There's a new menace wreaking havoc in kitchens across the land. And it's probably lurking in your fruit bowl right now. Growing numbers of amateur chefs are visiting accident and emergency departments thanks to our obsession with avocados.
Their affliction? So-called "avocado hand" – serious stab and slash wounds resulting from failed attempts at penetrating the fruit's tough skin, and slippery collisions with the inner stone.
Doctors say some cases even result in serious damage to nerve and tendon damage, requiring complex surgery, and some may never regain full use of their hand. Almost laughably, doctors have even reported a "post-brunch surge" in victims on Saturdays, The Times reported.
Doctors are now calling for safety warning stickers to be stuck on the fruit. “People do not anticipate that the avocados they buy can be very ripe and there is minimal understanding of how to handle them," Simon Eccles, honorary secretary of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, who treats about four avocado-hand sufferers a week, told The Times. "Perhaps we could have a cartoon picture of an avocado with a knife, and a big red cross going through it?”
While there are currently no hard statistics on the number of victims, there's good evidence that avocado hand is widespread – and not just the scourge of middle-class homes in Britain. Meryl Streep lost her battle with an avocado back in 2012 and was photographed with a bandage, and more than 300 people have sought compensation for avocado injuries in New Zealand in the past five years. The wife of a New York Times staffer recently fell victim to the buttery fruit, leading the paper to cover the issue.
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But avocados aren't the only foods to be wary of in the kitchen, with popular brunch ingredients proving particularly hazardous. Bagels are notorious for causing similar hand injuries, especially when over-eager brunchers attempt to slice them while frozen. Sourdough toast, too, can cause jaw ache and wrist pain when attempting to cut it with a knife and fork.
Knives aren't the only kitchen appliances to watch out for, either. Fingers can easily call prey to a mezzaluna, used to finely chop herbs, or a mandolin, when you're shredding veggies for your summer salad.
How to cut and de-stone an avocado safely
It's as simple as placing the avocado on a flat surface with your hand on top and gently making incisions around the outside, Jeff Bland, executive chef at the Michelin-starred Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, told The Times.
When de-stoning, it may be worth wrapping the fruit in a towel if you're injury-prone, leaving the stone exposed, David Shewring, vice-president of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand, told The Times. Then, "use the edge of a heavy sharp knife to chop into the summit of the soft pip, so that it is slightly buried. Holding the knife, so that the pip is stabilised, use a towel to twist the pip out.”
Because a mangled hand isn't a price worth paying for an Instagrammable brunch.
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Rachel Shukert is a TV writer, author, and journalist living in Los Angeles. All opinions are her own.
Hi. My name is Rachel. I am a healthy, reasonably young person who has never had a major stay in the hospital or a severe chronic illness. I have, however, at different times in my life, been formally diagnosed with acne, allergies (in particular to most common antibiotics, requiring arcane and formerly ruinously expensive prescriptions), anxiety, and anorexia — and that’s just if we stay in the As. My husband, also healthy and reasonably young, had a bicycle accident a few years ago that left him with a persistent shoulder injury.
I am, at the time of this writing, exactly 35 weeks pregnant, and while every diagnostic test and detailed ultrasound afforded me by the twin miracles of modern technology and excellent health insurance has left me with every expectation that our son will thankfully be born with no abnormalities that can be detected in utero, there’s no telling what could happen when he makes his first appearance a month from now. He might have a complicated birth or require intensive care. He might be turned the wrong way in my uterus and require a C-section, which could, under the new bill passed last week by the Republicans of the U.S. House of Representatives, add its name to the long list of things that might make his mother permanently uninsurable.
The truth is, despite our various medical histories or genetic signatures, everyone in the world has the same pre-existing condition: We are alive.
You see where I’m going with this. My younger sister, the mother of twins born at 34 weeks, requiring one and three weeks in the NICU respectively, also had a C-section, and tends toward anaemia. My mother has hypertension, high cholesterol, and a probably-congenital heart arrhythmia that in 67 years has caused a single bout of fainting at an office Christmas party, but still counts as a black mark on her record. One of my closest friends had a cerebral haemorrhage at age 27; another, a fair-skinned redhead, regularly has pre-cancerous moles removed from her body despite armouring herself in sun-protective gear every time she so much as crosses a parking lot; another is HIV-positive.
My point is, I have pre-existing conditions, you have pre-existing conditions, Paul Ryan has pre-existing conditions (including, let’s not forget, a family history of cardiovascular disease that caused his alcoholic father to die of a heart attack at age 55). Donald Trump, despite that letter from the live-action version of Dr. Nick from The Simpsons calling him the “healthiest individual ever to seek the Presidency,” has pre-existing conditions; I won’t speculate as to what specifically they might be.
The truth is, despite our various medical histories or genetic signatures, everyone in the world has the same pre-existing condition: We are alive. We are alive, which means that eventually, we will age and die, sicken and die, or suffer some kind of fatal or maiming accident that will cause us to die. Death and taxes are supposed to be the only two constants of life, and until we see the returns — which we won’t — I’m not even sure about the taxes.
But just as corporations are now people while women, increasingly, are not, countries also have pre-existing conditions. Our country has a very serious one, seemingly as pervasive and sinister as any of the scary acronyms — AIDS, SARS, MRSA — that have preceded it. It’s called GOP. It is the pre-existing condition of America, and it’s time to kill it once and for all, before it kills us all first.
I know, I know. The Republicans weren’t always bad! Party of Lincoln, remember? For the sake of all our sanity, can we just put that semantic bullshit in the grave already? Abraham Lincoln has about as much in common with the modern GOP as Harriet Tubman does with Ivanka Trump, and we all know it. There is no goodness left in the Republican party, no egalitarianism or generosity of spirit or love of freedom or humanity. It has, at least over the course of my lifetime (which began with the Reagan Revolution), morphed into nothing so much as a giant, fearsome mega-virus that has played the eager host to the most toxic and infectious strain in American life since the Pilgrims first landed on Plymouth Rock.
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For a freshly formed society that has dedicated a lot of resources to subjugating over half of its population, the Republic of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale is eerily nondiscriminatory. It’s the one aspect I side-eye most about the show. Obviously, oppression based on gender and sexuality is at the core of this new world order; but I’m expected to believe that the Sons of Jacob just conveniently abandoned racism and classism? I’m still not much closer to a definitive answer about how race and class work in this twisted new America, but in last night’s episode there is some acknowledgment that a diversity of perspectives exists, at least among the Handmaids.
Intent on finding out more information about the secret resistance, June ditches her companion/shopping partner, the new Ofglen, to talk to her predecessor. In case you missed it, talking is pretty discouraged amongst the Handmaids, and they are forced to shop in pairs in order to keep an eye on each other. This also makes them partially responsible for any indiscretions their partners commit. All June learns from her hushed chat at the market is that the old Ofglen is now Ofsteven but her real name is Emily, and that the resistance is called Mayday.
However, the new Ofglen is furious that June is engaging in such risky behaviour, especially when it puts her ass on the line, too. During their walk home she snaps at June, “Don’t mess this up for me.” When June alludes to how messed up things already are, she is in for a rude awakening. ”I used to get fucked behind a dumpster just so I could buy a sixth of Oxy and a Happy Meal. I’m clean now. I’ve got a safe place to sleep every night and I have people who are nice to me.” She adds, “Whatever they did to Ofsteven, that’s not gonna happen to me.”
This privilege check is unsurprisingly delivered by a woman of colour. It is often the role of women of colour to bring attention to the different ways that women experience and cope with oppression. There is certainly something to be said about the kind of privilege it takes for women like June — white, college-educated, and (formerly) gainfully employed with benefits — to be willing to rage against the machine. Sure, the new Ofglen’s bold stance might be about her own selfish needs. But more than likely, it’s acquiescence — stemming from an understanding that keeping your head down, your mouth shut, and doing whatever it takes to “make the best of it” is required to survive.
At the same time, I was a bit off-put by the implication that women who are any combination of poor, addicted, and/or of colour are jaded enough to accept mass disenfranchisement. What I felt was at play here is the idealised notion of welfare — where services like addiction treatment and housing assistance are only granted under the condition that the government assumes complete control of the recipients' lives and reproductive functions — and that those in need of these services should be grateful.
This isn’t too different from some of the tactics used to control women’s bodies by the very real American government.
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With headline news hitting everyone, everywhere, every hour of the day, it can be easy to hunker down and concentrate only on what's happening in your immediate area. But something key to remember is that few struggles happen in isolation — and these days, as people around the world become closer than ever, so many of our causes are interconnected.
Each year, UN Women hosts a Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), bringing together researchers, grassroots leaders, academics, policymakers, the heads of NGOs, and more to learn how women on the ground are changing their communities and the world in big ways, and to share information about the matters that affect women the most.
Five of these global leaders and experts sat down with Refinery29 to discuss their lives, work, and careers — and how they think women can move the world forward.
How did you get into domestic work and what was your experience?
"I started domestic work very early in my life... I love it, but I encountered a lot of abuse in my journey... While I was a live-in domestic worker with a particular family, I started going to school for food preparation, baking, and decorating, and I had to start from scratch at university and go through the different modules. The family had two children that loved me to death, and I loved them; they were like my kids. I’d go to school in the evening and would come home in the night, and my employer or her kids would come down and let me in the house — but then they stopped opening the door. I would ring the buzzer, tap on the door, go around the back and knock, but nobody would allow me in... So what I had to do was sleep in the dog house... That was the permanent situation for about three months or so. In the morning, she would open the door very early for me to get in the house to make breakfast, and I would shower and prepare myself for work. She never once asked me, ‘Where were you last night? Where you sleep? I heard you knocking.'
"It was very bad. I had another experience when my daughter was boarding with someone I knew, and she got very ill... I asked my employers for time off, and they wouldn’t give it to me. I spent nine years with them, and they wouldn’t give me the time off to go. I realised that I needed to move on.
"Being a domestic worker was very fulfilling for me. I love the work, and I took pride in what I did, but after what happened to me, I went to a workshop for domestic workers, hairdressers, and gardeners, and we were challenged to go back and organise, so we’d have a voice. We formed the Jamaica Household Workers Association in 1990 launched in 1991. In 2013, we organised ourselves into a formal trade union and invited the Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, who gave the blessing for the organisation."
What was it like getting that organisation, now union, going?
"We struggled, and there have been ups and downs...but I’m the only original member who never left. We started out with 175 members, and we went down to two members at one time. The manager for the Bureau of Men’s Affairs came over one evening and said to the two of us who were there, 'Every day, the two of you come here, but two persons can’t be an organisation. Lock it down! You got to go out and mobilise!' Those were big words...
"It’s a lot of commitment. You have to love what you do... What I say to myself is, I don’t want another domestic worker to go through what I’ve been through. "
Hearing about the things you experienced, I have to ask: Where does that meanness, that abuse, come from?
