Burchill Quotes & Sayings

The money I pay for my cultural experiences came willingly from my own pocket - they were not the result of bread being removed from the mouths of the poor so that Miss Thing here could mince off to the circus smelling of roses. — Julie Burchill

partner ACC Colin Carswell based at police HQ Sir David Strathern chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police Jean Burchill Rebus's current partner, museum curator — Ian Rankin

Punk was over in two years. That was the only damn good thing about it. — Julie Burchill

I wouldn't know how to fool a man any more. My deceiving days seem so long ago. — Julie Burchill

A therapist might suggest my generosity is a way of buying affection. But buying people's love has never been an issue for me. Generally speaking, I don't want their love. — Julie Burchill

People - and I include myself - get fat because they choose pleasure over self-denial. — Julie Burchill

Presley sounded like Jayne Mansfield looked - blowsy and loud and low. — Julie Burchill

It seems that one moment I was this little kid only caring about animals and flowers and stuff, and then the next minute I was this raging stew of hormones. I don't know if you've ever been a raging stew of anything, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it. — Julie Burchill

Being a monarchist, and fawning over those 'above' you, you must naturally despise those 'below' or on the same socioeconomic level as yourself, because that is how hierarchy worship works. — Julie Burchill

I am firmly of the opinion that women who make a lot of effort to hang onto their looks in middle age (unless they are beauties, entertainers or prostitutes) are rather sad, as one should surely have something more substantial to recommend one by this time, such as kindness or cleverness. — Julie Burchill

Writing is more than anything a compulsion, like some people wash their hands thirty times a day for fear of awful consequences if they do not. It pays a whole lot better than this type of compulsion, but it is no more heroic. — Julie Burchill

Monarchists frequently declare that without the royal family, Britain would be 'nothing.' What a woeful lack of love for one's country such statements express. — Julie Burchill

I know that Brighton is famously a mixture of the seedy and the elegant, but in the summer of 2001 seediness swamped elegance hands down. — Julie Burchill

My favourite spectator sport is watching people who should know better searching for something (and often claiming to find it) where it never could be. Women claiming to find feminism in Islam is a good one. — Julie Burchill

Now the whole dizzying and delirious range of sexual possibilities has been boiled down to that one big, boring, bulimic word. RELATIONSHIP. — Julie Burchill

Make no mistake, most women are well aware that they've never had it so good; when they enter a spa or salon, it is purely a hair/nails thing, a prelude to an evening of guilt-free fun. — Julie Burchill

I've always thought of beauty therapy, 'alternative' treatments and the like as the female equivalent of brothels - for essentially self-deceiving people who feel a bit hollow and have to pay to be touched. — Julie Burchill

Rachel Cusk's books are like pop-up volumes for grown-ups, the prose springing out of the page to bop you neatly between the eyes with its insights. — Julie Burchill

We sat there smiling at each other, shimmied to a standstill, thinking about all the boys that had wanted us that day, and how none of them had got us, not for a minute; how we'd let them pay for drinks and candyfloss and then run away laughing, their cries of 'Slags!' and 'Bitches' ringing in our ears like respect rather than derision. — Julie Burchill

Lots of women love to accuse men of being immature when the fellow in question displays a reluctance to 'commit.' — Julie Burchill

Prostitution is the supreme triumph of capitalism. When the sex war is won prostitutes should be shot as collaborators for their terrible betrayal of all women, for the moral tarring and feathering they give indigenous women who have had the bad luck to live in what they make their humping ground. — Julie Burchill

When I moved to Brighton from London in 1995, I was struck by what I thought of as its townliness. A town, it seemed to me, was that perfect place to live, neither city nor country, both of which like to think they are light years apart but actually have a great deal in common. — Julie Burchill

Most women are wise to the fact that lots of men love a cat-fight, and thus go out of their way not to give them one. — Julie Burchill

The pictures from the first professional photo session that the young David
Beckham submitted himself to are extraordinary. He has a barely suppressed
smile, as though he and the cameraman are complicit in the understanding
that this is not yet David Beckham we see and that there is an element of
deceit in selling the photographs as such — Julie Burchill

