Table of Contents For All the Mums
Words and illustrations by Jonathan Barrett
The Feminist
Words and illustrations by Rachel Sawyer
The Gender Data Gap
Words and illustrations by Rachel Middleton
The Potential of Feminism
Words and illustrations by Margarita Louka
Cover and endpapers by Jonathan Barrett
For All the Mums by Jonathan Barrett
March is a month that brings us international women’s day but it also brings a day that celebrates the most amazing group of women there are. Mums. The women who have been there for us the longest and who have loved us more deeply than anyone else. Mother’s Day is the time of year to celebrate all mums and motherly figures, whoever they are to you. I’m gonna kick this off by saying me and my mum are tight. She’s always been there for me and supported me in all my dreams. She bought me my first comic book which started a lifelong obsession. She gave me my love of art and film- half of our conversations on the phone are comparing movies and TV shows we’ve been watching! She is a strong creative person and I’m proud to say that I take after her. Although that being said, my dad is 6’2 but I’m only 5’7 because, as doctor once told us, my mum’s short genes “dragged me down”. So she has her down sides too. Mother’s Day is pretty near the end of the month so it gives you lots of time to prepare how you can show your appreciation. Here are some ideas that I’ve come up with for you. I’ll start with the easiest one:
• Buy her flowers • Go shopping • Take her out for Lunch/ Brunch/ Dinner/ Brinner • Spa day (classic) • Forget taking her out, cook for her • Bake a cake together, it was fun when you were little, it’s still fun now • Go for a walk. Beach, forest or just anywhere you’re together • Take her for drinks, there is no love like drunk love • Take a family photo in matching outfits (you know she’d love it) • Take her to the cinema (a personal favourite) • Go visit something beautiful • Go to a museum • At least write her a card Or you could always ask her what she wants to do, plan your day around her. Explore her hobbies and what she loves to do. Make her feel as important as she is and be sure to keep her smiling. But at the end of the day, you are what makes her happy. So even if you’re too busy or your life’s a mess or you’re not in the same country and you can’t see her this year, remember that just one phone call from you is enough to brighten up her day.
Illustrations by Jonathan Barrett
Illustration by Rachel Sawyer
The Feminist
by Rachel Sawyer Feminist is not a dirty word. Women exist in a world of contradictions. You are told to be independent, sexy, curvy, caring and smile, but not so much that you’re bitchy, ugly, fat and fake. One minute you’re this and the next you’re not doing enough of that. It’s a constant battle to balance along this line, carrying all the weight and burdens that society impresses upon women from the moment they are born. What’s worse is when one of the flock breaks away from the herd. One lone black sheep who doesn’t conform. A feminist. Did you hear the hissing and booing just then? Since when did feminist become such a dirty word? Was it back when we stopped being the house hold slaves, got a job and stopped shaving? I’m not sure, but even women shy away from describing themselves as one now. How twisted has this word become that even women struggle to associate themselves with it. Sure, there are a few out there who’ve taken it too far and waved it as a banner of man hating- a sure fire way of muddying it’s original intention. But the word is prefixed with ‘fem’ so it has to only apply to women and nothing to do with the good of men too, right? Incorrect. The world comes under the blanket term ‘mankind’ and yet it still means women also... But maybe it’s not the so called extreme feminists who have misrepresented the word. Could it be disdained for a different reason, such as how much women use it, like we are using a ‘card’ as such. Maybe men are so uninterested in it because it’s on the same level as the story of the boy who cried wolf. Everything seems to emote a feminist reaction from women, even telling a woman to smile more is now dangerous ground. Something as simple as that is enough to cause friction and a lot of men don’t seem to comprehend why. This seems a likely reason why we no longer associate ourselves as feminists. It’s been over done. Men do not come up against the everyday and normalised sexism that women encounter, and so after hearing about the movement for so long, many are probably bored of it. Much in the same way that women are probably bored of the topic too, but not out of sympathy fatigue, more so because we don’t see change. Being told to smile, cat calling, inappropriate advances, unachievable media standards and worse have not stopped. By this point, women are tired of fighting. The battle is still going and will continue long in into the future. But it doesn’t stop them waning in energy. It’s going to take many lifetimes for women to achieve the future we want. There are still too many patriarchal traditions and systems blocking the way. But in the mean time, we need to start owning a word once so strongly championed. Whether you’re a girly girl, tomboy or anything on the spectrum in-between, women need to start picking each other up. Make the journey with the woman next to you, and grab everyone else along the way. You are a feminist and there is no shame in that. The only shame goes to the ones who twist the word and block the cause.
