Exploring how cultural traditions encourage violence and sexism
To what extent can violence be justified by cultural tradition? Traditions are bits of knowledge, beliefs, or customs that are passed down through generations. They help children form their identity and create a sense of belonging within a community, while keeping alive the cultural heritage of our regions. However, many traditions...
Current in Culture
How to navigate family politics this festive season
For many of us, awkward conversations have become a mainstay of winter gatherings. The festive period promises a lot: turkey, tinsel, and a soundtrack of perennial arguments. For a large portion of us, the season has become something other than a celebratory get-together and more of an endurance test, especially...
Opinion – stop letting men get away with silence
The belief that another person will complete us means that many people are settling for the bare minimum in relationships, rather than taking the time to get to know themselves as an individual. For modern dating to work, we need to recognise the importance of reciprocal communication between partners...
Why Miss Universe has triggered a ‘wokeness’ debate
The beauty pageant is being hailed as the death of wokeness, and the result of the ‘Trump effect’. Victoria Kjær Theilvig, a 21-year-old Danish woman, is Miss Universe 2024. She’s blonde, blue-eyed, and undeniably beautiful – a fact that should been met with applause and little more. Instead, her win has ignited...
Whoopi Goldberg launches women’s sport network
US comedian and television host Whoopi Goldberg has launched All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN), a new 24/7 global women’s sports channel. Women have historically been excluded and discouraged from practicing sports. During childhood, girls constantly hear phrases like ‘you run like a girl’ and ‘you kick like a girl’ – phrases...
What’s up with people hiring witches on Etsy?
The phenomenon isn’t as uncommon as you might think. Like many individuals, Riley Wenckus felt distraught and disempowered in the aftermath of Trump’s re-election. Wenckus was particularly furious at Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, and the key role he’d played in Trump's victory. So she turned to an unconventional...
Are brands crossing a line in the pursuit of relevance?
The widespread mocking of Gary Barlow’s son proves that virality alone should not equate marketability. Oh boy, does the internet love a spectacle. Over the past week, a photograph of Gary Barlow’s son, Daniel, towering above his dad, went viral. The memes arrived shortly after, and overnight Daniel became a punchline feeding the algorithm’s endless appetite. Like most social media trends nowadays, viral content is a bit of an open season...
Has being a ‘roadman’ finally gone out of fashion?
It’s 2024… ‘low them tings there People, especially kids, will adopt what’s deemed to be fashionable. Thankfully, the ‘chav’ to ‘roadman’ arc appears to be on its last legs in England. Growing up in south London in the noughties was incredibly fun. Your mates were always out after school on bikes or playing football. We’d knock on each other's doors – and the odd stranger’s door – grab sweets, share a...
Are Christmas markets losing their appeal?
We’re only halfway through November, yet Christmas markets have been open across the UK for weeks already. Are these once-magical festivities becoming too blatant of a cash grab? Although the team at Thred always looks forward to our annual Winter Wonderland trip, we’re not oblivious to the fact that we’re basically queuing up to get scammed. You know the drill: cosy wooden chalets, glittering trinkets, the wafting smell of grilled sausages,...
Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year is ‘manifest’
Meaning ‘dream’ or ‘willing something into existence,’ it beat out ‘brat’ and ‘demure’ after a surge of celebrity-inspired popularity on social media. Clearly, 2024 was all about positive thinking. ‘Manifest’ has been named word of the year by Cambridge Dictionary. Though it’s more than six centuries old, it’s been given new life on social media as of late, thanks to a slew of celebrities who’ve been using it to describe how...
