This month is all about women, celebrating them, empowering them, and recognising them for the fabulous beings we are.
Our Resident writer Michaela Hall has created a fab piece this month for our celebrating women - issue 23
Capturing the modern woman
For years, women were pigeonholed in a patriarchal society and presented as the feeble, the gentle, and the domestic. So vastly understood as a sex, women were expected to look and act a certain way, and then the 1960s hit and women were no longer willing to be quiet, the feminist movement started and until this day still continues to work towards the equality of the sexes. This turn in history marked the modern woman claiming her right to be whatever she wanted to be and not to adhere to preconceived ideas of what she should be. Something that should be celebrated in our ever-growing inclusive society that champions women’s rights. As International Women’s Day again passes, it’s a great time to reflect on some depictions of the female in art – the modern female.
Long gone are the days when the delicate and petite female form is the only accepted and celebrated one. This is something that is explored by fine art photographer Alicia Clarke in her ‘And God Created Woman?’ series from 2012. Clarke was studying female bodybuilders for one of her commercial commissions when she suddenly realised how many female bodybuilders there are and how celebrated their bodies are in society. She describes the ‘sculpted bodies’ to have an ‘entirely different concept of beauty’ emerge from them in the bodybuilding world. A concept owned by the women themselves that are empowering. The photographs in the series are dramatic, intense, and scream power. The ripples and curves of the female body are illuminated in a way that seems almost reminiscent of bodies in a biblical painting – to be admired and to symbolise sacrifice and hard work for the achievement of this magnificent form. In most mainstream ideals, this idea of the female
bodybuilder is still one that raises some eyebrows in that it steps away from the traditional ideal of female beauty. What Clarke successfully achieves in these portraits is to stick a big middle finger to those outdated opinions and celebrate the modern woman, who takes control of her own ideals of beauty and works to execute this every day.
Another fine art photographer who also seeks to capture and celebrate the modern woman is German-born, Julia Fullerton-Batten. The artist completely understands like a modern society that a woman’s career is no longer pigeonholed to those more domestic or stereotypical roles women may have had in the past. Whilst these roles are right for some, it’s ok for women to empower their own careers and make their own choices. One industry that has and will probably always attract controversy is the sex industry - those in it often presumed to have ended up there or to be in a ‘desperate situation’. Of course, we know in modern society, although this is unfortunately sometimes the case, this definitely isn’t ALWAYS the case. A lot of women enter the sex industry because they actually enjoy it, find it empowering, and like the working benefits that it offers, just like any other job. In Fullarton-Batten’s project ‘The Act’ (2016), the artist studied the performing and private lives of fifteen women who were actively working in the UK sex industry. As well as capturing photographs of all the women involved, the artist also accompanied these with interviews with the women in both film and written word – bringing the women’s opinions and choices to life to be shared, understood, and admired. In ‘Monique, Stripper’ (2016) we see that the composition of the photograph gives the power and focus to Monique’s female form, glorified on a podium with lighting illuminating her like she’s on a Hollywood stage, batting away all those pre-conceptions of a stripper being in a dingy, dark environment with no control. Similarly in ‘Cathy Keen, Lapdancer’ (2016) negative preconceptions of a lapdancer being a tacky and seedy career are blown out of the water with a photograph that demonstrates the elegance of Cathy in the luxe environment that looks more like something of the cover of a vogue magazine.
‘Monique, Stripper’ (2016) ‘Cathy Keen, Lapdancer’ (2016)
What both artists manage to do so well here is provide an intimate window into the life of the modern woman. By this invitation into their subjects’ worlds, who aren’t models but real women doing what they love despite any mis-judgments or criticisms that typically come along with the areas in which they work, we really feel that we get to know the subjects. We get to know their stories, and from one single capture of them feel their empowerment and dedication – something that allows the viewer to admire them and want to know more. By capturing the modern woman, the artists allow a conversation to start around how the modern woman presents herself and allow the celebration of the diversity of the modern woman’s life – something truly owned by the women in the photographs.
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I found a lovely writer and poet who has only just been published by chance, on social media and asked if she would do our Q&A, it was short notice but she said yes…
“It is time to welcome myself back home”
Manipulated Memories are an exploration of self-love, distorted truth, and mental health. After coming to painful realizations amidst her daily journaling, S.E. Anthony was forced to explore her inner self, question a deranged reality, and seek growth after devastation. Creation can emerge out of destruction; words can build immortalized legacies of healing. S. E. pours out her heart to empower readers to claim their voices and stories.
