Name Giving ... and the Science Behind It Do our names control our destiny??
Top 5: A refreshing look at LGBTQ+ Spaces in Glasgow
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
LOVE The new edtion of G-YOU
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WEEKLY AT THE GUU MONDAY
Beer Bar Quiz 8pm
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G-You Contributors Meeting, Drawing Room 4.30pm Debates Speaker Training, Bridie Library 6pm
THURSDAY
Hive Night 10pm - 2AM
FRIDAY
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G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
From The Editor
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As we wave goodbye to February, the suppposed month of love, we look at how love and relationships should be celebrated year-round, not just in February. We are fortunate to be part of a generation which seems to understand the significance of taking time for yourself, as well as making time for others. So have a break, relax, and enjoy this issue that my fabulous editorial team
have worked on. As this is my last issue as Editor in Chief, I’d like to thank each and everyone of my team and all the contributors, from this issue and from previous issues. It’s been a joy working alongside you, and I look forward to seeing where your talent takes you. To Francisca, my successor, I wish you luck, joy, and a committee as good as ours has been.
Anya Brzeski Editor In Chief Libraries Convener
CONTENTS Formalities
Editorial From the board
Politics
Scottish Politics Needs Antisectarianism The Case for Proportional Representation
Lifestyle
Top 5 LGBTQ+ Places and Events in Glasgow Importance of Self Love 4 Ways to be a better ally
Culture
5 Most Niche Dating Sites Age Gap in Relationships Tinded 101
Showcase
Chrysanthemum (On Seasons) In Colour
Agony Aunt
I’m fed up of Dating Apps!
Love and Mafia Name Giving and the Science behind it
Sport & Science
G Y O U
Contributors
Beth Leishman Lifestyle Gwendolen da Sousa Politics Blair Cunningham Culture Francisca Matias Sports & Science Scott Norval Showcase Olivia Swarthout Production Skye Galloway Artwork & Cover
Matthew Miller Benedict Anslow Duncan Henderson Sharath Nambiar Fionuala Mc Angus Gillies Pearl Flemming Matias Loikala ValĂŠria Levi
Magazine Design: Olivia Swarthout Scott Norval
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
Editorial Team
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From the Board Matthew Miller, President 2019-2020
From The Board Reflecting on a GUU experience
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
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When I walked into my Freshers’ Helper interview for FW 2017, I really had no idea what to expect. Having only been to HIVE for the first time in the second semester I enjoyed the building but was not the biggest GUU patron. Little did I know that the interview would change my university career more than anything I could have done. That Freshers’ week started my love affair with the Union, I met so many amazing people and had some of the most fun I’d ever had. It was the Freshers address that week, watching the then president Ash speak that I knew I was going to be GUU president, it was just a case of getting there… After the high of that week faded away and the reality of uni hit I knew I had to get more involved. I attended a one of the speaker training session available, and although I enjoyed it, I never made it to another. The PR team was more my scene. Dressed as an Incredible, Ukulele and cheese board in hand I prepared myself for another interview in the top boardroom. By making a complete numpty of myself I got on. Step one complete. Through getting to know more people in the union and attending events like D*** F***** and PR socials, I felt ready to run for board. My Facebook page was utterly dreadful, the graphics looking little better than a primary school art project, and my manifesto was vague to say the least. Luckily, I was uncontested and got on without having to run a campaign. And just like that I was a board member and trustee of a 2 million pound charity. Step two complete.
Being on board was an absolute whirlwind, a steep learning curve, but most of all an absolute blast. Through the tough duty shifts (cleaning up sick on more than one occasion) the board formed a bond and started to become the family we were by the end. As cliched as it sounds it was these friendships that were the biggest perk of being a board member, not the cheap booze or free food. Under Ailsa’s formidable stewardship the union went from strength to strength. Towards the end of the year I knew it was time to put my head above the parapet and go for the big job. This time wasn’t such an easy ride though as I was up against the Mighty Campers (Mr. Owain Campton esq.). It was a tough fought campaign, but with a pinch of luck I managed to snatch a victory. Step three complete. As I am about to (gleefully) fade into cross-campus irrelevance I have been thinking about my Union experience. It has been a lot of graft, a few sleepless nights and some very long meetings. However, it has also been the single most rewarding experience I have done in my life. Of all the positions available in my first election only one was contested and another category had to have a by-election due to not all spaces being filled. This is a stark contrast to this year where we have 28 people running for board, with nearly all positions contested. I am so proud to be able to hand over the union to the next set of custodians, safe in the knowledge that it will continue to excel. It’s been real, Matt
Politics
Scottish Politics Needs
Antisectarianism.
(Now.)
Benedict Anslow As a Northern Irish person living in Scotland, I have always kept one eye on politics back home - a picture so achingly unmoving it could not warrant the attention of two. But as the results of the 2019 General Election rolled in from Northern Irish seats, I watched unblinking. After all the hoping at every election that this would be the time we dared to vote differently, I was finally witnessing something I risked hoping could be a watershed moment. The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland had soared from 8% to 17% of the vote across the 18 Northern Irish seats. In one constituency, North Down, the party improved 35% upon their previous vote share, gaining the seat. Across the province, support had surged.
