Motley - Volume XV - Issue IV - Health

RIGHT WING MISINFORMATION

FAILINGS IN WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE

THE IMPACT OF ALCOHOL

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2021

Editorial Staff Stephen Moynihan

Hannah Emerson

Stephen is an award-winning journalist with a keen interest in current affairs. He is currently in his nal year of a BA in philosophy and politics.

Hannah is a third year medical and health science student who feels that this section of motley is tting for her due to an over abundance of opinions she feels af icted with since birth.

Maxwell Callanan

James Kemmy

Max is a second year digital humanities student.

He spends most of his spare time writing, drawing and making funky little board games.

James is in his third year student of government and political science in UCC. He is interested in a wide variety of musical genres and the power of contemporary lm and ction to highlight pressing social issues

Conor Daly

Sarah Collins

Conor is nal year Arts student and was a member of the current affairs team last year as a staff writer. He is an almost award winning poet and journalist with hopes of removing the almost in the near future.

Sarah is a third year Government and Political Science student. Along with having her own graphic design business, Sarah also runs a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog and she is a huge lover of all things fashion related.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Features & Opinion Editor

Graphic Designer

Entertainment Editor

Fashion & Beauty Editor

Current Affairs Editor

Online Team Online Editor Social Media

Deputy Editors

Kevin Quane Erica Shelly

Current Affairs Features & Opinions Entertainment

Staff Writers

Natalia Gawlas John Hunter Shruti Rajagopal

Jessica O’Brien Alana Daly Mulligan

Artists

Contributors

Mars Lotty Shania Sampson

Luke O’Connell, Sarah O’Mahony, Roisin Dunlea, Aíne Feeney, Cian McDonnell, Lisa Ahern, Orla Leahy, Ronan Keohane, Amano Miura, Conor Murphy,

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This publication is made from 100% recycled paper. Motley welcomes letters from from readers, emailed to editor@motley.ie. Motley is published by Motley magazine, The Hub UCC, Western Road, Cork. Printed by City Print Limited, Victoria Cross, Cork. Copyright 2021 Motley Magazine. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All efforts have been made to ensure that details and pricing are correct at time of print. Motley magazine does not take responsibility for any errors incurred.

This magazine can be recycled either in your green bin kerbside collection or at a local recycling point. Images provided by Unsplash.com, Pexels.com, Pixabay.com. Vectors provided by Vecteezy.com and Freepic.com.

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Meet the Motley

From the Editor Emer Walsh Editor-in-Chief

While once again initially enthusiastic about returning to campus following the Christmas period, UCC students arrived back united in heartbreak by the most sickening of tragedies. Ashling Murphy’s murder has struck a deep chord in students nationwide, as just a few months ago, she herself was one of us.

As protocol dictates, debates regarding enhanced safety among women normally ensue following such tragedies. What’s often omitted from these conversations are full proof solutions, as regrettably, sharing one’s location with friends when out alone is not one.

editor@motley.ie

On a personal level, the death of Ashling Murphy has made me realise that since my teenage years, I’ve gone about life clouded by a naive nonobservance. Among these many naiveties, I’ve walked alone late at night with my headphones on full blast, oblivious to the risks that I was overlooking. I've left parties before telling people that I was going, failing to consider the concern this would instil in more conscious friends. I’ve had people walk closely behind me at night, yet before last week, I failed to consider why that may have been.

I know my experience contradicts that of many other women, and I feel it must be clari ed, the manner in which I have acted up until this point is rooted in ignorance, combined with a classic case of “that would never happen to me” syndrome.

Ashling Murphy’s death taught me that I am not immune from violence. A sobering realisation gained from this tragedy is that I do not see danger, yet, it surrounds me as much as it surrounds women everywhere.

My heart goes out to Ashling’s family, Ashling’s friends, Ashling’s partner, Ashling’s students and to all those who had the pleasure of knowing her. Momentum for change has materialized in recent weeks, and we owe it to Ashling and the 243 other women who have died at the hands of femicide in the state since 1966, to ensure this opportunity does not go untaken. Better days await us, but they must start now.

Issue #4 is dedicated to the topic of Health, a theme that has consumed our lives for the best part of two years.

But this issue is not dedicated to COVID-19. Instead, we dedicate this issue to health issues that, for obvious reasons, have long gone undiscussed.

Among these pages you will nd a hard-hitting account of gender-based medical negligence by contributor Sarah O’Mahony, news of a new era marked by the end of almost all Covid restrictions by Current Affairs Editor Conor Daly, and a deep-dive into both the uplifting yet incredibly heart shattering lm “Babyteeth” by Entertainment Editor James Kemmy.

Last September, I refrained from using the term “post-Covid era” and I feel that looking back now, I was right in doing so.

However, the licensed Rolling Stone and Nobel Prize Badass Bob Dylan very observingly, once said, “The Times, They are a Changin’.

Following these announcements, I hope that as restrictions lift, so does the weight felt on all of our shoulders, and that for the rst time in almost two years, we can nally breathe again as we embrace this new beginning.

Stay healthy, stay safe, and we shall see you next month.

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Siri, play “Ready to Start” by Arcade Fire.

December 2021

Current Affairs

Features

Entertainment

Fashion & Beauty

Luke O’Connell talks to Motley about the role of in uential gures in the spread of disinformation to the general public.

Amano Miura in Conversation with Social Care Worker Anne Marie Qulligan on Irish Traveller Health Outcomes

James Kemmy discusses the fearless and poignant debut from Australian director Shannon Murphy

Motley Staff writer Jessica talks about the HBO’s drama, Euphoria and the integral roles clothing plays in the telling of the character’s stories.

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Inside Motley

How Internet Personalities drive Anti-Vax Propaganda With an ongoing societal discussion taking place concerning

THE THE LEGITIMACY LEGITIMACY OF OF THE MEDIA THE MEDIA we consume, Luke O’Connell talks to Motley about the role of in uential gures in the spread of disinformation to the general public.

Anti-vaxxers have become Anti-vaxxers have bene become one of one of the largest ciaries in the largest bene ciaries in the new of new age of disinformation.

Withage wild disinformation.

With wild social conspiracies conspiracies ying around media c ying o n c earound r n i n g social C o v media i d - 1 9 concerning and its Covid-19 andvaccine, its accompanying accompanying the far-right vaccine, the far-right have hijacked have hijacked these conspiracies to these conspiracies to both both spread disinformation andspread drive disinformation and drive their vehicle their vehicle of anti-science. of anti-science.

Their ability to hijack these Theirhas ability hijack down these discussions led topeople discussions d a n g e ro u s has p a t hled s i npeople w h i c hdown the d a n g ecation ro u s for p a t hbeing s in w hich the justi anti-science justi cation for being anti-science becomes masked in “freedom of becomes choice”. masked in “freedom of choice”. The most listened to podcast The in most listened to podcast the world, in the world,

THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE

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has ventured into the wild west.

Rogan, who is best known as a frequent commentator on some of the biggest ghts the UFC has ever seen, credits himselfs on his Instagram as a “Stand up comic/mixed martial arts fanatic/psychedelic adventurer.”

Omitted from his bio, however, is the label “conspiracy theorist”.

The podcast host has also made transphobic, mysognisitc, and homophobic comments in the past, with a scroll through his social media pages showing a man who adds fuel to the re when it comes to vaccine discussions.

In a letter signed by 270 health experts, warnings of a ‘sociological issue of devastating proportion’ were shared following an episode from the podcast featuring the American virologist, Dr Robert Malone.

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FALLING DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

The letter establishes the threat of Dr Malone, referring to him as “one of two recent JRE guests who has compared pandemic policies to the Holocaust.”

The letter goes on to refer to Dr Malone’s comments as “not only objectionable and offensive, but also medically and culturally dangerous.”

Throughout the pandemic, social media users have witnessed disgusting comparisons like the ones mentioned above, which Rogan proudly echoes to his audience who are, on average, 24 years old and 71% male. This demographic, combined with Rogan’s popularity with far-right commentators creates a recruitment goldmine for Anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists. By hijacking the movement, they are able to steer and provide a safe space for these men to further enable the far-right and it’s movement.

Rogan is not the sole broadcaster of these claims. He is joined by various US “intellectuals” including Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, and Jordan Peterson who have together, jumped on the hysteria of “freedom”. These men comprise what is widely referred to as the “Intellectual Dark Web,” a group of social and political commentators involved in the pushback against progressive movements.

Shapiro, initially a harsh critic of antivaxxers as shown in an old tweet, is now advocating for “choice”, but uses this narrative to criticise democrats for pushing vaccine mandates, despite previously advocating for their implementation.

Peterson, a frequent guest on Rogan’s podcast, has admitted on the conservative YouTube-based talk-show, “The Rubin Report” to being vaccinated as he wanted the government to leave him alone.

Peterson has also showed his support for Rogan, tweeting,

“JOE ROGAN: KING OF MISINFORMATION. That's why so many people prefer him to CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS (which never lie or dissimulate) @JoeRogan Leave him alone @Spotify and censors everywhere."

In a study conducted by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, it was found that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, and YouTube have done little to stop the ow of lies.

While these companies hold a responsibility to reprimand users in violation of community guidelines, these companies have failed time and time again in tackling disinformation.

The 2016 Brexit Referendum and US Presidential Election are two prime examples of the regulatory shortcomings observed in Big Tech, as exhibited in the 2021 Net ix show “The Great Hack”.

An unfortunate truth when looking at the issue of online disinformation is that Big Tech reaps nancial bene ts from allowing disinformation of their platforms. Such a drastic misalignment of incentives creates an environment in which stronger user guidelines are unpro table, and hence, disregarded.

To achieve an online culture that values sincerity, solutions beyond Big Tech’s remit need to be considered.

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Ireland and its lack of International compliance with Mental Health Law

With mental health becoming an ever-growing talking point within the public sphere, Deputy Current Affairs Editor Natalia Karolina Gawlas looks at the legislative gap between the Irish legislation and the International standards of Mental Health Law. Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the

“RIGHT TO A STANDARD OF LIVING,” which among its many entitlements includes the right to medical care and necessary social services, a standard that countries worldwide are expected to adhere to.

The World Health Organisation has also declared that national governments are responsible for the mental and physical health of their citizens, a point for Ireland to take into consideration given the state’s current legislation concerning mental wellbeing.

Unfortunately, Ireland’s Mental Health Act 2001 does not meet the requirements set by international human rights conventions, speci cally when looking at the state’s current regulations concerning hospital admission procedures.

The 2001 Act was introduced as a means to end the stigma attached to mental health, and its reform brought substantial change to existing Irish legislation. Unfortunately, it still lacks the substance necessary to ensure full compliance with international standards, as well as proper protection for its citizens.

Despite the well-needed advancements that the 2001 Act ensured following the Mental Treatment Act 1945, a need for improvement still exists to ensure the future-proo ng of mental health legislation in Ireland. As a result, an Expert Group gathered in 2014, in which a report detailing the reforms needed in the 2001 Act was published.

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While it may sound promising, this report follows one published in 2006 which also discussed shortcomings of the 2001 Act. Little was achieved as a result of the 2006 report, which

NEGATIVELY IMPACTED MENTAL HEALTH services nationwide and served as another compliance failure according to international standards.

This begs the question, If the 2006 report failed, could the 2014 report actually deliver progress?

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) sets out an international standard for States to follow when drafting legislation regarding mental health and persons with disabilities. Ireland signed up to the CRPD in 2007 but only rati ed it in 2018, with ongoing amendments regarding hospital admissions still being proposed to improve current Irish legislation.

The proposed amendments would certainly improve mental health legislation in Ireland, however, they may not be strong enough to futureproof mental health law in Ireland as what is necessary now might change in a decade. The key priority in amending mental health law is that it must meet International legislative standards and obligations.

