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the country is falling apart before our eyes!

the resignation of dominic raab and esther mcvey fills me with an odd mix of glee and dread. whilst the likelihood of a second referendum and possibly a general election has gone up, both of these outcomes will only be meaningful if they produce any change of circumstances. otherwise, a no deal situation will put the country into turmoil—the extent of which is terrifyingly unknown.

despite theresa may’s proposed deal from yesterday providing what was at the forefront of many brexiteer’s minds i.e. an end to free movement of people, she has experienced backlash from almost every faction of parliament. from the european research group to the labour party who will likely be subject to a three-line whip, it will be nigh mathematically impossible to get the deal through parliament. despite  theresa may’s determination to see through brexit, unlike the many rotating ministers that have served under her, most of the british public are exhausted.

people change their minds—it’s why we have (or are supposed to have) elections every five years. the arguments for a people’s vote make sense—conditions have changed completely since june 2016. we have gone from brexit being a hypothetical fantasy to a stark reality of medicine and food stockpiling. according to a guardian survey, over 100 seats that voted to leave now have a remain majority—these mostly being in northern labour heartlands. if jeremy corbyn can swallow his reservations and take a clear position on a second referendum, possibly including an option to remain in the eu, he may stand a reasonable chance of becoming the next prime minister.

may needs to accept the inevitable—if she wants to remain in her job, a people’s vote is the only reasonable way to prevent a general election in the immediate future.

as a footnote: if you are 16 or over, make sure you are registered to vote if you aren’t already. over a million young people have been enfranchised since 2016—and in the event of a people’s vote, our voices may swing the result.

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the IFF want you to know that skinning animals is on fleek

it’s said that most consumers our age have developed the habit of tuning out advertisements. we see too many to tell one from another. but while checking snapchat in typical gen-z fashion, i was greeted by an advert that caused me to do a double take: the #WEAREFUR campaign funded by the international fur federation (IFF).

seeing this between my friends’ holiday updates was a shock. never had i encounted something so political peppered with emojis.

the industry has long realised fur has a soiled reputation. as a young person myself, i think i’m accurate in saying that young people aren’t buying fur for two reasons:

1.       we can’t afford it. but that’s another blog post.

2.       we’re not such big fans of the slaughtering and skinning the fur industry relies on.

you’d think that through targeted advertising, they would have filtered me out as somebody who searches for vegan recipes regularly and clearly cares about animal rights. surely they wouldn’t want to market fur products to users concerned about ethical fashion?

but after some research, i have suspicions that they may have picked the snapchat screens of people like me on purpose.

high profile brands such as gucci and vivienne westwood have gone fur-free, and conversations with most people my age lead to the conclusion that fur farms are disgusting and cruel. the fur industry, in the interests of making money, have realised they need to market to the 21st century or else face extinction.

the angle they’re taking is that fur is a sustainable and ‘all-natural’ product. we’ve seen the rise in consumer demand for products branded ethical and green. as someone who does care about sustainable fashion, i’m the demographic they’re trying to win over.

the truth is that the processing of fur is detrimental to the environment in the same way that faux fur is. after all, it’s skin and hair from an animal that would quickly rot if not harshly treated with chemicals to prevent decomposition. further processes such as dying are no good for the planet either, but the IFF are conveniently ignoring that fact in their marketing. faecal waste from the animals is hazardous, and often seeps into the water supply. decomposition of the leftover carcasses creates greenhouse gases. the entire industry is an environmental nightmare.

a quick search of the #wearefur hashtag on twitter was shocking. far from the resistance and protest against the advert i would expect from young people, all i was able to find was fur brands advertising themselves. i also found details of an event held by the IFF. with young, trendy branding and a vogue sponsorship, REMIX was a design competition for young people judged on their sustainable use of fur. what???

the desperation in appealing to young people doesn’t end there. their instagram account @wearefur has 17,000 followers—and rarely gets above 200 likes on their photos. their arguments are obviously not good enough on their own, needing fake followers to back them up through the social proof principle.

and the layers of shadiness just keep unwrapping.  the ceo of the IFF is mark oaten—nowadays irrelevant, but previously a senior member of the liberal democrat party. he voted against the fox hunting ban in 2004, if you needed any more confirmation that he has no regard for animals.

as this exploitative and cruel industry dies out, there is no doubt that we’ll be seeing more and more attempts to claw back fur’s appeal to young people. social media advertising is on the rise, and this is open to not only brands, but ideologies too. keep doing what you do best, and tune them out.

bonus content:

https://twitter.com/FurEurope/status/928555526983528449

i can’t find the lyrics for this song anywhere else on the internet. i like to think mark oaten composed it himself.

