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The Twenties jazz, sex and liberation Gangs the harsh reality on our streets Cherry Healey shares her guilty pleasures no.1 may 2012 ÂŁ3
Candour Editorial Team
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a women’s magazine that was more than just celebrity stalking and body hang-ups?
Kathryn Preston Editor-in-Chief @KateBlogsFood
Natalie Mortimer Features Editor @NatalieMortimer
Louise Moore Website Editor @LouiseMoore20
Victoria Inniss-Palmer Design Editor @VInnissPalmer
Bianca Amponsah Chief Sub-Editor @BiancaAmponsah
Sophie Baillie Writer @SophieBaills
Jess McKay Writer @JessicaMckay91
Emily Bancroft Writer @Emilywae
Sophie Burluraux Writer @SophieBurls
Charlotte Chapman Writer and Illustrator @CVChapmanx
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In this issue... Page 16 a cup of tea with Cherry Healey Page 25 check it out this May
Page 24 let them eat vegetable cake
Page 8 the reality of gangs Page 12 gals with gumption
Page 23 female erotica: Shh or shout about it?
Page 19 stitch in time Page 29 sport...the Candour way
Page 14 “fashion fades, only style remains the same”
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Dear Reader,
Page 6 what we’re talking about
Candour is a magazine reflecting all aspects of women’s conversation, seamlessly changing from difficult topics to cute things on the internet. In a women’s magazine, we feel that readers deserve than more just shoes and sex tips, we want you to read about important issues that all kinds of women face. Which is why we’ve gone straight in for a difficult topic – how girls are treated in inner-city gangs. Girls can be forced into sexual activities they don’t want to participate in so that male members can feel powerful, but any woman can be affected when rape is used as an initiation for members. Find out more on page 8. The 1920s are a hot topic right now: ‘The Artist’ swept the Oscars, Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be released in December and flapper fashion was all over the spring/ summer 2012 catwalks. In our launch issue, we explore how attitudes to women have changed over the decades and how the rebellious flapper paved the way for female independence which can be found on page 12 and throughout the magazine. In a first for a women’s magazine we’ve given you a sports page, but with the Candour difference. We’ve covered
breakthroughs in women’s boxing where participants want to wear shorts rather than the skirt 1920s tennis player Suzanne Lenglen pioneered. Female boxing is also now recognised as an Olympic sport so read how attitudes have changed on page 29. Would you admit to reading erotica? We won’t tell, promise! Features editor Natalie Mortimer has spoken to darlings of the erotica world on women’s reading habits on page 23 and she has also made a delicious parsnip and maple cake which you can make at home tonight on page 24. The Candour staff have all tried it and it is delicious. The beautiful illustrations in the magazine have been provided by one of our own, Charlotte Chapman, and the gorgeous pugs for the love story on page 30 have been drawn by Gemma Correll. We really hope you enjoy the first issue of our magazine and we’d love to hear your views so log on to candour.co.uk or Tweet us @CandourMagUK and join the conversation. Kathryn Preston Editor-in-chief
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what we’re talking about... From the Queen’s Jubilee to same-sex marriage laws, the Candour office has been discussing it all.
Here at Candour, we are big fans of the Queen and are very excited to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee next month. The Queen is a really remarkable woman and only the second female ruler to meet her 60-year reign after Queen Victoria in 1897. Last year we saw street parties and bunting galore for the Royal Wedding and we’re ready to get the fine china and Union Jacks out again to show Lizzy we care. The Queen is an important figurehead of our country and we all take her for granted. So celebrate in style on bank holiday Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June (two days off? Thank you, Queenie!) And, if you’re stuck for something to contribute to your street party, check out our favourite recipe for coronation chicken on the website candour.co.uk
Same-sex marriage In autumn 2011 Prime Minister, David Cameron, promised to make changes to official forms to allow same sex marriage in the UK. On 15 March 2012, the government stuck to their word and launched a consultation paper which says that the words ‘husband and wife’ have to be removed from official forms, including tax and benefits guidance and immigration documents. Private companies will also be expected to remove the words from paperwork and data on their computers and websites so that there is no longer the suggestion that a married couple is a man and a woman. New documents will have to use the term ‘spouses’ and ‘partners’ instead of the traditional terms. The aim of this being to “open civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples for the first time”. However the changes which were outlined by Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone and Home Secretary Theresa May haven’t been fully accepted by everyone in society. According to the Mail Online, the Church of England has had a “furious row” with the government, accusing them of “misunderstanding the law of marriage”. Under the new plans, religious marriage will be categorised separately and related specifically to male and female couples. To see what Candour has to say about the subject, turn to page 30.
Candour wants YOU!
Date: Saturday, May 19 Time:19:30 Place: Abbey Bar, 30-33 Minories, Near Fenchurch Street, London
We’re so excited to tell you about Candour’s launch event at Abbey Bar, near Fenchurch Street in London! On May 19, we will be having a grown-up tea party to celebrate our wonderful magazine finally hitting a newsstand near you. Everyone knows the best parties are the kind you have when you’re young with jelly, ice-cream and balloons but we don’t want to stop now, just because we’re ‘mature responsible adults’. The only difference is we’ll be drinking cocktails out of china teacups rather than lemonade - you can bring your favourite mug, if you want to! (Go to our Twitter feed to see our mugs.) We’ll be chatting about the important topics in a Candour reader’s life: feminism, war and having fun! Candour is a women’s conversation, and that’s what our event is all about, meeting up with friends and readers and just having a good old get-together. If you can’t make our event this month, don’t worry. Candour’s Sisterhood Socials will be held at cities all over Britain once a month to catch up with you all and have a chat over your favourite magazine. If you’re interested, come and join our conversation.
For more information about the event and to register for the guest list go to our website candour.co.uk
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‘Diamond Geezer’: Queen celebrates Jubilee
What is it with the front covers of trashy magazines? Female celebrities named and shamed because they have a hair out of place or don’t have a super trim body. There is a huge readership for this kind of content, but what kind of example is this setting for the younger generation? Sophie Baillie looks at a new documentary hoping to change everything.
