Noteworthy Women

Encouraging and Empowering Remarkable Women

Tag: inspiration

Model Adwoa Aboah is the founder on the Instagram account @gurlstalk which later became a website and is receiving a lot of praise for her posts that are getting girls to talk about feminism. Vogue’s article interviewing Aboah says that using the hashtag #letsgetgurlstalking as a call to arms, Aboah spreads a larger message of honesty and openness for young women, a message she also plans on taking into local schools via an upcoming workshop.

The About Me section on the website states:

“Gurls Talk is a movement that strives to create a platform where girls can openly share their experiences and feelings in a safe and trusting environment.  We are working together to create a community of girls from all different backgrounds, looking beyond external differences, and focusing on the essence of what it means to be a girl in the 21st century.  We strive to show girls that you are not alone, and that by opening up and sharing your personal stories, you too can discover that many others are going through the same things.  Gurls Talk is about working together, empowering, and taking the time to listen…”

 

By using her platform to boast a freedom of ideals and a breaking with the norms has helped her evolve into a star to follow. She says in her interview with Teen Vogue that her inspiration came from “the women who came into her life when she needed them the most — the women who actually saved her life”. With Gurls Talk Aboah wants to create a space wherein girls can have honest conversations about everything. It’s weekly program to educate girls on mental health and addiction and eating disorders, but instead of it being a lecture coming from a teacher or a woman twice their age, it will be from women these girls can relate to, women who are speaking from experience.

Vice Magazine comments  that with 35k Instagram followers and growing, and a website that launch last October, Gurls Talk is the best friend you wish you had growing up, a voice to speak out on body image, feminism, self-perception, and empowerment. Frank, intelligent, and deeply personal, it documents everything from Adwoa’s road to a personal recovery, to calling out the Kardashians for their use of social media (“Between you, you have 45 million followers, and this is what you use your platform for?” she asks incredulously), to insights into inspirational feminist artists and writers such as Gloria Steinem and Lena Dunham, to simple feel-good mantras (‘Be you and be proud’).

The most important message she would like girls to take away from Gurls Talk is, “be vulnerable, be open, and be true to yourself. I found when I was trying to be someone else everything was so much harder. But when I was true to myself, I felt so much freer,” she says, with a wisdom far beyond her years. “Give out positive energy and things will come back to you in ways you can’t even begin to believe.” Last year’s Italian Vogue cover shot by Tim Walker was a huge turning point for the model, who has since starred in advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Roberto Cavalli, and H&M. “The Italian Vogue cover meant so much to me, not so much because I was on the cover,” Adwoa says, “but because I saw a different light in my eyes. There was nothing behind them for so long. I had completely shut away from my family, my friends, my sister, but now my spark is back.”

Vice continues with pointing out that Adwoa’s spark is more than back, it’s dazzling, and the future looks bright for the her. Next year she will make her movie debut, starring in Rupert Sanders’ adaptation of Japanese manga classic Ghost in the Shell, opposite Scarlett Johannson. “It was a dream come true to act alongside Scarlett!” she beams. “She is one of the coolest and most down-to-earth women I’ve ever met.”

“In these turbulent times, an intelligent, passionate, and emotionally attuned role model is exactly what we need. Let’s get girls talking.”

“I call myself a feminist and I’m proud to say that, but I think the modern-day feminist can be anyone. It can be a model on the cover of a magazine, it can be a mother of five, it can be a working woman, a woman who chooses to stay at home, a woman who decides not to shave her armpits in protest—it really can be anyone drawn to the idea of equality. I really think it is about doing things for yourself and not being held back by what society views as appropriate.”

 

Backlash on Emma Watson’s Vanity Fair Shoot: Feminism or Hypocrisy?

