Julie Bindel is a feminist campaigner against sexual violence. She is the host of The Lesbian Project podcast, with Kathleen Stock.
Should feminists like me hold their nose and team up with the Tories? It’s a dilemma many of those concerned about the transgender debate are wrestling with. Labour has spectacularly failed women when it comes to protecting their rights. The Green party seems more interested in protecting transgender rights than saving the environment. And the
Robin Garbutt is serving life in prison for murdering his wife, but is he innocent? His supporters say so. They insist that evidence from the Horizon IT system and the Post Office which helped convict him of the killing of Diana in 2010 was flawed. Garbutt, they claim, is another victim of the Post Office
When I heard that Marlow Foods, parent company of Quorn, had reported a £63 million loss due to declining demand for plant-based products, it came as no surprise. Quorn is a hideous meat substitute that would work better as cotton wool, or sandpaper. Depending on what form you buy it in, it can be wet
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is right about one thing: when it comes to addressing crimes committed by women, prison doesn’t work. Mahmood said at the Labour party conference on Tuesday that she is looking at alternatives to custody, such as community-based sanctions and programmes. Having campaigned on behalf of numerous women in prison over the
As I leant over to speak to one of my dining companions in a busy restaurant, I felt something shuffle on my knee. I briefly wondered if it was a rat. But it was just a busybody waiter, who had taken my napkin from the table and folded it upon my lap. It was a
John Boyne still doesn’t really know why he fell foul of the transgender mob. The author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was attacked on social media and accused of ‘transphobia’ following the publication of his children’s novel, My Brother’s Name is Jessica, in 2019. The book came in for a kicking from trans
Yesterday, Mridul Wadhwa – a trans-identified male and the head of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) – resigned, after a scathing report on the centre revealed how it had been corrupted by gender ideology. The report was commissioned by Rape Crisis Scotland, which was forced to act after the ‘serious failings’ of the ERCC were exposed
For women trying to escape domestic abuse, the government’s early prison release scheme spells further misery. Around 1,700 prisoners will walk free today. A ‘high proportion’ of them will be domestic abusers, according to Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, who said survivors of domestic violence were ‘paying the price’ for prison overcrowding. Make no
I love salad but there need to be rules. Salad should never be squashed in with hot food (e.g., in burgers); must never be dressed with anything from a bottle; and salad must never be served buffet style. Oh, and if it’s warm it’s quite simply not salad. For this reason, today I am speaking
Laila Mickelwait’s Takedown describes in fascinating and often distressing detail both why Pornhub, the Canadian-owned internet pornography video-sharing website, needs to be destroyed and how this might be achieved. It’s not the story of a movement against the porn industry, like the one I have been involved with for decades, but more a woman’s lone,
Recent research has revealed what many of us suspected: that fake meat is highly processed and contains junk such as exotic emulsifiers, stabilisers, flavour enhancers and artificial colourings, all of which are designed to make them feel, taste and look like the real thing. Often, they are loaded with salt, sugar and fat. Many Britons
I tend to steer clear of large group meals but the last time I went there was a very awkward moment. When the bill arrived, I saw two individuals tapping away on a calculator app before announcing the exact amount of money they were prepared to put on the table. ‘I didn’t have a starter,’
Jacques – a tiny French restaurant in Finsbury Park – was the very first posh joint I ever ate at, back in 1987, and I have fond memories of it. The proprietor, Jacques, was a flamboyant 40-something: very gay, extremely rude to his customers (did I mention he was from Paris?) and partial to drinking
I had taken a friend out for a significant birthday, to a high-end French joint in London. We ordered the tasting menu, an eight course extravaganza with wine pairings. It was not a cheap date, but a special occasion. The third course was a tiny bowl of herb risotto, and as it was served, a waiter appeared
Lesbian military fiction is a popular genre, featuring titles such as Silver Wings and An Army of One, but Jack and Eve is a true story. Written by the journalist Wendy Moore, whose previous books tackled medical and social history, it tells of two suffragettes who caused havoc in the first world war and exposed
Last year, a large group of young people gathered outside the Trevi Fountain, one of Rome’s most popular attractions, to protest against ‘food crimes’ committed by tourists in Italy. Armed with signs reading ‘No more cream in carbonara’, ‘No more cappuccino with pasta’, and ‘Putting chicken in pasta is a crime in Italy’, they drew the attention of
When Australian businesswoman Sall Grover set up Giggle – an app exclusively for women – in 2020, it never occurred to her that men identifying as ‘transwomen’ would demand the right to use it. Today, a landmark case will hit the Federal Court in Sydney, brought by a transwoman called Roxanne Tickle. It will either
Remember the days when our TV screens were full of men cracking jokes about ‘giving the missus a backhander’ if she complained about him coming home drunk? That was back when rank misogyny dominated police forces, and domestic violence was described as a private matter ‘between a man and his wife’. Then along came those
I love certain sour flavours, such as the sprinkle of lemon on a piece of oily fish, or fatty meat. It is perfect with food that is naturally sweet, such as brown shrimp, scallops, or young, fresh peas. But spare me the heavy hand with the acid, which seems to be getting more and more
Sick of sriracha? Try Sambal Oelek, an Indonesian chilli sauce that’s easy to make in minutes, by blending red chillies, salt and either vinegar or lime juice together. Or buy a jar ready-made. If I were to be consigned to a desert island and could take only one spicy condiment it would be molho apimentado
