Consent, Top Fuel drag racing, Grey hair

Oct 8, 2026

Guest

Kate Spicer

Guest

Journalist and writer Kate Spicer explores ageing, beauty standards and women reclaiming grey hair. Feminist leader Juliana Glass shares how leaving fundamentalist Christianity led her to philosophy, poetry and autonomy. Drag racer Suzanne Callin reveals the thrills of 300mph competition. Campaigners Faustine Petron and Ellie Softley discuss coercive control, consent education, pornography, emotional literacy and challenging rape culture.

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ADVICE

Teach Consent Through Emotional Literacy

Teach children emotional literacy early so they can identify feelings, regulate distress, and communicate boundaries.
Ellie Softley uses an ice-cream exercise to show that consent depends on knowing the specific details.

INSIGHT

Pornography Distorts Consent Scripts

Pornography often supplies young people with a sexual script in which men lead, women remain silent, and consent disappears.
A verbal yes at the beginning does not guarantee agreement with how an encounter later develops.

ADVICE

Make Consent An Ongoing Conversation

Start conversations about sex and consent early, presenting communication as the foundation of pleasurable sex rather than an awkward warning.
Teach that consent remains specific, mutual, ongoing, and requires both people to check in.

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To mark our 80th anniversary, Woman's Hour commissioned a survey of 2,000 women across the UK to explore how women feel about using their voice in different areas of their lives, from the most public to the most private spaces. One of the questions we asked was: How many times, if any, have you felt unable to say no in a sexual encounter? More than one in three women surveyed said this had happened to them, and over a quarter said it had happened more than once. The figures were even higher among younger women. Anita Rani is joined by Faustine Petron, who founded the Make It Mandatory campaign five years ago and has been campaigning for the government to extend Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) to all 16 to 18-year-olds; Ellie Softley, a founding member of the charity Everyone's Invited, she created the organisation's education programme and has discussed consent with young people in schools across the UK; and Dr Paula Hall, founder of Pivotal Recovery and a psychotherapist with more than 30 years' experience specialising in porn addiction.

At the peak of her fame, Julianna Glasse had a successful career as a Christian pop singer, a high-profile marriage and a respected place within the evangelical community in which she was raised. She even sang at President Trump's first National Prayer Breakfast. Then she started reading certain books that opened her eyes and changed the course of her life. She left her church, her marriage and eventually became CEO of This Is What Happens When Women Read, a global movement supporting four million women in 67 countries as they seek greater autonomy. She joins Anita to discuss the movement and her memoir of the same name.

There aren't many sports in which men and women compete directly against each other, but drag racing is one of them. In Europe, women aren't just competing in the world's fastest motorsport, they're dominating it. Top Fuel drag racing sees two vehicles race from a standing start over 1,000 feet, reaching speeds of up to 300mph in just three to four seconds. Sweden's Susanne Callin is a two-time European Top Fuel Champion and joins Anita. Susanne's story is available to watch on BBC iPlayer by searching Global Women, or on the BBC World Service YouTube channel.

Olivia Colman has joined the growing ranks of women embracing grey hair and ditching the dye. Freelance journalist Kate Spicer discusses the appeal.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor