impression that to get a job, to get noticed in life, to receive compliments or even have a social media presence which is so vital nowadays, that I need to look good enough.”
“It’s hard trying to fit every tick box. Being skinny enough and curvy at the same time, juts to feel like you look perfect in the eyes of society.”
“To me, pretty privilege is not a trivial aspect of modern day living but is social construct that can completely harm one’s views on themselves.”
“Pretty privilege shouldn’t exist, yet it does.”
“I could go to a club and start a conversation with a random person and by the end of it, I’d probably have a drink in my hand.”
“Personally, I think pretty privilege is very prominent and having gone from outside the expected norms to within and back out again, I have noticed lots of differences in the way I was treated even from within my own gender”
“New trends, specifically speaking about women’s appearances, cause one to constantly worry about whether they look slim or curvy enough, it’s impossible to please everyone. It’s overwhelming.”
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“If a person is attracted to you, they treat you differently to others – which could be a good thing or a bad thing”
“I feel like if I’m not the media’s version of ‘pretty’ I won’t get noticed.”
“I found that pretty privilege was an outstanding factor of my growing up, and as a young adult now, my perceived attractiveness is a huge factor in how I am treated by other people, especially men.”
“There are tons of studies on it and if you’ve ever worked in a customer facing job, you’ve probably even administered, to an extent, pretty privilege upon others. Whether it’s a free carrier bag or not charging for extra whipped cream, just because the customer is cute. It’s something that undeniably exists and that’s just a small example of it.”
“I think pretty privilege can even effect people in friendships, maybe unknowingly people want to have friends who are attractive and, or people who look like them.”
“But it’s also weird for people who benefit off it because at a certain point you become aware of it and from that point onwards you always wonder. Are people being nice to be nice, or because they think you’re cool or funny or interesting. Or are they just valuing you on your looks? It can really become a point of insecurity if you let it.”
“People tend also be a lot kinder to attractive people because they feel they have to impress them.”
“Pretty privilege is definitely a thing when dating. Girls especially are constantly worried about others who are prettier than them that could possibly steal their partner and there is always a sense of competition there.”
“Working in hospitality has shown me that pretty privilege exists.”
“Considering your physical attributes are something you can’t control, I hate that there is a bias, especially in employment.”
“The consensus is that women who are conventionally attractive get away with a lot more than girls that may not fit into those categories or are generally believed a lot more in society than women who aren’t deemed ‘attractive’.”
“I think there is and will always be bias based on attractiveness in the workplace.”
“A woman that is attractive would get offered to be walked home at night or have guys claiming to be feminists and stand up for them a lot more than women that typically aren’t as attractive, like feminism is only paid attention to by most men when they believe they can get something out of it.”
“I think if you’re generally good looking, people make excuses for you and are more likely to like whatever you do, even if it’s a bad thing.”
“I feel as if attractiveness strongly affects human beings attitudes towards one another and creates unfair prejudice. Although it may positively affect those who are defined as ‘attractive’ by the rest of society this often takes away from their values outside of how people perceive them. This often results in extreme objectification, particularly of women. The best way to change this is to simply not judge a book by its cover.”
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“Also with attractive women a lot of their success is based of their looks, which is bad for people that have worked hard and get put down based on their looks and is also extremely damaging and frustrating for attractive women that have worked hard and get undermined just because of their appearance.”
socie
S
ociety is an interesting concept because it varies from person to person. For example, a person with kids and a family will feel a lot different than a single university student. As one of the latter, society to me means meeting up with my friends, going clubbing and working off a monumental hangover. In this article I will attempt to explore this theme of society through two points of view, a military service point and student point- two very different ends of the spectrum. From a military point of view society is very structured. You get up as a unit and parade as a unit before going to eat (scoff) together. Society in that environment is very structured and organised down to a fine detail. However, it cannot adapt to change, at all. I once waited 10 hours to use the shooting range and it didn’t happen. On the one hand this society is reassuring, as you always know what’s going on in the day and who you report too if something is wrong. Welfare is a focus despite the reputation and the commanders will always “square you away.” However, the lack of freedom is also restrictive. You can’t just go and meet your friends for a drink when you want as you need to get permission for most things. Additionally, you can get disciplined for things that are very small which can be demoralising. This means that society in this context is quite rigid and formal with little freedom but is very safe and secure.
by Ian H
14
ety...
Hudson
My other opinion on society is from a university perspective. University society is the exact opposite is where there is a lot of free time, not much planning and everyone is on roughly a level playing field. For me personally it means lectures at 11, gym at 2, preparing to go out on Wednesday, Friday and the weekend, going to work. It also involves creating a structure for yourself rather than having it dictated too you. However, this society is very heavily based on intellectual and mental activities rather than strength and physical activities. Additionally, you do a lot of partying, try a lot of drinks I really don’t want to try again and have taken far too many late-night takeaways. From these vivid and loud antics, I can effectively say that taking advantage of this freedom and lack of accountability is very much encouraged. In conclusion, society is very much and individual experience. It will vary upon many things such as family and where you live. However, I have found the most influencing factor on your perception of society is employment. As you spend a significant amount of time at work it is natural that society at an individual level will be moulded to that. A stockbroker will act very different to a soldier. Even wider society is structured around working life and the mythical working life balance. If I have learnt anything is that while thinking about society and jobs can be daunting, thinking about it with a rum and coke on a sandy beach makes it a lot less daunting. u
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World agai World agai World agai World agai World agai World agai World agai World agai
inst racism inst racism inst racism inst racism inst racism inst racism inst racism inst racism
World Against Racism Y Byd Yn Erbyn Hiliaeth British Government double standards show time-hollowed racist angle, disavowing Afghan or Syrian refugees, or simply any refugee without the “European” title.
O
n the 20th March, outside the Welsh halls of Government at Cardiff Bay- The Senedd, around 200 protestors and I joined Stand Up To Racism Cardiff in a March Against Racism: police, institutional or government led. Emotively, speakers reclaimed the voices of their brothers or sisters who they had lost to such grievances, even when mountains shifted from the silent words spoken from the simple clutch of a raised fist. Words were spoken about families and lives left behind, out of desperation for safe passage ways of safety. I could only envision these same words being repeated in years to come from any hopeful survivors of the main story in our headlines today- the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I was stood in the present, listening to refugees’ stories about the past, which I knew were to become so many Ukrainian’s futures.
Lamentingly, more than 5,000 souls have been taken since the biggest military mobilisation since World War 2, the unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine. Almost 3.7 million refugees have been forced to leave their country, while an estimated 6.48 million people have had to be displaced within the country, thus far (writing on the 25th of March). Boris Johnson’s spokesperson told reporters that 138,000 people had registered interest in the Homes for Ukraine scheme so far- a scheme promoting the housing of a Ukrainian refugee for 6 months minimum, for £350 a month from the Government. While Britons have seen such devastation broadcast on their television screens at home before, from such tragedies of injustice like the Syrian Civil War, or the Afghan battle, somehow Facebook feeds seem to be more populated this time with words of encouragement, donations or filters of the country’s flag. Why? Why hasn’t this amount of support been showed for every war/conflict before this?