As Luke Mulligan expressed at the beginning of the 2014 review, there must be a balance achieved between a person’s right to autonomy and the need for protective measures to be enforced.

However, even though there exists extreme criticism of Irish mental health legislation, the government is very slowly bringing about reform in order to protect patients admitted to institutions for treatment.

As of 2015, providing ElectroConvulsive Therapy and providing ongoing treatment beyond three months without consent is now unlawful.

Additionally, as of 2018, involuntary detention under a renewal order cannot exceed a period of six months, and an involuntary patient has the opportunity to apply for a review of their detention after three months from the renewal order.

These amendments allow for legislation concerning the hospital admission process to nally progress in Ireland. These changes are, however, small compared to those recommended in the 2014 report, which leaves a lot of work to be done for Ireland to be fully compliant with international standards.

The recommendations made by the expert group in their 2014 report would allow for Ireland to adopt international conventions which would be a great improvement within the Irish jurisdiction.

The 2014 report is not the perfect x, but it is a step in the right direction. Future issues may arise following the implementation of all the necessary recommendations, but after all, such straightforwardness within the law is not particularly common.

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United by the most heinous of crimes As the country sti attempts to come to terms with the shocking ki ing of primary school teacher Ashling Murphy in Tu amore, Current A airs Editor Conor Daly looks at how this event has brought the country together and how it could change our society going forward.

"She was going for a run" This is the poignant phrase that has been circulating around social media in the days and weeks since the fatal attack of a 23 year old woman on Wednesday the 12th of January in county Offaly.

This is unfortunately far from the rst killing of its kind in this country, and sadly, it will more than likely not be the last. There is, however, a sense that the public reaction to the event, both at home and abroad, could prove to be a watershed moment in terms of Ireland’s relationship with gender based violence.

Indeed the phrase “watershed moment” has also been circulating around the country since the news of this incident broke. It was a point of discussion on The Late Late Show between host Ryan Tubridy and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, with the latter commenting on how the fallout from the attack has forced men in particular to think about how women are treated in this country.

He made similar comments in the Dáil as he called for change to be made to misogynistic attitudes in this country. As the long standing adage goes, “the rst step in solving any problem is recognising that there is one”.

The public outcry has been strongly felt, with women, but also men, utterly at a loss as to what more has to be done in order to prevent such an atrocity from happening again.

The onus is being put on men in this country, and rightly so, because the frustration being felt by women is largely down to how many precautionary measures are already being taken by women and girls around this country to keep themselves safe when they leave their houses. The fact that this incident happened in broad daylight has only added to this.

The ripple effect of this tragedy has been felt around the globe, with the strength of Ireland’s diaspora coming to the fore under the most dif cult of circumstances. There were vigils held in London, New York and Dubai among other places.

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The details of the story just got worse the more they were released. 23 years old. Recently graduated. First class primary school teacher. Went for a run in broad daylight.

Ashling Murphy was simply going about her day, most likely planning to run at the time she did so it would still be bright out. Additionally, this attack was said to be completely random. People have really struggled to grapple with this idea, that someone can do absolutely nothing wrong and have their life taken from them for no reason.

This is of course in addition to the numerous tributes and vigils held all around Ireland in memory of this young woman, including at the Amphitheatre here in UCC on Monday 17th January.

There have also been multiple gyms and combat sports clubs offering free self defense classes to women who want, or feel the need, to learn basic self defense skills. If there are any positives to be taken from this horrible situation, it is most de nitely the manner in which the people of Ireland have come together to mourn the loss of, in theory, a total stranger.

But in reality, the time that has elapsed since the news initially broke has proven that she wasn't a total stranger, far from it. In a time of national and international division, the age-old value of community has shone through in what is proving to be perhaps the only glimmer of hope in this period of national grief.

This value is one that binds us together, particularly in dif cult moments, and reminds us that we are not as isolated as we think we are. The other side of this story is how such a heinous and unnecessary act has united people in this country.

If we are to move forward and learn any lessons from this event, we have to hold on to the

hope that things can improve, they simply must.

Men are realising that they need to play a bigger role than they currently do, that they need to do more to make women feel safe in this country.

Students here in UCC have already taken steps to do this, with an increase reported in enrolment for the Bystander Intervention Programme, which teaches students how to become active bystanders and eradicate harmful behaviors that promote gender based violence.

This issue is not one that has a single quick x that will solve everything. It will take a concerted e ort from men in particular to want to make a change, recognising that altering their behavior on an individual level can have more of an impact than they realise.

The reaction of UCC students is a very promising rst step and shows both a recognition of the need for change and also the desire to be part of said change.

With all the public attention that this despicable event has garnered, one can only hope that at the very least, the death of Ashling Murphy can prove to be a catalyst for changing the way we treat women in this country and that we will strive to be better for the sake of the 244 women who have died violently in this country since 1996.

If that statistic is not a motivator for significant change, nothing ever will be.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

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EVER-INCREASING HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS: ANOTHER SIDE EFFECT OF THE PANDEMIC With the country welcoming the news of most restrictions being eased on the 22nd January, Current Affairs Editor Conor Daly looks at how Covid-19 has caused and continues to cause delays in care both here in Ireland and further a eld.

We now stand on the verge of the

TWO YEAR MARK OF THE CORONAVIRUS

This is another side to this pandemic, one which resurfaces every so often in news bulletins, lost in the swathes of gures that occupy the media on a daily basis.

It is of course the impact that covid has had on the everyday functioning of our healthcare system and the waiting lists that continue to grow due to postponed appointments and cancelled surgical procedures.

PANDEMIC.

OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

What started out as something that might close of ces and schools for a number of weeks, has transformed into something that has impacted billions of people globally and dramatically altered our lives. Mask wearing, vaccination, social distancing; all these measures have been introduced in an attempt to combat the spread of the disease and reduce serious infection.

The general public has been desperate for some positive announcements, with sustained pressure on the government to ease restrictions on the hospitality sector which has been hit extremely hard by the implications of the virus. Now, almost 48 months since the onset of the pandemic, life in Ireland is beginning to take on some traits of normality following the removal of the vast majority of restrictions.

Social distancing has been removed and covid certs will no longer be required to enter restaurants, bars and nightclubs, which have also had their original opening hours reinstated. Moreover, it is being reported that mandatory mask-wearing could be revoked by the end of February. And yet, despite all these positive changes, the impact of covid-19 on our society and more speci cally our health service is undoubtedly ongoing.

for the health service and the Department of Health. Their priority remains the quelling of the pandemic on our shores, even if that means delaying medical care for other people within our society.

New data has shown the extent of the issue nationwide. The Irish Independent reported on new gures released in January, which showed that there were “over 100% increases in outpatient and inpatient/day case waiting lists at some public hospitals over the past 12 months”. It also stated that roughly 114 people were added to public hospital waiting lists every day over the course of 2021.

The state of affairs is of concern to those waiting for procedures or appointments. These gures come from a report from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTFP), which showed that 879,277 people are currently on some sort of waiting list in Ireland. The situation is particularly dire in Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), which had the highest increase in outpatient waiting lists in 2021 at 101%.

These gures are quite shocking, especially when the hospital with the second highest increase saw a rise of 30% in the same period. There is a consensus both among stakeholders within the sector and also patients that

SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE

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to rectify the situation.

Similar reports back in

DECEMBER OF 2021 SHED LIGHT ON THESE ISSUES AS WELL, with the extent of the problem in Cork being clearly set out.

At that stage, over 80,000 individuals were waiting for appointments or inpatient treatments in hospitals across county Cork alone.

It is clear that protecting the public from covid-19 has been the key priority over the past two years, and understandably so. But as we begin to emerge on the other side of the pandemic as signalled by the easing of restrictions, this is an aspect of the health system which is in need of immediate attention.

This phenomenon is not con ned to Ireland.

Reports from the United Kingdom show similar issues, with hospital waiting lists continuing to be a cause for concern for both patients and healthcare of cials.

The country is still facing the same problems when it comes to the healthcare system feeling the side effects of two years of a pandemic. It has recently been reported by the Guardian that there are currently 6 million people in England alone that are waiting for routine hospital treatment. Another startling gure is that there are more than 300,000 individuals who are waiting longer than a year for surgery.

Part of the problem is the extensive absences of healthcare staff which is of course another consequence of the challenging position these workers nd themselves in while being part of the ght against the pandemic.

Just over the border from England in Wales, there are also reports of increased waiting times for patients. It is reported that the Welsh health system is experiencing record waiting times for the 19th successive month. One can’t help but notice that 19 months would take us back to the early stages of the pandemic, with the covid-19 virus undoubtedly proving to be a key factor in the challenges facing the health system in Wales and countless other countries around the world.

Just over the border from England in Wales, there are also reports of increased waiting times for patients. It is reported that the Welsh health system is experiencing record waiting times for the 19th successive month. One can’t help but notice that 19 months would take us back to the early stages of the pandemic, with the covid-19 virus undoubtedly proving to be a key factor in the challenges facing the health system in Wales and countless other countries around the world.

Ireland is clearly not an outlier when it comes to dif culties faced by national health systems, a global pandemic by nature will have

HUGE CONSEQUENCES ON THIS SECTOR OF SOCIETY. This however should not be a source of comfort, knowing that other countries are experiencing similar situations. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has recognised the extent of the problems faced by our health system and has called upon the government to take signi cant action in order to change the predicament the health service currently nds itself in.

The situation needs prompt action taken. The news of the easing of almost all restrictions is of course a hugely positive step forward, out of the darkness of the last two years where the beginning of the end was often dif cult to envisage. There is still work to do, that much is abundantly clear. But let us be rejuvenated by the return to life as we knew it, the things we all longed for in the days of lockdown and isolation periods.

If the last two years have proven anything, it is the resilience of people in the face of the most dif cult of circumstances. One can only hope that all the relevant stakeholders can approach the issue of waiting lists with that same level of resilience and that the problem will be tackled over the coming months. As public morale rises after a long period of uncertainty and adversity, positive changes in general, but more speci cally, in relation to this problem in the health system, will be welcomed with open arms.

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FAILINGS IN WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE IN IRELAND FOR A BETTER SYSTEM

With this being Cervical Cancer Awareness month, Sarah O’Mahony speaks to Emer Connolly and Jodi Moloney who tell their own stories and discuss how the HSE should move forward.

Emer is a UCC student from Cork who in February 2021 was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer and began treatment to stop it's progression following a long battle to have her symptoms legitimised.

Jodi is a Maynooth University student from Dublin whose tweets detailing her experience attempting to access gynaecological care in Ireland while presenting with symptoms of cervical cancer went viral. Due to the information de cit that exists and the lack of

AWARENESS OF CERVICAL CANCER SYMPTOMS, Irish women can be sidelined by the health system.

The striking part of Jodi’s story is that she learned of the clinic she will soon attend in Poland through TikTok. Young Irish women document their travels abroad, staying in hotels near clinics in the UK, Poland, Spain and Romania where often times they nd other Irish women navigating the same journey.

They have taken up the government’s responsibility to fully inform women of their options. Jodi tells me that a wave of women have contacted her

SHARING THEIR EXPERIENCES and divulging that travelling abroad for care was a new revelation to them.

It is evident that the creation of an easily accessible resource providing information on the length of public waiting lists for specialist gynaecological care, what to expect from such appointments and possible healthcare options abroad is needed.

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ACKNOWLEDGING PAST AND PRESENT

Also, a recommendation by The Radical Listening Project commissioned by the government, which held workshops to give women from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to voice their concerns, pointed to the multilingual development of such resources to promote accessibility.

When speaking to Emer, a major theme was the perception within the health system that young women are unlikely to have major gynaecological problems.

