For the past few days on his Twitter feed, Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as ‘the Chinese virus’ or ‘the China virus’. In almost every press conference he has attended, he has doggedly used the terms ‘China virus’ and ‘Chinese virus’, despite criticism. I cannot stress enough how important it is that the media refrains from co-opting these shockingly racist epithets.It’s obvious to me why Trump is doing this.
Sunday March 8 is the most important day of the year for women all over the world: International Womxn’s Day (and if you have difficulty pronouncing that, congratulations, you are a bigot). Yes, Sunday is the day when ALL women are recognized, not just the ones with biologically recognized female parts. Chaka Khan famously sang: 'I’m every woman'. Thankfully today she would be called out as the TERF she is because the correct term is ‘womxn’ (at a push I will except ‘womyn’, but I would require prior notice in order for me to set my acceptance levels to ‘moderate’).‘Womxn’ is being increasingly acknowledged as a more inclusive term when it comes to the complexities of contemporary gender recognition.
A TikTok video has been doing the rounds on Twitter the past 48 hours, and I feel I must express to you the level of disgust it has induced in me. The footage in question is of a black drag queen dancing seductively in front of a rather frightened-looking small child (around six years of age) as her (presumably) parents and other adults watch the scene unfold before them while smiling and cheering encouragement towards the drag artist. https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1233398234028167168 Now I trust that you will be just as appalled by this as I was, otherwise there really is no decency left in the world.
In order to cash in on celebrate Black History Month, Penguin Random House and Barnes & Noble planned a collaboration to achieve an amazing feat of wokeness. They were set to perform what I like to term as ‘positive blackface’ on a number of literary classics in order to show their support of diversity. Very much in the spirit of Justin Trudeau, they redesigned the covers of classic novels such as The Secret Garden and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz so that the main characters are more representative of ethnic minorities. Now, the more cynically-minded among those less in tune with what people of color want might see this promotion as a horrendously clumsy and lazy attempt at earning virtue points. Well, to that I say a resounding, ‘NO!’.
If you put an adequate amount of effort in, you will see that racism is everywhere. I myself spend at least 30 minutes per day practicing how to interpret things white people say as racist. Thankfully, there are many other tireless activists out there who have trained their mental gymnastic skills to an impressive degree so that we may ensure that no white person gets away with saying anything we perceive to be racist. Alastair Stewart is, or should I say ‘was’ (lol), a newsreader on a British TV station. He had held this position for 40 years. As a white male, it was only a matter of time before he slipped up and revealed his hatred of brown people to the public.
Last night I posted an incredibly innocuous tweet about Laurence Fox and the outrage it caused was predictably excessive. Now, for those of you not in the know, Laurence Fox is a privileged white British male actor who last week publicly said some of the most toxic and hateful things this country has heard in centuries. On the BBC’s political forum debate show, Question Time, Laurence was asked about his thoughts on the hateful racism Meghan Markle has been regularly subjected to from the British tabloids and his heartless response shocked the nation. I can hardly bear to type this, but he DENIED that any criticisms directed towards her were motivated by racism and called the UK...oh God...this is killing me...he called the UK a ‘lovely and tolerant country’. Jesus.
After imbibing a heady yuletide mix of carb-infused non-alcoholic mocktails, along with the occasional accidental consumption of a gluten-polluted canapé at friends and family soirees, I felt I was due a detox. So, last week, eager to fulfill one of my New Year’s resolutions, I Ubered myself along to a Nature’s Holistic Wellbeing clinic and booked myself in for an intensive week of colonic hydrotherapy. I was assured that the treatment would cure many of my ills and would help with the ‘release of emotional wastes stored in the colon’. I must say, as expensive as it was (even Father was slightly miffed when I presented him with the invoice), it seemed to have worked because this morning I awoke without a care in the world.
I imagine you were all expecting me to write a scathing review of Ricky Gervais’s recent diatribe at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards. Well you would be wrong. Because you see, that is precisely what Ricky is counting on. When he stands there, obnoxiously pimping his own ego in front of the world’s most caring and compassionate people, he is doing it for the attention he so obviously craves. Yes, it was a truly disgusting display (not to mention a staggeringly apt symbol of toxic white male privilege) to see this abhorrently wealthy japesmith spewing his vile alt-right propaganda disguised as ‘jokes’ directly into the faces of the humble and benevolent Hollywood glitterati.
Yesterday we witnessed a stunning and brave victory of tolerance over reality. Vile TERF, Maya Forstater lost her case at an employment tribunal for, amongst other things, referring to former SNP councillor and non-binary transgender individual, Gregor Murray as ‘he’:I mean, does they look even remotely like a ‘he’ to you??! Before quitting the party, Gregor had been suspended for ‘abusing a woman on Twitter’. They has obviously been targeted because in my opinion, calling an ignorant TERF a ‘cunt’ is a perfectly legitimate way for a non-binary politician to behave.
Boris Johnson won the UK general election with a huge majority. My country is officially dead to me now. How could this have happened? I was absolutely certain Jeremy Corbyn and his woke Labour comrades would win a resounding victory. The celebrities were out in force posting their achingly sincere videos telling the plebs how they should vote. Actor and comedian Steve Coogan posted a fantastic speech in which he branded anyone who voted Leave in the EU referendum as ‘thick’, and at the time I was sure this would sway any undecided voters.