The Gender Data Gap by Rachel Middleton
While feminism has pushed forward the issue of inequality between the male and female genders, breaking through the stereotypes of the past that control so many of our choices and options, there is a deeper underlying issue that has played a part in many of the obvious sexist boundaries that people have in mind. It’s literally right under our noses, we see and experience it every day, but it’s so ingrained into our lives that it seems invisible. It all comes down to data. The measurements of the average woman and the average man are not the same, and whilst we want to compete and disprove the differences of our capability, the playing field never had a level ground. In the scientific experiments that progressed the development of society, the default model was men, for so much of the advanced inventions we produced, it was always designed for the male population. The gender data gap highlights that the data our society collects is typically about men’s experiences and not women’s. Data collected for research and design is crucial for decisions in ergonomics and producing essential results. While it might seem like just a few centimetres just alters the comfort of a chair, these differences could alter the probability of survival in a car crash. In fact, cars are 71% less safe for women than men as they’ve been designed using a 50thpercentile male dummy.
Illustrations by Rachel Middleton
Even with medication, there is missing data for women as they aren’t included in all the clinical trials, so important factors that affect women, such as their periods and hormone differences are left out. For all the constructions, designs, inventions and medications we use to survive on, half the world’s population is unaccounted for! Caroline Criado-Perez in her book “Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” highlights just how many products and designs we rely on are gender biased, from the size of our phones to misdiagnosed symptoms of a heart attack. Her book reveals the impact that data has on our lives, and the amount of neglected data when it comes to the female gender. If we are to solve gender inequality, the gender data gap is a fundamental issue to tackle, one which will close the man shaped chasm in the bridge to progress. In order to close the gap, it will take time, and a lot of it. As there are so many decades of data for women that was never collected, we need to push scientists to incorporate both genders in their trials, with equal importance.
The Potential of Feminism by Margarita Louka
When I heard some of my male friends disagree with the idea of feminism, I found their point of view quite confusing. After all, why would they not support an idea that is all about creating equality between us? Did they not see that it would benefit not only the women they love, but that it would also benefit them as well? After all, if we become more equal as a society and get rid of gender stereotypes, perhaps we can diversify roles not only for women, but for men, too. Maybe if we achieve that, perhaps we would not be so surprised when we see a woman working in a male-dominated STEM field. Perhaps we can encourage men to talk more openly about their emotions, so we would not lose so many men to suicide every year. There have been many efforts in the UK to eradicate gender stereotypes, and even though there have been improvements, we can all help speed up the process by being understanding and listening to each other. That is what feminism means to me- not one gender dominating over the other, just equality and respect. When we achieve equality it would allow us to see beyond stereotypes and expectations. Take for example the idea of a stay at home dad. The numbers have increased throughout the years, but it hasn’t quite become the norm in our society; I would still be surprised if I heard that someone chose to be a stay at home dad. However, if you think about it, what is the difference between a stay at home mum or a stay at home dad? They are both parents that want to take care of their family- it’s just one is more socially acceptable than the other. Perhaps the men I knew resisted feminism because they did not feel included in the movement. Perhaps some men feel excluded by the choice of word- feminism- but that is just a word to highlight that women are currently, and always have been, the ones most suppressed by the patriarchal society men have built since the beginning of history. I never saw it that word as a way to exclude anyone; it is just a word to highlight that reality. To all the men tentatively watching the feminist movement from the sidelines, know that me, and a lot of other women, would love for you to join us in the fight to achieve equality. We have the potential to be so much more- if we try to achieve it together.
Illustration by Margarita Louka
Copyright 2020 by Rachel Middleton, Jonathan Barrett, Rachel Sawyer and Margarita Louka. All rights reserved. This publication or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, copied, reprinted, reworked, redistributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the explicit written permission of the copyright holders.