“IT TOOK ME OVER 12 MONTHS TO HAVE MY SYMPTOMS VALIDATED AND RECEIVE AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS”.

The general lack of understanding of cervical cancer symptoms is indisputable. Both women had an experience of visiting A & E and being dismissed. J o d i w a i t e d 1 2 hours in excruciating pain to be asked if she was pregnant or possibly constipated by a doctor. She was eventually discharged with constipation tablets.

Emer was rushed to hospital by ambulance after collapsing from pain and was also questioned about pregnancy until nally told she ‘probably had endometriosis’ and was discharged with painkillers.

Young women who present with gynaecological needs are not prioritised. This of course leaves us with the expectation of the prioritisation of older women.

However, Jodi shares with me that her sister who is over 25, with kids of her own and has a history of cysts must wait six months to see a specialist privately.

The government must address gaps in care across all age groups.

Sláintecare is the government’s plan to introduce a universal healthcare model similar to the NHS. The improvements that this system will supposedly offer will be worth little if only one demographic sees an improvement. The phrase universal healthcare is not just for fun.

The system of public and private healthcare is often described as classist. However, the option of private healthcare does not offer much bene t for women in constant pain on long waiting lists.

Along with Jodi being served with more than a year's wait within the public system to see a specialist, the private clinic she was referred to has not had any available appointments since her referral in October. Similarly, it took Emer 8 months for her to source just a private smear test.

Access to private healthcare did not offer either woman much relief, with Emer stating that her “mental health plummeted” while she waited. Emer sees herself as “highly privileged to have private h e a l t h c a re ” a s h e r w a i t w a s substantially lower than that of the public system.

H o w e v e r, i t i s s t i l l appalling and incredibly frustrating.

There are currently 30,000 women in Ireland who have been on a public waiting list for more than 18 months seeking their rst hospital appointment.

For women who have cysts, this length of time exposes them to the risk of their cyst rupturing which can have complications such as sepsis. As Emer states “there is such a fear that by the time you do get seen, your symptoms or condition could be far worse”.

It is

A DISCRIMINATORY SYSTEM

where the most vulnerable are at most risk. One would hope that in the next ten years, the divide between public and private will be removed by Sláintecare.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THOSE FROM DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES is not a new concept. The history of asylums, workhouses and mother and baby homes points to the institutionalisation of the most vulnerable in society under corrupt and degrading conditions.

Today, the quality of healthcare provided to women in Direct Provision is similarly degrading. As discussed by Dr Elinor Cleghorn in her book Unwell Women, women’s healthcare intersects with race, class and money. Government recognition of this is necessary for true policy transformation.

Controversially, Irish policy dictates that only women over 25 can access a free cervical cancer screening. Jodi’s tweet advocating for the abolishment of the age limit gathered 25,000 likes. Taking another view, in the US you can access a screening over the age of 21 and this sees 60 percent of women under 25 take advantage of this. Emer shares that “women should not have to be a certain age or be in a privileged position [to access private healthcare] to be able to avail of a screening”.

Emer’s journey had a

MAJOR IMPACT ON HER MENTAL HEALTH, college participation and other aspects of her life. Meanwhile, her experience is described as a rarity by the HSE. Even though the government repeats that very few women under 25 develop cervical cancer, women like Emer endure complete indifference.

“I spent months ringing GPs searching for appointments but was never able to get beyond the GP receptionist. Once I mentioned my age (I was 21) I was instantly shut down and told I was “too young.” It’s beyond obvious that the theme of “too young” is a damaging one.

Before this experience, Emer was already fearful of the HSE’s treatment of women as a result of the CervicalCheck scandal. This involved 221 women whose revised test results were kept from them. Once Vicky Phelan publicised the scandal, CMO Tony Holohan advised against a review of the programme, advice ignored by the government.

Phelan’s story is well known, as is the fact that neither the HSE nor the laboratory involved in her test ever admitted to wrongdoing.

Twenty women have since died, yet those involved still evade accountability. It is also notable that Holohan has never publicly apologised. Why should women have faith in a system that continues to hurt them?

Jodi suggests that if the HSE admitted to their faults instead of

‘SHIFTING THE BLAME’ elsewhere, the cycle of hurt would stop. Emer says that change is “overdue”. A beacon of hope is Dr Vicky O’Dwyer of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, who spoke on Newstalk in response to Jodi.

Dr O’Dwyer acknowledges that countries such as Poland follow preventative strategies regarding women’s healthcare while the Irish system only refers women to specialists once a problem has developed. Dr O’ Dwyer is opening up a conversation that hundreds of thousands of women want to see happen. As Jodi describes, she spoke up because too many women are “too scared, too traumatised or don’t know how to”.

Like Jodi, Emer aims to share her story going forward “in hopes that it will raise awareness and prevent girls from ending up” in her position. Emer also emphasises “the importance of being vocal about how you are feeling to family and friends”. The strength that Emer and Jodi have demonstrated is immense and is something that requires support. It really does take a village.

Initiatives like the Radical Listening Project are encouraging. We must hold the expectation that it will not fade into a placatory action but instead begin the easing of access to general and specialist gynaecological care, the development of patient informed undergraduate and postgraduate curriculums for healthcare professionals, the provision of more funding as well as greater research and communication with the women that the health service serve. During Dr Cleghorn’s interview with Dave Fanning, she explained how sociological and medical research is now being conducted to examine how we can unlearn deep rooted medical gender biases.

The future is bright, especially one that learns from women such as Emer and Jodi. By speaking out, they are adding to a history of women that have helped us heal.

THEIR EXPERIENCES MUST NOT BE IN VAIN.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

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A CASUAL DRINK OR A PROBLEM? THE IMPACT OF ALCOHOL ON HEALTH In light of the new pricing system for alcohol in Ireland, Deputy Current Affairs Editor Natalia Karolina Gawlas discusses the role of alcohol in Irish society.

CONTENT WARNING: ALCOHOL ABUSE The recent introduction of Ireland’s Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) plan has signi cantly raised the price of alcohol on every shelf of Irish shops while also prompting a lively debate about alcohol consumption and its role in Irish society.

An obvious frustration has grown over consumers following the MUP’s introduction, with many dismayed by the impact this will have on their nances.

However, what exactly does this portray about the typical Irish consumer? Is alcohol an everyday part of people’s diet? Are people so dependent on alcohol that the drive in price has such a large impact on their wallets?

Perhaps an increase in alcohol pricing may discourage excessive alcohol consumption within a wellknown culture of drinkers, or will this reform simply drive illegal activity and frequent visits to the North?

Between weekend cocktails and

BOTTOMLESS BRUSHES TO CASUAL PINTS after a long day at work, a culture of regular drinking has emerged in Ireland, with alcohol being closely associated with a day off or a relaxing evening. According to the nonpro t organisation Drink Aware, alcohol consumption is the leading cause of death and disability all over the world through forms such as violence, accidents, and suicides, as well as a linkage to an array of diseases.

Alcohol dependence among adults increased from 66% in 2014 to 72% in 2020, with lower socio-economic classes more heavily in uenced by alcohol and its negative impact. Despite this, the wealthier classes were more adjusted to alcohol and therefore consumed more.

So, does this mean that the upper class can in fact enjoy some casual drinks, or rather a binge, but those with a lower purchasing power must face more negative consequences as a result of minimum pricing?

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The increased levels of drinking exhibited in Irish society has resulted in an array of adverse effects on the lives of those consuming it, but also those around them.

According to the data, men who binge once a month have a 271% chance of experiencing adverse effects in their lives, with women having a 180% chance. These adverse effects are not only physical and can have just as

DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON ONE’S MENTAL HEALTH. Naturally, this is not to say that each Irish citizen is prone to excessive alcohol consumption, but current gures would suggest that this issue needs to be taken seriously.

This begins at the student level. Students form a relationship with alcohol and learn of its consequences through a culture of binge-drinking and student nights out, and who can blame them when such activities are so ingrained in Irish culture?

Through the development of an initial small habit, a small leap may take a person from one binge drinking party to a slightly issue-some period of dependency.

Through works of rehab facilities, Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings, and inner help services, nobody is left to conquer a problem on their own.

If you ever experience issues in your life, you are not alone, do not hesitate to reach out to your local GP, Student’s Union, or the aid of AA available at +353 1 842 0700/gso@alcoholicsanonymous.ie

TRAVELLER HEALTH OUTCOMES Amano Miura in Conversation with Social Care Worker Anne Marie Qulligan on Irish Traveller Health Outcomes

When we experience health problems, we are often inclined to look inwards and question what it is that we ourselves are doing wrong.

Anne Marie Quilligan, Tipperary-based social care worker and Irish Traveller, tells me that when she was growing up, she assumed negative health outcomes in her community were a result of their own day-to-day choices. Healthcare providers and educators reinforced the notion that to be a Traveller was to be a problem.

Today, however, there exists searing scienti c evidence on the social determinants of health and a more critical approach to Ireland’s history reveals the stark extent of generational cultural losses and social exclusion experienced by Irish Travellers in the country they have always called home.

The most recent in-depth study of Traveller health was the ‘All Ireland Traveller Health Survey’ (AITHS) completed in 2010. This crucial work, which Anne Marie hopes will be repeated in the near future, provides evidence of disproportionately poor health outcomes for Travellers in Ireland.

Life expectancy for Traveller women is 11.5 years below the national average, and Traveller men are likely to die 5 years younger than non-Traveller men.

Suicide rates amongst Travellers are six-times higher than in the majority

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community. Traveller infants are up to three times more likely to die in their rst 12 months of life than other infants. While these statistics are shocking, it is necessary that we look beyond the data towards the lived experiences of Travellers by listening to what they have to say.

Experiencing racism, discrimination, and trauma from an early age has a lifelong effect on physical and mental health.

Anne Marie places a strong emphasis on recognising ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ (ACEs) in the developmental stages of a child’s life.

39 percent of Traveller adults and children are not only coping with the stresses of hidden homelessness which include limited access to water, electricity, food storage and cooking facilities; they are also inheritors of intergenerational trauma caused by the forceful destruction of their recent ancestors’ nomadic ways of life. The more ACEs a young person experiences, the shorter their adult life will be.

Toxic stress caused, for example, by enduring a racist assault or forced admission to residential schooling, is directly related to the development of autoimmune disorders, depression, cancers, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases.

Anne Marie’s research has led her to make connections between Irish Travellers and other Indigenous peoples living as minority cultural and ethnic groups within neoliberal nation states, such as Canada and Australia, where similarly negative health outcomes are experienced by First Nations and Aboriginal peoples.

When I ask Anne Marie what she would like students to know about health in the Traveller community she says,

“don’t look at us with the de cit model”.

Each one of us carry unconscious biases that in uence the way we interact with people we encounter, the way we imagine other people’s lives, and even the way we read statistics.

Rather than assuming the cause of negative health outcomes originates at an individual or community level, we must collectively and consciously look at the total environment within which Travellers are battling severe inequalities and re ect on whether we ourselves play a role in shaping a society that excludes, denigrates, problematizes and ‘Others’ our neighbours. Published by Skein Press, Dr Rosaleen McDonagh’s 2021 book Unsettled chronicles her life as a disabled Traveller woman.

It is a must-read for anyone seeking to expand their perspective on what it means to be Irish today. In preparation for her graduation day, Rosaleen learned she needed to use a different name on her lunch reservation to ensure her family would not be denied entry to a hotel to celebrate her achievement. In my conversation with Anne Marie, she informs me that four young Travellers in the small community where she works recently took their own lives.

The through lines here are self-evident. Health is socially determined, and Irish society is long overdue its season of self-re ection on its treatment of Irish Travellers.

by Áine Feeney

As another countdown passes us by, millions of us woke up on January 1st with a fresh set of intentions for the upcoming year. Granted, by February most of us go back to our old fallible ways.