When I started at the 'Guardian,' though, I couldn't think of anything we saw eye to eye on, except feminism, and even this would soon be arguable as 'Guardian' writers queued up to drool over Eminem. — Julie Burchill

Amsterdam has more than 150 canals and 1,250 bridges, but it never seems crowded, nor bent and bitter from fleecing the tourist. — Julie Burchill

Is the raggle-taggle Brangelina tribe any more bogus than that of the landlocked yummy mummy who believes that she can drop half a dozen brats and still keep a modest carbon footprint? I don't think so. — Julie Burchill

As a kid, I grew to define what I didn't want my life to be like by sitting behind moaning women on the bus, hearing them bang on about their aches and pains, both real and imagined. — Julie Burchill

In Barcelona, things seem so different. For example, I know that it's traditionally the least Spanish city, but you'd never know they had a monarchy, coming here as a tourist - as opposed to the U.K., where the Queen is probably the best-known animal, vegetable and/or mineral going when it comes to overseas visitors. — Julie Burchill

What men don't want, in fact what anyone who's any sort of thrill-seeking, intelligent adult doesn't want, is some crushing bore describing their emotions in real time every waking hour. — Julie Burchill

Nicole Kidman in particular seems to bring out the butt-kisser in the sassiest of hackettes, as they ceaselessly strive to portray her as some sort of cross between Mother Teresa and Marilyn Monroe. — Julie Burchill

When a man wants to relax, he will slob out and really relax. Or he will pursue a hobby - anything from building models to watching sport. — Julie Burchill

As a militant troublemaker, I once wrote that it was the duty of every woman worthy of the description to upset men at least three times a day, on principle. — Julie Burchill

The secret is not to care what anyone thinks of you. — Julie Burchill

Graham Greene famously said that all writers need a chip of ice in their heart; Cusk can come across as the most beautiful ice palace of stalactites and stalagmites, and some people find her company, albeit by proxy, about as inviting as a long weekend in a walk-in frigidaire. — Julie Burchill

Whenever I am sent a new book on the lively arts, the first thing I do is look for myself in the index. — Julie Burchill

And call me a pig, but isn't it brilliantly refreshing how early the Dutch eat dinner? When they're still laying out the cutlery in achingly hip Barcelona, they're hanging the Closed sign on the restaurant doors of old Amsterdam. — Julie Burchill

Sadly, a lot of what passes for feminism these days is just moaning about men, congratulating ourselves on nothing in particular, and mocking them for being big kids while doing everything we can to keep them that way. — Julie Burchill

When I moved out of London 13 years ago, I found a whole other reason not to drive. This was because my new husband Dan, unlike my dad, did drive, and this became a great source of fun and adventure. — Julie Burchill

It's received wisdom that the English are uniquely child-unfriendly. — Julie Burchill

It was the flashing lights, and the noise of the machines, and the loud, loud music, all seeming to refract and contract around her, her eyes widening, her hair swooshing, her slow smile shining. She seemed an actual part of the place - all fun, all joy, all shimmery skittering energy. — Julie Burchill

It was Julie Burchill who decreed that, beyond a certain age, a man should not be seen in a leather jacket. — Arthur Smith

It's very hard to imagine the phrase 'consumer society' used so cheerfully, and interpreted so enthusiastically, in England. — Julie Burchill

Big women do themselves a disservice when they attempt to become the Righteous Fat (the Righteous Thin are bad enough, all that running around and sweating, somehow believing it means anything). — Julie Burchill

In my third husband I had discovered a blissfully laid-back type who thought it nothing less than hilarious when I misread the map on the way to Wales, so it took us an extra three hours, or when I was sick in a plastic carrier bag during much of the drive back from Devon - a bag that turned out to have a hole in it. — Julie Burchill

Because I was an only, I had more things, and I remember early on the kick I got from giving stuff away. Despite all the myths about only children not being able to share, actually I've never knowingly met a stingy one. — Julie Burchill

I just have a real problem with people who seek to portray fatness or thinness as moral concepts. — Julie Burchill

I've never been nostalgic, personally or politically - if the past was so great, how come it's history? — Julie Burchill

