Barbara Ellen



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Full name: Barbara Ellen

Area of interest: Culture, Society

Journals/Organisation: The Observer

Email: [mailto:barbara.ellen@observer.co.uk barbara.ellen@observer.co.uk]

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Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/barbaraellen

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Career: Formerly worked as a journalist for the New Musical Express Current position/role: Columnist


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Section: Comment

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Email: [mailto:barbara.ellen@observer.co.uk barbara.ellen@observer.co.uk]

Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/barbaraellen

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Day published: Sunday

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Articles: 2014

 * Sorry, Carla, but nobody cares if you're a 'bastard' - The world has moved on, thankfully, since the days when children born to unmarried parents spent their lives feeling inferior - 14th December
 * The Black Friday shopping scrums are so shaming - I don't want to see British people being greedy and rude. This was a retail feeding frenzy - 30th November
 * The moral confusion around the case of Ched Evans - Whatever some people say, and whatever the worthy tenets of rehabilitation, in the real world, all crimes are not equal - 16th November
 * Generation Rent: ignored, insecure – and on the rise - Politicians ignore the number of people renting property at their peril – they could become a hugely powerful political faction - 2nd November
 * Like all rapists, Ched Evans will never be really free - The disgraced footballer has served his time, but will never be allowed to forget his vile crime - 19th October
 * Who cares about normal women's work-life balance? - Top Hollywood screenwriter Shonda Rhimes hates being asked how she divides up her time. At least she's being asked - 12th October
 * Grey areas let people like DLT go a touch too far - The Dave Lee Travis affair shows what happens when workplace relations become skewed - 28th September
 * Even nurses have to pay bills and rent, you know - People who work in healthcare should not be vilified for considering industrial action - 21st September
 * The real culprits in Boris's toddle towards power - It's time everyone stopped laughing at Boris Johnson, letting him off and, worst of all, using him as a warped protest vote - 14th September
 * So women aren't funny? Well, Joan Rivers had the last laugh, guys - That hoary old lie about women lacking wit was put to death by the brash, brave Ms Rivers - 7th September
 * Haven't had a baby? That's you written off, then - Jennifer Aniston has talked about being 'judged' for childlessness. She's right. Childless women are seen as 'subwomen' - 31st August
 * Six years after Sachsgate, Jonathan Ross has served his time - Yes, the treatment of Andrew Sachs was vile. But let Wossy return to radio full-time now - 17th August
 * American Apparel, please spare us your fantasies about schoolgirls - The clothing company's latest ad is just part of the whole unsavoury sexualisation of teenage girls - 10th August
 * Tulisa's ordeal is a nasty case of 'Get the uppity chav' - Mazher Mahmood, the fake sheik, duped the singer in a sting that shows the dark side of celebrity culture - 3rd August
 * Peaches Geldof deserves no censure. Save that for her critics - The outpouring of bile in wake of the revelations about the death of the journalist and TV presenter has been truly nauseating - 27th July
 * Sorry, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, but I don't buy into this idea of a female shelf life -, models have to worry about their fading looks. But men don't seem bothered, and neither should the rest of us mere mortals - 20th July
 * The overweight deserve help, not sneers or malice - Fitting more people with gastric bands could in fact save the NHS millions in the long run - 13th July
 * Mamading in Magaluf: this is not a tale of broken Britain. It's far, far sadder - This was heartless manipulation of the hopelessly inebriated and had just about nothing to with sex - 6th July
 * Early lights out for juveniles? It's like the dark ages - Chris Grayling's plans for young offenders are unnecessarily harsh and could harm their rehabilitation - 29th June
