The Quail Pipe (Victorian slang for ‘woman’s tongue’) is an online magazine that aims to give all types of dame a platform to write about things that interest and affect them, or topics that they have specialised knowledge of and think other people should know about. We’ve noticed that many mainstream women’s mags, online and off, seem to give you tips about how to be ‘Woman’ as if she is one idea
l. There is one kind of s*x she should be having, one kind of fashion that she should be wearing and she is only interested in finding a straight, conventionally-attractive, high-earning man. The Quail Pipe wants to celebrate the fact that women are infinitely more diverse than this, and much more interesting. We’re keen to showcase the different things women want out of life (professionally, personally, s*xually, culturally) but also highlight the ways in which society can hinder them. Likewise, as there is no one type of woman, there is no one type of feminist. Some women are put off identifying as feminists because the movement can make it feel like there are set rules to comply with and specific terminology you need to use. Feeling like you need a certificate in women’s studies to engage in feminist discourse is intimidating and silences a lot of voices that could otherwise be speaking up. These voices are untapped potential and that’s a massive shame. We’re interested in articles that express opinions and experiences which will sometimes conflict, perhaps provoke at times, but this is not something we are afraid of. We want to open up a dialogue where contributors will not risk being shot down in a similar vein to the ‘feminist in-fights’ of twitter. If you feel you aren’t being heard or represented, then we want to hear from you. Our contributors will offer a down-to-earth (and often fun!) insight to what it means to be female, opening up in interesting and enlightening articles about private and personal issues and experiences (mental health, body hair, s*xual preferences etc.) that are actually thoroughly Normal and should not be ‘hush hush’ ; whatever the topic is, someone else will doubtlessly be able to relate to it. We’re interested in how certain branches of s*xism can affect men too so we want to hear from male contributors that may feel like they’ve been shut out of these types of discussions before. We also want to showcase submissions of talents and creativity – photography, art, creative writing, film, and even delicious recipes. We’d love to hear from more voices. If you’d like to submit an article, send us a quick pitch to [email protected] and we’ll take it from there.
*While we encourage debate, we will not publish articles which are s*xist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, classist or ableist.
