Latest Stories from Annie
Is it wrong to monetise our pain?
Shakira is back from her musical hiatus, and while her new album is intended as empowering, it forces us to question whether the monetisation of our pain makes our suffering more or less valuable. Colombian singer known mononymously as Shakira is back on the scene and our screens. After a self-professed difficult few years, Shakira is currently undertaking her ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’ tour. The title, taken from her latest...
Does Gen Z have a resilience problem?
Gen Z might need more resilience, but that doesn’t mean we need more of our parents’ generational trauma to test it. The idea that Gen z has no resilience is prevalent. We’re criticised for job jumping or all together aversion. The anti-depressants so many of us are taking are subject to disparagement or susceptible to symbolic cliches because we don’t just 'get on with it like people used...
The fatalism of the ‘lucky girl syndrome’ trend
The autonomous-less fatalism of the 'lucky girl syndrome' trope joins the long list of individualising and infantilising trends adopted by privileged women who present themselves as too incompetent and irrational to engage critically with intellectualism, politics, or financial responsibility. Whether you’re willing to admit it, or (like me) you’re not, many of us have little things we habitually do to try and avoid bad things happening to us. For instance, you’ll...
Is obsessing over protein-rich diets taking the joy out of eating?
With a utilitarian focus on what food can do for us rather than how it tastes, coupled with a growing aversion to the humble doggy bag, have we forgotten what it means to appreciate the things that contribute to our wellbeing and keep us alive? A stroll through the aisles of most supermarkets these days presents a blaze of similarly shaped fonts, all advertising one key nutrient in our groceries:...
Opinion – Blue Origin’s view of women’s safety is concerning
On reflection, some of the inadvertent messaging is concerning and shows a lack of progress here on Earth. Last month a group of female American celebrities, including singer Katy Perry, chat show host Gayle King, activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen, HR executive Kerianne Flynn, journalist Lauren Sánchez, and NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, participated in the first all-women Blue Origin space mission since Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight...
The unholy trinity of apartheid, genocide, and ecocide in Palestine
More than 550 days since the latest round of conflict between Israel and Gaza erupted, the scale of destruction and devastation on both a human and environmental level is almost unimaginable. Journalist and author Matt Kennard has described the ongoing genocide in Gaza as a tripartition between the United States, Britain, and, of course, Israel. America has provided the majority of arms (80%) to Israel since October 2023. Meanwhile, Britain’s ongoing...
New bill to protect traditional reproductive practices in Hawaii
A new bill has been passed in Hawaii that prevents those practising traditional midwife and reproductive methods from being subject to costly fines or prison time for trying to serve and preserve both their community and indigenous culture. Compared with other states in America, reproductive rights in Hawaii seem relatively progressive, if judged in terms of abortion restrictions. Although the bar, admittedly, is lower than my pelvic floor. Though the...
Understanding the body politic
As many people are becoming increasingly disillusioned by a tumultuous political arena and a lack of social mobility, many are turning towards the gym as a way to “cope” with capitalism and achieve objective “positive” results. In 1982, Jane Fonda’s at-home workout videos were released, becoming one of the most popular nontheatrical home videos in the world. As well as her choreographed fitness routines, Fonda also experienced success as an...
Self-care wasn’t originally intended for the self
Self-care has become an exercise in intentional self-indulgence that plays itself out in compassion fatigue and treat-yourself culture. Instead, we ought to look to the origins of the self-care movement: a community project and an act of resistance through solidarity. Hello there, and welcome to your nighttime routine. By now, presumably, you’ll have had your bubble bath, with a sleepy girl mocktail on the side, rinsed off your face masks...
Are dating apps creating a spark designed to go out?
With an oversaturated market of potential partners to swipe through, and a fast-paced model which tells you to wear your Apple Pay on your sleeve rather than your heart, is it any wonder that dating apps are often failing to provide on their promise? 'Designed to be deleted' is Hinge’s slogan. It is perhaps the most overt example of the teleological offering promised by so many dating apps that present...
