TikTokkers Are Exposing All The Lazy Ways Men Write Women

If you’re watching a film or TV show and see a young woman dressed all in black with a grungy hairstyle and a resting bitch face, be warned – she’s probably a feminist character written by a man.

Or perhaps there’s an impossibly attractive woman doing some cooking, alone, wearing just an oversized white T-shirt and socks, as she dances around the kitchen, using a whisk as a microphone.

Such is the single dimension of some women characters on screen and in fiction, often written by men. And TikTokkers are exposing the lazy writing.

Female creators on the video-sharing app are acting out all the unrealistic ways women are often characterised: sexy, seductive, clumsy, and whimsical, their looks and tics a cue to their inner soul.

Actor and content creator Caitlin Reilly was among the first to the trend, satirising how a woman in sci-fi films is often depicted: you know, the geeky scientist who probably wears glasses and keeps her hair in a tight ponytail, and is so dedicated to her work, she has no time for love or a social life.

Reilly’s breakout video, which includes such lines as “I’m a woman and a scientist, I can’t be both good at my job and nice”, has been watched more than a million times.

She has also mocked action movies for the way they paint women; helpless, emotional, forgetful. “I forgot the box of things that are very special to me, I have to go back”, and the hysterical mum shouting “please find my daughter,” are lines that have seriously tickled her Instagram followers, too.

Over on TikTok, the trend has blown up in recent days, soundtracked by Portishead, as young women ridicule the way they’re written into fiction in the most mundane scenarios, from having breakfast to going to sleep, from putting on their makeup to taking it off, from reading to dating to chewing gum.

In one clip, a woman experiencing a break-up sits wistfully, wearing just a top – many of these portrayals are trouser-less – as she licks ice cream seductively off a spoon. Ice cream is a big thing in the land of the male gaze, it seems.

In fact, many of these #writtenbymen clips are tagged #malegaze, spreading feminist theory about the problems with women being depicted from a masculine and heterosexual (indeed sexual) perspective to a new generation.

As well as drawing attention to sexism in screenwriting, some of the videos also touch on long-established and fetishising depictions of women of colour, of disabled women, and of trans women, as shown by creator AJClementine.

You’ll see what we mean when you check out others videos tagged into the trend. And while you’re watching them, please remember no woman in history has ever taken off her glasses to realise that she was beautiful all along.

She was “all that” already – without the nerd-to-hottie makeover by a man.

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Prime Day UK: The Best Amazon Deals On Offer In 2021

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The date is probably already marked in your calendars – but for a different reason. June 21 is not only midsummer and potentially the day we get full “unlockdown” in England, but it’s also Amazon Prime Day 2021.

Here’s your need-to-know guide about the day.

What is Amazon Prime Day 2021?

You probably already know this one, but it’s basically a day to save a lot of cash. Amazon has lots of deals across the whole site, from gadgets to homeware – and even booze.

If you were about to make a big purchase, you might want to hold out to see if you can save some money by buying it on Prime Day. Thank us later.

Okay, so when exactly is it this year?

It’s actually two days. Prime Day 2021 starts at 12:01am on Monday June 21 and ends at 11:59pm on Tuesday June 22. The deals will be on the official Amazon page.

Do I have to be an Amazon Prime member?

Well, yes, but there are ways around this, too. You can sign up and pay the yearly subscription fee of £79 (this also means you’ll get access to Amazon Prime TV and super quick delivery, btw). Or it’s £7.99 a month.

Or, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial and still access the sales. Just remember to cancel your membership before the 30 days are up and you won’t get charged a thing.

What else do I need to know?

In the lead-up to Prime Day, Amazon is running a campaign supporting small businesses. From Monday June 7 to Sunday June 20, Amazon will offer a £10 credit to use on Prime Day to members who spend £10 on items sold by UK small businesses, including products from Amazon Handmade and Amazon Launchpad.

To make it easier to support small businesses, Amazon has curated collections to connect shoppers with small businesses at amazon.co.uk/supportsmall. Or, Echo device owners in the UK can say “Alexa, shop small business” to discover products eligible for the spend £10, get £10 promotion.

Another bonus: Prime members will receive an additional £7 promotional credit, if they top up their Amazon account with £50 or more. (Guys, this is basically free money).

What Prime Day deals can we expect?

Well, Amazon says there are going to be more than two million deals. So there’s a lot to get excited about – but also a lot to sift through. Which is where we’re here to help. We’ll update you as soon as we know more, but at the moment, we’re told Prime Day 2021 will feature deals from top brands including LEGO, Bosch, Fitbit and Philips.

Previous years’ bestsellers in the UK included the Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, the Bosch Cordless Drill and Finish Dishwasher Tablets – apparently that’s the stuff people want!

What early Prime deals are on now?

Prime members can start shopping early exclusive offers and deals, including:

  • Amazon Devices: Save up to 50% off popular devices from June 7 – June 22, including Echo, Fire TV and Ring.

  • Amazon Music: Prime members who haven’t yet tried Amazon Music Unlimited can get four months free with unlimited access to more than 70 million songs ad-free and millions of podcast episodes.

  • Audible: Prime members get three months of Audible membership for just 99p this Prime Day. Membership includes an unbeatable selection of new releases, best sellers and Audible Original audiobooks and podcasts.

How do I get the best Prime deals?

Start making your wish-list now, so you can see whether they’re discounted during Amazon Prime Day. The main hub of deals will be on the Amazon Prime Day homepage. Remember: blue means deal – Prime Day deals are colour-coded, so look our for blue badges to save money. You can also get early deals with Alexa – no secret password necessary. Just ask!

