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Sexism laid bare by the stark differences in World Cup treatment 🤬

What's been said?
This World Cup, the Lionesses have been repeatedly called inspirational. Prince William published a video message to the team alongside his daughter, apologising for not being there and encouraging them to "really enjoy yourselves" in the final. Rishi Sunak, who didn't attend the game either, said in his letter to the team: "For my daughters, and for every girl in this country, you have made football something for them.” Why did they not attend? And why the focus on their children?

The fact that both of their daughters were so present in their messages of support, whilst well-intentioned, reads highly condescending. It's a feeling I've felt acutely throughout the coverage but struggled to verbalise. Yes, the players are an inspiration to girls, but they're so much more than that. No one ever talks about this in the men's game, or tells them to go and "enjoy themselves." And if you're going to include your daughter in the message, why not your sons as well? It's as if the only reason you would ever care about female sport is because you have female relatives. It's a pat on the head for trying to do what the men do - well done, very inspirational and all that. 

But if you actually bother to watch the games, there is none of this delicate, 'let's go and have fun" energy to it. The Lionesses have put on ferocious performances throughout the tournament. Mary Earps, a personal favourite of mine, presents such fierce determination - after saving a penalty, her outburst of  “f**k off!" was sensational. Alex Greenwood took a knee to the face, was quickly bandaged up to cover the blood, and got straight back on the pitch. A far cry from the niceties deigned by some of the men about the women's team. Gareth Southgate provides some respite in his video message. No sign of a token female relative or talking down to the women: “There is no advice,” he said, “because you’ve done more than us already.” 🫶 

Have you heard of the "bulls**t jobs" theory? 👀

In the US, a recent study found that 19% of workers thought their jobs were useless. Anthropologist David Graeber introduced the concept of "bulls**t jobs": jobs that are effectively meaningless and serve no purpose to society. In the study, jobs perceived as useless ranged from education to admin to transportation.

So what?
While the study appears to prove the "bulls**t jobs" theory, it only measures whether people think their job is useless, rather than whether they actually are. So what do we take from this? Though you might not be saving the planet, it doesn't mean your job has no meaning. And so what if it doesn't have a higher purpose? For some people, work is something you have to do to support a meaningful life outside of work, and that's okay too.

Calls for UK to pay 💰 reparations strengthen

What's the latest?
Judge Patrick Robinson, who sits on the international court of justice, has said the UK cannot continue to avoid paying reparations for their involvement in transatlantic slavery. “They cannot continue to ignore the greatest atrocity," he said, "it is required by history and it is required by law.” The Brattle Report has recently found that the UK owes £14 trillion in reparations. 

Will the UK finally own up?
This year, The Guardian and the Church of England apologised for their links to slavery and pledged millions of pounds in reparation initiatives. However, PM Rishi Sunak earlier this year rejected calls for reparations.