Joshua Mackle

"We're worth more than a footnote in your fairytale."

"A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it." - Roald Dahl I can say this with absolute certainty: we've all been there.…

Make no mistake about it: we have come a long way as a society. In the UK, it is now legal for homosexuals to marry. We are hired on the basis of professionalism and are not judged by who we decide to sleep with. It is illegal to dismiss…

Fashion is, undoubtedly, one of the key parts of my life and personality. I see it as armour against a world, a canvas that you can paint endlessly upon, and a window to who and what you represent. I understand that it's not like that for…

It's been over a year since I wrote my first article on polyamory for Cultured Vultures. Of course, I wasn't the first in popular culture to talk about it: Buzzfeed had done a rather insightful video at the end of the previous year – even…

The red poppy, or the remembrance poppy, has been used since 1921 to commemorate soldiers who died during the war. Today, it is a prominent symbol in the UK, being worn up to and on Remembrance Day on November 11th as a sign of respect to…

I was having lunch with a close friend recently, having a catch up with him about his daily life and what he'd been up to. He'd been out for a birthday night out with a few friends of his and ran into someone that he'd had relations with in…

Whether we'll actually admit it or not, we all want a better body. The gym culture is a huge part of our generation; I'm sure every person reading this has at least one 'gym bunny' on their Facebook, or there may even be a few people…

It's 2015. I see society as pretty progressive when it comes to recognising that not everyone is the same, by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not even talking about something as simple as gender or sexuality here, or what our favourites…

On a lot of men, baldness is sexy. If you're trying to tell me that you'd kick Jason Statham out of bed for eating biscuits, you're not someone that I will be adding to my Christmas party list. An overreaction? According to you, perhaps.…

If I asked people to answer me honestly to the question: 'Do you think you stereotype people?' I'd probably guess that at least half of the people would lie and say 'no'. I know I would. No one likes to think of themselves as judgemental,…

Gay. Straight. Bisexual. Asexual. Pansexual. Trisexual. We're obsessed with labels. There's no other way to say it. But outside the world of the Internet and Tumblr – and believe me, unless you're a regular Tumblr visitor you have no idea,…

Homosexuality has undoubtedly come a long way as far as acceptance is concerned. It is illegal for gay people to be discriminated against in the workplace under the Equality Act 2010. In the UK, the armed forces have allowed gays and…

In January of this year, 57 year-old writer and comedian Stephen Fry married his partner Elliot Spencer, aged 27. There were many messages of support, love and adoration pouring in from all sides, but also a lot of negativity. People…

In the news recently, Kevin Hart has come under fire from the LGBT community. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Hart re-visited an old joke from his Seriously Funny tour in 2010, where he told audiences about his fears of…

Being gay in the entertainment industry isn't seen as a career killer in the world the live in today. Stars like Olly Alexander from Years & Years, Neil Milan from Clean Bandit, Jessie J, Adam Lambert, Sia, and the biggest star of last…

"Don't tell me our youth is running out...it's only just begun" – Foxes, Youth When you're in your late teens or your 20's, old age is the last thing on your mind. At best, it's something to laugh at and make jokes about. At worst, it's…

Growing up gay isn't the easiest thing to do. In society, our natural instinct is to react negatively against something that goes against the norm, and liking someone of the same sex is definitely that. Adolescence is the point in our lives…

Everyone loves a good old fashioned 'feel-good' news story. Someone defeats cancer? Incredible. A dog dials 999 when he sees his owner having a heart attack? Sensational. A woman who can't have children gets a baby dropped into her arms by…

If you're of a certain age – I'd say from about 28 onwards – you'll probably have seen a certain film about a stripper who hitch-hiked her way to Vegas and ended up being the lead showgirl at a topless dance show. And if you haven't, stop…