The intersectional feminist, theorist, poet and critic bell hooks published the groundbreaking ‘Ain’t I A Woman? in 1981 – radically redefined our ideas of love and community.
Here are some of her most illuminating quotes:
⭐‘Satisfying friendships in which we share mutual love provides a guide for behaviour in other relationships, including romantic ones.’
📍Life lesson: We all sort of know it, but it’s important to remember that our friends are as important as our lovers
⭐‘The practice of love offers no place of safety. We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being acted upon by forces outside our control.’
📍Life lesson: Opening up to people is terrifying. But it’s still worth it in the long run – even if it is a little bit frightening
⭐‘No Black woman writer in this culture can write “too much”. Indeed, no woman writer can write “too much” … No woman has ever written enough.’
📍Life lesson: Women should keep going, even if it’s seen as difficult or unhelpful. There’s lots to say, and women should say it
⭐‘Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.’
📍Life lesson: Being by yourself is tough but it means you’re less likely to pick a partner because it’s cuffing season
⭐‘As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realised.’
📍Life lesson: Intersectionality! A significant part of bell hooks’s work is about how important it is for feminism to understand race, class and sexuality
⭐‘Living consciously is living with a core of healthy self-esteem. You will face reality, you will not delude yourself.’
📍Life lesson: Facing reality’ is a big ask when reality is another threatened Christmas. But this seems like something we should maybe stick on the mirror
⭐‘If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency.’
📍Life lesson: You are enough. Be comfortable in yourself, and stop relying on external forces for validation
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🎄Omicron is running amok in London, putting extreme pressure on the hospitality and entertainment sectors, just as businesses were expecting a bumper Christmas season.
📈Southwark and Hackney have been hit hardest, with cases increasing by more than 70% last week
💉To make matters worse, London has one of the highest numbers of unvaccinated people in the country.
According to official figures, approximately a third of Londoners haven’t received a single jab, and we’re also running behind on the booster rollout
‘In any kind of anxiety, we always go to the worst-case scenario – it’s called negativity bias. We have to pull ourselves back and say no, what’s the reality here? What’s actually happening, versus what we’re predicting might happen?’
❌Switch off from the news
‘We have to remember that the news is designed to hone in on that negativity bias, because it’s much more gripping for people. So you might make a decision that you’re going to watch one TV news programme once a day'
❌Since Boris Johnson announced England’s move to Plan B restrictions, bookings have plummeted, Christmas parties have been postponed and some restaurants are closing early for Christmas due to fears around the rising cases of Omicron. Everything feels very March 2020
😷While hospitality venues are currently allowed to continue to operate as normal – without the reinstatement of social distancing rules, table service or mask mandating – many are taking it upon themselves to protect the health of staff and customers
🎄Thankfully, it looks increasingly unlikely that the UK will be locked down again over Christmas.
🥼Yesterday England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty recommended people scale back on social interactions over the next week in order to avoid having to isolate over Christmas
🏘️This time last year all households were kept apart.
🎉Enforcing another festive lockdown would be unpopular among Boris Johnson’s own MPs and the wider electorate – particularly after recent scandals over Christmas parties held at Downing Street and the Tory party HQ in 2020
2021 has brought with it unique quirks that humankind has never endured before: seeing a man shove a flare up his butt to celebrate England’s football success, for a start.
It’s time to look back on the year-defining experiences of the last 12 months👇
📈The UK has moved into a new tier of ‘Plan B’ restrictions.
Faced with rising infection rates and the more transmissible Omicron variant, the country has announced new measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 and keep the virus from overwhelming the health system
⁉️What are the rules?
🔴Working from home is now strongly encouraged
🔴Face masks are now compulsory on public transport and in most indoor public spaces (but not in hospitality)
🔴The NHS health pass has been made compulsory in specific settings like clubs and large venues