Discussion is the only way forward. That was the general view this weekend at Stylist Live. Without discussion, we can’t implement change. 4 stages, multiple inspirational speakers, and one general consensus that the world we are living in needs to change in order for our society to progress.
Walking into Stylist Live was everything the anti-feminist would love to say the event was about. A plethora of pink banners, beauty boutiques, and women elegantly sipping pink gin and tonics from plastic cocktail glasses as they discussed their lives with friends and strangers alike. What looked like a standard beauty event packed with clothing stores, free massages, hair salons, and make-up booths, was actually just the front to what was an event for the strong feminist women and the males willing to stand with them.
The event kicked off on Friday 10th November 2017- an incredibly accurate day to begin the weekend on as it was equal pay day, otherwise known as the last day of the year women would be paid due to the 18% gender pay gap. Of course, there were several talks about this subject led by women who were, rightfully so, outraged and disgusted by the fact that in 2017 a woman wasn’t given the same pay as a man in exactly the same position as her. However, no talk struck me as deeply as ‘sports: still sexist as fuck’ with Joanna Rowsell Shand, Asha Philip, Kat Merchant, and Kate Dale. During this talk, a shocking truth was revealed that women competitively cycling today do not have a minimum wage compared to the men’s €29,370 minimum. This means that several female cyclists have professionally competed for no pay at all, with Olympic gold medal cyclist Joanna Rowsell Shand revealing that in her 8 years of professionally competing only 2 were paid. So there the bar is set- do what you love professionally for no money, or work in a job you hate for a little bit of money.
Gender based discussions continued throughout the weekend, and one conclusion that can be accurately drawn from them would be this: we have to change the way we are educating and raising our children. From Emma Willis discussing parenting her own children, to Robert Webb explaining the way he was raised, the fact is we need to stop making children believe in gender roles. Boys should not be taught that violence is acceptable and emotions should be supressed just as much as girls should not be taught that they should care for a plastic baby from the age of one to prepare for pregnancy in her early twenties. It’s this social conditioning that damages the psyche of children and forces them to believe in the social constructs of gender roles. Instead, as Emma Willis and stylist editor Lisa Smosarski, have done with their children, we need to let them discover their own selves by leaving them to play and wear whatever they want. As Whitney said after all the children are the future.
Despite what may seem like a saddening event with all of this horrific information being shared it was actually incredibly uplifting. To have likeminded people with the same view of the world in one room discussing topics that are avoided or met with an eye role was gratifying. It gave me the feeling that maybe our mess of a world could change to benefit those it’s cast aside. Maybe there is a brighter future if we just begin the discussion.
All The Stuff In-between 