Vixie's stories

A Poem a Day (753): No pedigree required

2026-11-01T21:22:39.815+00:00

No pedigree required

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
They don’t know the dog.
Every single one is different.
Each breed similar but still different.
Every bark and every wag unique.
You think of symmetry when everything is asymmetrical.
Take a face reflected, unreflected,
the two halves can’t match, and that’s the way
it’s supposed to be – says who?

Some guy wrote that women should be seen and not heard.
They used to say this and women roared. Loud. Out loud.
As if we’d walk quietly with our fingers on our lips
echoing our school programme, cross-legged on wooden floors,
eyes down, backsides numb, looking that odd word ‘demure’,
careful not to offend anyone with our bare naked selves,
our bold flesh, our fucking wild opinions. As if.
As if we couldn’t be full-figured human beings
rather than replicas of some rich director’s wet dream.

But the new old guard is washing in with Victorian views,
a slow ebb, seeking to drown female voices bit by bit,
stealing thunder, concealing faces, muting a generation.
We’ve been talking about it for decades.
Are we simply throwing words at the prowling tide?
History will stare back at lists and lists of missing names.
Things unsaid, unplayed, unseen, unfelt, un-everything.
But all these things were dreamed by someone special.

It’s how the West was won: the unbearable pursuit of power.
Seek and destroy rather than lost and found.
If you don’t understand it, or you can’t control it,
strike a light and watch the whole damn forest burn,
turn around and wait for someone else to pick up.
Pieces stay pieces. The bones of twigs snap underfoot.
Vacant spots in queues miss bodies. They rot in graves.

They say hope is the last to die.
Or at least I read the book of one woman who said it.
Survivor of a death camp. So she should know.
The weight of living when everyone else you know has died.
We all need the water wing. The bridge to walk on water.
If a person offers false hope, steals it away with a smile,
don’t let them re-enter your room. Lock the door.

A left-open diary should remain unread.
A sealed letter should remain sealed.
Someone else’s note is not yours to be played.
Items left in trust should sit undisturbed.
If they build you up only to pulverise,
flatter you only to disfigure,
befriend you only to judge,
lie in order to lie with you,
you know the answer, I don’t need to say anything.
You don’t need to prove to anyone that you matter.

People speak of boundaries, of keeping them,
not letting feelings leak, as if a person is a bottle
without a message they might need to send.
An SOS to the night sky, the moon and stars,
shedding anonymity for truth. A call-out for the missing.
It’s not weakness to break.
When did everyone start pretending?

No two pieces of armour are the same.
Defence, humour, explanation, absence, anger.
No one should be submissive unless they want to be.
No one should be forced to give way, to suffer in silence.
But every rose has the potential to scratch.
Take a secret to the grave unless saying it saves a life.
Forgive and be forgiven. Don’t let it eat you up, inside out.
Let it go.

White noise is white noise.
No vocabulary, no punctuation, just empty sound.
A language with no code floating in space. A cloud of jam.
It’s not for you. It’s not for you to understand.
Insignificant. Wasted energy. A balloon already burst.

We seek sound sometimes. Sometimes silence,
the whole wide world emptied out, the bath plug pulled,
so we can rest in the midst of this storm we call life.
Everyone needs peace or we shed ourselves.
Just as trees lose leaves when winter bites.

Copyright Vickie Johnstone, November 1, 2026

Article: Copy cats – tributes or baddies?

2026-10-26T16:34:30.642+00:00

You have Top Cat, you have fat cats and you have Catwoman (I think she’s the best, but I’m biased). There was a board game I used to play with my brother as a kid, where you were one of 6 groovy cats, and you tried to find the plastic fishbones in dustbins, and there was a big bad dog in some. You’d go around the board getting cool cat stuff or get hit by a ‘Catastrophe!’, and hang out with other cats on ‘the Wall’ (I reckon that was the local club, and they were all smoking pot and getting w@nkered, but hey… this was PG). One minute you’d be on a roll with loads of fish and funky feline friends, and the next you’d be on the run, trying to save your arse from a big bad dog.

I loved that game, but you can’t buy it now. I’ve looked. I think it was called Alley Cats. And it’s kinda like life.

Among all these different cats you’ve got Copy Cats. About 80% of the bad ones I’ve met have been female, but that’s just my experience.

MEOW MIX

I first came across Copy Cats as a kid, and we were all one really, in one way or another. It’s harmless. This was before the internet, so our world was much smaller than those of kids today. Other kids, parents, siblings, teachers, TV, radio and magazines were the things inspiring us. To find out something we went to the library or looked it up in our parents’ encyclopaedias. As a kid growing up, you look up to kids who are cooler than us, or kids who dress better, know their music, have better jeans or haircuts, or just have this cool swagger and seem to just ‘know’… You copy the latest fashion… movie stars… pop stars you see in magazines… I wonder how many teens back then got their first nipple piercing cos they saw one on Phil Oakey of The Human League posing in the pages of Smash Hits?

As kids we imitate as we learn about ourselves and the world. We’re not harming anyone or stealing anything. We wanna be cool, we wanna fit in, we wanna dream our dreams and be our heroes. My room as a teen was full of posters of singers – Madonna, Toyah, Cyndi Lauper, The Police, Adam Ant, Wham, Bananarama, Kajagoogoo, Shalamar, Michael Jackson, Prince, to name a few… Film stars didn’t get a look in. If they did I can’t remember! But I did have crushes on the likes of the Fonz, the guy in the Cosby Show, the hero of the Water Margin, Hutch, the blonde dude in Dukes of Hazzard, the lead guy in Breakin' (1984) and Harrison Ford (who didn’t? I think everyone was meant to fancy the blonde hero, but we went for the guy with the hairy mate.

