America: Two Cheers for Marriage Equality
Colin Wilson is celebrating big gains for same-sex marriage in the US – but increased LGBT equality in the context of neo-liberal America is raising issues around race and class. This week has seen a striking victory for American campaigners for LGBT equality. On Monday the Supreme Court decided not to hear appeals from five states […]
Dear Love of Comrades: The politics of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners
The film Pride tells the story of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. It’s an extraordinary and inspiring achievement for a mainstream movie. For almost a year in 1984-5, over 100,000 miners were on all-out strike. The strike was the major political issue of the day, and Thatcher’s final defeat of the miners one of […]
Review: ‘Late Turner’ shows an artist ahead of the tide
A new exhibition at the Tate Modern shows a visionary painter who anticipated much modern art, argues Colin Wilson A few years ago, in a particularly sentimental episode of Doctor Who, the doctor met Van Gogh. There is no evidence of Turner encountering a time lord, but that he travelled to the mid-twentieth century and back […]
How the rulers of Rotherham betrayed their children
The report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham documents appalling abuse. But even more shocking is the failure of councillors, council managers and police to do anything to address a problem they have known about for the last twenty years.
Thrown into another world – experiencing Hiroshima
69 years ago today the US dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. 40,000 people were killed instantly, and many others died soon after. Three days earlier they had also bombed Hiroshima. Colin Wilson remembers meeting a survivor of that bombing. When I visited Hiroshima in 2003 what initially struck me was […]
The Politics of Pride
As the LGBT movement takes to the streets at London Pride today, Colin Wilson reflects on the challenges facing the movement for liberation today. The official guide for Pride London is a remarkably political document. Perhaps, with the Head of Political Broadcasting at Number Ten chairing the Pride committee, that should come as no big surprise. It’s not […]
‘No to Pinkwashing’ at Pride
Members of No to Pinkwashing – No to Israeli Apartheid will be joining the LGBT Pride march in London this Saturday. Colin Wilson explains the background of the campaign. “Pinkwashing” is a cynical Israeli PR strategy, which relies on the claim that Israel has a good record on LGBT issues to divert attention from the […]
Fighting oppression is at the heart of socialism
The fight against oppression needs to be fully integrated into the fight against capitalism and for socialism.
Hypocrisy, homophobia and the neoliberal ruling class
As the Sochi Olympics began, many politicians and multinationals have statements supporting LGBT rights and condemning Russia’s homophobic government, but there are doubts about these new friends of equality.
A note on intersex and transgender issues
Colin Wilson provides a 101 on trans and intersex people’s lives and struggles.
A response to John Molyneux on sexuality
Colin Wilson’s reply to John Molyneux’s views on sexuality and human nature has been published on the ISJ website.
#M2013: Sarah Creagh on raunch culture
Colin Wilson reports on a session at Marxism 2013 on new kinds of sexism.