Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Author: Holly Feeny

Please, Just Use a Condom
Lifestyle

Please, Just Use a Condom

Fertility app Natural Cycles is described on its website as “an effective, natural method of contraception.” It is essentially a smartphone app, for which users pay £5.99 monthly or £39.99 annually to access, along with their own oral basal thermometer. The user takes their temperature every morning and inputs the reading into the app. Along with information about the individual’s menstrual cycle, it decrees whether that day is ‘green’ (i.e. you are presumed not to be fertile, and are safe to have unprotected sex) or ‘red’ (i.e. you are presumed to be fertile, and should either abstain from sex or use additional protection). It is marketed both to help those who want to get pregnant soon, and those who wish to prevent pregnancy. The main issue with this app’s method is its reliance on tem...
How to Find Love: The Love Island Method
Lifestyle

How to Find Love: The Love Island Method

While I’m sure we all wish we could jet off to Majorca for 8 weeks, with a bunch of hot people and free food, the Love Island experience isn’t quite what most of us get when searching for romance. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t take some valuable lessons from the show and its lovely contestants in our own quests for love. Here’s how you can use the Love Island method to bag the guy/gal/person of your dreams. (Note: Author is not responsible for any negative consequences of this brilliant and completely serious advice.) Your Type on Paper: If you watched Series three of the show, then you remember that they said this literally every five minutes. It was annoying, but now we can take some constructive advice from it. Of course, it’s important that you feel a physical attraction to so...
Get the scoop on RHUL Pole Fitness Society.
Sports & Socs

Get the scoop on RHUL Pole Fitness Society.

How long has your society been running? We’ve been going for two and a half years now! What are you most excited for in your society this year? For sure it’s introducing new people to the sport! We’ll also be having a lot more performance opportunities, we’re in ANATT for the first time and will be having two showcases! Is your society suitable for beginners? Of course! Anyone can try pole or hoop! There’s a misconception that it’s too hard or too much arm work, but that couldn’t be more wrong. You’ll get stronger from doing it, but you’ll be fine no matter your size or strength. There's a bit of controversy around this topic: do you consider pole fitness a feminist activity? Yes, in the way that it involves completely changing other people’s opinions about what pole i...
Hugh Hefner: Feminist or Chauvinist?
Opinion

Hugh Hefner: Feminist or Chauvinist?

Since his recent death, Hugh Hefner has been labeled a feminist. Throughout his career, he often talked about wanting to rid society of prudish attitudes towards sex, and how this benefitted women. Through his work, he claimed to be striving for sexual liberation, and through Playboy, advocated for increased birth control accessibility and the legalisation of abortions in the US. Therefore, many have described him as a feminist ally, suggesting that he did extremely beneficial work for women’s rights. However, whilst sex positivity and feminism are both great, Hugh Hefner did nothing to benefit either of them. His work building a pornographic empire was, in fact, intrinsically damaging, as the industry is renowned for its exploitation of women for male gain. Through Playboy, many hav...