The V Spot

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and Holly Baxter of the Vagenda Magazine

Campaigners at a rally organised by UK Feminista at Parliament in 2012

Treachery and sisterhood: What does it mean to "betray" feminism?

By Rhiannon and Holly - 19 June 12:04

The whole notion that today's young women have somehow betrayed the "true" feminism is a bit of a muddle - who are these women who are letting the side down?

10 Comments

Rebecca Front and Jessica Hynes in "Up the Women". Photograph: BBC

Modern feminists can learn a lot from Suffragette sitcom "Up the Women"

By Rhiannon and Holly - 12 June 11:15

Many of the questions faced by the women's movement today are played out in Jessica Hynes' new show. In a world where feminism still viewed by many women with distrust, wariness and even alarm, there's a lot we can learn from the ladies of the Banbury Intricate Craft Circle Frankly Demands Women’s Suffrage.

2 Comments

A woman holds a placard aloft during a Slutwalk march in Melbourne in 2011

Maria Miller's "information packs" for the parents of daughters won't end inequality

By Rhiannon and Holly - 03 June 12:46

Sexism in society isn't the result of individual women failing to have ambition. And as benefit systems are slashed and women are disproportionately affected, the parenthood pamphlet and the boardroom dream seem small compensation.

11 Comments

Lads' mags like Nuts and Zoo are the target of this new campaign.

The Lose the Lads' Mags campaign demonstrates the power of modern feminism

By Rhiannon and Holly - 28 May 14:21

Having made so many progressive achievements in the past, women are now able to wield the power of legal and capitalist systems which we were previously excluded from to enact social equality.

44 Comments

An anti-violence against women protest in 2011. Photograph: Getty Images

The Five Main Issues Facing Modern Feminism

By Rhiannon and Holly - 20 May 10:11

Despite our collective achievements, sexism today can seem an insurmountable obstacle. These are the fronts we are fighting on.

27 Comments

Part of Pot Noodle's Facebook ad campaign. Photograph: Pot Noodle/Facebook

Food: It's Not For Girls

By Rhiannon and Holly - 15 May 11:33

Pot Noodle joined the list of brands which seem determined to drive away women. They should realise that ironic hipster sexism is still sexism.

19 Comments

Women Behaving Badly: the allure of the Diva

By Rhiannon and Holly - 08 May 9:51

Female celebrity meltdowns are depicted very differently from male ones – but is it such a bad thing to be a diva?

5 Comments

Exchanging rings. This is the easy bit. Photograph: Getty Images

Weddings: a feminist survival guide

By Rhiannon and Holly - 29 April 14:19

From "giving away" to gifts to nuptial fashions, Rhiannon and Holly have ten tips for getting through a wedding with your feminist ideals intact.

2 Comments

When do thin models become unhealthy models? Photo: Getty

Model scouts outside anorexia clinics highlight fashion's own don't ask, don't tell policy

By Rhiannon and Holly - 24 April 13:16

Eating disorders are still not really regarded as diseases in the same way as cancer or malaria or measles - and in part, that's because of the work of the fashion industry to fetishise the ultra-skinny.

3 Comments

Margaret Thatcher in 1975. Photograph: Getty Images

Cut female Tory politicians some slack - womanhood isn't weakness

By Rhiannon and Holly - 15 April 10:51

Equality means judging women by the same standards as men. Margaret Thatcher wasn't a bad women or mother - she was a bad human.

4 Comments

We can do better than just writing "herpes" on a blackboard. Photograph: Getty

Teenagers already know about sex. Let's teach them what a relationship looks like

By Rhiannon and Holly - 08 April 9:57

Sex and relationship education for young people has to be more than writing the names of a few STDs on a blackboard and hoping for the best. Honest sex education should help young people navigate the sex-saturated culture they live in.

10 Comments

Princess Merida pursues archery instead of love in "Brave".

The top ten feminists on film

By Rhiannon and Holly - 25 March 9:49

From Maya in Zero Dark Thirty to Thelma and Louise to Amelie, there's reason to be hopeful about the way women are portrayed on screen.

8 Comments

Sasha Grey, whose porn work was noted for its extreme content. Photo: Getty

The big question that the generation raised on porn must answer

By Rhiannon and Holly - 11 March 12:50

Porn often shows a submissive woman, stripped of all of her body hair, undergoing ritual humiliation in the name of sexuality, and twentysomethings must ask whether that has wider implications about how our peers view us socially, politically and professionally.

99 Comments

Girl Guides in their campfire hats in 1947

How do you get teenagers to think feminism is cool?

By Rhiannon and Holly - 04 March 12:09

Like it or not, feminism has got a PR problem.

61 Comments

Women can't be divided into "yummy mummies" and "tax-wasting benefit scroungers"

“Reproductive freedom” is being defined as a person, not just a womb

By Rhiannon and Holly - 25 February 14:58

Motherhood can be life-changing, but women shouldn’t have to consider it some kind of “destiny”.

3 Comments

The Vagenda List of the Quietly Awesome

By Rhiannon and Holly - 18 February 15:40

From ITV's Agenda to the comedian Tiffany Stevenson, a run-down of the people and causes Rhiannon and Holly feel deserve broader recognition in 2013.

6 Comments

A man walks past a flower market decorated with hearts.

Despite capitalism's best efforts, you can still have a meaningful Valentine’s Day

By Rhiannon and Holly - 12 February 10:10

Amid the terrifying tat and horrible heartbreak, genuinely heartfelt gestures do still have a chance.

0 Comments

As the North of England's arts and culture is gutted, the London-centric press looks away

By Holly Baxter - 04 February 12:04

Newcastle is to cut 100% of its art funding, but the southern-dominated media can't report it.

45 Comments

Light through the trees in a forest near Essen, Germany

Why I don’t agree with trigger warnings

By Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett - 29 January 9:41

When I was suffering from PTSD, I didn't want to be wrapped in cotton wool.

107 Comments

An exhibit about male and female orgasm at the Amora Sex Academy in London

Sexual inequality: in search of the female orgasm

By Rhiannon and Holly - 21 January 10:04

Male sexual dysfunction is a multi-million pound business, while women are taught that scented candles and ylang-ylang should get them in the mood. There has to be another way.

16 Comments

Andrej Pejic on the catwalk. Photo: Getty

Andrej Pejic in Elle: fashion's love affair with a boy who looks like a girl

By Rhiannon and Holly - 14 January 10:45

Does the success of a man as a womenswear model mean that the fashion industry is finally embracing difference?

5 Comments

Coming soon to an angry dude near you - the "pro-men" party

By Rhiannon and Holly - 07 January 11:33

Mike Buchanan thinks "state-sponsored feminism" is ruining society and women are defying their "natural instincts" by going to work. Terrifyingly, some people are taking him seriously.

269 Comments