Women's Prize for Fiction ‘greatest honour' as an intersex woman, says winner
The winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction has said the award is 'the greatest honour of my life as a woman' as she reflected on her experience growing up intersex.
Dutch author Yael van der Wouden won the accolade for her debut novel, The Safekeep, and used her winner's speech to champion the trans community, who have 'changed the system' and 'fought for health care'.
The book, which explores repressed desire and the unresolved aftermath of the Holocaust in post-Second World War Netherlands, was described as an 'astonishing debut' by the head of the judges.
The ceremony, held in central London on Thursday, saw the non-fiction prize awarded to physician Dr Rachel Clarke for The Story Of A Heart, which explores the human experience behind organ donation.
In her winner's speech, after thanking the judges, van der Wouden said: 'I was a girl until I turned 13, and then, as I hit puberty, all that was supposed to happen did not quite happen.
'And if it did happen, it happened too much, and all at once my girlhood became an uncertain fact.
'I won't thrill you too much with the specifics, but the long and the short of it is that, hormonally, I'm intersex.
'This little fact defined my life throughout my teens, until I advocated for the health care that I needed.
'The surgery and the hormones that I needed, which not all intersex people need. Not all intersex people feel at odds with their gender presentation.
'I mention the fact that I did, because in the few precious moments here on stage, I am receiving, truly, the greatest honour of my life as a woman, presenting to you as a woman, and accepting this Women's Prize.
'And that is because of every single trans person who's fought for health care, who changed the system, the law, societal standards, themselves. I stand on their shoulders.'
The NHS website says intersex, or differences in sex development (DSD), is a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs that mean a person's sex development is different to most.
In contrast, people who are transgender identify as a gender separate to the sex they were born in and sometimes go through gender-affirming surgery.
Van der Wouden's novel follows Isabel, a young woman whose life in solitude is upended when her brother's girlfriend Eva comes to live in their family house in what turns into a summer of obsession, suspicion and desire.
The chairwoman of the judges for the fiction prize, writer Kit de Waal, said: 'This astonishing debut is a classic in the making, a story to be loved and appreciated for generations to come. Books like this don't come along every day.'
Van der Wouden will receive £30,000 and a limited-edition bronze statuette known as the Bessie, which was created and donated by artist Grizel Niven.
The judging panel for the Women's Prize for Fiction included novelist and journalist Diana Evans, author and journalist Bryony Gordon, writer and magazine editor Deborah Joseph, and musician and composer Amelia Warner.
Clarke said she has 'literally been a feminist since I was too young to know what that word even meant', as she collected her award.
The physician's book recounts two family stories, documenting how medical staff take care of nine-year-old Kiera in her final hours after a car accident, while offering a new life to nine-year-old Max who is suffering from heart failure from a viral infection.
Clarke, who is behind the books Breathtaking and Your Life In My Hands: A Junior Doctor's Story, will receive £30,000 and a limited-edition piece of art known as the Charlotte, both gifted by the Charlotte Aitken Trust.
The judging panel for the non-fiction prize included writer and broadcaster Dr Leah Broad, whose work focuses on women's cultural history, and novelist and critic Elizabeth Buchan.
Previous winners of the fiction prize include Tayari Jones for An American Marriage and Madeline Miller for The Song Of Achilles, while the first non-fiction prize was awarded last year to Naomi Klein for Doppelganger: A Trip Into The Mirror World.