Contrasting British servicemen and women with the appeasers, it is hard not to laugh. Are these two sides even the same species, let alone the same nationality? On one hand the selflessness and internationalism of the soldiers; on the other the Whites-First isolationism of the protesters. Excuse me, who are the idealists here? — Julie Burchill

A woman who looks like a girl and thinks like a man is the best sort, the most enjoyable to be and the most pleasurable to have and to hold. — Julie Burchill

When did women whose looks are not their living start conducting themselves like the simpering inmates of an Ottoman empire seraglio? — Julie Burchill

No matter how old and glorious the models, sad indeed is the woman who sees fashion as a means of self-expression rather than an agent of social control. — Julie Burchill

Sex, on the whole, was meant to be short, nasty and brutish. If what you want is cuddling, you should buy a puppy. — Julie Burchill

Mind you, I've always been a very off-message type of fat broad; one who gladly admits she reached the size she is now solely through lack of discipline and love of pleasure, and who rather despises people (except those with proven medical conditions) who pretend that it is generally otherwise. — Julie Burchill

Only those who haven't got the wit to speak for themselves would ever want their clothes to do it for them. — Julie Burchill

The latest twist on the pampering concept is spa parties, where a group of friends take over an entire spa. — Julie Burchill

Being a child is horrible. It is slightly better than being a tree or a piece of heavy machinery but not half as good as being a domestic cat. — Julie Burchill

Here in Barcelona, it's the architects who built the buildings that made the city iconic who are the objects of admiration - not a bunch of half-witted monarchs. — Julie Burchill

We are used to female writers who use their private lives as unmitigated material being somewhat hormonal; this somehow 'excuses' what might be seen as a highly unfeminine ability to turn their personal upsets into money. — Julie Burchill

Women, more often than not, do things which aren't remotely relaxing but are all about preening, which is just another sort of work. — Julie Burchill

I jest, of course; premature ejaculation isn't a laughing matter for anyone, except for your friends when you tell them about it on the phone the next morning. My first marriage ended because the main event was invariably over before my husband got his socks off. — Julie Burchill

The terrorist attacks were a tragedy for the people who died or were injured, and for their families and friends. For the rest of us, they were a wake-up call as to what type of lunatics we are dealing with. And sleepwalking our way back into ill-sorted, dewy-eyed people personal politics is the last thing we need to set us up for the fight ahead. Come on you liberals, don't give me the morbid pleasure of saying, 'I told you so' again. — Julie Burchill

May I just single out for salutations, on the 'anti-war' side: Pop Stars For Appeasement, Dancers Against Democracy, Actors For Apathy, Fashionistas For Fascism and Jugglers For Genocide. All of them united under that flaccid flag of convenience, Show-Offs For Saddam. — Julie Burchill

As I get older I think, contrary to modern assumption but in line with the old Lerner and Lowe song, that it would actually benefit both them and society if - to quote Professor Higgins - a woman could be more like a man. — Julie Burchill

Families, generally, suck. And I say that as someone who, like my husband, had parents who proved the proverbial exception to the rule. — Julie Burchill

From paying off friends' tax bills to rescuing stray dogs and stuffing £20 notes into the hands of homeless people, I can't get rid of my money fast enough. — Julie Burchill

One of the few ways in which I feel I've actually matured is that as I've grown older I do find the concept of 'men' mystifying, whereas when I was a feisty young thing I was forever saying 'The most fun part of being a feminist is frightening men!' — Julie Burchill

As a child, I wanted only two things - to be left alone to read my library books, and to get away from my provincial hometown and go to London to be a writer. And I always knew that when I got there, I wanted to make loads of money. — Julie Burchill

Youth, health, wealth and beauty are meant to be fuel, to be burned in pursuit of pleasure, and not fruit to be pickled in anticipation of some future famine. (Hang on a minute and I'll get my sequins out and give you a quick rendition of 'My Way') — Julie Burchill

The Feminist Me says that a woman's right to her own body should be inviolate at all times, free from fear of peeping paps. — Julie Burchill

I didn't cry when I left free-booting, smash-and-grab papers that would have appeared to be far more natural homes for me and, at the risk of being vulgar, paid far better for my services. — Julie Burchill

Some say that Cusk has no sense of humour, but expecting giggles from this writer would be akin to expecting sonnets from Benny Hill. — Julie Burchill