A politics so bitter, so divided and so personal, is a trap not worth falling into; getting out again is a long and painful process. And Scotland is walking right into it. As the SNP continues to dominate the independence vote, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (the unwieldy title they now habitually go by) slowly accumulates the unionist vote, we are headed straight for a Scottish political landscape dominated by one big nationalist party and one big unionist party, and the same message at every election – that ‘the other side’ will sweep to power and enforce their pro/anti-union agenda, if you don’t vote for ‘us’.
I see it in the rhetoric of the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives. I see it in the way people chant at rallies. I see it in the jibes that people throw – talking as though the other side were lunatics, monsters or just plain evil. That’s to say nothing of the religious sectarianism which, while not More than just being happy about the election result, I as developed as that across Northern Ireland, is very real was proud – proud of the people of my country and the here too, and has laid a groundwork for further identity very real bravery these results had shown. When a divi- entrenchment. sion becomes entrenched, when every election is dogged by existential threat to who you are and where you come The glimmer of hope Northern Ireland now sees in the from, when for your entire life there is an ‘us’ and a ‘them’; distance has been hard fought for. It has taken two decit takes a real and very serious courage to put your faith in ades of campaigning by people who pledged their lives to politics that promises different. fighting for change, millions funnelled in to ‘cross-commu-
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
Alliance is the primary party of antisectarianism in Northern Ireland, the ideology that opposes the nationalist-unionist divide, rather than picking a side in it. Antisectarian politicians have been railing against the established binary in Northern Ireland for decades, but it has always been held back by the fear- and hate-mongering - of the larger political parties. ‘Don’t let the other side in’ is terrifyingly powerful message when it’s a matter of core identity more than political disagreement. Every election is painted by the main unionist and nationalist parties as being essential to the preservation or dissolution of the union.
After the election, a friend told me about his grandfather, who is from a nationalist background. He loathes the current regime. He disagrees with what the DUP and Sinn Fein have done at the Northern Ireland Assembly and at Westminster. He wants Northern Ireland to break out of the hate-fear cycle. But on polling day he was distraught to the point of tears at the prospect of voting for any party other than Sinn Fein. He felt he was ‘letting down his family’ by voting with his conscience.
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Politics nity cohesion’ schemes that sought to arm my generation against the divisions which tore the previous apart, and a tortured courage that something, someday could happen to change our world. And we are still so far from fully ditching the sectarian cloud that has coloured our politics for decades. Having certain political ideologies and policies quarantined to either the unionist or nationalist bloc is a throttle on democracy. It prevents people from fully expressing themselves politically, because in many cases it would involve voting ‘against’ their community. Even on the most personal and emotive of issues, sectarian politics holds back progress. The Northern Irish LGBT+ community had to wait six years after the law changed on the mainland UK, and five years after the Republic of Ireland followed suit, for same-sex marriage to be legalised and recognised. This delay came despite the fact that opinion polling indicating that more Northern Irish people supported same-sex marriage than opposed it can be found from as early as 2014. The only reason the law remained unchanged for so long was that the DUP used its strength in the Assembly to block changes. Strength it held onto not because this policy was popular, but because tribalism kept people from voting for more progressive parties that actually represented the public will.
The antisectarian movement today is driven by an impassioned youth voice. Young people in Northern Ireland are more than twice as likely to identify as neither British nor Irish (or identify with the community-neutral ‘Northern Irish’ identity) than older people. The young people of Northern Ireland witness most painfully how much the sectarian divide holds back politics, and how the entrenched norm prevents change in all areas of politics. We know how much better life in Northern Ireland would be if the depressing force of sectarianism didn’t tar every aspect of our politics. But this movement is absent from Scotland. We need pushback against both unionist and nationalist voices. We need alternative ideologies that cater to those both pro- and anti-independence. A consensus on the union is not going to come about any time soon, so entrenching lines of support for and against independence is not going to end well for either side. All this approach achieves is to rope Scottish politics into the same kind of stale and obstructive cycle that Northern Ireland is trying so desperately to break. It is not yet clear what a Scottish antisectarian movement would look like, or how long it would take to grow into a viable political force. All that can be said for sure, is that it is not worth waiting for it to be too late.
The Case For Proportional Representation Duncan Henderson
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The adversarial and divided nature of British politics seems set in stone - a brief viewing of BBC Parliament shows Conservative MPs shouting across at Labour MPs, with the other political parties and groups each popping up to shout at everybody else as well. Our election campaigns feature warnings that the ‘other side’ will destroy the country. They take personal delight in austerity, they’ll make Britain a liberal dictatorship which ignores ’the will of the people’, or any number of the other claims.
Yet for much of the world, our politics is the outlier. This level of division seems abnormal to them. This is not to say these countries lack political division or that political parties don’t attack each other on the flaws of their policies - they most certainly do - but the politics of much of Europe is distinguished by the key fact that once the votes are counted the political parties then have to come together and work out some form of sustainable compromise government - meaning that the election opponents of today become the coa-
Politics
The era of massively overly exaggerated and personalised attacks will end, and criticism of the policies - not the person – will take over. These objections can then be discussed in coalition negotiations and a workable compromise hammered out between the parties - or another coalition sought if the objections are just too severe.