 * Loneliness is one thing. A happy loner quite another - Britain may well be 'Europe's loneliness capital', but being happily alone by choice is quite another matter - 22nd June
 * Angelina Jolie and William Hague – how odd political couples can work - It ill becomes us to mock the actress and the foreign secretary for their humanitarian work - 15th June
 * Yes, let's reward those with a true hunger for higher education - Since so many state-school pupils have the drive to outperform their privileged contemporaries, they deserve a helping hand to get into university - 8th June
 * Until there's a law on revenge porn, keep your kit on - The German court that ruled that intimate pictures should be deleted if a partner wishes has opened an important debate - 25th May
 * Solange and Jay-Z: it's simply not the same if a man is hit by a woman - Men are bigger than women. And they're not routinely the least bit scared of us - 18th May
 * Women in the British army fighting on the front line? Wrong move, Mr Hammond - The defence secretary says women can go into combat. I'm no sexist, but I disagree - 11th May
 * After Bob Hoskins, it's curtains for working-class actors these days - Bob Hoskins had a rich and varied career that would not happen now as upper-class men get all the good parts - 4th May
 * Disabled children and carers need more than pity - Whatever else is happening in government, whatever services are cut, the disabled and those who care for them get hit first and hardest - 27th April
 * Get your grubby male hands off my equal rights - Sexual discrimination laws are for everyone – but it still jars me to see men using them - 20th April
 * I reserve the right to feel sad about Peaches Geldof - Criticism of the reaction to the death of Peaches Geldof ignores our human capacity for empathy - 13th April
 * Who deserves a new liver? Anyone who needs one - Denying life-saving treatment to those who have brought illness on themselves amounts to ethical means-testing - 6th April
 * Too fat. Too thin. Don't the rest of us get a look-in? - The chief medical officer worries that obesity is becoming seen as 'normal'. Let's stop this focusing on extremes of body shape - 30th March
 * The Gone With the Wind theme first suggested for a Cambridge University college ball was crass - The lack of judgment indicates a horrifying absence of understanding about racial discrimination - 23rd March
 * Poverty cannot be grasped from a fleeting visit - The BBC programme Famous, Rich and Hungry was like watching wealthy celebrities take a safari into other people's misfortune - 16th March
 * Paid housework? No one'll clean up from that idea - The hope that Giulia Bongiorno's idea would make housework gender-free is misplaced - 9th March
 * Joanna Dennehy: Why do female serial killers get mythologised? - Male murderers are never subjected to the sort of sexualisation that surrounds Joanna Dennehy - 2nd March
 * Labour trio can't stay silent on this paedophile claim - Patricia Hewitt, Harriet Harman and Jack Dromey should not be the subject of a witch-hunt over the NCCL and PIE, but tell their version - 23rd February
 * Beth Whaanga's not scared of her scars. Are you? - A Brisbane mother has shown untold courage to pose naked, to raise breast cancer awareness - 16th February
 * Hugh Grant's the daddy, but that doesn't make him the baddy - There can be far worse situations for a woman than a man committing to their child but not (conventionally) to her - 2nd February
 * Doctors know best, but we shouldn't have to be pushy to get proper treatment - Doctors should automatically inform NHS patients about their best options, without what amounts to stressful patient-medic haggling - 26th January
 * Putin, the Winter Olympics and why there are two kinds of homophobia - State-sanctioned gay harassment is horrible – but prejudice still lurks in supposedly enlightened countries - 19th January
 * Is Coronation Street the right place to air the issue of assisted suicide? - Hayley Cropper will bow out of Coronation Street this week in a plotline that has brought euthanasia to primetime TV. Barbara Ellen and Jim Shelley debate the rights and wrongs of that decision… - 19th January
 * For hairdressing beyond call of duty… - David Cameron gave an MBE to his hairdresser, Lino Carbosiero. Mine would get a VC - 12th January
 * Welfare tenants face being cast on to the streets - Government cuts are at the core of rent-defaulting - 5th January



