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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Remit/Info: Topical issues, reflections on popular culture and society

Section: Comment

Role: Columnist

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

Website: Guardian.co / Barbara Ellen

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Day published: Sunday

Regularity: Weekly

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Articles: 2011

 * 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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