Feminism.

Yes, we're going there and yes, I'm as terrified as you are. Last week I sent out a little SOS on the blog's Facebook Page (link up there if you haven't already liked it- shameless self promotion, I know) and Kieran requested I do a post on feminism and LGBTQ+ issues. Now I feel personally that LGBTQ+ and all of it's surrounding topics really deserves a complete post to itself so I'm going to separate them and give both of these topics the in depth love they deserve.

Starting with feminism. Oh god help me.

There is a very big reason why I am so nervous to discuss something like this and why, on previous blog posts about equality, I haven't really touched it. And that is because feminism, while massively important, is so divisive and gets such a backlash from people who don't quite understand it. But, like the brave person I am and with a wealth of experience as a left winger under the control of my wealthy overlords, I'm going to go there. Eat me alive, I dare you.

Do I identify as a feminist? Short answer would be yes but it's not as simple as that. I agree with feminism as an umbrella for thoughts, like a literary text can be interpreted so can feminism. You can go hardcore if it pleases you and yes sometimes that's how we make change. We wouldn't have got the vote without the drastic actions of women who wouldn't take no for an answer. Feminism, in my opinion, is always at it's most powerful when it is quiet. The pen, as they say, is mightier than the sword. You can make big waves with small motions (sounds less cool) and for me writing is the best way I can promote my thoughts on the matter.

But remember I said it's not as simple as that. Feminism gets attacked maliciously by people labeling them as 'man haters' and 'nutters' or 'psychos' or similar words. Feminism doesn't mean hating men. A lot of men are feminists and support feminist ideals, it wouldn't make sense to hate others- they're simply supporting the other sex. Because as crazy as this seems men don't have equality in certain areas of society either. I touched on this in a post way back at the start of this blog but men still have fewer places in certain university course, higher suicide rates and are less likely to get help with their mental health.

So what I'm essentially saying is that yes, I am a feminist but I also support equality as a whole and various issues that impact on both men and women and those who are non-binary or genderfluid. I just support people, is that so hard to understand?

Moving on, how does feminism affect me? In ways I like to think of myself as a pretty confident, self-assured and disciplined young woman. I run my own blog, I'm doing my own degree soon and I market myself in the best way I can. All of this I try to do without emphasis on my gender or sex. I am a writer and I'd like to think my words speak more volumes than what I have between my legs.

Sometimes I feel tempted to write posts that you may identify more with feminine/female bloggers- those stereotypical girl issues and I always hit the same brick wall where I can't do it because I feel like I'm putting my work at a disadvantage- like I'm narrowing my readership. Will people judge my work differently if the topic sways towards either a specific gender or sex? Will you have already clicked off this post because feminism is too divisive for you or too radical? Will you be more likely to read a post on a non-gender specific issue than if I mentioned makeup or skincare or prom dreses?

Yes I'm not that kind of blogger and those kind of things would never cross my mind as blog posts but I still shouldn't feel that way.  If at anytime I wanted to change the direction of my blog I should feel at ease doing so. I tried running a similar kind of blog to what I've mentioned but I couldn't fit in with the stereotype I felt like society imposed on me.

So that's feminism to me. Take from it what you will but most important please don't bite. I am merely the messenger.

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Driving and owning a car

Disclaimer: Apologies for the god awful photo. I am the world's worst blogger and yes this was done in an absolute rush.

I have been a car mother for going three years now, it'll be that long since I started learning to drive in December and it's certainly been eye opening and I don't just mean learning to drive. Getting your actual shiny pink licence is only the beginning of your troubles and the whopping great big toll on your finances that occurs post getting a car really takes the biscuit. The biscuits you can't afford because her highness needs petrol.

And yes I name my cars and yes the delight you can see in the picture is my little princess and bane of my life Poppy (she just looked like a Poppy, ok?) but she is not my first car that was my beloved Max the Corsa (god rest his soul) who I hope is still in existence despite the fact he was bought by a girl with a history of writing off cars. I got him just after Christmas in December 2014 and the great thing about provisional insurance is it is less of a nightmare than real insurance, just. I managed to get a policy with Adrian Flux I believe for around £500, my Mam included and this set me aside enough time to pass my test come August 2015.

With the biggest thanks to Sue from Sue & Steve Driving (and apologies for being a nightmare with incredibly low self esteem) I passed my test with a single minor which in retrospect really wasn't anything much and even the examiner barely wanted to count it. So all in all I did good and then it all went to pot. See I was in a low paying job and could not afford insurance at all of any kind. I eventually made a deal with my parents to split the insurance down the middle and come October when I got an actual job (more on this later) I was paying £60 a month + tax + MOT + fuel for the freedom of going out when I like.