Articles: 2013

 * Fathers 4 Justice needs a much less crummy strategy - The poster campaign condemning Kate Winslet and other famous mothers is ill-conceived - 29th December
 * In the court of public opinion, there has been justice for Nigella Lawson - Although the celebrity chef had some detractors during the trial of the Grillo sisters, one thing was clear: most people did not want to see such a woman be bullied - 22nd December
 * Wanna shop like common people? More fool you… - John Terry might well have felt at home in a Poundworld store but others should refrain from 'slumming it' in bargain basements when they really don't need to - 15th December
 * Sexist MPs aren't macho. They're pathetic dweebs - The MPs making obscene gestures at Sarah Champion and other women in the Commons are the backbench nonentities - 8th December
 * If you really think you're gay, guys, why not act on it? - It seems women are experimenting more with same-sex encounters while men are not so curious - 1st December
 * Breastfeeding bribes? What a grubby little idea - Encouraging breastfeeding is one thing, but handing out shopping vouchers feels patronising and pointless - 17th November
 * Which part of a woman's body will we be taught to despise next? - Kate Middleton's grey hair is just the latest bit to come under scrutiny - 10th November
 * Ladies, don't go restyling your partner – it's rude - Some women seem to be transforming their mate simply to render him repulsive to the opposite sex - 3rd November
 * Yes, Mumsnet mothers talk about sex. You're shocked at that? - The furore surrounding Mumsnet and some of the threads is quite amazing - 27th October
 * Letting the social ladder rot is unjust. It is also a stupid waste - A chilling report on ever-widening inequality may finally elicit more than a shrug from our middle-class politicians - 20th October
 * Huge plaudits for the X-Factor's colour-blindness - Say what you like about Simon Cowell's show, it is one of the least racist annexes of the UK music industry - 13th October
 * Traumatised by Diana's death? No, just this film - The Diana director is kidding himself if he thinks that we're still mourning the 'Queen of Hearts' - 6th October
 * Miley Cyrus: exploited or empowered? - With Bertie Brandes: is pop singer Miley Cyrus is being abused by the music industry? - 6th October
 * Tory benefit proposals are stupid and cruel - The plan to make the unemployed work for their benefits is breathtakingly wrong - 29th September
 * The real reason men should keep their legs together - Richard Madden of Game of Thrones has been castigated for taking up too much room. It's not just the space thing, though - 22nd September
 * Bedroom tax row: welcome to modern Britain, home of the boor - Brazilian UN investigator Raquel Rolnik says she has never faced such aggressive behaviour from any other country. It's shaming - 15th September
 * Why should you beg, or indeed dance, for a job? - Well done to Alan Bacon for exposing the interview culture of the dancing bear - 8th September
 * Man-hating? Women just aren't up to the task - I've never known a woman carry that chilling aura of compressed perma-rage against the opposite sex that hangs around certain men - 1st September
 * Let Peru judge our 'drug mules', not Britain's press - The two young women accused of drug smuggling are being punished by the tabloids for enjoying a night out - 25th August
 * Housework: let's come clean about who does the chores - We spend less time doing housework – but it's still women who do it - 11th August
 * Parents, back off and give your kids some space - Children have so little freedom, so at least let them play on their own without joining in - 4th August
 * Yes, Harriet Harman. Let's hear it for the older woman - it's the very fact that Harman is saying things – and won't be silenced – that explains why certain people find her such a problem - 28th July
 * Judy Murray doesn't deserve this sniping - Snide comments about Andy Murray's mother during Wimbledon were bizarre and random - 14th July
 * Leave kids out of this name-calling class prejudice - Katie Hopkins's outburst about children's names was vile and snobbish - 7th July
 * Feminists still have to do stunts to be heard - Wendy Davis had an amazing victory. But so much feminist activism is relegated to the lunatic fringe - 30th June
 * Nigella Lawson: the best way to end abuse is to shine a light on it - There's an argument for many women needing a pap around to record violent incidents - 23rd June
 * The royal baby must be a boy. For all our sakes - A girl would suffer from unbearable scrutiny as she grew - 16th June
 * I salute the idea of soldiers in the classroom - There's a lot of snooty prejudice against ex-forces personnel. Why shouldn't they train as teachers? - 9th June
 * China's not alone in stigmatising single mothers - Britain's attitude towards the children of lone parents leaves much to be desired - 2nd June
 * Twitter at its worst is not Bercow, but the braying mob - The Twitter villains are the bullies who feel scant responsibility and a lack of interest in fairness - 26th May
 * How to improve female fertility: avoid selfish men - Women understand it gets harder to become pregnant as they get older. But they don't always have a choice - 19th May
 * Coca-Cola's bid to teach the world to slim is not on - The soft drinks company can't be part of the solution if it is the problem - 12th May
 * Severe depression is hell – even if you are famous - If celebrity bipolar suffering is beginning to trigger automatic compassion fatigue, that's bad for everyone's mental health - 5th May
 * Denying young women smear tests is a disgrace - Becky Ryder's death from cervical cancer is heartbreaking. And practices must change - 28th April
 * David Willetts, poor students need hard cash, not a silly letter - The universities minister's plan to encourage bright, disadvantaged pupils is patronising and misses the point - 21st April
 * It's too easy to make Madonna the scapegoat for the Malawi debacle - What just happened in Malawi seems to say far less about Madonna, and more about our irrational hatred for "do-gooding" celebrities - 14th April
 * An airline fat tax? It's the thin edge of a nasty wedge - Barbara Ellen: First class, business class, fat class. Is this another step closer to weight-apartheid? - 7th April
 * Is Mary Berry a feminist? No, just a rude woman - You'd think Mary Berry would have lived through enough feminism not to be so unappreciative - 31st March
 * The perfect pill for the 'worried well' - the placebo - Hypochondriacs are themselves a pain – and they take up valuable surgery time - 24th March
 * No wonder our ex-soldiers are looking for a fight - A new survey reveals disturbing truths about members of our armed forces - 17th March
 * Vicky Pryce is not the villain of this piece - Even in her disgrace, the former wife of Chris Huhne should not be pilloried - 10th March
 * How shaming the poor became our new bloodsport - Politicians have taken the lead in blaming poverty on the poor - 3rd March
 * Finished at 27? Ha! You've got 10 years left, girls - Why do we demonise women for putting their career before having a family? - 24th February
 * Welsh minister baffles himself on gay parenting - David Jones's comments about same-sex couples and children are garbled and contradictory - 17th February
 * Cameron's quip to schoolchildren in Liberia marks him out as the class dunce - Some British kids may dream of fame rather than the professions, but who took their educational opportunities away from them? - 3rd February
 * Joanna Lumley meant well – despite her words on rape - Only rapists are responsible for rape. But there is definitely safety in numbers when girls go out - 27th January
 * Are Mr Twigg's school plans good? Debatable - State schools need proper investment, not an attempt to ape the ways of private education - 20th January
 * Gay sex is in the closet, but don't blame the church - The furore over gay bishops exposes a wider contradiction in society - 6th January