Transsexualism is, basically, just another, more drastic twist on the male menopause — Julie Burchill

I believe, literally, in the God of the Old Testament, whom I understand as the Lord of the Jews and the Protestants. I'm a Christian Zionist, as well as a Christian feminist and a Christian socialist. — Julie Burchill

I almost choke on my popcorn when I hear film stars, who walk on red carpets as much as the rest of us do on zebra crossings, criticising youngsters who crave fame. — Julie Burchill

Can I just say here how much I hate the word 'pamper'? While pretending to celebrate and indulge women, it actually implies that their bodies are so revolting that even their 'me time' must be dedicated to turning them into living dolls if potential suitors are to be prevented from running screaming in horror. — Julie Burchill

But just think what a boring, bread-and-milk world this would be without the boastful. — Julie Burchill

A cynic should never marry an idealist. For the cynic, marriage represents the welcome end of romantic life, with all its agony and ecstasy. But for the idealist, it is only the beginning. — Julie Burchill

Surely being a Professional Beauty - let alone an ageing one - is one of the most insecure and doomed careers imaginable. — Julie Burchill

I don't have a spiritual bone in my body; but what I am, is religious. — Julie Burchill

I don't really care what people tell children - when you believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, one more fib won't hurt. But I am infuriated by the growing notion, posited in some touchy-feely quarters, that all women are, or can be, beautiful. — Julie Burchill

As I have got older, I have found myself making friends with the ease and swiftness that other people pick up fuzzballs on their jumpers. And I believe it is probably my lack of longing for 'The One' that makes me so popular. — Julie Burchill

'Stress' was the catch-all every pamper-pedlar I spoke to used to explain why healthy women feel the need to be regularly patted, petted and preened into a state of babyish beatification. — Julie Burchill

Fame is no sanctuary from the passing of youth ... suicide is much easier and more acceptable in Hollywood than growing old gracefully. — Julie Burchill

I am not one of those fat birds who feels miserable because models are thin. Frankly, I feel more insulted by the idea that unless I see other fat birds in fashion magazines, I will be reduced to a sniveling wreck of a human being. — Julie Burchill

One Christmas build-up tradition, however, has totally bypassed me - that of going up to town and 'doing a show.' — Julie Burchill

A wedding is a funeral which masquerades as a feast. And the greater the pageantry, the deeper the savagery. — Julie Burchill

Fact is, famous people say fame stinks because they love it so - like a secret restaurant or holiday island they don't want the hoi polloi to get their grubby paws on. — Julie Burchill

To believe that one, or even three, mates can supply all the things one needs from one's friends is as stupid as believing married couples must do everything together. — Julie Burchill

I have always voted Labour and I always will. I have got to have one stupid, bovine part of me and that's the part that votes Labour. — Julie Burchill

I have experienced jealousy, possessiveness, verbal abuse and violence from men, but I have also experienced jealousy, possessiveness, verbal abuse and violence from women, usually when I failed to respond to their advances. — Julie Burchill

As with most liberal sexual ideas, what makes the world a better place for men invariably makes it a duller and more dangerous place for women. — Julie Burchill

If you want sex, have an affair. If you want a relationship, buy a dog. — Julie Burchill

Having 'best friends' is - at least for me - as outdated and small-minded a concept as the idea of 'Sunday best clothes.' — Julie Burchill

There's something brave and touching about game girls of all ages keeping themselves smart in hard times - one thinks of those wonderful women during World War II drawing stocking seams in eyebrow pencil up the back of legs stained with gravy browning because nylons were so hard to get hold of. — Julie Burchill

I won't be going to any New Year's Eve parties because I think they're naff. No one over the age of 15 should bother going to parties. — Julie Burchill

What I find most upsetting about this new all-consuming beauty culture is that the obsession with good looks, and how you can supposedly attain them, is almost entirely female-driven. — Julie Burchill

When the sex war is won prostitutes should be shot as collaborators for their terrible betrayal of all women. — Julie Burchill

There are exciting, intelligent, fat people - and exciting, intelligent, thin people. — Julie Burchill

What sort of sap doesn't know by now that picture-perfect beauty is all done with smoke and mirrors anyway? — Julie Burchill