Julie Bindel

Julie Bindel

Julie Bindel is a feminist campaigner against sexual violence. She is the host of The Lesbian Project podcast, with Kathleen Stock.

Stonewall’s game is up

Stonewall’s boss Simon Blake has vowed to fight for a ban on conversion practices that includes ‘every member of the lesbian, gay, bi and trans community’. The Stonewall CEO told the Guardian: ‘It’s really important that a conversion practices bill covers all practices designed to try to change or correct somebody’s sexual or gender identity.’

Why we still love Pizza Express

How’s this for a bargain? A Pizza Express margherita for only 33p, if you dine in and order between 5 and 6 p.m. tomorrow, to celebrate 60 years of the chain. ‘In 1965 we brought proper pizza to the UK, and what better way to mark those 60 years than with 60 minutes of our

Kyle Clifford should have been forced into the dock

There are few crimes as heinous as those committed by Kyle Clifford. The 26-year old former soldier raped and murdered his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt, 25, killed her sister Hannah, 28, and fatally stabbed their mother, Carol, 61 during a four-hour attack at the Hunt family home last July. Clifford will die in prison. But he refused to

The rise of protein washing

I bought some pork scratchings the other day, and the packet said it was ‘high in protein’. Gruntled, the brand, is distributed by the Keto Shop and is now being marketed as some type of health food. I had to laugh. Wolfing down a packet of pork scratchings in the pub is now part of

The great Valentine’s Day con

When a press release for solar-powered sex toys popped into my inbox on 3 January, it dawned on me it could only mean one thing: we were already in the build-up to Valentine’s Day. A few days later, it was followed by the new aphrodisiac version of the Knorr stock cube, Knorrplay, and a set

Will the Greens turn their back on Stonewall?

An earlier version of this article suggested that the Green party has left the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme. We are happy to make clear that this is not the case. Not one major UK government department is still signed up to Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme. At long last, Stonewall’s toxic influence on free speech, equality law

I can’t stand Stanley Tucci

I love Italian food, and I love food writing and TV programmes, so you might think I’d love Stanley Tucci. And yet I find him creepy and his recipes are rubbish. I can’t be the only one. The actor, who I first saw in the brilliant film Big Night, about a Jersey Shore Italian-American restaurant,

The grooming gang perpetrators who are never convicted

When you hear the term ‘grooming gang’, what comes to mind? ‘Grooming’, as I have long said, is a euphemism for targeting, raping, and pimping. Gang members routinely and sadistically sexually assaulted victims for their own twisted pleasure but ultimately the girls were used for profit: the gangs were running a business, and the girls

The offal truth? Organs are delicious

I’m sure my mum would forgive me for saying this, but cooking is not one of her many strengths. Raising three children, and with a husband who worked shifts in a steel mill, she was feeding people round the clock, so cooking became a necessity rather than a pleasure – as it will have been

Grooming gang victims are still being ignored

The horror of organised child sexual abuse and pimping – euphemistically called ‘grooming gangs’ – is back in the news. But unfortunately the victims remain ignored.  These young girls endured horrific abuse, sadistic torture (including gang rape), enforced pregnancies, enforced abortions, sexually transmitted infections and even murder. But the reason that victims’ and survivors’ voices are missing

There’s a reason we only eat Christmas food at Christmas

The 1990s comedy series the Royle Family includes a perfect scene in which Barbara says she won’t bother getting a turkey the following year, as nobody actually likes it. Everyone looks horrified. But she’s right. Advocaat, mince pies, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake (especially the marzipan) cranberry sauce, and balls of sausage meat made into stuffing

Shame on the men exploiting Lily Phillips

Lily Phillips, who had sex with 101 men in a single day in October, has hit the headlines, but the focus should instead be on the men that exploit her, and the men that queued up to have sex with her. Having appeared in a YouTube film, I Slept With 100 Men in One Day,

Stop messing with my Negroni

My first Negroni was in a bar called Turandot, in a piazza in Lucca, Tuscany. It was the summer of 1996, and I noticed the waiter bringing out an intriguing-looking red liquid, served in a rocks glass over a large ice cube, and garnished with an orange slice. I had agreed to split a bottle

The truth about the lesbian pay premium

Some lesbian and gay campaigners might have you believe that life is hard for gay people. Of course, for many it is. But my experience of being a lesbian is that it is mostly a privilege rather than an oppression. Lesbians can avoid the multiple disadvantages of navigating relationships with men, some of whom have

Why would anyone choose an induction hob?

In a letter to Katie Morley, consumer champion for the Telegraph, CK from London explained that her £4,000 Smeg hob doesn’t work with her Le Creuset pans. She said she was ‘furious’ because she had renovated her kitchen and had a marble worktop cut to fit it. ‘Given the price tag, I expected it to

Let’s face it, Le Creuset is overrated

I remember being given a Le Creuset casserole dish for my 40th birthday. I’m 62 and it’s still going strong, though I dropped it on the stone floor in the kitchen and the handle broke in two. It’s also gone a little black inside, and no longer scrubs up as nicely as it did. Twenty-two

A beginner’s guide to Hungarian food and drink

The first time I tried the well-known Hungarian wine Tokaj, which I bought from an eastern European delicatessen in London, I was so taken with it that it quickly became a verb – and the expression ‘I was a bit Tokaj’d last night’ stuck. But I soon realised that there are so many wonderful versions

Germany’s gender madness is a worry for women everywhere

Germany has gone further than most countries in failing to stand up to the relentless march of transgender ideology. Its Self-Determination Act, which comes into effect today, makes it far easier for people to change gender. The law enables Germans to alter their name and gender, or even have the gender marker removed altogether, on

The very necessary asexual awareness week

In the annual queer calendar, which appears to operate at full capacity 365 days of the year, nothing is more auspicious or necessary than asexual awareness week, also known as Ace Week, which takes place this week. The aim is to ‘raise awareness, build community, and create change around the world.’ If you’re someone who suspects