Contemporary UK feminism. http://www.thefword.org.uk/ Movable Type http://www.thefword.org.uk/images/logo2003.gif 2012-05-13T13:11:20Z

It's not Buffy, but Avengers Assemble does get under the skin of Joss Whedon's fans. Imagine if the Marvel universe had more female characters, says Sophie Mayer

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/05/avengers_assemble 2012-05-13T13:11:20Z 2012-05-08T22:55:00Z Sophie Mayer

Brooke Magnanti wants to expose the truths behind the sex myths which provoke outraged newspaper headlines and panicked public policy. Lindsey Sheehan considers Magnanti's opinions on all things controversial, from lap-dancing to online pornography

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/05/thesexmyth 2012-05-16T10:52:06Z 2012-05-05T09:55:00Z Lindsey M Sheehan

Carrie Spencer reviews Birute Regine's guide to modern leadership by becoming an Iron Butterfly, which, Regine says, will help women "transform themselves and the world"

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/iron_butterflies 2012-04-29T18:14:16Z 2012-04-29T17:29:11Z Carrie Spencer

Iman Qureshi reviews Circumstance, screened during 2012 London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and hails its director for subtly depicting complexities and contradictions of contemporary Iranian society

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/circumstance 2012-05-08T15:38:49Z 2012-04-24T21:35:00Z Iman Qureshi

Lola Okolosie from Black Feminists reviews A Place of Rage and Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, two films by documentary filmmaker Pratibha Parmar, and considers what contemporary black feminists have learnt from the influential black women featured

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/a_place_of_rage 2012-04-27T17:38:43Z 2012-04-21T13:34:00Z Lola Okolosie http://blackfeminists.blogspot.co.uk/

Kaye Jones on the history of the speculum

http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2012/04/speculum 2012-04-26T22:27:12Z 2012-04-18T21:41:04Z Kaye Jones

Fresh from touring the UK with the Futureheads, Sunderland vocal harmony group The Cornshed Sisters are marrying British folk traditions and vocal harmonies with a mixture of ancient and modern lyrical concerns. Helen G found herself impressed by their debut album, and eager to witness the band live.

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/cornshed_sisters 2012-04-14T21:30:05Z 2012-04-18T08:30:12Z Helen G

After much anticipation, Vicky Brewster reviews The Hunger Games and celebrates not only a strong female protagonist but a film that does her justice

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/Hunger Games Film 2012-04-17T14:44:28Z 2012-04-17T14:45:02Z Vicky Brewster

The Hunger Games - the latest fad in the teen fiction market or an incisive examination of our society? Jessica Blunden finds that Suzanne Collins' world offers more than easy escapism

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/Hunger Games books 2012-04-24T09:40:42Z 2012-04-17T14:43:44Z Jessica Blunden

Three punk pioneers reunite for an evening of rage, honesty, playfulness and sound experiments. Cazz Blase attends the show and talks to the acts backstage

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/celebrating_sisterhood 2012-04-13T20:52:41Z 2012-04-12T22:39:46Z Cazz Blase

With his Star Trek villainy keeping Benedict Cumberbatch occupied for the foreseeable future, Sherlock fans might have quite a wait ahead of them before the gangly super-sleuth returns for a third series. Meanwhile, here's Helen-Rose Owen to take stock of the show from a feminist perspective.

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/sherlocks_victo 2012-04-17T18:04:41Z 2012-04-11T10:34:05Z Helen-Rose Owen

Sian Norris finds herself approving of the subversion of traditional sexual roles in the portrayal of Charles Saint-Beuve - "a man like no other" - in Helen Humphrey's novel The Reinvention of Love

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/reinvention_of_love 2012-04-09T09:00:20Z 2012-04-08T16:47:51Z Sian Norris http://www.sianandcrookedrib.blogspot.com/

Emeli Sandé's debut single 'Heaven' was a big urban dance tune last summer, and the path to debut album 'Our version of events' has been a long one. A mildly disappointed Holly Combe ponders the largely middle of the road results, and finds herself musing on the nature of celebrity and experiences as products

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/04/emeli_sandé 2012-04-07T21:26:21Z 2012-04-08T11:05:36Z Holly Combe

Study up on how to succeed in the dating game with Jilly Boyce Kay

http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2012/04/top_10_tips_to_ 2012-04-12T21:01:13Z 2012-04-03T11:24:44Z Jilly Boyce Kay

A few years ago in the UK the acronym EMA would have been most commonly associated with the Education Maintenance Allowance. Nowadays it belongs firmly to Erika M. Anderson, a 22 year old singer/songwriter from the US Midwest whose debut album Past Life Martyred Saints was released in 2011. David Wilkinson detects the ghost of 1990s grunge in its confessional soundscape, and muses as to whether this particular branch of nostalgia is always a good thing

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/03/save_ema 2012-03-25T21:56:04Z 2012-03-31T13:14:14Z David Wilkinson

Take Me Out has recently returned for a second series on ITV. Danielle Almond wondered what this latest incarnation of the prime time dating show had to say about mainstream ideas of gender roles

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/03/happily_ever_af 2012-04-07T15:33:56Z 2012-03-28T08:44:49Z Danielle Almond

Headed by singer and writer Emma-Lee Moss, anti-folk act Emmy the Great have achieved cult success, but have yet to be embraced more widely. Described as a lyricist who can talk about emotion without resorting to blunt clichés, Moss's intensely personal songs use the voices of archetypal female protagonists and her lyrics are said to be the act's secret weapon. Vicki Ell reports on a live performance at the Women of the World Festival 2012, London Southbank

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/03/emmy_the_great_gig 2012-03-27T14:27:41Z 2012-03-27T13:55:13Z Vicki Ell

With her positively geeky enthusiasm for the making of her music, eccentric costumes and abundant charisma, Barbara Panther is an unforgettable performer. Her distinctive voice has seen her compared to Bjork, Grace Jones and Fever Ray but she has a style all of her own. Cazz Blase checks out her self-titled album and finds Panther to be an artist with imagination, an ability to tell stories and musical inventiveness

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/03/walk_like_a_panther 2012-03-24T14:07:34Z 2012-03-24T13:47:04Z Cazz Blase

The Selecter brought us their 2 Tone sound when right wing politics was dividing a nation. Helen G reviews their most recent release Made in Britain and finds their music -new and old- to be as relevant today as their most famous tracks were in the 1980s

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/03/made_in_solidarity 2012-03-22T01:45:11Z 2012-03-20T23:00:46Z Helen G

Amy Tuckwell skilfully makes classic psychoanalytic feminist film critique by Laura Mulvey palpable and applies it to a recent Disney's retelling of the frog prince story. Popular Hollywood cinema, also in its animated version, still has a long way to go

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2012/03/princess_and_frog 2012-03-26T22:00:41Z 2012-03-18T12:30:00Z Amy Tuckwell