Human beings are creatures of habit and even though we experience this moment of resolution déjà vu every year, our attempts to stick to them are often unsuccessful.

It's tempting to try and reinvent yourself in time for the opening of a fresh calendar page and why wouldn't it be? In recent years, New Year's celebrations have become less about re ecting on the year that has passed and have instead morphed into a challenge to "better yourself" once the clock strikes midnight. Social media adds the competitive edge to this yearly ritual that many of us feel forced to undergo.

Scrolling through Instagram, you come face to face with other people's New Year's resolutions, carefully planned and coordinated with their health goals. Seeing what others are planning to do to transform themselves creates pressure for you to do the same. And as always, capitalism rears its ugly head as January is the most pro table time of year for diet companies who rely on the inevitable postChristmas guilt of many.

But for people who really do want to become better, healthier versions of themselves, why isn't now a great opportunity? The phrase "new year, new me" springs to mind. I think the answer lies in the anticlimax of Christmas. January is already a dif cult month for people, both mentally and nancially. Some will attempt "Dry January,” only to fall at the rst hurdle because of the culture shock of going back to reality after weeks of festivity.

Others will crash diet, or take up new tness habits that they will drop once the January blues hit. The lesson is, suddenly forcing an entire set of new habits upon yourself without giving your mind time to adjust is probably the reason why most new year's resolutions fail.

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The New Year’s Resolution Scam The best way to make any habit stick is by slow and gradual introduction, almost like training your mind.

Typically, it can take between three weeks and two months to properly build a habit. If you enter the new year with a list of ten different resolutions, all taking that long to incorporate into your routine, you are placing a momentous burden on your shoulders.

An easier route to take is spreading out your resolutions and treating them more like a checklist, rather than a daily moral code you bind yourself to religiously. You could allocate one resolution to each month or tailor your resolutions to increase in intensity each week or month. This alleviates the pressure to jump straight into a whole new way of living the second you get out of bed on New Year's Day, when let's face it, you're probably hungover.

However, you don't necessarily have to fall into the

Trap of New Year's Resolutions at all. The last two years have been incredibly tough on all of us, so the fact that we have made it through relatively unscathed is an achievement in itself.

While it's great to set goals and work towards them, it's also okay to let yourself drift for a little while.

Whether you set intentions for the New Year or not, you shouldn’t let guilt get the better of you if December rolls around and you haven't become the ideal version of yourself. Celebrate the small victories when the big ones seem unachievable. Every day is an opportunity for bettering yourself: it's not just restricted to January 1st. If you decide on a random Tuesday in May to start your journey, that's your prerogative, and more power to you.

Nobody is able to change everything about themself overnight, so instead of forcing a mountain of stiff resolutions on yourself, applaud yourself for what 2021 has been for you and do what you wish with 2022, on your terms.

Horoscopes - January 2022

By Cian McDonnell As a new year dawns, nd out what's in store for you with this month's Motley Horoscope!

Aries

Libra

It’s a new semester, and a whole new you! This month is your chance to rebuild yourself and… make all the same mistakes you’ve made up to this point. Because you’re really bad at changing anything in your life for the better.

January is widely regarded as the worst month of the year, in terms of weather, dark days, and lack of things to look forward to. But you can make the most of it, since you darken the atmosphere of a room just by being in it anyway. A normal month for you, I suppose.

Scorpio

Taurus Someone close to you will catch the Omicron variant, forcing you to isolate for a while. I don’t even need the stars to tell me that – it’s just basically guaranteed for everyone in Ireland at this stage. Better nd some good movies to watch.

Gemini Venus is in Sagittarius this month, as far from you as possible.

The goddess of love will be unable to help you, in any new tactics you try, to break free from being eternally single. So it’s not your fault that you can’t nd a partner. Or so you keep telling yourself.

Cancer A foul darkness will envelop your life, making any experience painful to endure. You will be unable to move, eat or drink without an instant feeling of regret. Let this be a lesson – even with as much as you drink, you’re not immune to hangovers.

Leo Born under the sign of the lion, Leos usually describe themselves as proud, dominant and persistent. To everyone else who knows you, though, you’re just a pain in the ass. So maybe tone down the whole “king of the jungle” thing this month.

Virgo A change of some sort will happen to you. If you’re in STEM, this change is trivial and left as an exercise to the reader. If you’re in Arts, the change is open to your own interpretation. If you’re in B&L, I’ll need €20 from you to gure out the exact details.

After spending way too much time on Net ix last year, now is a perfect opportunity for you to do something more active. Except for the fact that it’s single digit temperatures at the moment, and gyms have so little capacity… it seems any excuse will do for you to maintain an existence without exercise.

Sagittarius Orion the hunter smiles at you from across the sky, promising that food will be plentiful this month. Of course, if you happen to be vegetarian this doesn’t really make sense, given that vegetables can’t be hunted… but astrology is about simple metaphors, not annoying small details. Work with me here.

Capricorn Jupiter and Saturn shine brightly in your constellation, two gas giants that heavily in uence the “gassiness” of your life. You might try to let out a few silent ones this month, but nobody within ten feet of you will be fooled. It was you.

Aquarius The Sun will move towards your sign this month, giving you some much-needed brightness in your life. Still, it might not be enough to take away the enduring sadness that comes with being a student (or a person in general) right now. Take whatever you can get, I suppose.

Pisces On your head you will nd a singular grey hair. It means nothing on its own, of course, it’s just a sign of what’s to come. But sooner or later, you’ll have to face the facts: you’re aging, and your mortality is becoming more apparent every day. Have a nice life!

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ADJUSTING (a poem by Jessica O’ Brien written during the pandemic of 2021 after braving the hustle and bustle of Christmas time at Penneys) i don’t remember the time before we were scared of each other’s ngertips before eyes were the only indication of emotion i remember coming home thoughtlessly now I am my unclean, infectious, red raw skin you would think i would’ve missed this yet standing here, surrounded, i feel infested and so my brain distances me from it smoke lls my vision to distort the reality it cannot handle i think I’ll do my christmas shopping online this year but you can say you lived through it! i think that’s what people say now to make some sort of positive but honestly i would not have minded if this had been ancient history instead if i was reading about this far o phenomenon from the safety of my classroom i would not have minded knowing now that I will bring it with me always that it doesn’t fade i lost my memory during lockdown but i can remember the emotions i felt during it if the disease didn’t kill me my brain would have coming out of it now and looking around seeing empty places once lled how can i forget the loss how can i forget my luck in having my grandparents every Friday every week is another week they are alive and well i will never see another week where i don’t thank the stars that they escaped it one time more still I am human i want to touch you i long for the day i don’t inch when you extend your hand a day when hugs don’t feel like a risk when i don’t have to be afraid of my friends (in the dark, we’re laughing on a shop corner it is raining, and she spins me by the hands we duck under the awning she rests her forehead to mine i cup her cheek, feel her skin on my hand her eyelash brushing closed dragon breath in the moonlight warm arms like a clasp) i tie her around my neck for another day she is what i continue(d) for

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ON YOUR WELLBEING

By Lisa Ahern

During the rst lockdown, I, like everyone else, was faced with a colossal amount of freetime. Naturally, I found myself glued to my phone. It wasn’t long before my screen time jumped to obscene numbers, with some days even reaching the double digit hours.

Luckily, it was at this moment that I rediscovered my love of reading. It allowed me to escape from constantly comparing myself to others, something only too familiar to those of us who spend time scrolling through social media on a daily basis. Just like the characters in the novels I read, my favourite in uencers form a part of a ctional world, one where everything is perfect; their bodies, their lives, their stories.

My mind had dif culty comprehending this.

Being on social media for excessive amounts of time was clearly doing damage to my mental health, and reading helped me realise this, giving me the opportunity to disentangle myself from the internet and its toxicity.

Aside from providing such breathing room from social media, reading has also bene ted my wellbeing in many other ways. Reading a book strengthens your knowledge more than you’d realise. As your mind constantly intakes new vocabulary, your communication and comprehension skills improve.

Furthermore, many authors write in such a way that life lessons can be gleaned from their works. This means you can take inspiration from the trials and tribulations faced by the characters in order to better yourself in your day-to-day life. This insight can also improve your empathy levels, as by placing yourself in these character’s shoes you can also better understand similar situations faced by real people.

To paraphrase a famous quote from A Song of Ice and Fire:

“You only live one life and by reading, you live a thousand”.

A book which afforded me such bene ts is Ends With Us

by Colleen Hoover, giving me insight into the thoughts and experiences of a victim of domestic abuse.

It was heartbreaking but also eye opening. It showed me how dif cult it is to disentangle yourself from an abusive situation.

Like many other hobbies, reading also aids us in lowering our stress levels. In 2009, a group of U.S. researchers, writing in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning, released a study on the effects of reading on the stress levels of students.

This study showed that as little as thirty minutes of reading aided in lowering the students’ psychological distress just as effectively as yoga. It also showed that the students’ blood pressure and heart rate bene ted from reading, suggesting that it can play a role in maintaining physical health along with mental health.

Do you have trouble sleeping at night?

Well there’s good news on that front too, as reading a book before bed can help maintain a healthy sleeping pattern.

Reading allows the mind to ease, facilitating your brain’s winding down as soon as your head hits the pillow. In contrast, looking at the blue light of your phone gives your mind a much more dif cult time trying to sleep. With this solid night’s rest behind you you’ll be ready to take on the next day without that overwhelming sense of tiredness brought about by a six hour Net ix binge until four in the morning.

Finally, reading can be treated as a workout for your brain. When you read your mind must be fully concentrated and you have to have patience. This is in sharp contrast to the likes of TikTok which can overstimulate your brain and reinforce one’s need for instant grati cation.

The practice of patience and the honing of concentration skills associated with reading can assist students in exams and classes, allowing them to intake more information without getting distracted easily. The more focus you have the better you will succeed in life, and reading can aid you hugely in this department.

Next time you’re tempted to pick up your phone in order to wander on Pinterest and TikTok and feel a pang of jealousy for the perfect lives on display, maybe you could try picking up a book. After all, reading never hurt anyone, did it?

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THE WORRYING LINK BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE AND MENTAL HEALTH

BY RÓISÍN DUNLEA

There’s no denying that it’s dif cult for those of us classed as Millennials or Gen-Z to imagine an existence without social media networks, which serve not only as creative outlets but also as sources of news, entertainment, and inspiration for billions of people. On the other hand, social media has been identi ed as being

HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND CONCERNINGLY ADDICTIVE regardless, many of us blindly indulge in hours of daily scrolling without considering how we might not learn about the long-term mental effects of what we’re doing until it’s too late.

Apps such as Instagram, Twitter and TikTok have been likened to casino-style slot machines due to their “pull to refresh” mechanism, which provides users with the instant grati cation of seeing new content on demand.

These networks are cleverly engineered to draw people in, but they might be destroying our mental stamina. Instagram no longer displays posts in chronological order based on the time at which they were uploaded; instead, posts are displayed according to an algorithm which has examined our likes and dislikes, adjusting our feeds accordingly in a way that keeps us scrolling.

TikTok not only shows us what our friends are posting, but also the content created by a potentially limitless number of people. When we become accustomed to watching a series of 30-second videos, each centred on a different topic or lmed in a different part of the world, it becomes increasingly challenging to sit and pay attention to a two-hour lm or a 400page book that doesn’t provide the same variety or ef cient conclusion.

All the more worrying is the fact that an hour-long class requiring active thinking and note-taking is increasingly talked about as a near impossible task, causing more stress to those in education.