"It was [just] how domestic work would go at the time. When you’re live-in, you face a lot of challenges. I remember days when I would cook, and I couldn’t eat the food; my boss wouldn’t allow me to. I would cook the food and lay out the dishes, and when she came back home, she would say, 'Oh, put the food in the fridge for tomorrow. You can have some sardines'...
"When I got another job, the lady told me they would pay me two times what the [new employer] was offering me. I had asked them already if they could raise up my pay, because I was very challenged, but they had told me they were paying me well and nobody would pay the amount of money they were. [Still,] I left."
Were your challenges similar to ones that other domestic workers face?
"Yes. Some of the challenges they face are the long working hours. I had to be in the kitchen by 6, prepare breakfast for the morning, and get the kids ready for school. You have to work right through the day and then serve them dinner when they came home at night. I had to wait for them to eat, wash up all the dishes, and pack them away, because she didn’t like dishes in the kitchen overnight. My feet used to be swollen every day; I developed varicose veins from standing from the morning until night.
"Other complaints are that people would be fired without pay, or they’d be working without food all day... And then you’d get rampant sexual harassment in the workplace. Nowadays, I’m not getting complaints as much as before, but I think it’s because when you’re organised, things are so different."
What difference specifically?
"As an organisation, we weren’t respected. Employers wouldn’t give us a second look... Now that we’re a union, and they know that we can go to court when we have a grievance, it’s a different thing. You approach the employer, and they come in and put everything right. Previously, we would just send our cases to the Minister of Labor, but now we can go straight to the Industrial Dispute Tribunal with our cases — and a lawyer that works with them volunteers with us.
"So having union women come into our life made a big change in our organisation. We put on several workshops. Because we are based in Kingston, we extended 13 chapters all over the island and get to mobilise domestic workers in the parishes and set up leadership there. In Kingston, we meet every Friday... Now we get calls from employers looking for a good domestic worker from us, and from domestic workers wanting jobs or to join the union. We’re up to 5,700 members now across our chapters, and we are part of the Caribbean Domestic Workers Network."
What are your goals now, for the future?
"I’m fighting for government ratification of Convention 189 across the world, but more so in the Caribbean. As head of the Caribbean Domestic Workers Network, I’m sending letters to the Prime Ministers and the Minister of Labours reminding them about the convention and asking them to ratify it, so that laws are put in place to protect domestic workers... I know things have moved so far, but I’m a pusher. I’m a fighter. When the Prime Minister ratified the convention in September, I said, 'Sir, I don’t take promises lightly.' He said to me, 'Neither do I.'"
Ito Peng
Peng is a professor of sociology and public policy, and the Canada research chair in global social policy at the University of Toronto, as well as the director of theCentre for Global Social Policy, where she leads Gender, Migration, and the Work of Care, an international research project that examines the global migration of care workers and its impact on family, gender relations, gender equality, government policies, and global governance.
How has care become work?
"Over the last 10-15 years, social and economic changes across the world — from population aging and low fertility to shifts from manufacturing to a more service-sector economy — have impacted the nature of care. Governments are increasingly trying to figure out how to deal with the care of children, elderly people, disabled people, and other people who were traditionally unable to participate in the labor market, and who were largely cared for by family. So even though most of the care that is provided within families or communities is unpaid, it is nevertheless very important. There is a huge demand for care that families are not really able to adequately provide anymore. Personally, I am in my 50s, with two children and a long career, and I know what people are facing when it comes to this. Now that my children have mostly grown up, I now face care for my ageing mother. After one period of care, there's another kind to deal with; that’s pretty tough, particularly for working women."
Why is this area particularly tough on women?
"Because there are a lot of women like me who must work and look after family, a lot of people are trying to outsource care... Changes in social and economic structures are creating a huge demand for care, but what's really driving it is the fact that fewer men provide care work than women, even though both men and women have to work. If men did more care work, there wouldn't be such a critical demand for women to outsource care to someone outside of the family. The second problem is that care is still not recognised as a legitimate form of work, so it doesn’t pay well, and women don’t want to do it. If care work was recognised, more women — and maybe men — might be willing to provide it without relying on migrant women from poorer countries."
What kind of relationships does this dynamic create among women from different countries?
"There is a huge demand for care everywhere, but particularly from rich countries in the 'global north': North America, Western Europe, and rich East Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In these countries, the demand for care is really high and has compelled the women from poorer countries, like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, to migrate out as care workers, nannies, and caregivers. The result is a global care chain — a series of interdependencies created through care work between women across different regions of the world.
"Middle-class women in richer countries outsource care to women in poorer countries, who then leave their families and the care of their own children and parents to even poorer women in their own countries. This kind of system recreates the inequality that exists between rich and poor countries, but also perpetuates inequality between women across economic class, racial lines, and so on."
What do you think this shows about the work women do globally, and what does your research suggest could be done to create a more equitable system?
"Since we know that this interdependent dynamic intensifies inequality between countries and also between women within those countries, one of the first things we think about is what global governance and policy can do to mitigate some of those outcomes. That involves looking at the role of global organisations, international policies, and legal systems to make sure that inequality, and particularly human rights abuses, do not happen... For example, a policy that many countries have not yet signed onto is Convention 189, more commonly known as the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). ILO Convention 189 was passed in 2011, and it talks about the rights of the domestic workers, but so far, only 24 countries have ratified it. The U.S., for example, has not ratified it, but several U.S. states have adopted ILO Convention 189 recommendations in their state policies towards domestic workers.
"[We need] much more active and effective public childcare or more provisions for elder care, so that people don't have to rely on migrant domestics or migrant care workers. Our studies show that one way governments can ensure that care is provided is by [incentivising] men to also participate in care, so that it doesn't just get left to women to deal with. That means we as people having to change the way we think, as well as employers possibly changing their employment practices. Positive social investment policies, like the government investing in childcare and child education, and in public eldercare programs would probably help families balance their work and care obligations.
"Finally...it's a matter of looking at what 'sending' countries can do to develop their societies and economies that doesn't always depend on sending their women and men out... A lot of these women...would much rather stay home and be with their families, but there isn't enough work to be done. So we also look to the more micro side, at what local individuals, communities, and social movements can do to address and change this system of global interdependence through care."
Heba Nassar (Egypt)
Nassar is a professor of Economics on the Faculty of Economics and Political Science (FEPS) at Cairo University (CU) and the vice president of CU. She has done extensive research on women's economic participation and human resource development, writing about areas such as labor markets, education, microfinance and small businesses, poverty, social policies, and more in the Arab world.
What are some of the challenges that you've seen young women in your region face when it comes to work?
"A woman might come out of school and have skills to enter the labor market, but with the same diploma, she cannot get to the emerging sectors of the labor market where there are higher wages. Entering that sector is very challenging...and women have less mobility than men in our region. Transportation is not so easy to get, and they might not get the chance to get a flat and live alone. So the first challenge is getting the training to enter, the second challenge is to proving themselves, the third is [finding out] how to balance her wishes to be a mother and staying in the labor market, and the fourth one is figuring out how to compete after having a child, because she may not have so much time for training and for work."
What are some of initiatives that can help with these areas?
"The first is upgrading women's skills, and the government, NGOs, and the private sector can work on that through things like mobile training courses and on-the-job training. Flexible hours and [the ability to] work from home are very important, and private sector [support] of things like nurseries, transportation, training, and equal chances is also important. There are many violations of the law by the private sector, and it can be very tough to get them to accept and promote women. Legislation gives us certain rights, but they are not always implemented. For example, if a workplace has 100 employees or more, there has to be a nursery — so they’ll employ 98."
What are the emerging markets where you see key opportunities for women?
"Information and communication technology (ICT), finance, banking, and more. Women are concentrated in education and culture, but they have to move to the emerging markets, and I think ICT in particular can play a role in empowering women. It's a good-paying sector, and they can work from home. But women in Egypt are not heterogeneous. There are women who are educated professionals and who could get [certain] chances, and there are others who are survivors and challenging [norms]."
Lucia Makamure
Makamure is the alliance & partnerships officer forGender Links. A former journalist, her career began at the Zimbabwe Independent where she worked as a political reporter, and her work on gender, education, climate change, and human rights issues has been published in several publications in Southern Africa and internationally. Makamure is a 2016 Commonwealth Scholar currently studying towards a Masters of Public Policy and Management at the University of York.
What is the aim of your work at Gender Links, and what are some initiatives you're currently working on?
"Gender Links' work is around advancing gender equality in southern Africa. One of the biggest challenges that the region has at the moment is economic justice for women, and one of our current advocacy campaigns is professionalizing the unpaid care [work] of women. In southern Africa, for example, most women are involved in the agricultural sector and make a huge difference in terms of producing food in their countries. You’ll find, however, that that work is not recognised or remunerated. We think it’s high time that we have policies rectifying that."
Before we get into those policies, something that is really interesting about your work is your focus on how gender inequality intersects with climate change. How does the latter impact women in your region, and what does that mean in terms of "environmental justice"?
"In most communities that are affected by climate change, there are likely to be floods or drought... Because our society is mainly a patriarchal one, the women in families are the people who will spend their time looking for water. The girl-child is the most affected, because at some point, her studies will suffer. There is no way she is going to go to school when there is no water in the household and the expectation is that by [nature of] being a girl, it’s her responsibility to ensure that there is. The other challenge for girls especially is around sanitation issues. If there’s no water, even school ceases being a safe space. So we say that the effects of climate change in southern Africa carry a woman’s face."
And those effects are being felt pretty immediately.
"Yes. We've had horrible floods across the region recently; there were huge cyclones in Madagascar and Mozambique, and floods in South Africa and Zimbabwe. When such things happen, women, who are the primary caregivers, are taken off their productive duties to take care of the family. In some countries when the floods are so bad, it results in them losing their homes, and in most cases, the kids are not likely to be with their father [but] around their mother. She has to ensure that there is food for the kids, and sometimes they are forced into disaster camps where they or their kids may be exposed to gender-based violence. "
What are some of the policies that you think would make either a more immediate difference or a long-term difference?
"Southern Africa has [come] quite far when it comes to putting policies in place around gender equality; our biggest challenge now is implementation. We have sustainable development goals at the global level, protocol on gender equality in Africa, and at the regional level in southern Africa, we also have our own gender equality instrument. All these policies are brilliant, but when it comes to implementation, it’s sad. In a region where we have so much, I don’t think there would be any reason for us to still be talking about these issues 20, 30 years later. But if we do not guard against this now, despite sustainable development goals and any other policies that will come, we’ll still be talking about this. It’s high time that we started concentrating on implementation, action, and results. We’re done talking."
Are there one or two policies in particular that you think need to be focused on?
