Sisterly unity.

I’m an only child so the concept of sisterhood is something I don’t experience personally. I have always been an outsider looking in on the bonds shared between sisters. My mom, funnily enough, comes from a family of five (four of which are women) so her entire life has been about solid female bonds.

But over the years (and quite recently) I’ve been lucky to forge some incredible friendships with women who come from different backgrounds, cities and cultures. It just feels like there’s a shift towards having a supportive sisterhood, something that’s clearly encouraged by the focus on T-Swift and her “squad”.  Not that it’s something new at all.

I was having a discussion with a friend (who happens to be an author of a children’s book) and just chatted about the fact that women of colour/black women are supporting each other in ways that are so incredibly necessary. Especially in a world that honestly couldn’t give a flying shit about women, non-binary people and trans* women. The sentiment seems to be – I gotchu boo, go do the damn thing.

Not only that, it’s so clear the support structure spans beyond traditional sources of communication. Usually, we’d only know the women in our circles from roaming in the same crowds.

The internet has completely shattered those boundaries, leaving the world open to us all. From online friendships via Twitter and Tumblr to meeting your friends via IG – the sisterhood permeates throughout all facets of our lives. It’s not weird to form friendships across hemispheres – why the hell not?

I definitely feel like since we don’t often having affirming spaces – that the gist is to create them yourself.

Create your own collectives, support your fellow artists and sometimes making sure you’re monetising that. And with this sense of sisterhood and womanism and just trying to make the damn life thing work – there is so much to be done.

However, with that being said  – I am adamant that all women don’t need to khumbaya around a bonfire and be besties because feminism. We’re not all going to get along and I don’t have to support a cause solely because it’s run by women. A mediocre product is still mediocre regardless of who is behind you.

I don’t have to like you to fight for your rights. But best believe, that I will.

(This post was partially inspired by this cool Broadly vid)

When my mom moved to another small coastal town, she was often called a witch by the residents who had never come across a woman like her before. I was still a church-going child and  really disturbed by it – but she told me, “Witches stick together, so that’s great.” This short film is pretty cool.