Single at Christmas

 By Jo Paterson

So it’s Christmas; schools have broken up for the holidays, town centres are crammed full with shoppers and festooned with lights, Christmas songs dominate radio playlists and you can’t watch anything on tv without being reminded of what the season is supposed to be about (ie. food, presents, family, love and celebrating the perfectness of life)... This isn’t a scroogey Christmas blog where I’m about to say how much I hate all these things because actually, I love them. I love Christmas. 

But what gets me is that according to the world, I’m supposed to be coupled up, receiving something expensive from my gorgeous loving boyfriend, spending Saturdays hand in hand with him in town and cold winter nights cuddling up with him on the sofa. What is it about Christmas that fills us with dread at the prospect of being alone? Christmas is all about being together, the media tell us, and I know that that is about family and friends and community. But we’re also pummelled with the idea that our Christmas isn’t perfect without an adoring other half to complete us. 

Sex Sells...But It Doesn't Have To.

By Megan O'Kane 

This year there has been a media frenzy surrounding sexism in the music industry. There was the “Blurred Lines” fiasco - where Robin Thicke’s summer smash hit was branded “sexist,” “misogynistic” and subsequently banned in nightclubs and universities across the country. The song then went on to hold the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks, selling more than 6 million tracks. Then there was Miley-Gate, and we all know what happened there! Miss Cyrus’ latest album “Bangerz” has sold an impressive 270,000 units in its first week.