The first was a print media interview with our current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and opposition leader Keir Stamer. Said article was published in a high-end women’s weekly glossy and posited a series of questions from female business leaders, mothers, students, and transgender females to the two ministerial candidates. All questions related back to issues currently concerning those who identify as female in the UK. From the disquieting criminalisation of abortion, to perpetuating pay inequities and damning disparities in the workplace, there’s a lot for the UK figureheads to answer for – especially when both are married to women, and both have daughters.  

 

The threat of the Reform party slithering through the politic polls adds deep disturbance. Last week, Party Leader Nigel Farage was called out for apparent adulating comments over amateur womaniser, and alleged sex trafficker, Andrew Tate - extolling Tate as an important role mole for men. ​With the future of the U hanging in tentative balance, collectively women wonder where the scales will tip for them under the finger of our next government.

 

Secondly, a podcast I regularly listen to knocked me for six with its most recent episode. The Great Women Artists, presented by art world tour-de-force Katy Hessel, featured a profound and relatable episode with Cat Bohannon, author of ‘Eve: 200 million years of the female body’.​Discussing her book and the events contributing to its inception, Bohannon divulged, with candour in an uncensored conversation, about what it is to be a woman in this world. Shared tenets and sighs, Hessel and Bohannon successfully coated this usually attenuated topic with a refreshing balance of seriousness and sarcasm.   

 

The truth that struck an arresting chord with me was Bohannon talking about the first time a female feels “seen” – and they realise they’ll be treated differently in this world. We’ve all been there. Until now, you’ve probably repressed it, but you know it happened. For me, I was eight and he was a young teenager. The piercing vulpine sense of threat in his eyes chills me to this day. It was the first time I was seen as a sexual object. In retrospect, I can now think of countless incidents like this and the infinite echo of toxic misogynistic rhetoric reverberating through my ears, imprinting onto my soul.​Both this and the election have stirred up notions of what is wrong with this world that we feel the need to weaponize gender – especially in the "war" against women.  ​

 

I’m lucky. I’m surrounded by men who celebrate my success and empower me to strive for more – they often tell me how much “better” I am than them. I don’t think that way. I think we all have qualities and talents that should be celebrated and supported – regardless of what dominant chromosome we have. But I sincerely appreciate that they see me that way.​

 

Manifold opportunities are opening up for women, but it’s been a long time coming and there’s still an uphill struggle for us in many areas of life. A dangerous and unjust narrative still circulates and apocryphal opinions and superficial voices like Tate’s aren’t benefitting our cause. We’re much more than wives and mothers. We’re the enigmatic, empathetic epicentre of this world. We nurture and accumulate. We promote growth and abundance. We look beyond ourselves and see a bigger, brighter picture we yield into reality with adventurous punctuations and creative demarcations.​We’re considerate and compassionate, thoughtful and patient. And now, owing to the opening of opportunities, women are proving to be logical and pragmatic, strong and assured; calculating and productive – just like men.​

 

We’re also pulled apart the moment misstep into small puddles of falter. Parody and derision ensue, and we’re made to feel incompetent and inferior.  However, I can assure you, that for every sensationalist chauvinistic headline there is, a good portion of the male population isn’t in agreement.​

 

Far beyond the creepy cries of figures like Farage and his accidental abettor Tate, there are good men who just want us all to coexist as a syncretic fold. Yes, we’re different. But we’re walking this shaky earthly journey together.  You may wonder what all this has to do with yoga and living off the mat, but this unification and commonality in thought, principle and action is vital in our quest for union and equality. It can happen. To an extent, it must happen.  

 

We now have a new collective threat lurking in the shadows: AI.​A foreboding omen to all of us, AI is coming, and it doesn’t discern on gender. Now is a time for us to unite and see each other for more than our genders – we have greater issues, after all. Big tech has created a monster in the ether, and we must stand solidly in unity against it. I know that’s what the men in my life want – I hope those in your life do too.​

 

July’s edit is dedicated to my loyal and supportive husband, and my bulwark of a brother.    I lost my father to lung cancer when I was 18 and, together, they adopted his significant role in my life. They encouraged freedom and space for me to spread my wings and soar in any direction I chose. They gave me strength, courage, and taught me it’s ok to ask for help. More than anything, they instilled in me a sense of self and a belief that I owe no explanation to anyone. I can just be me. They’ve both always believed in me and every crazy dream I’ve chased. With these incredible men in my life, I’ve achieved more than I ever thought possible and made those wild dreams realities.​

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Wishing you love and light, 

Kate