On this page you'll find a small selection of my journalism on different subjects, for just a few of the newspapers and magazines I've written for, in no particular order. Links and PDFs are included where possible. I have hundreds of other cuttings, too, so if you'd like to see more of my writing in any area or for any other publication, please just email me at Olivia@oliviagordon.com
Hot issues:
Salons Boom As Girls Yearn To Grow Up Fast The Observer (news pages), 15 June 2008. Girls as young as six are wanting facials and manicires, and one child-only salon is now open - with dolls and DVDs and well as copies of Vogue. But some parents worry where the trend may be heading. Special report.
Inside The Mind Of The Married Woman Observer Woman, 5 April 2009. What do women really think about wearing the little gold ring? Olivia Gordon asked five wives about sex, power and money.
Smart, Successful, Solvent and Starving Red, January 2011. Report investigating the rise of adult-onset eating disorders.
Baby Beauty Queens. Sunday Telegraph Stella, 19 July 2009. Spray tans, hair extensions, false nails, £1000 dresses - all standard beauty pageant fare, you might think. But on girls of seven? Olivia Gordon has one word for the contestants and mothers in Britain's first American-style child beauty contest: why?
Never Mind the Gap Sunday Telegraph Stella, 29 April 2007. As more and more women take up with much younger men, Olivia Gordon investigates the rise of 'down-dating'.
Where There's A Will, There's A War The Telegraph, 20 August 2008. High property prices and fragmented families have led to a boom in inheritance disputes - but the strife is often less about money than wounded feelings, says Olivia Gordon
Why ARE So Many Wives Telling Their Husbands To Have The Snip? The Daily Mail (Femail), 11 November 2010.
Fab Flab REAL, 3 February 2006. Fed up with being labelled lazy and gluttonous, big women are fighting back. REAL investigates the latest fashion hitting our shores - size acceptance.
Hung, Cut and Branded REAL, 19 August 2005. I investigated the gory body modification scene to find out just why people scar their bodies - and how they cope with the pain. Featuring the story of a human tiger. Warning: some pictures may shock!
Trends:
Addicted to Trash TV Sunday Times Style, 28 December 2008. Can't get enough of those glossy American shows that combine beauty and bitchiness? You're not alone...
What Katie Wore Grazia, 6 July 2009. Just six months in, Whatkatiewore.com has become a cult fashion hit. Here we meet the most stylish woman (and the most romantic man) in the blogosphere.
Boys Not Allowed Sunday Telegraph Stella, 7 February 2010. From alpha-female networkers to a group of thirtysomethings united by a love of cheesy pop, women-only clubs are enjoying a resurgence across Britain. Olivia Gordon meets some members of this new breed of sisterhoods.
Are You Too Close To Your Best Friend? Sunday Times Style, 10 February 2008. Some women have an intensity to their friendship that borders on the bizarre. Olivia Gordon talks to the women who write each other poems, describe each other as twins, talk in code - and even 'marry'.
My Strange Encounter with the World of Tantric Sex The Independent, 20 September 2008. It was a yoga class gone mad...we only survived by making 'get me out of here' faces and talking about our cats.
Case study features:
The Mother Of All Agony Aunts Red, April 2008. Your teenage self may not have believed it but, sometimes, mums really do know best. Four women share the maternal words of wisdom that changed their lives. Four-page feature including an inspiring interview with Sam Roddick.
We're Proof That People Power Works' Red, January 2010. Four groups of women who are tight-knit families, yet none of them are related. The shared interests and concerns of the mummy bloggers, Tamzin Malleson's artists' collective, a group of IVF mothers and Lucy Cavendish's writing group have bonded each collective for life.
