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The festive season is upon us, and I think everyone is excited to head to their nearest Christmas Market to see what is on offer. Christmas markets can be a great way to ignite that jolly spark that has perhaps been extinguished for just a little bit too long; it helps you release your inner child - that’s Georgiana Gray's view on the matter, at least. Let her open your eyes to the wonder of the Christmas markets and the best ways to experience them: Artwork by Ruby Tait (IG: @rubyt.art). The festive season is upon us, and I think everyone is excited to head to their nearest Christmas Market to see what is on offer. Christmas markets can be a great way to ignite that jolly spark that has perhaps been extinguished for just a little bit too long; it helps you release your inner child - that’s my view on the matter, at least. Let me open your eyes to the wonder of the Christmas markets and the best ways to experience them According to Collins Dictionary, a Christmas market is a “market with stalls selling Christmas gifts and decorations, and seasonal food and drink.” I would argue that it is so much more! Although not entirely necessary, cold weather enhances the experience and encourages you to indulge on mulled wine and crepes. They typically occur in the streets and are made up of little chalets selling everything from decorations and candles to chutneys and hot chocolate. The duration can vary but historically, they lasted for the period of advent. Contrary to popular belief, the very first Christmas market not only in Europe but the whole world took place in Dresden, Germany in 1434, not Strasbourg. The latter was first opened in 1570 and is one of the most famous markets nowadays. Although I cannot vouch for those during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, I would imagine that they have changed slightly over nearly 600 years. Nowadays, they are a great way to promote local small businesses, and those from further afield, as well as introducing people to a variety of cuisines – recently, I have seen everything from hot dogs to gyozas! When scouring numerous sources, I discovered that there is some dispute over the biggest Christmas market, but the best seemed to almost unanimously be Vienna’s Christmas World, which is held in the Rathausplatz. Vienna has an additional twelve Christmas markets, but Christmas World boasts the greatest crowds with roughly 3.5 million people visiting each year. There are endless stalls that sell high-quality products, often made from wood or glass, and a wide array of tempting Viennese delights. There are some notable attractions, such as the infamous tree of hearts, the trail of Nativity scenes, and the illuminated ice rink which has festive music playing in the background. Some honourable mentions must go to the following: Manchester, UK – This market has been expanding enormously ever since it began in 1998 and is the largest in the UK. The heart is in Albert Square, but it stretches through the centre of the city with notable locations like Exchange Square, New Cathedral Street, King Street, and St Ann’s Square. There is a lot in the way of entertainment here with numerous non-traditional food and drink options, including fried chicken and fish and chips. Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen, Denmark – Having opened in 1844, Tivoli Gardens is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world and for a couple of months each year is home to the sparkling lights that come with the Christmas markets. Unlike many, Tivoli Gardens keeps the market beyond advent and into the New Year, so the joys of Christmas do not all have to end at once. Here, you will find a Danish spin on the food, which can be enjoyed with the pop of fireworks overhead on some nights. Brussels, Belgium – With millions of visitors each year, the enormous festive celebrations in Brussels are split into six sections. It is recommended to start at the main square (Grand Place) and see the light shows against the UNESCO-protected facades. Then walk, winding through hundreds of stalls selling all the usuals, plus some Belgian specialities. There is a feature area where a different country’s cuisine is represented each year. A novel addition is a champagne bar inside an igloo. Similarly, this market is open into the New Year, so you can delay the winter blues come January. Ravenna Gorge, Germany – This gorgeous setting fit for a fairy tale is certainly on my bucket list. This spectacular Christmas market lies in Germany’s Black Forest and takes place beneath the 40-metre arches of an old, brick railway bridge. This scene is often made even more magical with a thick layer of snow to compliment the twinkling lights. At night-time, the bridge is lit up in deep red to add the intensity and drama. Having visited the Edinburgh Christmas Market this year, I can confirm that it is certainly smaller than on my last visit in 2019, but I suppose that is expected when comparing pre-covid and post-covid events. There seemed to be good variety in the stalls that were there, with my favourite being a map stall that I have come across in the past. I am a bit of a map fiend and find them so interesting to look at, especially when it is a place of some significance to me. The food options were varied and after some struggle, I opted for a portion of currywurst and a hot mulled cider. It hit the spot, so I would recommend. Other options included galettes, gyozas, mac & cheese, and burgers. I cannot really tell you how to enjoy yourself, but I can absolutely make suggestions on how you may be able to get the most out of your visit to a Christmas market: 1. Wrap up warm: There is no indoor space and even on a mild day, the temperature will drop once it gets dark (the best time to visit in my opinion). Ensure you have a warm coat, scarf, gloves, and hat if you’re planning on staying for a while. 2. Accept that they are expensive, and you may have to sell a kidney: They are tourist attractions like anything else and ultimately will come with tourist prices. Despite that, it is possible to go and not spend anything. Most markets (including Edinburgh) do not charge an entry fee, so if you can resist the temptation of a mulled wine and a bratwurst, then you will be fine. 3. Prepare for the inevitable endless swathes of people: There will be tonnes of people and there isn’t too much you can do about that, unfortunately. Try to think of it as a positive since it wouldn’t be the same experience if it were empty; share the happiness and Christmassy joy with those around you. Whether you are new to the world of Christmas markets – where on earth have you been for the past 600 years – or you’re just looking to learn a bit more about them, I hope you have found some amusement, and perhaps information, in this article. Enjoy the festivities and Merry Christmas!

Georgia Bennett gives an update with the latest news on the detained Olympian Brittney Griner following her arrest earlier this year. She notes her new location, following it being unknown in the past few week,s as well as the reopening of the possibility of a prisoner swap: Artwork by Innes Clark (IG: @Innesclarkillo). Two days ago, WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) player and Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, was transferred to a Russian penal colony from a detention center outside of Moscow. This escalation of events was paired with the Kremlin reopening the possibility of a prisoner swap last week. Brittney Griner was arrested in Sheremetyevo International Airport in Russia on smuggling charges in February of this year for carrying vaporizer cartridges containing >1 gram of hash oil. The cartridges had been medically dispensed legally in Arizona, though illegal in Russia, unbeknownst to Griner. This resulted in the Basketball player being handed down a nine year prison sentence following trials culminating on the 4th of August - despite her confessing to it being an “honest mistake”. The situation has arisen in the midst of rising tension between the US and Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine. The Joe Biden administration pledged on Wednesday the 9th of November, “I’m telling you I’m determined to get her home and get her home safely,” the 46th President of the US declared at a press conference. Biden also informed journalists that he had been in conversation with Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner who remains in the United States. Griner is one of the most prominently decorated, black and openly gay professional basketball players in the world, adding to the fear surrounding her detainment in Russia. In recent years, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Russia have been increasingly compromised, culminating in a fever pitch in 2019 when anti-gay purges took place in the region of Chechyna. Immediately following the move to the penal colony, Russia has opened the possibility of an exchange of prisoners. The trade would be for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout had been using his multiple air transport companies to smuggle weapons globally and was extradited from Thailand to the US in 2010 which was followed by a 25 year prison sentence in 2012. Washington, however, has dismissed the seriousness of the Kremlin’s intentions. Prior negotiations, which had attempted to include the trade of the US Marine Paul N. Whelan, also imprisoned in Russia, have failed to gain traction since their proposal in June until now. In response to the Kremlin officially acknowledging the proposed exchange, department spokesman Vedant Patel responded, “We have made a substantial offer that the Russian Federation has consistently failed to negotiate in good faith.” The pressure of the retrieval mission is heightened by recent issues of the extradition of Americans abroad. In 2017, the 22 year old American Otto Warmbier died imminently in the US having been freed after 17 months as a prisoner in North Korea. Warmbier was returned in a vegetative state after being detained under accusations of stealing a propaganda poster during a trip to North Korea, though North Korea have claimed he suffered from botulism and an unexpected reaction to a sleeping pill. However, his teeth being misaligned, a large scar on his foot and his death within six days of his return to the US has led to speculation of extreme torture. Due to the Trump administration’s mishandling of this case, the pressure on Biden to act is escalating in order to prevent another instance of diplomatic fumbling with fatal consequences. The acknowledgment of such pressure resounded in Biden’s press conference as he corrected his promise, “to get her home and get her home safely”, suggesting an underlying fear of the danger of history repeating itself. Such concerns for Griner’s safety in light of the cases of Americans such as Warmbier were heightened at the beginning of November when her exact whereabouts nor final destination were known by her legal team, as declared in a statement. However, she is now known to be in a penal colony in Mordovia as her legal team were able to update news outlets on Thursday the 17th of November. Due to the history of relations between the US and Russia as well as the unignorable backdrop of the invasion of Ukraine, this prisoner swap would be particularly exceptional amid such strained tensions. The Guardian journalist Luke Harding has noted that “​​the exchange would mark one of the more extraordinary prisoner swaps in their history.” As concerns for Griner mount following her confinement to the Russian penal colony, the pressure on the Biden administration rises to walk this politically precarious tightrope and retrieve the Olymian both safely and as rapidly as possible.

