The new issue of Positive News magazine is out now. Acting editor Daisy Greenwell picks out some of her highlights, including a revolution in hip-hop and projects to tackle male loneliness
When I was a teenager in the ‘90s, we all listened to rap. The window into a world of gangstas and bling seemed like a glamorous respite from double maths with Mr Jones. But it was also a world rife with homophobia and misogyny, where being gay was a crime and women were only good for one thing.
Fast forward 20 years, and the genre has undergone a revolution. Queer hip hop stars have at last smashed their way into the mainstream, and being gay is no longer something to hide. To watch our cover star Cakes da Killa’s new video Svengali, where he vogues lustily with his dancers in an unapologetic celebration of queer black love, almost gives me vertigo.
Progress can be like that; sometimes it happens overnight, but more often it takes place in such slow increments that you don’t even notice it’s happening. Such change may not make the daily headlines, but its tortoise-paced progression is equally worth celebrating. Beyond the noise of the breaking news cycle, slow news is often good news.
Elsewhere in the January–March issue, we’ve interviewed the anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe, who told us that her “sole purpose in life” now is to ensure that no Briton goes to bed hungry at night. As the cost of living crisis sees record numbers of people in the UK experiencing food insecurity each month, she shares her hard-earned insights, gleaned from years as a single mum on benefits, into how to eat well for less.
Meanwhile, comedian Max Dickins investigates the ‘male friendship recession’ – something he became fixated on after getting engaged and realising he had no one to call his best man. He speaks to ‘the godfather of friendship research’ about why men are struggling, looks at some of the projects tackling male loneliness, and shares what he’s learned about how to be a better bro-friend in 2023.
Whatever progress you hope to achieve in the year ahead, be it fast or slow, breaking barriers or building friendships, I hope this new issue helps kickstart your 2023.
