Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about
AMAZING THINGS WOMEN HAVE DONE RECENTLY.
1.Christine Hallquist Became The First Transgender Governor Nominee
Congratulations were in order last week when Christine Hallquist, a former energy executive from Vermont, became the first ever transgender nominee for governor of a US state. Hallquist beat out competition from three other candidates to win the Democratic party nomination and will face Republican Governor Phil Scott in the American general election in November.
And Hallquist wasn’t the only woman to thrive in the primary elections – Ilhan Omar, a former Somali refugee who came to the US as a teenager, won her Democratic primary in Minnesota, while Jahana Hayes, who was named Teacher of the Year in 2016, won her Democratic election in Connecticut, and could now become the state’s first black Democrat in congress.
2. Beyonce Talks Openly About Her FUPA
It’s hard to imagine loving Beyonce more, but somehow she made it possible earlier this month after she sat down with Vogue to discuss life after the birth of her twins, Rumi and Sir. In the piece, the notoriously private singer talks about how she contracted toxaemia during labour and spent many weeks in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) after her emergency C-section.
She reveals how she’s learning to love her body in its new state, and how she’s in no rush to lose her baby weight: “To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller. I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real. Whenever I’m ready to get a six-pack, I will go into beast zone and work my ass off until I have it. But right now, my little FUPA and I feel like we are meant to be.”
A FUPA is an acronym used to describe the loose layer of fat in the lower abdomen that can occur after rapid weight loss or having a baby. And while it might not seem like a big deal to admit you’re carrying around a little extra weight, people were loving her honesty. “Beyoncé is accepting of her FUPA and that's what self love is about,” one Twitter user said, while another added, “She isn't torn on breaking her body down to please the masses.”
Beyonce has a fat upper pubic area just like the rest of us – who knew we had so much in common?
3. French Woman Marie Laguerre Inspires New Sexual Harassment Law
A woman who was slapped on the streets of France after confronting a man sexually harassing her on the street sparked a change in French law in August. The 22-year-old was back by politicians after she was hit in the face for standing up to her harasser, as onlookers watched on and did nothing. After the attack, the Mayor of Paris Anne Higaldo tweeted in support of Ms Laguerre when the footage was shared online, "Total solidarity! Thank you Marie Laguerre for your courage! Stop the harassment!"
Wolf-whistling is now banned in the country and will face on-the-spot fines of up to €750 (£660) for repeat offenders, but Laguerre says the new law is “almost a joke”, and likely not possible. “I don’t think it’s realistic because it means having police officers on every street,” she said. “The law sends a message, but not enough.” Laguerre also added that officers also need to be educated to recognise harassing behaviour, and noted that French
President Emmanuel Macron promised to make combating sexual harassment and violence a national priority. Laguerre’s refusal to settle for the bare minimum is law changes is a lesson on perseverance to us all.
4. Taylor Swift Gave An Emotional Speech About Her Sexual Assault Trial
This time last year, Taylor Swift won a sexual assault case against American DJ David Mueller, who attempted to sue Swift for $3 million (£2,331,495) in damages after being fired from his job in 2013 for putting his hand up Swift’s skirt and grabbing her behind whilst posing for a picture with the singer. She filed a countersuit and asked for a symbolic one dollar in damages – which she won.
During her Reputation concert in Tampa last week, Swift gave an emotional speech reflecting on the trial and the need for a better support system for sexual assault victims. “I guess I just think about all the people that weren’t believed and people who haven’t been believed and the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed," she said. "And I just wanted to say that
I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed, because I don’t know what turn my life would take if people didn’t believe me when I said that something had happened to me. And so I guess I just wanted to say that we have so much further to go, and I’m so grateful to you guys for being there for me during what was a really, really horrible part of my life."
5. Physicist Wrote 270 Wikipedia Profiles So Female Scientists Would Be Noticed
You know how the saying goes: behind every great woman is another great woman bigging her up in Wikipedia. British physicist Dr Jess Wade was revealed to have written a whopping 270 Wikipedia pages in just under a year for a bunch of trailblazing female scientists in order to get all the women “who have achieved something impressive in science the prominence and recognition they deserve.”
Wade said her aim was to get encourage more girls to get involved with science, decided at the beginning of 2018 that she would try and do one page an evening. “You’re equally as good (if not better) than the boys around you,” she said in a message to young girls with an interest in STEM. “You may not feel it now, because growing up is super awkward, but you’ll realize how brilliant you are one day. And when you do, it would help if you were a scientist or engineer, because then you’d be making the world a better place for everyone else in it.”
6. Adele Raises Awareness For Postpartum Depression
Adele’s songs make us cry at the best of times, but this time she’s has us feeling all emotional about something else. The singer took to Instagram to raise awareness of postpartum depression after her best friend was diagnosed with the condition following the birth of the singer’s godson in February. The 30-year-old mum-of-one encouraged mothers to talk through their emotions, “because in some cases it could save yours or someone else’s life”.
The friend in question, Laura Dockrill, wrote about her diagnosis for a parenting blog, stating that doctors believe her “horrific” labour could have been what triggered the depression, which at its worst point saw Dockrill hospitalised for two weeks. Many were quick to praise the two women for opening up on the condition: 'Laura has put into words everything that I could not,” said one user. “Reading her article has made me feel less alone.”
7. Ruby Rose Announced As The New Batwoman
Earlier this month, Ruby Rose was announced as the new iteration of Batwoman, the first openly gay superhero to headline a television series. Rose, a gender-fluid lesbian herself, said of the casting: “This is something I would have died to have seen on TV when I was a young member of the LGBT community who never felt represented on TV and felt alone and different.”
Since then, Rose has left Twitter due to the intense backlash she faced – according to the harshest of critics, Rose isn’t right for the part because she’s not Jewish, not a good enough actor and, perhaps most bizarrely, not lesbian enough for some people.” But Batwoman knows better – before she officially signed off Twitter for good, she posted an uplifting last message: “When women and minorities join forces we are unstoppable. When we tear each other
8. Cynthia Nixon’s Campaign For Governor Of New York Goes From Strength To Strength
We’ll admit it: her character was never our favourite in Sex and the City, but now Cynthia Nixon’s got us donning our ‘We Should All Be Mirandas’ t-shirt all day every day. The former actress’s campaign for city gov ernor continues to gain favour as she comes out in support of young people and minorities with a strong focus on the legalisation of marijuana. Recent images on her social media saw her also sit down with black women from New York talk about their experiences with reproductive health for people of colour – and the 52-year-old hasn’t forgotten her roots, as plenty of her campaign evenings serve forward-thinking debates with a side of cosmopolitan cocktails.
And as always have a chilled day from the viking.
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