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While this nation-wide support for Ukraine is inevitably good, it only poses the question of why, from Government and civilians, this level of urgency was never applied to such areas of conflict before this, for asylum seekers/ refugees outside of Europe. Safe passage for all except those non-EU? While faced with the unimaginable in fleeing for safety, appeals from both the Ukrainian government and the UN acknowledged that Black refugees have been subject to racism at the country’s borders, simultaneously. Speaking to The Independent, Osarumen, a father-of-three, said he, his family members and other refugees were told to leave a bus about to cross the border and told, “No Blacks”. “In all of my years as an activist, I have never seen anything like this. When I look into the eyes of those who are turning us away, I see bloodshot racism; they want to save themselves and they are losing their humanity in the process”. Why would this judgement of skin colour ever cross your mind when faced with such yearning and desperation of that of a fleeing man and his family. Black Africans have been arguably ignored in a pandemic, and replaced with ill-fitting treatments instead, and are being left to languish and ultimately die in a state of war. What steps are we missing to have jumped to such unacceptable means of what we see fitting as human decency and when will history finally cease in repeating its same unjustifiable and dehumanising surface value discrimination. My heart goes out to those endangered by the Russian invasion, those who have lost someone due to this too, and to those suffering at the filtered down, blatant racism that has failed to change its spots.u by Maddison Ball
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n d o t h y e e b
b o n i w a r by Chloe Harvey
B
eyond the rainbows, here’s the toll COVID took on an NHS worker. Rainbows. The UK loved to use them during the pandemic. They became a national symbol of appreciation for the NHS, tirelessly helping those suffering with
There were also ‘wobble rooms’ available for workers. Cullerne said, “we created [these] rooms which were a safe space where staff could go to have a break, drink, rest, cry or whatever time out they needed. In these rooms were drinks, snacks, and ‘positive notes’ that staff could read to one another.” COVID-19. How did workers balance their mental health with How did the pandemic affect healthcare staff, the ‘key their duties? Cullerne said that while access to support worker’ heroes in the darkness of a global catastrophe? services was provided, there seemed to be a shared Did the heart of the nation boost morale? As the nation mindset in staff. “I think atthe time we all worked on begins to gain a glimpse of life beyond the masks, an NHS ‘autopilot’ to get on with the job we had. There was a worker shares her thoughts. feeling that ‘we are all in this together,’ which encouraged During the pandemic, Tracey Cullerne was a Matron in everyone to work as a team - to deliver care and two Gloucestershire hospitals. “The unpredictability of do whatever was necessary to ensure patients were COVID was hard to cope with at times,” she said. “I was treated.” sometimes afraid I would catch [it], become incredibly Cullerne added: ‘It’s not until you take time to reflect sick and need hospital care. There was a risk I might on this that you start to consider the impact on yourself, notsurvive. If this happened, how would my family and your job and your family or friends. Looking after children cope?” yourself was encouraged by the Trust, however the She added - “I had staff that became very sick and true impact of COVID on the workforce is only now required Intensive Care support. I know I cried at this becoming more apparent.” point, as I knew I needed to come into work and support The ‘Clap for Carers’ was one small way the public my teams, knowing their friend and work colleague may applauded the NHS. A seemingly kind gesture, however, not survive. It was very scary and a real challenging time was criticised by some for being ‘hypocritical’. On this for all staff.” matter, Cullerne said: “many staff felt it raised awareness Staff were given help for their wellbeing when they felt of the importance of the NHS and how it’s always low, and not just through services. There was a 2020 Hub been taken for granted. It gave staff the opportunity to that signposted support and websites, such as counselling. see people that lived in their street for 10mins every NHS workers were also given a 50% subsidy on cafeteria Thursday.” Cullerne added: “some staff felt appreciated food, free parking, free sleep and relaxation apps. and said they felt it was uplifting and motivating.” u
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the expectat T
he UK has a fierce drinking culture. We drink all the time. There is always a reason to drink. It’s your birthday? Drink. It’s the weekend? Drink. You just finished work? Drink. You’re going to the footy? Drink. We forget that alcohol is a drug. It is something that is technically not supposed to go in our body but it’s legal, so we act like doesn’t matter. Approximately 57% (according to a 2017 survey) of adults drink alcohol. Of course, it’s fun, it brings people together, everything is hilarious and you might feel truly free when you’re drunk but this constant pairing of socialising and drinking needs to stop. It already has some pretty devastating consequences but it could so easily get worse. It is simply just too easy to get drunk. We find particularly as young people that if we are enjoying ourselves, the best way to do that is to not be sober. This mentality effects millions of
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people across the UK. The accessibility of this drug is probably what is most responsible for it. Almost every food providing business offers alcohol. A person who may be incredible financially insecure will happily buy a few pints a week because that is what they do when they meet their mates. The normality of this activity dulls people to the reality of it. A few pints a week, using the estimate that the average price of a pint in the UK costs £4.07 and that a person (whose social life is going to the pub) would go to the pub twice and buy 2/3 pints, that is about £20 a week and £80 a month. It is strange to think that this liquid that makes you feel good can suck hundreds of pounds out of a person’s pocket just because everybody likes it. For young people that ability once you turn 18 to have such an exciting element of their social life just sets off that need for it to be in your life. Alcohol is and will always be everywhere. What drags people in is how fun the
ation to drink drug is but what often keeps people there is the peer pressure. If you say you’re not drinking for one reason or another someone will almost always utter the dangerous two words… “just one”. It never is JUST one, you know that, I know that, everyone knows that. So why do we continue to do it and end up pressuring those who are doing what is best for them to drink. It is such a normal thing to do that we forget all of the negatives in order to justify the constant obsession with drinking. Hangovers can ruin a day but because you got the confidence to finally kiss the girl you wanted to for months it’s okay. Your liver isn’t built to take the battering it does from alcohol. So why do we do it? Because we force ourselves to justify it because everyone else does. It is so easy to list all the negatives of the insane cultural phenomena but what is it that needs to change? I think it’s quite obvious. Stop pressuring your mates to drink. Why
it isn’t really recognised is because it never comes from a negative place. The pressure is often simply because everybody wants to be on the same wave length. Realistically if one person is sober, they probably won’t end up dancing their heart out in the worst nightclub in your town or be there for the dirty kebab on the walk home and those are some of our fondest memories. And you want your best mate to be there for it. It comes from a place of love but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing This drug does create amazing situations but we need to normalise having fun without alcohol and taking pride in those other forms of enjoyment. Of course, still go out and have fun but remember that you don’t have to drink the moment anything happens and learn to enjoy how fun being sober is. Tackle those things that are hard without liquid courage. The world is beautiful, make the most of it sober.u
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nature vs
by Natali
Nature refers to the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are—from our physical appearance to our characteristics.
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s nurture
ie Cooper
Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships and our surrounding culture.
