I sat down with Sophie Gilbert, Atlantic writer and author of new book Girl on Girl, to talk about how pop culture quietly turned women against themselves...
sounds like I am exactly the same age, this is my whole teenage/young adult life! terrifying to look back and realise the impact that it had, and still has, on me and how I feel about my physical self. Loved the last quote especially about no-one being born with that voice, definitely something to remember that it can be unlearned, you just have to work at it
I didn't really relate either but I think it taught me something about the world wanting a character more than a real person. Have big hair and be loud and be the scary one, even if you wish you could be vulnerable. Or be the little girl who has to be cute to have identity, or be the "classy" one who doesn't speak up much. But only be any of these so long as it's a fantasy, and don't be all of them at once. Do not contain multitudes 🤣
I was right in that formative era at the time, and I swear the legacy of what was behind the baby / scary / posh spice versions of femininity and sexuality taught us more than we knew.
I think we registered these girls from a very healthy distance as Principal Dietitians at a public hospital and university and Medical School, we saw young women dying to be skinny since the 1980’s girrrl band wagon.
I like their songs to sing along with as a fun activity but other songs make my heart yearn: On the Beach by Chris Rea comes to mind.
And Swing Out Sister songs are my memory of my beloved friend who passed away due to cystic fibrosis.
Music is so evocative, also depends deeply on where in the world one is located.
Kindest regards
Carol Power
Johannesburg
South Africa
When the Spice Girls came out I was pregnant with my little one, working a full time job at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town and training post graduate students while being a wife to my husband
That American Apparel ad 😬
sounds like I am exactly the same age, this is my whole teenage/young adult life! terrifying to look back and realise the impact that it had, and still has, on me and how I feel about my physical self. Loved the last quote especially about no-one being born with that voice, definitely something to remember that it can be unlearned, you just have to work at it
I didn't really relate either but I think it taught me something about the world wanting a character more than a real person. Have big hair and be loud and be the scary one, even if you wish you could be vulnerable. Or be the little girl who has to be cute to have identity, or be the "classy" one who doesn't speak up much. But only be any of these so long as it's a fantasy, and don't be all of them at once. Do not contain multitudes 🤣
I was right in that formative era at the time, and I swear the legacy of what was behind the baby / scary / posh spice versions of femininity and sexuality taught us more than we knew.
oooh i'd love to know more - what do you think they taught us? I think I struggled to relate to them a bit as they felt so perfect/different to me. xx
Luckily I’m much older than you are.
I think we registered these girls from a very healthy distance as Principal Dietitians at a public hospital and university and Medical School, we saw young women dying to be skinny since the 1980’s girrrl band wagon.
I like their songs to sing along with as a fun activity but other songs make my heart yearn: On the Beach by Chris Rea comes to mind.
And Swing Out Sister songs are my memory of my beloved friend who passed away due to cystic fibrosis.
Music is so evocative, also depends deeply on where in the world one is located.
Kindest regards
Carol Power
Johannesburg
South Africa
When the Spice Girls came out I was pregnant with my little one, working a full time job at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town and training post graduate students while being a wife to my husband