I love discovering new writers, re-visiting old favourites and I’m grateful to authors, bloggers, columnists, journalists and writers for putting pen to paper, so to speak, and sharing their work with the world.
To mark the new year I’m sharing 12 thought-provoking articles from 2015. These articles have all resonated with me in some way and I find myself returning to them frequently. They’ve helped me understand the world a little better. They’ve challenged my views on certain issues. They’ve helped me come to terms with things in my own life. They’ve reminded me of the importance of words and the power of telling our stories.
A Meditation on Pain
This is not about headaches. This is about tolerance. This is about pain and how it has the ability to crumple us. – A Mediation on Pain
This is one of the best articles I’ve ever read about living with chronic pain.
Hysteria and Teenage Girls
Hysteria has always been a women’s issue. The concept goes back about 4,000 years. In Ancient Egypt, hysterical disorders were said to be caused by “spontaneous uterus movement within the female body;” hysterical women who were diagnosed with a uterus too far “up” inside the body were treated with sour and bitter odors near her mouth and nose. If the uterus was too far down, then the putrid odors were placed near her vagina. – Hysteria and Teenage Girls
An excellent article about teenage fandom and the history of hysteria.
A word after a word is power
My friends are shocked, they are worried. They talk in whispers and they look at me with creased foreheads. They band together. They form a protective circle. – Louise O’Neill: A word after a word is power
This is a brilliantly written essay about the power of female friendship. Louise O’Neill is one of the greatest writers of her generation. She’s not afraid to tackle difficult subjects like eat disorders, misogyny, sexual assault and rape culture but, more than that, she never talks down to her readers. Her writing is powerful and nuanced.
An Article About Black Women Shouldn’t Have To Come With A Warning Label
What is it that prevents people from seeing themselves in us? What is it that you see in us that so easily precludes this precious relatability? What do you think we so profoundly lack, that makes you shut down so comprehensively? So much so that something as innocuous as a make-up tutorial is enough for you to walk away wholesale? What makes our existence so extracurricular to yours? Why must our place as the norm be so hotly contested? Why should we hyphenate ourselves, introduce addendums, and signpost our presence? Why are we required to call ahead in the dark, to thwack the bushes, to make sure those who startle easy are aware of our coming? – An Article About Black Women Shouldn’t Have To Come With A Warning Label
An essay about pop culture and being black.
Here’s Some Solid Life Advice: Forget About Being ‘Likable’
So what I want to say to young girls is forget about likability. If you start thinking about being likable you are not going to tell your story honestly, because you are going to be so concerned with not offending, and that’s going to ruin your story, so forget about likability. – Here’s Some Solid Life Advice: Forget About Being ‘Likable’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech may have been aimed at young girls, but there’s definitely something we can all learn from it.
The Difference Between Writing and Blogging
I’m trying very hard not to think so much about how my corner compares to others. I’m trying to tell myself that we all get something different from blogging, writing, sharing. It’s not easy, because some people get more out of this than others, but in cases like that I remind myself it’s not about physical rewards all the time, simply having someone say “Oh, I picked up that mascara you mentioned the other day – I love it!” ; that’s worth more to me than any number of glasses of bubbly or parcels in my front porch. Of course, at weaker moments, I’d be lying if I said that at times I didn’t feel jealous or left-out, or criticized myself based on how “well” I perceived others to be doing. – The Difference Between Writing and Blogging
I’ve read this blog post more than a few times since it was published. At the time I was having one of those “where is my blog going moments” and Lisa’s words helped me realise that I too initially started my blog in order to write.
5 Things I Wish My Doctor Knew About Having An Invisible Illness
It’s possible to have both mental and physical health problems, but the existence or even suspicion of mental health concerns doesn’t eradicate the existence of physical health problems. The isolation alone of chronic illness can create depression, but that doesn’t alter the fact that, unless you are a psychiatrist, we are seeking treatment for our physical health problems, not looking for your opinion of our mental health. – 5 Things I Wish My Doctor Knew About Having An Invisible Illness
If you have a chronic illness then you will probably understand how frustrating dealing with doctors can get, especially if you have symptoms that carry across a few conditions and diagnosing the correct one is often a matter of trial and error.
Why I Claim Bisexuality
I claim bisexuality for visibility. In calling myself bisexual, I am visible for other bisexual youth who could be Googling in search of answers about their sexuality. I want the 14-year-olds of tomorrow to know they don’t have to deny themselves. – Why I Claim Bisexuality
I’ve always been open about my sexuality, even when I was no longer sure exactly what that was. I went through a particularly confusing time where I said and did some things I wouldn’t necessarily do or say again. I did learn from them, though. Bisexual became the word that made the most sense. For me that means being attracted to my own gender and other genders, wherever they fall on the spectrum. Visibility matters.
How Doctors Take Women’s Pain Less Seriously
Nationwide, men wait an average of 49 minutes before receiving an analgesic for acute abdominal pain. Women wait an average of 65 minutes for the same thing. Rachel waited somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours. – How Doctors Take Women’s Pain Less Seriously
While this is a US based article, it is a reminder of what in can be like to be woman facing a health issue.
Your Problem With Me Is Not *My* Problem
It’s a lie to say you won’t care what people think, but living as a version you think will be accepted is a far worse lie. That’s a lie you tell yourself. –Your Problem With Me Is Not *My* Problem
Saying that someone else’s problem with you is not your problem and actually understanding that someone else’s problem with you isn’t your problem are often two different things.
Here’s What No One Ever Tells You About Bisexuality
But that’s not how it works. If by “phase” we mean “the thing you were before you identified as gay,” then heterosexuality is a far more common phase than bisexuality. Still, bisexuality is stuck with a bad reputation. – Here’s What No One Ever Tells You About Bisexuality
There is lots of great stuff in this article about sexuality, coming out and finding a place in the LGBTQ+ community.
An Unbelievable Story of Rape
Recently, Marie was asked if she had considered not reporting the rape.
“No,” she said. She wanted to be honest. She wanted to remember everything she could. She wanted to help the police.
“So nobody else would get hurt,” she said. “They’d be out there searching for this person who had done this to me.” – An Unbelievable Story of Rape
This article is shocking, yet not entirely surprising. Is it any wonder that people don’t always report their rape or sexual assault to the police, when things like this can and have happened.