The Female Struggle Is Real

Climate change can feel like an overwhelming issue and even if you want to try and make a difference, sometimes it's difficult to know what's the best thing to do! Do I buy loose apples grown in Turkey, or plastic-wrapped apples grown in the UK? Do I attend that environmental activist demonstration despite not agreeing with some of their methods? Do I reconsider having children to slow the population rate?! I get the facts from climate scientist Dr Michelle Cain, meet Indy, Mila and Eve, year 7 girls that have regularly been attending the climate change marches, and head down to an Extinction Rebellion protest on Waterloo Bridge.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you feel a pressure to wear make-up to work? In this episode I ask whether women feel obliged to wear make-up in the workplace and if so, why? I chat to Rebecca Creer, spas and styling manager at Virgin Atlantic airways, about their new grooming policy and digital editor of Grazia, Rebecca Reid who stopped wearing make-up to work a few years ago. I also meet up with Alice who was rejected from a job interview because of her physical appearance.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the first ever time, we took The Female Struggle is Real on the road to the South Place Hotel for a very special episode: The Female Struggle with Sex LIVE, supported by PLSRX. With special guests Oloni, Reed and Florence (from Comecurious) and Dr Karen Gurney, we chatted anal, polygamy and ‘devil dick’!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Body hair: we all have it and yet us women are conditioned to believe that we should be hairless! So why are we shaving it all off?! I speaker to Laura Jackson, founder of the Januhairy campaign, and activist Harnaam Kaur, who, due to a medical condition, has a beard and moustache. I also pay a visit to Pulse Light Clinic to experience the beauty treatment the Kardashians rave about: laser hair removal.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What better way to celebrate International Women's Day than chatting about feminism! A recent news article claimed that only 1 in 5 women would call themselves a feminist, but why is the number so small? Why are so few of us calling ourselves feminists in 2019? I chat to academic and activist Dr Pragya Agarwal about why we're still so afraid of the word, and hear from loads of you about what feminism means to you personally.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Natural Cycles is the first app on the market that's officially a form of contraception. 'How do you use an app as contraception?' I hear you cry! It uses an algorithm to track your ovulation so you know when and when not to have unprotected sex. As a completely natural form of contraception, it sounds wonderful, but it's also left many women with unwanted pregnancies. I speak to two of those many women, Katherine and Pippa and the founder of the app, Elina Bergland.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Contraception is a faff and it's hard to find the right method that works for you. A male contraceptive pill has been promised for years but despite scientists like Dr Stephanie Page (she's on the pod!) researching it for decades, when it's readily available, will men actually take it?!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

All of us have suffered with heartbreak in some form or another, but have you ever had your heartbreak splashed all over the papers? I chat to Stephanie Saint-Remy from Married at First Sight about her (very) public heartbreak, I hear from Bernisha about her wedding gone wrong and I learn about the science behind our broken hearts.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ask women what the bane of their lives is and most of them will say PERIODS. Every month we welcome a stream of blood from our genitals reminding us that we're able to reproduce, but my oh my are there problems along the way. I chat to Amika George about her Free Periods campaign, Katy Johnson describes the pain of suffering with endometriosis and as voted by you on a poll on Twitter, I try a mooncup, lol. Maybe don't listen while you're eating your breakfast...    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Social media can be exhausting. Struggling to think of what to tweet, or wondering how to engage your instagram followers in a new and exciting way. Sometimes you just need to take a breath and look at the world around you by coming completely offline. I talk to blogger Alice Catherine about having a career online, take some time out myself at Glamping the Wight Way and speak to Susan Maushart who took part in a (very!) brave social experiment.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ahhhh fitness. The worst enemy that we love to hate. Why is it such a struggle? I speak to fitness vlogger Carly Rowena about how she went from a casual gym-goer to a super ripped fitness pro, and chat to Amy Palmiero-Winters, who despite the odds, overcame some huge hurdles on her fitness journey. Plus, of course I record myself doing a HIIT workout!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What a great excuse to talk everything BOOBS! I hear your three word boob reviews, talk to Annie about her mastectomy story, and find out why I was using a glue gun at a special boob event!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I hope you enjoy this International Women’s Day special episode of The Female Struggle is Real. It features loads of messages from you about amazing women. Some of them include Caitlin Moran, Stacey Dooley, Princess Sophia and Margaret Hamilton.Of course I chat about why it’s so important that we have an International Women’s Day and tell you about some of my favourite women too!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The beauty world is an ever-growing one, so it seemed only right that I should delve in and try to find out where this contour-crazed phenomenon started! I discuss the history of beauty with Senior Lecturer Jill Burke (some crazy recipes for hair removal in there!), I chat to internationally famous make-up artist Wendy Rowe, and get my eyebrows microbladed! There might even be a cheeky giveaway in this episode too!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Although it was a tricky one to record, I wanted to do a podcast about sexual assault. I speak to the CEO of sexual assault charity, Safeline, and chat to my sister about her personal experiences of sexual assault. Chloe gets in touch about her horrific experience and I confront my own sexual assaulter from university. It might be a difficult listen, but I hope it gets you talking.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Despite the rain, mud and portaloos, I delved into the world of festivals as I headed to Wilderness in Oxfordshire! I was lucky enough to chat to the absolute babe that is Laura Mvula about being a woman in the music industry and the pressures that come with it. Plus I spoke to festival organiser John Amps about what’s involved in programming a main stage. If you've never been to a festival, I hope by the end of this episode you'll have signed yourself up for one!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can you believe that I have never been to a wedding! So in this episode, I want to find out the struggle people go through for their perfect day.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Let's face it, loads of us struggle with acne... In this episode I discuss my skinsecurities (made that word up lol), chat to some of you who have been on roaccutane, and get tips from cosmetic dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting on what to do if you have acne-prone skin!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm talking all about Cervical Smear Tests in episode 3 of The Female Struggle is Real. I speak to Kate from Cervical Cancer charity Jo's Trust, have some lols stories from all of you about your smear test experiences, and... play what happened when I went for my very first smear test (yes I recorded the whole thing)! #BeCervixSavvy   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, I delve into the world of online dating. I'll be chatting to dating blogger Vix Meldrew, about how to stay safe online and Tom Holland who met his fiancé on Tinder!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.