"I spoke about unpaid care work. At the regional level in South Africa, we have an instrument that we call the Southern Africa Protocol on Gender and Development. It has a brilliant provision around the recognition of unpaid work of women, but most of the countries in the region don’t have a policy [implementing it] or haven’t done much if they do. The issue started getting attention around the height of the HIV [cases] in southern Africa because most of the people who were involved in care work were women – and they were not being remunerated. Because there was a lot of debate around the issue, quite a number of countries adopted a policy, but some of those policies came up with women getting less than £40 a month. What does £40 a month do when care work is your full-time job?"
And when you don’t have the time to pick up another job.
"Exactly. So as long as the situation is like this, the economic justice of women in southern Africa and the world at large will never be fully realised."
Who do you think should be held accountable?
"Our governments! It’s their duty to look after us; it’s their duty to protect us. They have to step up for gender equality. There's no two ways about it. I’m not based here in the U.S., but from where I’m coming from, there seems to be a backlash on women’s rights. So for us right now, despite the brilliant work that we are doing, our biggest challenge is that most women’s rights organisations have been forced into closure because there’s no funding. The situation is much worse in the global south, but no one wants to fund women’s rights anymore.
"I’ll give the example of a pizza: donor funds [may] come into the global south, but women’s rights is just one part of that piece of the pizza. Leaders can’t come here and talk about sustainable development work and improving the lives of people when they’re not putting money into that work. They should put their money where their mouth is."
How would you define "feminist economics" for people who may be less familiar with that term?
"Different people might define that in different ways. I define ‘feminist economics’ as an approach to economics that looks at economic policy from the point of view of women's rights — something that stretches well beyond the paid workplace and encompasses education, health, and family life. It also encompasses unpaid work and social security. We need to rethink the way we teach, measure, and conduct public discourse about economics. When people hear the word economy, they tend to think only of paid work. Unpaid care and domestic work are disproportionately done by women and girls, and this disproportionate responsibility is one of the barriers to the achievement of equal pay."
As someone who's worked in this field for so long, what would you say are some of the challenges to engaging government organisations and policymakers?
"Governments are always more willing to make statements in favour of gender equality and women's empowerment than they are to actually making it happen. It's important to ask what is actually being done to implement any commitments they make, when they make them. Are those commitments on paper, or will they be solved by passing a new law? However good that law is, have they thought through what resources behind it might be needed to make sure that it can be implemented?
"Governments and the political context of countries can change. Take Canada, for example. Until recently, it was extremely difficult to get the government to implement policies that would improve the lives of low-income women. There were lots of setbacks, and funding for a lot of women's organisations in Canada was cut. But after 10 years, a change of government and power has taken some steps at least to counteract those cuts and move forward again on gender equality and women's rights."
The issue of unpaid care labor has come up with almost every woman I’ve spoken to for this story. How do you see the dial being moved on that in any way?
"I think we have made some progress in getting people to recognise this work as important economically and socially, and [have] even taken some steps to start including it in statistics. What we need now is investment to reduce the amount of unpaid work that there is. In Western Europe, we can take for granted that when we turn on the tap or flick a switch, water or electricity will come. There are some issues that need to be addressed about whether this is affordable for everybody, but we also have big problems on the issues of care for the frail elderly. It's very important in countries with ageing populations that governments invest in care services for frail, elderly people and in childcare services for preschool children. Public investment is important, so that good-quality services are provided and that the people who provide it are paid a good salary, get professional training, and that they’re not treated as a second-class labor force that's paid barely the minimum wage.
"Another thing we have to do, particularly in higher-income countries, is redistribute the remaining unpaid care work so that men do more of it. I do see a generational shift of men who are more interested in being hands-on fathers and reducing their hours of paid work so they can contribute more equally. [But] then, they face barriers of employers who are not so willing to recognise that men have care responsibilities. Employers can’t just think, Yes, we have to accommodate mothers because they'll need shorter hours of work or time off to look after their children; they have to do the same for fathers.
"The greater responsibilities to unpaid care and domestic work that women have constrain the kinds of jobs they can do. For instance, because of those constraints, a lot of women with children can only take part-time jobs — and part-time jobs receive worse pay, often don't have pensions, paid sick leave, promotion prospects, or the social benefits attached to them that full-time jobs have.
"Occupational segregation is a big issue. Some jobs, particularly those in care and retail, are disproportionately filled by women. Other jobs, like construction, are disproportionately filled by men — but guess which jobs get paid more. You need to be just as careful taking care of people as you do when building a wall, but you get paid more money for building a wall than for helping people with disabilities improve what they can do, for example. Something we need to tackle is getting more pay for these jobs, which are typically thought of as women's jobs, and the other is getting more men to do these jobs, even though more men won't go into those jobs unless they get more pay. So even though it's not a policy that's typically labeled a gender-equality policy, raising the minimum wage does a lot to reduce the gender pay gap and disproportionately helps women."
You mentioned the upcoming U.K. elections with Theresa May. In the run-up to the presidential elections in the U.S. last year, there was a lot of conversation about the importance of having women leaders to advocate for feminist policies, and that has continued. What does that mean to you in the context of your elections?
"I want to see more women leaders, and I want to see more women in parliaments, but I want them to put forward policies that will actually benefit women. I won't be supporting Theresa May in the U.K. just because she is a woman, and I didn't support Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s just because she was a woman. Both of them had policies that actually make the lives of low-income women in particular more and more difficult. It's good to see women leaders, but I want to know what their policies are."
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If you're ready to have a baby, but aren't necessarily able to do so through the traditional means (i.e., being in a heterosexual relationship in which you can readily conceive a child), there's an app for that. A new app called Just A Baby purports to be just like Tinder, but for, well, baby-making. Instead of matching you up with a potential hookup or a significant other, the app will match you to a sperm donor, surrogate, or even just a co-parent or partner.
The app, developed by Australians Paul Ryan (definitely not that Paul Ryan) and Gerard Edwards, launched in the US and UK on Monday after a soft launch in Sydney, according to NBC. With it, users are able to fill out a "biological profile" that indicates what they need or can provide, whether it be sperm or egg donations, co-parenting, surrogacy, or partnership. Just like Tinder, the app is GPS-enabled, so you can find other users locally. However, you can also zoom out and take in a more global view.
Unlike Tinder and other dating apps, however, the app doesn't ask users to plug in details about their race or body type, Ryan told NBC, in an attempt to keep the app "agnostic."
"Some people request that information, which is fine, but we want to get away from that catalog feeling you get at a sperm bank," he told NBC. "This is warmer, more human. Once you make it to that first stepping stone of going into a community and seeing who is out there, you can find the right person and move forward."
Ryan told NBC that the app has already acquired about 3,000 to 4,000 users over the past few months of the soft launch.
"They're matching up and sharing great stories about starting families," he told NBC.
He also said that the app was catered towards millennials who may want to become parents even if they aren't necessarily ready to settle down with a long-term partner.
"Millennials are often in this space where they're transient, their relationships don't last as long, and they're putting off having kids," he told NBC. "I noticed so much anxiety among my friends, and thought, 'Why not rid the stigma around trying alternative approaches, and make an app?'"
Of course, committing to having a baby with someone you meet over the internet can be a risky venture. Ryan insisted to NBC that users should of course meet each other and go through all the legal and medical channels necessary. The app, however, doesn't provide these services, so users will be left to figure it out on their own.
Given that it's really never "just a baby," the app may well be much more complicated than the name suggests. Still, for LGBTQ couples seeking a surrogate or a sperm donor, Just A Baby could facilitate the process in a much more seamless way than it otherwise would have been. Since it's still early days, there's no telling yet if Just A Baby will become just as ubiquitous as online dating has.
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At first glance, The Keepers seems like any other documentary series. We deemed it the Making A Murderer of 2017. But oh my god, it is so much more than that. This thrilling, disturbing, and twisted story of one woman's murder goes way beyond a 'whodunnit' — it taps into a long-dormant scandal of rampant sexual abuse by the clergy, the long-term affects of suppressed memory, the skewed hierarchy of the Catholic Church, and the cruelties of being a woman in a patriarchal society. The seven, hour-long episodes provide a slow, but intense burn, in explaining the events leading to, and following, the brutal murder of young, smart, and beloved nun, Sister Cathy Cesnick.
Sister Cathy was killed in November 1969, and her body was found two months later, in early 1970. Ever since the 26-year-old nun and school teacher went missing from her apartment in Baltimore, Maryland, the details of what happened to her that night remained a mystery. But despite the show's tagline, which ominously reads"Who Killed Sister Cathy?", what happened that deadly night is not what The Keepers is actually about. It's mostly about the shocking abuse of Father Joseph Maskell, the Chaplin at the esteemed Baltimore-area school Archbishop Keough High School, where Sister Cathy taught, and the nun's quest to expose it.
The first episode of the series, which premieres on the streaming service May 19, proposes the following theory: Sister Cathy was killed because she knew incriminating evidence about the abuses happening within the school at which she taught. And, much like the story told in the Oscar-winning film Spotlight, the major catch in all this is that the church protects even its most evil of characters to preserve the overall integrity of the establishment. This entire scandal and murder in Maryland pre-dates the real events that led to The Boston Globe' s expose on the church in 2001 by nearly forty years. Essentially, the answer to "Who killed Sister Cathy?" became moot and swept under the rug. This documentary explores each and every approach to identifying Sister Cathy's killer (which at one point leads to the viewers being introduced to five different suspects) and in doing so exposes the dark underbelly of this deeply Catholic community. The show also goes deep into a lawsuit against Maskell and the Church brought on by two unidentified women (Jane Doe and Jane Roe) who do reveal their real identity in the documentary. Not only that, but the filmmaker is also able to find and talk to people (and suspects) who haven't been questioned about the crime since 1970 and get them to talk; he depth of the investigation is incredible.
Father A. Joseph Maskell (L) and Father E. Neill Magnus (R) Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
Warning: It's incredibly hard to hear and see, especially because the women and men that were allegedly abused by Maskell (who died in 2001) and his friends are now all in their late 60s and 70s. Nothing is as upsetting as hearing a 60-something-year-old woman explaining the details of her vicious sexual assault. To hear the graphic and completely reprehensible details of the alleged abuse Jane Doe and Jane Roe (two former students at Keough) endured, made my skin crawl. Their tales are nightmare-inducing (I literally lost sleep over them) and, as they say in their respective episodes, have been deeply repressed throughout the years due to the trauma they say they experienced. Maskell died before any charges could be brought (although his grave was recently exhumed for investigation, but this does not mean that there aren't still many, many clues and loose ends to tie on the road to discovering the truth of what happened to Sister Cathy.
It's a complicated journey, one that evolves greatly from the initial group of individuals we meet in the first few episodes to include a large number of senior citizens who are revisiting their past in order to help connect clues. I can't remember another series that so intricately merges various people involved in the case to see complete a puzzle with dozens of missing pieces. Where Making A Murderer focused on one man who was accused of a crime in a way that appeared biased and unfair, The Keepers focuses on an entire community and the lasting wounds sustained from a group of influential men who used their power and dominance to allegedly abuse dozens of children and teenagers, and potentially even killing a woman to hide their secret.