If you’re an Edinburgh local and looking for a gig to go to, it’s safe to say that Sneaky Pete’s will always be a good bet. They seem to have a real talent for picking out the up-and-coming bands on the local music scene, and the night The Edi Magazine went to review one of their shows last week (Harry-Miles Watson & The Union, supported by The Overalls and Chell and the Vetos), was no different. If you want a night that will blend country music and sounds from film noir, that will alternate between swaying and slow-dancing and a manic mosh-pit scene (and why would you not want that?) then Sneaky’s will always be the place to be. Georgie McNamara tells us more: Photography Credit: Hope Holmes (IG: @hopehphoto). The Overalls: It’s no easy feat to be the opening act of a three band line-up, but The Overalls rose to the challenge with impressive gumption. Though you could tell they were slightly nervous when the show began, they soon settled onto the stage and got more confident as their set developed – and with good reason, because they put together an amazing show. Lead singer, Niamh Martin-McGarrigle, had really good stage presence and was great at getting the audience moving, something that can be really challenging for a performer at 7:30pm on a Monday night. They produced five original songs and two covers (‘Psycho Killer’ and ‘Call Me’), with a gentle hush falling over the room, a real accomplishment at Sneaky Pete’s, when Niamh sung acapella during one of their originals, utilising her sonorous alto voice to chilling effect. This was followed up by a great guitar solo from Oliver Berry, who was hands down the most assured band member on stage and easily the most entertaining to watch! Chell and The Vetos: Chell and the Vetos performed an eclectic set, their sound combining an alternative mix of Lana Del Rey and The Cranberries. Their set was strong and ran smoothly, with a sense of unspoken communication and comradery between the four; there was a moment where a drumstick went flying out of the drummer’s hand and the singer threw it back to her, yet the song continued and the show didn’t stop. If you hadn’t seen the drumstick fall, then you would not have been able to tell anything had happened. Speaking of the drummer, a shoutout is needed for Florrie and her amazing performance and adaptability in a situation like this. For the night overall, it was also amazing to see a set with two out of the three drummers being women. Chell and the Vetos released an EP earlier this year called ‘Give Me A Hand?’ which is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. They also put out a single, ‘Train Song’, along with ‘TWO ODD CAT’ earlier this month which is available to stream as well. Harry-Miles Watson & The Union: Let’s just say that this band was the headlining act for a reason. You would be forgiven for thinking they invented the concept of ‘organised chaos’, presenting an astonishing fusion of genres and instruments that really pushed the boundaries of what you would expect from your typical ‘rock band’. They careened onto the stage with a significantly amped-up version of the Scooby-Doo theme song, which quickly merged into ‘Under the Sea’ from Ariel (that’s right, the Disney movie). This band has a true talent for rearranging songs into something fun and exciting that you’d want to hear on a night out. They even got us jumping to Ricky Martin’s ‘La Vida Loca’ at one point, a song which, while not exactly a musical masterpiece, really emphasised this band’s defining strength – that ultimately, they are there for a ridiculously fun, headbanging time, and taking themselves too seriously isn’t going to ruin that for them or their audience. That’s not to say, however, that they weren’t producing some impressive music. The different genres they encapsulated in quite a short set was wonderful, managing to move from hardcore rock sounds, to music that sounded like it came from the soundtrack to film noir, before following this up with some smoky jazz and even an original Christmas country song – at no point, however, did the changes feel abrupt or jarring. Their inclusion of a horn section also really helped to set them apart from the other acts, with saxophonist Ben Evans doing a seriously impressive (and dare we say, sexy?) saxophone solo that, for us at the edi magazine, was the highlight of the night. All in all, for a group that has only been working together for a relatively short span of time, they put on an incredible show that has definitely got us excited to hear what they do next. Harry Miles-Watson has a new single out, ‘Feline Debonair’ - available to stream on Spotify.

Amy Norton discusses the political stunts pulled off by comedian Joe Lycett, in particular his recent ultimatum for David Beckham during the controversy surrounding the World Cup: Artwork by Mariam Tovmasian (IG: @tomwunderbar). Until recently I didn’t think I could possibly love comedian Joe Lycett more. I was wrong. Reducing him to the title of ‘comedian’ does not do justice to the power this man holds: he is, in my eyes, a national treasure and an all-round genius. From his first viral moment back in 2015 (in which he used his talents of internet trolling to piss off parking fine “pricks”) until now, Joe’s increasingly elaborate stunts have proven his ability to use his wit and mischievous admin skills as a force for good in the world. Joe is incredibly modest, but it’s clear that he takes pride in his status as a ‘nuisance’ to the companies and people that deserve to be wound up. Before discussing his most recent exploit, let us marvel at just some of Joe’s latest achievements. As featured in his consumer affairs programme Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back last year, yoghurt company Yop pledged to stop using non-recyclable, white PET plastic in their products, as a result of Joe drawing attention to the issue by ‘storming off’ a daytime Channel 4 show (this was of course staged). In January, “Mummy catfished the Government” by tweeting a parody, “leaked” Sue Gray report addressing the Downing Street lockdown parties (including fake details like a WhatsApp group chat named “Down It Street”). In response, an official source verified that Joe had Tory MPs running around Parliament in panic because it was seen as an “actual serious leak”. This summer, he co-hosted the Commonwealth Games’ opening ceremony donned in a pink frilly tracksuit, during which he declared, “I’m going to do something now that the British government doesn’t always do, and welcome some foreigners!” He then tweeted: “Soz @pritipatel just a bit of banter tehehe.” In September, Joe appeared on the panel of the BBC politics show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg; in yet another viral moment, he sarcastically cheered on Liz Truss as she spoke, and when asked about Truss’ interview he stated, “I’m actually very right-wing, and I loved it”. Despite efforts from Kuennsberg to get him to be serious, the panel was floored by his persistence and couldn’t retaliate because Joe’s actual words were completely supportive. On his recent tour (which I had the pleasure of attending), Joe revealed his biggest stunt yet: his secret project, helping the LGBTQ+ community of his home of Kings Heath, took four years to complete. Joe described it as “the best thing I have done with my life”, but I’m not going to spoil it — you’ll have to watch the show to find out! The common theme with Joe’s stunts, no matter their scale, is that he always manages to aggravate his targets. The people that get it, get it, and the people that don’t, get annoyed. Whether people support or disagree with his actions, he triggers mass media discussions, and this caper was no different: Joe’s latest stunt has been situated amidst the intense, worldwide backlash over the World Cup currently being held in Qatar. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and can even be punishable by death; this month, former Qatari international Khalid Salman described homosexuality as “damage in the mind”. Awarding a country with this awful mindset the privilege of hosting this global event firmly casts the safety of members of the LGBTQ+ community as an afterthought (if they were even considered at all), and pumps an unthinkable amount of money into homophobic institutions. One person getting a share of this cash is former professional footballer David Beckham, who signed a reported £10 million deal to be a World Cup Ambassador. On 13th November Joe Lycett uploaded a short video, an ultimatum addressed to Beckham. In summary, Joe recognised Beckham’s status in the past as a “gay icon” and ally to the LGBTQ+ community but sternly announced, “I’m giving you a choice: if you end your relationship with Qatar I’ll donate this £10,000 of my own money to charities that support queer people in football. However, if you do not, I will throw this money into a shredder… not just the money, but your status as a gay icon will be shredded. The choice is yours”. Unfortunately, despite the immense publicity surrounding Joe’s video, there was nothing but radio silence from Beckham and his team. Being a man of his word, Joe was left with no choice. At midday on Sunday 20th November, just hours before the tournament began, Joe — wearing a huge, rainbow ruffled top —threw the stack of cash into a large shredder, curtsied, and walked off camera without saying a word to the thousands watching live. I sat and waited for the internet’s reaction to the video and, just as expected, it was mixed. A lot of people were angry at Joe, insisting what he did was unfair, and that he should have donated the money regardless of whether Beckham pulled out of his ambassador role. Many found the video upsetting and uncomfortable to watch especially given the current cost of living crisis. And so, Joe Lycett strikes again, and asks us the question: how valuable are our values? It’s not about the money, or at least it isn’t for Joe. You cannot be an ally to a community if there is a sum massive enough to make you sell out, and to put money over morals: the fact remains that Beckham is profiting handsomely from Qatar’s oppression