What makes Europe different though is the regularity with which coalitions occur - and this is in no small part down to the way they elect their MPs, with most using some form of Proportional Representation. People write entire dissertations and books about the different forms of PR, but in general it is any way of voting that matches, with some degree of accuracy, the percentage of votes a party gains with the percentage of seats they win in the Parliament. Put simply, if a party wins 30% of the vote, they would control roughly 30% of the seats in the legislature. Given no party in Britain has won over 50% of the vote since the WWII, and only once since equal and universal suffrage, using a proportional system would largely make coalition tnormal for us as well.
It isn’t just politicians who will change, but the voters too. People believe passionately in what their party stands for, and so are naturally drawn to support their chosen political party above all the others - that won’t change. What will change though is the reaction to other parties, as a history of cooperation becomes embedded in people’s minds. As a Liberal Democrat, I may be able to look to working with the Conservatives on opposing independence; the SNP on opposing Brexit; and Labour on particular social issues, as opposed to screaming about the (many) differences we have with each of these parties. In a time where we see supporters of different political parties ridiculed for their beliefs; I certainly think this would be a welcome change.
When the need for cooperation and coalition becomes the norm, politicians must change their tone and acknowledge that the person they are standing next to on the debate stage may very well be their Deputy Prime Minister once the votes are counted.
Will using a system of Proportional Representation fix absolutely everything wrong with the UK? No, of course not but will using a system of Proportional Representation aid our politicians in having grown up discussions about political issues? I think yes.
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
lition partners of tomorrow. Now, this isn’t necessarily a massive revolution in Britain - we saw the coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2010 last the full 5 years, even if David Cameron may have regretted responding to a question about his favourite joke with the words “Nick Clegg” when that joke became his deputy.
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Lifestyle
Top 5
LGBTQ+ Events and Places in Glasgow 1. Shoot Your Shot For all you club night lovers this event offers a refreshing change from your usual night out. Normally once a month this inclusive event hosted in The Poetry Club at SWG3 offers you a place to let your hair down and express yourself in whatever way you desire. Facebook: @shootyourshot
1. Glasgow Zine Library
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
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Nestled within the city’s southside this quirky little venue has been open since 2018. Running multiple events throughout the year this truly is a special space in the city. From zine printing workshops to art classes the friendly team are always on hand to help out and have a chat. They even run Whats the Tea a Queer Sober Hangout, which is a refreshing addition to the scene here in Glasgow! Instagram: @glasgowzinelib
Lifestyle
3. HOT MESS Another fun and inclusive club night hosted at The Poetry Club, Hot Mess is ‘A Dance Party For Queer People and Their Friends’, delivering a heady mix of disco, electropop, house, acid and techno. Give it a go, see if its for you! Facebook: HOTMESSDISCO
4. Category is Books This amazing place has quickly became a Glasgow institution and is a must for anybody who needs their fix of LGBTQ+ literature. Not only this they offer a jam packed calendar of Workshops, Clothes Swaps and even a LGBTQ+ Barber shop every Monday an Tuesday night. A must for anybody looking to connect with other LGBTQ+ people in the city. Instagram: @categoryisbooks
5. Glasgow University LGBTQ+
Facebook: @gulgbtq+
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
Something a little closer to home, this tightly-knit society packs a big punch on campus. Sign up to their newsletter and head along to one of their events, from weekly coffee groups to activism poster making sessions, they will sure help you find your feet here at the university.
