*If by her you mean an independent-minded individual with her own unique interests and a passing interest in feminism.
It’s that time of year again: the time when we’re bombarded with asinine ‘gift sets’ on
the shelves of every supermarket and Boots (who buys a loofah
and tube of body lotion that costs £15??) and in the pages of every newspaper, lazily collated according to ‘category of people’.
Our society makes a lot of noise about
individualism, but come December 1st we are suddenly defined by
gender, age, or by single interests (gifts for
‘arty people’, gifts for ‘science buffs’).
I personally believe that an individual personality can just about cope
with the contradictions of being simultaneously interested in art and politics without fracturing into a million confused
pieces.
HussPost’s Number One tip for Christmas gift giving is honour the individual. Which is
a vaguely fortune-cookie way of saying that gift-giving is all about
identifying what the person themselves likes and buying accordingly - something our wonderful readership surely already know. To counter the endless stream of
adverts implying that all women want for Christmas is perfume,
jewellery, expensive skincare products, and perhaps a few items for the household, we've handily collated some alternative gift choices for the feminist in your life. Oh, and there are
no ‘must-buys’ here - unless you are literally talking about food or
life-saving medicines, nothing MUST be bought. Stick that in your consumerist pipe and smoke
it, women’s magazines.
Or pretty much any from Feminist Apparel, though I thought the parents might balk at my first choice, the ‘Feminist as F**k’ Christmas jumper.
If you love dystopian fiction while having a soft spot for feminist undercurrents (of course you do) this 2009 Hugo-prize winning novel by Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a gripping narrative in which female characters play a decisive role. Perfect for curling up with in between Christmas lunch and Doctor Who.
This Feminist Reunion of the Socialist League poster is even in a festive red. Who says socialism and the season of rampant consumerism don't mix?
For all your new year travels to
international feminist conventions.
For the technology-loving feminist.
THESE ALTERNATIVE GIFTS
For those of you who want to feel like you’re making a positive difference to the world at this ‘time of giving’ (well, a different kind of positive to the happiness created by receiving a feminist gift…) You also get a free chocolate goat with any Oxfam Unwrapped order. (On a side-note, I feel the goat is generally, and unjustly, overlooked when it comes to use as a chocolate shape).
This subversively comic collection of essays feels like the perfect Boxing Day Morning reading with a cup of coffee and/or glass of bubbly, for later conversational dissection over bubble-and-squeak.
Not specifically feminist in nature, but helps to fuel the tipsy conversations on smashing the patriarchy.
Pro-tip for those of us with more
EastEnders than East India budgets - apparently a test taste with a gin expert
found that an Aldi’s £9.65 was just as good as some of the much more expensive
brands, and knocked the socks off other more expensive supermarket
versions.
Merry Christmas Hussies!
NS
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