N
ature vs Nurture is one of the oldest philosophical debates within Psychology. Which has a greater influence on our behaviour? Today, different branches of psychology take a ‘one versus the other’ approach. For example, biological psychology tends to stress the importance of genetics and biological influences. Behaviourism, on the other hand, focuses on the impact that the environment has on behaviour. Previously, debates often took a very divided approach, with one side arguing that nature played the most important role, and the other suggesting it was nurture. Today, most experts recognise that both factors play a crucial role. It’s also realised that both factors are involved in important ways throughout our lives.
would copy, with the experiment concluding in the children exposed to the violent model imitated the exact behaviour they had observed when the adult was no longer present. Therefore, this shows that when we are young, we tend to copy those around us, and this impacts the person we grow up to be. Everyone’s opinions and experiences are different, and what makes us, us is truly unique. Lots of factors and events can shape who we are today, alongside our genetics which we are born with. On a personal level, I grew up without my mum, who sadly passed away when I was 6 months old. I was never old enough to remember her, let alone learn from her. I have half of her genetics and have many similar physical features, but I was never raised by her and didn’t share any early childhood experiences with her. However, we share similar mannerisms, little habitual gestures, and my ways of behaving mirror hers. Something which my dad cannot explain, or pinpoint. Despite only knowing her for the first 6 months of my life, at the age of 19, I do the same things as her and act like her. I was born with those quirks so therefore, your genetics surely have a powerful impact on your behaviour, more than you’d think. It makes my heart full that I can resemble her for those who knew her the most, keeping her memory alive.
For example, when a person achieves significant academic success, did they do so because they are genetically destined to be successful or is it a result of an enriched environment? If someone becomes abusive, were they born with violent tendencies or is it something they have learnt by observing behaviour during their childhood? Copycat behaviour is common in children, proven by Banura’s Bobo doll experiment on social learning. This involved exposing children to two different adult models: an aggressive model and a non-aggressive one. After witnessing the adults’ behaviour, the children would be placed in a room without an adult figure and were observed to see if they would imitate the behaviours they had witnessed. As children saw the adults as role models, they
I still don’t know which has more of an impact, nature or nurture, but at the end of the day, they both have significant impacts when shaping who we are today. We all experience many unique things during our lives, and that makes us so individually special. u 31
CRIMSON FOSTER ‘Since a young age, I’ve always been one for being creative. Whether that involved writing, creating short films, or photography, I always required an outlet. My work’s like an extension of me, and that’s especially how I see my photography. Photography’s been a big interest of mine since I was about twelve. That’s when I remember getting my first camera, at least. Slowly over the years, I’ve developed a style and began honing in on subjects I find interesting. The subjects I typically find the most interesting turns out be, drum roll please… people! My minds always been quite chaotic, to a degree. I live with social anxiety, depression, and high functioning autism, so to put it simply, my brain’s incapable of ever being quiet! That chaotic energy, or whatever you want to call it, is a big influence for my outfits, the colour palette’s, the makeup. I’ve always felt like those things are a good way to represent that. I also happen to be queer, so particularly with this shoot, and to be fair, a lot of my shoots in general, I’ve specifically seeked out a queer model, who’s also neurodivergent. That choice was such an important one because, as I’d mentioned up at the top, my work is quite often a reflection of who I am, and collaborating with someone who has those shared experiences, was a really satisfying way to achieve that.”u
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capitalism exists
hand in hand with
climate change ‘In all these ways, therefore, the performance of Western capitalism in recent decades has been deeply problematic. The problem is that these failings are not temporary; they are structural.’ (Mazzucato and Jacobs, 2016)
by Naomi d’Aversa 40
W
ithout any intention to criticize, this article aims to show the four key features of capitalism and briefly expose the impact that capitalism has on the environment. Capitalism has been around us much longer than we think, to set an exact time period, let us go back to the Soviet Union. When the URSS was around, there was an imminent fear from the United States, that communism would spread to the Western countries of Europe and, as a response to that fear, the US started to enlarge its sphere of influence and spread capitalism in order to contain communism – and they succeeded. As you may know... or not, after the Cold War the URSS fell and consequently communism fell; since then, capitalism has been seen as the freest and most liberal economic model that countries should follow – but is that true? Is capitalism flawless? Absolutely not, but before the dive into ‘criticising’ capitalism we shall define it, and no one is better to do that than its own ‘father’ Adam Smith. ‘The liberal plan’ or ‘the system of natural liberty’ were ways in which Smith described ‘capitalism’ in which ‘every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own war, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man, or order of men.’ The four key characteristics: The most well-known characteristic of capitalism is free markets. It is believed that in capitalist economies, markets should be free, and the main argument is that ‘if people cannot do the things that they find most profitable, they lose the incentive to invest and innovate’ (Chang, 2010). But markets are not the only thing that are ‘free’ in capitalist countries, there is also freedom of ownership and private property. The capitalist model believes that individuals should be left free to own property and that the government should protect the right to property. The price mechanism in capitalist countries is determined by the curve between supply and demand. If there is a high supply but a low demand the prices will be low and if there is a low supply but a high demand the prices will be high.