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Lifestyle
The Importance of Self-Love Sharath Nambiar
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
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How do you react when you catch yourself in the mirror? Do you ever sigh? Or just imagine you could tuck in a little fat or change something about you? And then wish you felt different about how you saw yourself? This is as normal as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It’s a cycle that will never end unless you stop and realise how much you’re worth. It’s not about being born unique or being special, it’s about realising how you have grown into such a masterpiece because of every hard decision you’ve had to take, every friend you’ve had to let go of, and every person who didn’t believe in you. You are you because of what you’ve gone through — and that is what makes you worth it. Now talking about self-love and actually feeling it are two completely different things. It is hard to achieve, but it does get easier with time. Every chance you get to deride yourself or feel like shit, you should try to just pick yourself back up and establish every good thing in your life. Do it aloud, write them down — anything to prioritize selflove. Now the first step to self-love, I’d say, is acceptance. You must undeniably accept everything that makes you who you are. Disregard all your friends, partners, parents for a moment and just focus on you. Stare in the mirror and establish who you are to yourself. Be aware of who you are so whenever reality shifts negatively, you are lucid enough to take care of yourself and feel okay again before you fall
into it like quicksand. The second step would be to honestly like yourself as a person. It’s harder than it sounds. What I mean by that is, if you met yourself in person would you be annoyed or pleasantly surprised? Would you genuinely want to be friends with yourself? I started out with a resounding no. I began addressing parts of my personality I disliked and worked on it internally until I eventually began liking what I was coming out with. The third and final step to self-love is protecting yourself. Now that you finally like who you are, you don’t want to fall apart when a girl rejects you or your friends make plans without you. I do this through sass and sarcasm, but to each their own. You use this protection not to keep yourself from people, not to encase your heart in armour so it can never be free, but rather to live another day happy with yourself. It’s a constant battle, one that has both wins and losses, but you work daily to end it with a smile. On a constructive tangent, I find many people have heated opinions on Drag Race, but one thing we can all agree on is that Ru is absolutely right when he says, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else.” Some people end up defining themselves by another person — and I assure you when I find someone, I’ll go through this too — and it’s incredibly damaging. You cannot truly love someone if you don’t love and appreciate yourself. This
is what would happen (theorise with me): you fall in love, they love you too, you both commit to each other, and then, out of nowhere, you wonder how anyone could love you; you think the other person deserves better; you feel guilty for ‘holding that person back’; you think you love that person more than they love you — making you feel abhorrent. This landslide is a direct consequence of undervaluing yourself and it simply isn’t a hole you can fill with another person. Now how does one practise selflove. Go to the Mitchell Theatre and watch a play. Go to Princes’ Square and window shop (let’s be real, we’re all in overdraft). Take a walk through the botanical gardens and appreciate your own company without thinking, “Hey, this would be a great date idea.” As Meghan Trainer says in her new song Babygirl, “As soon as you love yourself, You never know what an angel you are, Stop breaking your heart. As soon as you love yourself, You gotta try before anyone can, You’ll understand.” Self-love is this little secret that’s hidden from the world. It gives you rose-tinted glasses to see the world through and helps you remain kind. Getting there involves dealing with a lot of shit from your past, but once you do arrive, you can deal with the same battles of life with something new — some well needed perspective on how valuable you are to yourself.
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Ways to be a Better LGBTQ+ Ally
1. Don’t Out People
2. Use Inclusive Langauge
Lifestyle
Fionuala Mc People are different. No two people are completely alike, including those from the LGBT+ community. Therefore it is reductive to propose a definitive way to be an ally to an LGBT+ person. For example, my girlfriend thinks it’s nice when people look happy for us when we’re in public together, whilst I find it patronising. How to be a better ally is highly dependent on the specific needs and feelings of the individual in question. However, that being said, there are a few basic ground rules that most of us can agree upon and which apply to the majority of cases:
Some people are very open about their sexuality or gender identity, while others are a bit more closed. Some people may not be out to everyone and maybe aren’t comfortable using their preferred pronouns with co-workers or aren’t yet out with their family. This is especially relevant for those of us at university because a lot of people only really begin to come to terms with their sexuality or gender identity or come out slowly when they experience the freedom of moving away from home for the first time. Always check with them if they’re okay with mentioning their sexuality/gender identity to other people and don’t bring it up unnecessarily. This includes checking if people are okay with having them on social media if their sexuality or gender identity is in any way visible there. It might be perfectly innocent to you, but prying relatives can be online now and that picture of your friend with a pride flag or hugging a partner might cause some difficult conversations for them. I like the term queer. My girlfriend often describes herself as a dyke. Both of these terms can be considered homophobic slurs. My preferred term skews younger because the reclamation of queer as an identity is relatively recent. As a general rule though, it is still probably best to use terms like lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans or indeed just LGBT+ when talking about other people or a community as a whole and not to police people on the terms they are using. There is often a lot of thought that goes into what people label themselves which is why many older gay people object to the term queer given its history as an insult, and prefer more definitive terms. Be accepting of what terms people prefer to use and if you’re uncertain about anything, just ask. It is good practice to check someone’s pronouns when you first meet and to follow their
3. Use queue. If people ask about yours don’t get offended and just respond with what you are Preferred most comfortable with. It is possible that they move in social circles that use ‘they’ proPronouns nouns as default or in circles with a significant number of gender non-conforming or trans
4.Treat Everybody The Same
At the end of the day, someone’s sexuality or gender identity is just another aspect of their multi-faceted personality. Many of the existing articles on how to be a better LGBT+ ally include things like learning about the history of the LGBT+ movement and while that is useful, I would argue it’s no more vital to being a good LGBT+ ally and friend to LGBT+ people than learning about a different religion is to be friends with people of a different religion. It’s always good to know more but it’s not mandatory in order to be an ally in my opinion. What is needed is just to be a good friend and to not treat people differently on the basis of sexuality or gender identity.
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
or non-binary folk. Making sure to respect people’s pronouns is a very simple courtesy to offer and isn’t difficult. Even if you don’t understand why someone uses the pronouns they do or you think that they don’t match the pronouns they offer, don’t mention it. It’s not your place to do so. Additionally, part of being a better ally is not objecting to they/them pronouns on the grounds of grammatical purity. Even academic journals are inclusive of they/them pronouns these days and the singular they is already one we use if we don’t know somebody’s gender.
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Culture
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Most Niche Dating Sites of 2020 Blair Cunningham, Culture Editor
Looking to meet Christian singles? What about firemen? Mormons, maybe? Oh , how vanilla! In the 21st Century, the possibilities for online dating go further than you can imagine....
