The image of Hailey Bieber smoking in Interview Magazine has been analysed by numerous publications. But to understand what it really means, a feminist lens is necessary. Is smoking back? Is the queen of the clean girl aesthetic promoting this seemingly off-brand habit? The moment captured is not about her potentially having a secret nicotine habit. It represents something much deeper. The problem with our culture today is that we don’t care about how women are feeling. The o

When you were a kid and someone asked what your dream job was, you probably gave the simplest answers: “teacher”, “doctor”, or “vet”. As children, we had a very two-dimensional view of our dreams and aspirations. So you can imagine my surprise when I recently asked my nephews what their dream jobs would be, and the five and seven-year-olds both responded with, “YouTuber!” It wasn’t the answer itself that surprised me. Being a YouTuber has proven to be a successful career path

What Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey reminded me about temptation, identity and the long journey home.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had an overwhelming desire to see others and understand what they’re really like. I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to walk in their shoes. To be who they are and understand why it is they do the things that they do. I believe it’s the most magical feeling of all time, to see others from their perspective and not just mine. I don't think I know who I am without the empathy that sometimes consumes me. I believe it makes me more human, t

My curiosity does not care about calendars or timelines. It will happily consume everything. I want to make every mistake, explore every passion, not as hobbies but as their own brief lives. I want to sketch futures that feel urgent and fleeting, where every possibility feels like the real one in the moment it arrives. I want to work in corporate marketing. I want to travel to France to study civil law. I want to study computer science. I want to write a screenplay and see it

So, what are we waiting for? Are you dating a Haas avocado? Rarely in season, ripe for about five minutes before it starts to rot, waiting for its time to shine. Waiting is an unfortunate part of women's lives. We are told to wait for that career opportunity, to wait for the right love, to wait until we feel ready to have children, only to reach our childbearing years and realise that pregnancy isn't as simple as our high school teachers made it seem. But I digress. Did you k

She walks into the boardroom. The click-clack of her black stilettos against the polished floor isn't just a sound—it's an announcement. She's wearing the uniform of the modern victor: a perfectly tailored blazer, razor-sharp red lipstick, and a presence so calculated it could pass for a business strategy. Every head turns. Every conversation falls silent. She is the archetype. The blueprint of female success. Effortlessly dominating a room full of men who don't quite know wh

As children, most of us romanticized that dark allure at least once. Watching vampire films and TV shows, there's always a voice inside us that whispers, "I wish..." The jet-black hair, the porcelain skin, and that unshakable, powerful presence. You can hypnotize people. You're faster, stronger, and above all, you're always shrouded in an untouchable, "cool" mystery. I'm Eda. A 23-year-old, modern-day vampire. But unfortunately, my life isn't quite as aesthetic as it looks on

At this year's Met Gala, themed "Fashion is Art", Emma Chamberlain arrived in a hand-painted Mugler gown that took over forty hours to complete and used thirty base colours in its design. She described it as "Very much made for me as I am." Everyone online agreed, it felt so her. But here is the question nobody asked: how much of what feels like us is actually us, and how much is a performance we have rehearsed so well, we can no longer tell the difference? Authenticity has

Anthony Bourdain said it best: "If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food. It's a plus for everybody." I think that pretty much summarises everything I want to say. Let me explain. I live in Amsterdam. Not a big city per se, but a very rich one and one of the cultural capitals of Europe. Living here is great. As someone who experien

The Internet loves a pick-me girl, but somewhere along the way, we forgot that policing other women was never the point. Recently, my friend asked in the group chat. “Can you trust a girl who has no female friends?” I sat with the question for a while. Unsure where I stood. It’s true that finding a stable, healthy group of friends isn’t always easy. Some women might be having a hard time finding it, or are only beginning to find their people. Others genuinely seem to prefer t

I first heard about egg freezing when I was 30. It took me four years to actually do it. My adventure starts in Italy. I was single, and a friend who worked as an obstetrician recommended it to me. Some women had started talking about this new possibility. But it felt like a secret. A whisper passed from woman to woman in corridors and private conversations. Nothing really happened inside me at first. I didn’t know if it was something I really wanted to do. I was scared to op

There's a popular saying that goes: "You can tell how much a woman loves herself by the man she's with." It's a neat idea, but it assumes that a woman's choices always reflect her worth. They don't. The truth is that remarkable women fall for the wrong men every day. Intelligent women, successful women, emotionally aware women. Women with strong friendships, fulfilling careers, and a deep sense of who they are. Not because they lack self-love, but because attraction is not a

A friendship breakup feels like a haunting that happens while you’re still very much awake; a quiet, suffocating void that hits the exact moment you open your eyes. You stare at the ceiling, and suddenly, your morning ritual—that first, once-cherished cup of coffee, the usual rhythm—feels like reading a script for a show you’ve been written out of. That physical, bone-deep ache isn't just sadness; it is the brutal realization that losing a best friend cuts infinitely deeper t

I wasn’t leaving San Francisco. I was coming back. That's the pivotal moment people often miss when I share my story. I prepared for a brief departure—a life-changing medical procedure in New Zealand, where my heritage roots run deep and the cost was nonexistent, a stark contrast to the thousands of dollars I couldn't afford in America. America had blessed me with nine incredible years and a city that had captured my heart completely. Yet, it couldn't offer me this one thing.