Articles: 2012

 * Helicopter parents? Stalker children – they are the truly scary ones - Aubrey Ireland's case highlights overbearing parents, but there are plenty of grown-up children who just don't know when to leave - 30th December
 * Helen Flanagan was a guilty of a silly stunt, nothing more - In the wake of tragedies, too many people are prone to hysterical overreaction - 23rd December
 * Oh Carla Bruni, so feminism's over, is it? - Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy claims her generation doesn't need feminists - 2nd December
 * Students now can't even afford to go to a demo - Could the low turn-out be anything to do with the terrible state of the student grant system? - 25th November
 * Louise Mensch, please, if you're going, go. And stay there - Even if Mensch is based in New York, she's still everywhere in the UK, giving her opinions - 18th November
 * Breast cancer: second opinions spare women pointless surgery - Patients with any serious ailment shouldn't worry that they'll cause offence - 11th November
 * Child benefit: would someone give IDS a brain scan and quickly? - His ludicrous and cruel proposition is an insult to the poor - 27th October
 * Nick Griffin lives in a very strange, parallel universe - The BNP's latest rant is typical of his all-round ignorance - 21st October
 * Domestic gods? C'mon, have you ever met one? - Shared parental leave is a fine idea, except that men are so rubbish at housework - 14th October
 * It's hypocrisy to turn Kay Burley into a scapegoat - The very nature of rolling news means it's not always nuanced. And it's the public who demand it - 7th October
 * Megan and how hard it can be to know your child - How protective should parents be as teenagers withdraw? - 30th September
 * Collagen fillers: they really are the ultimate pointless exercise - Surely our faces and long-term health are far more important than this latest fad? - 23rd September
 * Girls, please! Talk about putting the 'dire' into diaries - Edwina Currie and Sally Burton are to publish diaries – and they have other women in their sights - 16th September
 * What's made Bret Easton Ellis such a sourpuss? - Easton Ellis has become someone someone who can be relied upon to kick off at random targets for no reason - 9th September
 * Let's give Breivik the sentence he deserves: silence - Let's deplore the public appetite for the types of murderers who thrive on infamy and attention - 27th August
 * What's up, you posh boys, can't you take a joke? - Either Benedict Cumberbatch should stop whingeing or flee to America - 19th August
 * Young Tories: the tragedy of pretending to be what you're not - The recent TV show about young Conservatives was by turns aggravating and sad - 12th August
 * Shafilea Ahmed's death was not the fault of liberal lefties - As Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed were sentenced, there was a feeling that their crime happened because of a cult of political correctness - 5th August
 * Unseen and ill-used – the plight of night workers - Not only do night-shift workers have to put up with antisocial hours – their jobs are also jeopardising their health - 29th July
 * Cécile Duflot: a woman in a dress? Mon dieu, whatever next? - Why should female politicians have to steel themselves for this kind of dreary reductive pantomime? - 22nd July
 * MPs like to have a past, but not too much of one… - Are politicians owning up to a druggy adolescence to convince voters of their authenticity? - 8th July
 * We had that Mr Hitler in history again, Mum… - Something has to explain why we are so Nazi-literate, while many Germans seem to be fast forgetting them - 1st July
 * Even death can't stop this labelling of gay people - Angie Dowds had a sexual orientation, but her death didn't - 24th June
 * Police spies must keep everything firmly zipped - No, it's not OK for undercover cops to have sex with unsuspecting activists - 17th June
 * Hillary, you won't make president looking like that - When a woman such as Clinton dismisses her image as unimportant, she is more or less classified as unfit for office - 10th June
 * Still living with your parents at 30? Get a life - Children who won't leave home are being fools to themselves. And parents should stop mollycoddling them - 3rd June
 * 'Smile love…' Not if you're a leery, sex-obsessed snivelling creep - Women have to put up with a lot of unwanted sexual attention. And no, it's not a grey area - 27th May
 * Why blight Indian women with our body fascism? - Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the latest victim of postnatal body fascism - 20th May
 * Chris Brown, like all abusers, has more than one method of attack - Some people don't realise that many abusers, male and female, are adept not only at "masking", but also multitasking - 13th May
 * To bear or not to bear? Frankly, I don't give a damn - Our obsession with discussing reproduction is eternally tiresome - 29th April
 * It's easier to be a gay pop star if you're a man - Even in the kingdom of Elton and Rufus and George, the lesbian is pressured to don the mask of bisexuality - 22nd April
 * 'Postnatally depressed' dads? Give me a break - Can't females have anything just for themselves, without men barging in, not even a foul debilitating condition directly related to the physical act of pregnancy and childbirth? - 15th April
 * The poor deserve more than 'nearly meat' burgers - The EU directive about desinewed meat is to be welcomed - 8th April
 * Women who can't do right for doing wrong - Society is missing an 11th commandment. Woman, thou shalt be judged - 1st April
 * It's a bit rich to slag off Corby's new millionaires - It's patronising guff to say that people not used to having money can't handle it - 25th March
 * Rich Ricci can't be accused of not dressing the part - It was as if Rich had made a conscious decision to live down to the caricatured image of unscrupulous mega-wealthy bankers - 18th March
 * It's none of our business who's gay and who's not - George Clooney says he couldn't care less what people think. But let's get over this desire to 'out' celebrities - 4th March
 * You stay working class all your life. So be proud of it - The mentality still persists that being working class is something that all self-respecting go-getters shed asap - 26th February
 * Sorry, you aren't poor enough to please Ms Currie - Haley Sanderson was reduced to tears by Edwina Currie on 5 live who quizzed the young mother on her spending habits - 19th February
 * Time for these boy-men to cut the apron strings - The antics of the G4 group of young men smack of indulgence and insecurity - 12th February
 * It's older people's attitude to drugs that is a killer - The complacency of those who think their own drug-taking experiences have anything to do with today's drugs is desperately misguided - 5th February
 * The camera does sometimes lie. Ask a female politician - Australian prime minister Julia Gillard cut a pathetic figure crushed against her security man - 29th January
 * Stop expecting immigrants to be superhuman - For too long, there's been a bizarre cultural climate of putting migrants under unfair instant pressure to perform - 22nd January
 * Meat eaters – you are daredevils or dumb. Or both - People who've been informed of the dangers of meat, particularly the cheap processed variety, but who continue to wolf it down should be held accountable - 15th January
 * David Cameron, shame on you, for this 'brave' attack on nurses - He's telling the nurses off for problems (being under-staffed and overworked) for which he and his ministers are responsible - 8th January
 * Downton Abbey's just the opiate of the middle classes - Retro porn is no cure for Britain's class ills - 1st January