In capitalist economies, profit is what induces economic activity, naturally the more profit a producer makes reflects how well the business is doing ‘therefore, it can be said that Profit Motive is the SOUL of capitalist economy.’ Does not sound too bad right? Capitalism has a very liberal basis and believes in freedom of choice and freedom of possession. Capitalism is so free that pro-capitalist scholars before child labour was abolished argued that if the child wants to work and the owner of the factory wants to employ children – then what is the harm? The harm is that with too much freedom, the human being starts destructing and killing, many children were victims of child labor and without trying to sound rude, we are now killing our environment. Capitalist impact on the environment ‘The rich don’t care about the planet’ is probably a phrase that you have heard or read even, and it is not false. Capitalism has a distinct characteristic of its production, meaning increasing gas emissions and problems such as ‘environmental damage, from the pollution of air, water, and land to the loss of habitats and species’ (Mazzucato and Jacobs, 2016). Despise action against climate change in developed countries, none of the problems have actually been solved. Governments are not decreasing gas emissions and notable scientists firmly stating that temperatures are expecting to rise 3-4 degrees, and more extreme weather events (such as, droughts, storms, or floods). This is where it gets interesting, follow my thought line - we all live on the same planet, we are all suffering from climate change. We are all scared when some journalist on Instagram pops up in our feed saying that if do not change our habits, the world will not last another 50 years. If governments are aware of this, given they also live on Earth why would they not change their gas consumption? Here is where most of the discontent against capitalism is formed because our capitalist historic system of production and consumption is embedded in the use of fossil fuels ‘in total 80 per cent of the world’s energy still comes from oil, gas and coal’ (Mazzucato and Jacobs, 2016). We are out there creating biological and chemical weapons and mass destruction missiles and governments still cannot change from non-reusable energy to reusable energy. There is however a quite simple explanation for this disinterest in environmental issues – gas is not their fuel, money is. u 41
the cost of being disabled by Rachael Goodenough
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eing disabled is expensive. There are many hidden costs government funding cannot always cover, whether it be a new wheelchair, adaptive technology, or even an accessible house. Many disabled people are unable to work and depend on the welfare system for income, and those that can work are often on minimum wage. This makes it difficult to save money without sacrificing basic needs and has led many disabled people to reluctantly turn to crowd-funding websites such as GoFundMe. When Robert West found himself in need of a new wheelchair so he turned to GoFundMe after his efforts with his local service in Huntingdonshire and Access to Work scheme were hindered by a caseworker with “little knowledge of wheelchairs.” He aimed to raise £3,000 for a new indoor wheelchair and hit his target within an astonishing six days. When asked how he felt about disabled people having to fundraise for their mobility aids, Robert said “I find the idea of asking for money for the right to leave my house quite humiliating. It’s a tax on my most basic of human rights, being disabled is already quite expensive, it makes me feel quite small.” Calum Grevers needed to raise £30,000 to move into his own place in Edinburgh and adapt it to suit his muscular dystrophy. He turned to GoFundMe after the Scottish government were unable to fund this enterprise and created the campaign #HelpCalMoveOut. Using his social media, Calum built a network of likeminded people in disabled spaces and started to raise awareness of the internal and external struggles that disabled people face,
such as destigmatising the guilt of asking for help, advocating for accessible housing, and highlighting the positive impact of giving disabled people independence. By creating the campaign and social media himself, Calum has been able to control the narrative around him and other disabled people, as he feels that charities sometimes “take advantage of false narratives about disabled people”, pitying them rather than sharing the systemic changes necessary. Similarly, he also feels the local and national media coverage he received concentrated on him as an individual and not the larger situation of legislation and representation for disabled people. This is why disabled content creators like Calum are using their platform to fill in the gaps mainstream society doesn’t quite understand. As fellow disability blogger Shona Cobb says, “Disabled representation on social media has been so incredibly important in my disability journey, and in others. Representation might be improving across all media, but social media gives people like me control over my narrative that I wouldn’t necessarily have in traditional media. Seeing disabled people just about their daily lives on social media has shown me what is possible, and given me a feeling of solidarity when things don’t go well.” These campaigns and bloggers, as well as countless others, seriously demonstrate the need for disabled representation and inclusion, as granting disabled people autonomy and the ability to live independently benefits us all. As Calum himself said, “If you remove the barriers disabled people can live the same life as anyone else.” u
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are beauty social by Olivia Withers
I
n today’s society, it’s normal to want to look good and impress your followers with a quick selfie posted onto Instagram. But with the rise of users over different platforms, comes a race to be better looking than someone else. The instant gratification from comments saying how gorgeous you are or how smooth your skin is, or how thin your waist is and how they wish theirs was the same. And to get that wish instantly and free? Beauty filters. The question is, are filters on social media creating unrealistic expectations of being attractive? Conducting a questionnaire on Instagram in order to gain opinions and views of filters on social media, one user stated, “I think filters should be removed, but in moderation. Don’t remove the dog filter on Snapchat!” showing that some filters can be fun and lots of them are completely harmless. Whereas another user juxtaposed this, admitting, “Filters that completely change your face shape and give the standard “Botox-filler” look should be removed. They make it easy for young people to strive to look like something that’s impossible. Completely fair if people do get these procedures, but it’s likely that when young people see themselves with these filters, they will try to achieve the result by harmful routes.” Plastic surgeons have noticed that more clients are going to them with pictures of themselves with a filter on rather than to get surgery to look like someone else. This has created the term ‘Snapchat Dysmorphia’, where people are turning to filters to determine how they should look. The issue with this is that a lot of filters are extremely unreachable and some people, even with the money to spend on
plastic surgery, will never be able to look exactly like their favourite filter. A strong contender is the ‘Smokey Eyes’ filter on TikTok, which shrinks your forehead, chin, cheeks and nose, enlarges your lips and eyes and adds tan and adds the generic beauty convention of bright blue eyes. Thanks, TikTok. The ‘Glow Look’ filter on TikTok has had claims that they don’t work on POC and that it’s eurocentric. Comments on some videos say: “unfortunately I am not white, so it doesn’t work on me.” and “another filter trying to whitewash, I am so sorry.” This creates a divide on a popular trend that some people in society cannot participate in. “I genuinely don’t know why it’s a thing… This is going to contribute to so many people hating themselves. C’mon TikTok, this isn’t great.”- A comment on a TikTok talking about how dangerous filters are, especially for young girls. Credit: @ natalianotfromitalia video- TikTok. Through the questionnaire, about half of the responses stated that filters on social media have harmed their mental health and confidence. One response said, “I think filters contribute to body dysmorphia because they create this very narrow minded, idealised way to look and rarely do we ever actually look like that.” Some contributors admitted that they spend too much time worrying about how they look and filters have caused them to “obsess over appearance.” But maybe filters aren’t so bad? Maybe? Some TikTok filters create a natural ‘glowy’ makeup look, which is trending in the beauty world currently. This is a trend more people can get behind, as it doesn’t alter beauty standards. These filters are enhancing natural beauty, just like makeup
can, rather than creating the expectation that to be beautiful, you need to change. The ‘Natural Makeup’ filter on TikTok adds some light eyelashes, a bit of blush and a slight blur effect to smooth out the skin. However, the more people using the filters brings awareness to the realisation that nobody looks perfect. A healthy trend on TikTok to the popular TwentyOnePilots song, ‘Tear in my heart’, shows people with a filter on and then without, openly showing the difference of how fake filters can be. This is so important and beneficial to a society which is so damaged by beauty expectations. “We live in a society where we are scrutinised based on how a person looks. For example, when a picture is posted, people will criticise harshly based on how you look solely because social media has decided we should look a certain way instead of being comfortable in our own skin.” - Anonymous response Ultimately, the impact of filters on society is undeniably massive. The tools to create beauty filters are so advanced, it can be difficult to see what is real and what is fake. Some influencers use extremely realistic filters or micro edit their Instagram pictures in order to create a slightly thinner waist or face. It is understandable how it can be so easy to compare yourself to a physically impossible standard, creating low self-esteem within society. We can all have fun with filters and ‘perfecting’ our skin… but isn’t it time to stop with perfection obsessions and start to accept our natural beauty? u
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Twisted Season Darkness sets in, yet colour is abound Set in leaves of red, yellow and brown. Look along the sunken path, observe the twisted seasonThis celebrated death Painted in joys of colour. Let’s trample on the decayed Or brush them away We can catch them as their leafy fingers slip; The wind will loosen What remains of their grip. The mannequin trees Surrounded by their year’s growth Their paper skinPeeled from their bones. The patches of autumn are Carried away on a sigh Or left to rot On the sterling pathSinking into the earth And then forgotten. They may only be engraved Into the frozen mudThe chilling hallmark of This season’s discarded jewels.
by Chloe Harvey
‘free the nip
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pple’
campaign
by Madeleine Grice Woods
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’d seen the occasional post about the #FreeTheNipple campaign on Instagram, but I never really understood what the movement was about. It seemed to be a confusing, or rather a bazaar thing to me. Why are women protesting to get naked in public? But I was wrong. It’s a much more complicated campaign than that.
