Just another pregnancy rumour?

Why are we so obsessed with the contents of women's wombs?

Yesterday Beyoncé posted the above photo on Instagram which has had over 1 million 'likes'. Since then my social media feeds have been flooded with speculation that she is pregnant again. IF she is pregnant, then that's great for her, but why is it that if a female celebrity wears a looser fitting outfit, refuses a drink or happens to be buried in sand with a *slight* mound over her stomach that everybody instantly takes that to mean that she must be pregnant. And if she is, should she not be able to announce it in her own time? If all celebrity pregnancy rumours were to be true just imagine the amount of babies that Kate Middleton would have had by now. 

This is all just an extension of everyday sexism. Female stars are incessantly judged if they do not have children, or are unmarried in a way that men are not. Just look at the spinster label attached to stars like Jennifer Aniston because she is not currently married, nor does she have children. Before he got married George Clooney was simply seen to be an eligible bachelor, not someone we should feel sorry for. Women in general face so many hardships without the added pressure of everybody watching their biological clocks. 

Simple things like the heavy expectations placed on women to have children by a certain age and the perceived selfishness and essential criminialisation of those that choose not to have children proves that Feminism is still an issue today. Feminism is still 100% necessary in 2015 this is because we live in a world where women like Kayley Cuoco- Sweeting say they have no first- hand experience of sexism and say they are not feminists. However Kayley, as with all other women, is a victim of sexism. Despite her professional achievements, essentially she will be judged by the rest of society based on  the contents or existence of her womb. 

Women like Kayley need to be educated on what Feminism actually means, it is not about hating men or shunning personal grooming. It is simply the need for equality of the sexes in every sense. That''s it.  I could list all of the ways where women face inequalities but I do not have an infinite amount of time, and I can only assume that you do not either. Caitlin Moran, my feminist icon, does a good job in 'How To Be A Woman', This is an  essential read for everyone!

What do you think about the issue of female celebrity pregnancy rumours? Is it harmless fun or blatant sexism?  Let me know in the comments?

12 years in the waiting

Yesterday the news that we had been waiting for, for the last 12 years was finally confirmed. British Vogue FINALLY broke their, frankly disgusting, spell of no solo black cover models with Jourdan Dunn on their February 2015 cover.























How ridiculous is it that it has been TWELVE WHOLE YEARS since Naomi Campbell was the last solo black model to appear on the cover in August 2002? 

I remember reading an article about the lack of diversity on British Vogue covers last year on The Guardian's website which can be read here. The mentioned article links the lack of cover diversity to a lack of diversity in fashion or a lack of universal support for models regardless of their success which , in turn, is covert racism. 

It is wrong that it is no surprise that even though Jourdan has been in the industry longer than Cara Delevigne, is just as successful as her and earned more money in 2014 ($4m over $3.5m) Cara has already had three British Vogue solo covers (March '13, Jan '14 and Sept '14). 

If Vogue's editorial policy regarding models is based on success or suitability there is no question that Jourdan should have appeared solo much sooner than now, her last appearance on the cover was at the beginning of her career back in November 2008 when she was only 18 years old, the cover also featured two white models. 

Whilst it is a great thing worth celebrating that Jourdan finally has her solo cover, that her hard work for the last 6 years has finally paid off, thanking British Vogue for coming to their senses feels like praising someone for doing something that they shouldn't deserve praise for. Like thanking someone for not stealing your phone from you, or for not sitting in the seat that you reserved on the train. It just feels like extreme, misplaced politeness that is not necessary and makes you look a bit weird.

British Vogue should not receive praise for featuring a successful black model on their cover as it is something that they should have been doing for the last 12 years anyway. In any case they should be lucky that models like Jourdan still want to appear on their cover despite their incessant racism.

Let's just hope that we won't have to wait until 2027 to see another solo black model on the cover.

What are your thoughts on this cover? Do you think that both Jourdan and Vogue deserve praise for the cover? 

Let me know in the comments.