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t’s hard to pass a magazine stand without seeing headlines like ‘shocking celeb weight gain’ or ‘plastic surgery gone wrong’ splashed around the covers and sadly this form of disparaging women has become acceptable. In our society, media is the most persuasive force shaping the public’s cultural norms whether or not we think it’s right but a new documentary is kicking back. ‘Miss Representation’ is campaigning for the empowerment of females worldwide and to provide them with new opportunities so they can realise their full potential. Written, directed and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newson (she also appeared in Mad Men) ‘Miss Representation’ is a call-to-action campaign to empower women and girls to eradicate sexism. The film shows how mainstream media can contribute to the underrepresentation of women’s positions in power and influence in America. The film uncovers the glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. It challenges the media’s limited (and often disapproving) portrayals of women and girls which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for Jennifer Siebel the average female to feel powerful herself. Newson Throughout the film there are stories from people, in particular, that women’s In a week, American teenagers on values and power lie in their various teenage girls about the way they feel the media youth, beauty and sexuality and average spend 31 hours influences them as well as not in their capacity as leaders.” watching television, 17 hours interviews with politicians, Indeed with figures showing entertainers, activists that the number of cosmetic listening to music, three hours and academics including surgical procedures performed watching movies, four hours Condoleezza Rice, Gloria on girls aged 18 or younger more Steinem and Margaret Cho. than tripled from 1997 to 2007 reading magazines and 10 hours Even our own Twitter and the fact that women make up online. That’s a total of 10 hours followers feel women’s merely 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs, magazines are unhealthy it’s clear that Siebel makes a good and 45 minutes of media when it comes to body point. consumption a day image. Candour reader Newson said: “One of the @EmmaC_P has shared most inspiring things I learned her thoughts: “I feel like women’s magazines uphold while making this film is that people do care and that impossible beauty standards and just make us feel like they do want to see change. Thanks to all of our partner crap… I’m sick of seeing the same thin, white woman organizations and academics and their incredible being catered to and everyone else is forgotten”. advocacy, activism and research, we now have the tools She said on the project: “I was inspired to make ‘Miss to question the media that perpetrates violence and Representation’ for several reasons. First, I witnessed an degradation towards women. This gives me tremendous injustice towards women in the media that has worsened hope and confidence that we will have an impact.” over time with the 24/7 news cycle and the advent of This year ‘Miss Representation’ won the Gracie Award infotainment and reality television. She added: “Today’s for Best Documentary of the year and gets Candour’s media is sending a very dangerous message to young stamp of approval. To find out where your nearest screening is or if you want to host a screening yourself, all you need to do is visit the dedicated website: missrepresentation.org
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the reality of gangs With gang related crime and rape on the increase in the UK, Jessica McKay explores why gangs use rape as an initiation ritual and how young girls are becoming caught up in the culture.
“When you’re in a gang, it becomes your whole life. You do whatever you like” to anyone who wasn’t part of our circle. I’m not going to say if I ever raped anyone, but I know why people go down that path. When you’re in a gang, it becomes your whole life. You do whatever you like.” Petrina Cribb, Detective Chief Inspector for the Met Police, says that female gang members are used by the males to smuggle drugs and hide firearms. Women and young girls are at the bottom of the hierarchy in gangs and are often passed around for sexual purposes but women who live nearby to gang territory are also at a huge risk of sexual harassment. Petrina explains: “There are also girls who have nothing to do with the gang at all but live in the area where the gang operate. The gangs may prey on them and demand sexual favours from them and the women really feel like they have no opportunity to say no because the gangs are perceived as having power on the estate.” Girls as young as 13 have been enchanted by the gang culture in Britain. In order to establish their place in a male-dominated social circle, these girls see being raped by several older members as a way to prove their worthiness of a place amongst them in the coveted gangs. Research carried out by the police shows that a large majority of women who are in gangs have had a disorganised upbringing and have been starved of affection. The emotional and sexual abuse they receive from male gang members is extremely destructive for these already vulnerable people. Older men tend to prey on these young girls and promise them love and loyalty. Once the young girls have given them their trust the men use and abuse them, often passing them around among other members of the group. Petrina said: “The emotional and sexual fall out is awful because after putting their trust in someone after a lifetime of people letting them
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or many young people in the UK, gang culture is a somewhat glamorous concept. Films such as Adulthood show the dangers of street gangs, but the status and power that comes from being in a gang is more appealing. The Metropolitan Police Service’s definition of a gang is: “A relatively durable, predominately street-based group of young people who see themselves (and are seen by others) as a discernible group for whom crime and violence is intrinsic to group practice and solidarity.” They believe that a gang is a group of people who come together for the sole purpose of committing serious crime. Drugs, knives and guns are most associated with gang crime but there is a darker side to the culture, one which in most cases goes unreported. Rape is used by gang members to establish power and status in society, to make the public fear them and to initiate members to the group. For gangs, the rape and sexual abuse of innocent women and girls, sometimes by multiple members of the group is the norm’. The physical and psychological effects of rape can last a lifetime, but for youth gangs in the UK, rape is a way of life which is set to rise if youths continue to see being in a gang as an ambition. An ex-gang member from London told The Guardian: “Once I joined the gang my attitude to life started to change. I became more aggressive and stopped listening
Rape: the facts Men are more likely to rape in gangs, especially in war zones and city streets. Using sexual violence is a way for men to prove that they are masculine and therefore worthy of being part of a gang. Some even feel like they’d have no identity without it. In some cases, this type of violence becomes an addiction. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 was introduced in May 2004 and clarifies the law on sexual assault (including rape). It establishes the legal definition of consent. It also created new offences and strengthened the previous laws. The Ministry of Justice announced just a few weeks ago that it will give £107,000 to Rape Crisis Southend and £80,000 to Suffolk Rape Crisis in Ipswich within the next year. Parenting website Mumsnet recently conducted a survey with 16,000 of its users. The results revealed that more than 80 per cent of the participants said they “did not report their assault to the police”, while “29 per cent said they told nobody.” If you or anyone you know have been affected by rape and need someone to talk to, you can find advice at any of these helplines: Rape Crisis 0808 802 9999 Samaritans 08547 90 90 90
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down these men are letting them down in a massive way as well.” The police feel that young people in the UK do not receive enough guidance in school about healthy relationships. A study by the police found that both young girls and boys are extremely confused when it comes to relationships. Petrina said: “We found that in PSHE lessons they talk about sex but in more of a biological sense such as ‘use a condom’ but young people are really confused about the emotional aspects about relationships and by having that lack of information they are more likely to be manipulated by other people.” The police have since set up the Healthy Relationships Training (HeaRT) programme which gives young people, at risk of being caught up by gang culture, one-to-one and group guidance in order to help them identify both the healthy and destructive relationships in their lives. This approach is proving to be effective and Petrina says that the programme, which was set up in June 2011, has already turned many young people’s lives around but it needs to be a mainstream lesson. “There are young people out there who are being sexually
exploited by older men because they haven’t been given the knowledge to make them resilient and know what makes a consensual sexual relationship and what is healthy and what is not.” The destructive nature of UK gang culture is widely known, however these sexual crimes are scantly reported in the mainstream press. Sexual abuse and rape in relation to gangs is one of the most serious issues affecting young people in already improvised areas. Petrina added: “For me we need to increase the protection factors around these people such as parental input. If parents take an interest in you or where you are it is closely correlated with unoffensive behaviour. Most people who are offenders have been victims of crime themselves. It’s far more complicated than people think.” Last year Home Secretary, Theresa May, gave permission for £1.2 million to be spent across three years in the government’s anti-gang strategy with £10 million more redirected to 30 gang hotspots. Hopefully with input from the authorities, and acknowledging the dangers of gang culture there is a chance that women can escape the abuse.