The subject matter is real, raw, and emotionally triggering. By the final episode (I've been avoiding spoilers for you guys, but you can always Google the current state of the investigation) I was left with a growing sense of dread, so unsettled was I at the thought of there never being justice for Sister Cathy. I wouldn't recommend this as a binge-watch, but it is definitely a must-watch. Justice for Sister Cathy may be nearly 50 years overdue, but it is closer than ever.
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Behind every great man is a great woman — and behind every great woman is another woman. And it seems like these days, behind every great person, period, is a mentor.
So, if you don't have one: sorry, and good luck. Just kidding. By my un-statistical analysis, almost every interview with or TED talk by a high-achieving person these days credits a mentor for that person’s success. And if you feel like you’re stunted or on a plateau in your life or career, one of the first things anyone seems to suggest these days is that you go scrounge up a mentor. But what does that even mean?
I started doubting the gospel of mentorship a few years ago after a good friend expressed frustration about not having someone who played that role in her life. We were in our early 20s and, professionally, she was doing objectively well at worst, at least in my opinion. She, however, felt like she wasn’t doing as well as anyone expected of her, including herself; she had no one to ask all those “dumb” questions no one wants to say aloud, and she needed advice from someone senior — someone who had come out alright on the other side of all this doubt — on how to handle the workplace politics unique to her job. The upshot of all these worries: She felt stuck. Without a mentor, she thought, how could she trust that she was doing anything right or well?
On one hand, I absolutely related to my friend. Who wouldn’t want a job guru/confessor who can flawlessly shepherd you through your career? Wouldn’t it be great, not to mention incredibly reassuring, to have a wise elder vet your questions and ideas before you threw them out there? Of course it would — but on the other hand, I doubt that most people ever get that; even if everyone should, I felt like my friend wasn’t giving herself enough credit for all the work she had already done.
Without a mentor, she thought, how could she trust that she was doing anything right or well?
Sure, she had room to grow, as most people do (seemingly forever), but what about all the things she seemed to feel like she couldn’t make happen without a mentor — such as finding new opportunities, negotiating workplace politics, and being amazing at her job? I truly believe she was already doing those things, and incredibly well. From my perspective, she didn’t need mentorship as much as she needed approval. It made me wonder if mentorship is promoted too often as an end-all, be-all goal — just some tool you "must" have in your arsenal, like a Tide to Go pen or a high-level Pokémon, regardless of what mentorship actually means. Debby Carreau, the founder of Inspired HR and the author of The Mentor Myth, agrees.
“There are two parallel times where I really started to question the value of mentorship,” she says. “I remember sitting around a table with a group of executives who were talking about developing certain people or helping them get ahead. Some were struggling with performance and others were high-potential [employees], but the solution to both was, ‘Let’s find them a mentor!’ It was this whole piece around mentorship becoming a catch-all phrase for career success.”
Carreau isn’t against mentorship — and neither am I. There are absolutely times when people might need a mentor to push themselves, or others, farther in service to a professional goal that’s just out of reach. But there’s a difference between working with someone else who is invested in your career to meet that goal...and placing all the responsibility for getting there on someone else. Doing so might initially feel very proactive, but there’s a big chance you’ll hate the results.
For example, a few months ago, someone I’d never met who lives in a different state and city than I do emailed to ask if I would be her mentor. I was one-third flattered, one-third impressed at her gutsiness, and one-third horrified. She hadn’t done anything wrong per se, and her email was as thoughtful and undemanding as it could feasibly be. The problem was me: If mentorship is supposed to be an intimate relationship in which one person helps another person toward a specific goal, how much could I do for a complete stranger? I didn’t know exactly what she needed, and she hadn’t articulated that either.
she didn’t need mentorship as much as she needed approval.
So I asked her what mentorship meant to her and what she was actually looking for, hopefully in a way as kind as her own email was. If all she wanted to do was have a few conversations about the work I’ve done so far, talk about what she was interested in, and maybe discuss what her future options might be, I was happy to do so. But if she wanted much-better advice from someone who could speak to her strengths, weak spots, professional likes, dislikes, and areas of curiosity, I figured that she might want to look for a mentor closer to home. It turned out that the former option was totally fine — and much more useful.
Carreau says some of the pressure to get a mentor, any mentor, can come from the proliferation of high-profile people standing on soapboxes and saying, “If it weren’t for my mentor so-and-so, I never would have gotten to where I am today.” But many of those relationships happen much more organically.
“People often reflect and say, ‘Oh, I had this mentor and that mentor,’ but it wasn’t mentorship like we think of it today, as a formal relationship," Carreau explains. "The person is just someone who helped them along, way back. They might not even know they were considered [a mentor].”
If you want that kind of relationship but don’t have a mentor yet, you can look toward other experiences as well. Carreau points out peer-mentoring circles such as the Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) or the Lean In Circles community, in which local groups of women, generally eight to 12 people, serve as your “advisory board or board of directors.”
“What I like about these [options] is that a mentor is one data point, one person’s opinion. You’re getting lots of information to pull from, so that you can pick and choose which advice is right for you,” she explains. “Because we kind of forget that no one’s perfect, and if you don’t like the advice your mentor gives you, it’s awkward to both parties.”
Another place she says you can seek out productive, but lower-pressure mentorship experiences is through your industry, even if not directly through your workplace. For example, HR associations, CPA associations, bar associations, and more may produce great fonts of wisdom through in-depth appointments or speed-mentorship programs, which operate like speed dates.
“They’re great because you don’t have the awkward politics of your own workplace, but you get the industry perspective,” Carreau says. “You have to take personal control for your development and then supplement it with mentors and all those other pieces, rather than defaulting to: I need a mentor to make me successful.”
In other words, it's always great to have someone invested in you, whom you can lean on when times are tough, even in a professional sense. But until that person comes along, the next best option is to trust yourself and keep pushing forward.
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Kristen Stewart is fast becoming the darling of indie psychological thrillers, but she's still holding down her high-profile gig as a Chanel ambassador. Stewart has worked with the iconic French fashion house since 2013, and was appointed as the face of its colour cosmetics last year.
Now, Chanel has announced that the star has been named the face of its upcoming Gabrielle Chanel perfume — an appointment that may seem like just another day’s work for the actress, but this is a far more exciting announcement. This is Chanel’s first fragrance “pillar” — so, not a variation on an existing fragrance, like Chanel No. 5 — in 15 years, which is more than half of Stewart’s entire life thus far.
To promote the new fragrance ahead of its launch this September, Kristen will appear in both a video and print campaign, shot by director Ringan Ledwidge and photographer Kadim Sadli, respectively. Sure, you may not be able to get a sense of the scent from the visuals alone, but considering how long Chanel has been working on its next fragrance, you can probably assume it'll be a pretty special sensory experience. In an earlier press release, the brand described the perfume as an “abstract floral,” so take that as permission to let your imagination run wild.
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This Friday, Harry Styles will debut his first solo album, Harry Styles. And after reading his Rolling Stone cover story, being blown away by his Saturday Night Live appearance, and appreciating his moody album art, we are more than ready to listen to all the new songs from the former One Direction star and future Mick Jagger doppelgänger.
Luckily, the 23-year-old has been leaving hella breadcrumbs for fans to devour along the way. He's performed not one, not two, but four singles so far ("Sign Of The Times", "Carolina", "Ever Since New York", and "Sweet Creature") on both SNL and the Today show. And now he's taken to Snapchat to drop his most subtle, most millennial-inclined clue yet: a Harry Styles-themed Snapchat filter.
If you have Snapchat, then go to your filter section and scroll past the King Arthur one (shoutout Jude Law and Charlie Hunnam), the angel-slash-devil one, and then you will find one little blush-toned smiley face — that rose-colored ripple pool is Styles' custom filter, and resembles his "Sign Of The Times" single art. If you turn on the volume, you can also hear a 30-second preview of a brand new track off the album, "Woman."
Styles clearly knows his fan base is Snapchat-minded, and like moths to the flame, they're already sharing videos of themselves listen to the brief snippet of the song on social media. And the alluring lyrics of "Woman/ La la la la la la la la/ Oh! Woman" are literally bringing them to tears. Now all we need is for him to join the popular app himself.
Apparently, that sunny, Instagram-ready, open-space office you inhabit each day, before nosediving into a pile of work, isn’t helping your concentration.
No matter how hard you try, that open-space environment your company switched over to in an effort to keep you social and create a more collaborative space for productivity, is killing your productivity. The culprit?
Visual noise. And just what is visual noise you ask...
— The office plants positioned asymmetrically in front of you.
— The crowd of co-workers, within an earshot, holding a watercooler discussion.
— That pile of wires and that broken keyboard sitting idly to your left...
Basically, anything you can see while glancing up from your desk.
In a story published by The Wall Street Journal, it one CEO explained that the warehouse-style setup many offices have transitioned to over the years, creates “these long lines of sight across the workspace, where you have people you know and recognise moving by and talking to each other. It was incredibly distracting,” said CEO Peter Reinhardt, of Segment, a San Francisco-based company.
More recently, Segment redesigned its setup to feel more like a maze or a “jungle” as Reinhardt explained to WSJ. Employees’ workspaces are now further apart and though the space is still open, their desks are more curved, giving them less opportunity to be distracted by passersby. In some areas, large potted plants block out unwanted visuals.
“Open-plan office layout is commonly assumed to facilitate communication and interaction between co-workers, promoting workplace satisfaction and team-work effectiveness,” said the journal, ScienceDirect in a 2013 study. “On the other hand, open-plan layouts are widely acknowledged to be more disruptive due to uncontrollable noise and loss of privacy.”
Will labyrinth-style offices soon become the trend? Possibly. But one thing is certain, humans, like horses, need blinders sometimes.
What company tries to give you a solid work environment for peak productivity you’re still doomed to be distracted.
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Gloria Steinem is more than a feminist icon: She is an 83-year-old unicorn who has spent her life bucking the social conventions that define modern womanhood. She doesn’t have kids, was only married briefly — and not until she was in her 60s — and she tells me during our chat that she’s never really had a job. While she’s made a career of speaking up for women, her life has been very different from those of many people for whom she advocates. This unique background doesn’t preclude her from taking part in the conversation, but it certainly gives her an interesting vantage point.
We sit in a light-soaked renovated factory deep in Brooklyn, where Steinem is hosting a conversation as part of Create & Cultivate NYC, a nationwide conference for women looking to “create and cultivate the career of their dreams." ( Editor's note: Refinery29 is Create & Cultivate's exclusive media partner.) There are flowers everywhere. Attendees can get their hair and makeup done in between sessions on channeling their entrepreneurial spirit and the power of content. Inspirational quotes are sprinkled across the floors so the young women can show off their shoes and their motivation in one perfect Instagram. The motto of the day isn’t “act like a man” but “collaboration over competition” — and in our current climate, the message feels more important than ever.
