I'm very proud of this talk I gave at The Lost Lectures in May 2012 about sexism of erotic book covers. I even managed to squeeze in feminist issues alongside challenging the hypocrisy of the publishing industry - which is nice. Not to mention talk of cock, obviously: we all need more of that.
I am very pleased to announce that Girl with a One Track Mind is now available here as an eBook; you can instantly download it to your Kindle, iPad, or other e-reading device.
To those people unfamiliar with the book, or this blog, I want to warn you not to expect fluffy sex, like Fifty Shades of Grey; it's more about the Bully Wank. And, unlike that fictional trilogy, my book is a memoir based on my real life (as documented in this blog) and all true.
I've been very busy over the last few months and I'm proud to finally announce what I've been working on: Sex Appeal - a fund raising comedy night taking place in January at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, on behalf of the young people's sexual health charity Brook.
Regular readers will know that I'm an ambassador for Brook, and that I am passionate about the wonderful work that they do. So it gives me great pride and joy to be organising this event for them; with the line-up we have, it looks set to be a superb night. (If you want to attend, get your tickets quickly: we launched the event today and they're selling very fast!)
As well as supporting Brook, I also hope that this event will raise awareness about the state of sex education in UK schools and how certain members of the government seem set on undermining the quality and content of this. In addition, we're currently facing a very real threat to women's access to abortion, and I want to draw attention to this and help prevent further attacks on reproductive rights. I have written about this in today's Guardian and I do hope that by bringing these issues to the fore, we can get people mobilised, and ensure that when the battles come - and they surely will - we will be ready to fight the sex-positive corner.
Earlier today, I asked for recommendations of female comedians to follow/go and see live. The lovely people of Twitter did not disappoint; here is (in no particular order, but I have eliminated any non-UK based ones, sorry) the full list of recommendations from almost a hundred people:
Jen Brister Andi Osho Sarah Millican Shappi Khorsandi Helen Arney Joanna Neary Miranda Hart Susan Calman Josie Long Jessica Fostekew Viv Groskop Catie Wilkins Janey Godley Maeve Higgins Hannah Gadsby Lucy Porter Kerry Godliman Sue Perkins Nadia Kamil Gina Yashere Jo Caulfield Andrea Mann Dawn French Jennifer Saunders Jo Brand Helen Keen Kate Smurthwaite Mel Metcalf Bethany Black Vikki Stone Laura Carr Bec Hill Suzi Ruffell Tiffany Stevenson Ava Vidal Holly Walsh Zoe Lyons Rachel Parris Isy Suttie Roisin Connaty Sara Pascoe Emily Watson Howes The Boom Jennies Jessica Ransom Jenny Eclair Jojo Sutherland Pauline Goldsmith Anna Crilly & Katy Wix Kate Lucas Sarah Bennetto Tara Flynn Eleanor Tiernan Celia Pacquola Meryl O’Rourke The Segue Sisters Diane Spencer Sarah Kendall Laura Solon Hannah Warman Grainne Maguire Natalie Haynes Diane Spencer Cara Cummings Harriet Kemsley Samantha Hannah Hayley Crossland Amy Hoggart Sunna Jarman Hannah Warman Lauren Shearing Steph Peart Laura Lexx Nat Luurtsema Diane Morgan Lizzie Roper Miss D Jane Hill Hattie Hayridge
EDIT: I've not had time to add links to Twitter names (where applicable), but will add these to this list when I can.
Know of any omissions? Email Girlwithaonetrackmind AT gmail DOT com and I’ll update the list.
Know everyone on this list? Excellent, spread the word.
Don’t know everyone on this list? Search for a gig, pay your money, show your support.
Not enough of these talented funny women are on our TVs. Let’s fucking change that.
I've often wanted to write a homage to Diamond Geezer's wonderful Single Life posts, but his succinct descriptions of single vs. coupled life are far better than I could ever come up with.
But I've been thinking about this quite a lot recently, and here are some I'd like to share:
Single: You can have sex with whoever you want, whenever you want. Coupled: You have the best, most intimate, sex ever with one special person.
Single: You have the time to enjoy all the activities you want to do. Coupled: You enjoy all the activities you want to do with someone else.
Single: You are free to hang out with your friends. Coupled: You get to hang out with your best friend all the time.
Long-time readers might assume that the first on the list is the area closest to my heart (or other areas...), but actually it's the last; I miss my best mate.