of the queer community. If watching Joe shred the money made you feel uncomfortable, then your reaction is correct. Acts of protest are supposed to be shocking and uncomfortable. Nothing about this whole situation is comfortable. Whether people are speaking supportively or critically of Joe’s actions, the point is that people are talking about it. The attention that Joe drew to this massive issue is worth a lot more than £10,000. What followed from the media attention Joe’s shredder video received on the Sunday was a follow up video uploaded 24 hours later. I knew there was going to be a twist. Joe explained that while the money that went into the shredder was real, the bits that came out were fake. He stated that he’d already donated ten grand of his own money before he made the original threat, so it was empty all along. Beckham said recently he wanted the football pitch to be a “platform for progress”, but his silence on this matter puts his morals into question. I think this stunt has been Joe’s best yet. He has used his platform online combined with his wit, wisdom, camp and caring nature to get a huge amount of people talking about this important issue, donated money to the cause and exposed Beckham in one move. David might have been deemed a legend in September for standing in a queue for a few hours, but I think he’ll be waiting longer than that for his reputation to recover from this. https://www.instagram.com/tv/Ck5n2jEo3IX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/tv/ClLqKMvoe-E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/tv/ClOMLKuIY0r/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Frances Roberts sheds light on her personal experience of struggling to find accommodation this academic year amidst the stark student housing crisis sweeping the nation: Artwork by Alison Laing (IG: @Alisonlaingart). I am currently writing this article curled up in bed under a woollen blanket, my frozen fingers tapping away, forcing me to contemplate whether to finally switch the heating on. It is coming up to the week anniversary of moving into my fourth year flat which has been an incredibly stressful journey. Not where I imagined I’d be at the tail end of the first semester of my final year at University, but this is the reality which so many students across Edinburgh and beyond have been faced with in the midst of an ongoing housing crisis sweeping the country. The causes of the crisis seem to be complex and intersecting. The cost of living crisis has forced many landlords to convert previously HMO dwellings into more lucrative Airbnbs or sell up altogether and with many more students continuing their tenancies from last year, there has been a significant shortage of flats in the city. The housing market has simultaneously plummeted,pricing people out of their mortgages and exerting extra pressure on the demand for rental properties. In addition, the University of Edinburgh (UoE) has taken on more students this year than ever before, meaning in October, for the first time ever, all 7,000 rooms in UoE accommodation were occupied. This left many students stranded with nowhere to live, and predictably minimal support from the University, who have a shared responsibility for this chaos. It took two long months for me to find a flat, followed by another agonising four weeks until I could move in. It was early August and I’d just got back from my semester abroad in Melbourne, ready to begin the search for a student flat, ideally with a few period features and within walking distance from the Library. Very quickly I became frustrated with what appeared to be an overwhelmed rental market, full of sky-high prices for low value properties. It took weeks, and hundreds of requests, before I could even secure any viewings, and when I finally did get confirmations, they would often end up cancelled because another desperate student had made an offer even higher than the already extortionate rent advertised. In my despair, I sought clarification that I wasn’t missing something blindingly obvious; an estate agent confirmed the unprecedented demand and told me that viewings for properties had waiting lists with over a thousand people. At the same time, I was also looking for people to live with and unaware of the scale of the crisis, it was very isolating. As soon as I returned to Edinburgh, I began to discover similar stories every day from all sorts of students. There is a momentous lack of data in order to quantify this crisis but student-run surveys like the one organised by Slurp, are beginning to uncover the lived experiences of those affected. Sofa- surfing at a friend’s, sharing a partner’s room, staying in a hostel and then Edinburgh University’s controversial answer: Pollock Halls. Everytime someone would express pity at my situation, I would attempt to convince myself that it really wasn’t that bad by replying “at least I’m not in a bunk bed”. The reality: that I was having to battle with my own temporary accommodation stresses and downplaying them was only internalising these struggles. Experiencing a friendship breakdown in my third year in addition to now finding myself in a precarious living situation whilst struggling to find a flat or flatmates, all made for a rather unsettling entry back into Edinburgh. Over the two months where I did not have a permanent address, I stayed in three different flats in Edinburgh as well as two in Glasgow. I have stayed with friends, family and family-friends, each time becoming further and further away from campus (and eventually to another city altogether), and feeling more and more removed from student life. I have always been a highly independent individual, so relying on the generosity of others, mostly people I didn’t know, was terrifying, as the anxiety of being a burden felt constant. Then followed the inevitably awkward and confronting conversations which reminding me of the instability of my situation became increasingly unsettling and triggering. I ultimately understood that balancing their desire to alleviate my stresses within their own challenging circumstances meant that boundaries became inevitable. Ultimately, it was a struggle which felt inescapable, affecting every aspect of my University life. While an optimist might say it’s a chance to explore different parts of the city, it was largely not something I felt I had the capacity to do. For the last two weeks I had been in Portobello, in a flat overlooking the sea, and whilst it is easy to romanticise the enjoyment in the time I had for myself, taking long walks on the beach and scavenging for pottery, I can’t ignore the lonely evenings I spent staring at the moon to the sounds of radio six music. Waking up next to the sun rising over the sea, at times, felt like a holiday, but not one where I could truly relax or feel refreshed. Having finally moved into my flat, I feel I have the sufficient stability to sit down and write this article, a process which has been cathartic. It’s slowly starting to feel like home (and very handy for the library) and my flatmates and I are quickly bonding over shared music tastes and tote bag upcycling. But, settling still feels like a huge adjustment after becoming used to constantly being on the move. Although I’m relieved to have finally found physical roots, it’s the sense of stability around this structure which I need to rebuild, a process which will take time. To anyone still affected by this issue, I want to recognise that this will likely have been a difficult and confronting read, but in a vacuum of institutional support networks, I hope it offers some sense of reassurance.

With climate protest becoming increasingly extreme and disruptive, it is easy to forget the role we play in ensuring the protestors aren’t demonised as they fight for all our futures, and instead holding the correct people accountable for the climate crisis. Finn Kelly tells us more: Artwork by Zoë Brown (IG: @Zoe_r_art). Political protest has the unique ability to expose the worst aspects of our world. Simultaneously providing some hope that change is possible. Following a succession of unpredictable and news-grabbing protests by Just Stop Oil in the past month an odd mix of feelings have been generated. On the one hand, disturbed by the extremity of their methods and the severity of their concerns, and on the other, moved by their courage and hope. The rebellion starting gun was pulled in the middle of October: two protestors threw soup on a painting by Van Goph in London. They call for the UK government to drastically respond to the climate and cost of living crisis. In the following weeks a series of similar acts have been undertaken, including a pie in the face of King Charles’ wax figure in Madame Tussauds, orange paint sprayed on buildings related to government or corporations such as Shell or Aston Martin, and several imitations of the now famous soup protest in art galleries throughout Europe. The climate movement is no stranger to extreme and disruptive forms of dissent. Extinction Rebellion’s demonstrations that picked up in 2018-19 were often unpopular and divisive for their troublesome nature - perhaps most notably in blocking several public spaces in London including Waterloo Bridge. The protests of the last month have certainly generated a distinct tone of shock and indignation among the general public, political class and media. Among others, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has lashed out at “hideously selfish” activists - while pursuing new anti-protest laws, warned against by human rights groups, that offer up to six months in prison for protesters who lock themselves to buildings or infrastructure. On the other side of the Commons, Keir Starmer has emphatically vocalised his disapproval of Just Stop Oil blocking the M25. His words “get up, go home” have run sharply in the ears of anyone hoping for any real opposition against the government’s increasingly authoritarian attitude to protestors. To an extent you can understand why shock and even anger may arise - protests of this sort are inherently provocative and even infuriating for ordinary people. But why