-lizzie

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we kept trump out of london!

the deep disapproval for donald trump in this country has, this weekend, become tangible.  despite his conviction at the recent press conference in brussels when he assumed ‘they like me a lot in the uk’, his first official visit was met with rage from every side of the country—with a quarter of a million people attending the stop trump coalition demonstration yesterday, and more turning up in scotland today as he tries to sneak away and play golf.

most resonant was the unending list of issues on the placards. from the recent atrocities at the mexican border, to climate change denial, to the FOSTA regulations jeopardising the safety of sex workers, it seems as if trump has negatively affected almost every aspect of western society. the demonstration wasn’t on a particular issue—like the recent eu protests, or the infamous iraq war protests of 2003. this was resistance against everything that this one man represents. socialists turned out to fight corporate greed. feminists denounced his misogyny. countless sections of society all threatened by the worrying normalisation of fascism in america. even the contemporary jazz musicians had their own placard.

trump may have been grudgingly welcomed by the establishment. but 250,000 members of the public turned up and told him to get lost. more people than attended his presidential inauguration!

despite having to share a country with him, britain has had a success this weekend. a country known for a stiff upper lip has made an extraordinary display of fiery resistance, and frightened trump so much he barely visited the capital.

i’ve been told by many that protest has never changed policy. i don’t think this is the point. it’s incredible being surrounded as far as you can see by people equally as angry as you; people who also took time out of their day to stand up for themselves. whether this affects uk relations with trump or not, those who attended yesterday know that there is safety in numbers—and though a deflated wotsit is denying them what they deserve, there are so many others who will defend their rights.

-lizzie

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vegan fry up (starring tofu scramble)

yesterday i woke up from a nap and this was the only thing on my mind. when only a greasy plate of beige will do, this should do the job. serves one hungry person.

ingredients:

for the scramble:

- half a pack of tofu (any sort you have in the fridge, i use the cauldron marinated pieces)

- half a small onion, diced

- turmeric

- garlic granules

- salt + pepper

- soy milk

- (optional) nutritional yeast

for the rest:

- veggie sausages

- baked beans

- toast and spread

- tomatoes

method:

- heat some oil in a medium sized pan. add diced onions and cook until brown.

- crumble up the tofu, add to the pan, and stir with the onions on a medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

- add enough turmeric to turn the tofu an eggy-yellow. it should only take a small amount, and too much will ruin the flavour!

- add garlic granules and nutritional yeast (if you have it) to taste. stir.

- to prevent the mixture burning, top it up with unsweetened soy milk or water from time to time. this will also make the texture creamier.

- when you’re happy with the texture, take off the heat and season with salt and pepper.

- serve with grilled sausages and tomatoes, baked beans and hot toast!

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fashion forecast!

we survived the bastardised resurgence of 90s grunge fashion in 2014. we lived through the flaky matte liquid lipstick that went hand in hand with the brown lip from that same decade. bras under black mesh have been done to death.

it leaves you asking: what more can we beat out of this horse that's been dead for 20 years? empty out your wardrobe, because these are my top three guesses on what else topshop might decide to drag out of the 90s.

square toed shoes

patent ankle boots and strappy sandals are versatile high street staples, but i am sick to the stomach of everything i see being round toed. so much potential, and yet convention prevails. we've seen embroidery, velvet, and the block heel ease their way back into mainstream footwear since circa 2016. can we please have the silhouette that came along with them? we'll be getting kitten heels first at this rate.

penny lane/afghan coats

what are these called? terminology aside, they're cute and i want one. the inclusion of these fluffy faux suede/faux fur pieces on this list can be credited to two sources:

1. ross' british wife emily on friends.

