QUIRK

09/12/2021

We’re almost at the end of our 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence! Today we are highlighting our last poem of this series from the wonderful Millicent Jarvis-Stott. This poem explores leaving a loved-one, and how the landscape takes on this loss. Head over to our website through the link in bio to read! Happy Thursday, and Quirk love ❤️

07/12/2021

Today we wanted to highlight the book Social Reproduction Theory by Tithi Bhattacharya, which you can find on Pluto Press. The book focuses on the women and carers that have raised the workers of our society, and how they have supported the majority of social labour. It unpacks healthcare, education and family under capitalism, and the intersections of social oppression and economic exploitation. I’m sure they’ll be a discount this Christmas - Look out!
Quirk love ❤️

06/12/2021

As we head into the final week of ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,’ we introduce to you the work of José Esteban Muñoz.

In his ever-so-important study, ‘Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Q***r Futurity,’ Muñoz consolidated himself as a vibrant and hopeful voice in imagining brighter, q***r futures through q***r aesthetics and performance art.

Muñoz actively wrote against the silences in q***r theory surrounding the intersections of ethnicity and class, which can still not be easily resigned to the past, making his work and legacy as important as ever.

We cannot recommend exploring more of Muñoz and the legacy he left behind, enough.

QUIRK love 🧡

05/12/2021

It’s poetry Sunday!! We are really privileged to be uploading part Two of Millicent Jarvis-Stott’s poetry Sunday contributions. These are all still part of the submissions that we received for the 16 Days of Action Against Gender Based Violence. Head over to the website to read the full poem, Raspberry. Please be warned that it mentions blood and alludes to violence.
Quirk Love ❤️‍🔥

03/12/2021

🌟 ITS OUR BIRTHDAY! 🌟
… and we’re giving a present to you! We feel very lucky to have had such a good run, despite the difficult year. We started the website and the Instagram, and began collecting your articles and poetry and artwork. It’s a little Zine, but it’s an important one. Thank you for your engagement !!

RULES:
⭐️tag 3 mates who you think would like Quirk!
⭐️share in your story and tag us for an additional entry!
⭐️ The winner will be announced next Friday 10th December!!!
❌if any fake accounts pop up, please be aware that we are the only people that will message you about your win!

PRIZE:
We wanted to give away a sustainable and eco-gentle prize, so the editors have all chipped in with some (good condition) pre-loved books! There will only be one winner, but we hope they can pass these special books on in time too!
BOOKS:

❤️‍🔥Blooming Flowers by Kasia Boddy (hardback!) - a seasonal history of plants and people!
❤️‍🔥 Border Nation: A Story of Migration by Leah Cowan - an exploration of how borders are violent.
❤️‍🔥Zone One by Colsen Whitehead - a darkly funny dystopian exploration of the concept of post-racialism.
❤️‍🔥 Ice-Candy-Man by Bapsi Sidhwa - a novel about the awful consequences of partition.
❤️‍🔥Carpentaria by Alexis Wright - an epic, depicting the lives of indigenous Australians.
❤️‍🔥Not About Now - . A collection of poetry by the authors from The Writing Squad.
❤️‍🔥De Colores Means All of Us by Elizabeth Martinez - the voice of thirty years of civil rights, women’s liberation, and Latina/o empowerment.

THANK YOU❤️‍🔥
Quirk Love 🌟

02/12/2021

Today, we are featuring some more of Benjamin Southwick’s (.southwick ) wonderful artwork paired with a beautifully intimate piece about the joys of finding himself through q***r self-love and reflection, via the weekly life art series Q***r Life Drawing (***rlifedrawing ). You can find the article and artwork through the link in our bio!

As always,
QUIRK love 💜

01/12/2021

Today, we are lucky enough to feature some of Benjamin Southwick’s (.southwick ) artwork! Head over to the site to take a look, but be aware that some of the artwork depicts blood and interacts with the horror and tragedy of the murder of trans people. Benjamin is a multi-media artist, whose piece ‘We Will Remember’ interacts with a musical composition - you can read the performance notes on our website. Follow the link in bio!
Quirk love ❤️‍🔥

30/11/2021

"When people are starting to treat erotic fantasy like a sexual bible, you know you’ve got a problem. We are still deviating to conformity simply because people are growing up thinking this is the norm."