Yet following Hillary Clinton’s loss in November, the glass ceiling now seems bullet-proof. And it’s impossible to talk about female empowerment without getting political — and acknowledging the importance of intersectional feminism. To be fighting for women’s rights for your entire adult life, only to watch an alleged sexual harasser become the U.S. president, must be devastating in many ways. And yet, Steinem speaks a lot about hope. “I’m a hope-aholic,” she tells the Create & Cultivate audience later that evening. And, as you’ll find out ahead, she’s not planning to stop fighting anytime soon.
Photo courtesy of Becki Smith/Smith House Photo.
Why do you think conferences like Create & Cultivate are so important for young women?
“First and foremost because you meet each other. There's nothing that can replace just being in each other's presence. That's why we need girlfriends and support groups and families. There's just nothing that replaces being physically together. And there's not so many opportunities for that. So conferences like this, which are aspirational, attract people who are on their way somewhere and can help each other.”
What about engaging men? I have a baby boy at home, and lately I’ve been thinking more about how to get men involved with women's rights. Do you have any suggestions?
“Tell them the masculine realm is killing them. It's [in their] self-interest. Men would live quite a few years longer without the masculine realm. And not only that, but they're deprived of their kids — they don't get to see their children, or they aren't raised to raise children, which is how they get deprived of their humanity. Women usually become whole people by being active outside the home. Men become whole people by being active inside the home.”
Telling them that it's good for their health is great, but do we need to be having different conversations about equality in order to engage them?
“We've been knitting their socks and raising their children; we can't also make their revolution for them. They have to do it themselves. But I think we understand that it's possible when it's organic. And it's also true that more and more men are finding strength in relationships. I think we should reach out, because it's perfectly clear that it's not about biology — it's about consciousness. And there are many men who are very strong feminists and humanitarians.”
Ivanka Trump has gotten a lot of criticism for trying to co-opt feminism.
“She hasn't co-opted feminism. Nobody on earth thinks she's a feminist, are you kidding me?”
She does try to market herself as one.
“No, she doesn't.”
So how would you define a feminist?
“Somebody who believes in the full equality of the sexes. I have not seen her standing up and saying women should have a right to control their own bodies and decide when and whether to have children, no. I saw her being interviewed by Cosmopolitan, and she was asked about her maternity leave policy, but it's only if you physically give birth. It's not for adoptive parents, not for fathers.
“That happens to be the same policy as every authoritarian regime on Earth that I know of, including Hitler's Germany. I'm not saying that she knows this, but [the Nazis] were paying women to have children. By accident, perhaps, that's her policy. So it's perfectly natural for the [ Cosmopolitan interviewer] to say 'What about fathers, what about adoptive parents?' And when she asked that question, Ivanka stopped the interview."
Photo courtesy of Becki Smith/Smith House Photo.
So have you given up hope? It’s scary times we live in, but there’s something inspiring in seeing so many women and men embrace activism.
“I never gave up hope. I have never seen such activism in my life. It's a thousand times anything I've ever seen.”
Really, even more than in the ‘60s?
“Oh my God, more. So much more.”
People argue that climate change and other issues are also feminist issues. What do we lose by broadening the meaning of the term?
“Are you kidding me? Listen, what causes climate deprivation is population. If we had not been systematically forcing women to have children they don't want or can't care for over the 500 years of patriarchy, we wouldn't have the climate problems that we have. That's the fundamental cause of climate change. Even if the Vatican doesn't tell us that. In addition to that, because women are the major agricultural workers in the world, and also the carriers of water and the feeders of families and so on, it's a disproportionate burden.”
Equal pay for equal work is a great idea in theory. But how do you encourage young women to speak up in the workplace when they see that things are not equal?
“We shouldn't put all the burden on saying 'It's the woman's fault for not speaking up for herself.' But it's also true that we need to learn to speak up for ourselves. And collectively we also can do a lot. If wherever we work, we just tell each other how much we get paid, we can find out what's unjust.
“Also, we need to think about what's called ‘comparable worth.’ The classic example is that people who park cars get paid more than people in childcare centres. It isn't that we care for our cars more than our babies. It's that one group is men, and the other group is mostly women.”
Women can be their own worst critics. Personally, of themselves, but then also of each other. Do you think that's one of the reasons that we haven't broken down all the glass ceilings?
“Of course. Listen, a system of oppression wouldn't work if it weren't internalised. We're half the human race. Harriet Tubman, who freed thousands of slaves, when she was being praised, said ‘I could have freed thousands more, if only they knew they were slaves.’ We internalise it. That's why it works, and we internalise it when we raise boys and girls differently.”
Do you think things are better than when you were growing up? It seems like every day we hear a new story of women’s rights being suppressed.
“Oh yeah, it’s much better. I mean, then, we were crazy people, or we were object of fun, ridicule, stuff like that. So serious opposition is a kind of step forward. And now it's a majority, even though we're not in power. If you look at public opinion polls, it's a majority. And that's very different.”
Do you think there’s a problem with gendered leadership advice? I don’t want to be a “girl boss” — I just want to be the boss.
“I think we need to do it in order to make ourselves visible, because unfortunately when people hear the word ‘boss’ they don't see a woman... It's like saying ‘Black poet,’ not just poet. Or ‘Black Lives Matter’ not just 'All Lives Matter.' It's not forever, but it's maybe necessary to be visible.”
Editor's note: This post has been edited and updated.
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#GettingTo5050, a global movement rooted in actionable tools and resources, aims to catalyze the conversations that will inspire a more gender-balanced world. Because true equality doesn't just lift women — it lifts everyone. Learn morehere.
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Having spent months deliberating whether to go to the doctor, I finally booked an appointment. But after all the effort spent psyching myself up, by the time I was in the doctor’s chair of my south London surgery it was all a bit of an anticlimax. “I’ve been feeling low. I’d like to talk to somebody about it,” I told the doctor. My chest felt constricted and the words, spoken out loud for the first time, underpowered and a bit ridiculous. After she presumably assessed that I wasn’t in any imminent danger and offered me drugs, which I declined, within minutes I was back out the door. I remember walking home through Brixton feeling alone and exposed, having shared one of the most personal revelations of my life.
The doctor gave me a pamphlet with a phone number on that I could call to see if I would qualify to speak to a therapist. But the idea of having to make the same revelation again to a faceless stranger in a call centre and have to “prove” my need to talk was too daunting, and the doctor’s response made me feel like it wasn’t that important to seek help after all. Really, it was a convenient excuse to avoid facing up to my feelings. So, like a “true Brit”, I carried on ignoring them.
I’ve always been aware of the concept of the British “stiff upper lip” but I didn’t think it was anything more than an outdated stereotype until I moved to America. This strange concept of British reserve – to which Prince William has been bravely drawing attention lately, as part of the royals’ Heads Togethermental health campaign – is apparently what prevents us and generations before us from talking about our feelings.
It’s the mentality that stops us from crying in public when we are sad, spending hours in the pub chatting without talking about our actual feelings and avoiding sharing our fears and failures. Instead, many of us seal it up and lock it away until it springs out on us without warning to cause potentially fatal destruction.
I was brought up in an English-Swedish household by parents who had conversations with me about my feelings. Old-fashioned uptight Britishness had absolutely nothing to do with me – or so I thought. But as I got older and things started to occasionally go wrong, as they invariably do in life, I began to struggle.
When I encountered difficulties I found that I just couldn’t talk about them. It wasn’t that there was nobody to listen, there was, but I did not want to admit what I perceived to be failure – to do so made me feel dirty and guilty. Or as I have since realised: vulnerable. British sarcasm doesn’t reward people for being honest about their feelings, it is more likely to embarrass them, so I put my childhood tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve away.
I saw therapy as something one would only turn to if absolutely necessary – by which I mean if lives were at stake. But I even struggled to share my inner thoughts and anxieties with close friends. If I did, the revelation would be preceded by a “please don’t tell anyone” or followed up with an apologetic text.
Then, just over a year ago, my fiancé and I moved to New York. I was initially sceptical of American sharing culture. The abundance of sentences beginning with “I feel like…”, confessional TV talk shows and the seemingly constant pursuit of self-improvement were unbearably alien to me. But without the network of friends I had in London, family far away and the shock of a new environment, my coping methods – or lack of – became untenable. My anxiety levels were higher than ever and again I started to feel depressed.
I finally sought the help of a therapist – which, if you have good insurance, is surprisingly cheap in the US, considering how otherwise flawed its health service is – and started to understand the importance and value of being open. I learned that, generally, only good comes out of saying how you feel and that deeper relationships develop from those conversations. It also made me happier. I started to see just how ingrained the stiff upper lip is, not just in British culture but inside of me. The natural inclination to say everything is fine, to not want to cause worry and – even more so in the post-social media world – to put up a joyful front at all times.
Americans’ openness with their feelings is not only apparent in their behaviour but also in their culture. Just look at the hit podcast S-Town, which, among other things, is essentially about one man’s battle with mental health issues. Or A Little Life, the incredible 2015 novel by American writer Hanya Yanagihara, which follows the life of a person with depression. More recently, New Yorker writer Ariel Levy’s memoir The Rules Do Not Apply amazed and astounded readers both sides of the Atlantic with her ability to write so openly about her innermost feelings and miscarriage.
The royal family’s campaign to open up the conversation around mental health issues and the comments of artists such as grime star Stormzy, who has spoken publicly about depression, are significant advances towards improving people’s attitudes towards the subject in Britain. The Conservatives’ pledge of 10,000 extra mental health staff for the NHS by 2020, and the provision of mental health first aid in schools and large organisations, is also a step in the right direction. However, for mental health issues to lose their stigma, Britain needs to stop seeing feelings as a weakness and therapy services need to be free, easily accessible, and without long waiting times.
At a recent talk in Manhattan I asked Levy whether she felt vulnerable after bearing her soul in the way she did in her latest book. Her response? “Privacy is overrated.” This is a mantra I am trying to learn from America. Instead of attempting to fool people that everything is rosy when it’s not, I now try to tell the truth about my feelings – and resist the urge to text people afterwards to apologise.
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Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period – and we're tracking every last penny.
This week we're with an IT consultant who is originally from Scandinavia. She moved to London around two years ago and just recently was able to move to a studio and live on her own for the first time. It does cost more but it’s worth it.
Industry: Consulting Age: 27 Location: London Salary: £42k Paycheque amount per month: £2,550 (after tax and pension) Number of housemates: 0
Monthly Expenses
Rent: £975 Loanpayments: £100 (I pay my credit card bill to my home country) Bills: £110 (electricity, water, internet, council tax) Transportation: £230, covers Zones 2-6 + a bit further Phone bill: £18 Healthinsurance: Deducted from the salary Savings: £200. I try to save £400 a month but I already bought flights for a holiday from this month’s salary so £200 is more realistic. Spotify: £10 Netflix: £6.80
Total: £1,649.80
Day One
6.35am: I make a latte with my Nespresso machine to take with me when I leave the house. Sadly, though, I forget to take my lunch and breakfast with me and will have to buy them.
