Internation Women’s Ads.

International Women’s Day has been celebrated every year on 8th March since 1977 (a date that the UN declared would be dedicated to women’s rights everywhere). Here’s some coolsh*t that brands did to mark the day. My fav is Apple’s inclusive “Behind the Mac” ad – which features the often-forgotten founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, as well as DJ Switch, the 12-year-old Ghanaian DJ who founded the DJ Switch Foundation, which advocates for quality education and gender equality among other things. A firm pat on the back goes to these brands for highlighting and championing some of the issues and individuals that IWD is all about.

All Around The World.

This collection of photographs show how IWD was celebrated around the world this year – from protests in Kyrgyzstan and Islamabad, to marches in Brazil and the Philippines. In a show of sisterhood and strength, women rallied together to highlight gender inequality through demonstrations, community festivals and online campaigns – reminding us that IWD is not a luxury and how important it is to acknowledge all women, and their lived experiences, everywhere. Except Katie Hopkins.

Big Up Yourself.

In 2012, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie told us that we “teach girls to shrink themselves”. Well, in an effort to combat this, new app BigUp.AI encourages women to ditch the passive language we so frequently use, and practice using a more assertive tone when we speak about ourselves. The app formulates enhanced sentence suggestions from single descriptive words, for example: the word “confidence” is pimped up to become “My actions are conducted with powerful self-assurance”. Try it out now and start giving yourself the props you deserve.

Breast Friends.

Animator, <a href=”https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/caitlin-young-breast-friends-animation-090320″>Caitlyn Young</a>, has crafted a 3-minute peek into the inner dilemmas of a woman battling with wanting to be a “good feminist”, challenging the patriarchy and its beauty standards – whilst also wanting to conform to those standards. The tongue-in-cheek animation features a female protagonist who argues with her mean, hyper critical breast, who attempts to pressure her into extreme dieting and plastic surgery. Think devil on the shoulder but instead of a shoulder it’s a right boob and instead of a devil, it’s a shallow, cigarette-toking, wine-guzzling nipple.

Watch the hilarious, and relatable, film here.

New Nude.

Representation matters guys, which is why this group of women of colour painting themselves nude is so important – and needed! Artists Bianca Nemelc, Monica Hernandez, Hiba Schahbaz and Nadia Waheed are dismantling the standard example of the female nude and taking up space in the art world with their challenges to conventional beauty and femininity – while also confronting the male gaze. Take a look at their work and read up on how their heritage and experiences influenced their artistry.

Wash Your Lyrics.

We couldn’t completely ignore this could we.

If you’d asked me a couple weeks ago if I know how to wash my hands, my reaction would have been equal parts amusement and bemusement. How dare you call my hand hygiene in to question! But as it turns out, we’re all probably a bit crap at it. 20 seconds is the new benchmark for passable paw purity and nobody should be falling short of that mark. But who can be bothered to count to 20? Fortunately, now you don’t have to – thanks to the ‘Wash Your Lyrics’ generator, which creates hand-washing infographics timed to your favourite song lyrics. So simply load up your favourite Lizzo track, follow the instructions on the poster, and rest easy in the knowledge that you’re fulfilling your civic duty. In the words of the NHS: ‘Don’t be a mug, give your hands a scrub’.