On Female Friendship

Hey Girlll

This topic is huge, and it's something I think I will keep coming back to on here, but for now I want to talk about female friendship in relation to the three big, female focussed NY shows - Sex and the City, Girls and Broad City.

First up - Sex and the City... SatC created the original girl gang dynamic - four women, contrasting personalities and a killer friendship. I do love this show and at the time, talking so openly about sex, relationships and being an independent woman was innovative and mostly unheard of. The show in it's purest forms is based around friendship, real friendship. The gang love each other, stand up for each other, listen to each other being insane and somehow manage to help each other out no matter what. The show is pretty 'man hunt' focussed (life) but the show also strays from the norm by allowing a women in her fifties be single and says that it's ok, because despite popular opinion - being on your own isn't all that bad. Despite the film depictions of SatC being pretty shit, this quote is perfect, "I love you... but I love me more. I've been in a relationship with myself for 49 years and that's the one I need to work on." - Samantha Jones. Preach.

It's unrealistic for the majority of the time - take Carrie - from what we see, she writes one column yet seems to keep a one bed flat in Manhattan, with a steady stream of designer clothes / shoes, whilst out every night and going for drinks at every opportunity... I don't think so... reality is that she would be shopping at Primark (they are moving to the UK in this scenario, obvs), house sharing with another five people and eating a lot more beans.... but despite my best efforts, I still love this show. I think it's stood the test of time. Oh, and the clothes, THE CLOTHES.

Girl's came on the scene like a younger, grimier version of SatC - although I don't think this was deliberate, it's hard not to compare when the set up is so similar. Girl's is more realistic - the gang live in shittier flats (although Hannah still manages to work part time and live in a two-bed.... nope, not happening - get in a six bed Hannah), they don't wear a wardrobe made up of designer clothes and posh restaurants are out, clubs are in. There is a core group of four pals, so far, so Sex and the City, B U T the friendship dynamic in Girl's is meannnnn.

The protagonists are unlikeable - they are all selfish and self-absorbed, they stab each other in the back, bitch about each other and are generally the worst. Each character seems to be the extreme / rubbish parts of a shitty personality without the good parts to balance it out. That being said, I can see parts of myself in each of the characters and maybe that's a good thing. We can all be nasty, selfish and hurtful, and it's important that we see that being played out, nobody is perfect after all. The friendships are toxic and sometimes hard to swallow, the sex is honest, the bodies are realistic and it's great.

For me, Broad City is the best show in the world (no exaggeration, well... maybe a tad). When I compare the three shows, BC is the most realistic is terms of the living situation and portrayal of friendship. The two female leads share small flats with housemates they don't necessarily like, they work crappy jobs, smoke a lot of weed, re-wear outfits and drink a lot of booze. Abbi and Ilana are ridiculously great, pot smoking, hilarious, feminist heroes! The storylines aren't focussed around finding a man, they are focussed on being badass as you are.

The two girls love each other unconditionally, as my with girl gang - they are supportive, funny, non-judgemental, understanding, loving, compliment giving, hype machines. That's what feels realistic to me - pals who tell you that you can do anything and will be there along the way, making life generally more liveable. They are my people.

Basically, YASSSSS QUEEN.

Shine Theory

Shine Theory

If you are a 'Call Your Girlfriend' addict, then this phrase will already be firmly in your vocabulary. If not, then I will give you the run-down. Ann Friedman, writer and one half of CYG, wrote the article 'Shine Theory: Why Powerful Women Make the Greatest Friends' for The Cut in 2013.

And the minds of the world were blown... or at least mine was.

Shine theory is a science of sorts, based around the idea of 'I don't shine if you don't shine' (amazing phrase coined by Aminatou Sow, other half of CYG) - surrounding yourself with strong, happy, confident, 'shiny' women, can only make your life better, you are able to shine more around these glittering souls, not less.

The worst type of friendships to hold onto, are the ones that don't make you feel like your best self everyday. People who make themselves feel better by tearing other people down are the WORST, it's not confidence, it's cowardice. Why compete with other women? Why feel jealous when they get something you don't? Just....don't.... Women need to support other women. Feel happy for your pals success, be inspired and motivated by these incredible women. You're lucky, you have people in your corner pushing you to achieve and defending you when things don't go to plan.

Friends like these make you feel like you are the best thing in the world, like you're the most intelligent, funny and beautiful, because on the days when you don't feel it - they know it. They are the people that hype you up, they tell you that Beyonce should be scared when you strut out in a new dress, or text you to say how bloody great you are on the morning of a big meeting. Those are the people to cherish, always.

Read Ann's original The Cut article HERE.

The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, via Infographic

The World's 100 Most Powerful Women

March is 'National Women's History' month and tomorrow is 'International Women's Day' - let's celebrate womankind, I know I will be. This week my blog / Instagram / Twitter is going to be over-run with women, boobs and female empowerment.

First up - 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women'

Forbes collates a variety of lists each year to show the world's 100 most powerful women, men and people. I read and re-read the information, trying to understand who these powerful women were - what did they do? Where did their power come from? I needed / wanted to know everything.

So, I spent Saturday night creating this infographic (coolest? I know...) to explore the key stats. I will let the infographic explain itself but all I will say is that I was glad to learn that celebrities only accounted for 7%, something that I assume will begin to increase with our current generation (although mens list, I'm looking at you, please not Justin Bieber... despite him possibly being a magician)

After analysing the list of incredible women, I wanted to see what the divide between gender was on the 'World's 100 Most Powerful People' - women only make up 9% of that list. Women and men are equal, hopefully the numbers to follow in the next few years will begin to show that.

I hope this has been enlightening in some way, if not that, then hopefully a treat for the eyes... I have linked the original lists HERE, if you want to gain more information.

Be a Cool Kid, Make a GIF

Be a Cool Kid, Make a GIF

Do you ever feel left out when you see pictures of cats coming together in a perfect, delicious union? Do you feel like all the cool kids are making GIF's and you can't? Well, do not fret - I am here to help via the medium of film.

I have a new video up on my YouTube channel - please watch, like, subscribe and GIF until your heart is content!

Refresh Repeat

Refresh Repeat

Procrastination solely fuelled by the internet is a new hobby. Refresh repeat, refresh repeat, refresh repeat.. the internet constantly offers new content to seduce my brain and concentration every second.  The internet is like an irritating friend - it wants to talk a lot, be the centre of attention and basically draw your attention away from any task you were about to complete.

Pre-internet obsession, my procrastination capabilities were still pretty strong - I would quite happily clean my kitchen, organise my book shelf into alphabetical order, re-organise my book shelf to group colour groups (Pinterest innit?), sort of my wardrobe, eat dinner, bake a cake (eugh, baking)... I wonder if there are strange creatures out there who don't procrastinate? Would they be allowed to be counted as 100% human if they can complete a task straight away?...

*Just so you are fully aware, I made the above graphic whilst procrastinating about starting another project. Yep, that's right guys - I procrastinated by designing a graphic to show the ways I procrastinate. Yep.