It should come as no surprise that social media giants such as the newly christened ‘Meta’ are, to put it lightly, familiar with the negative consequences incurred by the use of their products.

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CHRONICALLY ONLINE

The slot-machine mechanism has been incorporated into almost all popular social apps on the current market (despite warnings about the impact of its addictive nature), and the actual content on social media platforms is equally troublesome.

In documents leaked in late 2021 by trailblazing Meta whistle-blower Frances Haugen, Instagram itself was revealed to have conducted a survey which showed that 66% of teenage girls have experienced “negative social comparison” when using the app, with 52% of those girls concluding that this selfcomparison was triggered by “images of beauty”.

This ordeal is certainly not limited to girls or even to teenagers. More and more adults are speaking out against the unrealistic standards imposed on social media users who are constantly exposed to doctored imagery, surgically enhanced features, and unsustainable lifestyles of luxury.

In a time when it has never been easier to speak openly about one’s struggles with mental health, it also seems that we are experiencing an epidemic of people who are made to feel anxious, depressed, or even suicidal as a result of the content that is being pushed upon them daily.

Meta has made some

FEEBLE ATTEMPTS AT ADDRESSING ITS ISSUES, primarily in the form of the proposed ‘Take a Break’ feature which would encourage users to set reminders for themselves to log off after a determined period of time. Measures like this carry the air of a Band-Aid over a bullet hole; even after the company uncovered the disastrous effects of its app, Instagram did little to address the overarching issue, namely the generalised culture of perfection on its network and the mental damage it can cause.

It continues to operate with no safeguards for potentially impressionable sectors of the population, and has taken no steps to address the obvious toxicity present on its platform. One would presume that if social media were, for example, causing users to suffer physical injuries, then companies would be required to take action – so why are matters of mental health still not afforded the same importance?

WORTH FIGHTING FOR...

BY CONOR MURPHY The feeling of drowning while not even in the water.

Not being able to breathe, even though the air we normally breathe is there and surrounding.

Not being able to face the day, so deciding to stay in bed to avoid anything unpredictable. The thought of talking to another human being making you anxious, scared and frightened.

If you are familiar with any of these feelings, or if you’re constantly in the loop of doing some of these things, I stand by you.

To those of you who are lucky enough to not have experienced these feelings, or who don’t have to stay in your beds all day to avoid even the thought of an unpredictable day, I envy you all. These feelings, while a common o c c u r r e n c e f o r y o u r s t r u l y, a r e undoubtedly even worse for others, some of which I’m aware of myself.

Mental health problems, or ‘Mental Hell’ as I like to call them, are not unusual, and are more common than you might think. While these problems are increasingly being dealt with and talked about, the problems are nowhere near at an end, and they won’t be anytime soon.

We must be careful in the ways which we speak, which we comment on, and those who we mock, or tease, or anything of the sort. People are more fragile than you might think, and words can hurt more than daggers ever can.

The next time you think that a particular person staying in bed all day is lazy, that someone not being ‘social’ or not talking to others at a party is

‘strange’, ‘awkward’, or ‘weird’, or even that someone having a breakdown is being ‘overdramatic’, think again. Think long and hard about what you say, as many people, some of which you may even know, are going through things right now that you cannot even fathom.

To those who are struggling, all I can say to you is, it will be extremely dif cult. It could be short term-pain, it could be longer, and it normally is longer. The possibility of a solution will seem impossible, and it will seem even more so the longer it drags out.

Just being ‘you’, will suck a lot of energy out of you throughout the day, while you try to act happy for those surrounding you. The things which used to seem so ‘simple’, such as eating, sleeping, getting up in the morning...

These will all be some of the most dif cult things you can do in a day.

Despite these hardships, these dif culties, and these seemingly impossible solutions or outcomes, you are worthwhile, you are enough, and you mean something to the world.

You mean a lot to some people.

Your life is worth ghting for, even if you end up being the only one ghting for it.

Surround yourself with people who care, people who have your best interests at heart. It’s hard to know who’s there for you and who isn’t, but it’s easy to spot the ‘fair weather’ people.

You’ll be surprised, but the outcome of this brutality, and this hardship that you’re going through, will show you who is really there for you, who is really a friend. Some will step up to the plate, and this is a very important thing to grasp.

Talk. It makes more of a difference than you might realise.

Whether it’s talking to someone you know like friends or family, a therapist, or just someone who cares. It’s worth it.

People are there to help. They want to hear your side of the story, and I urge you to tell them exactly that, YOUR story.

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THE BENEFITS OF GAISCE FOR UCC STUDENTS Ronan Keohane and Orla Leahy talk about the bene ts of Gaisce for students’ physical and mental health

What is Gaisce - The President’s Award?

Gaisce - The President's Award is a self-development programme, originally founded by former Irish President, Mr. Patrick J. Hillery, that rewards young people for their participation, dedication, and discipline in a number of challenge areas over a set time period. There are three Awards, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Challenge areas include community involvement, physical recreation, personal skill, adventure journey, and residential project at Gold. Young people achieve a Gaisce Award with the assistance of a PAL (President’s Award Leader), who supports and mentors participants by offering advice and approving participants’ chosen activities for each challenge area.

What are the benefits of Gaisce for students?

Ronan - Gold Gaisce Participant

Orla - PAL and Gold, Silver and Bronze Gaisce Awardee

For my Gaisce Award, I chose gym work as my physical recreation, advanced French lessons as my personal skill (in order to eventually sit my DALF C1), and volunteering at a St. Vincent de Paul charity shop for my community involvement. I have seen noticeable improvements in my mental and physical wellbeing as a result of this.

I completed my Bronze, Silver and Gold Gaisce Awards in secondary school, and quali ed as a Gaisce PAL when I started in UCC last year. I absolutely loved participating in Gaisce myself, I enjoyed many fantastic experiences, from climbing Torc Mountain on my Silver adventure journey to abseiling in Connemara on my Gold residential project.

Gym work and exercising have signi cantly helped me to concentrate more in my studies, and learning French has been a relaxing experience as I see myself improve in every single lesson. Working in a charity shop has immensely helped with my mental health. Dedicating a short amount of my time to bene ting the community at large and working within an organisation that I am passionate about has been a mentally rewarding experience for me.

Personally, committing to gym work for my physical recreation each week was a fantastic way to relieve any stress associated with the Leaving Certi cate and schoolwork. It was also a good opportunity to regularly meet up with friends. Similarly, photography for my personal skill functioned as a great stress reliever.

When I rst started Gaisce, I was a little bit apprehensive, I knew it was something that required a decent amount of dedication. As someone with a highly busy schedule, I was unsure of how I was going to be able to balance Gaisce with everything else I planned to do during my second year of university studies that I had missed out on last year because of coronavirus lockdown and restrictions.

I was worried that I would be overwhelmed by my responsibilities. Now that I’ve completed a good few weeks, I’ve realized that that was the entire issue, I saw Gaisce as an obstacle rather than a rewarding experience and something that could help me obtain my goals. I now have greater appreciation for how Gaisce promotes excellence as a virtue by pushing yourself to achieve more and putting yourself out there within your community.

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One of my favourite aspects of Gaisce has been the great sense of belonging that I gained in my community by coaching a local Ladies' Gaelic Football team for my community involvement for all three Awards. Ultimately, the sense of achievement associated with Gaisce has helped me to stay motivated, and to overcome challenges, such as the recent lockdowns that the country faced.

I would highly recommend getting involved in Gaisce, whether it be through activities that you are already involved in, or through new activities. As a PAL in UCC, I am always delighted to welcome new participants, and I hope that students may experience as many bene ts as I have through their own Gaisce journeys.

BABYTEETH FILM REVIEW James Kemmy discusses the fearless and poignant debut from Australian director Shannon Murphy Coming of age stories and more speci cally, cinematic explorations of terminally ill teenage romance often teeter dangerously close to oversentimentality and can struggle to transcend redundant cliches.

In the effort to realistically convey universal experiences and an elusive sense of nostalgia, both style and substance can be lost under a suffocating hyper-romanticised mawkishness. And while soppy commentaries on the art of growing up can serve a harmless purpose, their legacy and sustainability generally leave much to be desired.

No such pitfalls befoul Babyteeth, the 2020 Australian lm adapted for the screen by director Shannon Murphy and screenwriter Rita Kalnejais. Both established gures in the Australian theatre scene, the duo have come together to produce a

COMPASSIONATE AND AMBITIOUS

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take on the complexities of young love and untimely mortality.

At the outset of the lm, protagonist Milla, played by rising star Eliza Scanlen (Little Women, Sharp Objects) is a sixteen year old schoolgirl with a terminal cancer diagnosis who is sheltered from reality by her caring but s u f f o c a t i n g p a r e n t s ( p l a y e d b y To m Mendelsohn and Essie Davis). From a spontaneous encounter on a train platform with troubled drug addict Moses, Scanlen’s character subsequently undergoes a lifeaf rming period of dizzying liberation and emotional thrill to the initial horror of her overprotective family.

Murphy’s directorial approach here instils a sense of compassion, focus, and earnestness that never comes across as condescending, with the lm visually structured by intertitles or chapter headings such as “when Milla met Moses on platform 4”, “what the dead said to Milla”, and “fuck this”.

Where stories of this genre typically entail hackneyed tropes and dewy-eyed hospital scenes, Babyteeth instead brings a dark wit and colourful energy.

Moreover, empathy is conveyed through raw and masterfully complex characterisation, with the parental dynamic portraying Mendelsohn and Davis as broken, indignant, and ultimately, con icted, having to make a choice between their instincts and their dying daughter’s nite happiness.

As the story evolves, the isolating effects of a terminal health condition, particularly as a young person, are displayed. Protagonist Milla experiences a profound variety of turbulent emotions, from alienation and frustration at school, to the exhaustion of her existence being constantly viewed with overwhelming pity by her parents. Yet such heaviness is skilfully balanced by the lm’s central sentiment of grounded hope. Moses (played by Toby Wallace) adds an exciting danger and rebelliousness to the narrative, providing an escapist outlet from the con nes of Milla’s reality.

The bold stylistic dimensions of Babyteeth also separate it from its contemporaries, choosing a striking colour palette (seen from Milla’s wigs to the vivid neon colours of Sydney nightlife), and the wildly eclectic soundtrack. The motion and energy of this lm also complement its sense of youthful exuberance, naturally infusing an impression of urgency and a vigorous, celebratory lust for life. The strong will and autonomy demonstrated by Scanlen here defy assumptions of how someone in her character’s predicament ought to live.

Despite the fact that she is frequently hit by bouts of nausea from chemotherapy and under an oppressive medication regime, Milla does not allow her condition to consume or de ne her, instead she becomes galvanised at the prospect of living freely in her newfound world. At each turn in this story, the heavy realities of everyday life are balanced by colourful encounters and moments of beauty.

While the central gures here have undoubtedly internalised a premature grief, the story’s protagonist demonstrates a profound emotional maturity and selfpossession, with her worldly perspective touchingly displayed in the nal scene through a tranquil natural environment. The left- eld sucker punch it provides in the penultimate moments showcase the psychological vulnerability of all the central characters and de nes the story as an authentic twist on the conventional romantic cancer drama.

Despite its sense of impending tragedy, where Babyteeth really shines is in its

ILLUMINATION OF LIFE, a vibrancy ultimately aided by innovative stylistic choices and four outstanding lead performances. An examination of the messy, crushing nature of being alive and fearing inevitable death, this is rousing lmmaking which captures the potency of connection and the urge to live fearlessly.

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By Shruti Rajgopal

It seems like the whole world has been on a sabbatical for a while now.

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The trailer of Inferno is the only thing my mind can think of; swish and ick, everything vanishes within a few seconds. It has been interesting to note how different age-groups have been reacting to the situation.