Prepare to confront your truth and rewrite your memories. This new book of poetry is a love letter to those in lonely places; it will serve as a reminder of hope and perseverance any time you may need it. S. E. encourages you to leave behind your shame and see your memories in a new light, page by page.
1 - Could you explain your creative practice? How did you get to become a writer?
My creative practice began with journaling. I became infatuated with how every new day brings a whole new life. A life that I was controlling and could document. I would journal how I felt, who I felt my best/worst around, my days, dreams, and goals. Becoming a writer was something I knew I was destined to be. Storytelling in all forms is all we have.
2 - Is having a creative practice in art or writing relevant today? Do you think it is encouraged enough in schools? Please let us know your opinion on this.
It is and will always be relevant. Hmm, that's such a tricky question. I don't think it's encouraged in schools as much as STEM. But I think it's getting more recognized as a career if that makes sense!
3 – We are always asked what other artists influence us, we want to know what art and writers you don’t like, and which influences your’ practice?
I have a special place in my heart for the arts as a whole. I adore all artists. But of course, some resonate more than others. A writer that has influenced me recently is bell hooks. So raw, open, and direct. I love studying her body of work.
4- If you could go back to high school what would you tell your younger self?
Oh my gosh. I think about this more than I should. HS is forever a thing I dream to go back to because I had the potential to be SO great. I would tell my younger self a couple of things
Surround yourself with people that make your soul happy and motivate you
Join every club that piques your interest
Study abroad
Focus on YOURSELF.
5 – If you could go forward 20 years what do you hope to have done or not done?
I’ll be 44 so definitely still in my prime! I hope to have published a few books, traveled, and have done a documentary or two. I hope to have lived a life worth writing about as I have at 24!
I hope I don't settle.
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Artist - Leyli Salayeva
Bio
Leyli Salayeva is a performance poet from Azerbaijan who authored 4 poetry books and 1 book for children. Her poems and articles have been published in numerous literary journals in the UK, Poland, Canada, Australia, and the USA. Leyli's collaborative works with local & international artists were exhibited in The Poetry Society UK, Triumph Gallery Moscow, Yay Gallery Baku, Tbilisi Art Fair, etc. She is a member of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers and a member of the Poetry Society in the United Kingdom.
Instagram -@leyli_salayeva
Oscar Wilde - “It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you place the blame.”
Women’s fragrance “Guilty.” Exclusive
How to stay honest and neutral? Can I disclose something very personal without revealing the facts? Will it be enough for you to be profoundly imbued with my words?
Today, prosperous women act as role models for the younger generation; women are used as an example to follow. But their achievements and successes are saturated with a sense of guilt and shame, ghosts haunting women in a society, in any society. Men by genesis are born certain of their decision, that they know the right thing to do. Their actions are not subjected to criticism. I assume that this right was granted to them by Eve. She was the first to do something wrong, the first to have the courage to look beyond the cover, to unpack the box. A simple but bold act of curiosity gave rise to the entire human race. This is what has driven people for centuries, up to this point. Curiosity!
Feelings of guilt attached to the womb are passed to the woman from generation to generation. Treat it as the most ancient feeling. The feeling that is so new for men and so well lived, but not overcome by women. In any situation, regardless of the result and scale of the impact, the one who loses the cards is defined by default. The one who is left behind, the one who never goes first, never comes first, the one who cooks poorly, looks bad, speaks too much, and in vain. Women.
A man who pleads guilty is like a birthmark on the back of his head. You need to try very hard to see it well. He simply does not use this word because this notion does not arise in the head, for the verbal execution in a clear “wrong.” Women, like military volunteers, instantly raise their hands with an early reply: “I am to blame for everything.” The woman is strong enough to carry all the lessons learned on her sloping shoulders. She stands completely alone and cleanses the walls of disgust and misconduct. Does it come from nature to be a mother with a hidden superpower? Do all women subconsciously regard men as their sons? Even when they engage in coitus?
Born to be right. Born to be to the right. Do not tell me to walk to the left.
Born to be right. You will not dominate.
Not a single drop of guilt will touch my silver hair.
The beginning is in the legend of the civilized world.
In the Garden of Eden, two notable trees grew: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life grew, deprived of attention. However, the second tree beckoned with its ripe fruits. Later, under the same tree, a legend will be born about another fruit that revealed the law of gravity. In the meantime, this garden was warmed by the company of only two people. He called her Eve and responded to Adam. The uniformity and monotony of their being bothered Eve. The fruits from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil shimmered even in the night and came into her dreams. Adam was banned to touch the fruits from that tree. Disobedience promised death and Adam was a good boy. But the cunning snake caught a spark of curiosity in Eve’s eyes and decided to open up to her a whole world of knowledge of being. The woman refused to break the law; she did not want to die. The serpent insinuatingly whispered, “you will know good and evil.” These new concepts haunted her, resonating in the rustle of leaves. She did not notice how the fetus was in her hands, then in her mouth. And later, Adam chewed freshly ripped fruit. The knowledge of good and evil was counted as an unforgivable sin by the Master. They saved their lives by being exiled from the Garden of Eden. Thus, Adam and Eve became the first forced migrants.
During their stay in Eden, Adam and Eve had no children. They did not even think about them, about the future of humankind. Yes, before eating the fruit, they could be considered childfree. Moreover, their actions were not assessed as good or bad. They did not know what to consider good and what was evil; they had not read the poem by Khalil Gibran “Good and Evil.” It might be assumed that a human deed should be left without being assessed. Or maybe this means that without being criticized, Adam and Eve did only good? After all, the only sin was the desire to become aware.
It should be noted that the most influential philosophical works were penned by men. Even world religions are interpreted by the mouths of men. This suggests that all ethical and moral issues are presented from a male perspective. For centuries, male thinking has been promoted as correct and rational. Although men are mostly traditional in their views. They are less susceptible to change and are not as spiritually plastic as women.
In today’s world, who is a woman becomes a complex and confusing question. Metamorphoses with the biological sex, changes in the types of behavior blur and gradually erase the traditional appearance of a woman. A homosexual or transgender who associates with the female sex and adopts all the behaviors that are historically inherent in a woman. Does he absorb guilt as well? Because he now carries shameful desires and actions.
There is also another advantage that men have, which they actively use. They are physiologically those who possess. Sexual intercourse of penetration into a female partner is a position above her. Therefore, any improper action of a woman is punished by taking from her. Physically or mentally. Throughout her life, her attention, care, love, time, worries, sleepless nights are taken from her. And in return, she receives protection, a sexual organ, and money. Money spent is considered and seen by everyone, but moral costs are as inconspicuous as the air we breathe. But can we replace air with money?
The Latin word emancipation, which is as often heard as Coca-Cola in prerevolutionary Iran, comes from the Latin verb emancipare—to free the child from parental care. The struggle for gender equality has led to the complete release of men from a list of responsibilities and to the provision of equal rights in primordially female territories, for example, with regard to children and their custody.
Guilt is imposed on men only in court, under duress, through the criminal code. The woman herself puts the blame on herself, as her favorite shoes that are one size too small.
Michael Jackson sang that the whole thing was boogie (“Blame it on the boogie”), Jamie Callum, asked to blame everything on youth (“Blame it on my youth”). Even John Newman the whole of 2014 cried from every speaker “Don’t blame it on me.”
Meanwhile, scientific experiments are increasingly proving that the guilt in this world should be equally divided between a man and a woman.
A study by London’s Imperial College showed that sperm “dictates the health of the pregnancy.” This means that miscarriage can be the result of male problems. Thus, both partners contribute to repeated miscarriage.
From the school biology textbook, we also know that sperm contains two types of chromosomes, and, depending on which chromosome they carry, X or Y, a girl or boy will be born, respectively. Therefore, the sex of the unborn child is determined by the father. The accusatory phrase in the East “you cannot even give birth to one boy” should be addressed to a dear son, not his woman.
The cases of conceiving a child are given as an example because problems associated with incorrect perception still may have a deplorable outcome for women in closed societies.
According to UN statistics, 35–45% of marriages in the USA, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Germany, 25–28% in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, and Hungary end with divorce.
All these reasons: domestic and financial problems, early marriages, cohabitation with the parents of one of the spouses, a union concluded without any feelings, adultery, domestic violence. They are just a sophisticated pattern on a warm quilt.
Women try to escape from guilt and therefore get divorced. All their life they feel their responsibility for everything that happens. But they cannot leave this feeling behind. Therefore, a second marriage is so complicated, and rarely takes place. A woman does not want to feel guilty again for her aspirations. For the desire to be what she is from birth, to be who she becomes under the influence of the fluidity of life. Men cannot survive the changes of women, it is difficult for them to catch the wave, to adjust. In fact, it is a woman who should serve as the very “stone wall” on which the man will lean until the end of days. But the walls in the modern world have become portable and able to move apart and transform. Society compels a woman to feel guilty for internal growth and change.