should this mean that they aren’t vitally important? In an interview for Newnight, Phoebe Plummer (one of the activists involved in the initial Van Gogh protest), recognised the controversy of her action yet affirmed that her attitude to activism wasn’t that of a “popularity contest”. These words were echoed by another Just Stop Oil activist Emma Brown who spoke about the importance of the “radical flanking” effect in historical movements of protest - suggesting that though the more extreme wings of a movement may not be popular, they nonetheless contribute to shifting the centre ground of debate towards their views. With regards to the recent Just Stop Oil protests, she also commented that the attention economy of the 21st Century - which is defined by social media, rapid news cycles, and short attention spans - made the sensationalist and extreme nature of the protests necessary, to grab the eyes of the world with increasingly radical and outrageous demonstrations. The sharp end of this tactic is the anxiety we feel when confronted with the reality of the climate crisis. A reality made sharper every time the news is engulfed with another story about demonstrators. In his analysis, journalist Owen Jones referred back to the Extinction Rebellion protests of 2019, citing polls at the time suggesting that XR were deeply unpopular with a lot of the public, yet anxiety and concern felt by the public about climate issues soared to record levels after the protests. In the attention economy (that Emma Brown speaks of), it is easy to ignore the realities that face us - therefore it’s notable that Just Stop Oil’s decision to play along with the attention economy has enabled them to embed themselves in the public eye; which will serve to further expose the issues that concern them. Therefore the hope is that a radical flank may shift the centre ground of political debate to encourage more engagement with climate issues, and the public voting accordingly with higher levels of concern for the climate. With this analysis in mind, we may recognise an important shift in perspective on protest in general and specifically related to the climate: that now, more than ever, the ends justify the means. That said, there is a reason that the phrase ‘climate justice’ has become so important. A green transition must be just, taking into account working people, the global South, and those with no responsibility for the crisis. With this in mind, it is apparent that the hardest Just Stop Oil protest to support is blocking the M25 - far from simply grabbing news headlines, this act seems to only hinder the lives of ordinary people. However, the appropriate response to criticism of this demonstration is two-fold: firstly, as ‘annoying’ as an act of protest may be it still holds an important discursive function - as per the radical flanking effect and the exposure of issues. Secondly, we mustn’t make the mistake of laying the blame at the wrong door: just as one shouldn’t blame trade unions for train delays, so too we shouldn’t hold young activists accountable for the future of the planet. Instead, just as we should hold railway bosses to account, we should call for the government to act in response to the protester’s demands, which are inarguably reasonable and important. We all share the responsibility for shifting the conversation in this manner - to sway the centre of debate away from the actions of protestors and onto the morals of the governments and corporations responsible for the crisis. On Saturday the 12th of November a global day of action was organised by Egyptian and African civil society groups, in response to the COP27 summit taking place in Cairo. Visitors to Edinburgh staying in one of the many upmarket hotels around St Andrew Square may have been surprised to see an impressive congregation of protestors gathered. The defining tone as the protest began was one of mourning and the mood of the gathering was unmistakably serious. Solemn faces both young and old lined the square. A moving and surreal performance took place, with black clad performers symbolically laying themselves as the victims of climate change - lost species, lost futures, lost lives - as a row of performers dressed in ethereal and striking red costumes marched with fists held high through the graves. Meanwhile, a slow and solitary drum beat echoed, evoking a heartbeat or a death toll, to be accompanied eventually by bagpipes and singing from the crowd - all gave the strong impression of a funeral. After, as the march towards Holyrood was underway. The drums and chants that might be expected of a protest march were in full swing, but it is striking that the demonstration began with such a sense of loss and sadness. No other way would be appropriate. This is the tragedy of the climate movement in 2022 - the past year has seen such loss, that protests have grown to take a tone of mourning. The same vein of tragedy that ran through the St Andrew Square demonstration runs through the Just Stop Oil protests. The sense that we’ve already lost so much and future efforts are about mitigation rather than prevention is increasingly present. But this is no reason to choose despair over optimism. As Sam Knights argues in an article for Novara Media, the climate movement possesses a strong radical flank with the likes of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, but still lacks a central mainstream body. For the radical flank to shift the centre ground of climate debate, the centre of the climate movement also needs to be represented. This is where events like the protest seen in Edinburgh on Saturday the 12th of November become so important - whether it is turning up to a demonstration, voting in accordance with climate issues or generally organising and expressing ourselves, those who care about the climate need to participate in politics to fill the gap between the radical flank - those protesting - and the status quo, which neglects environmental issues. If the increasingly extreme methods of protest seem to be having little effect, it is because mainstream political options in the UK fail to accommodate climate issues - we have a responsibility to make sure those efforts aren’t wasted.

For many seasonal hobbyists like Georgie, the last week of November marks the end of Gilmore Girls reruns, the conclusion of Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold andthe swapping of sheer tights with a pair that’s actually going to keep you warm. It’s nearly time to break out your favourite Christmas movie (I dare not be more specific for fear of offending Home Alone and Elf fans) and start practicing your Mariah Carey impersonation. But before you finish that pumpkin spice latte and stash your ankle boots for another nine months, here are a few music recommendations for you to ride out the autumnal wave on: Artwork by Kate Granholm (IG: @Katesartthings). girl in red: Starting off with one of the reigning queens of the autumn-aesthete, you can’t go wrong with adding a few of girl in red’s songs to your music rotation this week. ‘October Passed Me By’ and ‘we fell in love in october’ are perhaps a little on the nose, but they are perfect for getting nostalgic about all you’ve got up to this fall! They can also be followed up by anything on her 2021 album, if i could make it go quiet. Personal favourites of mine will always be ‘Rue’, ’I’ll Call You Mine’ and ‘.’. And yes, the full stop there is a song title, not a typo. Need I say more? Taylor Swift: If girl in red is the queen of autumn, then Taylor Swift is its Goddess, bar none. I really have no idea where to begin with this one. evermore is everything that’s good about this time of year (the first song on the album alone is called ‘willow’, which is basically autumn’s signature tree!), plus the title track is sung with one of this list’s autumnal princes. AND ‘cowboy like me’ has the autumnal ‘slow-dance in the firelight’ factor! Everything gets turned on its head, however, when you start considering Red (Taylor’s Version). The amount of times I still see “autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place” decorating people’s instagram feeds from September through to November says it all. Taylor owns this season, and I really hope she has no plans to give it back… like… ever. Hozier: If you had told me ten years ago that the same guy who sings ‘Take Me To Church’ would also become a member of the autumn-artists squad, I would have choked on my chai latte. But you can’t fight destiny, and in that vein, Hozier has made this list. ‘Cherry Wine’ is a classic for tried and true fall veterans, as are ‘Would That I’ and ‘In A Week’, the latter featuring the inimitable Karen Cowley. This song really makes me think of a cabin in the woods (specifically, the one where Tay-Tay shot ‘Cardigan’) with a log fire and thick carpets and slow-dancing in cosy socks (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, autumn novices!) Bon Iver: Bon Iver’s ‘Roslyn’ is the single best thing to come out of the Twilight Saga movies, and I won’t be convinced otherwise. It also makes for a fabulous introduction to Iver’s repertoire if you’re currently reading this and still trying to work out how to pronounce his last name. Once you’ve had a listen or seven to this haunting track of Iver’s, you’ll be ready to broaden your horizons further with ‘Blood Bank’, ‘Towers’, and ‘For Emma’, to name just a few. All are perfect for playing in the background whilst having an instagram-worthy self-care evening filled with scented candles and chai. First Aid Kit: My own love for autumn began with the iconic singing-duo that is First Aid Kit. They’ve just released a new album, Palomino, so it’s the perfect time to cultivate a new musical relationship with them! ’Emmylou’ and ‘Wolf’ are classics, and demand to be listened to on repeat as November comes to a close. Their album Stay Gold also has the autumn-aesthetic going for it (though transplanted into the desert), with my personal favourite being ‘Waitress Song’; it really does make me want to move to a small town and pretend my name is Stacey (listen to it and you will understand the reference).