While toddlers are happy that they have someone by their side at every beck and call, dogs sometimes seem to be quite irritated that their masters record all their moves through the day. People from my age-group are literally bingewatching shows on Net ix and chilling. The end result of the latter are the "coronial" babies.

While the younger crowd have grown accustomed to the changing circumstances, the older ones could not stretch their muscles as freely. Right from the beginning they were asked to cocoon and isolate within their households, visit grocery stores at the time allotted for them, and not leave their residence unless necessary.

It makes me think of the ones who belong to this age-group, but have no homes, have no walls or roofs over their heads. It makes me think of those who are homeless.

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Coffee-Date

It's always tough when winter hits, but a lockdown could drag them down even further, rather more painfully.

On a regular day, they measure the streets up and down a couple of times, wondering if a stranger would buy them a steaming cup of tea or coffee, but the current circumstances seem to have bracketed all those expectations. Somehow, it feels like it's nature's way of telling mankind that there's only so much that the earth can provide us, however, man never learns.

Nearly four and a half months after the rst lockdown,

the authorities began to open their doors

to this crowd. They were allowed to leave their four walls and breathe fresh air again. It was disheartening to notice how they were being extra cautious, keeping out of everyone's path, whereas people of my age were running all around. They still smiled and greeted those who crossed them.

They began to take the backseat, waiting for people in a rush pass by and then continued meandering on their track.

Every once in a while, when I left my place, I would run into this old lady who lived across Bandon road. She would stand at the entrance of her house and would rarely step outside the threshold.

On some days you would nd her cleaning the doors and windows; on others, she would just sit by and greet those passing by her path.

She seemed excited when someone responded and stood by to exchange a few words.She craved that engagement. It was both humble and sad to see what the world had grown into.

U n l i k e h e r, t h e r e w a s another old grandpa who caught my attention, who seemed to cherish the company he had in a very different way.

It was one such day when I accompanied my friend to pay a few bills. We decided to get some coffee and relish the fresh breeze by the lough. Diners were open with regulations and restrictions on the number of people who were seated indoors/outdoors. We queued up leaving two metres apart for the next person to join.

The cafe had outdoor seating - the ramp led to the plinth, from where you could view those sitting above. The seating had a view of the Lough. On a sunny day, those sitting there could stalk all the

puppies walking with their tails wagging left-right and centre.

There were three tables lined up in that direction.

The one at the corner is the rst table that one sees when they enter the cafe, as it is right opposite the entrance.

The table was occupied by an old man, sitting all by himself, wearing a halfsleeves striped shirt with beige dockers.

He had a sweater tied around his neck.

While the queue moved along, I noticed him enjoying his coffee. He held the cup with both his hands and sipped the warm drink, while the breeze made his nose go red. The table next to him was occupied with two people engaged in a lengthy discussion.

He kept looking around but did not see anyone in particular. His coffee had all his attention. He slowly made his way through the drink.

Meanwhile, we bought our drinks and exited the cafe. We made our way to the Lough.

The man's image lingered around, the vibe he emanated was so simple. We propped ourselves on one of the benches at a good distance from the lake. Gradually drinking our cortado, we got excited at the sight of a dalmation.

What followed the dog was the same old man. He paced all alone, keeping a safe distance from the man in front of him. My eyes followed the footsteps of this grandpa. He walked his way through the same track until the end of the path and turned right to what seemed like his house. It seemed like he shared a social date with the coffee served at the cafe and enjoyed his walk back.

Who would have thought that a simple coffee-date with yourself could have inhibitions and restrictions posed by the world?

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MUSIC THAT MEANS SOMETHING Motley’s Graduate Writer Alana Daly Mulligan speaks with fellow alum Laura Duff about the cathartic power of songwriting, her dad, and her love for Limerick.

For all the words I have in my lexicon, it is hard to find an ample description for Laura Duff.

She says she’s good at reading people, but others might nd her harder to get to know: “I’m quite a private person… but maybe I am totally transparent and just have this idea of myself as a mysterious woman!” she jokes. But all you really need to know is that Duff has an appetite for living (and loving) life while creating music that moves people.

A native of Limerick, Duff has loved music for as long as she can remember. The turning point where the hobby metamorphosed into passion was at Music Generation Limerick City, an organisation of which she is an alumnus of: “I joined when it was a pilot programme.

That's when I rst got the opportunity to gig and write with people and play in bands – that was kind of a big thing for me as a teen.”

Mentored by many of the mouldbreaking stars coming out of the city at the moment, it is no surprise Duff is part of the strong showing of Shannonsiders on the artistic move.

“It feels like Limerick is having a moment and it’s nice to be a part of it. I feel proud: so supported and so motivated. I’m happy to be home.”

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Winning the prestigious Paul Clancy Songwriting Award at the Irish Youth M u s i c Aw a r d s i n 2 0 1 5 , a n d performing as an opening act for the likes of Little Green Cars, Hudson Taylor and Róisín O among others, Laura Duff is no stranger to success, hard-earned and well-deserved.

Winning the prestigious Paul Clancy Songwriting Award at the Irish Youth Music Awards in 2015, and performing as an opening act for the likes of Little Green Cars, Hudson Taylor and Róisín O among others, Laura Duff is no stranger to success, hard-earned and well-deserved.

The Laura Duff sound in its current cycle is

ZESTY, ENERGETIC AND FRESH with writing that looks to harvest deeper truths of meaning in everyday interactions.

Self-describing the sound as “charismatic alt-pop”, Duff sets the scene for what her EP means by Heavy Summer with her longtime collaborators JJ Lee (Bass), Christopher O’Sullivan (Drums / Percussion) and Finn Fogarty (Lead Guitar) evolving the sound, under the guidance and experimental freedom allowed by producer Christian Best.

“We have such a good creative relationship all of us,”

Duff says of her bandmates. “That's pretty massive in shaping our sound and obviously, it's totally different to my earlier solo material.

Both times for the rst and second EPs we went into the studio all-prepared, but so much changed.

We get to experiment so much with [Christian Best]. But I mean, I think it's always developing.”

T h e w o r k , w h i c h D u ff comments is largely autobiographical, pulls from the various strands in her life: “I’m very honest in my writing” she explains, her relationships with people and the world around her often in uence the material she expresses through music.

It feels like almost an immediate follow-up to ask how does Duff negotiate the responsibility of maintaining the private intimacy of close relationships while simultaneously allowing the experiences to fuel her art? “I am a fan of language, not being predictable about things.

So I think my writing style helps me in that way.” To reinforce a sense of security to this statement, Duff emphatically adds “

I don’t want to write music that means nothing to me – this is my experience...I guess songwriting is very much a cathartic process for me. It helps me make sense of stuff in my head and straighten out my thoughts.”

Speaking of prominent women making it in the music industry, Duff was awarded the Dolores O’Riordan Music Bursary Award for her songwriting by Limerick City and County Council.

“Being selected for this bursary which commemorates Dolores does feel quite poignant given this project is a dedication,” says Duff.

The funding will support the recording and production of a collection of music that is in memory of Laura’s father, Conor, who died by suicide in 2019. Working with Limerick musician-producer and friend Míchéal Keating in perhaps her most vulnerable release yet, Duff seeks to navigate the loss of her father through her music.

“Writing through my grief has definitely been a crutch for me, it helps me try and make sense of my thoughts and try to come to terms with losing my dad. It’s so complex y’know, but when I do feel like writing about it, it de nitely does bring me solace.”

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of this project to grasp for Duff is its never-ending nature, something to be revisited over time: “I found that grief is an evolving, long, highly unpredictable process.

So I think this project will always have life.” There is a discomfort here too, the exposure of something so deeply personal: “I've found as well, the more I work on the songs, some of them make me uncomfortable in retrospect and as more time passes. But at the same time, I've come to accept that too because each song explores real emotions and experiences of particular moments.”

However, now is the time, Duff feels ready to share the material and bring the songs to a fuller life.

“They're very close to me at the moment,” she says, and continues, “but they'll always be close to me.”

The future often feels like a mine eld question, but for Duff, the answer is easy: “I just want to keep writing music with my dear friends in the band. Getting to gig somewhere like the Olympia is a huge dream but at the same time, I'm not the kind of a person to be like, ‘I want to be top of the bill at whatever festival’, or ‘I need to play this venue.’

I just want to keep doing this as long as I'm enjoying it as much as I am, though, you know, and putting out work that I'm proud of.”

Over the course of editing this piece and spending more time with Duff’s music, I have found it increasingly dif cult not to be moved while being ever-more inspired by what she is doing.

Our interviewunconventional as it was, made up of a phone call and some follow-up voice notes- stays in my brain, weighs heavy, refuses to fall to the wayside of my thinking.

Given collectively what we are living through right now, the grief of a pandemic coming to its dètente, the recent spotlight on the delicacy of our lives, and at the risk of sounding cliché, the importance of living them fearlessly and for ourselves, seems ever-important.

Listening to Laura Duff reminds me of this. One can only be excited to hear more honest and gentle zest, more colour, and more love for life.

Duff is bringing her band to some of Ireland’s most exciting venues: 19th February: Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick 18th February: The Record Room, Limerick 27th February: Workman’s Club, Dublin

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You can nd out more about Laura Duff on her website https://www.lauraduffband.com/ or by following her on social at @lauraduffband.

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The Limitations of Western Philosophy

By Ronan Keohane

Modern Western society is filled with normalised deceptions, normalised extortion, normalised manipulation, normalised surveillance, and tiresome conventions for the mere purpose of pro ts and material gain. We are constantly chasing an elusive mirage of happiness.

One serious issue with such a reality is that while the very striking and evidential faults of Western culture have been normalised and left unaddressed, Western thought often picks out aws in the “other” in order to validate how it is inherently superior.

Surveillance capitalism has seen our internet activity and private conversations utilised by arti cial intelligence technologies within our devices to tailor advertisements towards us personally.

On a daily basis we are exposed to photoshopped images with unrealistic body standards and smiling faces disguised as regular people who successfully sell products to insecure, insatiable consumers.

Advertisements have outstripped their traditional formats in the realm of digital billboards,

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magazines and TV, and have found their way into social media pages (designed to be addictive for marketing purposes), and they are cleverly disguised as ordinary people and not what they truly are, compulsive living advertisements.

It has reached a level where everywhere we look there are mantras of “buy my product/ live my lifestyle in order to resemble me and you can become truly happy, just like I am!”.

This manifests into a

horrifyingly toxic cyclical culture where advertisements in particular prey on peoples’ poor mental health and insecurities (ampli ed by social media) and ultimately exacerbate them.

This article strives to highlight different ways that universal concepts are viewed in Western philosophy as opposed to other styles from around the world.

For the bene t of the reader, I would like to point out that these examples of differing mentalities surrounding fundamental concepts re ect an extremely small part of an extensive and complex framework of various philosophies.

Perspective on time:

Perspectives on beauty:

The inevitable misery and suffering of life is not something widely emphasised in the Western world, we never settle for the ordinary and are always striving for something transcendent and magni cent.

Christianity always informs us that we are not inherently pure, that we ought to yearn for greater purity through abstaining from sin, however the purest will always be the all-knowing lord and saviour.

Contrastingly, in Buddhism, the reality of human suffering is not emphasised but is depicted as the rst and central noble truth.

Ordinary suffering, which every life contains, is normalised and seen as an inevitable reality, however the root of further suffering does not lie in what is not had or obtained; it is rather rooted in both desire and ignorance. Our constant yearning is seen as what makes us unhappy.

Time is relative. There exists a wide range of cultural differences surrounding how time is perceived.

The Western world follows a linear perspective, an eschatological worldview that we live our daily lives slowly gearing toward a nal judgement or damnation.

