CONTRACEPTION: THE LOW DOWN

Tuesday

I asked on Instagram and Twitter for people's experiences with different types of contraception and I got more responses than expected. The amount of responses I got shows me that it is something a lot of people, mainly women do want to talk about as it affects people so differently and these affects can often be quite negative.

The contraceptive pill

Here are some examples of the responses I received from women currently using contraception, I won't be using names:

"The implant gave me a month long period."
"Mood swings on the first pill now I have changed I feel fine."
"Rigevidon made me feel really down and angry."
"The pill made me put on sooo much weight and became so spotty until I came off it."
"The pill made me feel depressed."
"The pill made me feel like I was so down and alone, I also gained weight, skin was horrible."
"The injection f*cked me up, I got super depressed. I stopped doing things and stopped going into college. Never again"
"I've had a bad experience on so many pills including Yasmin, Microgynon, Cerelle. Problems included weight gain, nausea, the worst skin and pain. I hate the pill."
"The pill is amazing for me but I had the worst mental health and doctors wouldn't take me off it because it was 'too soon', they told me to give it a chance."

The main purpose of this post is to make people think about how important it is to find the right contraception for you or your partner because there are so many horrible side affects as you can see from the responses above.

Firstly, I need to emphasise that everyone is affected differently by different forms of contraception and by no means should anyone be scared off it by this post. I am just trying to educate people on possible side affects so that people make sure they get what is right for them. There are so many different types of contraception that I didn't even know about. Researching this has been a learning curve for me too.

I didn't really have sex education at my school after the age of 12, and then it was about periods and stuff rather than being safe with sex. When we did learn about it at school we just learnt about condoms which are obviously a good form of contraception as they also protect against STI's but they are not the only form of contraception out there.

If you are like me and the thought of an injection, implant or coil really cringes you out then there are lots of different types of pills that do different things to your hormones and have different amounts of hormones in them.

Due to the amount of negative responses about contraception side affects, it seems to me like women have to go through a trial and error process before they find a good contraceptive that suits them. In my opinion, doctors should be doing more to make sure pills and other contraceptives aren't harming people.

In my experience, they gave me 3 months worth of pills to start with before checking my blood pressure again and prescribing me another 3 months worth of pills at the end. Now, they give me 6 months worth at a time and will only give me a pill check every 12 months where they will check my blood pressure again. They have never once asked me about my mental health and the pill and other contraceptives have seemed to have affected the mental health of a number of women.

One of the responses above, refers to the implant and mental health. She said she had told the doctors she didn't want the implant anymore as she knew it affected her mental health in a negative way. The doctors thought it was too soon, seemingly ignoring her request and disregarding the severity of the effect it was having on her mental health.

People using words such as "depression" when it comes to contraception just goes to show the severity of the effect it can have on mental health. In extreme cases, it could possibly make girls and women feel suicidal. If there is a chance that this could happen, isn't asking how your mental health is in on a pill check the least doctors could do? I am not saying no doctors ask, I am just basing this on my own experience and those of my followers.

It is also important that men understand the possible side affects women could be facing just to sleep with them. It's important to spot differences in women's mental health and attitudes in case they are being affected by contraception. It's also important to support them through the decisions they make about contraception as these decisions often concern men too.

My advice would be make sure you research contraception before you decide what would be best for you. If you do hear bad things about certain types, remember that it might not be the same for you as all types of contraception affects people differently. It is all about what suits you. Finally, don't put sex before your mental health.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Friday

This month is Women's History Month and Friday is International Women's Day. To celebrate this day I will be sharing with you some of the most iconic, influential women to me. As a woman who studies gender inequality, this day holds significance for me. These women are in no particular order.

1. Jo Kenny (my mum). The most iconic woman by far, who always enjoys life while drinking a glass of prosecco or G&T. She cooks the best lasagne and roast dinners. She also managed to still be an amazing mum by herself when my dad had to go away with work (My dad is also iconic and fab).

2. Frida Kahlo. A Mexican artist, well-known for her self-portraits and exploring questions of gender, postcolonialism, class and race in her art.

Frida Kahlo self portrait

3. Emmeline Pankhurst. She led the suffragette movement for the women's right to vote and she played a big role of winning the vote for women in the UK.

4. Emily Davison. A suffragette who fought for women's right to vote in the UK. She went on hunger strike seven times and was force fed on forty-nine occasions. She was also arrested over ten times for her dedication to winning the vote for women.

5. Dolly Parton. Her song 9 to 5 for the movie 9 to 5 (1980) exposes the inequality women have faced in the workplace being secretaries, while only men have had power.

6. Jameela Jamil. A British actress and activist. She promotes body positivity for women on social media. She has started the I Weigh movement on Instagram for body positivity.


Image result for reese witherspoon legally blonde
7. Michelle Obama. As first lady of America, she was, and still is a role model for women. She has also worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education and nutrition.