The awards were announced by the Women's Prize Trust, a UK charity that aims to 'create equitable opportunities for women in the world of books and beyond'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
GPs can prescribe weight loss jabs on the NHS from today - but strict eligibility criteria in place
GPs will be able to prescribe weight loss jabs on the NHS from today. About 220,000 people with the "greatest need" are set to receive Mounjaro - with strict criteria for the first year of the rollout. Initially, only those with a body mass index of over 40 who have at least four other health problems linked to obesity will be eligible. Some doctors have raised concerns about the additional workload this new programme will bring, while pharmacists fear it could lead to supply shortages. While an estimated 1.5 million people are now taking weight loss drugs across the UK, they could previously only be accessed through specialist services or private prescriptions. Dr Claire Fuller from NHS England said: "We urgently need to address rising levels of obesity and prioritise support for those who are experiencing severe ill health - and greater access to weight loss drugs will make a significant difference to the lives of those people." She added: "While not everyone will be eligible for weight loss drugs, it's important that anyone who is worried about the impact of their weight on their health discusses the range of NHS support available with their healthcare professional." The chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs welcomed NHS England's decision to pursue a phased rollout, and said current workloads must be factored in to ensure the jabs can be prescribed safely. Professor Kamila Hawthorne went on to say: "While weight loss medications have a lot of potential benefits for patients who are struggling to lose weight and who meet all the clinical criteria for a prescription, they mustn't be seen as a 'silver bullet' to aid weight loss. "We also need to see a focus on prevention, stopping people becoming overweight in the first place so they don't require a medical intervention later." Read more from Sky News:UK and NATO allies to boost defence spending Her remarks were echoed by the National Pharmacy Association's chairman Olivier Picard, who says "prescribing these medications alone misses the point". He argued that they need to be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes lifestyle coaching, exercise and nutritional guidance - but many GPs currently "lack the bandwidth" to provide this support. "As a result, we could end up in a situation where patients are prescribed the medication, lose weight, and then experience rebound weight gain once the course ends - simply because the foundational lifestyle changes weren't addressed," Mr Picard added. Estimates suggest about 29% of the adult population is obese. Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the government "is determined to bring revolutionary modern treatments to everyone who needs them, not just those who can afford to pay".
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Could Ketamine on the NHS help treat severe depression?
Ketamine is increasingly known as a party drug which is linked to serious health problems, even fatalities. But there is growing interest in Scotland in its potential to treat severe depression. One NHS Lothian psychiatrist hopes to set up a clinic by the end of the year offering the Category B drug as an alternative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a treatment that involves sending an electric current through the brain. Prof Andrew McIntosh thinks it could offer another alternative to patients with the most hard-to-treat depression. The move comes after a private clinic in Lanarkshire began offering ketamine assisted therapy to clients with treatment-resistant depression last summer. The Eulas clinic in Hamilton opened under licence from Healthcare Improvement Scotland in September and charges £6,000 for a programme of four intravenous ketamine infusions and a course of psychotherapy. Ketamine is a medical anaesthetic and while it is not licensed for the routine treatment for depression, it can be used 'off-label' by doctors and psychiatrists. Alex, who recently moved to Scotland from the United States, is one of 12 people being treated at the clinic. She has experienced periods of depression and anxiety and says she turned to ketamine assisted therapy when traditional treatments didn't help. "I was crying all day long while I was working, and was very resistant to doing anything new," the 40-year-old said. Ketamine, which is illegal on the streets, has nevertheless been used as a recreational drug for years because of its detached, dream-like effects. "I definitely had a psychedelic experience," Alex said. "You would see images, kind of feel like you're floating sometimes. "If you're reclined, you might feel like you're floating into different spaces for example. Or like you're going down a waterslide." Alex believes the infusions made her more receptive to psychotherapy. "I think it makes it more palatable almost," she says. "You may see an image and you'll remember this image and then you'll talk to your therapist and they'll say: 'That's interesting, why do you think you saw that? What does that represent to you?" Alex had already tried ketamine therapy in the United States before being treated in Scotland and thinks it should be more widely available here. "Before, I was really depressed," she said "Now I feel like I'm doing pretty well. I am active, I am trying new things, traveling again, kind of getting back to the person I felt like I used to be." Sean Gillen, the director of the Eulas clinic, says patients must have a diagnosed condition and be assessed by a psychiatrist to qualify for treatment. He admits the cost of ketamine assisted therapy may be out of reach for many and hopes it will soon be available on the NHS. "You're dealing with psychiatrists, anaesthetists, psychotherapists – these are real professional people and they need to be paid," he said. "Most people don't have that kind of money and that's why we'd like to enter a partnership with the NHS." Ketamine is licensed as an anaesthetic but has hit the headlines for its recreational use. It can cause serious and sometimes permanent damage to the bladder, alongside a range of other complications if misused. It was linked to the death of RuPaul's Drag Race UK star The Vivienne earlier this year. And a coroner found Friends actor Matthew Perry died of the 'acute effects of ketamine' in 2023. Esketamine, a form of ketamine taken as a nasal spray, has been approved for the treatment for moderate to severe treatment-resistant depression in Scotland but intravenous ketamine has not, though it can be prescribed 'off-label'. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has previously urged caution over the use of ketamine therapy but it is due to publish a new report on psychedelics later this year, with updated information on ketamine. Andrew McIntosh, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh and an NHS psychiatrist, hopes to set up a ketamine clinic at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital by the end of the year. It would be offered to patients with the most hard-to-treat depression, as an alternative to ECT. He said: "Even after taking multiple antidepressants and multiple different treatments, there's a small number of people who don't respond very well to any of those treatments, so ketamine gives them additional hope and it's been shown to be effective. "And it's an extra thing we could be doing to help our patients that is not currently available widely in Scotland." Prof McIntosh said it is not clear exactly how ketamine works to treat depression. He said: "Some people think it's because the brain becomes more plastic, more able to adapt. "Some people think it's because it alters the connections between different parts of the brain. "I think it's fair to say we don't fully understand how all the pieces of the jigsaw fit together and why it's effective, although we know it's very effective." He said the ketamine used to treat depression is very different to what people might take illegally. "The ketamine that's given in clinical services is going to be a very pure form of the drug," he said. "It's going to be given under very controlled circumstances, and we are going to know that it's only the drug that's in the preparation, it's not the other things that are sometimes taken by people who use it recreationally. "The dose of the drug that is given for depression is also far, far lower than people use recreationally, so we think the risks of that are much, much lower than they are when it's taken in the community." NHS Lothian said it was considering the use of intravenous ketamine as an alternative to ECT, but no decision had been made. Tracey Gillies, executive medical director at NHS Lothian, said recent international studies suggested that the use of IV ketamine may be a cost-effective alternative to ECT. She said the introduction of any new service had to be carefully considered, with patient safety and cost factors among those to be managed. Dr Anna Ross, a lecturer in health and social policy at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of Scottish Psychedelic Research Group, has carried out research with the Eulas clinic. She is interested in the potential for ketamine to treat depression and addiction problems but believes psilocybin, a Category A drug found in so-called magic mushrooms, could be more effective. She said: "I've been involved in drugs policy and drugs using communities now for about 20 years, and ketamine in and of itself has not been a substance I've known to be a positive substance as such, but it's really come to the fore in the UK because we don't have access to psilocybin. "So therefore clinics like the Eulas clinic and NHS facilities are starting to look at ketamine because it already has a scheduling and it can already be used for psychedelic therapy." A Scottish government spokesman said: "Decisions on whether to prescribe a medicine are a matter for the prescribing clinician based on individual patient need and in consultation with the patient, informed by advice and guidance about the medicine."
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mounjaro weight loss jab: All you need to know
GPs in England will be able to prescribe weight loss jabs for the first time on the NHS on Monday, as the health service begins its mass rollout. Some 220,000 people with the 'greatest need' are expected to receive Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide and made by Lilly, through the NHS over the next three years. Here the PA news agency takes a look at the drug and the rollout. – How does tirzepatide work? Tirzepatide, or Mounjaro, is an antidiabetic drug which lowers blood sugar levels and slows down how quickly food is digested. It makes you feel fuller for longer and therefore less hungry. If the jab is recommended by a healthcare professional, those using it will need to eat a balanced, reduced-calorie diet and to exercise regularly while taking it, according to the NHS website. – Who might be eligible for the drug? In the first year of the programme, the drug will be offered to people with a body mass index (BMI) score of more than 40 who have at least four other health problems linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure; heart disease; and obstructive sleep apnoea. It was previously only accessible to patients through a special weight loss service, to severely obese people who also suffer from a range of other health problems. Estimates suggest around 1.5 million people in the UK are already taking weight loss drugs, which may have been prescribed through specialist weight loss services or via private prescription. – How would it be administered? The drug is usually delivered through a self-administered weekly injection which a doctor or nurse will show patients how to use, the NHS website says. – Who cannot take tirzepatide? Mounjaro is not recommended for those who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, breastfeeding or have certain health conditions, according to the NHS. For those taking the contraceptive pill and using tirzepatide, the NHS recommends using an additional method of contraception, such as a condom, for the first four weeks of treatment and for four weeks after each dose increase as the contraceptive pill may not be absorbed by the body during this time. – What are the potential side effects? Potential side effects of tirzepatide include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
