Inspirational Blog Posts You Should Read ASAP

As I'm typing this, it's Friday morning and I'm on the train to work desperately wanting to get one of many blog post ideas written out - it's called having a work/life balance apparently.

Ali Caitrin has had to take a step back lately while I've been getting to grips with big but positive changes in my personal life. Yet the blogosphere still keeps on rolling and great content is being created all the time.

Having this realisation (or what I like to call a light bulb moment) made me want to share five the posts that I've gained some important lessons from reading recently. After all, sharing is caring right?

Awesome Books By Women to Add to Your TBR

It's no secret that I am quite the bookworm and one of the reasons why I love reading so much is because I get to discover more inspiring people and learn about their life experiences that may be different to my own.

International Women's Day wasn't that long ago and it reminded me that as great and powerful as the campaign is, it's something that we should be pushing for all the time not just for one day of the year. In the spirit of this revelation, I want to share seven books that I believe embody the spirit of celebrating women's achievements whilst acknowledging the biases we are still having to face today.

Plus who doesn't love getting some book recommendations?

4 Reasons Why I Hate The Term Friend Zone

Have you been annoyed by something that happened a while back yet to this day it still makes your blood boil? Well that's basically the reason behind me writing this post.

I have lost count of the amount of times I was told I was "friend-zoning" someone but if you're one of the lucky ones who have never heard of this term before then I'll leave the definition of it below:

"A SITUATION IN WHICH A FRIENDSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE, ONE OF WHOM HAS SEXUAL INTEREST IN THEM WHILE THE OTHER PERSON DOESN'T AND WANTS TO STAY AS FRIENDS."

Now please don't get this confused with someone who has genuine feelings and is disappointed because that's a completely normal way to feel. No, this term solely applies when said person only pretends to be friends with another person to get something out of it in the long run i.e. sex.

If you're someone who doesn't think this is problematic then my four reasons for hating it might make you want to have a rethink.

Why I Need Feminism

Normally when I tell people that I identify myself as a feminist the first thing they ask is "Why?" or I get given a strange look like I've just casually sworn at them. There still seems to be a lot of misconceptions about being a feminist (I done a post about it here) so I'm writing this to talk about feminism from my perspective. Not that I feel I need to justify myself because I do feel like more people are starting to understand the true meaning of feminism, I just want to talk about issues that are important to me that lead me to believe feminism is still very much needed. So from now if anyone asks me why I'm a feminist, I'll be sending them straight here!

“Feminism is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men, it does not mean you hate girls that have nice legs and a tan, and it does not mean you are a bitch or a dyke. It means you believe in equality.” ― Kate Nash

My Open Letter to Overweight Haters Ltd

Dear Overweight Haters Ltd,

Today as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed I saw an specific tweet that caught my eye about man going round fat shaming women on public transport, and that man was someone representing your 'organisation'. I don't have a photo of the card that was being given out to innocent women on trains minding their own business so for anyone that hasn't seen it, I'll leave the quote below:

Our organisation hates and resents fat people. We object to the enormous amount of food resources you consume while half the world starves. We disapprove of your wasting NHS money to treat your selfish greed. And we do not understand why you fail to grasp that by eating less you will be better off, slimmer, happy and find a partner who is not a perverted chubby-lover, or even find a partner at all. We also object that the beatiful pig is used as an insult. You are not a pig. You are a fat, ugly human.

I am a Feminist

Helloo Everyone,

My name is Ali and I'm a feminist! When typing that I felt like I was at one of those meetings when you know they're like "Let's go around the room and introduce ourselves and say why we're here" haha! Anyway back to what I was saying, yes I do in fact class myself as a feminist. A few people have asked me in the past when did I first call myself a feminist and to be honest with you I'm not eternally sure? I know it was only a couple of years ago because I never knew what feminism really was until I started university; I think that's when I started to grow up more and learn things for myself! I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this post but I will say this is not me necessarily telling you should be a feminist.. Don't get me wrong I do wish that more people (both women and men) were, but I also believe it's a decision you have to make yourself but if while reading this post helps you make up your mind then I'm happy!