Lennie Pennie

I recently came across a video promoting the new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book, The Twits. It featured Greg James and Chris Smith discussing how they might go about creating the most “revolting” character. The illustrator asks them if they'd like a glass eye to be included, to which James and Smith respond, “A glass eye! She needs a glass eye. That's it. What a disgusting pair of twits!”. Immediately I was taken aback - first that the video was able to be published, and secondly that at no point during the planning and execution did anyone stop to think about how harmful that messaging could be to people using a prosthetic eye, and how it might contribute to stigma around disability. The literature we give young people is incredibly influential, it can shape their worldview, for better or for worse. When writers use a glass eye as a signifier of something disgusting, what kind of message does this promote to young readers about prosthetic eyes? Children deserve so much more than writing which is at best poorly researched, out of touch, and lazy, and at worst, callous and deliberately stigmatising. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) released a statement about the video, saying, “When there's positive representation of disabilities in children's books, children with disabilities feel seen and heard, and their friends and classmates treat everyone the same. There is nothing at all revolting about prosthetic eyes, we think they're brilliant.” Not having disabled children in mind when discussing disabled characters - or indeed any characters at all - is part of the problem. If you write entirely for the majority, without even considering minoritised communities, you run the risk of stereotyping, and perpetuating harmful stigma, or erasing people altogether. In a society which constantly fans the flames of pointless and harmful culture wars, it is the most marginalised people who get caught in the crossfire. This is evident in the way many people have responded to criticism of the video, with the usual commentary decrying any kind of backlash as “woke”, or too sensitive, as if sensitivity and consideration for other people is something of which we should be ashamed. If it's “woke” to not make disabled kids feel like they're grotesque and that their disability is something to be mocked or shamed, then so be it. If the alternative is encouraging a climate where, as studies continually show, disabled children are twice as likely to feel hopeless or sad every day, and three times more likely to attempt suicide, then we could all stand to be a bit more sensitive. Scope, a charity striving for equality disabled people, released a video discussing the impact of the video and offering constructive advice saying, “Greg and Chris, we know you can do better. The disabled community wants to help you get there.”

As someone with food intolerances, I have quite a strict routine when ordering from restaurants. Regardless of whether it’s sitting in or taking away, I always have to phone beforehand so I can check if they can accommodate me. If not, no worries, plenty more fish (suppers) in the sea.

I recently took part in a BBC Disclosure documentary detailing my experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse and stalking. The documentary featured the stories of seven women, all from different parts of Scotland, as we navigate life after leaving abuse.

If the concept of a public library were proposed today, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be rejected by a great number of people as some kind of socialist utopian pipe dream.

It often seems that with every technological breakthrough humanity makes, there soon exists a way for it to be used to hurt people.

One of my very favourite cliches is: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” You can pick your origin story and exact wording, but the meaning remains consistent: with the right investment and care, we have the ability to lay the groundwork for future generations, so that long after we are gone, they may live a more peaceful, content and enjoyable life than we could.

I was recently asked by a male survivor of sexual assault why I don't write poetry about men who have experienced abuse. I had to sit with this for a while and consider it, as it wasn't something I intentionally omitted to alienate or exclude men. I do write a lot about my experiences as a woman, but it's never been my goal to leave men out of the conversation as I have the utmost respect and compassion for all survivors.

ageing seem as though it’s a moral failing, or something that can't be considered beautiful I was watching a video made by a dermatologist about anti-ageing skincare, under which I saw multiple comments from pre-teens asking if it was too early to start preventative anti-ageing treatments, and how they should go about asking their parents to buy them.

Overly restrictive and complex diets aren’t easily sustainable and studies have shown that people who frequently diet can actually end up gaining more weight in the long term.

After meeting victims of spiking, and shortly after the UK Government announced its plans to treat the crime with the utmost care and attention, the Home Secretary James Cleverly was quoted as having said, "a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night" was "not really illegal, if it's only a little bit".