Funny, cos if there was a series with two lead blokes, one was always blonde and one was always dark-haired). Nowadays I’d put a load of other people up there on my walls, but I’m an adult, and I’m supposed to act my age and not my shoe size (f@ck that). Times change and with it your taste in things, but I still love all those artists from those posters.

TAKE THE STAGE

I think people who are visual get copied more than the writers, the playwrights, the artists, the people in regular jobs – it’s as if they’re all backstage… On stage you have the musicians with the focus on the singer and the screen idols, and the fashion icons through the ages whose style and attitude was different, who had that certain special something, so they got copied more – like Marilyn, Madonna, Harrison, James Dean, Sinatra, the Fonz, Baywatch, MJ, Prince, Whitney, Bowie, Freddie, Dolly, Twiggy, Hendrix, to name a few. The list is mega huge. Madonna sang about this in Vogue. She’s an artist who broke so many boxes. The better looking you were, the more you got copied. And agents still look at looks.

That’s never changing. Whatever you are marketing, even if it’s a kitten, people tend to pick the prettiest, male or female, or the sexiest. They want people to buy into a dream or a fantasy, but I’m digressing… So, it was your looks as well as your style, your talent and your ‘coolness’, and the ‘unique thing’ that made you different. And in our heads our screen idols don’t age. They’re captured on the silver screen. Any Copy Cat can easily be spotted.

You could pick 6 random people to do the same thing, sing the same song or do the same dance, and I bet the majority will pick the same person cos one will always stand out. Or they’ll argue over 2.

SPOOKY GOINGS ON

So, then, heading into adulthood, the whole Copy Cat thing becomes a little spookier. Hello, Halloween. Some people get targeted by Copy Cats and end up ghosted or with their lives buried and stuck at home like CinderF@ckingRella.

What’s bad about Copy Cats? What’s so alarming? Well, they might see that someone is making it big, and they will step up with the same style, the same haircut, the same clothes, the same dance moves, the same gestures, the same way of talking; they copy the jive… They want the lifestyle, the friends, the accolades of their target. They wanna be loved in the same way. They might not have the natural talent, skillset or the personality, so they copy it. Occasionally they might even do it better. If they become more successful, people forget the original; the one who was copied or had their work stolen (it’s best to ask). If a Copy Cat does this and isn’t found out, and the target doesn’t know, it might be too late once it’s discovered.

Luckily, often people just can’t copy the original and fall flat. Imagine someone trying to copy Dolly Parton? Just wouldn’t work. Look at bands that were manufactured by a manager to make money, but also give those people their big shot – some told the members how to dress, how to act, who to socialise with, what haircut to get, where to go to be seen and who to date. Going solo then is the only escape if you don’t like it, but then you might find yourself isolated or less popular, or even facing having to fit into yet another ‘box’ with rules, but doing it alone.

COPY CATS ON THE JOB

Copy Cats can turn up in the workplace. They look at how you work and do the same. They see how you interact with others and do the same. They look how your organise things and do the same. They might ask you stuff and then tell your manager it’s their idea. You might find they stab you in the back to get your job or a promotion (happened to me at least twice). They might put you down in front of a work group or a group of friends (had that – who hasn’t?) or do it when you’re not there. If they do it by accident, fine. If they do it on purpose, it isn’t. You might find you do it by accident, but then if you realise and feel like crap and don’t do it again you know you’re a nice person cos it’s dog-eat-dog at work, and you’re always told to be loud and bold and compete, but some of us don’t like to compete and take something from someone else. I once volunteered to go on furlough cos the other people in my dept had mortgages or kids. Besides, when it comes to being a ‘winner’, if you’re a man who is bold and competitive at work you get called assertive, while women still often get called bitches. You might find the Copy Cat steals your idea, tells someone before you can, and gets nominated for a prize for it (happened to me).

CREATIVE CATS

In a creative field, you might find the Copy Cat takes your artwork home and says they did it instead. You might find someone takes your story idea from a notebook or notes on your computer, or from something you said, or an interview you gave, and writes it and publishes it. You might take a writing class and find a Copy Cat steals your idea right in front of the whole class (happened to me – they don’t get pulled up on it). You might find someone copies the cover of your book or the plot and writes the whole thing with a few changes. That’s called plagiarism.

If you put a story or poem or a song online, even if no one reads it or listens to it, it has been published. If a Copy Cat copies it or downloads it without being given permission and then reuses it in any way whatsoever it is plagiarism. Same thing if it is cut up and used in parts. Changing the headline won’t help. It’s still plagiarism. And you can plagiarise ideas as well as the actual word content. So, if you’re sending your book out to beta readers, be careful who you send it to, especially if you rewrite chunks of it, change the ending, etc, etc. You might find your precious ideas are used by a Copy Cat. And you might see it on a bookshelf or have to watch it at the movies. There is an argument that every idea has already been done, so there’s a difference everyone writing a different story about bread, say, and copying someone else’s. That’s a variation on a theme.

Every single computer and phone in the world can be hacked, so this problem is likely to increase. And then we have AI, which scares us creative humans who want tighter laws on it so we don’t lose jobs, so we should all be fighting AI in the creative fields, not each other and stealing other people’s work. Because that’s just plain wrong. And it’s fake. If someone won an award for that then the award would be fake, and they would know it’s fake, so I don’t understand stealing someone’s work. Just no.