For the sixth day of the 16 days of action against gender-based violence campaign (in conjunction with ) we have Imo Sneath continuing her dive into the politics of pleasure, by considering the importance of sexual education and its state within our current social environment, concluding our two-part QUIRK special.
As always, QUIRK Love ❤

29/11/2021

I can’t recommend reading Feinberg enough for a nuanced understanding of non-binary identities, and the transgender need to assimilate for survival. During these 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, it’s important to investigate your understanding of gender and oppression. Transgender women particularly sit in the intersection of misogyny and transphobia, and the violence of the state against gender variance is as hostile as ever. On top of the historically important works of Feinberg, I highly recommend .faye’s new book The Transgender Issue.
Over and out -
Celestine. As always,
Quirk love ❤️

28/11/2021

Happy Poetry Sunday! And what a beautiful snowy one it is. We have a beautiful, dark and gentle poem about love and loss by Millicent Jarvis-Stott. Please head to the link in bio to read!

This poetry Sunday is part of our 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. Head over to for resources, or check our highlight for the work that we have already been showcasing. Making room for marginalised art will always be activism.
Remember to email us with poetry submissions for future poetry Sundays @ [email protected].

As always,
Quirk love ❤️‍🔥

28/11/2021

For the third day of our 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence (in conjunction with ) our own gives an introductory run-down of what intersectionality is and why it is very important to consider when thinking about gender-based violence.

Intersectionality is a term that includes various aspects of a person’s identity when considering the discrimination experienced, or privilege available, to the person. An example of that is misogynoir (wherein a black woman faces the nuanced discrimination of racism and sexism), or the caste-based violence that lower-caste women are more susceptible to due to their caste.
Gender-based violence refers to the violence enacted on a person based on their gender. It is not a black and white picture. The victims and perpetrators do not have fixed profiles. Listening, making and sharing spaces are incredibly important and are great starting points when it comes to providing support!

Quirk love ❤️

Cover graphic:

27/11/2021

For day 3 of our 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Quirk’s very own explores the term inter-sectionality and what it means in our first ‘Theory Takeover’. Her work can be found via the link in our bio.

Quirk Love 🤍

26/11/2021

For the second day of our 16 Days of Action Against Gender Based Violence (in conjunction with ) Quirk is publishing Ezra Riahl’s beautiful and poignant poem “Love Letter”, about self-love.
The link is in bio - we hope you enjoy!
Quirk Love 💜

25/11/2021

Today we kick off the 16 days against Gender Based Violence campaign, in conjunction with ! We will be posting relevant Marie risk every day, and to start us off, Imo Sneath assesses the 'po*******hy debate' within feminism, interrogating its uneasy sexual moralism and denial of expansive sexual practices, in what begins a two-part QUIRK special.
As always, Quirk Love ❤️
Graphics:

21/11/2021

Happy poetry Sunday! In light of the 16 Days of Action against Gender-based Violence, starting on 25th November, the wonderful Molly Knox ( ) has written a beautiful poem exploring the complex emotions that surface after sexual assault. Molly’s imagery tumbles and glides through a watery scape of comfort, fear and memory. What better to do on a Sunday than read some poetry! Head over to the Quirk site (link in bio), but be aware of the content warning for allusions to sexual assault and violence.
QUIRK love, as always, and stay warm! ❤️

17/11/2021

Today marks the 29th anniversary since the death of Audre Lorde, the self-described ‘black, le***an, mother, warrior, poet’. A feminist and civil rights activist and writer, her poems, essays and autobiographical works looked forward to a liberated future and interdependency between women.

Lorde looked forward to a time where differences between women became sources of power, instead of sites of fracture, suspicion, and the replication of patriarchal control.

