Superwoman
I couldn’t be Leia Organa ‘cos I could not pull off ‘Princess’ I could not do the pucker scene With Luke – that’s on-screen incest! Queen Amidala’s not for me She’s hardly proletarian I couldn’t be Katniss Everdeen ‘Cos I’m … Read more
Issues and campaigns: The media
Newspapers! Telly! All that stuff! Corporate ones that drive you up the wall; maybe some better ones that make you think …
Benefits Street
Channel Five’s schedule For most every day Benefits Street cesspool And Welfarers Way Ramsay Street Scroungers Then Home and Away They’re idlers and loungers In old Summer Bay Then Stateside US For our afternoon treat It’s NCIS: No Current Income … Read more
The Truth
A poem written in 1985, back in my days as The Big J. I might choose different wording these days, but the point remains – depressingly – relevant. The illustration is from Wake Up! fanzine when it published this poem … Read more
Become Not Women
In 1848, in response to the 300-strong Convention for Woman’s Rights in Seneca Falls (USA) and its Declaration of Sentiments, a Philadelphia newspaper urged the city’s ladies not to join the new movement and become women but to stay as … Read more
Do Drunk Girls Deserve It?
An article from 27 September 2005: Today, I am pretty annoyed by reading articles about the Portman group’s report about boozing and the trouble it allegedly gets you into. The report, “Anatomy of a big night out”, claims that almost four in … Read more
Her Name Is Reeva
Her name is Reeva Reeva Steenkamp Not ‘Oscar Pistorius’ girlfriend’ Not ‘model’ Not ‘reality TV star’ Her name is Reeva Her name is Reeva She was not just a model But also a law graduate She was not just a … Read more
Once in Rupert Murdoch’s Empire
To the tune of ‘Once In Royal David’s City’, written in 2012: Once in Rupert Murdoch’s empire Lived his sidekick Rebekah Brooks Rose to power through gutter reporting Hacking phones and bribing crooks David Cameron was her chum Jeremy Hunt was … Read more