She.
Photo Stories / Art / Girl Culture
Issue 1 January 2017
She. [Issue One]
A love letter to my yOUNGER self... Hey! How’s it going? If this is reaching you in high school, then probably not great. if so, you’ll have blue hair, sporting a pair of dr. martens, listening to the libertines whilst worrying about your latest boy troubles. Am i right? well I’m writing to let you know that no, life does not get easier (sorry!) But it does get more enlightened. There’s a whole world of girl culture waiting to be uncovered... Women who are getting liberated through art, sport or even just by loving their bodies! you will create a little magazine called ‘she’ which celebrates all those wonderful things for women in the height of their youth TO hopefully enjoy. so try not to worry about the small things, and i’ll see you in a few. Love from Ella xx eLLA SEDMAN, editor
p.s. The libertines ARE GOING TO break up... but don’t worry, they WILL get back together... Eventually...
CONTENTS
She. Asks pages 5-12
Girl Things Pages 17-22
She dances Pages 25-36
Beautiful Skin PAges 39-44
Collage with Girls Pages 45-50
GIRLS & MUSIC Pages 54-60
We
made Pages 61-64
2016
“ What
epitomises modern-day girl culture for you?
5/6
"
She. Asked
a group of girls about identity and their personal relationship with femininity in one question...
[Cody] 22 7/8
“Women
of different Races, sizes, abilities who are dominating social media."
“Gorgeous models like Madeline Stuart and Thando Hopa are perfect examples of how social media has broadened the horizon for what people consider ‘normal’. Everyone is different and it’s finally being accepted in modern-day girl culture.”
[Katie] 19
“Music is a big part of my life so it’s always great discovering powerful women in music, especially all-girl bands. Artists like Angel Olsen and the band Hinds are two standout examples.” 9 / 10
[Marie] 21 “I have been extremely inspired by the women’s hockey team winning gold for GB at the Olympics this summer. It’s great to see their sporting success acknowledged in the news solely to do with their achievements, rather than their physical appearance. Hopefully it’ll encourage more young girls to get involved in sports.”
[Holly] 21
11 / 12
“For me, it’s increasingly seeing girls supporting each other. My friend set up a page on Facebook, which now has hundreds of members, who are free to upload selfies. The idea was to create a space for girls where they can upload pictures without a fear of being judged. Instead, it’s really supportive and has a sense of community.”
“It’s
the little things like that, which can really make a difference."
made for the outdoors
Draw like a girl
15 / 16
DOODLES OF GIRLS BY A GIRL
GIRL THINGS
Reflecting contemporary girl culture through daily objects used by the girls of today. Whether through the art we like or societal expectations, this photo story aims to show how being a girl can be both fun and a period pain.
17 / 18
Photographer | Ella Sedman
The day bra
The impossible-to-master fake tan
The good pair of pants
The dreaded tampon
The weather permitting nipple pads
19 / 20
The enlivening record
The favourite book
People’s shoes of italy
grimes
2017 Tour 17.03/Manchester/THE DEAF INSTITUTE 19.03/Leeds/BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB 20.03/London /Brixton Academy
She.
dances
Having danced from the age of six, university dance student
Hannah is contemporary both in dance style
and nature. Coming to the end of her degree, Hannah discusses her motivation and becoming an
25 / 26
artist.
Dancers feet
29 / 30
“I love dancing but at one point wanted to quit when I was younger. It was my mum stopped me and I am so glad she did. Now so many people tell me they wish they hadn’t stopped dancing. That’s something I have to thank my mum for.”
“Coming to university, it’s completely different to how I anticipated it would be (in a good way). I didn’t know contemporary dance in this light. You have more creative freedom, are able to find what works for you and what you like.”
“You’re becoming an artist.”
31 / 32
In the studio seven
days a week
33 / 34
“I want to keep dancing and do as many projects as I can. Obviously it’s a hard industry and so many people don’t want to go into it because of that but it doesn’t put me off. The hard work will be worth it.”
“I really like constructing dances and want to get together with other artists and just start creating. Take it to festivals, get some funding and just collaborate while I’m young and I can.” 35 / 36
Urban Outfitters
d u n g A r e e s
“You only love me when we're all alone...” Issue One: girl crush
Mitski “You only love me when we’re all alone...From her new track, A loving Feeling, this beautifully honest lyric is just one of many from the indie rock performer’s 2016 album Puberty 2. One of the most controversially brilliant albums from 2016, New York-based Mitski epitomises the interpersonal struggles that resonates within the female youth of today. On her fourth album, the 26-yearold provides a contemporary insight into issues on relationships, identity and acceptance, something that appears relentlessly throughout her catalogue of music. Redefining what constitutes a legendary female artist, Mitski has truly set the benchmark for contemporary rock music. Effortlessly cool in both stage presence and off-stage demeanour, Mitski manages to successfully translate her hard-hitting personal experiences through her music. Maintaining a sense of innocence
and simplicity, the indie rock artist also sings of her cross-cultural identity being, “half Japanese, half American, but not fully either,” which is addressed in her song Your Best American Girl. Mitski continues to tell the notso-glamorous side of femininity, something many are scared to do; yet, does so in a musical and basically badass way. This is why she is our girl crush for issue one. On her latest album Puberty 2, listen to Happy, Your Best American Girl and Fireworks.