There’s also Treasure Truck, where you can discover hand-selected product offers at amazing prices. You can opt-in at amazon.co.uk/treasuretruck or by opening the menu in the Amazon Shopping app and finding ‘Treasure Truck’ under ‘Programmes and Features’. You will receive text notifications whenever there’s something new to share.

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Katie Price’s ‘Track A Troll’ Petition Is Getting Some Kick-Back. Here’s Why

LGBTQ+ people and human rights advocates are concerned a petition launched by Katie Price to end online anonymity may put vulnerable people’s lives at risk.

Price launched the petition alongside Conservative MP Andrew Griffith to call for action to be taken against online trolls, who have abused Price’s 18-year-old son Harvey.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Price wrote: “No troll should retain the right to hide behind their abusive malicious posts. I will not stop until every stone is unturned and all those are exposed and held accountable for their actions. This affects everyone in society including our children, Mother, Brother, Sister, family and friends alike, together we are all united in this petition. #TrackATroll.

As it stands, there are more than 140,000 signatories. Price’s petition asks for it to be made “a legal requirement, when opening a new social media account, to provide a verified form of ID. Where the account belongs to a person under the age of 18, verify the account with the ID of a parent/guardian, to prevent anonymised harmful activity, providing traceability if an offence occurs.”

However, it has prompted communities to speak out about why online anonymity is essential for some people, such as marginalised queer groups, who use platforms like Twitter and Instagram to find solidarity and community.

Since Price launched the campaign on March 10, the hashtag #SaveAnonymity has been widely shared on social media. Many individuals using the hashtag to express their concerns are doing so from anonymous accounts.

One post, which has more than 10,000 retweets, reads: “I’m practically begging you to RT – those under 18 in the UK will have to get their parents to verify their accounts with full ID. This will put so many teens in danger (LGBTQ+ youth, abuse victims, etc.)”

Another reads: “Please tweet the hashtag #SaveAnonymity! A petition is going to UK Parliament that would require everybody on the internet to provide full ID before making an account, and minors would have to use parents’ ID.”

It continued: “If this law gets passed, LGBT kids would be outed, people in dangerous situations lose opportunity to reach out for help anonymously, etc, so please, don’t just tweet the hashtag and nothing else (this would be counted as spam), include other words too.”

One person wrote that they were “ terrified” at the prospect of the proposal getting passed, while another tweeted: “My parents would kick me out for my preferred pronouns. Social media is my escape from homophobic family and school. Please don’t let them take it away from me and many others.”

The Open Rights Group, which promotes human rights online and has 44k followers, is also standing against Price’s campaign. Speaking to HuffPost UK, a spokesperson said: “Attacking anonymity is a short cut to making some LGBTQ people’s lives very difficult, among others.”

In a statement on Twitter, the ORG commented: “We stand with #SaveAnonymity – it is great to see young people stand up for the rights of #LGBTQ people to be anonymous online. This is how rights are defended and won – people standing up for their rights.”

In January, the Open Rights Group responded to the Lords Communications Committee enquiry into freedom of information online, claiming digital regulation is limiting freedom of expression.

Referencing the ongoing debate about online anonymity, the group said: “Psuedonymity is vital for marginalised individuals such as members of the LGBTQ community seeking to explore their identity safely without identifying themselves to everyone they know.”

Other voices expressing concern about Price’s campaign include Rob McDowall, rapporteur for Equality and Human Rights Scotland and chair of Welfare Scotland, who tweeted that he “absolutely could not” support the campaign, which would “put so many in danger especially LGBT+ people who aren’t out.”

McDowall also endorsed another tweet suggesting it should be platforms such as Twitter and Facebook that should be held accountable for any abuse posted.

Cyberbullying has risen under lockdown, according to the Office of National Statistics, whose recent data showed one in five schoolchildren had been at the receiving end of online bullying over the past year.

Price’s campaign to #TrackATroll has garnered backing from charities including Mencap, and charity founder Anna Kennedy OBE, who appointed Harvey one of her charity’s ambassadors.

Clarifying details of the petition on Monday, Katie Price told Victoria Derbyshire: “When we say ID, I could be called Princess Price on something when my name is Katie Price – it’s just a way of contact so you can be contacted. As long as you can be tracked. And if people don’t want to do that then they could be guilty of something.”

In response to the criticism of the campaign, a representative for Katie Price told HuffPost UK: “No one is being outed, or required to provide personal information – a trackable IP address is not asking for private data – only an address to the IP registrar; a registrar of IP address that is held on a data base by a governing body.

“This is yet all to be negotiated. In the instance [that] a complaint is raised, the IP can be tracked to an address and subsequently the source. Katie would not expose anyone other than trolls and those guilty of malicious online content who’s purpose is to directly harm and cause mental upset.”

Responding to Price’s rep, the Open Rights Group spokesperson added: “If [Katie Price’s] plan really is limited to keeping IP records, as her representatives say, then this already exists. The problems here are about enforcement of platform’s rules, of police being unwilling to act.

“We remain worried that calls to remove ‘anonymity’ would be used to justify removing or limiting anonymity and making social media much less safe for LGBT people – and others who wish to remain anonymous or unknown to their work colleagues, social circles of families for instance, from fear of abuse.”

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We Need More Sleep, Less Screen Time. The Pandemic Is Messing With Both

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Love On The Line: The New Rules Of Dating In A Lockdown

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Early Black Friday Deal Of The Day: Apple Airpods Are £30 Off

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Mars Rover Assembly Completed In Stevenage

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Amazon Prime Day 2019: Best Deals On TVs, Vacuum Cleaners And More

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The Least Accurate Fitness Trackers For Distance, According To Which?

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Cyberflashing: Facebook Messenger Will Now Protect Under 18s From Strangers

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