DANCING QUEENS

Then there’s the dance Copy Cats, who mirror other people and say they’ve come up with a dance move that someone has already done. I can think of some famous people here, but I’m not saying anything. You often hear arguments about who invented what dance or what music genre… Anyway, this is more by accident I reckon. And if you say that person inspired you, where’s the harm? It’s all self-expression. Everyone is inspired by someone. It’s impossible not to be unless you live in a box.

FILM BLUFFS

Then there’s the film Copy Cats, the remakes with no changes. They’re basically the same thing – like flavours of Cheddar. What’s the point? Who prefers the originals? Me. Especially when it’s a remake of one of the greatest films ever. It’s rarely as good in my opinion. It always makes me laugh when a foreign film in a foreign language is remade in the UK or US with English-speaking actors. I prefer watching the original with subtitles – the place, accent, nuances and particularities are important, and they make the film richer and more interesting and give placement, and you learn stuff about other countries. The cultural differences shine through. They’re interesting and not to be erased just cos they’re a “little too complicated”.

At least make the remake unique. I never understood why this isn’t plagiarism, but then I never did a qualification in film… And not everyone likes or can read subtitles… so then there’s dubbing… lots of ways of looking at this, just like everything else… Are remakes with no changes the Bad Guys in the film industry? Or the Tributes?

WRECKING BALLS

Back to the Bad Guy Copy Cats in real life. They’re not Tributes; the ones who will wreck your life cos they want something you have or because they think you’re happier than they are, have more mates, a better-looking partner, nicer clothes, have a skill they don’t have, or they think you’re a snob and don’t deserve what you have when you’re nothing like that. This is envy. It’s not nice when you see it being done or you’re on the receiving end. This type of person will happily wreck your career, block promotions, screw up your relationships and even badmouth you to your boss. If your boss is the problem, you might find yourself being set up to fail or experiencing micro-management, which is basically Bad Boss 101. And most people have experienced this. Just resign cos once that is happening it won’t improve cos they’re the boss.

SINGLE WHITE FEMALE

Ever watched Single White Female? The Copy Cat ‘friend’ will appear from nowhere, like everything you like, and perhaps even dress like you or have the same things. They might know a person you knew from the past. A red card is if they try to break up your relationship either by saying bad things about you or them, or flirting with them in front of you (then saying they didn’t and accusing you of jealousy) or taking them to bed behind your back. They might also break up your friendships by backstabbing you or inviting them out without you and ‘outdoing’ you. They might even throw money at that person, buying them things and taking them to places you can’t afford.

One example from my love life of a Bad Girl Copy Cat… In my early 20s, there was the woman who wrote me a letter, addressed to my full name, even though I hadn’t met her, to say she was dating the guy I lived with and asking me to stay away from this club, where I used to go. She wanted to take my place. Then there’s the Polish guy I was dating for years. He introduced me to one of his mates. She was cool. She had a boyfriend, but she told me she thought my boyfriend was much better looking and nicer, and that her boyfriend was nowhere near as good, and she told me off once cos we visited the country and I didn’t tell her we were coming. Anyway, after we broke up, they started dating! She wanted to take my place, but pretended to be my friend.

Then there was a guy I was dating at Uni, and one day I got a phone call from a nurse who said he was her boyfriend and asking me to stop seeing him, so I did. It looked like I was accidentally taking her place cos I didn’t know she existed – he told me he was single!

Then, there’s the guy who used to date a friend of mine for years who more recently made a move on me at a gig by stroking my back in mid-sentence and I moved away and made it clear I wasn’t interested. They were both friends. I haven’t seen her for years now, but we were good friends. I’m calling him a Copy Cat cos I had some other exes of female friends try the same thing and it’s a rule I don’t break, and he knew it’s a rule I don’t break. Rule number one: don’t date friends’ exes (if you know who they are!). And have I ever knowingly stolen somebody else’s guy – no.

I could fill a book with examples of this kind of thing from my love life, but that would get boring. Have I ever knowingly stolen somebody elseDoes this happen to guys too? Answers on a postcard…

COLLEGE COPY CATS

Then there is the Copy Cat you might meet at college, who will ask to borrow your clothes and dress like you, or borrow your homework and ask you to help them out at exam time cos they’re in “serious trouble of failing”, and they’ll prey on your kindness. They might actually copy your work and say these ideas are theirs, so then you are no longer original. You might lend them something and get it back damaged. They might start buying stuff you like or start dressing like you, start listening to the same things and pretend your opinions are their original ideas, and say you are copying them. This is different from sharing the same interests and hobbies, etc. It’s spiteful. Those types of people target shy people.

The Copy Cat wants to take your skillset, individuality and your uniqueness, and either look unique and talented themselves, or make you look average, dated, old and boring. And they might say you copied them.

THE PSYCHOPATH COPY CAT

Ever met a psychopath? Everyone has. The key is their lack of empathy for other people. You might have sat next to one on a train or bus today. You might work with one. You might share your bed with one. The internet has made it so much easier for a psychopath to imitate empathic interactions and behaviour.

Have you read The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson? I was recommended this book by so many people. It’s great. It looks at the character of a psychopath and how they interact with others. The Psychopath Test has a great chapter on a psychopathic mental asylum inmate who copied non-psychopathic behaviour in group sessions and got released. Yep, scary.