39 / 40
Beautiful SKIN
41 / 42
43 / 44
Collage with girls 45 / 46
Creating new imagery through the use of Film photographs, girls are the focus. Photographer ella sedman wants you to cut out the patriarchy in the Same manner she snips up photos featuring her closest gal pals.
HANNAH
Joylin
47 / 48
sophie
connie
“Quality never goes out of style.”
WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR?
GIRLS
& MUSIC Like a lot of girls, music features heavily in all aspects of Hayley Suviste’s life. Whether through university, gigs, collecting vinyl, festivals or soonto-be Masters, her Rhythmic lifestyle is a constant, forever building crescendo.
53 / 54
55
“I’ve been playing the Saxophone for five years and the clarinet for ten. My grandad and my dad both play clarinet, which is how I first got into it. When my grandad first came over to England from Estonia in the 40s, he worked playing in a jazz band. He’s virtually blind now but he continues to play. To learn new music, he has to blow up one bar of sheet music at a time on his massive, 72” TV screen. His dedication to music is amazing.”
55 / 56
“I love music composition, it’s like painting. I came to uni thinking I couldn’t compose at all, but now I want to do a Masters in Electro Acoustics Composition. It’s really interesting. Like I could take a clip of someone saying a singular word and transform it into an atmospheric, 5-minute long piece. It’s like
chemical sound art.”
“I realised a while ago that all of my big idols in music were all men such as David Bowie and Leonard Cohen. So I began making more of an effort to search for female artists and started going to upcoming musician showcases. At the moment I’m really into Angel Olsen at the moment, I can’tstop listening to her.”
59 / 60
We
made 2016
With a New Year dawning, we celebrate the female figures who elevated the
power of girl culture in 2016. Diverse in age, race, size and passion, here’s just a few of the empowering figures who excited, exhilarated and inspired everyone at
She. magazine. Illustrations | Ella Sedman
Diandra
Forrest
American model Diandra Forrest has worked with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, and MAC. Born with albinism, she’s grateful for her unique, hybrid look, “I’m the symbol of racial unity. I’m a black girl who lives in the skin of a white person and that alone should embody what a human being as a whole should represent.” Also working with an organization in Tanzania called Assisting Children in Need, which helps fight discrimination against Tanzania’s albino community, Forrest continues to change the face of modelling, making her an asset to the fashion industry. 61 / 62
Yayoi
Kusama
The 87-year-old Japanese surrealist artist is known for her polka dot, patterned and net-driven work. Kusama has lived voluntarily in a psychiatric institution since 1977, with her art being related to obsessiveness and a desire to escape from psychological trauma. In an attempt to share her experiences, Kusama creates paintings, sculptures, drawings, films and installations that immerse the viewer in her obsessive vision of endless dots and nets and infinitely mirrored space. Breaking the stigma attached to mental illness through art, She. loves Kusama for not only her breathtaking work and eccentricity, but also her contributions to developing perceptions surrounding mental health.
Millie
Bobby Brown
At just 12-years-old, Millie Bobby Brown is the head-shaven, People’s Choice Awards-nominated, Thai boxing actress we just love. 2016 saw Brown take to her role as ‘Eleven,’ in the drama series of the moment Stranger This. The American role of Middle School, FBI cover-ups and Eggo’s meant the English actress had us all fooled with her breakout role. Learning her American accent from watching Disney shows, Brown is the super-cool, pre-teen we wished we could have been.
Ibtihaj
Muhammad
In 2016 Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while competing in the Olympics. Earning the bronze medal as part of Team USA, Muhammad became the first female MuslimAmerican athlete to earn a medal at the Olympics. A well-awaited development in women’s sports, Muhammad also works as sports ambassador for the US Empowering Women and Girls Through Sport Initiative.
Barbie
Ferreira
American model Barbara ‘Barbie’ Ferreira is already an Instagram phenomenon aged just 20. 2016 saw the plus-size model industry become increasingly merged into the mainstream media with Ferreira being instrumental in that unity. Promoting body positivity both in and outside the fashion industry, Ferreira has redefined youthful beauty through her empowering messages and beautiful imagery. 63 / 64
FKA
Twigs
Tahliah Debrett Barnett (FKA Twigs) is the 2014 Mercury Prize-nominated artist known for her experimental, genre-bending music. After moving to London at the age of 17 to become a dancer, Barnett focused on finding her sound at 18. Her eccentric style both in music and image is bold in creativity, wonderfully abstract and uniquely inspiring.
& finally...
.
.. the lowdown on the people, food and art of the moment
* We’re listening to: Trouble by Girl Ray ** We’re reading: The Girls by Emma Cline *** We’re eating: Tarka Dahl from Bundobust (Manchester) ** We’re drinking: Kona Big Wave * We’re watching: Divorce ** We’re loving: Amy Schumer *** We’re wearing: Anything made with sheer fabric ** We’re admiring: The work of Lena Dunham *
Thanks for reading
She. Magazine