Update

Just a quick post (while in the midst of EU law coursework and revision, the joy) to say that I haven't abandoned this fledgling blog - I have several posts planned, but am sadly time-poor at the moment! I have, however, acquired a few beauty bits and pieces over the last few weeks, including a smattering of the gorgeous NARS Spring collection (Valparaiso Pure Matte lipstick and the divine Lhasa eyeshadow), and my first Rockalily lipstick! I also picked up a few things in Charlie's recent blogsale: NARS Carthage Pure Matte lipstick, which I'd had my eye on for a while, and the infamous MAC Stereo Rose MSF (just couldn't resist - what can I say, I'm a sucker for the hype!).

I've also been dreaming about moving to LONDON (finally). I currently live at home in Kent, and am commuting to law school in London - it's only half an hour on the train, but it makes all the difference! Living at home after four years away at university has been a bit of an adjustment, and to be honest I can't wait to move out again. Hopefully by the beginning of September!



Gratuitous shot of London looking pretty
I've also been tweeting a LOT (sorry) about the recent UniLad controversy. Here's the BBC's coverage, and there's a lot more out there (including some excellent blog posts) - if you have a strong stomach, this Tumblr, compiled by the amazing LorrieHearts, demonstrates how violent and misogynist (as well as homophobic) much of the content was. Feel free to tweet me if you're interested to know more.

Depressing stuff, apologies! But it's really made me think how important the things we say on the internet can be, and how much of an impact they can have in real life. I'm sure lots of you have already seen it, but I highly recommend the recent BBC Panorama on online bullying and the horrific consequences it can have on vulnerable young people in particular - not very pleasant viewing, but valuable I think.

And finally, an album I've been loving: Bad Dream Hotline by FOE. I even bought it on CD recently, after Spotify's "five listens and you're done" rule kicked in (dammit).




Coming up: a post on my rapidly expanding NARS "collection", I think!

Till next time,

Josephine x

Something a Bit Different: What I'm Reading

On a bit of a different note – my latest Amazon order arrived:

Betty Friedan, The Feminist Mystique (1963)

Kat Banyard, The Equality Illusion (2010)

Cordelia Fine, Delusions of Gender (2010)

I came across a mention of Banyard’s book in a comment on a post on The F-Word blog (I think – anyway here’s the review), and for some reason this sparked off one of my occasional Amazon mini-binges. I'd been meaning to get hold of a copy of Friedan for a while, but never got round to it. During my time at university, I was completely spoiled for choice on the library front, with every book pretty much ever written (or close enough) at my disposal, so I've yet to adjust to the concept of Buying Your Own Books. I'll update you once I've actually read them, but for now, these are the newest additions to my bookshelf, which currently mainly consists of cheap copies of early modern drama and a lot of poetry.


Gender was always the critical perspective to which I was naturally drawn as an undergraduate, even though I deliberately abandoned it for the Masters as too cliched and over-done - but my instinct was to engage with critics and theorists from Judith Butler (even though Gender Trouble, while brilliant, is nigh-on impossible to read!) to the Shakespearean feminists like Juliet Dusinberre and Lisa Jardine. And of course I loved Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic as an eighteen-year-old fresher mad about Hardy and the Brontës. My favourite Finals project was undoubtedly the essay I wrote on gender and linguistics, during which I fell in love with the outspoken (and outdated, but that's another story) critics like Julia Penelope (the astonishing Speaking Freely: Unlearning the Lies of the Fathers’ Tongues) and Dale Spender (Man Made Language - see what she did there?).


Even writing these few paragraphs has made me regret all the books I didn't read when I had the chance, while they were sitting innocently on the library shelves! Sadly my student budget won't stretch to cover them all (especially given that debilitating addiction to blush), so I'll be pacing myself. And we'll have see how long my resolve to keep up "academic" (the in loosest possible sense - the essay-writing days are definitely over for now!) interests lasts in the face of impending law exams...


And speaking of blush - I have a feeling my next post will be on that very subject.

Till next time,

LL x