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gals with gumption Whether it’s defining a decade with a hairstyle or capturing a moment of history, Louise Brooks and Dorothea Lange made a huge impact in a man’s world. Emily Bancroft and Natalie Mortimer take a look at two inspiring women from the era and what makes them so important.
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ouise Brooks was the ultimate Twenties girl. Her beauty, sensuality, and most importantly, her attitude have made her a symbol of the times. She went through life, not caring what anyone thought of her and embodies women’s liberation. Though she was not the first woman to cut her hair short, she became the most well known, with her angular bob practically defining the flapper trend of the 1920s. Born Mary Louise Brooks on November 14, 1906, in Cherryvale, Kansas, she began her career as a dancer in 1922. Her three main feature roles, in Pandora's Box, Diary of a Lost Girl, and Prix de Beauté, earned her great critical acclaim, but after her refusal to re-shoot sound for The Canary Murder Case in 1929, Louise was seen as uncooperative and officially blacklisted from Hollywood.
Louise Brooks
This effectively ruined her career as she never again received any serious job offers. However, it secured her place as the ultimate silent movie heroine, with her expressive face, and ability to portray the story even when no words were said.
“A well dressed woman, even though her purse is painfully empty, can conquer the world.”
Louise Brooks
Louise was married twice, in 1926 to film director Eddie Sutherland for two years, and in 1933 to millionaire Deering Davis, but left him after only five months of marriage. Though Louise wasn’t a lesbian or bisexual, she liked to keep the public guessing about her sexuality, saying she thought it was fun. She was friends with bisexual actresses Pepi Lederer and Peggy Fears, and admitted a one-night stand with Greta Garbo. Despite
this, Louise said that affairs with girls did nothing for her. Regardless of her image as a strong feminist icon, Louise was a troubled woman deep down. Sexually abused at the age of nine by a neighbour, she said that she was incapable of real love and that when it came to sex “nice, soft, easy men were never enough – there had to be an element of domination”. Louise died on August 8, 1985, but her legacy still lives on to this day. She was a woman ahead of her time, with many of her films being heavily censored for ‘shocking’ content, and she was sexually liberated, posing fully naked for art photographs. It is due to this behaviour however, that her career was sadly brief, but perhaps if she had continued to be in films throughout her life, her legacy would not be as powerful as it is. For the history behind the flapper wardrobe turn to page 14
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“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera” Dorothea Lange
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f all the images of America’s Great Depression, the haunting picture of a worldweary mother and her children defined the era. Captured by Dorothea Lange, a shy photographer from San Francisco, the picture opened the Government’s eyes to the plight of destitute farm families moving to the West to find work. Born in 1895, Dorothea’s childhood was blighted by polio and an absent father who walked out on the family when she was 12. But despite being heavily bullied by neighbourhood children because of a severe limp, she was extremely independent and decided to follow her dreams of taking pictures. Dorothea became a photographer in the early 1920s in San Francisco, and although she never considered herself an artist, her pictures of the Second World War and the American bread lines remain some of the most celebrated of the time. In an era heavily dominated by men, Dorothea made waves in the photography world by revealing social issues in the country and gained a reputation as a highly skilled documentary photographer. Even after her death in 1965, her intuitive style of capturing a defining image in history means she will never be forgotten. A true Candour woman.
“fashion fades, only style remains the same”
So said Coco Chanel, legendary designer and Twenties belle. Widely credited for popularising the flapper look, the First Lady of fashion captured the spirit of a rebellious era and made it wearable. Victoria Inniss-Palmer looks at the social changes that sparked an upheaval of women’s wardrobes, attitudes and civil liberties.
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or Spring/Summer this year the catwalks were awash with beads, feathers and ‘Gatsby Glamour’. The style of the 1920s has taken the fashion world by storm thanks in no small part to Hollywood’s interpretation of the era in the highly acclaimed picture, The Artist, and their much-anticipated rendition of The Great Gatsby.