You can spot a psychopath Copy Cat because they are only interested in themselves – they don’t ask questions about you, or what you like or what you’d like to do, and they won’t try to help solve something with you. They don’t have empathy. They don’t feel things in the same way. They will tell you what they like doing and where they like going, and they will invite you to a place they like or a thing they like doing and refuse to go anywhere else, even if you hate it. They don’t help others, give to charity, see anything outside themselves.

They pick friends who will be advantageous to them and do everything they want. The psychopath Copy Cat feeds off other people’s energy and doesn’t care about draining it. (This is different to someone who has problems and asks for help and goes on a bit – it’s not meant to harm). They manipulate people like chess pieces on a board. They want people in certain positions where they can control them, keep them down and make themselves shine. They target shy, humble, nice people who are talented. Take Elvis’ manager – I wonder if he was one? Don’t sue me! They use people.

DATING A PSYCHOPATH COPY CAT

If you date one, it will be all about them, and they might want to change how you look, how you think and who you hang out with. They might criticise you endlessly, and pick out physical flaws, so you lose confidence. They might point out that other people are better looking than you. For them, it’s all about how a person looks, not who they are.

It’s all to make them feel better and to make them feel empowered. In reality, they probably envy you, which you won’t be able to see, because you’re not like them. And they might even hit you, at which point you need to do the same thing as the characters in Alley Cats and make for the wall!

A psychopath Copy Cat will want to meet your friends, but they won’t introduce you to theirs. If they do, it will be a small set. If they want to isolate you from your friends then you will be introduced to their friends and family, and you will be welcomed warmly until you find you are just seeing them and no one else, and you’ll be suddenly cut off and left alone. You’ll have to start again.

The psychopath Copy Cat won’t want to meet your family. They won’t want to hear about your job, your dreams, or your ambitions or problems. They will just talk about theirs. If your life is in danger they won’t try to save you. They’ll be the cat that sits on your back while you get arrested (we’ve all seen that pic). They’ll be the person who nicks your partner or shags them behind your back and smiles to your face. They’ll be the person who backstabs you, reads your messages and diary, and steals your things. And either pretend they didn’t or just shrug or even smile. And they won’t be able to say sorry.

If you’re an empath and you meet one, run away as fast as you can in the opposite direction. You’ll end up living their life as a passenger. And one day you’ll wake up because you’ll feel invisible.

The psychopath Copy Cat can’t speak about their feelings unless they copy someone else and how they express themselves. And when it comes to sex, it will be all about them and fulfilling them, and not you, and they tend to be quite boring in bed and stick to the same positions that they like. Or they might try to force you to do things you don’t want to do. And they won’t listen to your reasons. They will also try to stop you having friends who are the same sex as them because control is a big thing and they won’t want competition for their ‘prize’.

IT JUST WON’T FEEL RIGHT

A Copy Cat won’t look right in what they’re wearing – it won’t fit. Something will be off. A Copy Cat won’t sound right in how they talk. Something will be off. And they’ll be staggered if you see through them cos a Copy Cat tends to be arrogant. They tend to think they’re more deserving than everyone else and that they have to win. And they don’t care who loses.

A Copy Cat won’t have an original style. They will copy someone else. They won’t change – unless they want to, and then they’ll move to a new scene or job and pick someone they admire from it and dress like them and do the same thing. A Copy Cat won’t be the real thing. They’ll be able to shift-shape and change to fit in order to gain something. Sometimes you’re dealing with a Chameleon, but they can’t change who they fundamentally are. And you’ll see through them if you hold up a mirror.

A Copy Cat will quite happily steal someone else’s life and say it’s theirs. It all comes down to insecurity and envy. They will steal your job or partner just because you’re happy and they aren’t. And then they’ll probably get bored anyway and move on to someone else’s.

Another danger from Copy Cats is catfishing, where someone pretends to be another person online and messages them pretending to be someone else. Then they arrange to meet and don’t turn up and the wrong person is blamed. Lots of potential disasters here. I avoid dating apps for this reason.

So, if your ID and bankcards and post go missing, there’s a chance a Copy Cat is imitating you. And they’re hard to track down.

WHAT’S THE ANSWER, TOP CAT?

So, yeah, it’s that thing again: be yourself. Everyone else is taken. Be original. Be you. Thank you, Mr Wilde. You were so ahead of your time.

The good thing is – not everyone is like this! I reckon it’s why celebrities have small groups of friends they trust. They’re at risk. And have to spend a lot of money on security to have a private life. I just wish I’d known this when I was a kid.

Once you work out who the Copy Cats are in your life, you can avoid them. And if you can see the patterns, you can keep them out of your life, especially the psychopaths.

And if you’re chatted up by someone who professes their undying love for you, but has already dated your mates in preference, run away! If someone has tried to destroy your life, avoid them. If they apologise, judge the damage. If you’re okay with the apology, don’t hold it against them in future.

No one’s perfect. But not everyone is a Copy Cat or a psychopath!

Have you seen the film The Holiday? You’re not the best friend in your movie. You’re the leading man or lady, to quote the best line! Awesome film. I think everyone comes out smiling from that one.

Copyright Vickie Johnstone, October 26, 2026. Written today.

I own the rights to all my books, poetry, song lyrics and articles. No one else does.