Megan Clarke discusses how we can achieve a just contraceptive arrangement, with a focus on technological advancements and our conceptions of gender: Artwork by Daisy Whittle (IG: @Daisydrawn). The notion that contraception is not just a women’s health issue seems to be one that our society finds difficult to grapple with. The development of the contraceptive pill became a significant milestone in the women’s rights movement, a symbol of bodily autonomy. Initially introduced in 1961 for married women only, by 1967 the Family Planning Act made the contraceptive pill readily available to the wider population through the NHS. However, one of the unspoken consequences of this development is how the burden of contraceptive responsibility came to fall disproportionately upon women. Due to the effectiveness of existing female birth control methods, little impetus has existed to produce sufficient male contraceptive alternatives. The dominant rhetoric of female empowerment both clouds and sidelines the injustices of our current contraceptive arrangement. A lack of contraceptive options for men ultimately leaves women with a lack of choice, as they are forced to bear the majority of the financial and health related burdens of contraception. Additionally, women carry out much of the ‘invisible’ work related to birth control. Dedicating time and energy to medical appointments, and conducting adequate research into available birth control options, alongside experiencing the anxiety and pain that concerns invasive procedures, and the stress of the possibility of an unintended pregnancy, is taxing. Contraception affects both women’s physical and mental health. Rather than the combination of oestrogen and progesterone found in the combined pill, it is a combined change in ideology and technology that I suggest will assist in the realisation of a just contraceptive arrangement. The female experience of contraception: 7/10 of all women in the UK have used the contraceptive pill at some point in their lifetime, and recently, women have begun to publicly voice their experiences. Photos of the patient information list that is included in prescriptions of the pill have been circulating on social media, with the ‘shock-factor’ being the seemingly never-ending list of potential side effects. The list of side effects includes migraines, nausea, breast tenderness, acne, and weight changes; further, it has been linked to an increased risk of blood clots, breast cancer, and cervical cancer. The pill can affect women’s mental health too, and in some cases it has been associated with depression and anxiety attacks. This may feel overwhelming, however, the purpose of this article is not to wage war on the contraceptive pill, as for many women it is a highly effective and safe birth control method. Rather, by focusing on the pill, I have sought to provide a very small snapshot of the female experience of contraception, which can come with a plethora of injustices and disadvantages. Unfortunately, whether it be through the pill, coil, implant, or injection, it is expected that women alone dramatically alter their hormones in an effort to prevent pregnancy; they are expected to ‘put up’ with any side effects in an agreeable manner, and to be grateful for the number of options available to them. It is these expectations that can lead to women feeling trapped, without control, and frustrated, with many now opting for non-hormonal methods and natural family planning (fertility awareness), which is listed as a viable method by the NHS. This disproportionate intervention of the female body unfortunately proves rather unsurprising in a culture in which those without uteruses are the first in line to dictate what those with uteruses should do with their bodies. Moreover, it is highly reflective of the power imbalance that exists between men and women in society at large. The overturning of Roe v Wade is an alarming example of such a pattern. Safe, legal abortion was a federal constitutional right nationwide for almost 50 years in the U.S., until women’s reproductive autonomy was usurped by lawmakers. With three relatively new Supreme Court justices - Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett - records hostile to reproductive health and rights were brought to the court. Years of precedent were erased, despite 80% of Americans believing that abortion should be legal, and despite estimates that nearly 1 in 4 women in America will have an abortion by the age of 45. The denial of both the female voice and experience is enacted by the overturning of Roe v Wade, as giving states the right to outlaw abortion is synonymous with giving middle-aged, white men the primary right to intervene with women’s bodies, especially women from Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, for whom systemic racism has continually blocked access to opportunity and healthcare. The gendered imbalance of contraceptive responsibility: Women are at the mercy of our current contraceptive arrangement. There is an illusion of choice in heterosexual relationships, for despite an array of different contraceptive options for women, choice is remarkably absent when you ask the question of whether you or your male partner bears the burden of responsibility. A just contraceptive arrangement depends on the development of male LARCs (long-acting reversible contraceptives), but also on reconceptualising the responsibility for contraception as shared between men and women. This imbalance has been traced back to the pill, the rapid popularity of which established women’s role as contraceptive consumers. Indeed, this continues to be evident today, with TV and social media AD campaigns for Hana, an over-the-counter oral contraceptive brand. Despite being hailed by Havas’ chief creative officer (the advertising company) for its ‘democratisation of contraception’, I suggest its positive impact is limited, for when such developments are not accompanied by similar advancements in the field of male LARCs, they normalise and further entrench the expectation that women should bear the responsibility for birth control. The outreach of such AD campaigns merely perpetuate the message that men can subtract themselves from the birth control equation, whilst also often glamorising the experience of birth control too. It is imperative that men begin to take on a greater level of initiative when it comes to contraception. Self-reflecting on the health inequalities affecting the women in their life, engaging in open conversations rather than operating on the assumption that their partner is ‘taking care of it’, contributing to costs, and offering support, are just a few of the ways that men could begin to help alleviate some of women’s contraceptive burdens. Newsflash: asking a woman if she can take the morning after pill after coming inside her, does not count as taking on a shared responsibility. In his argument for ‘Why contraception isn’t just a women’s health issue’, Justin Myers asserts how ‘even responsible men, once settled in a relationship, feel we’ve earned the right to come freely’. It is this ‘right’, and the prioritisation of men’s sexual pleasure, that often leads to guilt-tripping, and women enduring contraceptives for their partner’s benefit – cue the oh so familiar line of “but it feels nicer without a condom …”. It is evident that many men value their sexual pleasure over the potential side effects that come with the birth control use of their partners. Looking towards the future, with male LARCs on the horizon: The struggle for contraceptive equality seems impossible when men themselves have limited reproductive autonomy due to the current technologies. The contraception guide provided by the NHS lists 14 different forms of contraception, only two of which are options for men - how can we mitigate the existing pressure placed on women when condoms and vasectomies are the only male alternatives? When used correctly every time you have sex, male condoms are 98% effective; however, this has been estimated to be 87% with typical use. The lower effectiveness rate of condoms and the risk of ‘stealthing’ (the illegal act of removing a condom during sex without consent), highlights the need to devote more resources to developing male LARCs. Although vasectomies are very effective in preventing pregnancy (99%), with variable success rates for reversal, there is still a need for an effective contraception option for men that is intended to be temporary, in order to grant greater flexibility. With laws restricting abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned in the US, public demand for more male contraceptive options has increased. According to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Centre, there are 10 investigational male contraceptives; both hormonal and non-hormonal pills are being researched, topical gels and injections, to name a few. In 2019, a male birth control pill (DMAU) passed its first round of clinical testing. Further, an ultrasound-based and reversible approach to contraception, COSO, recently won an innovation award, and in France, a thermal ring called Andro-Switch has made headlines as a natural, non-invasive, and hormone free method of male contraception. The catch? Not one of these options are ready for the market yet. Despite 33% of men insisting that they would happily take the contraceptive pill if offered, and despite favourable safety profiles and effectiveness rates, progress is continually halted by a modest rather than major interest from private companies. Further, trials of hormone-adjusting treatments often stall because of a low tolerance for the side effects, despite women being expected to take these in their stride. The pervading rhetoric that somehow male contraceptives make you ‘less of a man’, that abstaining from using contraception is a way of assuring your masculinity, also negatively impacts the response to proposed male LARCs. The impact of a male contraceptive pill would be twofold, promoting both a shared accountability for contraception, and endowing men with a more active role in their reproductive health. Conclusion: In short, while there are of course many positives to women being in charge of contraceptive decisions and of their bodies, the notion of female empowerment does not take away from the pressing need for shared contraceptive responsibility; essentially, a just contraceptive arrangement. As epitomised by the procedure of a vasectomy, the existence of a particular technology is not enough; the development of male LARCs must be accompanied by an ideological shift, with men acquiring a genuine desire to share and thereby alleviate some of the contraceptive burden, and to thus have greater control over their reproductive autonomy. Useful links: CERT is a policy group campaigning for contraceptive empowerment in Scotland. Many of the team are students at the University of Edinburgh, possessing a shared passion for improving contraceptive care and education in Scotland. “At the heart of our work is our deep commitment to listen to the experiences of contraceptive users and amplify their voices to reform current frameworks of contraception to make experiences positive and supported.” Website: https://www.certscotland.com/ Instagram: @certscotland