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reflection of this. The flapper was the quintessential woman of the Twenties. After the horrors of the First World War, women in London, Paris, Berlin and cities across America embraced a new way a life. The war had enabled women to function as citizens in their own right as well as putting increased pressure on getting the vote - which eventually happened in 1928 in the UK. With the war over, life had changed irreversibly for most women. The fact that they had gone out and worked during the conflict as the men left to fight on the continent meant most were not prepared to return to the old, more restrictive way of life. Hemlines got shorter as women threw off the shackles of the oppressive Victorian era. The flapper was born and she had a brand new attitude - candid, sexually progressive and prone to reckless fast living, she paid no heed to the old ways. In an era of prohibition, renewed wealth and youth, the flapper became a symbol of a free woman who wore make-up, drank and lived life to the full. The dropped-waist dresses and the abandonment of constricting corsets were all symbols of emancipation and encompassed the boyish figure that defines the flapper generation. Before the Roaring Twenties a woman was praised for child-bearing hips and a full bosom. However for flappers, womanly was out and flat boyish figures were in. The look, pioneered by Coco Chanel, was called ‘garçonne’ or ‘little boy’ and transformed a woman’s figure, focusing on continuity and symmetry across the body rather than curves. To achieve a waspish boy-like figure women would bind their breasts and the dropped
Top designers such as Marchesa, Etro and Emporio Armani were inspired by the period, sending out models in flapper gowns and cloche hats. Yet it was Ralph Lauren who really took on the Twenties. Full-length Oscar-ready dresses complete with extensive embroidery paraded down the runway in New York. Ralph Lauren Gibson Girl created the costumes for the original Great Gatsby movie in the 1970s and his show was homage to his part in the last film as well as the formative decade. However, there is much more to this look than Gucci’s bejewelled dresses and Ralph Lauren’s fur stoles. The 1920s were a significant time for women’s liberation and the change in young women’s appearance was a
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Clara Bow waistline also helped to flatten the front of the body. The Twenties heralded the beginning of the Jazz Age and the flapper look was perfect for dancing in speakeasies. The dresses were beaded so that they shook in time to the flapping dance which was popular with young girls and the whole look allowed easy movement making the dance even better. The haircut was an act of rebellion too. It contributed to the overall boyish look and many women took inspiration from celebrities of the time such as Coco Chanel and Clara Bow. It was a definitive “screw you”
to established women’s ideals, especially the Gibson Girl popular in the United States who favoured long flowing hair often pinned on top of her head in soft waves. Hats were still somewhat mandatory, with the cloche hat a flapper staple. Created by Caroline Reboux in 1908, this fitted bell-shape hat was made of soft materials such as felt so it could be worn close to the head, just above the eyes. The Art Deco movement led to more ornate decoration on the brims which was yet another step away from flowery toques which were prevalent during the more reserved
pre-war Edwardian period. Fashion is often about looking back rather than projecting forward. This year fashion has been deeply shaped by the 1920s however the true significance behind the latest trends is that of women gaining rights which we, as their modern counterparts, often take for granted. We owe the pioneering women of the Twenties our thanks because it was their work to change the place of women in society that led to later liberations. They built on the great shift in attitudes towards women that began in the 19th century and enabled us to live our lives as we do today.
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Flappers not only revolutionised women’s apparel, they also experimented with heavier makeup looks that were traditionally only acceptable in the theatre or if you were a ‘lady of the night’. Louise Moore defines the Twenties face.
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By the 1920s, the pre-war, virginal face of the Gibson Girl was out, as scandalous deep red lips and heavy kohl eyes became the must-haves. Only burgundy lipstick shades were available, so outlined, dark, bee stung lips grew in popularity. By using a dusky lip liner to emphasise the mouth, especially the bend in the upper lip, and stopping the liner short at the sides, flappers created a perpetual pucker. Innovative application products like the Cupid’s Bow helped women achieve the sought after pout in a rush. Invented by beauty magnate and one of the richest women of the 20th century, Helena Rubinstein, the lipstick
perfectly accentuated the upper lip and paved the way for modern cosmetics. Kohl, mascara and eyelash curlers were essential for the 1920s eye. Mascara did not come in a tube with a wand, but rather as a cake of black wax. Using this, mixed with water to darken lashes and then an eyelash curler to create volume, women were able to get the same look we get from one tube. Eyes were then made darker by lining them with kohl, which was done quite heavily and the result was a smoky eye to the extreme. The Twenties were the beginning of a makeup revolution that changed the world of cosmetics forever.
Learn how to recreate the scandalous 1920s look with beauty tutorials found on our website and turn to page 27 to read about one of Louise Brooks’ most famous silent films.
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a cup of tea with
Cherry Healey A TV regular, Cherry Healey has taken her audience on her highly personal journeys into motherhood and more. Sophie Baillie and Charlotte Chapman caught up with the frank presenter and talked guilty pleasures, charity events and her plans for the year ahead. Best known for her hugely successful BBC3 documentaries, Cherry’s original career path was set to be quite different… I studied Theatre and Education at university which at the time, I wasn’t entirely sure what on earth I was going to do with it. I thought I was going to be a drama teacher or drama therapist. So when I finished university I had done so much drama teaching, that I thought I’d quite like to go and see what it’s like to wear high heels and a sexy pencil skirt. Being an unashamed lover of Sex and the City, Cherry’s path meandered through marketing in an effort to be like PR guru Samantha Jones… I stayed there for a year and absolutely loathed it, I had quite a crazy boss! I stayed in marketing for a year and did lots of spread sheets and learned some useful things but I also learnt that feeling of when you desperately desperately don’t want to go into work and you’re sitting in a chair in the kitchen and crying. After about nine months of working in marketing I met someone at a party who worked in television and as they were talking I got this overwhelming sensation of deep jealousy. I really wanted their life so I started looking into television. I then applied for work experience with the BBC. Cherry’s frank documentaries began in 2009 with Drinking with the Girls. Cherry has a particular interest in women’s ever changing roles in society giving light to them in a truthful, funny fashion… As long as I am being truthful then I don’t mind how painful it can be. The minute I feel like I’m manipulating something to make myself sound cooler or more intelligent, that is when I start to feel uncomfortable. You know when you are telling someone a story and you’re twisting it to make you sound like a really good person and quite cool, I hate that. Cherry is quite a style icon and fashion is an important part of her life, with various people influencing her look… I adore so many different style icons but I don’t think I have one person that I base my style on. Laura Bailey always looks amazing, she is absolutely gorgeous and I am loving Nicola Roberts, she is having a real moment right now isn’t she?