What is the good of guilt? Does it lead to improvement or draws into its abyss? The female body is not a prison, but a room furnished with objects of psychological restrictions and social clichés. The first extract of guilt is injected into a woman by her mother. Girls from childhood are raised with one purpose, to serve their husband. The phrase that escapes from the lips of the mothers “if you do not do well in household tasks, you will be returned back” kills the chances for the development of self-esteem in women in relationships with men. As a result, she always feels only obligations, growing like weeds on her soul.
Women apologize more often than men. They do this automatically and with the same frequency that they blink. This verbal tick appeared a long time ago and eventually will turn into atavism. The need to apologize too often can be associated with low self-esteem, insecurity in one’s own rights, a subconscious desire to avoid any manifestation of criticism, a desire to appease others and be useful to them.
Studies have confirmed this. In one experiment, a group of students was asked to keep a diary for 12 days, in which they would describe situations that, from their point of view, require an apology—and also note whether an apology was actually forthcoming.
Experience has shown that women did apologize more often than men, but they also listed more situations in which they themselves were to blame, or when others were hurt by something. However, men and women are equally willing to apologize for their mistakes. It is just that men saw fewer situations in which they did something wrong. Therefore, they apologized much less often.
From the point of view of men, they make fewer mistakes than women. This confidence allows them to take bold steps in mastering any profession. Statistics still show that men make up the majority in any field. Even in the traditional “female” space—the kitchen—men dominate their abilities. Because men do not have a feeling of guilt, their every act is filled with self-confidence, which is one of the important conditions for achieving success. It is not a matter of who should make money, but who is not afraid to make stupid mistakes.
The reason for the appearance of purely male professions is due to social stereotypes, such as the concept of “female logic.” Women really have a certain way of thinking and communicating. This is largely due to thyroid hormones. For example, with an increase in testosterone levels, thinking accelerates and women successfully solve math problems. In men, the opposite. High levels of testosterone confuse thinking and descend thoughts to lower floors.
Often men are reluctant to listen to a woman or to prove to her that they are smarter or right, so they just start to find fault with female illogicality. However, historical facts prove that a woman is capable of achieving the “male” logic in the world. And for this, she does not have to give up her femininity. Because in essence, for us, male and female logic is the habit of thinking and making choices.
The famous film actress Hedy Lamarr was incredibly beautiful and attractive. She was called the most beautiful woman in Europe. It was her invention, paired with composer George Antheil, that turned out to be necessary for wireless communication of the pre-computer era. And today it continues its journey in mobile phones, Wi-Fi, GPS.
One of the oldest in the history of programming languages was also born thanks to the “female” logic of Grace Murray Hopper, an American specialist in computer science and the military. She was one of the first programmers of the early IBM Harvard Mark I computer and developed the first compiler for a programming language.
There are cases in history when men ascribed the merits of women to themselves. English scientist Rosalind Franklin received an image of DNA thanks to an X-ray. Based on her accomplishments, male colleagues developed a hypothesis of the structure of a DNA double helix. As a result, they received the Nobel Prize for their research and Rosalind died of cancer 4 years before. She also managed to contribute to the study of coal and graphite and viruses, in particular, the polio virus.
Until now, although men acknowledge the right of women to work as scientists, they are trying in every possible way to downplay their role and merit.
Transhumanism, as the last phase of mankind to go through all the obstacles, for the victory of man over man. In the West, the facets of religion, the state, family standards, and gender belonging are being erased. All this already affects how a woman is perceived in society. In the future, the rivals will be not men and women, but people and robots. But will the woman be able to compete at that stage without getting rid of the inhibitory guilt? How unified will thinking and behavior be?
Women, like snowdrops after a severe winter, bloom toward awareness, unfold their capabilities. Men like old trees deeply rooted stand nearby and do not understand where these small white drooping bell-shaped flowers come from. A contemporary man is lost, he was not told what to do with such a woman. But he is not to blame! Instead of guilt, aggression or passivity occurs. Inaction and stagnation.
As comedian actress and writer Amy Poehler said, “A woman needs years to forget everything that she was taught to apologize for.” It is time to stop asking for forgiveness for the fact that we exist and for the choice we make.