Friday, March 29News For London

Gender

The Cult of Beauty questions the demand for looks throughout history

The Cult of Beauty questions the demand for looks throughout history

Art, Breaking News, Culture, Explainers, Galleries, Gender, LifeStyle, Women
Idolino and Esquiline Venus at The Cult of Beauty. Photograph by Malavika Pradeep Beauty patches for syphilis and smallpox scars, windmills for husbands to transform their ugly wives. The Cult of Beauty exhibition at The Wellcome Collection showcases dialogue between beauty, age, gender, race and status through history.   The exhibition challenges conventional notions of beauty, urging a more nuanced understanding beyond binary differences. It explores diverse perspectives, particularly from marginalised communities, on what beauty means in our world.   Sophie, 26, The Cult of Beauty visitor, said: "It is nice to go through time in this show. I like the layout and the colour palette of this exhibition."     The exhibition discusses a variety of differe...
Conversion therapy – What is it?

Conversion therapy – What is it?

Breaking News, Culture, Explainer, Explainers, Explainers, Gender, UK news, Worldnews
In 2018 the British government pledged to ban conversion therapy across the nation. However, now in 2022 the situation surrounding the practice has become a more difficult to understand. The latest on conversion therapy in the UK. Credit: Luke Severn Legislative timeline: 2018 Theresa May's government pledge that it would completely ban all conversion therapy practices in the UK as part of its LGBT equality plan. Many charities and activists were happy to see that the government had recognised the situation and were making plans to change it. 2020 In the summer of 2020, now under Boris Johnson's government, it was stated that plans were due to be brought forward to get start outlining legislation to ban conversion therapy. 2021 In March of 2021, three governme...
Pride Timeline: History and Relevance

Pride Timeline: History and Relevance

Breaking News, Culture, Explainers, Gender, Law, London, protest, UK news, Video, Women, youth
The lives of LGBTQ+ people have always been hidden and secretive. It has just been recently that they have been coming out and accepted by society. However, if you look back in history their identity remained concealed due to repressive social attitudes and criminal prosecution. The video highlights key events and changes that took place in the LGBTQ+ community from 1533 to today. https://youtu.be/ge7ipUFjWUg
#StopDithering: A call to the UK Government to ban Conversion Therapy

#StopDithering: A call to the UK Government to ban Conversion Therapy

Breaking News, Gender, Health, Law, London, UK news
Consultation period on legalizing the ban on conversion therapy in the UK has been extended by another eight weeks. The proposal to ban the conversion therapy was created in October, when the equalities minister requested people to submit their views on this idea within six weeks. After the threats of a legal challenge, the period was extended by another two months. https://youtu.be/8RBVTB3hoyI Credit: Hirna Trivedi and Neha Suryavanshi What is conversion therapy? Credit: Mermaid UK According to NHS, conversion therapy, which can also be called ‘reparative therapy’ or ‘gay cure therapy', is an act of trying to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. NHS and other organizations have called this kind of practices ‘unethical and potentially harmf
Now is the time to legalise pepper spray to protect women in the capital

Now is the time to legalise pepper spray to protect women in the capital

Breaking News, crime, Education, Gender, Law, London, News, UK news, Women
In the UK, it is illegal to carry pepper spray as a self-defense weapon. At Westminster World, we think this needs to change. Photo Credit: The Canterbury Hub Back in 2010, Theresa May MP, former Home Secretary said: “No woman should live in fear of violence.” However, eleven years later nothing seems to have changed. Violence against women has been an ongoing topic for many years within the United Kingdom, and in 2021, the issue grew more prominent. Recent statistics found that only 24 per cent of women feel safe walking alone after dark. It is predicted that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in this country, and 1 in 5 women will experience sexual assault during their lifetime. With the murders of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and Bobbi-Ann McLeod it has made it
What is intersex? Things you might not know about intersex people

What is intersex? Things you might not know about intersex people

Adults, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Gender, Video
Can you spot intersex people based on their appearance? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pF9wxSFgh8 Video by Hai Anh Vu From the ancient Greek mythology, the term “Hermaphrodite” become a common used medical definition that refers to people whose bodies have both male and female characteristics.  Nowadays, the term is no longer used and instead, another term has been put into common use. That term is Intersex.  But having such variation in characteristics is not a medical problem and it’s more common than what you think. The United Nations estimated that 1.7% of the population are born with intersex trait, comparable to the number of people born with red hair. Current statistics suggest that approximately 358,105 UK people with intersex variations. Under curren
Are you guilty of microaggressions?

Are you guilty of microaggressions?

Data Journalism, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Gender, Instagram, International, Opinion, Racism
In March 2021, a report by The Mainchi stated that the president of the Tokyo Olympics said that meetings with female participants went on for too long. Unbeknown to many, this remark may be seen as a microaggression.  In this day and age words can have detrimental consequences to others, whether they are explicit or implicit. But ever heard of the saying actions speak louder than words? Microaggressions do not only refer to the words used but also the actions we do which can amplify a hidden meaning.     Photo credited by Morgan Basham (Unsplash.com)  What are microaggressions? Very Well Mind defines a microaggression as subtle verbal or nonverbal behaviour, committed consciously or not, that is directed at a member of a marginalised group, and has
Period Poverty: Scotland raised the question, will England respond?

Period Poverty: Scotland raised the question, will England respond?

economy, Education, Environment, Explainers, Gender, Health, International, Medical, Politics
Period poverty is a public health crisis across the United Kingdom according to official data. In November, Scotland became the first country in the world to make menstrual products free for those in need. What would it take for England to do the same? Westminster World talked to campaigners and experts about the inability to afford menstrual products and period stigma. Photo by Rahul Bamane According to Plan International UK (P.I. UK), a survey conducted in 2019 showed that one in five girls reported being bullied or teased, and nearly 50 percent reported missing a day of school because of their periods.  The same research revealed that women in the UK spend more than £16,500 on period products or aids in their lifetime and ten per cent of girls cannot afford the sanitary p
Coronavirus: how the pandemic reinforce the gender gap

Coronavirus: how the pandemic reinforce the gender gap

Breaking News, Covid-19, Data Journalism, Education, Explainers, Gender, LifeStyle, London, Women, Worldnews
During the pandemic, who is responsible for domestic work in your country? Photo by Haiyue According to the new report from UN Women, women are spending more time to do domestic chores compared with the normal time. Amid COVID-19, household chores have new purpose and value and are being increasingly recognized as a form of essential work. Chores like cooking, shopping for groceries and cleaning, particularly to prevent infection, are all taking longer than ever. Photo from UN Woman However, more and more people have to work from home due to Covid-19 in different countries, while the truth is that women still shoulder the major housework. Available data from thirty-eight countries overwhelmingly confirm that on sixty per cent of women and fifty-four per cent of...
Period poverty: A petition shows people’s desire to have free menstrual products

Period poverty: A petition shows people’s desire to have free menstrual products

Charity, Gender, Women
Period poverty is a human rights issue that cannot be ignored. In the UK, there is an ongoing petition, with a lot of people wanting the government to provide free period products across the UK. photo by Jing Yang According to the research by the grassroots group Women for Independence (WFI), nearly one in five women had experienced period poverty, which has a significant impact on their hygiene, health and wellbeing. Period poverty is when those on low incomes can't afford, or access, suitable period products. Women are estimated to spend an average of £13 a month on period products and several thousand pounds over a lifetime. Mina Heaney, 28, who costs £6 a month for tampons and pads, said : “I might be able to afford it, but plenty of other women in the country