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Combining her love for both fashion and charity Cherry recently took part in the Oxfam charity event, Rumble in the Jumble… Dawn Porter asked me if I fancied joining them and as it sounded like a hoot and a bit of a mad event I couldn’t
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wait to get stuck in. I just love it when you get to raise loads of money and have lots o f fun for charity. I donated a really nice leather satchel and a beautiful mini skirt, along with a Chloe shirt dress and a pair of leather trousers. What was exciting was that we got to chat to all the people that bought them. I also donated an amazing pair of black studded platform heels. Cherry confessed that she is 100 per cent a city girl when we asked her whether she preferred the countryside or the city. She definitely has no plans to move to the countryside anytime soon then… The countryside gives me the willies. I get claustrophobic in the countryside. I need noise, energy and busy people. I might not always want to see it and hear them but I want to know they are there. It’s like being next to a very hot radiator, I don’t want to touch it but I like the heat. Cherry’s extremely cute daughter Coco features in a lot of her documentaries and is a huge part of Cherry’s life… One of my favourite things about being a mum is just getting into bed on a Saturday afternoon with a bowl of crisps and watching something really fun on the telly. Just cuddling up with each other and getting really cosy. Whether it’s reading a book or watching a film. Then when she falls asleep in my arms, it kills me. If I had known how good it was I wouldn’t have been half as scared. Stretch marks, schlep marks, honestly what-evs it’s fucking brilliant. This year Cherry has a brand new series launching on BBC3 and also a consumer show on BBC1 so keep your eyes peeled! We are half way through a series which is about modern dilemmas. It’s really fun, shocking and moving. It’s a real rainbow of stories. It’s also a new format and style. I really hope people enjoy it. After that I’m going to have a little holiday and then I am just going to sleep! I don’t have a favourite destination but I like to lie down lots, eat lots and read lots so really I could be on the moon and if that was available I’d be happy. I feel like I am so busy all the time so when I go on holiday I just want to chill, I don’t want to see any sites, I don’t want to talk to anyone, I just want to go into a sort of coma. Cherry shared some of her guilty pleasures with us… Song? It has to be Britney Spears: Womaniser. It’s such a good song and such a good song to run to. The best gym track ever! Then it stops and you feel like you are about to die because you had no idea you were running that fast. Film? It’s not really a guilty pleasure but Muppets Christmas Carol…No actually Elf. NO WAIT, ZOOLANDER! It makes me piss my pants every time I watch it. Male Crush? It has to be Hugh Laurie: I know he is quite old but… Food? My dirty secret food…I love when I come home and I’m really tired, I don’t care about calories and I don’t care about nutrition. What I really love is dunking breadsticks into Nutella. It’s so dirty but I love getting massive chunks on French bread and just diving in. I fucking love it! Find out our guilty pleasures online.
With d Head to our website for an interview with Cherry’s friend, Dawn Porter join the conversation 17 at candour.co.uk
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CANDOUR WANTS
YOU
Fancy yourself as the next Georgia O’Keeffe or Frida Kahlo? Candour is on the look out for aspiring artists to appear in our special arts edition next month! Winners will not only be featured in the magazine, they will also be invited to meet with our resident illustrator Charlotte Chapman and help illustrate the next issue! Runners up will be featured on our website. Send your best illustrations to 279 Greenbank, UCLan, PR1 2HE or email high quality jpeg images to revistapublishing@gmail.com by April 28th. join the conversation 18 at candour.co.uk
“A spoonful of craft helps the activism go down.” If only Mary Poppins had met Sarah Corbett, founder of the activist group Craftivists Collective. Writer Sophie Baillie caught up with this goddess of glue and glitter.
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Their work
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Sarah Corbett has always been provocative, non-violent something of an activist. Growing creative actions. The core up in an activist family in Everton, group is based in London but Liverpool, Sarah experienced firstthe Collective isn’t restricted hand the detrimental effects of the Thatcher government and exactly what domestic poverty is like. She moved to London for a job opportunity and she joined activist groups to meet like-minded people. However, like in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Sarah struggled to find a group that suited her needs. She often felt she didn’t fit in because, as a shy non-vegan with a keen interest in fashion and crossstitch, she didn’t gel with the more masculine and extroverted members. With the demands of working with young people taking over, Sarah escaped to her Nan’s in the Shetlands for some inspiration and it’s there she Their work realised which kind of activism would be just right. Sarah Corbett “I wanted to do something I enjoyed, to there or even just the UK. that de-stressed me, but I Craftivists can be found also wanted to be creative all over the world and and use my hobbies in an members of the Craftivist activism way”. Collective can be found in In 2008 Sarah set up a Canada, Australia, Sweden, blog under the guise of Germany and even more ‘A Lonely Craftivist’ where exotic places like Thailand. she would post her work: Sarah’s group meets “I came up with an idea to every third Thursday of make mini protest banners the month at a free event which was my first project. Southbank, London which is I didn’t want to make giant also open to the public so if banners that would force people’s you want to get involved for a free opinions… It’s always just to tutorial or even just to hang with provoke people to think but in a them, you’re very welcome to. very non-threatening, thoughtCraftivism is even recognised by provoking, cute way”. mainstream art exhibitions as Craftivism is a type of global Sarah has done a lot of work with activism which merges together the Tate Gallery: “I’m really turning anti-capitalist, environmentalist this into a social enterprise”. or even third wave feminist Every year the Craftivists put sentiment with craft which is often up miniature protest banners knitting. Examples have been around London Fashion Week in found all over the world and can September Currently the Craftivist be anything from yarnbombing Collective are working on a tomato public property, knitting around jam based on a recipe Sarah lampposts for example, to leaving was given by a Kenyan woman cross-stitched protest slogans on called Christine who had lost her Christine’s Tomato Jam statues. husband and sister to AIDs: “There Soon Sarah’s work began to are huge development issues garner attention with people from all over the globe [in Kenya] and she made egg and tomato jam because wanting to be involved which Sarah was more than happy tomatoes are one of the few things they can grow and they to encourage and ‘A Lonely Craftivist’ quickly became the sold like hot cakes on the local market!” The jam, known as ‘Craftivist Collective’: “It was weird going from A Lonely Christine’s Jam, will have messages stitched on to the lids Craftivist to thousands of people wanting to join in”. by the Craftivists to raise awareness about climate change The Craftivist Collective aim to expose the scandal of and women’s issues and is to be launched at Spitalfield’s global poverty and human rights injustices through the City Farm on June 17th. See our next issue for the recipe power of craft and public art which will be achieved through and Sarah’s basic cross stitch tutorial and get crafty! CCSarah Corbett
“It was weird going from ‘a lonely craftivist’ to thousands of people wanting to join in.”