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
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Beautiful People.com (1,200,000 users)
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder; well your access to this dating site is based on the opinion of hundreds of beholders. Upon applying to the site your attractiveness is rated by members of the opposite sex (already on the site) over a 48-hour period. Only those rated attractive enough by existing members are allowed on which has earned the site a lot of backlash over this exclusive requirement. Only about 20% of applicants make it onto the site and in 2010 5,000 users were expelled for gaining weight. While the defence that it represents unavoidable human nature could hold true I personally can’t imagine a greater concentration of vein and vapid individuals on one website.
Ashley Madison (60,000,000 users)
What ever happened to the sanctity of marriage? This controversial dating site specialises in matching different married individuals together. Many have accused the site of facilitating affairs which would otherwise be difficult or impossible, those who defend it might say it’s a medium for the inevitable adultery involved in so many modern marriages. Either way it’ll be hard to find a partner without some serious baggage on Ashley Madison.
Culture
AnastasiaDate (4,000,000 users) Another controversial dating practice is perfected on this site. European and North American men are connected to Eastern European women for some iron-curtain-crossing-coitus. The cultural explanations for this phenomenon are numerous and all very troubling. These theories don’t represent all or even very many Western men or European women, just the ones on this dating site. Some Western men are looking for more submissive/traditional women focused on their own aesthetics and a man’s bank account rather than his looks/personality. On the flip side some Eastern-European women are looking for a stable and financially secure life, they’re therefore willing to tolerate older and less attractive partners.
Sea Captain Date (10,000 users) Tired of months at sea in cruel ocean storms surrounded by seamen? Want something more than a ship’s helm to hold? The ocean is an unforgiving mistress so why not send a message in a bottle to a real woman? No more scales and salt! Always been bored of dating the same cowardly men addicted to land? Why date boys with cars when you can have a man with a boat! If a salty sea dog with a big beard and a wooden leg gets you hot and bothered this could be the site for you! Connecting sea captains to women/men on shore this dating site occupies one of the more niche corners of Internet love.
Furry Mate (Too many species to count) Interested in some anthropomorphic mating? Strap on your furriest furry costume for some judgement-free fun with this lil niche. This is the kind of no-questions-asked sexual-eccentricity we were promised for the 21st century so don’t waste the kinky opportunity! Badger boy? Goose girl? Literally an actual wolf? You’re in luck!! This site has no doubt facilitated the kinds of cross-species ménage à menageries that would make Noah jealous. G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
The list goes on: nudists, the 7ft+, farmers, clowns and even the gluten-free. There’s love to be found for everyone on the great orgy that is the Internet.
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Culture
the great
Age Blair Cunningham, Culture Editor
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
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Gap
debate
more unpleasant but is this patronising to women or an awareness that society lends more power/money to older men than any other demographic? What would this mean for our perception of age gaps in same-sex couples where there is no gender difference? Note enough data is present to study age gaps nor their perceptions in same-sex couples at the moment.
How old is too old? How young is too young? 16. 18 in most cases. But we’re not here to debate the legal boundary, we’re here to decide what age gap in 18+ relationships is acceptable? One easy answer to the question is that all sexual/romantic relationships, even if they make us uncomfortable, are moral if it’s two consenting adults. At what point do most people find the gap too wide? Many might be familiar with the “half your age plus Does it depend on gender? Class? Economics? seven”ruletodecidewhatgapisacceptable,forexample half my age (20) plus seven would mean the minimum The above research by the US Census Bureau outlines age for a partner would be 17. I would personally feel the trend for most relationships to preference older uncomfortable dating someone that age regardless of males and younger females, though the most common others’ opinions but this could be down to the crossing couple is one without a noticeable age difference. of the 18-year-old boundary, a three-year age gap We can also see how rare extreme differences are wouldn’t bother me if we were both in our twenties. but Clooney/Macron gaps do make up 3.2% of all Note this method was more likely cooked up by a relationships. Take a look yourself at the chart above, redditor than a social scientist or professor of ethics. which age disparities make you uncomfortable? Maybe your parents have a large age-disparity so Is there a clear line between something that is immoral you’re used to the idea? The chart doesn’t take into to us and something we find unpleasant? Well humans account the actual age of couples just the disparity, so have historically blended the ideas of morality and there would be a big difference in how we view a 40 disgust closely together. Most immoral things today and a 60 year old together versus a 20 and a 40 year and in the past were also described as disgusting such old together. It would also be interesting to survey as violence, manipulation and theft (disgust is an public opinion on the matter and see what is seen as extremely loaded word, I use it now as a spectrum of societally acceptable. Does our perception change if unpleasantness). They’re not synonymous however, the younger partner is male or female? What does that most immoral things disgust us in some way but many say about our perception of gender? Most likely find disgusting things are not immoral, this is especially the idea of an old man and a much younger woman true for what consenting adults do in their spare time…
In fact disgust can be an incredibly insidious and dangerous emotion to base morals and laws upon; racism, homophobia and religion discrimination usually have their base in irrational and bigoted disgust from indoctrinated individuals. To establish truly progressive values we need to base morality on genuine harms and benefits regardless of human reactions of disgust, the latter we can’t always control but we need to think past it. Adults in relationships with underage children is wrong regardless of the fact it’s also disgusting, there’s always manipulation, psychological damage and a violation of trust. So it might be hard to shift a feeling of unease at
Culture
the idea of a 20 year old and a 60 year old but if it’s an honest and informed relationship there shouldn’t be a question of morality. Disparities in economics aren’t included in that assertion; there is certainly room for manipulation if resources are used by one party over another. Many claim that a person’s looks and personality should form the basis of a healthy relationship, solely. This does bring to mind the Steve Coogan quote in The Trip when he is criticised for using his fame to sleep with younger woman: “they might be only sleep with me because I’m famous but they only sleep with you because you’re young and attractive.”
