In conversation with Senzeni Marasela

Last year Senzeni Marasela created an art installation called Jonga: the Museum of Women, Dolls & Memories, in a shop-front in Huntly, Scotland. Here Marasela talks to Claudia Zeiske about Barbie and the ways that beauty standards and pressures impose differently on women of colour and white women

Published: 17 March 2010 | Written by Various Authors

A streamlined new me

Laura Thomas talks through her experience going from red mane to shaved head

Published: 13 November 2009 | Written by Laura Thomas

Gender in the playground

Primary schools are no utopia of skipping rope and gender blind comradery. Instead, girls are already learning to worry about their looks - and boys are learning male privilege, reports teacher Kate Townshend

Published: 25 October 2009 | Written by Kate Townshend

How do I look in this, on this, doing this, with this...?

Feminist artists have often used the tactic of exaggerating the objectification of women to the point of parody. But Alex Brew questions how subversive this strategy is in practice

Published: 11 August 2009 | Written by Alex Brew

Some body to love

Forget which body-shape is 'fashionable' - women are more than just their bodies, argues Lara Williams

Published: 7 June 2009 | Written by Lara Williams

Stink bombing the beauty pagaent

Protesters from Smash Miss Contest sneaked into the Miss London University beauty contest, releasing stinkbombs and distributing letters to the audience. Sarah Levack reports

Published: 27 April 2009 | Written by Sarah Levack

Pity in Pink

On a mission to buy a new laptop, Posie Rider found that manufacturers and sales staff believe the best way to get women to buy a laptop is to make it pink

Published: 7 February 2009 | Written by Posie Rider

Feminist progress: undermined by the media?

Anna-Kate considers how the porn and beauty industries impact the self esteem of girls and women

Published: 25 January 2009 | Written by Anna-Kate

Losing my hijab

Ala Abbas reflects on her decision to stop wearing the hijab

Published: 24 January 2009 | Written by Ala Abbas

'Hasn't anybody ever told you a handful is enough?'

Boys groped her, men shouted at her on the street, and girls and women reacted with hostility. Samara Ginsberg reports on growing up with large breasts

Published: 14 December 2008 | Written by Samara Ginsberg

What Not To Wear say to your co-worker

How would you feel if you found out the people around you chat about putting you forward for How to Look Good Naked? Kelly Draper knows all too well

Published: 12 August 2008 | Written by Kelly Draper

F.A.T.

Girls and women need to give themselves a break from the endless preoccupation with fat, argues Katie Muller

Published: 7 May 2008 | Written by Katie Muller

Of corset matters

Corsets were bad news for Victorian women, argues Laurie Penny, and modern incarnations are little better

Published: 2 February 2008 | Written by Laurie Penny

Glamour models made me sick

Lads' mags are responsible for my eating disorder, says Hannah Whittaker

Published: 2 January 2008 | Written by Hannah Whittaker

Miss LSE or Miss-ogyny?

Antonia Strachey explains why she took part in a protest against a beauty contest for students at the London School of Economics

Published: 2 January 2008 | Written by Antonia Strachey

Filling the hole

The self-hating mindset, if not the medical condition, of anorexia is frighteningly common, argues Katie Muller

Published: 6 December 2007 | Written by Katie Muller

High heels with a pointe

A collection of extreme stilettos tells a very uncomfortable story about the high heels many women totter around in every day, says Gloria Dawson

Published: 9 November 2007 | Written by Gloria Dawson

How many lesbians does it take to sell a t-shirt?

Girl-on-girl action may be marketing gold, but has little benefit for actual lesbians, argues Joanna Whitehead

Published: 4 November 2007 | Written by Joanna Whitehead

The problem with pink

Pink ribbons may raise life-saving funding for breast cancer research. But, Michelle Wright says, October's month of consumer altruism glosses over the reality of the disease - and allows corporations to line their pockets

Published: 31 October 2007 | Written by Michelle Wright

Skinny porn

The size-zero debate is just another excuse for judging women's bodies, argues Abi M

Published: 30 August 2007 | Written by Abi M

The F Word podcast: episode one!

Welcome to the first ever F Word podcast!

Published: 9 July 2007 | Written by Jess McCabe

Where the size-zero debate goes awry

On the face of it, the size zero debate seems to address feminist bug-bears. But, argues Laurie Penny, it just creates another set of sexist stereotypes - and obfuscates the truth about eating disorders

Published: 7 July 2007 | Written by Laurie Penny

'Honey! Your vagina needs a mint'

The Vagina Institute purports to provide a public service to curious women. But Samara Ginsberg detects a rather different agenda

Published: 7 July 2007 | Written by Samara Ginsberg

Buying gunk

When the latest anti-aging cream hit the shelves, queues of women scrambled to buy it. But Gemma Wearing argues we should take a step back and think before fronting up the cash

Published: 7 July 2007 | Written by Gemma Wearing

Why replication isn't subversion

Locher's t-shirts come with teasing slogans stitched in, but a closer examination reveals they are far from subversive, argues Louise Livesey

Published: 7 July 2007 | Written by Louise Livesey

Yummy-mummy or pramface?