Visit craftivist-collective.com for information, contact them on their Facebook group by searching ‘craftivist collective’ or follow them on Twitter @Craftivists to find out more.
join the conversation 19 at candour.co.uk
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female erotica
shhhh or shout about it? A
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quick survey around the with: “There is a great acceptance Candour office shows there amongst society’s female population aren’t many things that now of erotica and porn, but the women don’t talk about. Man two are different. I write erotica, not problems? Definitely. Farting habits? porn...I think men watch and read a Absolutely. Reading erotica? Woahh, certain type of porn, whereas most no! It’s funny that in an age when women are drawn towards erotica.” women feel comfortable discussing Female erotic writers themselves the ins and outs of their sex lives, they have also been gaining a lot of still find it embarrassing to confess to attention. What was once considered reading about it. an inappropriate profession for women Romance stalwarts Mills and (who often used male pseudonyms) Boon reported that in 2010 their no longer carries the same amount of e-downloads of erotic fiction doubled, controversy. “We’re not Jane Austen maybe indicating that the anonymity anymore, society has changed,” of reading a book on an electronic says Ruby Kiddell, erotic author and device is more appealing to women founder of Eroticon 2012, the UK’s than whipping out a copy of Make Me first erotic fiction conference. “We can Beg on the morning be more explicit in commute. how we write about So why are some relationships and women reluctant sex and love but to share their love people have always of erotica? Are we written about it. being unnecessarily It’s just that the bashful or is there newspapers like a little more to to think that it’s it? Rowan Pelling, somehow exciting former editor of and titillatingErotic Review, thinks oh my goodness so, but also says women are writing there’s a bit of deceit about sex! Well oh going on: “I think my goodness we just very broadly always have done! women are more It’s just that other dishonest about people are noticing.” their erotic taste,” One female writer Rebecca Bond she told Radio 4’s who has shot to Today programme, fame in America “and of course that what they will say for her erotic fiction and so called is, I’m reading erotica, they will never ‘mommy porn’, is Londoner E.L James. say looking at pornography but from Her trilogy of bondage books, Fifty what I understand there’s probably Shades of Grey, are all in the top 20 of very little difference in these scenes.” USA Today’s best selling books list and Think of porn though and what have also topped the New York Times generally springs to mind are images list. The books have earned the name of impossibly bendy women climaxing ‘mommy porn’ because of their reader before the man has even stepped in following which is made up of average the room. Generally speaking porn is suburban housewives. The New York made by men, for men, and can often Times spoke to one anonymous reader leave women feeling sold short with who said: “Women just feel it’s okay to its lack of story lines or romance. read it. It’s taboo for women to admit This is something that Rebecca Bond, that they watch pornography, but for author of romance and erotica, agrees some reason it’s okay to admit that
they’re reading this book.” Despite the freedom that her book has brought to some women, E.L James is still keen to keep her full name private, for reasons that she hasn’t disclosed. Similarly, Ruby Kiddell doesn’t tell everyone what her job is: “It depends who they are and how well I know them,” she says. So what should we do ladies, shout out from the rooftops about our love for erotic fiction or hide behind our Kindles and pretend we’re reading Great Expectations? We should choose the former, says Rebecca Bond: “There is no shame in sex or celebrating sex, whether that be with a book alone at night or getting together with others. Erotica is fun, it’s healing, it’s thoughtprovoking, it’s playful and it’s a very intelligent, conscious and respectful world, and one that I feel honoured to be a part of.” Amen to that. Proud to hold an erotic novel? Buy these books from all good book
Would you admit to reading erotica? Join the conversation online and read our interview with a sex psychologist.
join the conversation 23 at candour.co.uk
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With eBook sales of female erotic fiction rising by 50 per cent in the past year, it is clear that women enjoy reading about sex as much as men enjoy watching it. So why do we find it so hard to admit? Natalie Mortimer delves into the world of erotica to find out.
let them eat vegetable cake A universal granny favourite, the humble carrot cake sits happily on the bakery shelf between its chocolate and jam sisters but we often forget that the key ingredient is indeed a vegetable. Natalie Mortimer tries her hand at a delicious parsnip and maple syrup confection that will have you reaching for the peeler.
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here are some things in life which are just meant to go together. Romeo and Juliet, chocolate and marshmallows, vegetables and...cake? Admittedly it’s not the most obvious of partnerships, and to be honest it sounds downright disgusting, but once you’ve experienced the gooey heaven of a vegetable cake, you will never look back. If by this point you are imagining a slice of broccoli and cauliflower cake with your afternoon coffee then please let me stop you there. Think more along the lines of a sweet and sticky snack, with
lashings of frosting and you’re definitely on the right track. So why bother putting vegetables in a cake when you could have extra chocolate, I hear you cry? Two words, texture and taste. Not only do the natural sugars in vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, parsnips and courgette enhance sweetness, the flesh also creates a moist sponge which is dense and like heaven on a plate. There has never been a better way to get your five-a-day. So get your grater at the ready and try Candour’s favourite sweet vegetable treat.
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Ingredients • 175g butter, plus extra for greasing • 250g demerara sugar • 100ml maple syrup • 3 large eggs • 250g self-raising flour • 2tsps of baking powder • 2tsps mixed spice • 250g parsnips, peeled and grated • 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and grated • Icing sugar, to serve For the filling • 250g tub mascarpone cheese
Butternut squash and orange muffins
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• 3-4 tbsps maple syrup
Parsnip cake
Method Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment or grease with butter. Melt butter, sugar and maple syrup in a pan over gentle heat, then cool slightly. Whisk the eggs into this mixture, then stir in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice, followed by the grated parsnip and apple. Divide between the tins, then bake for 25-30 mins until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Cool the cakes slightly in the tins before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely. Just before serving, mix together the mascarpone and maple syrup and a sprinkle of icing sugar if desired. Spread over one cake and sandwich with the other. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.
