FUNNY? HANG ON A TICK AND YOU MIGHT FIND OUT

Tonight I went to a recording of the BBC Radio 4 show Bridget Christie: Minds the Gap. Though I found that her comedy wasn't exactly my humour, I can confirm that she was indeed funny and her jokes were clever. Crucially, I made this judgement after her show and thus, having heard her material. It was really interesting to hear about a woman comedian's experiences- or rather struggles- in the world of stand-up comedy. Her overall message was that women seem to have a deficit to pay off before they even get on to the stage, immediately deemed 'unfunny' because of their sex. She urged people to by all means judge women comedians, but to give them the same chance to be unfunny as their male counterparts, instead of assuming they won't be because...well obviously women just aren't funny and also (lest we forget) cannot drive. 

If anyone reading this has recently felt the sharp burn of being negatively stereotyped, for whatever reason, be thankful you aren't trying to break through as a female comedian. 

R B KITAJ: OBSESSIONS

I wrote copy for the Art Fund's R B Kitaj exhibition page. I find Kitaj to be a really intriguing artist. Read it here.

Image courtesy of L.A Louver Gallery and Marlborough Gallery, Inc

RAISING AWARENESS

Watch this great sound bite Latimer Creative Media produced. I carried out the interviews and got to meet an array of inspirational women. 

And eat an array of pretty tasty buffet food. Mmm yum. 

Look out for my nodding head and peachy top!

TELEPHONE CALL

WEIRD BLOG ALERT...My very brave, and recently widowed aunt reminded me today, that there are so many amazing support groups out there. Scary? Yes. Worthwhile? Massive YES. Accepting you might need support from others is only ever a good thing! After checking out her recent find, I was reminded that interacting with those who have been through similar tough times is vital and can manifest itself in a variety of WAYs.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

The past 9 months have been particularly important for women everywhere striving for equality within their various communities. I am reminded of the tragic gang rape of the student in New Delhi and wonder whether things are getting better for marginalized women around the world.

A close friend of mine recently returned from Swaziland having helped educate girls and young women about their ability to say 'no' and the growing power that this word is having for women in areas of Africa. That cheered me up slightly. 

WINTER CRUSH

Political commentator Owen Jones has definitely become a favourite of mine. After I read CHAVS: The Demonization of the Working Class-  a brilliant read- I started reading his column in the Independent and found that ever-so-gradually I was becoming quite the groupie. Tories have him pinned as naive, pioneering the voice of the working class at every turn with relentless idealism. However, I, like many, think he is a talented writer who poses interesting ideas about the British class system. I was very happy to hear that he won the Young Writer of the Year award at the 2013 Political Book Awards.

Plus, he's not afraid to make things awkward, kudos to him for openly defending Palestine. Watch him on Question Time, he was pretty awesome.