A lot of people believe it’s a feminist movement, encouraging women to go topless. Which it is in a way. The Free the Nipple campaign is part of a mission to reclaim women’s bodies, sexuality, and safety. The movement isn’t demanding that every woman must walk around naked, but to give women the option to be shirtless, free of harassment and judgment. Like numerous other campaigns, the main focus is about equality and the empowerment of all human beings.
For decades, culture has fabricated men and women’s minds into thinking that women’s bodies are exclusively sexual and should not be on show. However, what is the real difference between men and women’s nipples? One of the many things women can do that men can’t, is produce milk for offspring. Which is rather essential right? And is it that, or should that not be the only reason for a woman’s breasts’ significance? A problem today’s society struggles with is having an open mind. This campaign is solely using the human anatomy as a foundation to demonstrate that women and men are equal. Toplessness is serving the #FreeTheNipple campaign not only as a platform, but also to de-sexualise women’s nipples. Many celebrities have gotten involved in this movement including Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne and Miley Cyrus. All three posted a picture on Instagram with their nipples on show, with the caption #FreeTheNipple. It’s not just singers, models or actresses who have joined the movement. In 2015, the Icelandic MP for the Bright Future party, Björt Ólafsdóttir, participated in the campaign through posting a photograph of her own nipple on Twitter. Her caption was “This is to feed children. Shove it up your patriarchy”. She’s right, no? Despite the avid support from countless people, there are still some who are opposed to the idea of women going topless. Many criticise the movement for using women’s breasts to grab attention and fight for women’s rights in a male-dominated world, saying that men have consumed women’s bodies for their own pleasure for years. If the movement were to be successful, it may be a little weird to see the occasional boob in public at first. However, when it becomes a social norm, the fuss will eventually die down. The more I researched and learnt about this campaign, the more I wondered about what other people thought. I took to the streets and asked several people, both men and women, what their opinions were:
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Woman aged 25, “Free the nipple is an amazing campaign that shouldn’t have to be a campaign in the first place as boobs should not be sexualised, they’re for feeding babies! It shouldn’t be a thing of taboo.” Male aged 19, student at UCL, “I support the Free the Nipple cause because the censorship of women’s nipple proves the implicit sexualisation of women’s bodies. Censoring women’s nipples is harmful as it objectifies women’s bodies into a purely sexual role. Breasts are not sexual organs and are simply secondary sex characteristics of women; their nipples are no different to those of men. In fact, they play a very important role in the relationship between a mother and child and censoring potentially educational images of breastfeeding is extremely harmful and reiterates this sexualisation rhetoric.” Woman aged 18, student at Gloucestershire University, “I fully support the free the nipple campaign, I believe nipples shouldn’t be sexualised and that both females, as well as men, should have the legal right to show their nipples in public places such as beaches. Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable enough to participate myself but fully support the woman who decide to do it.” Woman aged 21, “I don’t understand why if men can walk around shirtless, women can’t. I think women are so casually sexualised and men walking around shirtless is so normal, so they aren’t sexualised when they do it even though it’s just as distracting really. I think if people start doing it people will get used to it and it’ll be more normalised, and it might also stop women from being so sexualised too. Also like breastfeeding is a natural thing so I don’t understand why people would be against doing that in public.” Man aged 20, student at Gloucestershire University, “I completely agree with the fact women should have the right to walk around topless, like men. However, there is a concern that the level of sexual violence might increase. But then again, it comes back to the fact that nipples have been made out to be sexual, which they are not.” Woman aged 18 ,“I support the free nipple campaign; I believe that women should be able to free the nipple without being sexualised or dehumanised. It is a normal body part that over the years has taken sexual priority, despite being a maternal feature that is needed for babies.” This campaign can be, and should be, supported by all. It’s true that not every woman will feel comfortable walking around topless, but shouldn’t we fight for those who would? As said by Amnesty International “When everyone comes together to support women’s rights, we can be so much stronger”. So, what’s the next step? Well, perhaps we should start by freeing the nipple on our next grocery shop? u 51
Toxically
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Trending by Ashleigh Poole
O
ur world today is forever moving, things are changing, and our environment is constantly adapting. This fast-paced routine fuels materialism and, in turn, creates the never-ending pressure to spend, and spend and spend. Take social media. What should be a platform with endless opportunities, is a breeding ground for negativity and the harmful expectation that everyone should be the ‘best’ version of themselves (on society’s terms, of course). Social media was once a brilliant place, somewhere to connect with loved ones and even somewhere to see parts of the world you might never get to otherwise. Now, consumers are frequently bombarded with adverts, scheming offers, and influencer posts, all so companies can make a profit off this obsession with what’s trending. The harmful culture of society’s online presence is what’s ruining our individuality. We’re no longer our own people, with unique outfits or distinctive hair colours - we see a trend and we follow like sheep. These platforms are a place for someone to post their best moments, a collection of highlights, if you like, and influencers discuss this regularly, yet we all seem to be brainwashed by the online culture. We’re living in the future, where trends are no longer set by runways, or fashion designers.
We set our own trends online which means the transition into the ‘next big thing’ is happening faster than we can comprehend, so it should be almost impossible for millions of consumers to meet this societal expectation. However, we’re all so inclined to follow what’s trending and feel ashamed if we can’t afford to keep up with the movement. This affects us mentally, financially, and socially. It’s draining, to say the least. Things have majorly changed, and it’s so easy to forget this when you’re conditioned to live by these expectations. Originally, there were just four standard seasons in the fashion industry and now, according to the Slow Fashion Movement, there are a whopping 52 micro seasons in one year. That’s a new trend to adapt your wardrobe to every single week. If you followed all these materialistic movements, the stress you’d be faced with is unimaginable, so it’s no wonder that so many people experience pressure over the toxic disposable system of our society. TrustPulse found that 60% of people make purchases simply because of the ‘fear of missing out’ and that seven in ten people experience this feeling that’s been generated by society. ‘The fear of missing out’ is a term that was coined in 2004, after a phenomenon became apparent on social media of users feeling left out, and then participating in compulsive behaviour in response to
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this sense of anxiety. When it comes to materialism, FOMO will always play a part. Psychologically, humans have always suffered with the sensation, but we’ve only just devised a term for it. Persuasion and anxiety provoke us to play a part in consumerism, prompting us to purchase whatever might be in trend at that moment in time. People are increasingly becoming more aware of our corrupt system when it comes to materialism and why it’s so unhealthy to follow society’s developments. The more you research and process this information, the less it will affect you. If you can understand society’s toxic psychological tendencies, you can consciously improve your health and happiness. We’re all a victim to society’s destructive standards, but to conquer them, we need to change the way we live. Be yourself and express your individuality, before society takes it from you. u
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e r t u o s s b e e r p s i ow
r p d e d af fe c e e n ting our by Anna Preece 58
e online
rivacy ?
