THE BREAKUP MONOLOGUES BY ROSIE WILBY – REVIEW

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged ADHD, autism, bisexuality, book, break ups, Claudia Gold, communication, dating, Edward Tronick, featured, friendships, Green Tree Bloomsbury, Kathy Labriola, lesbian, lgbtQ+, monogamy, neurodivergent, podcast, polyamory, relationships, review, romance, Rosie Wilby, sexuality, The Breakup Monologues, The Power of Discord, trauma.

By Carmina Masoliver

I mostly read The Breakup Monologues: The Unexpected Joy of Heartbreak over the course of one weekend, author and comedian Rosie Wilby’s conversational stage persona making it easily digestible and impossible to put down on a sunny weekend with few commitments. Mirroring the non-linear nature of breakups, the book flits back and forth in time, marked B.G. (Before Girlfriend) and A.G. (After Girlfriend). Using ever-changing vocabulary to describe a number of different ‘ghosting’ methods, the book delves into Wilby’s dating and breakup history, alongside incredulous anecdotes from others. The driving point of the book, inspired by the podcast of the same name, is that each breakup can teach us something. Despite this, the romantic in me can’t help but hope that Wilby, equipped with the knowledge and experience of past relationships, might find a happy ever after with Girlfriend. With this mixed sense of hope and impending doom, the book itself mirrors the structure of an uncertain relationship.

BRAVE NEW WORLD IS (STILL) HERE

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged abuse, adaptation, aldous huxley, alexis soloski, books, brave new world, David Wiener, erasure, featured, gender, homophobia, John the Savage, literature, New London, novel, privilege, queerness, sexuality, soma, violence.

By Vyvyan René

CW: sexual assault, rape

David Wiener’s TV adaptation of Huxley’s classic dystopia launched on Sky One and Peacock on July 15th 2020.

Set in New London – in a society where class is enforced by genetic engineering and hypnopaedic indoctrination, the use of the euphoric drug soma is universal, public orgies are wholesome fun and ‘mother’ is a swear word – Brave New World is a novel with many themes. One of them is misogyny and the mechanisms by which it is expressed and perpetuated. Consequently, the portrayal of the novel’s central female character, Lenina Crowne, and her relationship with John the Savage (the emotional core of the story) are huge contributing factors to the success or failure of any adaptation. Wiener faces the challenge of depicting a society he describes as ‘hugely problematic’ without condoning it, which raises questions about how the problematic aspects of the novel could, or even should be, adapted.

‘JUST A NOTHING’: ASEXUAL ERASURE IN ADAPTATIONS OF THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged acephobia, adaptation, allosexual, Andrew Scott, Anthony Minghella, asexuality, Bojack Horseman, erasure, featured, homophobia, homoromanticism, homosexuality, Matt Damon, novel, Patricia Highsmith, privilege, queerness, sexuality, Steven Zaillan, The Talented Mr Ripley, Todd Chavez, voyeurism.

By Vyvyan René

Few novels with openly queer protagonists are as enduringly loved, or have achieved such acclaim, as Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley.

Tom Ripley is a charming, Machiavellian antihero whose talents include ‘forging signatures… and impersonating practically anybody’, and whose unreciprocated worship of Dickie Greenleaf, the prodigal son of a New York shipping tycoon, leads him to kill Dickie and assume his identity. He is also asexual, yet not a single adaptation of Highsmith’s work has addressed this. With a new adaptation in the works, in the form of a Showtime drama directed by Steven Zaillan and starring Andrew Scott, it’s important to acknowledge and reflect on the ways in which this aspect of Ripley’s character has been erased.

TRUMP KILLED MY DRIVE

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged amazon, Backpage, Communications Decency Act, craigslist, erotica, featured, FOSTA, Google, Grindr, human trafficking, law, Lorelei Lee, nudity, prostitution, SESTA, sex, sex trafficking, sex work, sexuality, social media, technology, tinder, US, Whatsapp.

by Beth Saward

Have you heard the news? America has solved sex trafficking. With the passage of SESTA/FOSTA, it will become a thing of the past, the internet will be safer and Freedom™ wins again. What’s that? You haven’t heard of this miraculous new law? Here’s how it works.Continue Reading

BEING A MAN 2017: PART 2

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged addiction, Andrew Lovell, andrew mcmillan, BAM, bam festival, Being A Man, being a man festival, binary, body image, Cairo Nevitt, Christopher Green, Daniel Morri, domestic violence, feminism, festival, gender, Justin Hancok, Laura Dodsworth, M People, male suicide, masculinity, Mawaan Rizwan, men, mental health, metoo, mra, Naomi Wolf, Oliver O’Donohoe, patriarchy, Paul Burton, Placebo, Polari, sexual violence, sexuality, Sherren el Feki, southbank centre, Stefan Olsdal, suicide, Tomi Adegoke, Travis Albanza, violence.

by Carmina Masoliver

cw: mentions of rape and addiction

For this second part on the Being a Man (BAM) Festival, I’ll be looking at the various panels that addressed men’s body image, different kinds of addiction, and the concept of masculinity – looking beyond gender as something binary, and taking sexuality into account.Continue Reading

REES-MOGG: NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Community, Inter|national and tagged anti choice, atheism, ballox box, Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Catholicism, Christian, comedy character, conservative, corbyn, european union, faith, gay sex, general election campaign, Good Morning Britain, homophobic, honourable member, jacob rees-mogg, labour leadership, lgbtQ+, Liberal Democrat, metropolitan, national television, non progressive, norfolk, norwich, norwich south, party membership, political career, politics, press coverage, prime minister, rees mogg, sexuality, spin doctor, Tim Farron, Tories, Trump.

by James Anthony

Content warning: article mentions homophobia, religion, Trump, and Farage.