Articles: 2011

 * One law for townies and one for country folk - People who hunt should not be immune to the legal system - 18th December
 * Good luck to Caroline Flack. She'll need it - So far as I dimly remember, I wasn't particularly keen on 17-year-old boys even when I was a 17-year-old girl, so this situation is mystifying - 11th December
 * Carole Caplin is worth more than Alastair's apology - Cherie Blair's former adviser has been undeservedly vilified for too long - 4th December
 * Don't believe the propaganda about births at home - Giving birth should be made as risk-free as possible - 27th November
 * Health and safety rules should have a get-out clause - The rules are there to keep us safe. But we also need a team of people who could give permission for them to be waived - 20th November
 * Show some style and fork out for a proper poppy - A paper poppy that constantly needs replacing is so much more beautiful and important than the costly show-off bling ones - 13th November
 * It's all too easy to hate teens – try a little love instead - Educating Essex has made me re-evaluate my views of today's teenagers - 6th November
 * Let's take more care when we talk about rape - There is a danger of trivialising one of the most vile crimes - 30th October
 * Joanna Yeates' last days and an intrusion too far - Real murder cases are increasingly being served up as another form of entertainment - 16th October
 * Trudie, the big issue is that you have six homes - Trudie Styler is to guest-edit the Big Issue. Bad choice - 9th October
 * Stealing a kitten is not the only cruelty here - Who knows what really drove Christine Hemming to act as she did? - 2nd October
 * Kelis reveals the face of casual British racism - The singer's experience of abuse should shame us all - 18th September
 * Save me from these silly school run myths - Other mothers don't sneer at Elle Macpherson at the school gates – they're too busy for that - 4th September
 * Richard Branson – we didn't care about your blaze'' - The British, at long last, are showing a healthy indifference to the ways of the super-rich - 28th August
 * is one big wake-up call to the pampered'' - Most of them have probably had it too easy for too long – for one year only, it did them good to get a scare - 21st August
 * Jane Horrocks, but it's you who's being common'' - This sneering talk of scary chavs at Tesco makes me flinch - 30th July
 * Freud treasured the pleasures of the flesh'' - The late artist should be celebrated not just for his paintings, but for sticking it to the body fascists - 24th July
 * need Charlie Gilmour to keep free speech alive'' - Going on a demonstration is vital to the well-being of democratic protest - 17th July
 * love the lottery. Anyone can win – even oiks'' - Curmudgeons moan about the 'undeserving' suddenly becoming rich if they win the lottery. It's so snobbish - 10th July
 * Dowler: It was cruel and stupid to 'try' her family'' - The use of the murdered schoolgirl's private outpourings was a truly wretched, cynical act - 26th June
 * and good riddance to Little Britain'' - Few should mourn the passing of one of the most unpleasant TV shows ever - 19th June
 * not see red about this whole 'ginger' furore'' - It might be unkind to comment on a child's hair colour, but it isn't a sign of hurtful prejudice - 12th June
 * to protect our kids? Oh, do grow up'' - Parents have the power to stop their children being exposed to overly sexual material - 5th June
 * overseas aid is simply not the British way'' - Just because we are having a hard time, we can't junk our promises to people who have it worse - 22nd May
 * Michael crashing into Snappy Snaps doesn't encourage homophobia'' - George Michael's motoring antics have nothing do with inciting prejudice - 15th May
 * Middleton's not the new Diana. Thank goodness'' - The Duchess of Cambridge made an informed choice and she pursued it – she's going to be fine - 1st May
 * for a moment, I wanted a burkini too'' - Nigella Lawson has been a victim of ludicrous beach protocol - 24th April
 * is to judge which lives are worth living?'' - The able bodied should never dictate the fates of the ill and weak - 17th April
 * you sleep with a man, trust him to take the pill'' - Women should stop infantilising their partners - 10th April
 * not women holding men back, Mr Willetts'' - The minister's belief that middle-class women have done down working-class men is completely ludicrous - 3rd April
 * Boycott's sensitive side… it's so well hidden'' - The former England opener should stick to what he knows about - 27th March
 * shy, sweet Diana? Don't make me laugh'' - Monica Ali's fictional princess desperate to escape the media glare is nothing like the real-life Diana - 20th March
 * choice of song in Glee was a bit off. But that's all'' - The insanitary origins of much of popular culture stretches far beyond wretched Gary Glitter - 13th March
 * only John Galliano's hate rant was a one-off'' - The fashion designer's outburst is just one example of a growing casual antisemitism - 6th March
 * tokenism is what it takes to get on, so be it'' - The move to have more women on FTSE 100 boards should be welcomed - 27th February
 * bad boys makes Charlies of us all'' - When we make Charlie Sheen a role model, both men and women are in trouble - 20th February
 * Beyoncé's on stage, our rock gods should quake'' - After the shameful outcry against Jay-Z headlining Glastonbury, let's hope the dinosaurs give his missus the reception she deserves - 12th February
 * too simplistic to blame mothers for anorexia'' - The suicide of Marie Caro raises troubling questions about anorexia - 23rd January
 * bullying mothers about breast v bottle'' - The Breastfeeding Mafia has to take a step back from their strident absolutism - 16th January
 * many of us treat young white women as trash'' - The case in Derby has revealed some truly unpleasant attitudes to the status of young women - 9th January
 * girls are not all as nice as pie. And your point is?'' - It's claimed we're raising a generation of girls who are manipulative. Nothing new there - 9th January