2. early 2000s bratz dolls, who often paired them with a turtleneck and a miniskirt.

they're on this list because we haven't seen a new style of coat popular for a while. fur’s been in for some time now, and this is a variation on that same trend, whilst still being fresh. also it coincides with the chronological fact that these were popular at a slightly later date.

most saliently: chunky highlights

kendall jenner will see the light one of these days, and bring these beauties to the forefront of culture once more. it's been too long. even christina aguilera herself has had a revival before this.

bonus: colour palette

chartreuse, lilac, periwinkle, baby pink.

thanks for reading!

liz

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I’m a Glossier Rep!

dubbed the ‘cool girl brand of the moment’, glossier cosmetic products have been plastered across Instagram for, like, forever. the minimalist packaging, ‘cruelty free’ branding, and pretty indie girls twirling around in the american sunlight is enough to draw anyone in, including me.

i’m not actually a glossier representative, and you won’t catch me sending my friends links to buy sparkly lip balm that smells like birthday cake. however, the way that we live in the modern day almost forces us to advertise the brands we buy, for free—and this is unquestionably how glossier has achieved cult status in a matter of months. it’s how almost any millennial-geared brand gains traction nowadays. well-known names in cosmetics such as anastasia beverly hills owe their success story to Instagram, and internet celebrities such as zoella have empires built on selling their name to young girls.

i did actually get some stuff of my own. in a whirlwind of minimalism, i ended up with two blushers, a clear lip gloss and an eyeshadow stick, and realised that i’m going to have to send most of it back because the ingredients aren’t vegan.

what can be learned from this costly and embarrassing experience?

·         marketing is powerful: i believed that the 20% off i was getting was a bargain not to be missed, when this is actually offered to any new customer.

·         branding is powerful: the glowy, lace dresses, sunlight-through-the-window impression that glossier gave me was that ‘cruelty free’ meant not using ingredients made from pulped insects.

·         if you want 10% off glossier products you can use my link: http://bff.glossier.com/izrk6

lizzie

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were the spice girls feminist?

as a massive spice girls fan myself, my personal answer to this question would be unabashedly ‘yes’. their calls for ‘GIRL POWER!’ in interviews and press appearances called for a revolutionary spirit in little girls who are now in their thirties, inspiring them to be proud to be girls, and teaching them that gender shouldn’t stop them from chasing their ambitions.

but in hindsight, could we really consider them to be a ‘feminist’ group? did they inspire a new wave of female empowerment, or were they a hindrance to the movement?

first of all, i’d like to comment on one of the more lazy arguments used against the spice girls’ feminist credibility—their outfit choices. ginger spice, especially, is known for wearing revealing outfits on stage (i.e. the iconic union jack dress at the 1997 brits), and some might say this nulls any feminist message they may have been trying to put across. however, i think it’s important to remember different women are empowered in different ways. geri and mel b might feel more comfortable in skimpy outfits, but mel c is known for a more masculine, conservative look. and that’s okay! girl power is about feeling comfortable in yourself, and the spice girls exemplified that by each having their own distinct (albeit exaggerated by the media) styles and personalities.

many critics argue that the spice girls’ neatly-packaged, bubblegum approach to feminism was watered-down, and placed more importance on commercial appeal than substance. it appeared they were using traction from the ‘riot-grrrl’ feminist punk movement of the early ‘90s for their own lucrative gain. although this point has some credibility, i still think the message they put across was valuable, and more accessible to the young girls that admired them. also, surely anything that gets feminism into mass media must be a good thing? they may not have been responsible for sweeping political change, but songs like ‘do it’, ‘the lady is a vamp’, and (of course) ‘wannabe’, managed to get these positive messages about the importance of confidence and female friendship into the charts.

the fact that they are unashamedly a pop group didn’t mean they submitted to their (male) management though. in fact, they walked out on their management earlier in their career, because they wanted to make decisions for themselves. that, to me, is pretty ‘girl power’.

overall, i think the spice girls played an important part in bringing female empowerment (even if it was with a wink and a high kick) into the common consciousness. their influence can be seen today in countless girl groups, and the fact that they’re one of the most successful groups ever just shows how much their material resonated with the public.

lizzie white

@moveoverblog on twitter

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what’s this, then?

welcome to move over! 

inspired by zine culture and the mess of everything going on around us, move over is going to be a way of communicating with like-minded people and getting your voice heard.

whether it’s bonding over music and pop culture or shouting about what you believe in, all content is welcome!

think the aim here should be to create a fun platform that gives you the opportunity to engage with ideas, learn from other people, and have an outlet to express what you’re passionate about.

like a magazine anyone can write in!

lots of love, liz