Earlier this week, many of us watched on in horror as one of our potential Prime Ministers spouted his frankly archaic, illiberal views on Good Morning Britain. I thought to myself that alongside all the atheists, progressives and liberals of the UK, Jacob Rees-Mogg’s spin doctors and supporters must also be holding their head in their hands. His interview would have been seen by a large number of people and the further press coverage was extensive – surely this was the death blow to any leadership ambitions.

I suppose I have a lot of faith in our electorate and like to think that outing yourself as anti-choice, homophobic, and quite frankly medieval, on national television would ruin your political career.Continue Reading

REVIEW: LAS CHICAS DEL CABLE

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged 1920s, abuse, Alba, arts, austerity, cable, chicas del cable, crime, domestic violence, drama, DV, feminism, fight, identity, jobs, music, netflix, protes, protest, representation, series, sexuality, Sisters Uncut, spain, Spanish, stories, streaming, technology, TV, women, women's rights.

by Carmina Masoliver

CW: discussion of domestic violence

An eight episode series, Las Chicas del Cable (The Cable Girls) begins with a woman killing her friend’s husband – part self-defence, part accident – also shooting her friend. It’s a drama full of love stories, as well as crime and mystery, yet domestic violence is a major theme that runs through the series. Set in 1928 in Madrid, it shows the impossibility of leaving an abusive relationship in a patriarchal society, where even the law protects men who are abusers.Continue Reading

GENTRIFICATION AND DISAPPEARING NIGHTCLUBS

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Community and tagged business, city council, closure, creativity, drinking culture, gentrification, Hideout, hip hop, lgbtQ+, Lola Lo, music, night out, nightclub, noise complaint, noise complaints, norfolk, norwich, party, prince of wales road, rap, sexuality, subculture.

by James Anthony

In my first year of university, I had the pleasure to live on Prince of Wales Road in Norwich, one of the most dangerous roads in Norfolk and one of England’s worst drinking areas in terms of late-night violence. While it might not have been for everyone, I honestly loved the feeling of being at the heart of the city’s nightlife and counted myself week in week out as one of the thousands of club-goers descending onto the strip. For me, nightclubs are a way to relive stress, relax and enjoy yourself alongside scores of friends and strangers, and represent a sort of coming together of people of all different backgrounds to lose yourself in the dance.Continue Reading

BLACK WOMEN AND THE FUTURE OF RNB

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Perspectives and tagged aaliyah, art, Beyonce, black excellence, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, dave meyers, feminism, hype williams, janet jackson, mental health, missy elliot, MLK, mtv, music, Otis Redding, Perspectives, R&B, race, racism, RnB, Sam Cooke, sexuality, solange knowles, Stevie Wonder, TLC.

by Candice Nembhard

Whether it’s Janet Jackson in a purple latex suit, TLC in a spaceship or Aaliyah in the headlights of a motorbike, it is no secret that visual and artistic concepts among RnB artists were undoubtedly ahead of their time. The late nineties/early noughties saw many artists make use of developments in CGI/Camera Technology, fashion, specially-designed sets, and shooting locations. Directors such as Hype Williams and Dave Meyers, noted for their work with Missy Elliot, have gone onto make iconic if not classic visuals young music lovers still reference to this day.

CHRISTIANITY, QUEERNESS & ME

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged antisemitism, Bayard Rustin, Christian, Christianity, Church of Wales, dialectic, faith, homophobia, identity, islamophobia, Jew, lesbian, LGBT+, lgbtQ+, LGBTQIA+, Muslim, Nye Bevan, Perspectives, queer, religion, sexuality, sugar rush, the l word, Wales.

by Tara Gulwell

I was nine years old when I first learnt what lesbian meant. It was a word thrown at me as a measurement of depravity to which I should never want to sink. Little sweetheart notes I was trying to send to another girl were found and I was not-so-kindly made aware that that wasn’t natural. Up until that point, I had assumed, like every child does, that my way of experiencing the world was like everyone else’s. Lesbian, that dirty word tossed about on my playground, brought me out of the naivety that blinded me from realising I was different from my peers, and overshadowed my childhood at my Anglican, Church of Wales, primary school.

sexuality

THE BREAKUP MONOLOGUES BY ROSIE WILBY – REVIEW

By Carmina Masoliver

BRAVE NEW WORLD IS (STILL) HERE

By Vyvyan René

‘JUST A NOTHING’: ASEXUAL ERASURE IN ADAPTATIONS OF THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

By Vyvyan René

BEING A MAN 2017: PART 2

REES-MOGG: NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED

REVIEW: LAS CHICAS DEL CABLE

GENTRIFICATION AND DISAPPEARING NIGHTCLUBS

BLACK WOMEN AND THE FUTURE OF RNB

CHRISTIANITY, QUEERNESS & ME

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