The F-Word

Following on from the sad news about Helen G, we have collected some memories of Helen from a few of her friends. For us at The F Word, Helen was a core part of the team for many years and although we found her online through her blogging, she became a true friend both online and in real life. We are devastated at her passing. We have heard that Helen’s funeral will be held on Friday 26th April 2024. The funeral will be in person in London but also available to watch online via a secure link.

We have just heard the sad news that one of our own, Helen G (also known as helen_bleep and bird of paradox”), has passed away. Helen was such an important part of the blogging collective that ran the blog from 2008 and was the site’s first rotating editor in 2013-14. She was also our friend and we loved her. We are still processing the news and sharing memories. We will be collating some of our own memories for a longer post in future.

Kenneth Higney is often categorised as an “Outsider” artist, a tag applied to music makers who “write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with formal rules.” In keeping with this, there are moments of genuine hackneyed brilliance on Higney’s Attic Demonstration album: ‘Funky Kinky‘, in particular, is a rollicking good time. Kenneth’s tone may be off but the bassline and disco moog are funky as hell.

The history The F-Word was founded in 2001 by Catherine Redfern as a place for UK feminists to write, think and discuss ideas. Since then, it’s been through a few iterations – most recently existing as a magazine-style website, managed by a group of volunteers sharing the tasks between us. During these 21 years we’ve published and done some amazing things. We’ve been mentioned as one of the 50 most powerful blogs in the world, as well as elsewhere.

I’ll keep this one brief and let the links do the talking. This week, you also get to enjoy a delightful depiction of people avidly consuming internet content on their smartphones in my chosen image: not quite ‘women laughing alone with salad‘ level, but the stock photo vibes are strong in this one. As always, the articles in this round-up haven’t been endorsed by the whole team.

The term ‘orgasm gap’ refers to the woeful disparity between the number of orgasms that cis women and men are having in the sexual encounters they have with each other. Although the true size of the gap is unknown, there is evidence to suggest that, on average, women are having far fewer orgasms than men during sex.

Seven feminist books on sex Featuring a range of books on pleasure, intimacy and identity, Connie and Cleo recommend some thought provoking, feminist reading material to add to your bookshelf Diverse, complex and ever-evolving Elicka Ghahramani interviews Leeds-based sex historian Dr Kate Lister on her latest title, Harlots, Whores & Hackabouts: A History of Sex for Sale Welcome new editors! Four new editors join The F-Word, Lissy steps down as theatre and comedy editor and we say goodbye to...

Relationships and sex education (RSE) has become a hot topic of conversation in the UK in recent years. This is primarily due to the introduction of the Department for Education’s 2019 statutory framework, which schools were required to start implementing by September 2020. Much of the discussion has centred around how we can best approach RSE in schools, however there are also groups who argue that the provision of RSE in and of itself is a problem.

CN: Sexual assault, sexual violence, non-consensual image sharing, digital sexual abuse, non-consensual nudes For many people, thinking about sex – when we might do it, how we might do it, who we might do it with – is a regular part of life. Of course, the way we think about and engage with sex in 2022 is very different from how it was even 20 years ago, because so much of our interaction with others now happens online.

I feel let down by the lack of conversation about bad sex that existed during my teens and early 20s. I pursued sex believing that being sexually active was part of being an empowered and liberated young person, and in the hopes that sex would be the exciting, sensual and passionate experience that popular culture and sex-positive feminism had led me to believe it should be.