Don’t Worry Darling is a stylish, colourful, trendy film, but was there much beneath the surface? Is the feminist meaning of this sexy psychological thriller buried beneath its aesthetic glamour, or are the criticisms leveled towards it and it’s female director uncalled for and maybe even misogynistic? Caroline Thirlwell gives her opinion of this much talked about film by introspectively reviewing the execution of its feminist story and looking into the overall response it has received: Artwork by Sophie Pywell (IG: @s.louise.pywell). Over the past few months, I have heard more about the drama surrounding Don’t Worry Darling and the film’s director, Olivia Wilde, than I have about the premise of the film itself. Of course, I had to go and see it as soon as it came out, proving that any press is good press. Overall, I enjoyed the film, feeling immersed in the colourful and sexy yet sinister world before me, constantly wondering what the real meaning of it all would be. Despite, or maybe because of this, I also came away feeling unsatisfied. I don’t think I am alone in this opinion; the scandal clad film has certainly attracted an array of reactions, with many people defending what may be interpreted as a powerful representation of women’s struggle against the patriarchy in the form of a psychological thriller, and others critiquing the film as a depiction of white feminism unwilling to fully represent women of colour. The question is, is Don’t Worry Darling a triumph for feminist cinema, or a poorly executed, lazy attempt at sticking two fingers up to the patriarchy which has proven to be nothing more than a bid for commercial success? At this point in the article, it would be wise to warn you that there are spoilers ahead. This dystopian fantasy follows Jack (Harry Styles) and Alice (Florence Pugh), a young married couple living in a seemingly idyllic 1950s American suburban neighbourhood called Victory. Each day the residents of the town follow the same polished pattern, as if they are one, their lives corresponding in perfect synchronicity. Though the technicolour world appears to be a polished utopia - I have to admit I wouldn’t object to living there - a darker theme is evident from the beginning. Each day the husbands go to work on a top-secret project run by the experimental company community in which they live, and the wives stay at home, cooking, cleaning, shopping and socialising. Everyone has a part to play. In a sense, these gender roles are exactly what you would expect from a movie set in a different age, but it is, nonetheless, unsettling. The theme of conformity and order reminiscent of the daily routine in The Truman Show also contributes to the disconcerting atmosphere throughout the film. Indeed, like Truman, Alice accepts the reality of the world with which she is presented. In reality, Victory is a simulation created by Frank (Chris Pine), the creator of the Victory project. In the real-world Frank is the leader of a misogynist cult which allows its members to enter the simulation bringing with them a wife of their choice, allowing them to throw off the chains of the flawed society in which they live and escape their depressing lives. These men gain their escape by imprisoning their ‘wives’ in this simulation against their will. This Black-Mirror-esque twist is hinted at throughout the film, but its execution seems unsatisfactory. With two hours leading up to this mind-blowing reveal, most screen time seems to be wasted on ultimately irrelevant red herrings which do not serve to advance the plot. Rather than being blown, my mind was filled with meaningless air which eventually deflated like a pathetic balloon. Multiple loose ends have been discussed in a recent Vulture article which articulates the unanswered questions I could not stop turning over in my mind after leaving the cinema: who caused the glitches in the simulation? What was the point in the plane crash? The failure to deliver a satisfying twist not only makes the plot fall flat, but also diminishes the feminist message of the film, but where did Olivia Wilde go wrong? One of the most significant characters in the film is Margaret (Kiki Layne) who starts to notice something is amiss in Victory and lashes out. The dismissal of her behaviour echoes a bygone age when the distress, pain or anxiety of women was simply diagnosed as hysteria. Margaret becomes a social outcast after venturing into the desert surrounding Victory with her son, a brief scene we only see as another character relays the story. We are told she returned alone accusing “them” of taking her son to punish her. Despite Margaret’s seemingly vital role in the storyline - her breakdown sparking Alice’s disillusionment - her importance seems to be glossed over, Kiki only appearing in a limited number of scenes. Kiki commented on this herself in a recent Instagram post featuring Ari’el Stachel (her onscreen husband Ted) whom she is now reportedly dating off-screen. The post read “they cut us from most of the movie but we’re thriving in real life.” Layne and Stachel were also absent from much of the pre-release press engagements including the film’s debut at the Venice Film Festival. This has sparked criticism from fans accusing Wilde of racism and exclusivity, as Layne was the only black woman in the film and her integral role seems to have been diminished in favour of seemingly less significant roles such as that of Wilde herself who played Alice’s close friend Bunny. Liv and Luce, the hosts of the podcast Culture Vulture discussed this backlash in a recent episode, saying that whatever the reason for cutting Layne’s scenes, her comments on Instagram seemed to “break the fourth wall” as it appeared strange for an actress to comment on the editing of a film. The podcasters argued that actors and actresses are not filmmakers, they are not responsible for the storytelling so should not pass comment on the editing decisions made by the filmmakers. This also begs the question, would an actress be so forward in questioning a male director’s choices? Or does Olivia Wilde’s status as a new female director, only having directed her first film Booksmart as recently as 2019, make her more susceptible to open criticism from celebrities and fans? Although Layne enjoyed little screen time, the importance lies not in her own feelings about being cut, but in the lack of representation for women of colour in the film. Personally, I would say that Margaret’s entire storyline was brushed over and under-explained and Layne therefore deserved much more screen time than she got, not for her sake but for the sake of the audience. Bunny’s importance rested only on the fact that she was aware of the simulation, a twist which in itself ended up being rushed. Her line near the end of the film insinuating that she chose to be in the simulation so that she could see her children again, suggesting they had passed away in real life, felt, like much of the film, like an afterthought. Gemma Chan’s role as Frank’s wife Shelley was also drastically under-explained. For a film that professes to be about women, the women in question seem to be completely neglected. Passing the Bechtel test is a very low bar, and for a feminist film Don’t Worry Darling only just seems to skip over it. Of course, I have no complaints about Florence Pugh enjoying the screen time that she did, because honestly her performance made the film. But all of these women find themselves in the simulation, and their stories are hardly touched upon. As Frank’s wife, so much needed to be said about Shelley. Who was she to him in the real world? Did she know all along that Victory was a simulation? If not, when did she find out? And why on earth did she suddenly stab her husband to death?! I thought she was in on it all along until that stupidly shocking scene. As the ultimate hero who defeats the antagonist, why do we have no idea who Shelley is? In December 2021 in an interview with Vogue, Wilde revealed that she wanted Don’t Worry Darling to be “really sexy, in a grown-up way”, like Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal. She revealed that it was extremely important to her therefore that female pleasure would be portrayed, she wanted the audience to “realise how rarely they see female hunger, and specifically this type of female pleasure.” Olivia well and truly achieves this aim, but is this pleasure diminished when we remember the twist? In a Screen Rant article, Madeline Lapreziosa notes that “when deprived of all context, Don't Worry Darling's sex scenes between Florence Pugh's Alice and Harry Styles’ Jack may appear a step in the right direction for portrayals of sex in film. However, the psychological thriller's final twist ruins Wilde's good intentions.” How can this be a sexy and healthy portrayal of female pleasure when Alice has been trapped in the simulation by Jack? This positive portrayal of female pleasure quickly turns into an un-consensual act once the true nature of their existence is revealed. But perhaps this was all part of Wilde’s plan. Culture Vulture’s Liv and Luce put forward an interesting interpretation: what seems to be a mistake by Wilde may be an intentional detail which reflects the entire concept of the film. Jack has trapped Alice in this simulation to give her pleasure and make her happy because it is what he views to be an ideal life. This pleasure, like the sexual pleasure with which Wilde has marketed the film, has been provided at the hands of a man. The idyllic life the men have provided for their wives becomes less pleasurable once we realise that these women have been put there against their will. It is not the pleasure they chose, and therefore takes away their autonomy. Alice’s life in which she was a doctor may have been hard work and seemingly miserable - as portrayed by the dark gloomy lighting of the real world compared to the chromatic cinematography in the scenes in Victory – but in her own words, “it was my life”. In this sense, Wilde seems to have achieved her aim which she stated in her interview with Vogue of “asking the question of, what are you willing to sacrifice in order to do what’s right? If you really think about it, are you willing to blow up the system that serves you?” The entire film is about what men want women to want, not what they choose. Wilde knew what she was doing, why wouldn’t she? She is the director. I don’t think Don’t Worry Darling deserves the nit-picky criticism it has received. It is an entertaining and thought-provoking film. I can think of a lot of ways it could be improved, especially in terms of delivering a stronger feminist edge that I am certain is buried somewhere in the stylised, technicolour wonderland, but not every film that comes out can be a poignant masterpiece, although this one had the potential to be.