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ocola t and ch
te cake
Log on to candour.co.uk for Natalie’s video guide
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check it out this May FILM
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The Avengers Based on the 1960s Marvel comic series of the same name, The Avengers is the ultimate superhero film. With an all-star cast of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, it is set to be a highlight of the summer. Most of the cast have already played their respective superheroes in other Marvel films, so fans already know and love the actors. In the movie, the superheroes band together to fight an enemy that threatens global safety. There promises to be plenty of action, and something for everyone in this epic blockbuster which hits cinemas on May 4. EB
Santigold:
DVD
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MUSIC
Master of My Make Believe It has been pretty quiet on the Santigold (formerly Santogold) front since the release of her brilliant debut album Santogold in 2008. Singles like L.E.S. Artistes and Say Aha were pretty much THE soundtrack of the summer four years ago. Then she dipped under the radar, and we were worried that she’d gone forever. But after giving away her new single Big Mouth as a free download, we are definitely feeling excited about her new offering, Master of My Make Believe, out on April 24. The amazing GO!, featuring Karen O, shows that we can expect big, new wave meets electronica tunes from MIA’s childhood friend. EB
The Artist Silent films were a revelation in the 1920s but to a contemporary audience, who is used to 3D and surround sound, they seem obsolete. The Artist proved all these modern day cynics wrong. A breath of fresh air for the film industry, The Artist won Best Picture at the Oscars earlier this year along with three Golden Globes. The story of two Hollywood film stars in the late Twenties whose lives become intertwined is certainly worth a watch, even if it is just to WEBSITE see Uggie, the loveable terrier, take on his biggest and Women’s Views on News most adorable role yet. The Artist is released on May 7, This month we’re going to Women’s Views on News to get our pre-order your copy at Play.com from £12.99. JM national and international news updates. This is a current affairs website with a difference, with features and opinion pieces as well ART as news, which together form a community where all women’s Gemma Correll voices are heard. Women feature in just 10% of all mainstream Gemma Correll became a freelance illustrator news stories but Women’s Views on News aims to give readers after completing her Graphic Design degree at reports which affect women and whom the traditional press all Norwich University. She has worked for some too often ignores. If you’re passionate about giving women a big names including Hallmark and Toyota voice, you can even volunteer to be a writer. To find out more and was selected for two awards in 2010. Her visit their website www.womensviewsonnews.org. JM designs have an endearing childlike quality to
BOOK
Hilary Mantel: Bring Up the Bodies The sequel to the Man Booker prize-winning Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies is a historical novel set in 1535 that explores the life of Anne Boleyn, from her marriage to Henry VIII to her bloody end. The story is told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, the Chief Minister to the King, who sees how Henry’s betrayal of Anne, and affair with Jane Seymour, could have repercussions for the entire nation. If Bring Up the Bodies is as gripping as its predecessor, it should be a real page turner. Get your copy on May 10. EB
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them which makes them all the more lovely in our opinion. She specialises in cute illustrations of cats, her two pugs (Norman Pickles and Bella) and typography. But mainly loves drawing cats, being cats. Some of Gemma’s pictures of pugs can be found on pages of our magazine but to see more of Gemma’s work visit www.gemmacorrell.com. JM
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films that defined a decade It’s an unspoken rule that movies produced in the 1920s are some of the finest ever made. Sophie Burluraux looks at two of the most iconic silent pictures from the era’s silver screen that have entertained generations.
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Metropolis was made by Fritz Lang and has been dubbed “one of the biggest, strangest, maddest films in cinema history” by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw. Set in the future, the movie highlights the very real issue of societal divides, however expresses it in a more exaggerated and scientific way. Above ground is Metropolis, a prosperous place with powerful people living a carefree life there. Underneath it though, and unbeknown to everyone in the city, is another world: The City of Workers. Here people are forced to act like slaves and run the machinery all so the utopian place above runs smoothly. The secret world is soon exposed though to the upper class, some of whom want to help, but just as it is, a crazy inventor creates a robot which he believes is ‘the saviour’. Things quickly go from bad to worse for The City of Workers, and it’s then a race against time to stop the inventor and his invention before they both cause more damage than good.
Pandora’s Box (1929) Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and starring one of Candour’s ‘gals with gumption’, Louise Brooks’ Pandora’s Box is a German film about a dancer who becomes a prostitute. The silent movie, which is based on two pieces of work by the German play writer, Franz Wedekind, revolves around Brooks’ exotic and seductive character Lulu. She escapes to London after being committed for manslaughter and after just a few months there, becomes involved in prostitution. Although it’s helping her to earn a living, Lulu finds herself in a number of troubling situations, as she meets some dangerous and disturbing characters. When it was first released, Pandora’s Box faced a fair amount of criticism from reviewers, as did Louise Brooks for her acting. Over the decades though, both have become more positively received. Brooks has been described as a “cult goddess” and the film itself a “masterpiece” by Rotten Tomatoes. CCWikiCommons
Metropolis (1927)
? y a s ing to
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Sport...the Candour way
Boxing for Britain
but in shorts this time, says Natalie Mortimer
World Sports News in Brief
US win Judo World Champion for the first time since 1964 Kayla Harrison has been crowned the first American to win Women’s Judo World Championship gold title since 1964. The 20-year-old has been training since the age of seven and coached by former 1999 winner, Jimmy Pedro. Kayla has also won qualification points for the London 2012 Olympics after being undefeated for five matches. Despite defeating world champions within her weight class, Kayla has remained humble about her win.