8.30am: I head to the office café and buy a croissant, it is the start of the week after all. £1. I make a tea at work, free.
10.10am: I’m hungry again and remember I have some bread in the freezer, make that.
11am: My colleague takes me for coffee at our office café, she pays for both. We have a Starbucks at the office and the drinks are heavily subsidised. Starbucks is definitely not my favourite but with these prices, I can’t really avoid it, either.
12pm: Lunchtime! As I forgot my lunch at home, it is back to the café again. Work is getting all my money today. I buy a salad and Diet Coke. £4.30
1pm: I head outside and buy a new cardigan, tea towels and snacks. £14
5.30pm: I am the worst at doing grocery shopping so I always just buy a few things when I need them. I pick up some toast, chicken, salad, strawberries, white chocolate on the way home. £8.70
7pm: I eat the lunch I left at home as my dinner and prepare tomorrow’s lunch, a chicken sandwich and some strawberries. I spend the night watching Netflix.
Total amount spent: £28
Day Two
6.45am: I arrive to the station and get a coffee from Nero, free as my stamp card is full.
7.30am: I make breakfast at work, rye bread and cheese, already have those in the office fridge.
8.30am: I go for coffee with a colleague to the office café. We always try to compete whose contactless payment gets accepted first, he wins. I feel bad and insist I get to pay next time.
11am: Another coffee break with another colleague, I pay for both. £1.80
12pm: Friends at work persuade me to come to a new restaurant with them for lunch. I try to resist but go with them and have chips and a Diet Coke. Not doing good with lunches this week. £6.50
2.15pm: Another latte, manager pays. Did I mention I come from a country where the coffee consumption is the highest in the world?
5pm: It’s raining so take a bus to home from the station.
Total amount spent: £8.30
Day Three
6.45am: Latte from Nero. To be honest I get coffee from the station every morning but I’m thinking of getting rid of this habit soon. I have calculated how much it is a month. At the moment I feel when I know how much it is I make a conscious decision to use my money for coffee, so it’s not that bad. £2.10
8.30am: Coffee with colleague, I pay for both but I have a full stamp card. £1.30
10am: I’m tired and bored. I go to the café and buy a Diet Coke and chocolate caramel shortcake. £2.20
12pm: I have lunch from home, chicken sandwich. I also have some salty liquorice that I have at my desk. For some reason, my colleagues don’t appreciate quality sweets so there’s still some left from my previous trip home.
12.15pm: It is Mother’s Day in my home country next week so I order my mum a shirt as one of her gifts. £12
2pm: I go to the mailroom to get my new Nike trainers, I ordered them on the day before starting money diaries, so doesn’t count!
6.15pm: To the pub, things get a little out of hand and we end up drinking more than we thought. No idea how much I spend so have to check it from my bank statement. £25
11pm: I’m drunk, I’m lazy and it’s late. Uber home even though it’s only a 20 min walk. £5
Total amount spent: £47.60
Day Four
6.45am: I’m a bit hungover so go to Sainsbury's to buy a smoothie and snacks. I also go to Nero to get a coffee. £5
8am: Office café serves English breakfast on Fridays, I have toast, eggs and hash browns. After two years in this country I still don’t understand the full English breakfast, beans look disgusting. £1.80
8.30am: We have a team meeting and manager pays for coffees for everyone. She has also bought us some chocolate, which helps with my hangover.
12pm: Lunchtime, I have fish and chips and a Diet Coke from the café. Perfect for my state of mind today. £4.60
2pm: More liquorice from my desk.
5.30pm: Another grocery shop of the week. I buy cucumber, tomatoes, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, yoghurt, chicken and milk. £16
8pm: I go on a Tinder date, guy pays for the drinks. I try to pay for the next ones but fail. This is something I’ve had to get used to, back home you’d normally pay for everything equally. When I first moved here I really tried to pay a lot more but noticed some men almost got offended by that. Nowadays I probably give up too easily. £0
Total amount spent: £27.40
Day Five
11am: I have a little lie-in and make breakfast, granola, yoghurt, berries and coffee, I have everything at home.
5pm: I go to east London to see my friend. We wander around a few stores but I don’t find anything. We’re thinking of going to eat something. We’re both trying to save money so end up to Wetherspoon's, only because of the price. It smells awful inside so we go outside and have burgers. Very glamorous Saturday evening. £6.60
9pm: I go home and buy some home supplies on the way. £6
Total amount spent: £12.60
Day Six
10am: I wake up and have granola, berries and yoghurt for breakfast, free.
11am: New Look is having a sale on their website, I order two dresses, a blazer and shoes. Half of this is going to my sister, though. £24
1pm: I go to Wilko to buy storage boxes, £5, and to Primark to buy socks and leggings, £5
3pm: I go for a run and leave my bank card home to prevent any spontaneous purchases.
8pm: My friend comes over and we spend the night assembling Ikea furniture and drinking wine. We also order Japanese food from UberEats. I had the wine at home so only pay my half of the Uber bill. £8.50
Total amount spent: £42.50
Day Seven
7am: I’m not feeling well so decide to stay at home today. I take full advantage of my Netflix subscription and drink tea the whole day. Somehow coffee just seems too much when I’m sick.
3pm: I go pick up my New Look order and stop by Sainsbury's on my way home to buy some groceries. I always think I can’t do one big grocery delivery a week as I’m living alone. This week has shown me that might be a more sensible option. £15.70
6pm: I cook dinner (for the first time in a week – I know), chicken, potatoes and carrots in oven. I pack half for tomorrow’s lunch.
Total amount spent: £15.70
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Being happy about your body every single day can be a tough ask.
Although things are slowly changing, we're still presented with unrealistic images of what certain people in society deem "beautiful".
And with summer coming up, which means less clothing and, oh my goodness, everything that goes with the total rubbish that is "beach body ready", it can get a little tougher.*
So we decided to put together a little cheat sheet for you – an army of the best body positive people on Instagram. People who are open and real about their beauty, their mental health, their struggle to feel accepted and their battles to love themselves.
Click through and follow these wonderful people in a bid to transform your Instagram feed from something that makes you feel bad into your own personal source of body positivity inspiration.
*BTW, you know how you get "beach body ready" right? Have a body, and go to the beach. Sorted.
This 27-year-old blogger from New York via Haiti was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 14 and was given three weeks to live. She beat the odds and is now a blogger, activist and ambassador for Alleles – a company that makes seriously stylish covers for prosthetic limbs.
She told Refinery29 last year that she is done with the word "normal". "If you're beautiful enough to be at the beach and to be yourself and be comfortable, then do that" she said.
The Brighton-hailing model has starred in campaigns for everyone from adidas to Monki to Refinery29. More recently, she's turned to posting incredible pics on Insta with captions that make you go "YES".
"I'm just so sick and tired of the objectification of women's bodies and how it's seemingly ok to dictate a woman's worth based on what she looks like," she wrote. "If you give a shit that I or anyone else has stomach rolls, scars, eczema, armpit hair, etc then I have less than no time for you."
Milly Smith's picture about the difference a pair of tights can make to a picture of your body went viral around the world.
Now, the ED warrior posts frank pictures of her body, speaks openly about disabilities and mental health. She's even got her husband in on the #bopo game. Check him out at @PositivityPoppa.
Earlier this year, Keah Brown, a 25-year-old journalist from New York who lives with cerebral palsy started the hashtag #disabledandcute to celebrate the differently abled women that found the body positive movement tougher to get on board with than others.
She told Refinery29 that she started the hashtag as a way to "Celebrate my new found confidence and journey to finally liking myself."
This musician and fitness blogger has no time to deal with other people's opinions about female body hair.
This post of her unshaved legs went viral around the world. "Imagine if everyone just decided that today was the day they loved themselves and embraced every part of them selves," she said. "Accepting and loving your body and your "flaws" because you know they are what makes you who you are."
Check out her YouTube video about why she doesn't shave anymore here.
This body positive, sex positive, female positive, everything positive illustrator's Instagram is not only very aesthetically pleasing, it's also one of the most inclusive, representative accounts we've ever seen.
"I illustrate the ladies of Pink Bits as I believe representation, and the representation of diversity is so important," she told us. "There is more than one type of body out there, and I think it’s important we celebrate them all!"
Founded by ED recoverees Laura Dennison and Eve Simmons, Not Plant Based is about breaking down the myths and half-truths which perpetuate our often unhealthy relationships with food.
Visit their Insta for reassuring posts about why cutting out stuff you love isn't a good thing and why, if you want to indulge, you should go right ahead. It's basically the food world's headquarters of the "you do you" movement.
The #bopo movement is certainly not just a women-only thing. Over the past few years, the pressures on men to conform to a certain standard of what society deems "attractive" have grown immeasurably.
Luckily, the male #bopo movement is growing and is helmed by heroes such as Kelvin Davis who told R29 that “men aren’t supposed to be emotional or vulnerable, especially when it comes to how they look. We are encouraged to just ‘suck it up’ and keep it moving. I don’t think that is mentally healthy at all.”
Harnaam was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome when she was 12 and, because of it, has dealt with facial hair ever since. After waxing and shaving as a teenager, she finally decided she was done and grew her self-described "lady beard" with pride.
She defines herself as a "BodyConfidenceActivist. AntiBullyingActivist. Life coach. Vampire" and last year she even found herself in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Youngest Female With A Full Beard.
“They can try to make a freakshow out of me," she told The Guardian, "but my voice and my message is much stronger than that. I have power in my voice.”
Megan is as well known for her inspirational posts as she is for her seriously on-point rainbow-coloured hair.
Megan, who overcame anorexia, told us that the body positive movement on Instagram changed everything for her.“I saw all these women of different shapes and sizes unapologetically loving themselves, and I realised for the first time that maybe I could do that, too. Maybe I didn't have to starve and hate myself forever. That's when I truly recovered, healed my relationship with food and with my body, and starting living.”
Plus-size model Naomi Shimada has one of the most delicious Instagram accounts out there.
Her recent essay about the naked female body and female sexuality, sparked by Emma Watson's decision to show a little bit of underboob, though, was a battle cry. "Feminism to me means IRL liberation from sexist role patterns," she said. "A woman’s sexuality is on her own terms, whether it’s for pleasure or creative work. Life for women is hard enough, we need to turn that energy into something positive because we can’t make any real change when we’re picking each other apart."
Kenzie is another eating disorder survivor who uses her Instagram account to post pictures of herself, and other #bopo women, looking fabulous. She takes unrealistic Instagram standards to task and is done with the word 'brave' when it comes to people describing her work.