In light of the UK's Anti-Bullying week (Monday 14th-Friday 18th November), Rose Hartigan utilises her own personal experiences to outline how one should best try and cope with the effects of bullying. Moreover, Hartigan also articulates the harm of being passive when in the presence of an act of bullying: Artwork by Ruby Tait (IG: @Rubyt.art). Selling Sunsets may not be intended to be a moral guide, but my Netflix vice has finally paid off. I think a moment in thisreality show has been of more service to me than three years of therapy. Watching this has given me the validation that no professional has ever been able to grant me. As a 20-year-old, still blasting Bebe Rexha’s F.F.F it is clear that I am still affected by my years at school. The introduction of Chelsea Lazkani, into a toxic group of women who are pitted against each other, has been so cathartic to how I view my four years of being a victim of bullying. In honour of anti-bullying week, this article will hopefully be of some help if you have suffered from bullying. Anti-Bullying week is arranged by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week/anti-bullying-week-2022-reach-out). As part of the week, people are encouraged to wear odd socks; a nice sentiment to celebrate the strength in differences (which are usually a breeding ground for bullying). The label of bullying has felt too excessive for my experiences, but after watching Lazkani, state that ‘silence is compliance’ I feel validated to use such an emotive word. The isolation method, as I like to call it, is typically depicted as a feminine form of bullying, such as Mean Girls as a typical example. However the experience of teenage boys can't be boxed into physical as this would only aid the bully and diminish individual’s experiences. The main factor of ‘silent bullying’is that one can be a victim without any physical proof, so that it is one person's word against another's. The effect bullying has on people can turn them into insular, withdrawn beings whose self esteem is so damaged that you can detach yourself and feel that you have lost all social connections, blaming yourself because it'sexhausting trying to go on. The worst part is that a victim of bullying becomes equipped with the tools to continue their own bullying campaign against themselvesfor years afterwards. The oversensitive label is quickly applied by teachers as a means of addressing the situation when there are no black eyes present. This creates huge self doubt that soon transfers to every aspect of the person's life. I want to focus on this emotional bullying that serves to isolate, hidden behind a smokescreen of smiles and clever comments. It is relentless and yet cunning. It makes it hard to trust people, as an appearance of amiability can be used to mask the bullying. Moreover, one can never underestimate the power of the pack. Each person's preference to stay quiet is more powerful than the initial blow, it makes the person feel they deserve it. If no one stands up then the person suffering is less likely to speak up. Due to the nature of this form of bullying, that should be noted as a continual occurence of events, designed to target someone, it can often go unnoticed or minimised by teachers or school officials. Therefore, it is important that teachers are informed on how to spot this form of bullying, so that the person feels seen, without needing the classic blackeye that, in the media, seems to be the badge of bullying. Let's talk statistics; according to anti-bullying alliance, 1 in 10 people experience bullying. The lone figure suggests the pack mentality and isolation tactics of bullying. This shows that by going with the crowd and not standing up for someone, can be treated as complicity, giving the bully free rein. Being a victim of bullying can seriously alter the brain as it becomes robbed of all serotonin. If you are lucky and this pattern of violence is spotted then the school might churn out a counsellor conveyor belt. Yet it is only going to Uni, and hitting rock bottom that things finally improved for me.If you are fortunate enough to access a university counselling service, and actually be seen, take advantage of it. Making new friends isn't a fix. There is no quick fix, years after I still experience nightmares, and create problems that don't exist. My brilliant Uni friends have to remind me that there is no hidden agenda behind our friendship. Yet if you have been the victim of bullying and haven't made new friends, or have just started at uni this September then remember that viewing ‘university as a clean slate’ is optimistic, you will always carry the scars of bullying, but each year they will shrink. Whilst bullying becomes all encompassing as it infiltrates the person's sense of identity, making it feel that there is no escape, it is possible to move on. This was my school experience, but can be relevant to any group situation, whether that be university, in the workplace, etc. Here are a few tips, in my experience, that can help the process : ● Keep a journal of all instances, however insignificant; having proof can not only help to report bullying, but also to feel validated, to avoid labels of being'oversensitive'. This applies to cyberbullying as well ; keep a hard copy. ● Join an online forum, or website, check out Young Minds. They have real stories to read.(this really helped to show me that no one deserves to be bullied, you can find comfort amongst a shared hurt). ● Music can keep you company, especiallypodcasts, they silence the voices. ● Register for the University counselling services and CBT. The waitlist is very long, but it is important to address the issues as they can surface years later. (CBT can help to rewire your brain so you approach situations and thoughts differentlythan the altered state of your mind; try Silvercloud). ● Controversial, but medication can really help (years of bullying can alter your serotonin levels). ● Tell you’re friends, if you're comfortable with it; you need friends to check you when your carrying past feelings into new experiences ● Let's talk about the victim complex ; This is tricky but sometimes you need to acknowledge when you're hurting yourself by staying in the past, and occupying the role of victim. Yes, acknowledge it, but be aware when you're carrying it; being sad is comforting as it's your old normal but it’s not helpful. This is much easier said than done! The phrase ‘forgive and forget’ can be very frustrating to hear, but the sentiment has actually been very helpful in my ‘recovery from bullying’. You will probably never forget , but forgiving (even faking it until you can really do it) is very empowering, it's exhausting being angry and hurt.The most comforting thing may be that a victim of bullying is always equipped with the tools to spot bullying, they will spot it in its early stages. As Chelsea Lazkani says 'silence is compliance' so stopping something before it starts by simply not ‘going along’ with it, makes you an important person to have in any environment of friends. Therefore, the comparison with Christine is irrelevant but the point stands, silence is compliance and until the group mentality is eroded then bullying will always be inherent in schools. It only takes one person to stop the cycle, as feeling supported isthe most important prevention in bullying and can just save someone'slife.

Ella Feeley talks us through some of her top tips and tricks for managing overwhelming bouts of loneliness as a university student: Artwork by Innes Clark (IG: @Innesclarkillo). It is something we have all experienced. We can feel it in the isolation of our own spaces, or surrounded by our closest friends. Loneliness is a universal emotion that crawls under our skin and clings to us wherever we go. With a smile on our faces and a laugh in our mouths, we can simultaneously feel so isolated from others that our mind starts to convince us that we won’t ever feel otherwise. This does not mean all is lost, though, as there are things you can do to make yourself feel better. Although it can be a very sociable experience, being at university is no exception to feeling lonely. Meeting so many new people can be very daunting, and while for some it can go smoothly, for others it is their most difficult challenge yet. Loneliness at university can manifest in multiple different ways, from experiencing isolation due to difficulty making friends, to feeling lonely despite having met many new friends. The bottom line is: human beings need to connect with people, not just on a surface level, but we need to feel heard, seen and appreciated. Loneliness is simply the brain's way of pushing us to seek those connections we desire. So what actually is loneliness? Loneliness can be many, many things, but is often defined as a feeling or state of mind where one is sad because they lack friends or general company. This can be brought on by many things, for example: bad mental health (anxiety, depression), being surrounded by the wrong people, or if there are differences that make it hard for you to connect with others. Loneliness can also be a physical isolation, as when we feel disconnected and misunderstood by others, we often retreat into our own spaces for comfort. This can generally have the opposite effect and make us feel much worse. At the same time, you do not have to be physically isolated to feel lonely. You can feel unappreciated, detached or misunderstood by those close to you. Sitting in a room full of friends and feeling like you can never truly be yourself around them, or having something weighing on your mind that you cannot share even with the closest of friends, for example, can be extremely isolating. So how exactly can we identify if we are feeling lonely? There are questions we can ask ourselves to better understand if and why this may be the case: Do I have someone I feel close to and can be myself around? Are there people around me that I can spend time with and do I have things in common with them? Is there someone in my life who asks me how I am feeling and how my day has been? Do I feel different from others (for example, due to age, disability, ethnicity, money, political views etc)? Does this hinder my ability to join in? Is there an issue that I am struggling with but I can’t talk about? Once we identify why we might feel lonely, it can make it much easier to help ourselves feel better. While it is impossible to just switch loneliness off permanently (it is a normal part of being human!), it is important to remember that you are capable of making it better. Reaching out to people we feel we have things in common with is one of the best ways to combat loneliness. Even saying hello to that person that you might usually overlook can be hugely beneficial and could open up the opportunity for a conversation. While your mind may believe that you are alone, so many around you are feeling the same way, even if you can’t see it. Just as you don’t advertise your loneliness, neither do those around you. It is an inherent flaw in human beings to feel completely isolated in our own experiences, when in reality many of us are feeling the same way. In fact, loneliness is a lot more common at university than you think. With COVID-19 forcing many of us to isolate at different times in the last two and a half years, it has only amplified these feelings. The Student Academic Experience Survey of this year revealed that 23% of students experienced loneliness ‘most’ or ‘all of the time’ in the last year. That is almost 1 in every 4 students. Another 36% felt lonely ‘at least once a week’. While these findings are not surprising, it is still shocking to see them laid out for us in plain writing. For returning students who have experienced their first years of university through a screen, these findings ring particularly true. COVID-19 has been the source of a lot of loneliness, causing many to have great difficulty connecting with the people around them. Now with classes becoming in-person again it’s not just new students that will find this semester daunting. Walking into a room with people you’ve shared online classes with for a year or more and yet not knowing their names or faces is like being thrown in at the deep end before you’ve been taught how to swim. The work is familiar but the people are not. The time for “getting to know” classmates feels long past and there is already an initial isolation that is established. Doing your best to push past nerves is incredibly important in this instance so you can finally get to know the people around you on a more personal level. What then can you do to combat loneliness? And how should you go about improving your mindset moving into this academic year? The NHS has some really helpful advice available on how you can do this: Try talking about your feelings to a friend, family member, health professional or counsellor. You could also contact Samaritans, call: 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org if you need someone to talk to; Consider joining a group or class that focuses on something you enjoy; you could ask to go along and just watch at first if you’re feeling nervous; Consider visiting places where you can just be around other people - for example, a park, the cinema or a cafe; Consider peer support, where people use their experiences to help each other. Find out more about peer support from Mind; Get advice and practical tips on looking after your mental health from Every Mind Matters; Try the 6 ways to feel happier, which are simple lifestyle changes to help you feel more in control and able to cope; Find out how to raise your self-esteem; Listen to free mental wellbeing audio guides. The NHS also recommends not trying to do everything at once and setting small goals for yourself, not focusing on things that cannot be changed, not comparing yourself to others (especially on social media), and not using vices to feel better such as alcohol, cigarettes, gambling or drugs (these have the opposite effect). Easier said than done sometimes, right? These are incredibly important to avoid though, as they can make things much worse. Some other helpful sources to check out are Headspace, which discusses in depth the feeling of loneliness and provides a short meditative exercise, and Mind, which discusses thoroughly how you can connect with other students at university. The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone. All around you people are experiencing loneliness and so it is vital that you don’t allow your mind to convince yourself that you are alone (this often ends in further isolation and thus you enter a vicious cycle). Your mind is a powerful tool but does not always have your best interests at heart, so doing what you can to help yourself feel better is incredibly important. As cliché as it sounds, you really are never alone and only you can make the changes that you want to see in yourself.