Those Were The Days! Prima, July 2010. Remember when holidays involved three generations of the family, one enormous suitcase and a glamorous granny competition? We take a trip down memory lane...Four readers get nostalgic about holidays of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
What Makes These Women So Special? Mothers who Triumph Against the Odds. SHE, March 2007. Olivia Gordon meets three very special mothers. SHE's editor Sian Rees says in her Editor's Letter for the issue: 'Life, for most women, is always slightly manic - with never enough hours in the day, what with the day-to-day job of working and running a family. So I read the article 'What Makes These Women So Special? with silent admiration, because what makes them so amazing is not just the fact that they're loving, busy, working mothers, but that one is deaf, another blind and the third a paraplegic wheelchair user. It takes something as inspiring as that to make you realise how lucky you are...'
Working life:
Live The Freelance Life Computer Arts Projects, November 2010. Successful freelance illustrators, designers and animators from around the world let Olivia Gordon into their home studios, and share their insider tips for cashing in on your creative talents.
Take One Career... Red, September 2009. Turn your career into a whole new one. Taking their roles from Missoni catwalk design to hotel design, musician to manager, eye surgeon to entrepreneur and travel writer to travel booker, these four women did precisely that when they came up with brilliant ways to multiply their skills.
How I Make It Work Sunday Times Style, 31 October 2010. The fabulous workstyle of Sally Bailey, chief executive of clothing retailer White Stuff.
Psychology:
How A People-Pleaser Found Her Voice Red, November 2008. Asking for what you want isn't always easy. But can a book teach you how in just one week? Olivia Gordon takes up the challenge.
Your Moment Is Now Red, July 2010. It's not where you thought you should be but where you are that matters, says Olivia Gordon. Isn't it time we all took a holiday from self-improvement and stopped constantly wanting life to be different? Here's how to bridge the 'satisfaction gap'.
Deja Vu You REAL, 2005. Olivia Gordon tries out past life regression to find out who she was before.
Family:
My Mother, My Roommate The Independent, 10 June 2010. What happens when a 23-year-old woman has to share a tiny room - and even a bed - with her mother? Olivia Gordon hears both sides of the story.
Weddings:
Wedding Identity Theft Conde Nast Brides, July/August 2010. Getting married within months of your friends and furious they're stealing your ideas? Some brides find that imitation can spiral out of control, reports Olivia Gordon. Think a mixture of Bride Wars and Single White Female...
You're Invited - I Think. Cosmo Bride, October/November 2008. In the first months of engagement, sitting down with a piece of A4 and a glittery pen to draw up a wedding guest list is as fun as it is totally vague and impractical...From semi-friends to pesky plus-ones, here's a guide to beating guest-list angst.
Your Day, Your Way Cosmo Bride, June/July 2008. Discovering that having the wedding you want isn't as easy as you hoped? Bride-to-be Olivia Gordon feels your pain.
Health:
Period Piece Sunday Times Style, 5 October 2008. It's healthy, cheap and eco-friendly, so surely it's time we ditched our tampons for the menstrual cup? You first, says Olivia Gordon
The Facelift Diaries Sunday Telegraph Stella, 24 January 2010. Debra and Diane both had facelifts last year. They are not celebrities, nor do they consider themselves vain - but they are among an increasing number of ordinary women choosing to go under the knife. So what prompted them to do so? And what do they make of the results? Olivia Gordon hears four stories.
Meet The Best-Kept Secret Of Women Trying to Conceive The Times Weekend, 4 September 2010. Toni Weschler has helped thousands of women to conceive by taking notice of their bodies. She talks to Olivia Gordon. [Link will only work if you are a Times website subscriber]
Generation Depression Sunday Telegraph Stella, 25 October 2009. A fifth of women in Britain are said to suffer from a mental health disorder, and millions are routinely being prescribed antidepressants. But can they really all be depressed? Or are some of them victims of clever marketing? Olivia Gordon investigates the unhappiness industry.
Living With a Real Size Zero Observer Woman, March 2007. The struggle with anorexia is a long way from the glamour of catwalks, fashion glossies and the latest diet. Two men talk about the women they love for whom 'thin' is a constant state of mind.
Not Wasted, Not High and Not Crazy The Guardian (G2), 27 April 2006. Sarah Jenner has a condition which affects her speech. When she was viciously attacked in her own home, police dismissed her as drunk. She tells Olivia Gordon about life with ataxia.