8. Cher. She has been an icon for females during her six decade career.

9. Reese Witherspoon. Not only did she play the iconic Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, a game changer for teenage girl movies, but she also won Glamour's woman of the year award in 2015. Her "What do we do now?" speech also changed the game for women in acting.

10. Beyoncé. One of the most influential female music artists for women to date.

11. Ariana Grande. God is a woman, and it is Ariana Grande. After everything that has happened to her in the last few years with the Manchester Attack and Mac Miller, she is still putting out chart-topping music and still continues to be one of the most influential women.

12. Malala Yousafzai. An activist from Pakistan. The Taliban stopped girls from going to school and after fighting against this she was shot in the side of the head. After a miraculous recovery, and telling her story, she is now studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the university of Oxford, UK.

Adoah Aboah from Gurls Talk podcast13. Rosa Parks. In the 1950s in America, it was a rule that seats on buses would be given up for white people if the bus was full. Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat. Well-behaved women are not the ones who make history.


14. Audrey Hepburn. An actress who used her platform to become a humanitarian.

15. Katherine G Johnson. Her mathematical calculations of orbital mechanics allowed the first subsequent US manned spaceflights. You have probably heard of Neil Armstrong instead, the first man on the moon.

16. Sandra Bullock. American actress and philanthropist.

17. Jane Fonda. An American actress, also an activist for feminism and she campaigned against the Vietnamese War.

18. Kehlani. Despite attempting suicide, she continues to make music and promotes being a strong woman.

19. Adwoa Aboah. Activist and model who founded GURLS TALK, a website, Instagram page, and podcast for women. At the moment, she is campaigning against period poverty which is a huge problem in the world today. Some women across the world cannot afford their necessary sanitary products.

20. Marie Curie. She changed the world by founding radioactive science and launched effective cures for cancer. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and first female professor at the University of Paris.

25 NETFLIX SHOWS YOU MUST WATCH

Monday

If you love sitting in and watching Netflix but you can't always decide what to watch then keep reading. I have made a list of all the shows I have liked and would recommend in no particular order. It is a real struggle not being able to choose what to watch on Netflix.

1. Gossip Girl a lot of people have seen this but it is a good one to re-watch when you think you have watched everything. I know I always go back to it when I have nothing else to watch.

2. Pretty Little Liars another teen girl classic that lots have people have also seen but every time you watch it you find out more and more stuff that you probably missed first time.

3. Forensic Files everyone loves a good true crime documentary and the episodes are only 20 minutes long.

4. You it really makes you think about how easy it is to be stalked from your social media accounts. Also its just interesting and dramatic.

5. Full House a feel good 80s/90s sitcom.

6. Fuller House a reboot of the original (Full House) with the kids as parents.

7. Atypical easy to watch high school drama that also creates more autism awareness.

8. Insatiable another teen girl drama but it gets very dark at times.

9. Blue Planet Sir David Attenborough. Need I say more?

10. Planet Earth same reason as number 9 and animals.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race no tea no shade hunty.

12. Killer Kids the most messed up murder documentary there is. Each episode shows a different theme of killing and all the murders are done by children.

13. Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution because we should all be educated on the history of the holocaust, with Auschwitz being the most notorious concentration camp.

14. 13 Reasons Why very though provoking and controversial.

15. Gavin and Stacey a British comedy classic, a national treasure.

16. Luther Idris Elba is the protagonist and the crimes are more messed up than normal crime dramas which makes it more exciting and sometimes scary.

17. Friday Night Dinner another British comedy, Inbetweeners level funny (almost).

18. Skins good to watch and re-watch. Another classic British show but it is more of a drama.

19. Orange is the New Black comedic, dramatic and also represents many different types of women instead of a stereotype. It also gives us an insight to prison life that we wouldn't normally get.

20. Grace and Frankie highlights ageism as a social issue that people may not usually think about because it is typically young people that watch Netflix. Other than that it is easy to watch.

21. The Good Place this is like nothing I've ever watched before. Not only is it funny but it also contains lots of philosophical theory and the storyline is very fast-paced and exciting.

22. Big Mouth good to watch if you have a childish sense of humour like me.

23. Ted Bundy Tapes everyone is talking about this series and everyone likes murder documentaries for some odd reason. They are just so interesting.

24. Inside the World's Toughest Prisons this gives an insight into prisons around the world that is unlike that of Orange is the New Black as this is a non-fiction series.

25. Dogs a pure documentary about how dogs are the best and we don't deserve them. It might make you cry.

Thank you for reading! Let me know your favourite Netflix shows, especially if they aren't on here because I am always looking for new programmes to watch.

DORTMUND CHRISTMAS MARKETS

Tuesday

In December, I had the pleasure of visiting Dortmund, Germany just before Christmas. I went with my family, boyfriend and family friends. My dad drove us there and we caught the Euro tunnel which was exciting because I hadn't done that before (I am rather easily pleased).