often draw attention for their significant age differences. How do we decide what constitutes a normal and healthy relationship?
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
celebrity couples
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Culture
Tinder 101 A Guide to Getting You Sorted for Valentine’s Day 2021 Angus Gillies
Are you tired of endlessly swiping? Getting more matches, but feeling less special about each one you match with? Comparing yourself against societal expectations of beauty ad nauseum? Nursing the addiction of validating your own attractiveness against the other members of your sex, at the cost of lower self-esteem when compared to non-Tinder users? (Coming from the American Psychological Association, no less). Tinder has been going since 2012. Eight bloody years of this, and if not on our phones it lies in wait on the app-store, biding its time for a bout of drunken existential loneliness. But hey, it’s almost Spring. We aren’t deleting Tinder en masse tomorrow, and there are still interesting people to match with, funny people to talk to, and sexy dates to have, right? This article will be a shortstop guide to getting the basics right, all to help the process to finding the one that all of us dating-app users crave.
Visuals
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I am afraid, even for the most photo-shy among us, there is just no way a dating profile is maxing out its potential unless you have high-res, clear photographs of you. Sadly, most of the photos of me are awful, or taken to prove a later point against me. Cosmopolitan recommends avoiding neutral colours in your photos. God help us. If you don’t have one of these non-neutral colour, high-res professional looking photographs, you better get demanding with your friends, hire a professional photographer, or, maybe, just delete Tinder.
Bios
Again, some people are convinced that the bio is the place to really fight back against the surface-value, materialist, commodification of love that is Tinder, but unfortunately this is rarely the case. The sad truth is that most men (not exclusively heterosexual men either, we are all as bad as each other in this) using this app swipe furiously, and with total disregard for those old-timey wishey-washy qualities such as life passions, personality and interests. Who ever has time for those old hackneyed traits when its Sunday evening, you’re two drinks down and you’ve shaved? I guess that if you wanted to have someone relate to you for who you are before you meet them, my personal suggestion is to communicate face-to-face with the person, even if it just for a coffee rather than a sexual encounter, where you get added benefits of communication such as body language, tone of voice, and enthusiasm, rather than oscillating between two day-long reply times or rapid instant messaging. A further suggestion of mine would be to take the plunge, delete Tinder, and experiment.
Culture
Talking to Matches
The part that Tinder is all about. Be confident, judge and maintain the flow of the conversation, and show an interest in the other person rather than yourself. The last Tinder date I had developed a migraine after thirty minutes, and the highlight of the evening was walking into a door as it produced the sole laugh from either of us of the night. Why the hell am I even writing this? I have literally zero authority on how to be successful on Tinder. But, I do have advice to give. There is something scary about the dating apps that dehumanises people, and us, and makes the whole process of dating people seem less genuine than it is. An antidote to this would be to privilege face-to-face encounters, where you have the best chance to gauge people. Deleting Tinder may potentially promote this .
Deleting Tinder
Just delete Tinder already. I know I’m being holier-than-thou, but I’m speaking to myself as much as I am to you. I know there are 7.53 billion people on Earth right now, and we all want to expand the possibilities of dating as many cool and interesting people as possible, all to expand your chances of finding perfect love and the one person that will love you for who you are. And Tinder can (I’ve been told) facilitate this, amongst relieving more carnal satisfactions. But the side-effects of it are not to be undermined; whether we think we should be judging whether we would have sex with people in a matter of seconds, thousands of times over; creating a constant quest in our brains for the “best date”; or coming to see love as a competition. These surely can’t be the answer for a genuine, open, and conscientious outlook on relationships, that is surely the most essential part to dating, even more so than going on dates.
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020 17
Agony
Aunt
Our resident agony aunt, the Marvellous Ms Margo is bcak, and ready to tackle any problems any issues facing you- be they pressing, embarassing, or just plain funny! There’s no shame here. so if you need some advice, send your query to libraries@guu.co.uk
Dear Ms Margo,
I’m getting fed up of dating apps! I just want to meet sombody in person but im scared :( Oh Honey! Me and you are going through the same thannng. Dating apps are fun and they have their place, althought don’t expect not to see your course mates on there. Sometimes its easy to live in your comfort zone and stay in the digital world but there’s somthing magical about meeting sombody naturally in person.
