Charlotte Gill

Feminism’s obsession with equality sells women short

There was much fanfare last week when Holly Willoughby’s apparent ‘huge £200k pay rise’ meant she’d finally be earning the same as her This Morning co-host, Phillip Schofield. The closing of this pay gap was hailed by some as a victory for womankind, but it seemed a travesty to me. After all, why had there been such a mighty imbalance

PETA’s Warhammer ban reveals the hypocrisy of its fake fur policy

There are lots of problems with Warhammer fans. Bad haircuts, terrible dress sense, to name just two. These aren’t even stereotypes; as a little girl I went to the Games Workshop multiple times with my brothers, so have first-hand experience. Still, I feel strangely defensive over Warhammer because it has been the victim of a vicious smear campaign. PETA has launched the

Britain’s spy agencies could do with a woman’s touch

I always knew security agencies were missing a trick with the ladies. Currently, less than four in ten workers in MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are female, which isn’t just embarrassing, but bad for national security; because women have the potential to be great spies.  But things are about to change. Since 2015, intelligence services have been

Christmas carols and the sorry state of British singing

At my local carol concert this week, I couldn’t help but despair at the state of the singing. It was just so dire. And it got me thinking: is the same dreadful crooning taking place at churches and carol concerts up and down the country? Are the tone-deaf spoiling age-old songs elsewhere too? If so, it’s

The animal rights revolution is coming

Some will scoff when I say that we are in the first wave of an animal rights movement which will see our furry friends elevated to a new status in our society. But it’s true. In the last few years, concern for animal welfare has grown. Even the last week has demonstrated this. Take the fury

Forget ‘soft’ feminism. I want my feminism ‘hard’

Can you be a Disney princess and the feminist messiah? I wondered this earlier this week, upon seeing new images released for the new Beauty and the Beast film. It stars She Almighty – Emma Watson – the woman who hates female subjugation, gender stereotypes and all-round sexism, yet will be in a franchise that romanticises

The truth? Most women can’t ‘have it all’

Many of my friends are terrified of having babies. It’s the childbirth process that frightens them. And once upon a time I would laugh at their concerns and say something, like: ‘yeah, but it’s all worth it.’ Because I love babies. But now I’m terrified of them too, for different reasons. I was recently asked to prepare

Bureaucracy is destroying the fabric of London’s nightlife

London’s nightlife is under attack. That became obvious this morning with the news that the popular club Fabric has closed for good. After a series of drug-related deaths at the venue, Islington Borough Council has decided the risk of keeping it open is too great. It’s come as a shock to many that Fabric is finished. Indeed, a petition to

Wedding rings should be kept away from the Olympics

I felt rather sorry for Chinese Olympian He Zi yesterday. Having picked up the silver gong in a women’s diving competition, her boyfriend decided then was the perfect time to propose. Without a thought for Ms Gold and Bronze, he jumped onto the podium and professed his love to his tearful girlfriend. The media claimed Zi was crying

Pokémon Go is a symbol of Generation Y’s worst trait

Pokémon Go makes me wonder about Generation Y, which will surely be remembered as one of the most childish collectives of all time. I am part of this contingent of people born in the 1980s and 1990s – the offspring of the baby boomers – characterised as a digitally-savvy cohort, among other things. We have

The show’s over for the Women’s Equality Party

In the post-Brexit upheaval, the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) has fallen out of sight. Its members once told us ‘WE can, WE will’, but now WEP isn’t doing anything at all. Not since 24 June when leader Sophie Walker offered her most prophetic statements to date. In Newsweek Europe, she wrote that post-Brexit, we would urgently need ‘women

These celebrity lectures about Brexit are the absolute pits

Is there anything worse than celebrities lecturing us on Brexit? Tourists that walk slowly along Oxford Street, you say, or people who don’t get their money ready in a queue. Both reasonable contenders. Still, it’s tough to beat snivelling, sanctimonious stars. And haven’t we had a lot of them as 23 June draws closer. They love

In defence of baby Cyanide

I’ve always been slightly jealous of people with unusual names. It’s the sort of envy that happens when you miss out. Which I did, in 1989 when my parents decided to call me Charlotte. Little did they know it would become the most common name for girls that year. Even in 2016, Charlotte is the