Fear politics: can we meme our way out?
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And Iranian missiles. Fear has gone hand in hand with politics since time began. The fear of outside threats enticed early humans to crave organisation and structure - to crave leaders. Since Babylon and the Assyrian empire the divine right...
Current in People
Clothes for women on the go? Meet the woman designing them
Born in Beirut, Sheryn Akiki’s clothes are for women perpetually in a rush, inspired by those in Middle Eastern conflict zones who might need to flee at a moment’s notice. A Central Saint Martins graduate and winner of the L’Oréal Professionnel Creative Award for her unique collection, Sheryn Akiki is...
Why it’s terrifying that Twitter is introducing stories
Social media’s most unique platform is dabbling in disappearing stories, giving politicians dangerous access to ephemerality. Twitter has been criticised by its shareholders for lagging behind its competitors for a while now. Investors have been calling for the resignation of its CEO, Jack Dorsey, alleging he’s been neglecting the...
Miss Staten Island banned from parade for being bisexual
Whilst same-sex marriage has been legalised in all 50 states of the US, it seems that Staten Island is determined to remain in the dark ages. The organisers of the Staten Island St Patrick’s Day Parade have never been the most progressive of people. They’ve lagged behind even the...
Spain’s new ‘yes means yes’ law reclassifies any sex without consent as rape
Spain joins a slew of countries, including Sweden and the UK, upgrading their sexual assault laws to include a wider and more progressive definition of rape. When it comes to consent, there should be zero room for doubt. To ensure that that’s the case, the Spanish government is issuing...
Charities warn: new Domestic Abuse bill fails to protect migrants
A bill heading to the UK House of Commons this week does not go far enough to protect BAME or migrant survivors of abuse, say several charities. Today (03/03/20) a long-awaited and much delayed domestic violence bill makes its debut in the House of Commons for its first reading....
Refugee crisis on Turkish/Greek border worsens
Human Rights watchdogs condemn both nations for mishandling the unfolding crisis, which has resulted in an influx of Syrian asylum seekers crossing the Turkish border into Greece. Turkey and Greece are currently involved in a policy stand-off that’s placing tens of thousands of refugees in danger. Last Friday, Turkey lifted the controls on migrants exiting their borders for the EU established by the 2016 EU-Turkey deal. It took the...
Scotland a step closer to making sanitary products free for all
The pioneering Period Products Bill - which would oblige the Scottish government to provide free sanitary products to all women - has just passed its first legislative hurdle. Here at Thred we’ve written extensively on Period Poverty - one of the least discussed and most alarming consequences of financial and gender inequality that leaves hundreds of thousands of women a year without period products in the UK alone. Recently however,...
Ofcom to start policing social media sites
The UK’s broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, which regulates broadcasting and telecommunication services, will be given increased powers across social media. Plans for Ofcom’s social media powers and responsibilities will be unveiled within the next week as part of the UK government’s new draft legislation on online harm. The new rules will allow Ofcom to issue fines and hold large social media platforms to a tighter standard, which has stirred up criticisms from...
PETA claims victory and ends 30-year anti-fur campaign
Animal rights charity PETA has retired its decades-long campaign against the use of animal fur in fashion but will still use nudity to raise awareness about other anti-cruelty causes. Condemning the use of fur in fashion, PETA’s ‘rather go naked’ sex-forward campaigns have acted as iconic political statements through the years. Swapping its normally disruptive protests for stylish shots of celebrities across the fields of film, music, and fashion, the animal...