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
Its scary I know! Take a deep breath, go out with a group of pals and don’t overthink things. Remember, you never know when your going to meet that special somebody, it could be any day now! What is important is you leave yourself open to the possiblitly of meeting sombody. It’s never too late to join some new socieites and you don’t always have to be on a night out to meet sombody either. Althought, we’ve all been there, fancying sombody on the HIVE dancefloor.
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What’s important is to relax, don’t force things and if you just be yourself a special sombody will be around the corner to snap you right up! Take care, and let us know how you get on, Ms Margo
This time at university can be reallly hard. If you are struggling, you can call Nightline 7pm to 7am during term time on 0141 334 9516 or visit gunightline.org for instant messaging.
Showcase
Dear Readers, Welcome again to the showcase section of this lovely magazine. I find it fitting that this edition is about Love, for Love, is somthing that poets have been focusing on for centuraries. However, dear reader, the poems you see in this section are not ‘love poems’ they are just poems from poets trying to speak their own truthes. Please, enjoy them, for the sounds they make and the shape they take up on the page. I start the section of with my own poem ‘Chrysanthemum’, then Matias’ poem ‘(on seasons)’ and finally Pearl’s ‘In Colour’. Enjoy!
Chrysanthemum.
Scott Norval, Showcase Editor
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
when i sent you a poem you thought it was a sign of love my words your words curled up inside each other like chrysanthemum petals my art held in your hands leafed the folding of sounds in petals canvas kept in hands kept in paper art as petals as words held here leafed leafed between the embrace found susurrations carried on the back paper made of poetry made of petals made sunlight captured on the leaves grown or found art given touch held in the pastel hues of now the flourish of first light art as petals as words held
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Showcase
(on seasons) Matias Loikala
(on autumn) an evening sleek like a circular saw you’re catching my eyes open my head was beautiful, a hole you sat on my shoulders as a three-winged lark
(on winter) briskness, dismemberment. a hail shower falls; I sit on the empty leaves of bushes Wlike a perfume. the winter is repeating, I must fill all these absences of snow
(on spring) I try to fall controllably into pleats of colour as the sun is being distilled, and my body is larger than I thought. between us there falls incessantly a curtain of rain, or a willow-eared grove
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
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(on summer) they sit on the bed like a stick of cinnamon. my womb is an empty place, an apple pod tree and I am verbed, I feel warm the sky is entirely a moon
Showcase
In Colour Pearl Fleming
My roots grow under the wardrobe They entangle my shoes Get caught up in the wooden legs Up to my knees The widening gyre. My feet cement, cast in stone, alabaster dreams: The shape of this reality Wide and teary eyed I yearn to picture In black and white illustration at least, the outline, the drawing: the image of a future West Virginia to Texas And I can’t see beyond the bridge All I ask of you is for tomorrow I ask you for tomorrow Without negotiation, non-negotiable I Will It Alive. Burning eyes and cracked lips It spreads from my walls to my ceiling Numbing the paint dry Peeling back my layers Oysters habitats are highly calcified Its brittle sticks in this glowing space Brittle sticks in this radiant space Yellow flourishes: symbolic in form and substance
Salts Mill, Bradford. In conversation, By train on Saturday, foggy eyes suspended in each other’s arms The summer is for sharing Window, by window, by window. Look out and you’ll see.
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
Fragile White Paper Ghosts, They live in the present and I share it with them
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Feature
Love (and Mafia) Are in the Air Valéria Levi
What does Scotland have to do with mafia? was the typical, almost mathematically predictable, reply I received from most people in Glasgow every time I talked about the need to raise awareness of mafia in the UK. The underlying conviction shared by many seemed to suggest that mafia does not affect Scotland but is an Italian affair strictly confined within Italian borders. I soon realised that I could answer this scepticism in two possible ways: I could give up the discussion or grab the gauntlet. You see, I am here writing to you, I am sure you can guess which option prevailed in my mind.
G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
Although Scotland is generally viewed as an uncorrupted, transparent country, nobody would deny that organised crime has roots and affiliations even here. Globalisation and financial interests are known to be decisive motivators in helping organised crime spread across countries. Scholars and common people are comfortable with warranting that different criminal organisations may support one another in order to turn their illegal activities to profit. However, mafia must remain an Italian thing ‘cause in Scotland there is only organised crime. The idea that Scotland could be immune from mafia but not from organised crime fascinated me in its contradiction. Perhaps, as an Italian, I have a tendency to directly link organised crime with mafia but I was happy to learn that, according to Scottish government’s social research on Serious Organised Crime (2017), my perspective could find some evidence in Scottish terminology.