Article: The Real Thing – People Get Typecast

2026-10-10T13:15:07.205+01:00

We’re all looking for ‘the thing’. We spend our lives looking for the thing that is going to fulfill us, make us happy. Sometimes that’s an item, sometimes it’s a passion, a career or a dream, and sometimes it’s another person. People aren’t one thing, but as in the movies there is pressure on a person to conform to either an established look, personality or what their peers want them to look like, act, do. Same with a career or having kids – some people get told we want you to be a doctor and we want you to have the standard two kids, a house and a car. We all have an identity and we shouldn’t feel boxed in, oppressed or prevented from living that identity. And if we are blocked from being who we are then we should feel outraged. Of course, I’m not saying an axe murderer should go out and be an axe murderer cos that would be insane.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE YOU WANT TO

Let’s take Spock. I read an interview with Leonard Nimoy once. I had watched him in a pre-Star Trek film, which was pretty gritty and character-driven. He said he loved playing Spock, but as soon as he took that part and got famous in it, he wasn’t offered other roles. It was a bitter-sweet success. The same thing happened to William Shatner. And Hollywood wasn’t ready for a relationship between a black woman and a white man it seemed cos the potential of one between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura wasn’t explored – the chemistry was there on screen – something I read about in an interview with her. People get typecast when they actually want to evolve, break boundaries and be bold.

In music, take the bands Silverchair or Cyclefly. Their first albums were rock/metal, but their second albums are more experimental. But some fans wanted them to stay the same. Then I think of Radiohead who kept changing their music and kept their fans, but there are some who wanted them to stick to the sound of Creep – the hit that everyone connects with cos it’s about feeling vulnerable and feeling unworthy and how we all feel that at one time. And it doesn’t matter how many shows they play or how long they perform for, everyone will still want to hear Creep. And I wonder if they ever get fed up of playing it?

But, yeah, people get typecast.

Some bands who sign up to a festival can’t play other gigs for months around that event. Some actors/actresses who sign up for a film franchise aren’t allowed to play other roles. Some actors/actresses are put in romcoms and then people want them to stay there and not explore other roles in different genres or with an 18 rating. Some writers just write in one genre cos it’s what their audience wants while others don’t – so long as they have the creative freedom either way it’s cool. If they’re being typecast it isn’t.

I just thought of two actresses who were in romcoms and PG-rated films who then did a film in which they are naked. After that, their roles seemed to dry up. It was almost like someone said, hey, you’re not being the person we want you to be or the person we are used to being when everyone wants to grow, experiment, etc. This also makes me think of seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I saw them maybe three times back in the day, and each time they were playing their songs differently. I was thinking are they drunk, have they forgotten how to play this? And then I realised, nope, they’re mixing it up, they’re experimenting, they’re doing bits slightly different. I wondered why and thought maybe it’s so it stays fresh to them and not the same thing. Mixing it up.

There’s a flipside to this. Remakes – we want the original most of the time with the original players. We want the real thing we fell in love with, not a copy. Unless the remake is different. Otherwise we think why do the same thing exactly the same? Which brings me on to cover bands, but that to me is different. Don’t know why really, but it is. That’s just my opinion.

NORMAL? LOL. DON'T CRITICISE

I would describe myself as an alternative person. I always thought to be called normal was boring. People should embrace their quirkiness and weirdness, and be themselves, and then they attract people who are like them. I used to post about this a lot on my FB timeline, lots of positive stuff about being yourself and embracing your own differences and not feeling forced to conform. That’s partly because I had so many people in my life criticise me – what I wore, how I spoke (not loud enough or my accent was weird), the fact I wore DM boots all year round (and not sandals), my body, my skin, my hair style, dyeing my hair, my walk (lol!), my dancing, my writing, my poetry, my artwork, my cooking, my taste in music, my taste in men, my shyness or my loudness, and even how I made a cup of tea – just about everything!

WRITING AND THE ODE TO ORIGINAL

Turning to writing… when I tried to find an agent or publisher for my books I got rejected. I got rejected by everyone except a small-press publisher in about 2011/12 (not sure of date) and I was with them for a while, but they were in the US and I’m a layout sub-editor, so it was awkward timewise around a full-time job, and in the end I went it alone. My books were selling well until 2015 and then collapsed. I still write, but not much fiction (long story) and they don’t sell now. But getting back to the point… I found it hard to find representation – and was refused by everyone – because my books don’t stick to one genre.

I wrote a book about a magical cat and it’s fantasy, and it explores inclusion: the lead character is a black woman and there is a three-legged character, and various nationalities are represented, and there are fantastical and human characters. The genres in the series are: fantasy, realism, magical realism, history, time travel, etc.

I wrote a romcom, but the main character is a talking dog, so I was told to present again when I wrote a straight romance. I wrote a zombie book, but parts of it are set in an alternate dream world. It was originally zombies/aliens, but a friend advised me to stick to one genre, so I rewrote a quarter of it. I wrote another romance, but it’s also a fantasy, has an alternate reality and is magic realism. I kept being told to stick to one genre or that I was just not good enough. I kept on writing cos I love it.

So, yeah, it’s not just people that get typecast.

THE RIGHT TO TRAVEL AND FULFIL YOUR DREAMS

I think travel is the great educator – everyone needs to explore, and have the freedom to do so – whether that’s the world, art, music, sex, or whatever. I believe in human, civil and sexual rights. I believe in equality. I believe every person should be allowed to play sport, dress how they like, wear makeup, dye their hair, grow their hair long, date whoever they like, study, travel, be anonymous, be free, work, dream, have children or not have children and live without being judged.