I was scrolling through the ‘Woke AF’ Twitter list I created on my account in order to help me keep up-to-date with some of the most influential minds of my generation this week. My attention was piqued by a tweet from Jameela Jamil; British actress, radio presenter, model, writer and most importantly, feminist activist. On Friday she had written:‘Receiving THOUSANDS of messages about how I made a mistake having an abortion 7 years ago and how I must be a miserable person... I am in fact a happy, thriving multi millionaire, madly in love, with free time, good sleep and a wonderful career and life.
Once again brave trans activist Jessica Yaniv has hit the headlines after she was refused an examination by a gynecologist. When will this hateful persecution of trans women end? Yaniv tweeted on Tuesday: ‘So a gynecologist office that I got referred to literally told me today that ‘we don’t serve transgender patients’. And me, being me, I’m shocked.. and confused... and hurt. Are they allowed to do that, legally? Isn’t that against the college practices.
Every year we are forced to endure a week long festival of capitalist peacocking, as the world’s largest multi-billion-dollar corporations invade our high streets and inboxes. Like a sex-worker gyrating her hips in the window of an Amsterdam brothel, these brazen online stores spare no shame in their attempts to woo me into their banner-bedecked bordellos with ‘tempting offers’ and ‘unmissable deals’. Not that I’m saying sex work is shameful, you understand, it’s an admirable and empowering trade for anyone who has the proficiency for it. But when it comes to spending my wad, the last thing I want is Amazon dot com twerking like a cheap whore in my inbox.
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, made a keynote speech today at ADL’s 2019 Never is Now summit, in which he viciously chided the Silicon Valley tech giants for their irresponsible approach to censorship (or rather the lack of it thereof) on their terrifyingly influential social media platforms. Cohen was at the summit to receive the ADL International Leadership Award, and began by making it clear that throughout his career, the aim of his comedy has been to uncover the insidiously passive acceptance of racism and bigotry that lurks within our society.
‘What the fuck is that on your head?’ a repulsive white man called out to me from a shop doorway as I crossed the street towards him. He was standing with a couple of other men. All white. All of them in their thirties at least. Wishing to remain civil, I graciously replied, ‘It’s a top-knot, or semi man-bun. First implemented as a popular hairstyle in Japan during the Edo period.’ The uncultured wretches all scoffed visibly at this enlightening nugget of education I had gifted to them with no request for recompense. ‘Haha this hipster prick thinks he’s the fucking Karate Kid!’ retorted one of them as the rest mocked and jeered. I winced inwardly at his foolish statement.
Having recently come out to my friends and family as an empowered woman, I feel it would be cathartic to share one of my experiences as a stunning and brave lesbian trans lady with you. Deep down I always knew I was different. As a white male, I was disgusted in myself. Looking in the mirror each morning I was confronted by a toxic symbol of oppression. For the past few years, the media have bombarded us with tales of the evils of white men. History is not kind to them, and rightly so. Young white boys in universities and colleges have been told it is only a matter of time before they rape a woman unless they address their ingrained misogyny.
Hey Gervais, here’s that huge pile of attention you ordered…When ‘Ricky Gervais’ is trending, it’s never for a positive reason. The man is incapable of saying anything kind. On Wednesday he sent out this vile tweet, mocking the trans community: https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1189610636344549377 The subject of this violent attack is none other than Jessica Yaniv, a brave Canadian trans activist who recently, tragically lost her case against several beauticians for refusing to wax her balls. She had battled the legal system for months in order to try and bring about a precedent that would legally force women to perform beautifying treatments on trans women’s genitalia.
Halloween is a holiday we all look forward to, and in the correct setting, provides us with many opportunities to express our unique identities. However, it is also a minefield for those of us who have the threat of cultural appropriation looming over us like Harvey Weinstein leering at a casting couch. If you are devoid of progressive sensibilities, you might very well end up stepping on an unseen hazard (because of the minefield metaphor), hearing a brief yet sinister tutting sound, before the devastating explosion of offense erupts around you.
The #DeleteFacebook hashtag was been trending all yesterday on Twitter after it became known that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been involved in talks with a few well-known conservative influencers in recent months to discuss free speech and partnerships.In a grossly misjudged attempt to keep Facebook a place for ‘balanced debate’ (also known as ‘hate speech’), and free from censorship (which as we all know is just alt-right code for ‘hate speech’), Zuckerberg has inadvertently displayed his true colors. Zuckerberg’s forays into the inner cabals of the Dark Side are a result of Donald Trump’s allegations of 'bias' against conservatives at Facebook and other major social media companies.
The UK has been plunged into further chaos under the fascist regime of Boris Johnson. He is our Trump. The similarities between these two dictators are staggering. Boris Johnson is a white male who comes from a privileged background, has an unruly mop of blonde hair, and blue eyes. These three aspects alone, like Drumpf, make him an ideal Aryan Poster Boy for the alt-right. Aside from the physical resemblance, Boris often wears suits along with a shirt and tie. He’s been known to stand in front of a podium and make speeches to large crowds. He uses Twitter. He travels in cars and planes. He appears on television and is often featured in the news. Now, tell me these things are ALL pure coincidence, I honestly dare you.