Articles: 2010

 * sub-porn for ladeez is not my idea of erotica'' - The movie Burlesque is a watered-down, weedy attempt to make stripping acceptable to women - 26th December
 * universities close the door on the working class'' - This is a covert nobbling of poorer students ill-versed in the dark art of "admissions freemasonry" - 19th December
 * say women now earn more than men. Really?'' - New statistics have been hailed as proof that those who fret about gender pay gaps should hang their heads in shame. I don't think so - 12th December
 * the World Cup, boys, not the right to hold it'' - Why did our World Cup bid fail? Because we still can't play the game - 5th December
 * exactly is the benefit of Howard Flight?'' - The Tory politician's remarks about child benefit should cause offence to all right-thinking people - 28th November
 * time to debunk the myth of too posh to push'' - A new report on caesarean births makes some telling points - 21st November
 * a wrinkle in attitudes to women on TV'' - Ageist-sexist is still to be decided by the courts. Until then, stinking rude will have to cover it - 14th November
 * are revolting – and about time too'' - This week's protests about the rise in tuition fees are long overdue - 7th November
 * ghouls don't scare the Brits – people do'' - The only creatures who truly frighten the British public are paedophiles - 31st October 2010
 * Keith Richards a good thing?'' - The Word magazine editor Mark Ellen and Observer columnist Barbara Ellen debate the relevance of Rolling Stone Keith Richards, after the publication of his controversial autobiography - 24th October
 * Caan's mistake was to be at a disaster'' - Don't blame The Dragon's Den star for trying to buy a baby – blame our celebrity-led culture instead - 24th October
 * Max Clifford – those Chilean miners need him'' - Only the PR wizard can help them avoid the pitfalls of sudden fame - 17th October
 * Ed reminds women of every bad ex-boyfriend'' - The new Labour leader has scored an own goal by not putting his name on his son's birth certificate - 3rd October
 * our class, not our colour, that screws us up'' - Lots of children are lazy and look set for poor exam results. The difference is that the kids from wealthier backgrounds are likely to be thrown a lifeline - 26th September
 * have a duty to say meat is still murder'' - We still need tough conversations about the ethics of food production - 19th September
 * Coleen be. She only wants to save her family'' - We would do well to remember that it was Wayne Rooney who sinned, not his wife - 11th September
 * Hague could learn from Robbie Williams'' - The foreign secretary's statement has a misjudgment of the first water - 5th September
 * do hope Kate Middleton has a cunning plan'' - Prince William's girlfriend should get out while the going's good - 29th August
 * doomed if most women want a male boss'' - Women bosses are being trashed by men and, more worryingly, other women - 15th August
 * James Bulger's family, not just his killer, who need help'' - It seems that with James Bulger's family, and other victims, there are still too many instances of them being pushed aside - 25th July
 * deserves better than these snide shots'' - The reaction to The Third Man has been predictable and depressing - 18th July
 * Raoul Moat is dead, perhaps we should all feel a little sick'' - The coverage of the killer's death marked a new development in media coverage - 11th July
 * gay Britain trust the Tories on pink politics?'' - Will the coalition end up with a LGBT record to match Labour's? - 3rd July
 * porn where it belongs – in an online ghetto'' - Plans to set up a porn-only internet domain should be welcomed - 27th June 2010
 * on, Diane, give Miliballs a proper scare'' - Diane Abbott's bid for the Labour leadership shouldn't be treated as if she's a joke wild card - 13th June
 * should stand up against violence in films'' - The female leads in Michael Winterbottom's new movie are allowing themselves to be abused - 6th June
 * David Laws story is nothing to do with sexuality. It's about money'' - The case of the former chief secretary to the Treasury is purely about cash – just like all the rest of the duckhouses and moats - 30th May
 * give generously, but not to Poverty TV'' - Programmes such as How the Other Half Live are a vehicle for the middle classes to show off - 23rd May
 * is a man prepared to wear Marigolds'' - Show me a chap who doesn't do housework – and I'll show you someone who's never grown up - 16th May
 * was once strangely lovable. But not any more'' - The Danny Dyer episode has been linked to a laddish culture that started with Loaded. That's so wrong - 9th May
 * the door, turn off the TV. It's revision time'' - A-levels are looming and I've got my daughter under house arrest. But why does it have to be this way? - 25th April
 * have to be charged for using trafficked women'' - It's crucial to make the distinction between women who willingly work as prostitutes and those who are forced - 4th April 2010
 * are in no position to sneer at anyone, Diane'' - Diane Abbott's patronising attitude towards Esther Rantzen revealed an unpleasant arrogance - 28th March
 * purr over cats while allowing elephants to die'' - The animal-loving British are refusing to support a ban on ivory sales - 21st March
 * may be bogus, but hey... I'm glad it's Mother's Day!'' - Our special time. Our day of maternal glory. Or a cellophane-wrapped ghetto of our own making? - 14th March
 * Joe Glenton went Awol, so did compassion'' - 'Lucky' Lance Corporal Glenton refused to return to Afghanistan and was branded a coward and a malingerer - 7th March
 * intern, get me a coffee and stop whingeing'' - The real scandal of internships is that they are pretty much exclusive to the well off - 28th February
 * baby-bores who hold back other mothers'' - Denise van Outen may be the victim of a Victorian notion of pregnancy. But drama-queen mothers-to-be don't help the cause -21st February
 * British are such a bunch of drama queens'' - The hysteria over swine flu made me sick - 7th February
 * Caulfield would shop at Argos these days'' - JD Salinger's anti-hero has precious little to offer the children of today. It's we parents who need an outlet for our angst - 31st January
 * grim truth about 'them and us' in British life'' - What Britain's struggling areas need is support and a sense that they're a part of society too - 24th January
 * wrong to label young girls as promiscuous'' - Girls today are as vibrant and complicated, vulnerable and strong as they ever were - 17th January
 * loss of Ross will backfire on the BBC'' - The Beeb have forced out a flaws-and-all generational star who will be sorely missed. And for what? - 10th January
 * is dead. Long live sub-celebrity'' - People have had enough of the Ronnie Woods of this world; what they want now are the Ekaterina Ivanovas - 3rd January