This was ok and then I lost my job. I cannot begin to express how bliddy hard it is to budget in order to make money last when you have a car and no job. Thankfully I had loving parents who helped me with all the important things and expected nothing from me however it still sucked. Come March however I got another job and not long after that said farewell to Max and hello to my gorgeous Vauxhall Agila Poppy.

Poppy was when I really started driving. I wasn't a nervous driver but I never really had the need to drive on roads that were unknown to me because I pretty much lived and survived on my test routes. With Poppy however events occurred that meant I had to travel more and this certainly opens you up to the wonders of the road. Nobody is perfect but there are plenty of arseholes out there that test their luck, you just have to ignore them and keep yourself safe. It certainly riles people when you aren't zooming down the duel carriageway at 90mph but there is no need. It used to stress me out getting overtaken constantly but now I don't care, I'm alive and that's what matters.

Poppy however is more expensive than Max was bar her road tax. Come the time my insurance needed renewing it didn't drop that much and to be fair I was really disappointed. Keep in mind that as a young driver it is so hard to get cheap insurance, some people like black boxes but I didn't find any policies at the time that were worth getting one. I'd definitely recommend shopping around on comparison sites and don't be disheartened when nearly every company refuses to insure you- it happens.

On the plus side owning a car is so liberating. Not having to rely on a tragic bus service to get you from A to B means more time for yourself and the important things in life like friends and family. You get to repay your lovely Mam and Dad for all the years they've ferried you about (even if they aren't always the best passengers.) You're the first person your friends call when they need a lift and the person with sole responsibility for the tunes that get played. Not to mention you do feel quite swaggy rolling up in the petrol station like the adult you are.

All in all it's been a weird and wild few years but I wouldn't have it any other way. While expensive the perks of having a car definitely out weigh the negatives and if anything it's an valuable life experience. And sunglasses holders, they're pretty rad too.

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Media does matter

Hello strangers. I know, I apologise, I have been a crap blogger/writter/whatever lately and I hold my hands up and say I've got no excuses to give. I just haven't felt like writing lately and to be fair I would rather write nothing at all than write something with no heart or effort in it. It has been in general quite an up and down month but fingers crossed things will start to pick up and you'll get some quality Sophie pieces very soon. For now you have this.

Anyway on with the blog post. This idea sprung to mind at a job interview I had the other week at a lovely cafe near my hometown. The woman herself with wonderful and someone I definitely would have loved to have as a boss had the circumstances been different. One thing she said in particular during this interview and stuck with me and during my dry period of ideas has been the only thing I could think of to turn into a blog post. I had informed her politely that I couldn't continue doing the job, that I later had to decline, at the same level of commitment as I would want to because I was starting my degree- to which she said bluntly "Oh you're doing a media degree, that's nothing."

First of all I am not doing a straight forward media degree. My degree is primarily journalism based with some modules in media because this is what my university specialises in and chose to feature in the journalism degree they created. To explain simply it's a major/minor degree, kind of like what they do in the US, where I focus primarily on journalism but do aspects of media to give me a rounded view of what it's like to work as a journalist in the media industry. Second of all media, god how many times do I have to stress this, is not easy.

Yes it isn't medicine or a BSC in Science, it isn't History or Classics with all of its books and essays- but it is challenging in its own way. While academically challenging subjects pose their own struggles media courses and degrees often have a lot of independent work and hands on activities that you don't see in a standard 'difficult' degree. 

My secondary school didn't do a media option so the first I heard of the hate media gets was at sixth form where media was an option. I didn't take media because I preferred the academic subjects that my sixth form had on offer but this isn't to say I never showed an interest. The subjects I did take led me to take journalism and yes I am well aware I could have done just that. I am lucky to have had a range of offers for university- a straight forward journalism degree, journalism and english literature, film and media and the offer I accept for journalism, media and culture. I chose the option I did because I wanted to go to Newcastle, I don't care if people give me shit for having media in my degree title.

I don't think people realise how key media is in our everyday lives. While you aren't performing live saving surgery or developing drugs to fight diseases with a media degree/qualification you are playing an important role in our everyday lives. Think how much of the day you spend watching TV, consuming film or being active on social media? Having any kind of media qualification or experience is hugely vital in the modern world. Media has grown so much in my lifetime, now having that experience and your foot in the door can open you up to a whole realm of possibilities in one of the biggest growing markets in the world. Like technology media jobs and growing and expanding and yes- you could do traditional qualifications and move into media later but why not do something you love to begin with?

Media does matter and it doesn't make you any less successful to pursue it.

  

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