Through her life, Lorde worked against the tenets of white feminism, criticising the movement in its silencing and marginalisation of Black le***an voices.

Her writings are full of rage, relentless and yet bursting with unmitigated hope. Lorde was truly a shining beacon against the racism and homophobia of her age.

Today, on the anniversary of her death, we celebrate her life and work. 🏳️‍🌈♥️

14/11/2021

QUIRK is creating its very first QUIRK zine: a space for collaboration, activism and artistic outpouring to amplify the works of marginalised students across Durham University.

We’re looking for talented student creatives who are interested in showcasing their work in QUIRK zine.

You should not feel restricted by a certain theme or issue that submissions must address. The deadline for all submissions is the Monday 22nd November.

For more information, or to submit your artwork, photography or poetry, please get in touch with us at [email protected] ✨

17/10/2021

This Sunday, we are spotlighting the poetry of Olivia Peake, a first year English student at Grey College, whose poems detail the nurturing and affirming space opened up by uncovering q***r community within the University.

Olivia’s fresh poetic verse stirs with all of the excitement of expansive q***r collectivity, whilst, at other times, deeply expressing the frustrating and stifling weight of heteronormativity and q***r erasure.

To read more of Olivia’s poetry, head over to QUIRK magazine by following the link in our bio. 🔗

06/10/2021

Quirk is back!! And we have big plans this year. It’s a busy busy week, but if you’re thinking about contributing to Durham’s Q***r, Radical and arty Zine, shoot us a DM to be popped on our Regular Contributors chat. If you have artwork/ poetry or political opinion pieces to submit, email us at [email protected].
Quirk love ❤️

21/07/2021

This July, Lil Nas X became the unapologetic ambassador of Hot Boy Summer as he triumphantly spread across NY Times magazine oozing every bit of Black Boy Joy.

At QUIRK, we're kicking off Hot Boy Summer with an article by .olivr upon the revolutionary power of Lil Nas's q***r sexuality and Black masculinity in his music video 'Montero: Call Me By Your Name'. Up on the site, Emily explores the subversive and empowering surge of q***r and BIPOC artists dismantling the heteronormative male ideal set in the music industry, as female and q***r pleasure assertively reclaims its rightful place at center stage.

As q***r artists remain so repeatedly subjected to violence and silenced by conservative narrative, it has really never been more important to embrace and join the revolution with pride. Check out Emily Oliver's article by clicking the link in our bio.

19/07/2021

QUIRK is back, baby! We took a break over the exam period, but our team is now gearing up for a really exciting year! Our editors are , and , and our social media managers are and . We are calling out to our beautiful community for submissions of articles or artwork and poetry, to be sent to [email protected]. Please DM our page to be added to a messenger group chat for regular contributors and prompts this summer, but remember that we want to hear from anyone, anytime. Quirk is a platform for you, and the discussion of intersectional marginalisation and mobilisation.
As always,
QUIRK Love

18/07/2021

21/04/2021

The controversial LGB Alliance was recently granted “charitable” status, highlighting the need to fight for marginalised groups within a larger marginalised umbrella. The exclusion of the TQIA+ is not only transphobic, but also radically neglects a huge portion of the minority group that LGBTQIA+ was supposed to stand for. The “Q” has previously been recognised as “q***r”, but has in recent decades expanded to cover “questioning”. But what does this mean?

Click the link in our bio to read the latest QUIRK article by Emily Oliver, which explores the lesser-probed “Q” in LGBTQIA+ 🏳️‍🌈

27/03/2021

The disappearance of Sarah Everard has triggered a nation-wide campaign to improve the safety of women, with attention being drawn to the chilling statistic that 97% of women have been sexually assaulted or harassed.

Despite this, there is still an audience of opposition who are intent on blaming the victim and rejecting the horrifying statistics on violence towards women.

Click the link in our bio to read Caitlin Evans’s take on the current dialogues, composed in memory of Sarah Everard.

[Artwork by Rosa Montague]