This week, BuzzFeed posted on its Snapchat story? an article about Emma Watson’s Vanity Fair shoot. While the article focuses on Watson who opens up about her metamorphosis from child star to leading woman, critics were more focused on her breasts and disputed on how a feminist could do such a thing. Was it hypocritical of Watson to reveal herself in such a way? BuzzFeed comments, “Since then, several articled have been published objectifying Watson. The Sun published an article with the headline “Beauty and the breasts.”

The Telegraph writes about Daily Mail columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer who tweeted a picture of the page, writing: “Feminism, feminism… gender wage gap… why oh why am I not taken seriously… feminism… oh, and here are my tits!” According to CNN She later defended her tweet, saying Watson “complains that women are sexualised and then sexualises herself in her own work. Hypocrisy.”

Emma Watson, as featured in the March 2017 issue of Vanity Fair
CREDIT: TIM WALKER/VANITY FAIR

Talking about how important her role is in the upcoming film Beauty and the Beast, Watson emphasized how important the approval of her mother Jacqueline and Gloria Steinem’s is.

“I couldn’t care less if I won an Oscar or not if the movie didn’t say something that I felt was important for people to hear.”

Emma Watson

As we all know about how Watson feels about empowering young girls, the type of backlash she received on her picture featured in the magazine was a bit surprising to the Beauty and the Beast star. Watson later comments to CNN saying, “The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. … For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” On a lighter note, although she received a lot of criticism for her picture, she gained a lot of support as well.

In an interview with Reuters, Watson, responded to the controversy by clarifying the definition of feminism to critics:9

“It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is,” she said. “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it.”

So what does Gloria Steinem, arguably the most high-profile feminist, think about this controversy? According to CNN once more,

Steinem laughed at the notion that Watson was a “bad feminist” because she appeared in a revealing photo.

“Feminists can wear anything they f****** want,” Steinem told TMZ. “They should be able to walk down the street nude and be safe.”

Feature Friday: Rupi Kaur

We’re starting off this weekend with the very first of what we hope to be a collection of “Feature Friday” posts. Feature Friday is Noteworthy Women’s approach to providing our followers with examples of remarkable women all over the world that embody every characteristic of a “Noteworthy Woman”.

Our first feature is Rupi Kaur, a 24 year old Canadian artist and poet that has recently become widely popular due to the publication of her debut book titled “Milk and Honey”. Kaur was born in Punjab, India but moved to Toronto at the age of 4. During her teen years, she performed spoken word at a number of different locations. These performances were based on poetry, something she was constantly writing.

Rupi Kaur Photo by: Baljit from Toronto DesiDiaries

One of the reasons why Kaur is such a compelling young woman is because of the frankness with which she expresses herself through her poetry and art. Milk and Honey is a series of poems that speak about a variety of topics such as love, womanhood, sexuality, trauma, and healing. The book is divided into four sections: “the hurting”, “the loving”, “the breaking”, and “the healing”. While some authors tend to shy away from portraying the realities of heartbreak, loss, and suffering, Kaur’s words allow readers to dive into the sometimes crude experiences that women face on a daily basis. It is perhaps the relatability of the experiences described in her book that have made this work such a success. Not only was Milk and Honey on the New York Times Best Seller list for months, it gained viral recognition online through social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Kaur’s work hasn’t always been the subject of recognition and praise. Anytime an artist or individual (in this case a young Canadian woman with Indian heritage) seeks to speak out about taboo subjects, they are more likely then not going to face criticisms. This is yet another reason why Kaur has been a source of inspiration for young women looking to discover themselves and the world around them. Kaur refused to shy away from what she knew could cause controversy for a general audience. Instead, she passionately and unapologetically expresses herself, her views, and her experiences; something that every woman should have the right to do, regardless of what others may think.

Noteworthy Women applauds Rupi Kaur for having the courage to express what it’s really like to be a woman and for sharing such an important piece of poetic work. We hope her success will help her continue to grow as an artist as well as help others in their journey to self-discovery.

Make sure to show your support for our very first Feature Friday: Rupi Kaur by following her social media sites all linked above!

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