Everyone has dreams. Everyone is born equal in theory, but just as Orwell pointed out, some people are viewed as “more equal than others” in many countries, societies and religions. And this is something we should fight because it is still happening. He also talks about peer pressure – don’t judge or follow when you know it doesn’t feel right. You have the right to refuse and to say no. I think we don’t say no enough. In 2026. Everyone should have equal rights. And things need to change now or we’ll be having the same problem in 2050. Break the chains.

So yeah, people get typecast.

People aren’t one thing. They like all sorts of things. And this changes. You might like the colour red one day and you might like the colour green the next. Your viewpoints also change, according to your age, experiences and who you encounter, and just your mood. You might not be scared of a certain type of person, but if you experience hatred from them that might change your view forever. In life you will discover you were right about some things and wrong about others. And you have the right to change your mind. Everyone else does. That’s your prerogative as a human being.

No one is perfect. But, yeah, some people expect you to be.

DO YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR OWN GENRE?

And now I’m gonna talk about music again cos it makes the world go round. The music scene is made up of different genres. Ask anyone who is into any type of music and they’ll be able to break it down into lots of smaller genres and know what bands/singers belong in it. It’s a bit like literature. That’s how you know who is real – they know their music inside out. They know all the different genres. And sometimes people dress the same as others into that type of music so they recognise their tribe and other people recognise them as fitting in, and this gives everyone a sense of belonging.

Some people don’t conform and dress differently because they want to. They don’t want to get typecast. If you love something you don’t really need to know all the nitty gritty. You just feel it.
I’ve been on so many scenes and like so much music that I didn’t think I’d get typecast… and yet I did. At work some people took the mick out of my metal T-shirts and didn’t take me seriously. One person thought I was a satanist! I was like actually I’m not, but if I was then what is the big deal?

CRITICISED FOR READING TAROT

I crossed the road last month and some guy shouted out that anyone who reads Tarot is an abomination. That’s me done then! The other day I walked past someone in the street who was talking about God and they offered me a leaflet, which I didn’t want. They wanted to know why I am an atheist and I do not believe in God because they said God sees everything. They thought Tarot cards were Satanic. I explained I do not believe in God because I don’t believe in gods, I believe in science. I don’t believe in religion because it is man-made and most religions have oppressed women, homosexuals, lesbians and trans people at some point, and some still do.

I explained that I believe in science, the earth, the stars and the moon, and karma. I’m not Pagan as that involves gods. I’m not a Satanist either. I go with the light. My beliefs align with Shamanism and Native American beliefs. The closest man-made religion would be Buddhist, but that involves gods, so it is not my belief. So I align with Shamanism. I believe everything is connected, all people, and that everything has a spirit, including animals (I had an argument with an older Christian bloke once who said animals don’t have spirits so it is okay to eat them).

I remember having to go to RE classes at school, but I didn’t want to, as I was an atheist, but I had no choice. We were being typecast at school. We’re all different with different beliefs. A religion should not rule our life. All religions are invented by men.

ARE YOU WHAT YOU WEAR?

Back to identity… In 2024 I was called a “dirty goth” in the street. It made me laugh cos I was wearing jeans and a fake leather jacket (it’s vegan so no animals were injured in the making of this look!), and I wasn’t dressed remotely goth. I’m not a goth and never have been. I loved the film Edward Scissorhands and always had a major crush on Mr Depp, and I also fell in love with Winona in this film – the chemistry between them showing they were an item in real life – but I wasn’t into the Wednesday series, but I love Beetlejuice. I love Siouxie and Sisters of Mercy, but I don’t love everything goth. I’m not into the darker stuff of the goth markets, taxidermy and stuff like that. I’m more into Hello Kitty! and cute things. I don’t like every Johnny Depp film, but if he turns up at my door dressed as Captain Jack as pissed as a fart I’m taking him dancing.

I’m more into zombie films than Vampire films. I like fruit bats and snakes. I used to love horror films when I was younger, but I’m not so into them now. I prefer something that makes me laugh. We all change. When I write I need silence whereas the awesome Stephen King can dream up a zillion plots and characters to loud AC/DC. We’re not into every single thing in a specific category. We pick and choose. And we don’t do things in the same way. How can we? We’re not AI.

I dress alternative or metal, I guess, but my wardrobe is limited now as I’ve been living out of a suitcase since October 2023. Today I’m wearing a Snoopy T-shirt and blue jeans and trainers. I miss my big wardrobe! In the past I often went out in a denim or patch pink mini-skirt, big red or black DM boots and a little vest, which sometimes had a band name on and sometimes didn’t, or a T-shirt. And I dressed like that on the indie, grunge, rock and metal scenes (and at work and outside) from my mid-20s until about October 2023, since when I’m mainly in jeans and T-shirts and vests, depending on the weather. At the moment I’m wearing my Motorhead jacket a lot, but it’s denim, and I’m soon gonna have to switch to the fake leather cos it’s cold. I’ve also been wearing trainers lately cos they are lighter and due to injuries to my legs since January 2025. So, yeah, I don’t dress remotely goth!

So, yeah, people get typecast. The person yelling at me clearly had no idea what a goth is. They made the wrong judgement call.

HIPPIE CHICK

In my 20s and 30s I used to dye my hair brown or red, and it was long, and I had a hippie rock style always. And minimum makeup. I had acne so I had to wear foundation to look okay – I never rated my looks cos I had acne. All the other girls had perfect skin, I thought, but I was never jealous of other women. It just isn’t in my makeup. If anyone was jealous of me I would laugh and think how is that possible when I’ve got so many physical flaws?