These manifestations are seen in everyday life and throughout history with regards to perspectives o n t i m e . We l l - k n o w n p h r a s e s surrounding time re ect this heavily, “time is money”, “you only live once” etc. imply this idea that we should live our lives in haste since existence is nite, death is feared, we live our lives in trepidation. This contributes to the reasoning or sense of urgency behind living very fast-paced and ultimately, unhealthy lifestyles.

Other schools of thought contradict this perspective. Ancient Indians, for instance, perceived time as being cyclical, the end and beginning essentially being the same.

East Asian philosophies tend to view time as a component of the cycle of existence, emphasising the importance of the broader existential cycle rather than isolated time alone.

Aboriginie ideas surrounding time are entirely different: they emphasise a sense of place as opposed to time. Death is also perceived as a transmission of energy, that the energy and spirit will continue on after the physical death.

Neoliberal capitalist society always promotes and focuses on what is most visually appealing - what is perfect, awless, re ned and beautiful- for the purpose of proliferating pro ts.

This is built on the emphasis on re nement and perfection seen throughout Western artworks. Such an outlook sets the framework for a wide variety of other popular frames of thought: A beautiful face is a symmetrical face, an artistic ‘worthy’ dance is an organized or choreographed dance, an older person is “past their prime” etc.

This trail of thought is damaging as it encourages the dismissal of imperfection and brokenness being a part of life. It leads to the internalisation of such messages and can lead to self- hate as we age, as our souls become stained with traumas.

The Japanese philosophical notion of wabi sabi completely refutes this obsession with clinical perfection and seeks to nd the beauty within the broken or the worn out- celebrating the art of the rustic, the broken and the melancholic.

Celebrating the marks and indications of age, damage or brokenness could possibly be helpful with self-forgiveness and selfunderstanding of the aging process, physical damage and psychological brokenness both internally and externally.

These examples are limited and barely begin to address other unconventional perspectives seen throughout international schools of philosophy.

There is an extensive list of other sources that could be given with a variety of insights from non-Western theory which enable us to question our values and critically assess whether there is real merit in obsessing over what is perfect and ef cient, and what we ought to yearn for at the expense of tenuous mental health and unnecessary existential suffering.

Academic philosophy degrees are often only representative of dominant Western frameworks while being negligent in the analyses or even de nitions of alternative perspectives.

A wider demonstration of other global philosophies has the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the universe and our understanding of ourselves on a much broader level than is given through solely Western paradigms.

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Perspectives on life:

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Ronan Keohane discusses Borealism by highlighting the Nordic Jante law with reference to Aksel Sandemoose’s “A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks”

Borealism - a form of exoticism has become a hot topic in recent years as Nordic nations have become subject to idealised stereotypes which glorify their societies and cultures.

This is largely due to the fact that Scandinavian countries are widely-acclaimed for topping equality indexes in numerous sectors, promoting gender parity, and having peaceful and egalitarian social democracies.

While these are undoubtedly remarkable achievements, such widespread praise overshadows more negative aspects of Nordic society which are not equally accounted for. Egalitarianism and conformity are two prominent cultural features of the Nordic model, largely because such traits were historically seen as fundamental to civilisational survival and inherently promoted peace and social harmony for centuries.

There is a great berth of empirical evidence to suggest such desirable Nordic egalitarianism: Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland frequently top rankings in gender equality indexes, Icelandic women comprise of 70% of domestic university graduates, and Norway is considered to be the most economically equal society in the world.

This raises the question of why it is so often the case that statistics regularly re ect so favourably on Nordic countries. Many have pointed to what is known as ‘the Jante Law’.

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The Effects of the Law of Jante in Nordic Countries

The Jante Law - a sociological notion that refers to pluralistic and conformist attitudes within Nordic societies - is something that has been entrenched in the region’s culture for centuries.

Aksel Sandemoose rst outlined these existing cultural attitudes in his 1933 novel “En yktning krysser sitt spor” which roughly translates to “a fugitive crosses his tracks”.

Through the creation of the narrative of this novel, it seems that Sandemoose was able to parody and convey this quintessential collectivist Nordic mentality. The setting of the novel is believed to be imitative of his homeplace. In this novel he illustrated a small Danish town with virtually no anonymity where people have to live by ten rules known as the “law of Jante”.

In short, each of the rules of the law essentially state that one is not supposed to believe they are better than anyone else, thinking highly of oneself is disapproved of, personal ambition has a negative connotation, and unique talents ought not to be pursued.

The overarching premise behind the creation of these laws was to instill modesty and collectivism amongst the populace to assure stability and social harmony. Anyone who transgressed beyond these written laws became the subject of public antagonism.

While recent history has seen increasing cohorts seeking to transcend this deeply rooted social code, many striking examples of humility and frugality amongst wealthy Nordic people remain: Ingvar Kamprad (the Swedish founder of IKEA and the second richest man in Europe with a net worth of 39.3 billion USD) is a famously humble gure who still ies economy and is known for adopting a moderate lifestyle and living frugally.

Similarly, Olav Thon (a Norwegian real estate developer with a net worth of 6.2 billion USD) famously buys his clothes in second hand yard sales and is known for his similarly austere attitude. Some argue that this is merely billionaire penny-pinching, however others suggest that this lack of wealth displaying is closely linked to the entrenched Jante law.

Arguably negative effects The Jante Law has also become a subject of criticism within Nordic countries and has even been linked to depression and suicide rates by various peer reviewed journals.

Many have argued that the conformity that has been instilled as a result of these laws has ultimately led to a stagnant monoculture where there is repressive conformity with little openness to cultural diversity. Niels Lillelund, a famous writer and journalist, cited how Denmark has a culture where people who exhibit any form of exceptionalness or extraordinariness are not lifted up or supported, with such mobility being overlooked and ultimately sacri ced for the socalled ‘sacred, ordinary mediocrity’.

A society that values harmony and ordinariness could arguably have negative mental impacts on people who are intellectually gifted but are not given the support needed to challenge their gifted minds, they could potentially feel intellectually under-stimulated and struggle with realising their fullest potential and capabilities.

In addition to this, a society which values monoculture is not going to be immediately welcome to foreigners. While Nordic governments have been widely commended for showing tolerance in accepting large numbers of immigrants and refugees, the values of conformity and sameness of the Jante law have been so greatly entrenched within national cultures that

Hygge (which loosely translates to cosy) values, above all else, comfort and social harmony. This has become another form of Borealism under massmarket capitalism with the concept being turned into an appealing aesthetic. Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian word which denotes a wholesome ambiance of comfort. It has many translations in other Nordic languages too.

While it sounds nice as a general principle and is widely known and celebrated, it has not been above criticism. People have remarked that as a result of this strong cultural value surrounding comfort, contentious issues are shied away from, not being brought to the table in case there is disagreement or disillusionment which does not align with the ‘hygge’ atmosphere.

Hygge aesthetics have also been criticised for glamourising a more sedentary and selfindulgent lifestyle which, in excess, is known for its negative impacts on mental health. Most recently, hygge has also been criticised for being connected to the rise of a radical right-wing sentiment in Denmark which has sparked more intense political division within the country.

In short, romanticisation and glamorization of Nordic countries, aesthetics and cultures

overlooks the more negative aspects of living in Nordic societies.

Borealism has become an under-examined factor behind these negative sociological and psychological cultural aspects.

The aestheticisation and idealisation of these societies is reductive and ultimately leads to them being not fully understood.

xenophobia is still an ongoing issue.

This has long been linked to a whole range of other mental health issues and sociological struggles that immigrants can experience as a result of living in xenophobic environments including identity crises, cultural alienation, internalised racism, inferiority complexes and more.

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Euphoria Behind The Glitter Motley Staff writer Jessica talks about the HBO’s drama, Euphoria and the integral roles clothing plays in the telling of the character’s stories.

Smash hit HBO series Euphoria exploded onto our screens in June 2019, and like glitter tends to do, it left a massive imprint on makeup and fashion trends as well as teenage culture.

The series follows Zendaya, a 17 year old high school student battling drug addiction, with her classmates facing their own personal struggles - written and directed by the amazing Sam Levinson. Levinson based Zendaya’s character, ‘Rue,’ on his younger self, who battled with addiction in its ugliness and the destruction it brought to both himself and those around him.

Yet, Euphoria takes on addiction along with a myriad of other sensitive topics and showcases the series’s characters in a glossy, sheer and performative light. Many have interpreted this as a problematic way of glorifying the issues raised, however, Levinson defends its approach.

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The series is renowned for its ashy clothing and eccentric makeup credited for starting a rhinestone revolution, and this is done to show how teenagers very much feel like they are the stars of their own show.

The series constantly reminds us of the reality of addiction and the consequences of the characters’ actions the exterior demonstrates how the characters protect and express themselves during the most traumatic of times. For example, acting ingenue Hunter Schafer plays new student Jules, a girl determined to ‘conquer men (in order to conquer) femininity.’

She begins the season in traditionally feminine and girly clothing, with delicate pinks, purples, and cute tennis skirts. As Jules’s journey gets darker, so does her image - her hair begins a platinum white before changing to pink, to purple, to black. Her eyeliner also evolves to more experimental spikes and ashes of neon pink when emotionally distressed. Due to the pandemic, lming for season two was paused, but two episodes focusing on rst Rue, and then Jules following the season one nale were premiered in 2020.

‘F*ck Anyone Who’s Not A Sea Blob,’ shows Jules in therapy with no makeup and in muted tones, in which she discusses her journey as a transgender woman and her desire stop taking her hormone blockers. ‘I feel like I've framed my entire womanhood around men, when the reality is, I’m no longer interested in men (and what they want.)’

Sure enough, when season two premiered in January 2022, Jules had cut off her long hair and wore blacks and nude colours, with protective and experimental black spiked eyeliner around her inner corners. The way she dresses tells the viewer a lot about where she is both mentally and emotionally. Here we see that she has begun to reclaim her unique style, disregarding the preconceived ideas of what a woman should look like.

On the other hand, Rue remains makeup free as she did for the majority of season one. The only times Rue wears makeup is when she is high - d a r k b l a c k r i n g s s u r ro u n d h e r e y e s , accompanied by a blaring glitter. This style captures the feeling of Euphoria that she constantly seeks. As for clothing, Rue wears her late father’s maroon hoodie, sometimes branching out to waistcoats, suits, or patterned mens’ trousers. In the nale of season one, she sings, ‘Daddy ain’t at home no/Gotta be a man’, perhaps alluding to why she tends to dress more masculine, she feels the need to act as the father gure of her house.

The other characters in the show have their token fashion elements. Fierce and hot headed Maddy wears daring and bold two pieces and sharp eyeliner accompanied by rhinestones.

Cassie dresses similarly to Jules as she too values the opinion of men, yet nishes the season with a stripped back, mature look as she swears naively to remain ‘celibate.’ Finally, Kat undergoes a sexual awakening in season one, leading her to dress in sizzling reds, corsets, leather and collars.

In season two, she seems to be toning this down, but struggles to understand who she is and how to dress.

The emotional impact of Euphoria would not be as impactful without the visual elements and genius use of fashion in the telling of the character’s stories. Every detail helps the viewer to connect with the character's feelings, and it makes the show more memorable.

Season two is said to look different to season one’s glittery and bold entrance, with viewers theorising that the series is styled this way to symbolise addiction beginning with the euphoric high, followed shortly by the hard come down.

Whatever way Levinson and the show’s makeup artist Donni Davy decide to depict what comes next, I am sure it will be just as impactful as the rst series. It is said to be darker, like falling back to earth, which has viewers excited to see the characters re ecting this through their styles.

