Issuu

1. Fast Fashion is a Feminist Issue 4 - 13

CONTENTS

2. Celebrating Women in the Arts 14-15 3. What It’s Like Being a Woman in the Music Industry 16-25

Editor’s Letter:

Photography, Styling, Editing, Makeup: Alice Dowdall-Clark Lighting: Harry Peach Models: Freya Falgate, Beth Makariou, Catherine Obla

Welcome to Geminique! Our name takes inspiration from two words: Gemini and Unique. I myself am a gemini, and want my readers to understand the importance of being unique. Our magazine is a safe space for all women to enjoy arts, music and politics. We want all women to feel their best and celebrate their uniqueness. Enjoy!

Alice xxx

Fast Fashion is a Feminist Issue Here’s why... (and how you can help)

Written by Alice Dowdall-Clark

We all remember Black Friday last year when PrettyLittleThing were selling clothes for as little as 6p during their 99% off sale, right? This caused quite a few mixed emotions online. Many people took advantage of this sale, buying plenty of clothes for as little as possible. But it brought up the question of how ethical is selling clothing at this price? Surely a 10p bikini won’t last long, so is it really worth it? Twitter user Yasmin (@yasminnorvill) expressed her anger and disgust at the company: ‘I hate giving attention to PLT but having a Black Friday sale of

up to 99% off is actually disgusting. Garments should not cost 5p and if they do it means the workers manufacturing the garment have taken the hit with awful pay and horrendous conditions.’ And it’s true. There comes a point where we must question whether the cost of clothing is worth a life. But how is fast fashion a feminist issue you ask? 80% of garment workers are women, who are subject to gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and terrible working conditions. The high level of consumerism that.

fast fashion causes means more and more women will be living in poverty due to being underpaid. Women aren’t just affected in third-world countries though, such as India, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Female garment workers are also heavily affected here in the UK. In 2020, Boohoo had serious accusations made against them because of their Leicester factory, as they were prioritising money over the lives of their workers. It came out that workers were being paid £3.50 an hour, which is well below minimum wage and simply not liveable off. They were also refused PPE amid the coronavirus outbreak, which caused even more controversy. So, the question is now, how can we help? How can we make a difference? How can we help these women? The most obvious way is by not buying from fast fashion. Charity shops are a great alternative as they are also cheap, and you can find even cooler, vintage clothing in them. Online you can shop on Depop and Vinted as they promote sustainability, and you are extending the life of the item for as long as possible. Another way to help out is by really considering each purchase you

make. Ask yourself: Is it really worth it? If the item will last you a long time and is good quality, then it’s a great purchase! For more ways to help check out Labour Behind the Label, where you can learn more about the working conditions and make a difference. So yes, fast fashion is a feminist issue. To help these women all over the world, change must start now. So, what are you going to do?

Outfit 2: Outfit 3: Outfit 1: Blazer - M&S Dress and Top and Trousers - Corset Top and Depop Depop Trousers Bodysuit - Boots Depop Lamoda Shoes - Doc H&M Shoes - Doc Martens Martens 10

Model and Hair: Freya Falgate Photographer, Makeup and Stylist: Alice Dowdall-Clark Lighting: Harry Peach

Why You Should Stop Fast Fashion Women working in UK garment factories are four times as likely to die from Covid-19 than any other occupation.

Only 2% of workers are paid a liveable salary. One in three young women, the biggest segment of consumers, consider garments worn once or twice to be old. The fashion industry is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions. Three out of five fast fashion items end up in a landfill.

Where Flowers Bloom An exploration of sustainability and the damage the fashion industry causes to our planet.

Celebrating Women in the Arts! Izzy, 19 @film.iz

Aamina, 20 ina m a a y b y h p a @photogr

Tilly, 18 @tillyma rtinar

Beth, 19 @bethdo lanart

Ally, 18 oni s n a s y l l a @

Emily, 19 @emilybow es.jpg

Florence, 20 rt @florencee_a

What It’s Li Woman in th Industry

ike to be a he Music Women only make up 21.7% of artists in the music industry so it is clear that this is another industry where women are underrepresented. I spoke to two artists who are hoping to re-shape this issue and aim to inspire other girls to make change: Cathy Kio and Beth Mia.

Written by Alice Dowdall-Clark 17

Me: Hi! Could you introduce Beth: My biggest influences when I yourself ? Who are you and what write music is experiences that othgenre of music do you create? er people can relate to. I write about things that have made me feel a cerCath: My name is cathy kio. I make tain way, or subjects that I am passionalternative pop music - It’s a mash ate about. I find it hard to write about between shoegaze, pop and indie. emotions in the present time, so I tend to write about past feelings when there Beth: I’m Beth Makariou, a 21-year- is a distance between me and the feelold musician. The music I perform is ing. When I first started to write songs, inspired by strong female musicians I had no confidence in myself or them I grew up listening to, such as Ala- at all and thought I would never write nis Morrissette, Joni Mitchell, Carole a song worthy of being heard. My muKing, Stevie Nicks and so many more. sic teacher encouraged me to keep writing them and a producer heard Me: What would you say are your the first song I had written and realbiggest influences in your music? ly liked it, so that gave me confidence What inspires your song writing? to keep working and improving that skill. That is what gave me the confidence to keep writing songs, and now