So yeah, there was me in my pink skirt, looking probably more like Barbie than a rocker or metaller – I was out headbanging and dancing to Iron Maiden or Slayer or dancing to Nirvana and Therapy! and Abba and Public Enemy and Jimi Hendrix and Madonna, and everything in between. Sometimes I headbang to other stuff, like Nothing Compares to You. I mix it up. Because at the end of the day, dancing is meant to be fun and a way of expressing how you are feeling. You feel it in your feet when standing in a queue (I’m thinking of a famous male stripper movie here) or when you walk past a shop blaring an old tune you remember, and it’s hard not to feel it.

But, yeah, people get typecast. Wear whatever the hell you want. You’ll feel good in it cos you chose it.

DON'T LET ANYONE TYPECAST YOU

I dated a guy once who was into metal, and I’d turn up with my red hair, purple knitted hoodie, purple striped tights and mini-skirt and red DMs, and he’d say, “What are you wearing? You look like shit?” I guess that was a red signal, but I’d laugh and call him rude boy. I thought he dressed quite boring, but I had the hots for him, so yeah, I didn’t always make the right choices. And no matter how many times he criticised what I was wearing I didn’t change. Sometimes I’d tell him a story from my past and he’d tell me to “skip to the end” and he’d get really funny if I danced with another guy (once I danced with an ex and he was outraged), so I guess those were red flags. But I never changed myself to fit the typecast that he wanted me to be – I still hung out with this particular ex, dressed the same, danced the same (he criticised my dancing), etc, etc.

If someone doesn’t like you how you are then you are with the wrong person. Don’t let them typecast you. There is this pressure to be like everyone else. But we’re all different, so why should we conform?

MUSIC MAKES MY WORLD GO ROUND

What music do I like? Okay, so… pop music, Motown, reggae, ragga, dub, indie, grunge, blues, rock, metal (classic, heavy, death, speed, some black, stoner, doom, sludge, nu metal, thrash, grindcore, crossover), hip hop, rap, some dance, some punk (not totally stripped down), drums, rare groove, soul, jazz, boogie, country, some industrial, some goth like 80s and goth metal. I hate EBM, and I don’t like much dance music or trance or electronic stuff. I like the Prodigy, but their sound is unique. I think of them as dance/punk. They might kill me for that, but still… Anyway, whatever I’m listening to I need a real drum kit. The drum is the backbone of the band and it’s the instrument I wish I’d learned. I almost did several times.

Anyway, back to typecasting…

A TRIBUTE TO THE BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD

I was thinking about the stuff I’ve been into since I was a kid a lot while living with my dad in 2024 cos I went to a reggae festival and I thought I haven’t done this in ages cos a lot of my friends and most recent ex only liked metal or rock. And I love cover bands, but my recent ex didn’t like them. At times the musicians are as good or nearly as good as the real thing, so what’s not to like? And the musicians put in so much effort to sound like their heroes and heroines, and practice to be perfect, or they add their own twist/interpretation to it. And it’s all a tribute to the best songs in the world… and we dance all night recognising and singing to all those songs we know. And people go out and buy those songs – the money not going to the cover band but the real thing.

At one point I couldn’t listen to Enter Sandman anymore cos every single cover band I saw played it, along with Highway to Hell, but it just shows how loved those songs are. So I guess they are two of the best songs in the world if everyone is covering them.

In the world of literature, copying someone's work is plagiarism and wrong, so it's completely different to the music and film worlds. I hope I've never been plagiarised cos writing a novel is hard work!

What’s my favourite song in the world? All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, a song written by Bob Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. And that was an interesting choice cos people argued that he’s not a writer, he doesn’t fit the mould, he doesn’t fit the description. He’s not fitting the box. But he won cos he is a writer. And he’s brilliant. He’s a poet. Songs are poems after all. So, my favourite song is a cover. Horrah! But Jimi’s version is completely different to Bob’s and I fell in love with that song in the opening bar cos it’s so unique. And I fell in love with Jimi the first time I heard Joe. I hadn’t even seen him on TV at that point. That’s the power of music. We know what we like. We feel it in our hearts, not our heads. And you can’t typecast that. It’s real.

HOLLYWOOD: WHO DECIDES HOW PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK?

I look at Hollywood sometimes and you see people who have had plastic surgery. I’m like that’s fine. I don’t have a problem with that. No one likes everything about themselves. And it also saves lives, especially following accidents and illnesses, and helps people feel themselves again. But, in Hollywood, you often see a nose job. Some people have big noses. I like big noses. They give faces character. Everyone’s face is different. Everyone is beautiful. So, I wondered who was it high up in Hollywood who had decided what the perfect nose is? Is there a perfect nose? And I wondered what their nose looked like, and if there was a pressure on every actor and actress to have a certain type of nose and a certain type of profile to look a certain way on film? I’ve aged over the past year, and my face shape has changed, and you have to get used to it, and anyway I wondered about it. Is this yet another type of typecasting – that actors and actresses even have to have a specific look/face?

So, yeah, people get typecast.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: ACT YOUR SHOE SIZE IF YOU WANT

I went for a drink with a guy recently and he pointed out a flaw on my neck. He didn’t say any compliments whatsoever, but he pointed out a flaw. He also said I looked younger when I smile, which is actually a criticism or a barbed comment as it’s saying I’m old. I also had a guy call me jealous when I told him to stick with the girl he was with rather than coming on to me while she was in the same room (she also seemed interested in another guy, but that’s off-topic).

