Lorde, she of the husky voice, didn’t actually sing at the MTV VMAs. Instead, she got on stage, pretended to switch on a boom box and then did a beautiful, interpretive and energetic dance. Just to confirm that this was no typical pop star performance at the VMAs, instead of, say, using a huge theatrical-standard hoist to lift her up a la Katy Perry, Lorde flew threw the air with the assistance of a bunch of backing dancers.
On a topic as complex as transgender rights, it’s easy to dismiss the confusion surrounding gender-neutral language as ignorant or uninformed, but this week, when Harry Potter author JK Rowlingspoke out about transgender rights, the language she used denied the existence of one of the people I care about most in the world, my twin brother. Hearing that coming from a childhood hero was devastating for us both. In case you missed it, JK Rowling was in the news when she questioned a headline using the term ‘people who menstruate’ by tweeting, “I'm sure there used to be a word for those people.
I knew I loved clothes aged six, when my favourite pink ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ T-shirt shrunk in the wash. I was devastated. Would I ever find another top that summed up my whole being? I feared not. After tee-gate, my fate – a career in fashion - seemed sealed. But little did I know that I wouldn’t continue to study my beloved Textiles after AS Level, I wouldn’t go to university like my peers and I wouldn’t get a graduate job in fashion, or even a job at all.
We’re all familiar with the fairy tale model: the princess or damsel in distress waits patiently at home for a dashing prince or noble steed to rescue her. We were told this story again and again growing up, the message being: boys are heroes and girls are there to be saved. In response to the gender stereotyping so prevalent in children’s stories, Elena Favilli and Francesa Cavallo created ‘Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls’ – a feminist revival of the fairy tale, where female role models who 'aim higher; fight harder' are at the centre of the narrative.
The WOW festival at the Southbank Centre takes place this weekend and I’m excited. It’s in it’s 5th year and I remember plodding down there four years ago on the request of their PR and to take a megaphone, stand on top of an open top bus, and talk about what it feels to be a woman. I had no idea why I’d been asked to be honest, I had nothing planned, it was International Woman’s Day and I didn’t even really know why it existed.