Virginia Ironside
Virginia Ironside (born 1944) is a British journalist, agony aunt and author. Born in London, she is the daughter of Christopher Ironside, painter and coin designer, and Janey Ironside who was the first-ever professor of fashion design at the Royal College of Art. She was the niece of the visionary painter and designer Robin Ironside.[1]
Ironside writes a column, "Dilemmas", for The Independent, an agony column for the Idler, and a monthly column for The Oldie.[2] Her first book, Chelsea Bird, was published when she was 19. During the 1960s she wrote a rock music column for the Daily Mail newspaper.[2] She is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.[3][4]
Comments about abortion
Ironside received attention after her appearance on BBC One's religious discussion programme, Sunday Morning Live, in 2010. She stated "If a baby's going to be born severely disabled or totally unwanted, surely an abortion is the act of a loving mother" and added "If I were the mother of a suffering child – I mean a deeply suffering child – I would be the first to want to put a pillow over its face... If it was a child I really loved, who was in agony, I think any good mother would."[5][deprecated source] Though some viewers supported Ironside, many complaints were registered on the programme's website message board.
Works
- Chelsea Bird (1964)
- Distant Sunset (1982)
- Made for Each Other (1985)
- How to Have a Baby and Stay Sane (1989)
- The Subfertility Handbook (Overcoming Common Problems) (1995)
- You’ll Get Over It: The Rage of Bereavement (1997)
- Problems! Problems!: Confessions of an Agony Aunt (1998)
- Goodbye, Dear Friend: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Pet (1998)
- Janey and Me: Growing Up with My Mother (2003)
- The Huge Bag of Worries (2004)
- No! I Don’t Want to Join a Bookclub (2007)
- The Virginia Monologues – 20 Reasons Why Growing Old is Great (2009)
References
- ^ "Virginia Ironside on Robin Ironside". Pallant House Gallery. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ a b Karen Wilson (15 June 2011). "Virginia Ironside: From agony aunt to 'granny stand-up'". The Journal, Newcastle. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Virginia Ironside profile from website of the National Secular Society
- ^ "Honorary Associates". www.secularism.org.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ Vanessa Allen (5 October 2010). "Outrage as agony aunt tells TV audience 'I would suffocate a child to end its suffering'". Mail Online. Retrieved 4 March 2012.