Move over Nicki Minaj, meet the women making queer hip hop their own

Forget homohop, meet lesbo hop. Originally published at the New Statesman. 

God Des and She holding non-suggestive objects

You haven't lived until you've seen a lesbian hip hop duo rap about best pussy eating technique to three hundred excited women. Best known for their appearance on lesbo-drama TV series The L Word, hip hop act God Des and She enchanted the crowd at long-standing London queer night Bar Wotever last week. Bringing a signature mix of rapped swagger and ovaries-busting soul - “You and me together we got that vibe/Plus I'm a ten and your girl is a five” -  they ensured there wasn't a dry seat in the house. 

Yet despite being regarded as queer hip hop “pioneers” by EvOn, another lesbian rapper and writer of the LGBT Underground blog, many in the audience of dykes, queers and assorted misfits had only vaguely heard of them before the show. Read More. 

Questioning the imperative to be gendered

Despite women's progress, the norms that dictate that people should act along gender lines are stronger than ever. The rules of gender come first, humanity second. Genderqueers are transforming gender and challenging the constricting gender roles that limit everybody’s lives - I argue at openDemocracy.

A way too fabulous image of artist Del LaGrace Volcano

It's 1983. Controversial radical feminist Andrea Dworkin stands in front of a crowd of 500 men. In an act of now legendary feminist bravery, she challenges the men to a 'truce', a short, 24 hour period during which rape will stop. Dworkin tells her audience about the presence of rape in women's lives. She explains that every three minutes a woman is being raped, every 18 seconds a woman is being beaten.

“Stop your side for one day”, she says. “I dare you to try it. I demand that you try it.” Despite or perhaps because of the content of her speech, one man physically threatens her after the lecture.

Exactly 30 years later, everything and nothing has changed. Women are still waiting for the 24 hour truce. Two young men convicted of rape last week in Steubenville, Ohio, were sentenced to less than two years behind bars, whilst media coverage fixated on the damage to their reputations. The problems remain the same. But the ways in which feminists, queer and trans* activists and anti-gender campaigners oppose gender norms have multiplied indefinitely. Read more at openDemocracy. 

Cynical or not, mansion tax is a coup for Labour

Labour's hijack of the mansion tax is a victory for the party, whatever the result of today's vote

Ed Miliband looking unusually triumphant

Labour’s sudden conversion to the mansion tax cause could be that rumoured beast: a One Nation Labour policy. A real, One Nation-values espousing policy. The sort of concrete, saleable idea eagerly anticipated by party activists, who can now rejoice in the hope of more where that came from. By stealing a Liberal Democrat flagship policy to partially fund the return of the 10p tax rate, Labour may have just pulled off a political coup. Read full article at Total Politics magazine. 

Shift to the centre could help lefty voices in the diaspora

Yair Lapid, leader of Israel's new centre party and sly silver fox

I have a column in this week's paper copy of the Jewish Chronicle arguing that the shift back to the centre in Israeli politics helps left wing Zionism internationally.

These are arguments I've felt pretty hesitant about making in the past. Several times before I've started a piece along the same lines and then decided not to write it. Bit controversial, and that.

Anyway, I've taken the plunge. See what you think!

What it's like to be a news intern at The Jewish Chronicle

Judith Butler, combining topical Jewishness with general excellence

Hello! I've been interning at the Jewish Chronicle for the last fortnight, writing news and consuming my own body weight in cake. As anyone within earshot of me at any point knows, I have a dream that one day I will be paid to do journalism. Until that point, however, I'm learning valuable life lessons - like not assuming it's ok to use someone's surname (complaint number 1), not accidentally misquoting someone (complaint number 2) and not calling someone a lesbian unless they say you can (complaint number 3).

The JC, as it is affectionately known, is a highly pleasant place to work. On morning one they put me at a desk and told me to get on with it. It's exactly the kind of working environment I like. I've been able to engage in quintessentially journalistic pursuits like finding my own stories, doggedly tracking down people to talk to and calling up Russia for a chat.

Here are some of the stories I've written. Also, look out for forthcoming exciting reports on how a flaming meteorite hit Siberia and what to expect at this year's Jewish Book Week (hint: it includes Judith Butler).

First off, a guy called Rodrigo Rosenberg set up an elaborate plot to bring down the Guatemalan government:

'Perfectionist' lawyer arranged own murder


There was an exciting case of Holocaust 'fraud':

'Reich's youngest Nazi' investigated over Holocaust 'lies'


I continued my foray into LGBTQ oriented news, this time with a Jewish slant:

Gay marriage: shuls ready

Gay Jewish parents slam Catholic MP's anti-family allegations


There was a spate of (two) antisemitic attacks in France:

Antisemitic attack in Marseille

Knife-wielding woman threatens boy at Toulouse Jewish school


And most important of all, in light entertainment news:

Sacha Baron Cohen is best-paid British actor in the United States

Jewish burial hope has film star Drew Barrymore seeking tattoo removal

Galliano shocks in Chasidic garb