I knew it was coming. I knew what I had to do. I knew that it was ‘normal.’ I knew about the enormous nappy-style pads that we had been furnished with during sex education lessons. I knew where my mum and sister kept theirs. I knew that I was growing up. But when my period … Continue reading Bloody Disgrace.
War Paint.
I can still smell the sweet, plasticky peach lipstick from Collection 2000 that came free with a magazine (probably Shout) and thought was going to change my life at 11. Instead, it gathered in the corners of my mouth and the cracks in my lips and smeared across my chin. As I turned 12, I … Continue reading War Paint.
The Razor’s Edge.
Since I was a teenager, I have been told by a multi-billion dollar corporation that the only way to reveal my inner goddess was to shed my body of its natural protective layer of hair. We have all been sent this message since childhood; that female beauty and confidence is inherently linked to hairlessness through … Continue reading The Razor’s Edge.
The Girl With The Most Cake.
Pizza. Pasta. Bread. Chips. Cheese. Pastries. Biscuits. I am well-known among my friends for my unapologetically beige diet of refined carbs. I have an intensely romantic relationship with custard creams and I can happily eat pasta for every meal. My long Easter weekend was spent eating and drinking with various friends followed by lying lazily … Continue reading The Girl With The Most Cake.
Women’s History Month part 2.
Naziq al-Abid, activist, army general and suffragist (1898-1960) I learned about Naziq al-Abid on the Bitchery of History podcast a little while ago and I cannot believe that I had never heard of this incredible woman, who was known as the Sword of Damascus and the Syrian Joan of Arc, before now. An activist for … Continue reading Women’s History Month part 2.
Still We Rise.
On Saturday 10th March, my friend Tahera and I attended the Million Women Rise march in London. In its eleventh year, the annual march calls for an end to all forms of male violence against women and girls. While the profile of workplace sexual harassment has taken the spotlight in the past few months, male … Continue reading Still We Rise.
Nevertheless, She Persisted.
Women’s History Month has been celebrated during the month of March in the UK since 2011, Australia since 2000 and since 1987 in the US (kind of ironic given their, you know, general attitude towards women and girls) while Canada reserves October for celebrating history’s fiercest females. It coincides with International Women’s Day on 8th … Continue reading Nevertheless, She Persisted.
Blurred Lines.
“I am failing as a woman. I am failing as a feminist.” Roxane Gay, 2015. My entire adolescence is up for questioning thanks to Netflix. Despite never really leaving the public’s consciousness due to incessant reruns and its pervasive presence in our vernacular, Friends is apparently ‘back.’ The show that dominated every xennial’s Friday night … Continue reading Blurred Lines.
Mediocrity Rules.
“Do you ever get scared of being mediocre?” a friend asked me as she tried on a pair of ostentatious sunglasses in a shop mirror. I laughed. “Look at me, I’ve spent my life being terrified of being mediocre!” I thought no more about it for another ten years. Recent revelations about myself as a … Continue reading Mediocrity Rules.
How To Build a Girl.
I had my tarot cards read when I was about twelve years old. Maybe I was thirteen. Either way, I was at an age when most adolescent girls have zero self-esteem, crippling anxiety and an awkward shyness that was compounded by a body that I was convinced hated me. The doctors had told my … Continue reading How To Build a Girl.