Articles: 2009

 * Murphy and the beastly cult of perfection'' - What does it say about our society if even Hollywood starlets don't feel up to much? - 27th December
 * I rage on behalf of the ordinary Joes'' - So what happened? Did Rage Against the Machine rage against music mogul Simon Cowell successfully? - 20th December
 * time we outed the real binge-drinkers'' - One of the most interesting facets of any government move to curb excessive national drinking (this time the House of Commons health select committee's proposed call for a minimum price on alcohol) are the photos that accompany the reports - 13th December
 * not Knox, deserves our thoughts'' - Now that American Amanda 'Foxy Knoxy' Knox has been found guilty of murder, will we finally drag our attention over to Meredith Kercher? - 6th December
 * shameful liaison does not deserve prison'' - Madeleine Martin, the teacher, came across as more pathetic than predatory - 29th November
 * are no laughing matter today'' - Some of today's comics are guilty not so much of being offensive, but of just not being clever, funny or flexible enough to do their jobs without being offensive - 22nd November
 * about time we gave nurses a degree of respect'' - There's nothing wrong with giving our 'angels' some status and power - except in the minds of a retrograde bunch of ex-public schoolboys - 15th November
 * enough slap and tickle, Sir Nicholas'' - Even now, do women need a 'sexist-racist hard-hat' to get through their working day? - 8th November
 * parents lie, whose fault is that, Mr Balls?'' - It's the lack of good schools that's criminal, not the actions of desperate parents - 1st November
 * children off to school as soon as you can'' - Put the school starting age up? We would all be driven mad - 18th October
 * heartbroken father shows us how to protest'' - Father of Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, one of the first to die in Iraq, refused to shake Tony Blair's hand, with the words: 'I am not shaking your hand. You have got blood on it' - 11th October
 * wonder Katie Price won't name her rapist'' - The model is just like other women who fear that they will not be believed - 20th September
 * Capello has turned our Wags to witches'' - Is his ban on Wags a way to blame a bunch of women for the 2006 World Cup defeat? - 13th September
 * are women being done down by rom-coms?'' - Has a new Hollywood law been passed that women must henceforth get a hard time in trendy, left-field rom-coms? - 6th September
 * for goodness sake, Fay, do put a sock in it'' - Fay Weldon's call for women to stop nagging men about picking up their socks is an example of yet another feminist going soft in later life - 30th August
 * of a job, but won't admit it? How ridiculous'' - Isn't it time we stopped arbitrarily lumping everyone together in one amorphous mass as 'the Unemployed'? - 18th August
 * weren't to blame for George Sodini's spree '' - George Sodini cited rejection by women as the reason for his attack on a Pittsburgh gym that left three dead last week. It's becoming a dangerous manifesto for some men - 9th August
 * living at home at 40? Shame on you'' - I didn't reject the thought of staying at home as a teenager; it never occured to me - 26th July
 * picking on someone your own size, Brüno'' - I left Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentary feeling it was unfunny, repetitive, elitist and as comedically provocative as an armpit-farting contest in a sixth-form common room - 19th July
 * calling us curvy and bring back the F-word'' - Women are currently dealing with the annual critique-fest of their bodies - 12th July
 * Rowe may even out-weird Michael'' - Who wants to quibble over a baby dangled out of a window, and a few shrouds thrown over children's heads - 5th July
 * parent knows about the God scam'' - It is almost a cliche, bumping into previously quasi-heathen parents, suddenly taking their child to church - 28th June
 * war zone is no place for princely rivalry'' - The truly brave thing for the princes to do would be to stay away from war zones - 21st June
 * crimes are evil, whether by man or woman'' - What Vanessa George is alleged to have done to children entrusted to her care is horrific - 14th June
 * you're a saddo. Now just go away'' - For legal reasons, the Observer is unable to show you photographs taken of a party held by the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, at the now notorious Villa Certosa in Sardinia. I will now give you a moment to count your blessings - 7th June
 * Lumley's win is a national embarrassment'' - Is a beautiful, popular, charming actress the only hope of getting this morally inert nation going? - 24th May
 * marks for this genes tosh, Mr Woodhead'' - It is disgraceful to brand poorer children as unable, when in many cases they are simply less supported - 17th May
 * who actually won the Great Bra War? No one'' - One has to ask: why did Marks and Spencer bow to demands to remove its perfectly reasonable £2 surcharge on larger bras? - 10th May
 * veggies can learn from meat eaters like Hugh'' - Is it my imagination or is there a distinct whiff of veggie schadenfreude rising out of the swine flu hysteria? - 3rd May
 * parents encourage teen pregnancies'' - Dream on parents, if you think adverts for contraception introduce your children to the idea of sex - 26th April
 * you call Mel Gibson washed up ...'' - Above all (girlfriends!), ditch the corrosive and unnecessary comments about baldness and paunches - 19th April
 * squatting has come in from the cold'' - Most squatters are useless crusties. And I should know. I used to be one - 12th April
 * Jade's gone, let the curtain come down on the show'' - Which was Jade, her fight for life, her cruel leaving of it, not some posthumous circus, featuring bit-part players, willing and unwilling alike - 5th April
 * us earnest icons. Please just give us the glam'' - National Portrait Gallery's gay icons exhibition seems curiously homophobic - 29th March
 * don't need tragedies spiced up for us'' - When did death and misery become an automatic branding exercise? - 22nd March
 * 'rape-lite' myths fill us with dread'' - John Worboys exploited the bond of trust women have with black cab drivers. The glow of an amber light in darkness has been tarnished forever - 15th March
 * when did such fools run amok at Oxford?'' - How did Oxford University manage to morph from 'dreaming spires' to marauding sexist anti-Semitic rough scrumpy in just a few short months? - 8th March
 * woman traduced by a 'close' encounter'' - Rachel Reid's only 'crime' was that she took her job seriously, and is attractive with long hair - 8th February
 * fat boy, it's your turn in the spotlight now'' - Are we ready for the age of the NOM (Newly Objectified Male)? - 1st February
 * here's MY definition of paternity fraud'' - If there is one black and white area left in the gender arena, where men could feel indisputably in the right, perhaps "paternity fraud" - the pretence that a man has fathered your child - is it - 25th January
 * parents are setting the best example'' - Parental guilt swirls around us, all the time, but last week it was as if somebody decided to hold the annual PG street carnival - 18th January
 * - this was an act of weakness, not strength'' - by playing superwoman, by opting for a quasi-macho show of strength, she had undermined the very concept of maternity leave for ordinary women - 11th January
 * a little early to sanctify Steven Gerrard'' - The last time I looked, 'nice; and 'good at scoring goals' had yet to rank as synonyms for 'not guilty' - 4th January