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’ve currently switched my phone off, my location off, deleted my private snap chat stories. I don’t want to share what I’m doing from day to day online anymore. I need more privacy.
We spend so much time online talking to people and sharing our lives, but when does it become too much? Years ago, the online world didn’t exist, but now it seems as though there’s so much pressure to be online, to tell people what we’re doing, to reply to messages and make our online presence known. It’s nice to share our lives, but how much of this is for our own benefit? In some ways, lots of it is for our own benefit. We might share a post that makes us laugh, or a fun memory and we want to share that feeling with others. Social media can be good to show the best version of ourselves and connect with people easily. Spending lots of time on these apps has been normalised, and we can do so much from our phones. But on the flip side, so many people post about their lives on social media, so we might feel as though we have too as well. When you hear that someone isn’t on Instagram or Snapchat, it’s almost as if they’re out of the loop. It’s like there’s a looming pressure to be there and tell everyone what you’re up to. Anthony Burgess said in his book, Homage To Qwert Yuiop: Essays “To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world.” Everyone needs a level of privacy, it’s part of being human. Sometimes, we might even share more than we would want to or need to because we feel as
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though we have to. Is the underlying pressure to be on our phones breaking our needed privacy? Online statuses could be a factor affecting people’s privacy. Snapchat maps, if turned on, show’s your exact location when you are using the app. If you zoom in far enough, you can see exact houses and places from a bird’s eye view. Other apps such as discord and some games have online statuses, which can be turned off, but when on, pressure can start to creep in from people wondering why you haven’t replied to their messages yet or wondering what you’re doing. However, online statuses can be useful in knowing if your friends are free to talk, that’s the point of having them. Snapchat maps can also be useful to see if your friends are safe. If people can see that you’re online, you can just choose to ignore messages if you really want to without necessarily feeling pressure. Those people who aren’t online as often, may not feel that pressure that some of us feel to be attached to our phones. I wrote this article because recently, it’s started to make me feel uncomfortable that people can see what I’m doing all the time and I realised that maybe I was posting too much. You might be able to relate to what I’ve written in this article, you might not. Needing a level of privacy has started to creep up on me and I’m working on it, trying to find a middle ground. Finding the balance between posting and our privacy can be a tricky one. How can we find that balance? I’ll leave that for you to decide. u
n i h t g o m a n by Isaac Lewis
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verybody has some sort of meaning behind their life. Whether it be a religious, spiritual or completely personal meaning, there is some reason behind your existence. The opposite to this idea is the theory of nihilism. The belief is defined as the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless. Pure nihilism as it is defined can realistically only result in two paths. The first, suicide. A person who completely embraces and accepts the fact that nothing matters has absolutely no reason to still be exerting energy into the world if, as they see it, it achieves nothing. Therefore, ending their own life makes perfect sense. The other option is destruction. With no meaning to anything in the world, causing havoc and committing what society defines as completely unacceptable makes perfect sense as there are no consequences in the mindset of a nihilist. Of course, neither of these mindsets are particularly productive in the world we live in and cannot achieve anything particularly valuable to you, myself or anyone. However, a lesson which can be taken from the idea of nihilism that holds extreme value, is the idea that nothing matters. This positive take is defined as optimistic nihilism and is a belief I abide by in every aspect of my life. I accept the lesson that
technically everything is meaningless however this frees us from any obligation or restricting element of society that we experience. When you put anything that might cause you distress into perspective you can come to the conclusion that there are approximately 7.9 billion people on the planet, you are one person, and the world will continue spinning regardless. It sets you free realising that whatever happens, it really doesn’t matter. We as human beings spend so much time holding so much value to particular social situations or conflicts that are so small in the grand scheme of things. Our brains hyper fixate on them, they upset us and make us feel like shit. The longer you spend doing that, the higher the percentage of your life you are spending in a negative head space rather than a positive one. You might not have a meaning, but you can still pursue being happy. Once you unlock this mindset that nothing matters, that old saying that life’s not fair kind of disappears. Shit might happen but that is life, and it doesn’t matter. Of course, you can still feel and experience those things but once you breath and your body has reacted you can rationalise and accept that it is so much better to look forwards and move on. This attitude could help you in so many ways. It takes away the pressure to act
in a certain way or do what you believe everybody thinks you should because you begin to accept that you can act however you want. When nothing matters, you will start to understand your own morals even further as you start to lose that attachment to other people’s expectations of you. These expectations fuel far more of how you feel and often fuels the projection of insecurities on other people. Optimistic nihilism can affect individuals so positively and can then create a better world collectively. With an understanding of this attitude, people will start to hold far less value towards the actions of other people. Our society massively judges and analyses the behaviour of others so necessarily with it often transforming into hate. This has to stop, and it can when you come to this simple yet incredibly difficult realisation. The world has so many problems. The world is made up of billions of people who all have a different reason for being alive. We often hold far too much importance to these reasons. These reasons can manifest into incredibly negative things, both internally and externally. The best way forwards for us to remove things that hold us back is simple. Realise nothing mattersu
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atters...
