I have always known what shape I wanted my life to take, but I didn't always know what it was called. Like a hazy view of the distance that's slowly coming into focus as you move closer. Sometimes I knew it because I was clear about what I wanted, but other times I knew it... Continue Reading →
I follow a lot of journalists on Twitter. If I like their writing style, their 'voice', I follow with an aim to read every piece of work that they share. Blog posts, articles in magazines, columns in newspapers, I absorb it all to the point where they start to feel like a friend. (Apologies to... Continue Reading →
This weekend just gone should have been the annual Pride in London and UK Black Pride events, but the current situation means that things have taken a different shape this year with Pride returning to its protest roots. Online events have sprung up too; last weekend I attended Bi Pride UK's excellent online Bi-Fi Festival... Continue Reading →
From some angles, it can appear that the world is one massive dumpster fire right now. The news is filled with political doom and gloom, freak weather incidents are on the rise, the rich are getting richer whilst the poor suffer horribly, and tolerance of others seems to be in extremely short supply. Much like... Continue Reading →
I don't often mention books on Rarely Wears Lipstick, as I don't have much time for reading these days, but when I received an email from publisher Cassava Republic Press about their upcoming title She Called Me Woman I knew I had to share it with you. This collection of narratives from Nigerian queer women... Continue Reading →
When the Sheffield musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie made the leap to London's West End in November last year, a television show from 2011 reappeared on BBC iPlayer. Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 was a surprisingly non-judgemental BBC Three documentary which followed a working class teenage boy from the north east of England who wanted... Continue Reading →
Although I work at a fashion college, I don't often get to do any of the seemingly glamorous things that you might associate with the fashion industry. OK, so I've been to lots of catwalk shows and exhibitions of our amazing students' work, attended talks and panel discussions with high profile industry guests, and have... Continue Reading →
As today is Bi Visibility Day, I thought I'd take the time to be a bit more visible and remind readers that a) bisexuals exist, and b) I'm one of them. As a woman in a long term committed relationship with a man, I am very often read as straight. When I joined the LGBTQ+... Continue Reading →
I've lost count of the number of friends with whom I talk about RuPaul's Drag Race. It's the ultimate reality show for anyone with even a passing interest in glamour. Seriously though, if you're not watching season 9 on Netflix, what are you watching? Come for the fierce make up, sky high wigs, glorious gowns... Continue Reading →
When the Museum of Transology launched, it was announced as the largest and boldest collection of trans artefacts and photographic portraiture ever displayed in the UK. A highly intimate exhibition which challenges the idea that gender is fixed, binary and biologically determined, it explores how these artefacts have helped to fashion self-shaped gender identities. Curator... Continue Reading →