Photography by Lula Hyers. Makeup and styling by Sateen. Hair by sean michael Bennett. Interview by Naomi Smalls. Introduction by Daisy Jones. Clothes and gloves by Garo Sparo
From million dollar chairs and getting kicked out of art shows, to fake male CEOs and getting a mo vie made of her life - enter the artist's weird, wonderful world...
All clothing: Beyond Retro.
Getting to know the woman behind the devil drawings, we sit down with Polly Nor...
“I’d still be doing the same thing even if I wasn’t successful,” CupcakKe continues. “I was about three years in before the industry picked up on me. I had no money but was still going at it. It all goes to show I would be doing this even if I wasn’t successful.” CupcakKe’s honest when she says she doesn’t want to change, and the hope that she doesn’t is palpable in her fanbase, the Slurpers. When quizzed on what she thinks is her best song proves her honesty; the thrill in her sex anthems doesn’t come from her millions of YouTube views, but a genuine enjoyment of writing and performing taboo tunes.
“I just want to be totally different from anything else.” ”‘Duck Duck Goose’ is definitely my favourite song even though people get mad at me for not choosing ‘Deepthroat’. ‘Duck Duck Goose’ is very creative and it still has shock value.” She exclusively reveals, “You know, it encapsulates what everyone loves about me and the song has the best hook. It screams out. ‘Duck Duck Goose’ is just so creative and clever even when it’s about giving head.” CupcakKe lights up, “Performing it is always epic — since it came out right up to now. It’s so epic when the crowd hears the song and goes crazy, and its entertaining and fulfilling.” Our FaceTime call ends with a barrage of compliments, as I can’t hold in my inner Slurper from slipping out. CupcakKe takes it graciously, humbly and happily, she makes sure to counter with her own adorations. If you judge people by how they treat those beneath them and not their peers, consider CupcakKe by how she raps about the world - “Ain’t no confusion, everybody human. Get to know people instead of just assumin’.” Words by Gina Tonic.
Dress by Sinéad O’ Dwyer
Word ordss b byy W
tiiee rr--Plleennt aarrbbee P B B cee Grraac G
‘Post-postfeminism?: New Feminist Visibilities in Postfeminist Times’ 2016 by Rosalind Gill (journal article): Particularly relevant to us as contemporary feminists, Gill has recently responded to academic work which proposes that new feminisms have signaled a departure from postfeminist ideals. By analysing The Evening Standard’s 2015 “NEW GEN FEM” issue, Gill examines how problematic postfeminist ideologies and discourses still lurk within mainstream representations of the contemporary resurgence in feminist thought. As a feminist, I found this piece particularly important in thinking about how we can resist mainstream media’s capitalist revisions and trivialisation of feminist organising. This piece is also on the drive in the “feminism now” folder.
‘Packaging Girlhood’ (2006) by Lyn Mikel Brown and Sharon Lamb (book): I came across this book when I studied contemporary marketing during my first MA. It is a thorough examination of how the marketplace enforces and imposes gender norms on the bodies and minds of girls from a very young age. There’s also an equivalent for boys called ‘Packaging Boyhood’ from the same authors. I always recommend these to people with young kids who are trying to avoid the early effects of gendered marketing. It’s an important but easy read, and is well worth sharing with any of the open-minded parents in your life. It’s available on Amazon for around £11.
Becoming the Third Wave’ & ‘To Be Real
ion”: Riot
‘We ARE the Revolut by Rebecca Walker (essay and book): Grrrl Press, Girl Empowerment and DIY
I only recently learnt that the term “third-wave” (Alice WalkerD‘“We by Kevin by Rebecca coined g’ (2012) Publishin was Selfreportedly Walker’s daughter) in these texts. Although the “wave” metaphor of feminist history has been contested by many academics, these texts are well worth a read to get to grips with different ideas about the so called ‘third wave’. The book features contributions from Naomi Wolf, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Greg Tate and Gloria Steinem amongst others. The essay is available on the google drive (in the ‘3rd wave feminism’ file) linked to my Instagram, and the book is available for about £12 on amazon.
‘It definitely felt very white’: Race, gender, and the performative Conceptualising Gender: Eurocentric
politics of assembly at the Women’s
Foundations of Feminist Concepts
March in Victoria, British Columbia’
and the Challenge of African Epistemologies’ (2002) by Oyeronke Oyewumi (book chapter): I came across this text on a conference reading list and it has really helped me view feminist scholarship with a critical eye. It is a brief but insightful run down of the eurocentric nature of feminist concepts of womanhood, the gender binary and the nuclear family. Oyewumi demonstrates how African experiences and epistemologies present new potentials and futurities, and how they undermine the Western universalism that is implied in a lot of feminist gender discourses. This text is included in the ‘black feminism, womanism and critical race theory’ file on the drive alongside texts by Angela Davis, bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins and Kimberlé Crenshaw.
(2017) by CindyAnn & Reuben RoseRedwood (journal article): This recent paper looks at the women’s march and examines the challenges and performative limits of solidarity. Drawing on the work of Chantal Mouffe, the paper makes a case for the importance of agonistic spaces of ‘conflictual consensus’, difference, and disagreement in truly radical and democratic political movements. Reflecting on her own experience as a woman of colour at the women’s march, CindyAnn examines the limitations of white feminism, and proposes that white allies must go above and beyond performative gestures of solidarity and ally theatre, and must engage in mutual aid and reciprocity to forge a truly intersectional movement. This piece is also included in the ‘black feminism, womanism and critical race theory’ file on the drive.