After a contentious talk organised by Edinburgh Life Society was disrupted by numerous individuals and student groups, Meher Vepari reflect on the messaging and implications of their campaign: Artwork by Mariam Tovmasian (IG: @tomwunderbar). Three weeks ago, a student-run ‘pro-life’ society organised a talk at the University of Edinburgh. I put ‘pro-life’ in quotation marks because the society and wider movement is not, fundamentally pro-life, but anti-choice. To be pro life is to value life and protect it in all aspects. And if an abortion protects a mother, then that is pro-life. Edinburgh Life Society is an anti-choice group. The talk took place in the basement of 40 George Square at 7.30pm. Most of the building lights were off, leaving us to walk in semi darkness. It was ominous from the start. The room itself was much fuller than I expected; I surveyed the crowd, spotting a row of people at the back holding protest signs and a group of FemSoc members. I was relived that the crowd seemed overwhelmingly non ‘pro-life.’ The Life Soc president introduced their speaker, Margaret Akers, an Edinburgh University graduate and current member of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). She began her talk by welcoming everyone and saying how happy she was to see so many new faces. But her voice betrayed the enthusiastic sentiment; she was very, very nervous. Perhaps because in the build-up to this talk, Life Soc received a huge amount of online backlash within the University’s student community. While neither EUSA* or the University of Edinburgh commented on the matter, FemSoc openly denounced the university for allowing the talk to take place on campus. The comment section on Life Soc’s post about the event was overwhelmed with voices of anger and rejection. She knew she’d be facing a rough crowd. On the SPUC website, under What We Do, you can find the core of their message, of their “VISION” as written themselves: A world where abortion is unthinkable. But they didn’t state this from the start – it took an intervention by student activists, heated discussion and relentless questioning until Akers admitted to being anti-abortion herself. Acker’s intial message was that many women are forced into having abortions, and the NHS doesn’t adequately screen for this kind of coercion and abuse. Backed up by numerous anecdotes and dubious statistics, this narrative was repeated throughout the evening by Akers and members of Life Soc. Activists and audience members questioned how banning abortion would end coercion, but their answers were vague and evasive. When probed on their support for the ‘pro-life vigils’ taking place outside abortion clinics, they claimed they had no involvement in the organisation. In Scotland and England the introduction of 150m buffer zones around abortion clinics, in which 'pro-life vigils' would be illegal to hold, has been debated in Parliament over the past few months. When someone brought up the fact that SPUC encouraged people to write to their MPs in protest against this proposed law, Akers replied casually, “I just don’t organise them, but I support them.” Throughout further debate on buffer zones and their 2012 homophobic petition against the legalisation of gay marriage, they insisted on sticking to the topic of the talk, an effort in vain as the rest of the room rejected this obliqueness. Despite Akers agreeing to “cede the floor to a wider discussion,” the answers that the room demanded about how banning abortion would end coercion and violence were largely evaded. As the conversation tumbled on, there was a word which stuck with me, one I don’t use lightly: insidious. The messages and ideals that SPUC and Life Soc propagate are, fundamentally, insidious. Their slides detailed the traumatic events of physical and emotional abuse pregnant people faced, with the aim of aborting their child. The emphasis was always on the fact that they were coerced and therefore banning abortion was a benign act to end coercion. This is blatantly nonsensical. If the issue is coercion, then why focus on abortion – should the emphasis not, rather, be on tackling the systems of coercion that continue to oppress and control people with uteruses? They deflected this question until it was finally stated by the society’s president that they viewed abortion as murder. They believe that from the time of conception, a foetus is a human life. And so they inadvertently admitted that the issue wasn’t about coercion, or about the violence pregnant people may be subjected to when stuck in abusive environments. They use annecdotes of trauma as a smoke screen to hide anti-abortion ideology behind. If these are true stories, then SPUC are utilising abuse in order to justify their generalised, scientifically disproven statements. If the anecdotes are fictionalised, then their entire sense of compassion for coerced people is simply a tool to further manipulate their target audience. Either way, this is a form of coercion. And it is abhorrent. And it made a lot of people in the room really, really angry. On top of spreading blatant misinformation - such as claiming most people are simply sent abortions “in the post” with no prior NHS official screening, and that legal and illegal abortions are effectively as safe as each other - the response to those who bravely shared their own personal experiences of abortion and miscarriage was blatantly disrespectful. The first to do so was one of the activists, who shared her recent experience of abortion and why groups such as SPUC and Life Soc make the decision so much harder for people in her position. The second person shared their story to disprove the claim that the NHS abortion services failed to screen people adequately for abuse. The third talked about their recent, unexpected pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, and how crucial it was for them to be in a country where abortive services were accessible. Akers' response to each of these was to thank them for sharing, express how glad she was that this was their experience, but to reiterate that “most women” - or rather, “the women I’ve spoken to” - have had very different experiences. Her own research cited only one set of statistics, taken from a wider BBC study about reproductive coercion; the rest of her evidence was purely anecdotal. Not only does this study lack scientific evidence, which is massively problematic for a talk given in an educational institute, it also gave Akers no basis to disregard the stories that the activists and other audience members shared. At these points, they undermined their own arguments. When a pro-life student brought up “classical liberalism,” it was such an absurdly unrelated topic half the room couldn’t help but laugh. When the Life Soc secretary said that the people at ‘pro-life’ vigils who “do not shout, [..] scream or do any of these horrible, nasty things” also “might” hold up photos of dead babies, the irony was so obvious it was somewhat comical. I fundamentally believe everyone should have the right to access abortion should they wish, therefore I sometimes find it hard to believe how anyone, especially other women, can subscribe to anti-choice mentality. But, even if Edi Life Soc didn’t have the biggest membership, we have seen the huge influence of the anti-choice movement – one only has to look to the US, where abortion has been banned in 13 states and that is expected to increase, to be reminded of the dangerous influence these groups have. Political influence stems from ideological influence. Life Soc, SPUC, and the wider anti-choice movement, by seeking to remove this layer of bodily autonomy, are reinforcing the concept of a ‘woman’s duty’ to protect life at all costs; to sacrifice herself for her God-given purpose of childbearing, to suffer the burden of an unwanted pregnancy - all because bearing life is ultimately her duty. On a document intended to be used as “Written Evidence” against the introduction of buffer zones, SPUC claims that they “present an alternative [to abortion] in a peaceful and loving way”. They go on to state that – " The Court of Appeal decision on Dulgheriu cites the women who use the Ealing abortion clinic: "Some are children. Some are victims of rape. Some are carrying foetuses with abnormalities, even fatal abnormalities. Some may not have told friends or family … They may be in physical pain and suffering acute psychological and emotional issues both when attending and leaving the Centre." These are precisely the women to whom peaceful pro-life people offer help, and many accept that help. " This is a sickening statement. SPUC aims to eradicate abortion for everyone – through their vigils, they seek to monopolise people’s vulnerability. Whether the person is a child, a victim of rape, financially unable to provide for a child, or physically endangered by pregnancy – the message under all these layers of doctrine is that to bear a child is the woman’s duty. While they claim to be “peaceful”, their message is manipulative and harmful: they should not be given a platform to spread their regressive ideologies. As it became increasingly evident that the concern for coerced women was an insincere façade for anti-choice theory, it also became clearer how truly ingrained this ideology was amongst the pro-lifers in the room. In response to the activists’ message that SPUC and Life Soc were not wanted at the university, a pro-life student said, “This is our university too. You know that, right?” This phrase stayed in my mind. It was true, technically. Taking away an official platform is crucial, but doesn’t fundamentally change the fact that this ideology remains. Perhaps there is nothing to be done about this. But the most important thing is to ensure adequate education and access to abortions is provided for everyone. It is vital to tackle the systems of coercion, so that sex, contraception, pregnancy and abortion are truly always a choice for people, and anti-choice groups aren’t able to utilise someone’s trauma to advance their own agenda. If you believe that life begins at conception, and that abortion is murder, then don’t get an abortion. Simple. The right to choose is the right to freedom. Enjoy your freedom, and have the basic human decency to respect the freedom of others. *Following the event, EUSA held a vote, the outcome of which defined them as an explicitly pro-choice group. See a recent Guardian publication about what different stages of a pregnancy really look like. See @youthinresistance’s instagram for more information about the event and wider student activism in Edinburgh.