Should every women be given the right to an abortion?

As I walked down Whitehall on a gloriously sunny day in London last Wednesday, making mental notes of all the governmental departments for my Journalism course, I was stopped by a small middle-aged women who asked me how I felt about abortion. As I glanced at the disturbing images of foetuses which has been aborted past 22 weeks, I found myself unable to render a plausible responsive. All I could come up with was ‘I have never really thought about it’, as soon as I uttered the words I felt completely stupid but looking back, I stand by my response. I am a firm believer in women having the right to pave their own future yet I have never been pregnant. However I still strongly believe that every women has the right to her own decision. The old woman seemed surprised at my blasé reply but I was just being honest; people sometimes don’t form a strong opinion on a matter until they have actually experienced it.

Just a few days ago, on the 13th July 2013, the Texas Senate passed a bill which banned abortions after 20 weeks. Since abortion was legalised by the US Supreme Court in 1973, several US states, including Mississippi, Ohio and Arizona in recent years have brought forward laws which limits women having access to the procedure. The bill which has passed in Texas also means that all abortion procedures must be performed in medical centres, however according to the Texas Tribune, there are only six clinics in the State which have been classified at medical centres, all of which are in main cities. This could mean that women who live in rural areas could be forced to travel hundreds of miles in order to have access to an abortion. Do the government have the right to restrict a woman’s right to an abortion?

Democratic Senator, Wendy Davis, who spoke for nearly 11 hours last month, in order to block the passage of the bill was hailed a heroine by the US abortion movement. However despite all her efforts, Governor Rick Perry vowed to sign the bill into law and quickly set up a special session the next day to take up the abortion bill.

Whether you agree with abortion or not, every woman, in my eyes, has the right to have access to one. Abortions are treated with complete seriousness in the UK and women have to make an appointment with a health advisor to discuss their options before they start the procedure. Restricting access to the procedure, however, is not a step in the right direction.

The main message that all pro-choice groups promote is in the name itself; choice. It is not about whether abortion is right or wrong, it is simply giving women the freedom to have control over their lives, as well as making sure that they have a wide range of support, whatever decision they come to. Whilst I am not sure as to whether I agree with abortion or not, I know that I am a firm believer in people being given a choice.

Private View at Meanwhile Place in London

On Tuesday 30th April, I attended an art exhibition in London which was hosted by the ‘Womb Academy, which is described as being ‘A London based cultural project’. The performances and pieces of artwork on show, were all based around the theme of ‘the ever changing feminine ideal.’ According to the flyer which was handed out at the exhibition, ‘The architecture of the image has rapidly evolved; the screen propagates roles to be performed in society.’ Reflecting how attitudes towards women and feminism has dramatically changed over the years, the artwork on display included a video, made by Louise Fitzgerald, an Art student at The University of Reading,  which featured past reasons as to why a woman has not got the job.

There was also a performance by another art student, which focused in the perils of being a ‘modern woman’, the references to ITV’s Loose Women were funny and extremely relatable, honing in on the idea that the media does play a huge role in how we structure our identity.

There was also a video which consisted purely of people eating, the artist behind it spent time filming at London train stations and explained how she had been banned from several of them. Though initially I was confused as to why a video of people eating is considered “art”, the more I watched, the more I began to realise that you were in fact intruding into a very personal moment. Watching unaware members of the public wolf down a bacon sandwich or a bag of crisps made me feel slightly uncomfortable, as if I was watching them on the toilet or something, it all felt slightly voyeuristic.

Overall the exhibition was a real eye-opener into how feminism and women in general have evolved over the last decade. It made me think more specifically about how female identity is created and what helps us to shape it.

The Intern: Is it any good?

Hilary Devney’s ‘The Intern’ failed to impress.