Baby-making has become a high-pressure pursuit, argues Abby O'Reilly. Celebrity 'yummy-mummies' only raise the stakes further and obscure the realities of child-birth and motherhood

Published: 7 July 2007 | Written by Abby O'Reilly

Girls Aloud, beauty secrets and lies

A recent magazine article on Girls Aloud proclaimed to "reveal their beauty secrets". But, Michelle Wright argues, all it really did was expose the effects of subscribing to patriarchal, capitalist beauty standards on women's self-esteem

Published: 3 June 2007 | Written by Michelle Wright

First impressions

Feminists are caricatured as ugly and fat by society. Assuming a recruitment drive for swim-suit models is off the table, Samara Ginsberg considers what we can do to fight back

Published: 2 June 2007 | Written by Samara Ginsberg

A feminist guide to ballet

From body image to ultra-femininity, ballet has a bad rap with feminists. Returning to classes for the first time in 15 years, Jess McCabe finds her inner ballerina

Published: 2 June 2007 | Written by Jess McCabe

A hairy dilemma

Women are signed up at puberty for a lifetime of relentless hair removal. But, asks Emma Chaplin, if the alternative is pariah status and the laughter of children, what can a feminist do?

Published: 2 May 2007 | Written by Emma Chaplin

Hair today, mad tomorrow

Even when baldness is caused by illness, it is taboo because it flouts conventions of femininity, argues Nichi Hodgson. Britney Spears is only the latest in a long line of reviled, bald women - and, worst of all, she chose to shave off her locks

Published: 29 March 2007 | Written by Nichi Hodgson

Your Face Is Your Fortune

These days women can be successful in the workplace, but they're never allowed to forget what really matters: how sexually attractive they are to men. Marianne Cupit asks: are women still being judged on their appearance when it comes to their chosen career?

Published: 1 February 2007 | Written by Marianne Cupit

Women Are Not In Fashion

This season's must-have fashion choices include the pre-pubescent child or the porn star; both one-dimensional images of female passivity and compliance. Where is the space for real, complex women in our culture and in fashion? Lucy Wilkins comments on the new re-packaging of the tired old virgin / whore dichotomy.

Published: 19 September 2006 | Written by Lucy Wilkins

Under the Knife

Michelle Wright looks at the increasing normalisation of extreme cosmetic surgery in British culture.

Published: 5 November 2005 | Written by Michelle Wright

Who's The Man?

Is masculinity simply "natural" or - like femininity - is it essentially performance? Holly Combe addresses this question and more as she reports on her first time at a Drag King workshop, and shares the results with The F Word.

Published: 1 August 2005 | Written by Holly Combe

Sick of Celebrity

Why is it assumed that all women want to emulate celebrities? Against the suffocating celebrity-worship culture, Nicky Raynor argues in favour of glorious anonymity, individuality, and a greater variety of female role models.

Published: 5 November 2004 | Written by Nicky Raynor

Not my Cup of T: slogans on women's T-shirts

Why is it suddenly fashionable for women to brand themselves "eye candy", "porn star" or "temptress "? Jo Knowles wanders the high-street for clues.

Published: 20 July 2004 | Written by Jo Knowles

A Perfect Delusion

What effect are men's magazines having on men's views of women and heterosexual relationships? Samantha Lyster thinks men who fall for the magazines' propaganda about women are setting themselves up for a fall.

Published: 19 April 2004 | Written by Samantha Lyster

Handbags and Gladrags

Keys, tissues, Vaseline, sunglasses, batteries, tampons, gloves, paracetamol, sewing kit, rescue remedy... How come women feel naked without a handbag stuffed with items 'just in case', but men can cope with a pocket or two? Beth Anderson challenges us to travel light for a change.

Published: 19 April 2004 | Written by Beth Anderson

Feminine Feminism

Laura Wadsworth loves lipstick, fashion, boys, and the colour pink. Does that mean she's not a feminist? No way! Girly girls can be just as feminist as anyone else, she argues.

Published: 19 March 2004 | Written by Laura Wadsworth

Cutting Women Down to Size

Is Michelle's victory in Pop Idol a sign that we're starting to reject the impossible beauty standards imposed on us? As much as she wants to believe, Jo Knowles isn't so sure.

Published: 19 January 2004 | Written by Jo Knowles

Body Image

Lorraine Smith explains the pressures the media puts on women to be thin and beautiful.

Published: 16 March 2003 | Written by Lorraine Smith

Pretty Vacant

Who wears the trousers? Holly Combe doesn't skirt the issue as she analyses society's negative attitudes to "feminine" clothing.

Published: 16 December 2002 | Written by Holly Combe

Diet Grrrl - Feminism and Women's Magazines

Kate Allen looks at women's magazines today - and thinks enough is enough.

Published: 16 August 2002 | Written by Kate Allen

Confessions of a Failed Fashionista

I know what I should be. Don't we all? You only have to look around you at the magazines or watch TV. What should I be? I should know the difference between Versace and Louis Vuitton; between Prada and Paul Smith. Shopping for clothes should fill me with orgasmic delight. I should come home staggering down the street in strappy heels clutching hundreds of designer bags...

Published: 16 November 2001 | Written by Catherine Redfern

The Signs of Ageing

Wrinkles? Come and have a go, if you think you're hard enough. Go on then, crows-feet, you don't scare me! I laugh at you! Ha ha ha! Grey? Grey? It's silver, you imbecile. Yes, you too can have this attitude to ageing. Just follow our three step plan, click here. By Catherine Redfern.

Published: 13 June 2001 | Written by Catherine Redfern

Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery

Why are more and more young women opting for breast implants? Catherine Redfern offers an explanation.

Published: 16 April 2001 | Written by Catherine Redfern

The Beauty Myth

Are we exploited by the cosmetics industry?

Published: 16 April 2001 | Written by Catherine Redfern