Articles: 2008

 * in my eyes? On my nerves, actually'' - While it's a bit harsh to class the famous as actual vermin, we could certainly do with keeping the numbers down - 28th December 2008
 * teachers deserve better than a caning'' - Teachers run the risk of becoming an educational Aunt Sally, blamed for the ills of society - 21st December 2008
 * win the Christmas card showdown'' - Cameron's official Christmas card photograph of him and his family is really rather lovely, and wholly undeserving of the vitriol that has been slung at it - 14th December 2008
 * Karen Matthews really offended the middle classes'' - The media consistently fail to understand that cruelty, unlike poverty, has nothing to do with class - 7th December 2008
 * Males, your goose is finally cooked'' - Gordon Ramsay's Bedroom Nightmare may prove to be the final (welcome) nail in the coffin of the Alpha Male - 30th November 2008
 * ideas are wearing a bit thin, Germaine'' - Surely feminists would be grateful to accept Cheryl Cole as one of their own - even if she is a bit on the small side - 23rd November 2008
 * declared class war among our teens?'' - Are we incubating the first-ever generation of teenagers who hate, despise, and avoid each other, for no better reason than money? - 16th November 2008
 * pin Labour's hopes on Sarah Brown is absurd'' - 9th November 2008
 * Wossy, you lost the plot long, long ago'' - Are Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand already being repositioned as burning 'comedy martyrs'? - 2nd November 2008
 * Lucas's divorce was too heterosexual'' - There's something bizarre and sad, if understandable, about the apparent desire for 'normality' in homosexual marriage and divorce - 26th October 2008
 * wasn't the 999 service that failed Hannah'' - It was a miracle that Hannah Foster was able to use her phone at all; unforgivable that it wasn't enough to save her - 19th October 2008
 * debt all women owe to Jade and Wendy'' - 12th October 2008
 * off our Christmas, you joyless moaners'' - 5th October 2008
 * case against Fathers 4 Justice is now proven'' - 28th September 2008
 * isn't what keeps men out of nurseries'' - 21st September 2008
 * Oxbridge, where's that welcome mat?'' - Top universities declare that it's 'not their place to help the poor' - 14th September 2008
 * St Elton, you were young once, too'' - One has to ask: who do Elton John and his husband David Furnish think they are, mooching about 'saving' people? It's as if they've become the Jehovah's Witnesses of celebrity sobriety - 7th September 2008
 * get these teenagers out of our hair now'' - 31st August 2008
 * on, admit it. Beijing is boring. Call off 2012'' - 10th August 2008
 * At least when I was skint, Caroline Flint wasn't around to shatter my dreams - 10th February 2008
 * Who is that behind the lens? Oh, it's all of us - 3rd February 2008
 * There's no such place as 'Suicide Town' - However horrible the news was about the Bridgend youth suicides, the scrabble to apportion blame, to effectively play 'whatdunnit' with young people's lives, proved almost as disturbing - 27th January 2008
 * Salute the man who is prepared to take on these precious pop stars - 20th January 2008
 * The Maddie story is already a soap opera, so why the moral panic over a movie? - 13th January 2008



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