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How Has Covid 19 Impacted The Fashion Industry

By Sarah Collins

Fashion Editor Sarah Collins takes a look at the fashion industry and how the ongoing pandemic has impacted the industry over the last few years.

In March 2020, when COVID-19 swept through the world at an unprecedented pace, it became clear that this virus would have long-lasting results not only from a health perspective but from an economic one too.

The retail sectors have been one of the hardest hit, with huge stores and major companies shutting down inde nitely with no set contingency plans in place or advance warning.

Since then, the effects of the pandemic on the fashion industry globally have been catastrophic, with rippling side effects that will change the face of fashion for many years, if not forever.

Let’s be honest, the list of what needs to be improved in the over $1.5 trillion fashion industry is never ending.

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The impact of COVID-19 on the people who make our clothes has been huge. For years now global citizens have been encouraging an end to overconsumption.

We also know that in the face of this unexpected halt in manufacturing, it is the most vulnerable, lowest paid people in the fashion supply chain that have felt the worst, most damaging effects.

Global trade union ‘IndustriALL’ which works to give workers around the world a voice, has stated that millions of garment makers have already lost their jobs as a result of the virus and have little to no access to social or nancial safety nets to help them weather this storm.

Writing for the Business of Fashion, Bangladeshi garment manufacturer Mosta z Uddin made a very thought provoking point, “Poverty is a killer too, and many more people die from poverty than from COVID-19”.

If we look at the fashion industry as a whole, multi million dollar brands typically pay their suppliers weeks if not months after delivery, rather than paying them upon order.

This subsequently means that suppliers usually pay upfront for the materials or bres used to make the products that brands buy from them.

In response to the pandemic, fashion brands and retailers have cancelled their orders and stopped payments for orders already placed, even when the work has already been done, and they have taken no responsibility for the impact this has on the people working in their supply chains.

These huge factories are left with no choice but to destroy or keep hold of unwanted goods already made and lay off their workers in droves. I read an article by Bloomberg recently which stated that 1,089 garment factories in Bangladesh have had orders cancelled worth roughly $1.5 billion due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The AWAJ Foundation also made a point that many factories in Bangladesh have been shut down for good. A lot of workers were given less than a month’s salary as severance and many others have received nothing at all.

The executive director of AWAJ explains, “These workers now don’t know how they will take care of their families in the coming days – how they will manage costs for food, rent and other necessities.

They can’t even imagine what they’ll do if they or a family member needs medical treatment for COVID-19”.

The little to no income these workers earned was not enough to cover their living costs, and so they had little to no savings set aside to deal with a crisis such as this.

The luxury industry was also hit hard as in uential designers such as Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo signi cantly cut their orders to luxury leather and textile houses, which had a huge impact on their workers too.

This closure of factories and decline in orders has placed an enormous amount of pressure on luxury retailers, and I presume they now have to face the music and ask themselves about the impact this will have on their own future inventory and sales forecasts?

Will it go down? Will it rise sharply?

These are all questions that must be answered.

As the world begins to open up again after the pandemic, every single one of us has to adapt and change the way we buy and sell.

Could these issues be a catalyst and just what the fashion industry needs to switch things up?

What are these solutions going to look like?

What we have seen so far is that retailers have extended the seasonality of stock, and this has become a hot topic in the previous years due to a growing backlash to biannual fashion weeks due to the environmental aspect.

Back in May 2020, Creative Director of Gucci, Michele Alessandro announced at a conference that he was going to cut out the traditional S/S and A/W shows and replace them with only one gender-neutral show stating, "We need new oxygen to allow this complex system to be reborn."

Giorgio Armani followed suit in an open letter wn which he said, "This crisis is an opportunity to slow down and realign everything; to de ne a more meaningful landscape.

The decline of the fashion system, as we know it, started when the luxury sector adopted the fast fashion operating mode with the continuous delivery cycle, hoping to sell more…I don't want to work like this anymore, it’s immoral."

The industry has changed in many ways since the beginning of the pandemic with e-commerce on the rise very sharply. Will we see more substantial changes in the fashion industry in the months and years to come?

There is no doubt about it, and these changes are needed for the better so that the industry can continue to live on and be a force of good in the world.

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Beauty Hacks Straight From Your Kitchen

By Sarah Collins

Looking after your skin doesn’t have to cost a fortune!

Motley Fashion Editor Sarah talks us through some easy, quick beauty hacks that you can make right at home.

F A S H I O N & B E A U T Y

Let’s be real here, cooking isn't the only thing you can do in the kitchen. Here's a gentle reminder that fresh ingredients from your fridge and cupboard can be used to make game-changing beauty treatments from the comfort of your own home. So, the next time you have some extra avocado leftover from breakfast, make a hydrating hair mask out of it! A skin-tightening mask made with egg whites is also a must, with its ability to substantially reduce the appearance of ne lines and wrinkles.

I appreciate a good skincare hack where you can get every single one of your items straight from your kitchen. It’s an all-natural approach to reset your skin with everyday ingredients and as students on a tight budget, you are also saving some of your well-earned money!

So why not head into the kitchen and take some time out of your busy schedule to do a little bit of self-care. Follow my step-by-step directions for a budget-friendly, game-changing beauty routine that you will be guaranteed to love.

Ready, set, DIY!!

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Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric and Oatmeal Face Mask:

Avocado Hair Mask Ingredients: 1 ripe avocado 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil 2 tablespoons honey 2-3 drops essential oil

Ingredients: 1/2 cup oats 2 teaspoons turmeric 2 tablespoons coconut oil 1/2 cup ltered water Instructions : 1. Blend the oats and turmeric in a food processor.

2. Add the oil and water to the processor slowly.

3. Wash your face with warm water.

4. Apply the face mask to your face and let sit for 15 minutes.

5. Rinse.

Instructions: 1. Blend all of your ingredients.

2. Apply the hair mask throughout the hair, making sure it is thoroughly coated.

3. Let the mask sit in your hair for 30 minutes until dry.

4. Rinse with warm water.

Ingredients: 1 cold cucumber

Ingredients: Yolk from an egg

Instructions: 1. Cut two slices of cucumber about 1/4 inch thick.

2. Place on eyelids and relax until they become warm. *Tip: Put these over your eyelids while you have a face mask on for an extra skin treat*

Instructions: 1. Beat the egg until it becomes foamy.

2. Wash your face with warm water.

3. Apply egg white mask onto face with a brush or cotton pad.

4. Leave the mask on for 15 minutes.

5. Rinse with warm water and apply your favourite moisturiser afterwards.

Honey Sugar Lip Scrub

Coconut Oil Makeup Remover

Ingredients: Two teaspoons of sugar One teaspoon of honey

Ingredients: 2-3 spoons of coconut oil Water

Instructions: 1. Mix one teaspoon of honey with two teaspoons of sugar.

2. Massage the mixture into your lips and leave for 10 minutes or so.

3. Remove with the help of a wet face washer.

Instructions: 1. Mix ingredients together.

2. Shampoo and condition your hair rst, and afterwards apply your mask. Leave it on for 5-10 minutes.

3. Rinse it out and dry as usual.

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Egg White Face Mask

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Cooling Cucumber Eye Mask

MOTLEY’S FEATURED ARTISTS

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his set of collage works were sparked from a

theme of “Play” in my college course. I took the brief in a way of attempting to link my childhood with adulthood, and create strange realities of overlaps such as these.

The backing of both of these collages are symbols of childhood for myself. They’re full of life and colour, patterns and hints of nature, which all suggest childlike play and imagination. For me, I feel like the more frontward images are a stark contrast to that.

They stand out. It’s more of a symbolic representation for myself as well.

I fell very into myself as a child, I was quite timid and meek, as I grew older I grew out of that a little more, I was able to get to know myself a little better and I feel like the collages showcase this.

Part of me feels like I may have put the childlike imagery in the backing because it’s more acceptable for me at 21 to see play as a thing of the past.

It’s no longer seen as correct for me to be playful and messy.

I should be organised, controlled.

I should be grown.

Art by Mars Lotty

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FASHION & BEAUTY

@m.lottiixi_art_

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his work was inspired by the theme “Stimulus”. This word helped me a lot through finding my style and what work I enjoyed creating. I picked the strength and empowerment of women and all women, for the main concept of this work.

I tried to stray away from the work I used to do so consistently which was controlled, orderly and created in a very perfectionist manner. I tried working a lot more impulsively and chaotically for me. It felt strange but as I continued i realised how much more I felt connected to the artwork.

It was made using acrylic paint and a palette knife for the backing, and indian ink for the figure

@m.lottiixi_art_

Art by Mars Lotty FASHION & BEAUTY

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Art by Mars Lotty

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FASHION & BEAUTY

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his work was the inal piece of the “Stimulus” brief i’d gotten. As I spoke about, I wanted to work rather closely to the empowerment of women, and our strength. As personal as that theme is to myself, I still wanted to bring it a little closer to me so i chose to do two representational igures.

@m.lottiixi_art_

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he backing of the piece also means a lot to me. I worked mainly with colours I saw as symbols of strength. You can see that one side of the work is clearer and lighter than the other and it all comes back to what each igure means.

I made this while looking a lot into misogyny and how women are belittled for literally enjoying anything in life. We can’t do a single thing without a joke being made. The blue one represents two things to me, it represents myself as a young girl as well as anyone who still feels like they’re not themselves yet and they’re too cautious to be. It’s how I felt for the majority of my life. I’ve been in college three years now and i’m still only getting to be me, but my irst year in college is the irst time I felt that I inally get to be the me i'm meant to be.

It was an incredibly empowering feeling, and it’s something I wish for everyone, and that brings me to the more centered igure. She’s meant to represent the younger version of me, those of us who aren’t afraid to be the strength for herself and for anyone around her who hasn’t found that just quite yet.

@m.lottiixi_art_

Art by Mars Lotty

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Art by Shania Sampson

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FASHION & BEAUTY

@picklep0x

@picklep0x

Art by Shania Sampson FASHION & BEAUTY

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Art by Shania Sampson

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FASHION & BEAUTY

@picklep0x

@picklep0x

Art by Shania Sampson FASHION & BEAUTY

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For Ashling (by Alana Daly Mulligan) Your name means ‘dream’ in our mother tongue; Of course we poets gi our daughters with such.

Of course we would bestow them with something they cannot touch.

We start dreams in A5 copybooks, Then carry them up our civic steps, Say yes to equality, yes to opportunity, yes to women’s autonomy, Yet, Why is this dream Still so intangible, So unimaginable For the other 49%?

Dreams should run wild along the riverbanks of O aly And through forest trails thick with myth and history – Dreams should catch a breeze on an open country road: A sunset to the west, a moon leaning towards the morning – The air distilled and sweet and tight to our skin, because dreams should be the things we are allowed to live in Unapologetically.

But, how can we be expected to breathe When we are not allowed to even be?

Earphones in. Sound o .

Keys out. Baggy tops.

Dark clothes. Public places.

Well-lit roads. Safe spaces.

“You home yet hun? X” Text back: “Just in the door – there was this one guy, called me a whore – But I’m ne – Just unlucky timing.”

Should’ve worn jog pants, not shorts.

Do a double-take on the locks on the door.

Lie down to try sleep, count all the sheep you passed on the road Who thought “better to leave that be, I’m sure she’s nearly home”.

How many excuses will we buy to soothe our discomfort That we reduce women to statistics, Nameless odd and even numbers?

And how many dreams will we let die Before this insomniac society zones in And wakes up, and maybe starts to give a fuck?

And oh, dear dream, dear vision, With thousands of miles le to run, Will I meet you on the open road in passing At the fall of dusk? At the light of dawn?

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In the name of an Éire for all mná, that one we’ve never quite lived up to, Let us seize the day and run in the night, I am tired of being afraid of life because society says I have to.

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