Meet the feminist, illustrator, and author of your dreams
Pic from @florencegiven
Florence Given is quite simply, revolutionary. At just 21 years old, she’s managed to create an empire for herself as a sustainable, eco-friendly, fashionable, feminist illustrator and soon-to-be author.
Named Cosmopolitan Influencer of the Year in 2019 at just aged 20, Florence’s witty tote bags and tongue-in-cheek poster prints are now some of the most sought after merch on Instagram. And why wouldn’t they be? With catchy phrases like ‘Life’s short, dump them’, ‘A woman on her own isn’t waiting for you’ , ‘Love sex, hate racism’ and my personal favourite ‘I am the love of my own life’, it’s no wonder these items are popular and have now made it onto clothing. What’s even better about these T shirts and sweatshirts, is that the are all sustainable, Earthaware and are made from organic or recycled materials. They are also GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and PETA certified.
What’s more, head to her Instagram, and you’ll find a wealth of feminist, anti-racist, female-loving, eye-opening and frankly, fantastic content and illustrations. Personally, I think Florence is extremely adept at highlighting and calling out injustices in our society, whether they are relating to abuse, internalised misogyny or declaring that ‘white people we have work to do’. Even when it comes to topics like female shame and female pleasure, Florence has some inspirational insights. One particular post about early experiences of pleasure for young girls stood out to me, as did a quick snapshot of her upcoming book where she mentions that she has a whole chapter that unpacks the concept of prettiness as a currency, and how women can use it to make their lives ‘easier’. This is then juxtaposed with the fact that we all experience feminine pressure to perform in a certain way, and that this layering of femininity has a thicker coating for marginalised women.
If reading these kind of insightful, powerful pieces gets you half as excited as me, then you need to become Floss obsessed. And you need to do it now.