"I don't do anything technically brave," she said. "I just sit here, discuss my insecurities and get better at loving myself. It seems pretty simple right? I guess it's not. SEE. WE'VE MADE OUR BODIES AN UNSAFE PLACE TO EXIST"
"SAY. IT. WITH. ME. We've culturally made it UNSAFE TO BE OURSELVES. THAT IS WHY, when I sit crossed legged showing you a body that is underrepresented in our media I get hailed as doing an act of bravery. Because we acknowledge that there may be social failure in this, I may be attacked, I may get hurt JUST BY BEING MYSELF. Can we all just recognize how fucked up that is?!"
Hailing from LA, Sofia might be super-young but that doesn't mean she's not got wise words to say when it comes to things like acne scars and anxiety.
"I struggle daily with my acne scars," she writes on this post. "But honestly i love this picture of me it's so raw and beautiful. i am strong beautiful me when i feel ugly and when i don't. i am strong beautiful me when i am sad and when i am happy. i am always strong beautiful me and the chaos of life, as well as my dotty skin will not change that. I AM ALWAYS STRONG AND BEAUTIFUL."
Anorexia survivor Gina is best known for her hashtag #embracethesquish which has inspired nearly 15,000 Instagram posts.
She is well known for her frank advice about recovering from eating disorders and said this on one of her recent posts: "We need to embrace recovery — and our bodies — with NO exceptions. That means buying clothes a size larger than we're used to. It means recognizing that gaining weight is a part of recovery — and not just a little weight. Not just 'just enough' weight. It means taking back control from food. ALL food — not just the foods we're comfortable with. True recovery means letting go of all the things we think we are still bound by."
You know her best as Taystee on Orange is the New Black but Danielle Brooks' Insta is seriously great, too.
She's the mastermind behind hashtag #voiceofthecurves and told People magazine that “Sometimes I’ll look at myself and be like, ‘Dang girl, you got a lot of stretch marks.’ But then I’m like, ‘That’s just the road map of my strength. They remind me of things that I’ve gone through. I need to just embrace them and celebrate them. For the most part, I find ways to embrace my body.”
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Dry brushing isn't something that we'd usually factor into our daily shower routine. When we have 10 minutes to hop in and out of the shower before gulping down a coffee and catching the bus, our morning ritual doesn't extend much further than a shampoo, conditioner, body wash and cleanse.
However, when we find something that has positive lasting effects, we're all ears. If you've already been using body scrubs, dry brushing is your new (and improved) blood-pumping, skin-smoothing bathroom best friend.
Natalie Viklund and Marie Hansen, founders of Aevi Wellness, talk us through the health and beauty benefits of dry body brushing. Say hello to glowing, smooth skin – just in time for spring.
Stimulates the lymphatic system
" Dry body-brushing speeds up the transport of oxygen to the body's cells and tissue, aiding the lymph nodes, ducts and vessels in the detoxification of the blood. Through stimulating the normal lymph flow within the body and helping to detoxify it naturally, dry body brushing suppresses the formation of cellulite, varicose veins and skin discolouration."
Exfoliates your skin
"Helping to exfoliate and eliminate clogged pores and ingrown hair, the process of running a firm, natural bristled brush over the skin helps loosen and remove dead skin cells, naturally exfoliating the skin. After a few sessions, skin appears softer, more supple and gently exfoliated. Additionally, through eliminating clogged pores, skin is consequently able to better absorb the nutrients your provide it in the form of your natural skincare."
Increases energy
"Use in the morning before showering for an all-natural energy boost to rival your morning coffee. Dry body brushing stimulates blood flow and circulation, energising the body, mind and skin. We would advise not to body brush before bed or in the evening for this reason!"
Strengthens your immune system
"Lymph is a fluid in our circulatory system containing white blood cells, meaning compromised detoxification of this vital organ affects our immune systems, too. Bacteria, toxins and other waste from our blood filters through the lymph nodes where the bacteria is destroyed, however, improper detoxification means a compromised immune system and increased predisposition to viruses and illness. As dry body brushing stimulates our lymphatic system, by doing so, we are directly assisting them in detoxifying pathogens, strengthening our immune systems and lessening our susceptibility to illness."
Balances electromagnetic energies
Karmameju's Ionic Body Brush, £55, contains copper wire. Why is this beneficial? "It helps to balance the electromagnetic energies that may have imprinted in your body from daily exposure to laptops, mobile phones, X-rays, infrared radiation and microwaves," Viklund and Hansen tell us, "boosting their neutralisation and counteracting our inevitable daily exposure."
Quick tips
1. Always brush towards the heart, starting under your feet and from there, moving upwards.
2. Use long, straight, smooth strokes to match the sensitivity of your skin. Listen to your body.
3. As you are stimulating the body to release toxins, you’ll double up on the detoxifying effects if you drink plenty of clean water thereafter.
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You may have noticed an influx of eye-catching suits hitting shops and sites lately. From blooming florals and hot fuchsias to new-age silvers, the two-piece has stepped back into the spotlight and it's had a 2017 update.
A quick recap of the evolution of the suit over the past 50 years: The '70s saw Mick Jagger’s paisley and gold two-pieces redefine the traditional suit as rock’n’roll, while David Bowie wore zingy Freddie Burretti suits in mustard, ice blue and monochromatic stripe. And lest we forget, the queen of Studio 54 Bianca Jagger’s flared YSL suits, complete with black bows and sequin turbans.
The '80s brought in shapes that were bigger and baggier: the men of Miami Vice rolled up their sleeves and layered white and salmon suits over T-shirts. Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko made thick braces and contrast collars an essential for city-slicking stockbrokers and, following John T. Molloy’s book, Dress For Success, women everywhere were sold on dressing for the job you want: enter outrageous shoulders and power dressing.
Jarvis Cocker and Justine Frischmann donned loose pinstriped suits the only way '90s Britpop musicians knew how: with slogan T-shirts and battered Converse. Hedi Slimane revived the suit during his time at Dior Homme in the early noughties, bringing a skinny silhouette to men everywhere (and famously inspiring Karl Lagerfeld’s dramatic weight loss), with a sea of high street copycats ushering in the new streamlined fit.
And now? Well, Harry Styles is bringing colour to menswear with pink and teal suits that would make Jagger proud – his latest threads were made by the same tailor who created Bianca’s iconic white wedding suit. And on the catwalks? Gucci has brought maximalism back to our wardrobes, with eccentric detailing and flamboyant prints galore – the SS17 collection featured floral two-pieces with red piping and matching pussy bow blouses. Demna Gvasalia brought his signature power shoulders to Balenciaga’s spring offering, while Céline gave a nod to the '80s with white slacks and matching loose jackets.
So now you’re sold on suits, here’s our selection of the best two-pieces to see you from 9am meeting to Saturday nightspot.
Pair this traditional two-piece with box fresh trainers and your favourite slogan T-shirt for a casual take on tailoring.
This looks so much more luxurious than its price; this is how you do office minimalism well.
H&M Satin Belted Jacket, £34.99, and Satin Suit Trousers, £34.99, available at H&M
Menswear designer Charlie Casely-Hayford has created a collection, Fine Tailoring, for Topman, bringing his signature sophistication and precision to the high street. The line of 10 carefully crafted suits includes a unisex silk kimono, plus tailoring you can nab off your man, like this grey number.
Fine Tailoring by Charlie Casely-Hayford for Topman launches 15th June.
We snapped this tweed two-piece faster than you can say 'Coco Chanel'.
In London, a restaurant can be almost anything: a cat home, a co-working space, even a public toilet – nowhere is off-limits for a great sharing plate or killer coffee. Lately, though, we've found that some of our favourite restaurants are also our favourite galleries, workshop venues and performance spaces. Is it really too much to ask to eat our dinner in the shadow of a Damien Hirst? Or lunch where the salt and pepper shakers are designed by a Turner prize-nominated artist? Or, just for once, attend a philosophy discussion while grabbing a coffee? We thought not – so we've rounded up our favourite places to get a culture fix with a side of great food and drink.
Tramshed
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and thought, 'What this place really needs is a chicken on top of a cow, preserved in formaldehyde and suspended above the diners in a steel and glass tank'? Then you must be a Damien Hirst fan, in which case we have the perfect restaurant for you. Tramshed's Hirst collection isn't limited to this most eye-catching piece – they also have a painting especially created for owner Mark Hix, featuring '90s cartoon characters Cow and Chicken. Dotted across the restaurant are pieces from other YBAs, too, like Fiona Rae and Angus Fairhurst. If you're a fan of modern British art and modern British cooking, you won't find a better dinner reservation in town.
Tramshed 32 Rivington St, London EC2A 3LX 020 7749 0478
Carousel
Roll up! Roll up! The greatest attraction in London's cultural funfair has arrived, right in the heart of Marylebone. Carousel is the brainchild of four cousins who wanted to bring the very best food, art and culture from around the world to London. They have an ever-changing programme of head chefs, which in the past has included R29 favourite Chinese Laundry plus international rising stars like Céline Pham and Olia Hercules. Carousel has also teamed up with London's finest creatives outside of the kitchen, to host everything from life-drawing and terrarium-making classes to live comedy and reflexology workshops. If you're looking for something a little less hands-on, their art space hosts exhibitions of emerging and exciting artists. Be sure to get to them before they're gone!
Before Tate Modern turned a power station into a cultural institution and before Tate St Ives and Tate Liverpool became the UK's trendiest artistic outposts, there was Tate Britain. The gallery is home to some of the greatest works of British art, from Hogarth to Turner to Bacon, all of which can be admired free of charge as part of the permanent collection. One of Tate Britain's greatest pieces, though, can only be seen in their restaurant, as it's painted directly onto the walls. Rex Whistler's mural, The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, was unveiled in 1927 and has been delighting diners ever since. The other delight here is the wine list – if you can tear your eyes from the walls, you'll find some truly amazing wines and might even snag a great deal on a bottle or two. We think an underpriced glass of fine wine is a work of art in itself.
The UK's art scene has embraced Instagram and nowhere is this more in evidence than at Sketch. The aptly named Gallery restaurant is entirely designed by top British artist David Shrigley and, while the food is delicious (especially the afternoon tea), it's probably the crockery covered with Shrigley's uniquely hilarious drawings that will end up on your feed. They do serve perfectly shaken cocktails and excellent wines but you may be more interested to know that they arrive on a tumblr pink and copper drinks trolley, also designed by Shrigley. That drinks trolley, by the way, matches the pink domed ceiling, pink velvet booths, pink velvet swivel chairs, the copper bar and copper table lamps... you may feel like taking a picture. Then there's the loo, complete with individual pods, a rainbow roof and a bar underneath. You might have seen it somewhere before...
