My latest Breathless Column for Vogue asks: Is female intuition real, or is it something our mothers created to validate why they were always right, without ever having to give an actual explanation? (i.e. Are we witches?) – Read it HERE.
My latest Breathless Column for Vogue asks: Is female intuition real, or is it something our mothers created to validate why they were always right, without ever having to give an actual explanation? (i.e. Are we witches?) – Read it HERE.
Karley, I didnt know where else to ask this – I was wondering why on your Irish television interview you got coy/embarrased when asked if you are a feminist? This is not intended to be a snarky question, just genuinely curious.
Hey, good question. And on TV I probably should have reacted in a way that was less embarrassed and more confident, but here’s the reason why:
I obviously consider myself a feminist in that I believe men and women should be equal–that’s a given. But I’ve always said that I think that what I do is more a product of what feminism has achieved than an avid act of feminism itself. I actually recently interviewed Tavi of Rookie Mag, and she was talking about how labeling yourself a feminist can sometimes pigeonhole you, and how she wishes she could just do and create things not as a feminist or a girl, but just as a person. And I feel the same way. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said something I think is really great about labeling oneself. He said: “I don’t associate with movements–I think for myself. The moment someone attaches you to a philosophy or a movement, they then assign all the baggage and the rest of the philosophy that goes with it, to you. And when you want to have a conversation, they will assert that they already know everything important that there is to know about you because of that association. I’d rather explore each other’s ideas in real time, rather than assign a label to it and assert we know what’s going to happen in advance.” I really relate to that. I just want to make great, meaningful work that resonates with a wider audience than a simply group of liberal women who already think like me. So when “mainstream” people say feminist, I naturally shy away, because I’m thinking about all the baggage–some good but some not-so-good–that goes along with that word, and I’d rather be seen as someone who thinks for myself, ya know?
you are doing really great work
This is wonderful!