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The definition given in the survey claims that a criminal group can be labelled “organised crime” when several individuals gather together in a hierarchically organised enterprise who, by means of a common strategy and specialist resources, intends to cause harm and profit from it. Drawing from this assumption it can be argued that mafia is a form of organised crime and, as such, has an impact on Scotland which needs to be recognised. If we think saying “organised crime” is fancier than speaking about “mafia”, we are definitely allowed to use the former term rather than the latter but we need to be aware that organised crime includes mafia and mafia has Italian roots but international ramifications. Taking the Scottish context, it was Antonio La Torre’s merit, also mentioned in Roberto Savia-
no’s Gomorrah, to bring mafia to Scotland. In Aberdeen he ran legitimate businesses, such as restaurants, fitness clubs, pubs, betting shops. He used these places to launder money, illicitly acquired in his native village of Mondragone, until he was arrested in 2005. He was jailed for extortion and racketeering but the problem is that he has been released in 2014 and considering Scottish financial policies, he might be able to start his money-laundering operations again. As a study by D. Leask and R. Smith from The Herald (2016) has suggested, Scotland represents a very appealing site for money laundering thanks to Scottish Limited Partnerships (i.e. collaborations between multiple societies registered in Scotland). SLPs beneficiaries make profits in two ways: first, from the possibility of registering anonymously and, second, from the option of not paying taxes, if the activity’s production does not take place in the UK. Needless to say that around 90% SLPs apparently produce offshore and are anonymously managed. You can now imagine how such state of affairs has been benefitting in the flourishing not only of legal economy but also of fatal attrac- tion on the part of mafia and othe r criminal organisations,
Sports and Science
which see Scotland as a tax shelter for investing on allega- those who worked for Antonio La Torre, namely pushers tions of money-laundering. and stakeholders in Mondragone but also waiters, barmen, fitness instructors, chefs in Aberdeen; people who The government is not the sole actor in the scene, so what knew they were working for a mafia boss but did not care can we do? As Scottish citizens we have the duty to de- about it. If mafia and organised crime find a fertile ground nounce SLPs jurisdiction and pressure the government so in Scotland, it is because of Scottish policies and peothat it takes action against a system fostering criminal or- ple allow for this (as I understand, ignorantly for many). ganisations. Besides defending Scotland from illegal infil- Crime can be transplanted from a place to another but is trations, these civil actions will take on an ethic value: they not strong enough to grow up on its own. Let’s not shut our will prove that justice is not only made by judges and law- eyes to evidence and speak about it now. Let’s show mafia yers in courts but depends on work and knowledge of the we care. I told you love (and mafia) was in the air! general public. We ought not to follow the footsteps of all
Name Giving… and the Science Behind it Francisca Mathias, Sports and Science Editor
You either like your name or not. I think there is really no middle ground with this, there might be a process of acceptance but in the end it’s a yay or nay. I always liked my name. I was named after a great grandmother or a great great grandmother on my dad’s side if I’m not mistaken. “Francisca” signifies free woman (and in Urban Dictionary “the hottest girl in the world. usually has gorgeous brown hair and captivating dark eyes. (…) not like fernanda”). Ok, I am diverging, but in all seriousness let’s discuss how names project stereotypes.
everything from career choice to living location to who we marry to the quality of our work and even determines whether we fundraise for disaster victims. (According to one study, if we share the same first letter of the name of a hurricane we are more likely to donate to the cause – aka implicit-egotism effect which basically says how we are far more attracted to things that resemble us).
You know, names are so important that in 2007 The Guardian published an article about how research claimed that if females are given “very feminine names, such as Anna, Emma or Elizabeth, [they] are less likely to study maths or physics”. How do you identify if a name is more feminine than another? Well, according to this research it has to do with the letter combinations and phonics. This research even claimed that sisters, especially one whose name is Alex, is twice as likely as her twin to take any STEM at a higher level in school. The thing is, this really has nothing to do with capability, but everything to do with stereotypes and societal expectations. The assump- Not to kill the buzz on the conspiracies behind name givtions we make from people’s names are just wrong – I do it, ing, but many findings also say that although a person’s you do it, everyone subconsciously does it. name might subconsciously affect their thinking, the effects on big or small decisions are minimal. So say if it is This study also looked at how giving “lower-status” names said that Jack indicates an interest for plumbing, it can just notably associated to lower expectations in school and in be that the name Albert is so common that there will inevilife in general. In fact, in the late 1940s, Harvard Universi- tably be hundreds of plumbers named Albert (as of mine). ty published its research on how “unusual names” affect- I guess the real science behind name giving is answered by ed academic performance. This goes as far as how names your parents or whoever named you really. In terms of the represent ethnicities. The reason for our student numbers? effect names have on representing people, we just have to Researchers even say that the name given to us affects stop assuming.
G-YOU Magazine // February 2020
What I’d like to touch with this particularly is on the effect names have on those who don’t harmonise withW the gender they were assigned at birth. We’ve to come to an era where gender is not boy/girl anymore, that is it way more complex than that. Names dictate gender, so changing from Mary to Jack might be the biggest step someone takes in coming out to the world. On the other hand, someone might not change names but still relate to another gender. It is here where assumptions get even trickier and definitely make people ignorant. Names lead to pronouns. It is therefore of UTMOST IMPORTANCE that we stop assuming one’s gender based on someone’s name, and their capabilities thereof.
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G-YOU Magazine // Februaruy 2020
The Elliot is an Individual, Silent Study Space with Desks and Power Outlets
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GUU Has it’s Own Kitchen and Cafe To Keep You Energised Throughout The Day!
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: d r o fun w s as more P fi Wi have we
#G The Bridie is Group Study Space Were You Can Revise Together Or Work On Group Projects
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