Once upon a time, art was made on canvases and graffiti was a public nuisance, but that was a very long time ago indeed. Today, London is so proud of its street art that you can take a tour of the very best, so it's no great surprise that local burger mavericks MEATliquor chose to cover their central London restaurant in art from a spray can. There's a lot to look at here – the metal trays groaning under their signature Dead Hippie burgers, friends piling into the photo booth and very hungry diners (with very strong stomachs) taking on the Triple Chili Challenge – but the graffiti is the star of the show. Created by UK-based design "crüe" I Love Dust, there are details hidden all over the restaurant. If you can put down your burger for a moment...
Do you fancy grabbing a cocktail with Mick Jagger, a cup of tea with Harry Potter or perhaps sharing a portion of butter chicken with Prince Harry? As unlikely as it may seem, all you need to do in that case is head to London's most luxurious hotel, Rosewood. They've teamed up with caricaturist Gerald Scarfe to turn their bar into a gallery of the UK's great and good. From the Royal Family to Simon Cowell to Boris Johnson, you can spend an evening here finding your favourite funny portrait – but we won't blame you if you're a little distracted by the drinks on offer.
Scarfes Bar Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN 020 3747 8670
Bronte
Great design is hard to find but at Bronte it seems to be everywhere. Everything from the bottle-green leather booths to the pewter pendant lights hanging from the double-height ceiling and the pink cocktail bar is a designer's dream. This shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as Bronte was imagined by Tom Dixon. The iconic British designer's pieces reside in MOMA and the V&A, and his attention to detail at Bronte makes popping in for a green juice feel like stepping inside a great curator's collection. As well as the larger interior design, small artworks are scattered across tables and booths, to be discovered at your leisure. Rush to Bronte immediately but linger once you're there. It's not just a monument to great design and a great British artist, it's a beautiful place to be.
Bronte Bronte, Grand Building, 1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5EJ 020 7930 8855
The Gallery Café at St. Margaret's House
If you're looking for somewhere to feed your mind as well as your stomach, we have just the place. The Gallery Café is part of Bethnal Green's St. Margaret's House, a charity that's all about creativity and wellbeing. Here you can find great vegan and vegetarian food but also an ever-changing art exhibition, open mic night, philosophy discussion group and book club – all of which you can enjoy completely free of charge. Should you feel inspired, sign up to one of their workshops or classes and become the artist you always knew you were. You could leave having learned to paint, embroider, philosophise or just having had a great vegan brownie. Either way, we say it's worth a visit.
The Gallery Café St. Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PJ 020 8980 2092
Coda
When Queen Victoria opened The Royal Albert Hall in 1871, she was reportedly too overcome by the majesty of this monument to her beloved husband to speak. The building, and the art it contains, has been leaving people speechless ever since. Everyone from Albert Einstein and Pink Floyd to Cirque du Soleil and Eurovision has graced the Hall, which now also boasts its very own restaurant, Coda. With stellar views of the building's lit-up facade, you can dine from a menu of top seasonal food and sip fine wines in a space that some of the UK's greatest musical and comedic talent has called home.
Coda Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, Kensington, London SW7 2AP 0845 401 5045
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With Labour not looking so hot in the latest poll ratings ahead of the general election on the 8th June, who knows how they will feel about a draft of the party’s manifesto being leaked, a week ahead of schedule.
The document, which was originally made public by the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph, is 45 pages long and is expected to be formally signed off today, the BBC reported. The party’s national campaigns coordinator, Andrew Gwynne, denied it was the finished manifesto, saying it was simply a rough list of ideas. But shadow chancellor John McDonnell called the leak “disappointing” and said he didn’t know who was responsible.
Predictably, the Tories called the situation a “total shambles”, with a party spokesman saying Corbyn’s plans will require extra borrowing and “put Brexit negotiations at risk”. Others have said they await details to support Labour's claim that the policies have been fully costed.
The document has been hailed as Labour’s most left-wing set of policies since Michael Foot was leader in 1983. (There are plans to nationalise railways and parts of the energy industry, and 20 policies for workers’ rights alone, for instance.) Here are some stand-out policy proposals you need to know about.
The NHS
Labour will raise an extra £6bn for the NHS by increasing income tax for the 5% of highest earners.
Tuition fees
The party will scrap tuition fees and reintroduce maintenance grants for university students, a cost set to be made up by increasing taxes. Labour also wants to set up a National Education Service to serve people of all ages.
Finally we've a Labour Party pledging to scrap tuition fees and make education free. No question, students must #VoteLabour.
The party “will not make false promises on immigration numbers”, according to the document. (By contrast, the Tories will likely recommit to their target of cutting net migration to the “tens of thousands”, despite there being a less than 10-in-1,000 chance of it happening, The Guardian reported .)
Social care
An extra £8bn will be spent on social care over five years.
Housing
Labour will build at least 100,000 new council and housing association houses each year and reserve 4,000 homes for rough sleepers.
Women's rights and representation
Labour says it wants “at least 50%” of its cabinet to be women and that it will legislate to extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland. The document also says the party will "gender audit all policy and legislationfor its impact on women before implementation."
Also of note are the party's plans to lower the voting age to 16, ban zero hours contracts, scrap the controversial “bedroom tax”, bring back housing benefit for under 21s, lift the cap on public sector pay and renew the Trident weapons system.
We wonder what the finished document has in store...
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A very recent study has been met with wide open arms and a big smile by the community of people living with HIV. The study, from the University of Bristol, found that 20-year-olds who started antiretroviral therapy from 2008 onwards are projected to live 10 years longer than those who began the therapy in 1996. Life expectancy is near-normal (78 years old). The sooner after infection that drug therapy is started, the better the prognosis. It is a wonderful, vibrant, life-affirming study, which must enable younger generations to build real lives based on long-life plans instead of fear-driven retreats.
This is still very much a Western and northern European reality, where most people who are HIV positive have access to free healthcare and still unreasonably expensive HIV medications; it is estimated that up to 53% of all people who are HIV positive still have no access to HIV medications. This is an absolute stain on all of our houses, when we have such clear concise evidence that HIV can be halted and a relatively normal life can be led. What will this news mean to someone for whom HIV medication is a distant fantasy controlled by empirical forces – drug companies and the corruption of governments?
But for so many, the news will be the first conclusive time that a definite statement has been released which allows us, the people living with HIV and the people yet to be diagnosed, the luxury of an ordinary lifespan. The luxury of life.
I was diagnosed almost 25 years ago as having AIDS. At that time, most were given this loaded, terrifying and stigmatised label; most were diagnosed late, through the emergence of AIDS-defining conditions such as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), both quite rare conditions found in people with very weakened immune systems.
Upon diagnosis I was offered bereavement counselling – a chance to talk to someone religious, to come to terms with my then partner’s and my own impending death. We were lapsed to the point of non-existent Catholics, so I declined, and was given a form called a DS1500 which entitled me to death benefits, as I wasn't expected to live longer than six months to a year, perhaps two. The legality of the DS1500 presumed that you would die within the six-month allotted period – and why not think that, then, in a time before antiretroviral drug therapy? AZT (azidothymidine) was around but its dosing unclear, and it killed more than it saved.
It was a time when you were sent back out into the world and lived expecting to die, veiled in secrecy and shame. HIV and AIDS was and still is the singularly most stigmatised illness, condition or death of any on record. It was the illness whose name you dare not say, it was the time of unmarked graves, family shame and calls for criminalisation. For many diagnosed all those years ago, it was a terrifying and isolating time in which you were handed a death sentence and somehow had to make sense of what time you had, often completely alone until you started the descent, on a ward often staffed by some of the most caring people in the NHS. It was a time when many nurses and doctors refused to work near patients who had an HIV or AIDS diagnosis. Dentists were an absolute horror, then, slamming their doors in fear and ignorance – I have never forgiven the profession, very few stood honourably tall, most acquiesced to the rabid mass who demanded that we be shipped off to an island to die.
I had unsafe sex and I was a drug user so I found it easy to blame myself and to live in the shadows. It was easy for me to accept the red cross painted across all my medical notes.
When I was diagnosed, in a cloying lemon-scented room deep in the bowels of the hospital, far away from the mainstream, as HIV units were then, I was handed the gift of a "two-year life cycle". I was told I would die in two years and since that was happening all around me, I assumed it to be true. I became great at living in a two-year cycle.
Two years of commitment to jobs, work, ideas and love. Two years of keeping healthy, staying clean from drugs, being vegetarian, liking fashion, wanting to live in a mountain retreat. Over time, my life cycle extended and I became more adept at being alive, helped by the new drugs that came into being throughout those first 10 to 15 years. But still I felt that I was a visitor on borrowed time. I had long since handed back the DS1500 and started to build structures that pertained more to life than death but I never honestly planned – or had the capacity to plan – long-term. Living two years to two years was and is tiring, and all of my life strategies were based on a "two-year get-out clause". I became flaky.
As the drugs have improved, my treatment regime has worked brilliantly now for years – I have been undetectable for more years than not – and so has my battle to square a sense of security at being alive with the long-term feelings of insecurity that I was expected to die all those years ago.
Reading this news, which I know doesn't entirely apply to me as I have been diagnosed for a long time and there were some years where I wasn't on medication, fills me with an absolute joy. For the first time, someone has told me that I am going to live as long as anyone else.
As I have a quick glance around at my life I realise that I may have bought far too many handbags during my two-year "so who cares" cycles and that, quite possibly, my semi-retirement home in the middle of nowhere in the Andalusian mountains was a tad premature.
I'm alive and it seems, fantastically, that I may be so for many years to come. Look out London, I'm on my way back!
And now? Research suggests there’s another way to make yourself look younger. Simply stop smiling. That’s right – refrain from showing any sign of joy or positive emotion on your face because, apparently, merely grinning in a photo is enough to make you look years older than if you carry a vacant expression.
In the study, published in the Psychonomic Bulletin and Review Journal, 40 participants were shown a series of images of the same people either smiling, looking shocked or expressionless. They then had to rate how old they believed the person in each image to be.
Surprisingly, given the association between happiness and youthfulness peddled constantly by advertisers and the media, participants identified the smiling faces as the oldest by two years and the surprised faces as the youngest. (Past research has directly contradicted this finding, however.)
“We associate smiling with positive values and youth,” said Melvyn Goodale, director of the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University, who co-authored the study, and the link is used by skincare and toothpaste companies to sell us products every day, he added.
“The striking thing was that when we asked participants afterwards about their perceptions, they erroneously recalled that they had identified smiling faces as the youngest ones. They were completely blind to the fact they had ‘aged’ the happy-looking faces. Their perceptions and their beliefs were polar opposites."
The reason smiling people could be perceived as older, the research suggested, is likely down to the wrinkles that smiling causes to form around the eyes. Meanwhile, wearing a surprised expression can smooth the face.
The question is, what's more important: proudly displaying your positive emotions and enjoying life, or having complete strangers believe you're a few years younger than you are? We know which we'd choose.
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