About Us
Rattlecap: n. An unsteady, volatile person; a madcap: generally said of a girl.
The Rattlecap was born in 2018 by a group of University of Edinburgh students who wanted to create a space where activism and radical thought were central and accessible. Our monthly editions, centered around a chosen theme, bring together creative writing, politics, history, education, art, and advocacy.
We value voices that are underrepresented in today’s narratives; voices that show a perspective that examines, challenges, and radically reimagines the society that we live in. We hope that The Rattlecap can become an intersectional forum for discussion and change, and a thought-provoking, kind, and empowering space.
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Our Manifesto:
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In an effort to keep The Rattlecap as a catalyst for discussions that resist the
resurgence of the far right, we have laid down the basic values which reflect our
origins and our future ambitions:
1. We stand steadily against marginalisation, oppression, and colonisation in all
of its forms, past and present.
1.1 We recognise the rights of indigenous peoples to land and natural
resources.
1.2 We resist Zionist ideologies and unwaveringly ally with the Palestinian
struggle for homeland and the efforts of all colonised peoples.
2. We reject all and any feudalistic archaic ideas and power structures derived
from cruelty and domination, including but not limited to:
2.1 The monarchy, the police, our conservative government, the prison
industrial complex and all systems surrounding.
2.2 White supremacy and its poisonous lasting effects on racialised bodies
which only upholds systems of orientalism and imperialism.
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3. We staunchly reject attempts to strip away the right to bodily autonomy in all
its forms and the merciless reduction of the human body to capital profit:
3.1 We condemn the British Government’s militarised attack on transgender
liberation and the safety of transgender and Queer individuals in a
supposedly democratic state.
3.2 We fight for the right to abortion, the right to gender-affirming care,
3.3 We stand against the calculated ableist attacks on disabled bodies.
4. We stand against the ravaging and detrimental impacts of capitalism, which is
attacking our planet and its people, as it prioritises corporate triumph over the
human development.
5. We encourage and excitedly await the introduction of new ideas, criticism to
current ideologies, and lively debates with a diversity of opinions as we look to
create a space that provides an outlet for how to navigate our current political
landscape.
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Anyone can write, edit, and illustrate for us - just get in touch!
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Meet the team:
Editors-in-Chief Fatima Bouzidi and Isabela Caramico
Current Affairs Editors Eleanor Doyle and Tasha Stewart
Arts & Culture Editors Elli Erfird and Erin Cullinan
History, Philosophy & Education Editors Robbie Grieve and Marly Harper-Lalor
Creative Writing Editors Emily Tennant and Kaja Kubickova
Illustration Coordinator Berry Murray
Social Media Coordinator Megan Howes
Secretary Emma Brennan
Treasurer Orane Bloch
Social Secretary Susannah Lee
Senior Writer Jessie Irvin Rose
Senior Illustrator Yury Aleksanyan
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therattlecapmagazine@gmail.com
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