He Sleeps, You Don't Sunday Times Style, 18 October 2009. All mothers expect interrupted nights after their baby is born. But anxiety and overtiredness can lead to insomnia. How do you break the cycle? Olivia Gordon reports.
Snooze, Don't Lose Sunday Times Style, 3 May 2009. Frazzled and finding it hard to concentrate? You need a power nap, says Olivia Gordon - and the scientists agree.
I have written about 25 consumer health features for the NHS website (see some examples below).
Feed Your Child's Mind http://www.nhs.uk/
Talking To Children http://www.nhs.uk/
Brain Boosts For Over-60s http://www.nhs.uk/
10 Ways Quitting Smoking Will Make Your Life Better http://www.nhs.uk/
It's Tutu Stressful! You Magazine, 10 February 2011. You magazine was given exclusive backstage access to the X-Factor of the ballet world.
The Insider Seven Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph 22 July 2007. The moor the merrier: Olivia Gordon travels to Haworth for a Bronte fest...
Books: Summer Reading CAM (Cambridge Alumni Magazine), summer term 2010. What will you be reading on the beach this summer? Whether serious or frivolous, CAM's alumni and academic panel has a recommendation to delight every bibliophile. Featuring interviews with Katie Derham, John Simpson, Simon Russell-Beale and more...
People:
Supper with the Pope and lunch with Margaret Thatcher Observer Food Monthly, 15 May 2005 - Observer masthead story. Later syndicated to The Australian. Celebrated political commentator Timothy Garton Ash on his most memorable meals.
What's in Your Basket? David Mitchell. Observer Food Monthly, April 2007. The award-winning author reckons his Japanese wife's cooking is the ultimate diet...
Nando Parrado: The Real-Life Lost REAL, 25 November 2005. Interview with the man whose heroism in the Andes inspired the film Alive.
Fashion:
The Ultimate In Bespoke Tailoring: A Dress That Can Be Any Size You Want It Design Council Magazine, Summer 2008. Technology could revolutionise clothing and turn us all into fashion designers. But, asks Olivia Gordon, will fashionistas wear it?
Crime:
'I'm Fighting Hatred In My Beautiful Sophie's Name' Prima, September 2009. After her daughter Sophie, 20, was brutally murdered for being a goth, Sylvia Lancaster launched a campaign to prevent any more families experiencing the same sorrow. (For more info or to donate, go to www.sophielancasterfoundation.com)
The Big Debate: Rape. New Woman, March 2007. Five page campaigning feature raising awareness about the 5% conviction rape for rape and the disturbing lack of public and legal understanding about consent. Reporting on six rape survivors' stories.
Making Saints from Sinners REAL, 23 June 2006. The roots of criminal behaviour often start when children are young. But can Britain's most at risk and socially excluded youngsters be turned away from a life of crime? REAL meets the charities doing just that...
Prey Turn Predator REAL, 26 May 2006. As the UK launches a new online child abuse protection authority, REAL speaks to Shy Keenan, a child abuse survivor who's turning technology against those who abuse it.
Ready for forgiveness? REAL, 17 March 2006. REAL talks to two victims of crime - and an ex-criminal - to ask if confrontation is the cure.
Lifestyle:
In Bed With...Hugh, Jamie and Nigella. Red, December 2008. When it comes to bedroom reading, nothing does it for Olivia Gordon like a good cookery book.
Eight Ways To Preserve Your Recipe Legacy Allaboutyou.com, 7 July 2009. Don't lose those wonderful recipes your grandmother knew by heart. Here's how to keep them forever.
Why I Couldn't Wait To Get My Skates On
The Express, 22 March 2010. What it's like to learn ice-skating.
The Best New Gardening Books Allaboutyou.com, 5 March 2010.
The Traditions That Make Christmas Special Prima, December 2009. This festive time of year is all about families regrouping in the comfort and safety of home, to celebrate customs and share fond m