About a week ago I recieved a flood of texts and messages from family telling me I should watch this weeks The Intern on channel 4 because it was about aspiring journalists, my chosen career path. So I sat down on Thursday night and watched three hopeful journalists battle it out for the opportunity to work at Sunday Sport, a newspaper which doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation amongst national papers, but it was a newspaper nonetheless. The premise of the programme is to put three interns through their paces, including setting up incredibly awkward scenarios that are painful to watch. The poor candidates are completely unaware that they are being set up for the audience’s entertainment and purely think that they are just having a rough first day. As I sat through an excruciating hour, watching these interns battle with difficult managers, disappointing leads and a crocodile in the canal, I couldn’t help but feel angry at the fact that channel 4 were portraying journalism as a sleazy industry that was full of arseholes (please excuse my language but there is no other way to reflect my feelings, I felt that strongly!).

Awkward silences, alcohol fuelled arguments and The Sugar Hut: How structured reality television has taken over our screens.

First there was The Only Way is Essex, followed by Made in Chelsea then Geordie Shore and finally The Valleys. Structured reality television programmes have slowly moved their way onto our screens, bringing their ‘real life’ drama into the homes of thousands of viewers. Whether it’s a brawl in The Sugar Hut or Millie slapping Spencer, there is never a dull moment in the hour or so we get to spend every week with this so called reality tv stars. But why exactly have scenes which are filled with awkward silences and blatantly staged fights become so addictive?

Why Twilight is unsuitable for young adults…

The epic love story of Edward and Bella is poisonous, setting bad examples for young adults

A story about a human and a vampire falling in love was always going to be a hit story. Having an epic romance that is forbidden has always been a winning formula when it comes to fiction, Shakespeare had Romeo and Juliet whilst Emily Bronte had Wuthering Heights. But both Shakespeare and Bronte were able to create characters who readers become invested in. Edward Cullen and Bella Swan on the other hand, are one dimensional characters who are painfully dull and their epic romance promotes domestic abuse and stalking. The Twilight saga provides no real character development or even a proper story, yes a teenage girl does fall in love with a sparkly old vampire but aside from a small scare from the worst vampire mafia ever created as well as an awful excuse for a love triangle, nothing else actually happens. So what is it about the Stephanie Meyer’s novels that make them unsuitable for young adults?

The Hobbit: An Expected Review

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in cinemas now

When the final Lord of the Rings was released in 2003, fans of the series thought it was all over. However there was always an underlying sense that maybe, just maybe, Peter Jackson would return and direct The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which tells the tale of Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo Baggins and his adventures, including how he came to be the owner of The One Ring in the first place. So finally in 2012, 9 years since the last film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released, much to the joy of Tolkien and movie-lovers around the world. There was some concern surrounding how the book could be split into 3 movies as well as the movies being shot with a Higher Frame Rate, however the movie exceeds high expectations.

NSFW – A review

NSFW at the Royal Court Theatre

When I was first alerted about the play NSFW I thought my friend had spelt it completely wrong. There had to be some consonants missing somewhere. It sounded like an odd choice for a name of a play. But NSFW (which I found out actually stands for ‘Not Safe For Work’) is anything but odd. Kirkwood has successfully portrayed our generation of a media obsessed society.

Has the charm of the Middletons worn thin already?

Miss Middleton showing children how to ‘Celebrate’

As soon as her perfectly pert bottom was screened across the whole world, I knew that Pippa Middleton would annoy the Hell out of me. Why should the sister of Kate Middleton be given so much publicity? She seems to be absolutely everywhere, papped at the hottest and most expensive venues, or in magazines being praised for her fashion sense. But the thing that really got to me was the fact that she has published a book on ‘parties’ called Celebrate.

Does HBO’s Girls really reflect modern life?

Cast of HBO’s Girls

Reading a really interesting article on the Daily Mail website last week about the HBO television series Girls, got me thinking about living as a modern young adult. Whilst having only watched the first episode I found myself relating heavily to the main character, Hannah. Aside from sharing the same first name, we are both stuck in a career rut, knowing what we want to do but struggling to get there. Girls perfectly reflects the true life of graduates emerging from their Universities with big dreams and even bigger debt. It is hard not to strike a comparison to Sex and the City, a programme which one of the main characters, Shoshannan is obsessed with. But unlike Carrie and her gal pals, Hannah doesn’t have a fabulous apartment in Manhattan nor does she write for Vogue magazine or have a healthy sex life, instead Hannah has to deal with having no money, being taken advantage of as an intern and dealing with one night stands.