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economy of th by Max
‘I
t’s no surprise that the condition most commonly treated by the NHS is now depression’, notes Mark Fisher in his eye-opening book ‘Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?’. But how have we gotten to this point? Why are more young people than ever suffering with anxiety and depression? Perhaps all we need are enough antidepressants to sedate the creativity and homogenise the minds of a generation? Afterall, aren’t we just a collection of chemicals? I can’t help but shake the feeling that this epidemic of dissatisfaction and uncertainty originates in something far more insidious than neurotransmitters alone… something far more difficult to treat…a sickness no medication can cure. Hear me out. One of the hallmarks of ideology is that it evades detection, causing us to view the world (ourselves included) through its lens. As such, it’s not a shock that so few people are aware of the shades fixated firmly on their western faces, shades tinted the colour of Neoliberalism. I believe that this ideology has performed a manoeuvre never before seen in the history of capitalism, a manoeuvre so ingenious that we, the active economic subjects, now lust for our own exploitation. Allow me to explain. Neoliberalism arose in the early 20th century as a rejection of post war efforts to rebuild the Western economies using state intervention. Those in powerful economic positions (primarily in the US), viewed these state-interventionist economics (e.g., welfare) as posing a severe and immediate threat to freedom. They believed that such collectivist thinking would bring about the end of individual liberty, and thus, mobilised an initiative to sterilise the welfare state in favour of absolute market deregulation, with monopolies, for example, seen to be a reward for efficiency. The wealthy and leading proponents of this new ideology of freedom, Neo-liberalism, organised with powerful business leaders and the West’s foremost academic authorities to impregnate institutions with their
influence. The Mont Pellerin Society was formed. With backing from some of the worlds most powerful economic interests, this new, private, Western pact of socio-economic influence funded a host of Think Tanks to act as ‘intellectual vanguards’ and alter the consciousness of a generation. A cynic may argue they had a vested interest above and beyond ‘liberation of the people’. As a result of a decades-long attempt to sow the seeds that would one day grow into the ugly and well camouflaged flower of neoliberalism, an emphasis on economic freedom/a de-regulated economy became the key to personal freedom in the minds of the many. With this very basic idea of what neoliberalism purports to be, as well as its historical formation, let’s get into the juicy stuff. For the first time ever in the history of capitalism, neoliberalism placed labour within the field of economic analysis – but what does that mean? Historically, labour (the worker) has been seen as a cost in the capitalist model: if I must pay you to work for me, and I have an enterprise for the pursuit of money (capital), your wages are in direct conflict with my own interests; I am going to invest in my capital and minimise my costs. This economic model came with its perks for the worker, who knew exactly where his exploiter was, exactly who to protest against when wanting a fairer wage and living standard. However, what if labour itself could be seen as capital – that is, in terms of investment? What if we stopped viewing labour power simply in relation to time, but rather as an optimisable and internal activity? Could I invest in the labour itself in order to bring about a greater efficiency in the activity of work? Here lies the ostensibly freeing revolution that we embraced with open arms – neoliberalism unlocked a new domain for capital generation: consciousness itself. By making labour available to economic analysis, beyond being seen merely as a cost, it can now be seen as something to be invested in and optimised with the view of getting a higher return – a return on investment; 62
he depressed Croker the individual themselves can now be seen as a capital project. We can now view the individual primarily in terms of capital, with consciousness its own capitalist enterprise. For example, an individual may have some innate capital (like a high IQ), which may yield a future revenue stream greater than without said capital. Alternatively, some capital can be invested in and acquired (like a university degree) which may yield a greater revenue stream than without. Viewed in this way, the way of neoliberalism, the way that your government views it, all activities an individual does in their life can now be viewed in terms of capital. Life becomes an on-going project of self-optimisation and investment in our own, human capital, with the view of bringing about a greater income stream. This is what justifies university fees for example; why should education be seen as a public good to reduce ignorance and promote a nuanced relationship to the other? Bah! It is merely a capital investment into your own psychological enterprise, the idea being you will earn more than if you didn’t make said investment. At the University of Gloucestershire, you must have heard of ‘Your Future Plan’? The place to go for LinkedIn training, for CV coaching, interview prep, for you to win awards for your level of employability? Do you think it is a coincidence that Your Future Plan sees your future almost exclusively in terms of future income? Or perhaps is it reflective of a culture dominated by an ideology that reduces all of life to a sole pursuit? Some may say that this is just a natural process, and that this is just how the real-world functions…I say that’s a warning that you may be looking through those shades I mentioned… One of the hallmarks of ideology is that we don’t know we are in it, and we believe that our conception of the world is a given reality, rather than a relative and artificially constructed paradigm. When we realise we take something as a given reality, alarm bells should be ringing. Hopefully, things should be starting to take shape here. We live in a culture that requires us to view ourselves as 63
capitalist enterprises to be invested in, package neatly, and sell as a brand to the market. We are now all entrepreneurs and don’t even realise it, constantly building on our own brand. We are entrepreneurs of ourselves, selling ourselves, always optimising ourselves. If earnings are solely in our hands, who are we to protest against for low wages? In this model, only we are to blame for our situation. Want more money? INVEST IN YOURSELF they say. You have no off days. All moments are opportunities for ‘growth’. Your boss knows when you’re relaxing when you could be doing some extra work, for he is you. We never feel satisfied with the work we have done: ‘I just think I could have done more’. Burnout is the trend. It’s no wonder there has been such a demand for mindfulness apps – we all need to escape our own minds and get some ‘Headspace’. Even this, sadly, can be viewed as part of this neoliberal model of human capital, for if a company invests in some mindfulness seminars of their own, then it’s workers will work more efficiently. It’s no wonder that more young people than ever are suffering with anxiety and depression, there is no time for the authentic self beyond the ‘branded self’. Young people have internalised the power structures that once oppressed us, and we embrace them as liberating. It is now near impossible to even conceive of alternative economic systems, that is how well this new, oppressive and depressive power runs. As Mark Fisher says, ‘its easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism’. Away with human beings, we cannot help but see ourselves as human capital. The literature on this phenomenon of ‘human capital’ is growing rapidly, and it’s no coincidence. Perhaps a revolution is needed, only this time, you must revolt against yourself as your own exploiter. Perhaps this epidemic of misery comes not from our own individual malaise, but from an economic sickness, from a societal depression. The land of the free and economy of the depressed. u
breathe...
The 80s
Society has changed alot in the past 40 years, now we’re in 2022, there has been massive changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable. The 80s was a very party orientated and colourful period in time, but as society and acceptence goes, you’d be surprised.
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ravelling back 40 odd years ago, society was a lot different and a-lot of acceptances that we find normal now were frowned upon and often not accepted in everyday life. Things such as marijuana, sexuality, race and more were all on a different level of acceptance in society as they are today. For instance looking at sexuality, in the 80s there were periods of intensified homophobia that were sanctioned by the top echelons of society, the church, police and so on. Look at America for example, many states considered same sex partners and sexual intercourse between the same sex to be illegal until all 50 states relinquished all laws agains same sex sexual activity in 2003. So being in the 80s and being openly gay or homosexual could have meant jail time, and in my opinion, absolutely ridiculous, the way in which people viewed someone sexual identity was very opinionated and people who had a sexualorientation other than straight found it very uncomfortable talking about their sexuality and hid it in most cases. However there are those role models that even during the very judged and particular time, came out publicly as homosexual, looking at Elton John who came out in 1988 he stated in an interview “Its not exactly a secret. I live with my manager. Im openly gay outside.” This being a big deal in the 80s really opened the community out to become more comfortable with who they are not ‘hide’ anymore, in my opinion the way it should be. An uncomfortable era for someone without white skin the 80s, examples of the suppression of life due to the stupid fact of someone having
different coloured skin are such as, better educational opportunities not given even if they were gifted in a special area, suppression in job opportunities, much more common use of racial words used as insults that into days society is deemed inappropriate and wrong, regular rioting between people of colour and police due to these suppressions and treatment. It was all bad however, it was around this era where people of colour started to develop rights and have a voice amongst the crowd, for example in January of 1980 American entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson launches Black Entertainment Television, September 27th the same year Journalist Bryant Gumbel becomes the first black person to be a anchor on a major network when he joins the ‘today’ show, January 2nd 1983, W. Wilson Goode becomes the first black mayor of Philadelphia, the era has its up and downs but is still very different compared to the modern day In age as there was still the high level of background racism. Looking into the acceptance of marijuana, in the 1980s it was actually less accetpable in society as it is in todays day in age, in 1988 only 24% of Americans supported the legalization of marijuana, if you look deep into some statistical facts between the ages 12 - 17 nealry 1 in 3 people have tried marijuana once in their life, comparing to some of the statistics now these levels of consumption were not as big as expected.
