The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20130623072931/http://www.newstatesman.com/v-spot

The V Spot

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and Holly Baxter of the Vagenda Magazine

Syndicate contentRSS

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Statesman
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?

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

When do thin models become unhealthy models? Photo: Getty
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.

Margaret Thatcher in 1975. Photograph: Getty Images
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.

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

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

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

Girl Guides in their campfire hats in 1947
By Rhiannon and Holly - 04 March 12:09

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

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

POW sign. Photo: Etsy Ketsy/Flickr
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.

A man walks past a flower market decorated with hearts.
By Rhiannon and Holly - 12 February 10:10

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

Photograph: Getty Images
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.

Light through the trees in a forest near Essen, Germany
By Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett - 29 January 9:41

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

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

Andrej Pejic on the catwalk. Photo: Getty
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?

Harriet Harperson, feminist dragon.
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.

What could it be? Image: giftsgreat.com
By Rhiannon and Holly - 17 December 11:30

Why not eschew the rhinestone-encrusted dusting pan or the "motoring boys' toy" in favour of something the recipient might actually like?

Single motherhood isn't a "lifestyle choice"
By Rhiannon and Holly - 03 December 11:08

Anyone who has raised a child on their own knows it's a tough job. Why is there such a stigma attached to single parenthood?

Seriously, why does everything have to sparkle at this time of year?
By Rhiannon and Holly - 26 November 9:50

The only way to fight back against the yuletide bling epidemic is to include the male half of the population in it too.

The physical side of having a period sometimes doesn’t even bear thinking about
By Rhiannon and Holly - 19 November 10:52

The assumption that women are too fragile to fart just upholds an expectation that women are mostly decorative.

The advertising campaign featuring Isabelle Caro.
By Rhiannon and Holly - 12 November 10:16

A response to Rachel Cusk's New Statesman article "The anorexic statement".

Chantelle Houghton
By Rhiannon and Holly - 05 November 15:46

Chantelle Houghton has provided the latest demonstration that the social media overshare is now the ultimate relationship no-no.

Amma hugs a devotee
By Rhiannon and Holly - 29 October 11:41

Rhiannon and Holly meet Amma, an Indian spiritual leader who uses the act of embracing people to bring women to the fore.

Caitlin Moran. Photograph: Getty Images.
By Rhiannon and Holly - 22 October 9:41

Some educated women seem to want to keep feminism for themselves and cloak it in esoteric theory.

Latest tweets

DCSIMG
Morty Proxy This is a proxified and sanitized view of the page, visit original site.