I went to Paris this year and a guy made a move on me, but he also made a lot of references about my age – asking how old I was and making comments about my age and my looks without asking anything about my interests or dreams – just my looks as if that is all I am. And he wasn’t happy that I wasn’t interested, so I left. And this happened at a hostel recently when I checked in – the guy asked me how old I was and made endless comments about how I look. I once was a victim of domestic violence because I didn’t look or act how the man wanted me to be. To him, I was not beautiful to him, but he wouldn’t let me go. He wanted to control me instead.

Message: women are more than their looks. And we don’t want to be typecast.

This reminded me of school and university. At high school, I got bullied for two years by girls in my class because I had severed acne, was shy and “ugly” to them. I had one friend. Doing my A-levels, I got criticised for how I dressed and my accent. At university, surprisingly, there was a group of women who were really into their looks and judgemental about other women’s looks. You had to be perfect in their eyes or you couldn’t be friends with them. That was strange to me. I encountered a lot of lookist people. There was me thinking there’s more to life than that.

And I met people who judged you on the brands you were wearing – if you were cool or not. So yeah, people looked at certain things to see if you fitted their tribe, but that was all about appearance. I didn’t drink alcohol until I was about 24, so before that if I met big drinkers they thought I was a bit weird for not drinking. And I had views on alcohol, not wanting to lose control, so I was sober all through university, and that was me being judgemental – I changed my mind later when I discovered Woodpecker Cider.

At Uni, I often wore a long T-shirt and leggings and trainers, or I wore little dresses and little skirts, T-shirts, vests and big baggy trousers. I was out on the indie, rare groove, soul, reggae and hip-hop scenes. It was always friendly and everyone danced all night. And people dressed in different styles, and lots of colour, but I had one friend who judged trainers – it always made me laugh. If my hair looked crap I’d go out in a baseball hat. I remember my dad asking me why I dressed like a boy! That was how I wanted to dress.

But anyway… people get typecast.

PRIDE!

This makes me think of Pride! Enjoy being you. That’s the great thing about Pride. Some people say you shouldn’t be proud, but humble, and that being proud about anything is a bad thing, or our parents tell us that pride comes before a fall. But it is good to be proud – to be proud of yourself, who you are, what you have achieved, and to be proud of other people and to tell them how great they are and congratulate them. It is not a fault or a flaw. It does not mean that you are arrogant. Pride is a festival that reminds everyone we are all human beings, and we can be ourselves. It’s okay. In fact, it’s more than okay.

But, yeah, people get told they can’t be themselves or there is something wrong with them. People get typecast. And it’s wrong.

I like all types of music, but in the past I got comments that I’m a fake metaller because I don’t just like metal or I didn’t have the right T-shirt or know the current line-up and leg measurements of the band. I was wearing jeans and trainers and a vest to see a goth band last year, and that’s how it should be. You should be allowed to wear anything and be accepted.

This makes me think of a trans friend who I bumped into in a metal bar, and we were all dancing, and she was wearing a bright pink dress, and I thought she looked cool. And it was great to see her. But I heard two guys make some derogatory comments I didn’t like. She didn’t care. I don’t know if she heard them, but she just carried on having fun. We also went for a drink another time in a non-metal bar and a guy made even worse comments, and I was thinking if she wants to say something I’ve got her back and I’m going to say something, but she just ignored the rude guy. That was how she dealt with it. I wanted to tell him what I thought, but I went by what she did. She should be able to go anywhere wearing that pink dress and dance and not be judged or ridiculed. I don’t have the balls to wear a dress that skimpy and I was like wow, go for it. I was proud of her. I knew her before she transitioned. The day she spoke to me and showed me a photo of how she looked when I knew her as a he, I felt nothing but pride for her. I was so happy that she felt so happy, because she finally felt in the right body. Big love to her.

So, yeah, people get typecast.

SOPHIE, A HEROINE

Most people know about the Sophie Foundation. Sophie was a goth who was murdered when she was just 18. Some youths jumped her boyfriend in a park and kicked him on the ground until he was unconscious. She stepped in to protect him. She died. He lived. It was a completely unprovoked attack. The murderers did it because of the way the couple were dressed simply because they looked different to them. This is now a hate crime, thanks to campaigning by Sophie’s mum, who has sadly passed away now. Sophie died due to someone’s prejudice. And she is a heroine because she saved someone else’s life. She gave her life to save someone else. She didn’t have to. She just did it.

If people stopped judging people, and just let them dress how they want to and be themselves, and give them their full human and civil rights, the world would be a much easier place to live in. And this is taught in school now. It’s called inclusion. But inclusion isn’t about having to conform to a specific image or way of life either.

Everyone is a human being. Everyone should be allowed to express themselves. Everyone should be allowed to defend themselves. Everyone should be allowed to follow their dream. Everyone should be free.

So, yeah, people get typecast. Some people want power. Some people want to shape other people. Some people want to put other people in a box. This is solely for the reason of control, so they can control their look and behaviour. And that is always going to be wrong. It isn’t natural.

And we don’t do things in the same way. How can we? We’re not AI.

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. We’re all different and like different things. And that’s a tribute to us. People can try to copy us, but we’re all the real thing. Each one of us is unique.

That’s my view anyway.

Copyright Vickie Johnstone, October 10, 2026