As the first few weeks of lockdown unfolded, I found myself rediscovering the joys of Twitter - not just history Twitter and museums Twitter but also mainstream Twitter. What was once a stream of people screaming into the void or trying to look like they were living perfect lives, slowly became a more truthful timeline... Continue Reading →
I started planning this post months ago, when I was first writing about getting married, but it somehow slipped off my To Do list until something reminded me last week. A colleague who I don't see all that often (I work for a very large organisation) asked me for my email address, "because you've changed... 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 →
At lunch time I read Lauren Bravo's article for The Pool entitled Sharing clothes? It's the future of fashion, but I have to admit that it was mostly because the title made me wince. No offence to Lauren, as I always love a good personal wardrobe story, but the thought of someone raiding my wardrobe... 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 →
1999. I am going to a job interview at a lesbian bar. The manager, a butch, opens the door: 'What are you doing here? Are you in the right place?' 'I am here for the interview' She looks at me up and down with suspicion. 'You don't look gay!' 'I am here, for the same... Continue Reading →
I recently attended a lecture by Professor Amy de la Haye on interpreting gender in the context of the museum, specifically when exhibiting fashion/clothing. The pre-reading was a chapter on female masculinities in the 1920s - in a book called Fashioning Sapphism: The Origins of a Modern English Lesbian Culture by Laura Doan - and... Continue Reading →
The word lingerie is a loaded one. It doesn't just mean underwear, it means women's underwear. Specifically women's underwear designed in an overtly feminine style and, more often than not, women's underwear that is designed to be 'sexy'. I set up a Google alert for news articles about lingerie a while back and realised straight... Continue Reading →
It's amazing what interesting and creative things people get up to during the time you don't spend with them, and my course mates on the MA History and Culture of Fashion (now MA Fashion Cultures) at London College of Fashion are an excellent example of that. We came from all sorts of academic backgrounds and... Continue Reading →