(Illustration Credit: Jennifer Williams)

Why I’m just like Jennifer Lawrence

You may have come across Jennifer Lawrence’s recent article for Lenny. In it she writes about her experience finding out (at the same time as millions around the world) that she had been paid a sizeable amount less than her male colleagues for her role in ‘American Hustle’. It turns out that gender inequality is alive and kicking in Hollywood, just as non-film-star women get paid less than their male counterparts for the same work all around the world. I’m impressed by J-Law’s maturity when she confesses, “I didn’t get mad at Sony” – the company paying her salary – “I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early.” Continue reading “Why I’m just like Jennifer Lawrence”

Fat Feminist Outrage

or Why it’s not political correctness gone mad to ban the Protein World advert.  (N.B. *trigger warning*) I could write an essay about this advert. I really could. From advertising and marketing, to body image and eating disorders, to health and nutrition, to feminism, to mental health, to the sexualisation of women in society, to capitalism and consumerism, to the colour yellow. I could write pages and … Continue reading Fat Feminist Outrage

Book Review: Strong Woman

Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge, Vice-Chairman of West Ham FC, one of Lord Sugar’s advisors on the Apprentice and formerly the youngest Managing Director of a PLC in the UK, is undeniably an impressive woman. In her appropriately titled autobiography ‘Strong Woman’, two key themes emerge. First, Karren Brady’s primary concern is independence. From the outset she tells us ‘I have taught myself to rely on … Continue reading Book Review: Strong Woman

How far should you go to fit in?

I recently attended an event where I met a woman who I would describe as an ‘old school feminist’. Wearing a headache-inducing array of clashing colours, from the peach pink in her hair to the flaming fuchsia of her leggings, and a whole rainbow in between. I watched the group dynamics, a set of strangers who had never met before. The majority ignored this unusual … Continue reading How far should you go to fit in?