Scarlett Curtis

‘Do you want me to be honest? Because if I was being honest I would say that I’ve lived my whole life being defined by other people. And after twenty-seven years of that it’s pretty easy to forget who you believe you are. When I’m harassed, or threatened, or insulted, or even when I’m made to feel invisible, I can be either or both of those options. As well as a million more.

I’ve learned feminism isn’t a corporate scam to sell more shit to women and profit from girl power. The world needs the reassurance that feminism can create monumental change

My confidence wasn’t shaken until nearly a year after I had launched VLW. I had been having coffee with someone I considered a mentor – an older, white male, who told me in good faith, ‘Be very non-threatening, Alaa; don’t freely give your opinions,’ after I had told him about a heated debate I’d had with a colleague. When I asked what he meant, he elaborated: ‘There are going to be four challenges that you’re going to come across in your career: your background (Libyan), your faith (visibly Muslim), your gender (a woman),’ and then he said with a laugh, ‘the last one you’re lucky – you’ll grow out of it – and that’s your age.’

It was the first time I had felt like it didn’t matter how hard I worked, how much I applied myself, and that in order for me to ‘succeed’ I would have to minimize myself to create comfort for others.