Danielle Pender's guide to the new issue of Riposte

Date
10 November 2016

Female fixers, flings and unlikely rebels: Riposte magazine’s editor Danielle Pender takes It’s Nice That through the new issue (and gives us some great life advice in the process).

Don’t Do It For The Likes

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I can see the benefits but I’m also massively aware of the pitfalls, clichés and the negative impact it has on us. When success is measured on how many likes or followers someone or something has, what happens when things fall outside of that simplistic barometer? Maude Churchill wrote a brilliant piece exploring this and managed to get in a great Super Hans quote: “People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can’t trust people.” Mat Maitland created some beautiful visuals to accompany the piece based on Instagram clichés.

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Riposte: Mat Maitland

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Riposte: Mat Maitland

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Riposte: Mat Maitland

A Common Thread: Fashion and Art

Astrid Andersen, Caitlin Price, Cozette McCreery of Sibling and Nick Wakeman of Studio Nicholson each talked us through the piece of art that has most influenced their work or changed their life. Astrid Andersen saw Gilbert & George’s Existers at the Tate Modern when she was visiting London and it changed her whole approach to her work. “The artists wanted to make these young men look beautiful and strong. My main ambition since seeing the piece has been to create menswear that empowers young men – there’s a direct link to this piece,” she explains.

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Riposte: Gilbert & George Existers

Why Cursing Is The F*cking Best

“Ah you creepy pigeon fuck!” is possibly one of my favourite openings to any of our features and it’s how writer L.A. Ronayne chose to open her ode to swearing. It’s not a gratuitous romp through her top swears, more a celebration of how liberating and cathartic a good sweary outburst can feel. She charts the first expletives back to those clever linguistics – the Romans, and reminds us that: “Expletives let you properly feel and deal with your highest highs and your lowest lows.” Leta Sobierajski shot some ace visuals based on the classic giving the teacher the not-so-subtle finger at school.

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Riposte: Leta Sobierajski

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Riposte: Leta Sobierajski

Repeal: Women Are Not Breeding Machines

This year it’s estimated that 4,000 women will travel to England from Ireland for an abortion – a procedure that is still illegal across Ireland. We spoke to one performance protest group who are making it their mission to push for a change to the law, one pair of knickers at a time. Yann Le Bec illustrated scenes from some of their past demonstrations.

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Riposte: Yann Le Bec

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Riposte: Yann Le Bec

Open your mind to every kind of beauty

Born in Derby in 1886 Constance Spry was an unlikely rebel and innovator. Through floristry she spread her message that it was imagination, not money, that brought beauty to life. She crated unconventional flower arrangements for the time, ran her own business and lived outside the conventional norms in her private life having a relationship with painter Hannah Gluckstein. We commissioned photographer Maisie Cousins to create an homage to her work which features as a ten page visual essay.

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Riposte: Maisie Cousins

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Riposte: Maisie Cousins

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Riposte: Maisie Cousins

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Riposte: Maisie Cousins

Betty Reid Soskin: America’s oldest park ranger

I first heard about Betty Reid Soskin after she’d suffered a break-in at her home, been beaten up and hid in her bathroom with a hot iron for safety. Turns out she’s the toughest, baddest 95-year-old you’re ever likely to come across. A pivotal figure in the civil rights movement she now shares her personal story – and that of her wider community – through her work as America’s oldest park ranger at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. She’s amazing and one of the women I’m super proud to feature in the magazine.

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Riposte: James Wojcik

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Riposte: James Wojcik

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Riposte: James Wojcik

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Riposte: James Wojcik

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Riposte: James Wojcik

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Riposte: James Wojcik

Flings: Why A Fling Isn’t A Bad Thing

Monica Kim Garza’s fleshy and rich work lends itself to celebrating the beauty of being naked with another person so she was the perfect commission for a feature on the why having a fling isn’t a bad thing. Not every relationship has to end in marriage and a massive mortgage to make it meaningful as writer Dolly Alderton writes: “Flings, especially as you get older, are taken as sign of emotional and sexual immaturity but I’ve harvested some of my greatest treasure from flings; even the ones that ended badly.”

Riposte issue #7 is now on pre-order

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Riposte: Monica Kim Garza

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About the Author

Bryony Stone

Bryony joined It's Nice That as Deputy Editor in August 2016, following roles at Mother, Secret Cinema, LAW, Rollacoaster and Wonderland. She later became Acting Editor at It's Nice That, before leaving in late 2018.

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