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Invisible Labour, Bodies that Refuse
From a young age, I was taught when and how to speak. While some of this shaped manners and respect, much of it was rooted in gender expectations. Softness was praised; assertiveness, even when justified, was discouraged. I have smiled in rooms to make others feel comfortable. Refusal does not have to be loud or confrontational; it can be subtle and deeply personal.
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Prayer with hair
Nora gives sermon on women’s hair, a controversial and politicised topic for the early Christians, and about the women in Northern Syria who have been fighting to defend the monumental achievements of the women’s revolution in Rojava.
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Bad Apple Aporia
Henry_ discusses the kind of thinking, writing and activism that goes on at Bad Apple collective. Dialectics can be painful. At the same time, ‘dialectic‘ sounds like such a safe word, confined to school, university, academia. Not something we need worry about in ordinary life.
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Bad Apple Twelve
Get ready for… Bad Apple Twelve! Follow our contributors as they knock on neighbours’ doors, close doors to fascists, roam churches with bodies that are prayers, explore religious dating apps and draw from their faith to quietly refuse expectations. Please consider supporting our work by subscribing to our Patreon. We’ll send you a printed copy of each new issue! Any money we make goes towards printing the zine, maintaining our website, and tabling at bookfairs and similar events. Peace and Solidarity! Reham, Henry and Nora
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Deviant Saints 2
In 3rd century Carthage (modern day Tunisia), the noble Perpetua and the enslaved Felicity found kinship in a Roman prison. They had both been sentenced to death in the arena for their refusal to denounce Christ, and had found great comfort in each other despite their distinct class differences.
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Deviant Saints 1
14th century Portuguese princess, Wilgefortis, prayed for deliverance from a forced marriage, which would break her virginal vow of celibacy to God. She miraculously grew a beard, her arranged suitor found this unacceptable and called off the wedding.
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Bad Apple Eleven
We are excited to share Bad Apple Eleven!Explore the complexities of direct action, violence, reproductive justice and radical kinship in stories from Henry_, Nora Ziegler, Anne Cross and Nova Glyn. Learn about deviant saints, Wilgifortis, Felicity and Perpetua in art and words by Vida O’Riordan. Extra special artwork from Leila, Ghazal Tipu, and Henry_ .Please consider supporting our work by subscribing to our Patreon. We’ll send you a printed copy of each new issue!Any money we make goes towards printing the zine, maintaining our website, and tabling at bookfairs and similar events.Peace and Solidarity!Henry, Nora, and Reham x
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Tower of Omegle
Black Sheep The Tower of Babel story always confused me. Far from teaching me how wonderful God is, it just left me concluding that God sounds pretty shitty. I don’t know, maybe I missed something? This is how I remember the story: In Old Testament times, everyone spoke the same language, there was no separation or barrier between nations or cultures – sounds pretty good so far. Given that everyone spoke the same language, collaboration was easy, someone gets the bright idea to build a tower to the heavens. But this angered God because, I don’t know, they’re that insecure?…
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Friend or servant, servant or friend
Henry_ Being a friend and being a servant are the names I have for how I take part in the world. They overlap like patio windows. When the window is wide open, the two panes fully overlap and the view through them is clear. My friend or servant song comes from the discourses in John’s Gospel. The discourses are about love, but also about the practical action of daily life. ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ sings Aretha Franklin or ‘Your own personal Jesus’ sings Depeche Mode, ‘Reach out and touch faith.’ ‘I shall no longer call you servants,…
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Let’s Play!
Reham Bestawi Play is not a luxury. It’s essential for life, something we are entitled to carry throughout every moment of our waking lives.I am aware this is easier said than done, especially considering the deep grief I carry for the destruction of my homeland Sudan, and the violence inflicted on my people, and my white-hot anger for the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. When I experience joy, there’s a heavy weight of guilt that looms over me.‘How can I experience joy while people, my people, suffer?’ I become stifled. Coming from a place of suffering, however, I have found radical…
Interfaith Blasphemy Activist Spirituality
Bad Apple Magazine 