I feel inspired to write songs to express at her and I see a reflection of myself. my feelings and provoke an emotion or understanding in the listener. Beth: Growing up I listened to lots of female artists, as my mum would play Cath: My biggest influences to write them on vinyl on repeat, and I think are trauma. I started writing music be- I picked up a lot of my music taste cause I was sad and needed an outlet from her when I was younger. I am inand that’s kind of stuck with me. The spired by so many female artists not more I’ve been through, the deeper and just by their music, but also their apmore heart-felt my songs have become. proach to a primarily male dominant There is a certain feeling between sad- industry. Lady Gaga is one artist that ness and numbness that inspires me to pushes and questions the industry, as pick up a pen and write a song. I have she is strong and determined in her some happy songs too though! Some- actions. I also look up to Amy Winetimes I feel really content with life, and house, Anne Marie, Jeff Buckley, Lady I want to capture how I feel at that mo- Gaga, Norah Jones, Laura Marling. ment. A photograph is good for capturing things on the surface, but a song captures how you feel deep down. Me: Are there any female artists that inspire you most? Cath: My biggest influences have to be Beabadoobee and maybe Nina Simone. Musically, I really like Beabadoobee because we come from similar backgrounds; both children of immigrants (she is an immigrant herself) and we both don’t make the genre that people associate with our race. There’s a certain spot that her music hits that no other artist does for me. Nina Simone on the other hand - a queen. She conquered so much, and her music speaks from the deepest depths of her soul to the deepest depths of mine. I also really like that she is as authentic a black woman as it gets. Dark skin, big nose, ‘nappy’ hair. I look

Me: Going into the music industry, are you aware of the struggles you may face as a woman and how it may be harder? Beth: Yeah, definitely, I think the music industry places a lot of expectations on female artists and makes assumptions about them too. The music industry is a male dominant industry which expects females to be beautiful, petite, obedient and always attractive. Also, there is always an expectation of what a woman is ‘good’ at and what she is ‘incapable’ at. For example, at gigs I would play, men would assume I would not know how to set up the equipment or what I wanted so would try and do it for me, when I own the equipment so am well aware of how I want it to sound. I would play electric guitar which differs from what you would typically expect for a woman to sing and play acoustic guitar (if any guitar). There is an expectation before you even start to perform what you are going to sound like, what songs you will play and how you will act, because you are a young female musician.

One way I’ve chosen to overcome these things is fight or flight. People don’t expect someone of my gender, race and height (I’m relatively short) to stick up for myself. That shock factor in itself is usually enough to get people to think twice about what they’ve done. But if it’s not worth the fuss, I pick ‘flight’ and move on with new people. Specifically, as a black woman, people expect me to make R&B, Soul or Hip-Hop and are quite surprised when I tell them what I do. These stereotypes, although limiting, can be helpful in some way because people tend to listen just because they don’t see many women of colour in the alternative pop genre. Me: What do you think can be done to make the music industry a more accommodating place for women? Cath:Weneedtoremovethelong-standing stereotypes that men know what they’re doing technically, and women do not. Men, sometimes stand aside and let a woman do her thing. She is more than capable. The music industry could benefit from a somewhat ‘French Revolution’. The rich record label bosses and streaming service owners hold all the money at the top, and people like me - the actual product - are left with nothing in comparison. Artists need to find a way of getting their music heard without being exploited.

Cath: Something I’m already facing as a woman in the music industry is having people make decisions for me. There’s this weird belief that I can’t decide what’s best for myself. A producer I worked with once refused to change my song mix, because to him it sounded ‘good’. Would he have done the same Beth: I think this is so complex, as there if I was a guy? I don’t know. And let’s are certain expectations within the not even start with the mansplaining. music industry that are linked to simi-

linked to similar industries. For example, musicians (mostly female) reach a certain level of fame, and are used as advertising for products, such as clothing brands, beauty products, etc. I think the increasing numbers of powerful female figures who aren’t afraid to surpass these boundaries in the industry, such as Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, etc, will start to bring these issues to the forefront. Also, there should be a change in the way the world expects women to be a certain way/type of performer. Me: What is your end goal with music? What do you want to achieve? Cath: I want to be someone. I want my music to be heard and resonated with all over the world. I want to sell out arenas and connect with people. But I also want to keep my authenticity - every single bit of it. I want to write unfiltered music from the heart and connect to other people’s hearts. I want my mother not to work another single day in her life. Beth: My end goals with music is to be able to write and perform and earn money from it too. It inspires me to keep writing and performing when people enjoy and connect with the music I write, therefore, I want to be able to inspire others to do the same and follow what they are passionate about.

@bethmiamusic and @cathy.kio on Instagram!

Title and Story of Shoot

Models: Beth Makariou and Catherine Obla Photographer, Makeup and Stylist: Alice DowdallClark Both

outfits sourced from Depop.

Mom, I am a Rich Man An exploration of empowered women in music.

Geminique