Femi-what?

Something that I've been becoming acquainted with recently is feminism (sounds scary - right?), a term that I've heard being thrown around a lot in the past but never really understood. So what is feminism? I'll start here; I can guarantee that if you asked the question "do you believe in equality for men and women?" the majority of people would reply "yes - of course!" but when faced with the question "are you a feminist?" they would run a mile. But that's all feminism is really isn't it? Equality. Nowadays there's so much stigma attached to the word feminism with words such as man-hater and feminazi being thrown in the mix, that people will do anything to avoid being associated with such "extreme feminists" for lack of a better phrase.

I was in a lecture last semester discussing sexism in the media when the lecturer posed the question (to a room full of women) "who here is a feminist?" to which only another girl and I raised our hands. When those who didn't raise their hands were asked why I heard such responses as "because I want to shave my legs and armpits, I don't want to be hairy!", "because I'm not a bra-burning hippy" and "because I want to be a stay at home mum". But something that I've come to realise is that feminism is about having the choice to shave and having the choice to be a stay at home mum rather that it simply being expected. Feminism is being able to do these things because we want to, not because society says that we should.


(Illustrations taken from Mum, I'm a Feminist)

I'm not an expert on feminism, nor am I claiming to be, I simply want to try to get across the message that feminism isn't complicated, it's not man-hating or any of the other negative connotations that have become normality in today's world. Feminism is about making choices about your own body, it's about pay equality, it's about being able to walk down the street at night without the fear of being raped. "But that last one's just common sense!" I hear you say - it's not. It's rape culture. But I won't go into all of that at this moment in time.

I know I've rambled quite a bit here and I hope that I've made enough sense, I just think it's important for you to scribble out any negative preconceptions regarding feminism and take the time to find out a bit more about what being a feminist is really about and how it doesn't have to take over your life - just make it better!

So if I've got your attention and you're interested in finding out a bit more about modern day feminism, here's a short list of books and websites that I've found interesting and helpful:

• Mum, I'm a Feminist (blog) - if you don't want to spend any money quite yet, this is the place to start! A humorous, cleverly written blog complete with reader submissions and everything you need to know about real feminism.
• Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti (£8.27 from The Book Depository or £7.43 on Amazon eBooks) - in the process of reading; easy to read, well written and a "young woman's guide to why feminism is important".
• How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (£8.39 from The Book Depository or just £3.67 on Amazon eBooks) - haven't actually read yet but recommended as an English alternative to Full Frontal Feminism.

What's New?

So I have been extremely slow on the blogging front recently, as always, but for about the gazillionth time I'm going to try to get back into the habit of posting more frequently as I'll have quite a bit more spare time this semester. What's new, I most definitely don't hear you ask? Well it's 2013 for a start, a year that not so long ago seemed so far away, and even though it's only January, so much has happened since the new year.

Forever Manchester
One thing that's new in 2013 is that I have started doing some volunteering with the charity Forever Manchester on the marketing team helping with the social media. It's an amazing opportunity that I found through taking part in the Manchester Uni mentoring scheme and is a great start towards a career in marketing after I graduate!

Getting Organised
I like to think that I'm organised, and I am providing that I keep up the organisation momentum. Once I slip that's it, I go back to my usual disorganised self. I have, however, started to rely on my lovely Filofax again - so much that I can't function without it! To be honest I've become a little obsessive with post its and templates but that's besides the point, at least I'm being organised. As well as the Filofax, my room's had a good old tidy and organised - tidy space tidy mind and all that.

Photo a Day
This was actually instigated by my dad who told me that he was doing a photo a day and that meant that I should too. I'm a bit skeptical, my track record for keeping things like this up isn't great but may as well have a go! Might be nice to be able to look back through an entire year's worth of photos. So here are a few of my "photo a day" photos for a quick overview of the past couple of weeks: 

My newly organised Filofax | A trip to Leeds with uni friends | Foxy phone case | Self explanatory | Snow day | Uni family | Too-full Filofax | Gin bottle collection | Perfect train journey | Recycled skirt

I know that this post has been a little text and picture heavy but there we have it, a little catch up before back to normal blogging.

