Society

Is there anything we use in everyday life which was not, at some point on its journey to acceptance, denounced as a menace? Certainly not cars, bicycles, trains and aeroplanes, all of which were accused of various hazards and temptations. To take trains, for example, some confidently predicted that their passengers would suffocate at high speeds – or that they would encourage prostitution or criminality by providing greater opportunities to travel. It should come as no surprise, then, that e-scooters have been treated in much the same way. It is possible to be bowled over by an e-scooter while crossing the road – but that seems somewhat preferable to being

For years the Biff, Chip and Kipper books have been a staple of the primary school child’s literary diet – with sprogs across the country following the magical adventures of the three siblings and their friends. But perhaps no longer. The mop-topped trio has come under fire this week after the children were accused of Islamophobia by readers on social media. The accusations have focused on a page in the book The Blue Eye, which shows the group arriving in a strange town which looks to be in the Middle East, which the character Biff describes as ‘unfriendly’. This has led to accusations that the children were depicting Muslims as

Fringes have in recent years been considered attractive – Bettie Page, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Birkin, Kate Moss – so it is easy to forget the period we have been living through is something of an aberration. For most of history, cutting a fringe has tended to mark a woman out as odd, mad or suspicious. In the 1600s, conservative churches thought a fringe indicated you were on your way to committing a mortal sin. This was true even as late as the 1920s, which is why the fringe was key to the rebellious flapper bob. There are stories of parents suing hairdressers for giving their daughter this haircut in case