Author: Katy Preen
I'm a writer and illustrator from North West England.
Just Admit That You Hate Fat People – Katy Preen – Medium
Just Admit That You Hate Fat People – Katy Preen – Medium Some time ago I wrote about the supposed balance between public health messages and fat acceptance. I say it’s a supposed balance because the two things aren’t actually at odds with each other. But, as happens so often, this argument has reared its…
Of Fish and Bicycles – why we do sometimes need a man in our lives
Of Fish and Bicycles – why we do sometimes need a man in our lives In 1996 Guinness released their iconic “Fish on a Bicycle” advert, playing on the feminist slogan that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle”. Advertising of alcoholic beverages in the UK is complicated, because there are…
Game Review – ‘Kingdom: Classic’
Game Review – ‘Kingdom: Classic’ In this game you play a monarch on a quest to keep their crown safe while exploring a new land and building a settlement. The landscape contains trees, streams, and these weird portals that contain a link to a sinister alien world (you want to avoid these).
The Curse of Eternal Youth – Katy Preen – Medium
The Curse of Eternal Youth – Katy Preen – Medium On my 35th birthday, I was asked for ID when purchasing alcohol at the supermarket. I was seriously impressed in some ways, as it’s evidently plausible that I could look half my age to the cashier. But it also felt like an indignity, and an…
Make-Believe and Make-Do: Britain’s Brexit Fantasy – Katy Preen – Medium
Make-Believe and Make-Do: Britain’s Brexit Fantasy – Katy Preen – Medium Well, we have gotten ourselves into a terrible mess over Brexit. The Conservative Party were refusing to release a series of technical notices on the impact of Brexit this week for fear of scaring the voters.
Motivation: Wanting to Breathe – The Writing Cooperative
Motivation: Wanting to Breathe – The Writing Cooperative Recently I’d had some problems with motivating myself to write and to sort myself out generally: self care, home maintenance, that sort of thing. My life is a bit of a mess, and I want to do something about it, but there’s something holding me back that…
Happily Ever After? – Katy Preen – Medium
Happily Ever After? – Katy Preen – Medium Marriage laws in the UK have been evolving since marriages first started being officiated by the Church, in the 12th Century. The 20th Century in particular brought numerous updates to the statute to make marriage more equal and reflective of society’s expectations and needs. But there are…
Basic Income and Land Value Tax: balancing the books – Katy Preen – Medium
Basic Income and Land Value Tax: balancing the books Following publication of my article Funding UBI with a Tax on Land, I received a number of comments asking that I back up the figures with some calculations. I have now compiled some results, but these pose more questions than were asked in the first place.
Infographic: LVT to UBI
Top Ten Superhumans
Top Ten Superhumans Futurism is powered by Vocal creators. You support Katy Preen by reading, sharing and tipping stories… more In comics and movies, human superpowers are limited by only our imagination. But in real life, there are some talented individuals with skills beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
Top Ten LGBT+ Animals
Top Ten LGBT+ Animals Petlife is powered by Vocal creators. You support Katy Preen by reading, sharing and tipping stories… more Petlife is powered by Vocal. Vocal is a platform that provides storytelling tools and engaged communities for writers, musicians, filmmakers, podcasters, and other creators to get discovered and fund their creativity. How does Vocal…
SpyCops in Lush shops divides public opinion – The Meteor
SpyCops in Lush shops divides public opinion – The Meteor Lush made a bold move with their recent #SpyCops campaign – bold enough to enrage a section of the public who saw the campaign as an attack on the integrity of all police officers. This pressure eventually led to some #Spycops window displays being taken…
Geometry and Vocabulary – No, Cis Isn’t a Slur | Medium
Geometry and Vocabulary – no, “cis” isn’t a slur – Katy Preen – Medium WARNING: in this post I discuss homophobia, transphobia and some weird shit about seagulls. Look away now if you’re ornithophobic - shit, too late! Because I’m no doubt going to get grilled on my credentials, I identify as non-binary, and I usually read…
Too Much Information – why we say “I have a boyfriend” when we don’t | Medium
Too Much Information – why we say “I have a boyfriend” when we don’t There cannot be a woman on the planet that has never claimed to have a boyfriend when trying to escape the clutches of a would-be suitor that we have no interest in. Why do we do this? Because simply saying that…
Does Figuratively Hating Men Contribute to Male Suicide? | Medium
Does figuratively hating men contribute to male suicide? Another day, another man blaming feminists for the higher male suicide rate. I’ve covered this before in my previous article, Male Suicide: MRAs weigh in on #MeToo. It’s understandable and expected (dare we say hopefully so?) that men are going to be distressed by being caught behaving…
Tommy Robinson’s Free Speech Crusade | Medium
Tommy Robinson’s Free Speech Crusade – Katy Preen – Medium Tommy Robinson’s in the news again, and gaining support from keyboard warriors the world over (yes, some US commentators, and probably some from elsewhere, have jumped on the bandwagon and attempted to explain English law and politics to actual English people living in England).
Germaine Greer’s Predictably Awful Comments On Rape | Medium
Germaine Greer’s Predictably Awful Comments On Rape G ermaine Greer is in the news once again, for saying something outrageous (once again). There’s so much wrong with so many of the things she says, but in order to deconstruct all of them, I’d need a book deal and a sizeable advance.
Power Dynamics and Informed Consent | Medium
Power Dynamics and Informed Consent – Katy Preen – Medium In February this year, Monica Lewinsky spoke about her #MeToo moment, regarding her relationship with then-president Bill Clinton. She views the dynamics of that relationship in a different light now, both in terms of how in control she felt of her actions and participation, and…
Happy Days Review: What’s it all mean? What’s it meant to mean? – The Meteor
Happy Days Review: What’s it all mean? What’s it meant to mean? Maxine Peake plays Winnie, a woman in something of a predicament, but determined not to let it get her down. Winnie is buried in the ground up to her waist, yet for her this is all a perfectly normal aspect of every day….
Crossing The Threshold | Psyche.media
Crossing the Threshold It’s not agoraphobia, whatever it is. I have no fear of open spaces, or of crowds. There’s nothing fearful about actually being outside-it’s the process of getting there that I struggle with. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but it’s some form of invisible barrier keeping me indoors, or keeping…
Love Wins Together Manchester | The Swamp.media
Love Wins Together Manchester To so many of our residents, admittedly the fluctuating population of students and professionals that are here for a short stay, it meant little more than a branding exercise. This tragedy took the symbol and recreated the buzz it initially represented. Everyone knows the Manchester Bee now.
Manchester Unites Against The Right | The Prole Star
Manchester Unites Against The Right | The Prole Star The glorious weather we saw on Sunday in Manchester was the perfect backdrop for a good old-fashioned British protest. The Football Lads Alliance held a rally at the Castlefield Bowl, met by a counter-protest against their presence in the city. The FLA claim to be gathering…
Funding UBI With a Tax on Land | Medium
Funding UBI with a tax on land – Katy Preen – Medium One of the most common questions asked about Universal Basic Income (UBI) is “how are we going to fund it?”. Based on the current UK tax structure, it could be paid for through income tax, but it would require an increase in rates…