Using Social Media to your Advantage.

One thing that has always (and by always, I mean the past few years) interested me is the power of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and blogging. The power of social media can be a good thing, even a great thing, but it also has a dark side. Yes, posting those hilarious photos from your drunken escapades last weekend can be great to laugh at with your friends, but what happens when a potential employer searches your name and those same now-not-so-hilarious photos appear at the top of the Google search? What you need to think is "would I like my boss to see/read this?", and I know you may be a student and employment seem such a long, long way away, but anything that you post on the internet is there forever.

So how can you use social media to your advantage? How can you show your potential employers that you're not only a social media whiz but that you can use your skills in a work environment? Here's my top 5 ways to use social media in a positive way:

1. Make a Linked In profile - "But Linked In is only for professionals, I'm just a student". That's not true, more and more students are joining Linked In in order to create an online CV , to make connections in the area of work they wish to pursue and even to job hunt! 
2. Follow your potential employers on Twitter - These days, most companies use Twitter. Follow them, if only to find out a little more about the business. However often, especially in Marketing/Advertising/PR, companies will advertise jobs or work experience opportunities on Twitter first, keeping you ahead of the game.
3. Network, network, network - So you're following you dream employer on Twitter, now what?  Tweet them! Reply to something that they've tweeted or simply tell them why you like their company. So you've connected with a friend of a friend on Linked In who is in your dream job - message them, tell them why you wanted to connect with them! Chances are that they'll be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have.
4. Customise your Facebook privacy settings - As I mentioned above, would you really want a potential employer to see a picture of you rolling in the gutter? The answer is no, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't post it! Just make sure that your privacy settings mean that only your friends can see your updates. 
5. Advertise yourself - Whether it's your Linked In headline or your Twitter bio, make it known what kind of work you want to get into or what you want to get out of using social media. For example, my Linked In headline is "Language, Literacy & Communication student at University of Manchester aspiring to pursue a career in Digital Marketing". It says what I'm doing now and what I'm looking to do in the future, not saying that I love going out with my friends and getting absolutely sloshed.

So there you have it, my top 5 tips on how to use social media in an opportunistic way. Of course there are many other ways to go about using social media, but for a student looking to enhance their online presence, these are the tricks that I've learnt and appear to be beginning to work. Building up a strong online presence doesn't happen over night so it's no good throwing together a Linked In profile the night before an interview, so get started as soon as you can!

Happy 20th Birthday Stacy!

As you may have read in my previous post, this weekend I city-hopped over to Liverpool for one of my best friend's birthday and I must admit I love being a tourist! We rode the Liverpool Eye, we went to Central Perk coffee shop (yes, like the one in Friends!) and we danced to a Beatles tribute band in Albert Docks, all in the lovely Liverpool sunshine.

#1 - Everyone by the Liverpool Eye.

#2 - Emily and the Birthday Girl (Stacy).

#3 - Standard Instagram "look what I did" shot.

#4 - Coffee and a sandwich from Central Perk.

 

After an extremely busy day in the 'Pool, we got ready and hit the town. It wasn't my first night out in Liverpool but hadn't of course been to every bar so was pretty excited and after almost 12 hours of drinking, 4 different bars and clubs and 1 kebab, we finally crashed on Stacy's bedroom floor. (Sorry about the bad quality of photos!)

I took loads more photos on my film camera and hopefully I'm getting a negative scanner soon so will be able to post some on here, but until then iPhone photos will have to do! Since being at uni I haven't felt at all homesick, but after seeing my friends from home I've decided to visit my family for a couple of days next weekend.