Saudi women to compete in 2012 Olympics for first time
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t may have taken them over 100 years, but the International Olympic Committee has finally come to its senses and lifted the ban on females boxing in the Olympic Games. This means that for the first time in history, men and women will be competing in all of the sports in the games. “It’s a very exciting time for women and girls involved in boxing,” said Hannah Lafferty from the Amateur Boxing Association of England, “there are more competitive opportunities available than ever before. “Almost 40 per cent of boxing gyms have classes that specifically cater for female participants, and interest amongst women and girls in England is on the increase.” Now that women finally have equal rights in the sport and are more than capable of competing the same way men do, why did the International Amateur Boxing Association think it was acceptable to tell women they have to wear a skirt when competing? According to the president of the AIBA, Wu Ching-Kuo, spectators couldn’t tell if the boxers were men or women because of the headgear they were wearing. Well, so what Mr Ching-Kuo? Who wants to wear a skirt in front of millions of people when you are
likely to end up with your legs over head? It seems that sexism is still rife within a sport that is vastly dominated by men. “Deep down I think women shouldn’t fight. That’s my opinion,” said Olympic medal-winning Amir Khan to the BBC. “When you get hit it’s very painful. Women can get knocked out.” Well observed, Mr Amir. Thankfully the AIBA saw sense after an outcry from female boxers and an update to their rules was quickly announced which gives competitors the option of wearing shorts or a skirt in the ring. Clearly the sport still has a long way to go when it comes to shaking off the stigma attached to women’s boxing. Hannah Lafferty says opinions are slowly adapting: “Attitudes are gradually changing, and it’s only when people haven’t seen women boxing that they tend to disagree with it. Many people don’t realise that there is a big difference between professional boxing and amateur, Olympic-style boxing, but as the sport becomes more popular this view is changing.” The women’s boxing qualification event for the Olympics, the AIBA Women’s World Championships, will be held in Beijing in May.
join the conversation 29 at candour.co.uk
Saudi Arabian women are being allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time ever. The plans to send female athletes to the London 2012 have been given the go-ahead by the country’s Crown Prince Nayef. The Saudi Arabian government has apparently been in two minds for months on whether to send even one female participant so the news comes as a good surprise. The conservative country’s leader has approved the participation of female athletes in sports that “meet the standards of women’s decency and don’t contradict Islamic laws”. The decision has been made after the International Olympics Committee threatened to remove the Gulf Kingdom from the Olympics if it did not allow female athletes to take part.
Sri Lanka empowers women through football
The Asian Football Federation recently held two major events to promote the empowerment of women in Sri Lanka through football. The first was a week-long football tournament in Colombo involving six Asian nations taking part in an allgirls under 13 football tournament. It aimed to promote healthy living and raise awareness of the spread of HIV and AIDS in Asia. The second event was the “Women’s Empowerment through Football” seminar. Subjects ranged from women’s football development in Sri Lanka to education in sexually transmitted diseases. The event, which was the first of its kind, has been seen as a great effort to encourage social change.
a love letter to...pugs I am a self-confessed pug-a-holic. I love your squishy little faces and your big bulging pickled onion eyes. I love all of your wrinkles and your curly pig tails. I love that you snort a lot and that you waddle when you walk. I image search and YouTube pugs every single day and I just cannot get enough. I honestly find it hard to believe that anyone could hate them or even dare to call them ugly. My love for pugs is very much a long term affair and started when I was 12 years old after I was bought a pug TY Beanie Baby (don’t pretend that you didn’t collect them too, I know you did). I love pugs because I think that we are actually quite alike - not in looks, of course, I certainly do not have a curly tail, but our personalities are a match. Their main loves in life are food and sleep and I personally cannot go more than an hour without thinking
By Sophie Baillie
about something food or sleep related. I know there is a mass debate at the moment about the breeding of pugs and how it is unfair on them to be bred with such health problems, but I would happily nurse every sick little pug in the world if it meant saving them. I do not love them because celebrities carry them in their bags, (which quite frankly I find ridiculous because they have legs to walk) but I love them for being completely unique and for loving a good cuddle. Luckily enough, I have a lovely boyfriend, James, to curb my enthusiasm about this breed of pedigree, or I would most definitely be the “crazy pug lady” 50 years too early. Forget my wedding day; the day James gives in and buys me a pug will be the happiest day of my life. There was even a pug on my 21st birthday cake. Pugs, I love you and one of your kind will one day be mine (black or beige, I’m not fussy!)
a rant about... homophobes
By Bianca Amponsah
Indulging in one of my guilty pleasures and reading the Daily Mail online, I came across a story following the coalition government’s plans to open civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples and scrapping the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ from official forms. Needless to say I was disgusted and shocked - not at the story itself but at the horrendous comments that were posted by some of the readers. It shocks me that in 2012 people still think it is acceptable to say homophobic things and so openly, it wasn’t just a handful of people commenting but a large majority. The comments triggered a lot of bad memories for me, being a lesbian myself I have been at the receiving end of some extremely hurtful remarks at certain points in my life. When I was in college, I couldn’t tell you how many times I heard ‘dyke’ shouted from across the courtyard by a group of boys, because I was holding hands with my partner. It became such a problem that I NoCC
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Pugs and kisses, Sophie x
wouldn’t go near her for fear of being verbally attacked. But as I’ve got older that has become a distant memory. I can’t remember the last time I was verbally attacked and for a moment I believed I lived in an ideal world and homophobia had gone away. I was naïve to think that this problem was a thing of the past and people were becoming more open-minded when really the only place it has gone is online. The comments were a wake-up call for me that homophobes aren't a dying breed and if anything they are growing because of the internet. I feel that more action needs to be taken online. I don’t want young homosexuals to follow in my footsteps and live their lives afraid to express their love and not be genuine for fear of being judged and insulted. Please sign our petition to get websites to monitor their comments proactively and remove this type of abuse. No one deserves to be attacked for who they are and it needs to end now. Sign the petition on our website to stop online homophobic abuse now.
Email us your love letters and rants, the best ones will be featured on the website and magazine!
join the conversation 30 at candour.co.uk
CCGemma Correll
Dear pugs of the world,
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The ARTS Issue
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We feature the best of our readers’ art
Painting the revolution From the Suffragettes to the Syrians, finding art that has inspired rebellion no.2 june 2012 ÂŁ3
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