Empowered or degraded? The truth about Bonnie Blue

Empowered or degraded? The truth about Bonnie Blue

I don't know how to feel about Bonnie Blue. As a woman, a feminist, and a mother to a teenage daughter, my heart breaks every time I read something about the 26-year-old's latest sex stunt – from sleeping with more than 1,000 men in a single day to having her escapades play out in a warts-and-all Channel 4 documentary.

I can't help but feel incredibly conflicted. Advocates – including Bonnie Blue herself and even her own family – say she's an empowered businesswoman, selling sex online on her own terms; that she's in control of her body and what she does with it. Critics – myself included – argue she's playing right into the hands of the patriarchal system she claims to be fighting: one that upholds the exploitative porn industry, and one that sees women as commodities – as nothing more than sexual outposts to be used by men. 

There's so much to unpick – and thankfully, my incredible colleague Zoë Beaty was just the right person to do it. She spoke to Bonnie Blue directly, who told her that the men who queue up to have sex with her aren't "disgusting, vile or weird", but are "normal, nice men". She also claimed to be helping the fight against male loneliness. Zoë wasn't quite so sure – not least when the two began talking about Andrew Tate...

It's a fascinating read – and my must-read for this week. Do dive in to find out what happened (and please write to me to share your thoughts. I'll try to include your comments in next week's newsletter).

Why do men like Clarkson get so upset about women's football?

The Lionesses ROARED! I settled down to watch, transfixed, with the rest of the nation as the England women's team stormed to victory at the Euros on Sunday night. 

Trouble is, they weren't the only ones making a noise... Jeremy Clarkson certainly made his views on women's football known (and die-hard football fan Gemma Abbott, for one, wishes he hadn't). 

It is fascinating to witness how the sight of women in an England strip kicking a ball can still whip up some irrational hostility. Find out why that might be in this stirring piece.

More for Independent Women

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Mea culpa...

Oh, the embarrassment of schadenfreude! Or, at least, the tricky spelling of it. In last week's newsletter, I wrote a big rant about the Coldplay CEO 'kiss cam' scandal – and then made an accidental typo on the word 'schadenfreude' (to describe the feeling of delighting in another's misfortune). How ironic. If you experienced any schadenfreude at my schadenfreude, you're perfectly entitled to it!

Now that the summer holidays are fully in swing, I'm off to Greece for a few days with my children. I can't wait to hear from you when I get back. I'd love us to form even more of a community with this newsletter – and am currently thinking up ways for you all to be involved.

In the meantime, you can email me at victoria.richards@independent.co.uk  (or if you need any advice – though perhaps not on spelling tricky German words – it's dearvix@independent.co.uk).

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This week...

I'm reading

Just a Little Dinner by Cécile Tlili, translated from French by Katherine Gregor. This beautiful Foundry Editions copy came to me courtesy of my lovely friends at The Independent, who gifted me a book subscription when I left my position on the Voices desk in June (I hadn't heard of the Good Book Club, before – but it heralds women, gender non-conforming and queer authors that mainstream publishers tend to ignore). I'm a huge fan already with this gorgeous, evocative, Raymond Carver-esque read. Magnifique!

I'm eating

Spanakopita – and not just because I'm going to Greece! I've been hosting a lot recently, and this 30-minute recipe for spinach and feta pie is an easy, delicious and impressive addition to the table. I like this Jamie Oliver recipe best. Yamas!

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