In other news, I've started to take Pole Fitness classes in an attempt to keep fit. It may sound like a bit of a cop out but seriously it is quite a work out! At £5 a class it isn't cheap but it is honestly the most fun I've had exercising as I hate the idea of going to the gym - definitely reccomend giving it a go.

That's it for now and if you only take two things from this post, let it be #1 - go to Liverpool (if you haven't already of course!) and #2 - give Pole Fitness a go.

Ellen x

Posted with Blogsy

Outfit for Liverpool.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I'm off to Liverpool this weekend for Stacy's 20th birthday, which of course calls for a new outfit..

I ordered this dress from Motel Rocks which with 25% student discount only cost £26 - bargain. I intend to pair the dress with these shoes which I bought from Office for £30. I'm still unsure as to how to accessorize the dress but with most likely keep it simple with my silver hoops and necklace.

Today during my Social Media in Education class we were told that for part of our assessment we had to keep a reflections log of our experience on the course and logging our social media usage. Turns out it is recommended to keep a blog in order to keep track of our reflections and as you may or may not know I like any excuse to try a new Social Media platform. I chose to use Posterous as I had never even heard of it before today and if you are interested, here is a link to my reflections blog. I know the content may not interest you however take a moment to appreciate the layout - better than your average progress journal.

I also had to part with 4 months rent today which really made my bank balance ache - £1300 - ouch! Looks like I could be living in my overdraft for a while..

Instagram - week #3.

Being the first week of lectures I haven't had much time to blog however I have had time to compile this weeks Instagram photos..

#1 - Sophie enjoying the view.

#2 - Pretty Manchester.

#3 - Barbie pink nails.

#4 - Friday night wine with Nancy.

#5 - Glee, cookies and blogging - student life.

#6 - My reasons to be happy, coffee is number 1 of course.

#7 - My face which you will have probably already seen in my side bar.

#8 - Empty bottles of wine - oops!

The first week of lectures has been very successful, I even enjoyed the modules that I thought I'd hate with is a;ways a good start. I haven't been able to go out at all this week due to lack of funds however I have a trial shift at the Manchester Museum Cafe on Wednesday so I have everything crossed - always wanted to work in a coffee shop and really could do with the money.

I tried a new approach to food shopping this week, I wrote a shopping list. I do love making lists but have never really thought about making a food shopping list and turns out it made my life so much easier! Despite spending almost £30 on food (eek!) I ended up avoiding picking up anything and everything that took my fancy. 

That's about it for this week, apart from the fact that on Friday I'm city hopping to Liverpool to visit Stacy for her 20th birthday (blog post to follow) which I am so looking forward to as I haven't seen my friends from home since moving back to Manc.

Primark haul.

So I had the perfect winter boots, but no other wintery clothes to go with them. I knew I wanted some chunky knitwear that I can wear with leggins or skirts and tights however wasn't prepared to pay Topshop's £36 for one jumper. In this situation, every student knows that there is one answer - Primark. I managed to pick up two jumpers and a skirt, all for the price of just one knitted jumper from Topshop.

 Jumper #1 - Primark £12

Jumper #2 - Primark £12

Skirt - Primark £12

I love the minty colour of jumper #1, and the contrast of the body and sleeves in jumper #2. The pleather type silver skirt is a bit edgier than my normal style however I picked it up anyway and love it! I can dress it up with heels and a jacket or down with one of my jumpers and tights. I find that Primark can be quite hit and miss but definitely a hit this time - I recommend browsing the huge collection of reasonably priced knitwear.

I had my first 9am lecture this morning and it was hell getting up at 7am, I can't remember I last saw that early! But it was nice to see the girls on my course properly and the coffee break between lectures certainly made up for the early morning. I was nicely surprised when I arrived back home to find that Beccy and Nancy had made me pancakes - perfect timing as I was shaking from too much coffee and no food.

This afternoon it's stopped raining (touch wood) for the first time in 3 days and I feel like I should be out making the most of it, however the magnetic pull of my duvet and CSI is a little too strong today.