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Looking into the more modern 2000s era, you can see the leap into the acceptance of race, homosexuallity and marijuana. There are now laws in place and people’s views have changed. Now in more modern society there’s a fight against homophobia and insults regarding sexuality has come levels below what they were in the 80s. For example in the year 2000, the ban of lesbian and gay men serving in the united kingdom armed forces is lifted, December of the same year, the age of consent is brought dow to equalise the age of consent for a heterosexual relationship from 18 down to 16, the use of offensive sexualisation terms are frowned upon and become less used, in 2001 the German civil union bill goes into effect and by the year 2015, all states in America are accepting of homosexual relationships. A massive leap forward to the complete legalisation of homosexual relationship and a more comfortable and strong community.
Looking into race and acceptance of colour, jobs now no longer base decisions on the colour of the applicants skin but by the content of their character, there are now equal right laws in place ( the equality act 2010 must not be discriminated against because of your race ) the unacceptance of racial slurs and language, judgement from people has change and society is more accepting of people of colour and culture, there are still counties and states ‘living in the past’ and aren’t as accepting but society as a whole has come levels above where we use to be Finally looking into marijuana, the use of weed has become more and more acceptable over the years to be used both medically and as a form of enjoyment. Roughly 266 million people smoke marijuana once every year and around 13% of Americans are regular users of marijuana. Another example is that in 2012 marijuana was legalised for recreational use in both Washington state and Colorado, and there is also a wide spread debate to legalise the drug as a whole as their are many medical benefits such as fighting and slowing cancer, improving mental health and helps weight loss. Society in a whole has come a long way since the 80s in its acceptance of race, sexuality and drug use and it has all been so far for the better, I for one hope that as a society we continue this positive trajectory and continue to be more and more accepting. u by Jordan Gower
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Breaking ‘Heteronormativity’ in today’s society by Lucy Carlile
“Asking us to push away the very walls that are constantly crushing us into small, confined boxes is toxic.” ― Jamie Windust, In Their Shoes: Navigating Non-Binary Life. Heteronormativity is a term that describes the ways in which society views LGBT+ people vs heterosexual people. It is the idea that being ‘straight’ (also known as romantic and sexual relationships/ marriages between a man and a woman only) is the default and that relationships between same-sex couples should not be of a sexual nature, like that of homophobia, a term used to describe hatred or dislike towards the LGBT+ community.
So what is the difference between heteronormativity and homophobia?
Homophobia can be linked to heteronormativity because laws and negative opinions surrounding LGBT+ people are a prime example. The two are in fact very similar. However, if someone was to assume a person’s sexuality, this does not necessarily mean that they are homophobic. Society has almost shaped the way that we view others and their identities. Heteronormativity can also affect a person’s views or future views of LGBT+ people, perhaps coming as a surprise to them that people have different kinds of relationships, and not just same sex either. Obviously, this is where homophobia could come into play.
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The issue with it
It can result in depression and/or anxiety amongst those feeling that they do not fit in or that they are invisible and some way. It is very uncomfortable if, for example, a person who happens to be bisexual is asked: “Do you have a boyfriend?”. Firstly assuming that this person identifies as cis female and is therefore attracted to cis men- and vice versa with many other possibilities. It is a fixed belief that can be difficult to change/ solve around the world, but it is an important one to change so that the right attitudes are present within society.
So how can we break this for good?
There are many ways in which we can change future attitudes towards heterosexual normality in society. Firstly: education. Teaching sex education relating to LGBT+ relationships will help children to feel more ‘normal’ and like a part of society if these lessons take place and that they are not completely dominated by heterosexual relationships. Secondly, ensuring that assumptions are not made about who a person wants to go out with or sleep with and that pronouns are checked if someone is not sure of them. This way, an individual will feel more accepted and not feel pressured to correct a person, especially if they are worried that the person will not actually accept them for who they are. Lastly, just having a conversation with those around you and being a good listener in the process. Perhaps that person is not sure about their sexuality yet and does not want to speak up until they have it figured. It is important to keep an open mind and invest in a bit of self-education. The overall goal with heteronormativity and breaking it is to help the world feel connected and accepted. There is no one way to be and no one should feel like they have to sit in a closet and stay there unless they raise their voice. It is about shaping the world to accept all for who they are and not having stereotypes and assumptions put in the way of others. u
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Let’s talk about
tax
I
t isn’t rare to find large corporations who don’t pay tax. Even though manage to find loopholes in the system to avoid making any contri abusing the system by using tax havens, loopholes a The Guardian found that nine out of ten people in the UK who w paying tax. One in four of the people surveyed are boycotting a compan Therefore, people see that this is a real issue, so then why has nothing b more to fix this by insisting that UK companies publish the taxes the Whilst some companies haven’t “avoided” paying their taxes complete on the size of the business. Here are some companies that haven’t
AMAZON Amazon being one of the biggest, if not the biggest company in the world, were able to avoid paying as much tax as they should by using Luxemburg as a location to dramatically reduce their obligations in the UK. They made £3.35bn in UK sales and somehow only paid £1.8m in tax… They used the excuse of only making £74 million profit.
Google is yet another big company that avoid paying UK corporation tax. Their excuse is similar to Starbucksthat they are not big enough (even though they have employed just under 3,000 people in the UK) to count as a ‘permanent establishment’. They believe they should pay most of their taxes elsewhere. Google paid £36 million in tax last year elsewhere, whilst making £1 billion in revenue. They are constantly slammed by opposition parties for not paying their fair share. 70
The government are not forcing th making a clear political choice by cut than going after the big corporatio billion a year. The government wou disabled, etc than the big
by Sophie
t the issue with
x
$$$
h they are making billions and billions of pounds every year, they still ibution to tax. Some of the world’s largest companies have found to be and schemes to legally avoid paying UK corporation tax. were asked, said that it is morally wrong for big companies to avoid ny’s products or services because it does not pay its fair share of taxes. been done to stop this? It is argued that the government could do much ey pay and other key indicators, in every country in which they work. ely, they have been accused of not paying enough tax in the UK, based t paid as much tax as people would have liked them to have done:
STARBUCKS
To think Starbucks coffee can make a dent in our banks when we buy one, you would think they’d be able to pay their taxes with the price they charge. The business only paid £5.4 million in UK corporation tax last year, despite making a gross profit of £95 million. Also, Starbucks – which is run by billionaire Howard Schultz – made a global profit of $4.9 billion (£3.7 billion). However, according to the coffee chain’s tax advisor, Steve Anderson, Starbucks made no profit, the reason why they don’t pay taxes.
hese companies to pay tax. They are tting benefits and privatising, rather ons which would bring in nearly £25 uld rather go after single mothers, g rich business people. u
e Hipkiss
Most people use Facebook on a daily basis, it is just one of those apps we happen to find ourselves scrolling on. However, they were found not to have paid little UK corporation tax, even though they had a 70% increase in income. They only paid £1 million in UK corporation despite making half a billion pounds in revenue. When asked about this issue, the press spokesman just happened to claim the company pays all the taxes required by UK law. 71
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