RELATIONboat

I’m currently in a relationship, well I like to call it a relationboat, as the word ship seems to be huge and overwhelming, whereas the word boat is very small and cosy, just enough space for two people to fit in and no extra baggage. Unlike the titanic, if our boat capsized we’ll just flip it back over or swim our individual ways and build another one. My relationboat is very free and open, there’s no space for compartments of secrets and doorways to a dark past. There’s only space for me and him!

Why can’t ‘Run #LikeAGirl’ also mean WIN the race?

 While I was growing up I was quite tomboyish, so I always used to hear “you hit hard for a girl” or “you don’t act like a girl,” and I was always in a way proud of that fact. It was like an accomplishment not to be labelled ‘girly’ as it had connotations of being inferior, which I definitely knew I was not! After seeing the #LikeAGirl campaign, it really resurfaced some questions I had when I was a young girl living in a boy’s world.

No More Page 3

To be honest before I came across the #NOMOREPAGE3 campaign I really didn’t think about nor have any issues with page 3 or the half naked women in it. But when I read “the 6 reasons page three must go” on nomorepage3.org it really opened up my eyes to the impact that page 3 has not only on those who seek it, but also on the innocent readers who just want daily news. 

“IT MUST BE ILLUMINATI”

Yesterday I was having some typical girl talk with some friends about the usual, Kimye’s wedding, Rihanna getting banned from Instagram, and the Jay Z and Beyonce ‘On The Run Tour’, then the inevitable was said… 

“It must be Illuminati”

All I could think was “not this again!” Not another regular person thinking they have the inside scoop on the worlds secret society. In the conversation, my friend went on to say that she knew everything, including the sacrifice that each member has to make in order to be in the Illuminati. In my most sarcastic and undermining voice I asked “Where did you get all this information from?” Obviously there was 10 seconds of silence followed by “trust me, I watched a documentary” which I took as “don’t trust me! I’m just a young, naïve and powerless girl who bought a pirate DVD (along with 2 others for a tenna) from Mr Ling on my way home from work”.

The Truth About Beauty

If you haven’t read this article http://www.stylist.co.uk/beauty/woman-has-her-face-photoshopped-around-the-world-to-prove-theres-no-one-definition-of-beauty#image-rotator-1 or currently follow this amazing project I think it’s time that we all hopped on the bandwagon.

After reading this article on Stylist Magazine we immediately followed Esther Honig’s Before and After project.

Esther said that “In the U.S. Photoshop has become a symbol of our society's unobtainable standards for beauty,” We think that is true for the UK also. We are becoming a society where women, especially young women, glorify those glossy magazines with celebs printed on the front cover - and most women (even myself) forget that ALL of the images have been photoshopped!

She Said What?!

Who else saw this headline a few weeks ago and was completely taken back?

Kirstie Allsopp tells young women: ditch university and have a baby by 27

Location, Location, Location presenter calls for frank discussion about female fertility and shaking up 'order of things' 

My initial reaction was ‘She said what?!’ This article caused a big debate and stir amongst many women all over social networks. I even remember sending this article to my friends, and to work colleagues asking their thoughts all of which varied from “that b**** don’t know nothing” to “she’s right, women need to remember the reason that they were put on earth”.

Allsopp told the Telegraph that if she had a daughter, her advice would be: "Darling, do you know what? Don't go to university. Start work straight after school, stay at home, save up your deposit – I'll help you, let's get you into a flat. And then we can find you a nice boyfriend and you can have a baby by the time you're 27."

The Fat Zone

CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP!

So, as I enter the topshop fitting rooms; I already know the deal. Benika you will probably leave with 1 out of 11 items because either, It doesn't fit right or doesn't cover your tits or doesn't suit you’re..... Yada yada yada. Millions of excuses to hide the fact that I'm too FAT for topshop, Zara and any other European shop that haven’t yet come to the realisation that I've been consuming plantain(yes, the Jamaican way) since I was 5!