alu

freelance journalist from toronto with a passion for photos

[alusviews]

WOMAN: Alex

(articles and pictures by alu)

Alex might be a Psychology student with one of the highest grades in her class, but her true love and passion for music shines through.

A closeted musician would be quite an accurate description of this young female who’s afraid of being vulnerable for people to hear.

“I like singing, playing the piano and playing the guitar. I make my own stuff and I have a lot of instrumentals that I make my myself, but I’m afraid to make myself vulnerable by writing words, so i never do anything with it,” says Alex.

That might be the case, but if you’re around Alex enough, you’re definitely going to hear her sing out loud - and she probably doesn’t realize it because it’s natural for her. You might also hear her sing covers on her Instagram page (@alexandra.hex) - but that’s not a reoccurring thing, so far.

”I was showing my sister the other day that I have a bunch of different voice notes and stuff on my phone that I’ve never did anything with, and I’m trying to do that. I’m just trying to be comfortable with expressing myself, but I’m super shy,” says Alex.

A feeling she says she loves is when she’s home alone and she gets to sing “super fucking loud”.

Vulnerability isn’t the only thing that Alex is finding challenging in her everyday life, stereotypes are too.

“If I go to my classes I put on makeup and people look at me, but I have one of the highest marks in my class. I feel like the playing field between men and women has always been, you have to strive three times as hard to get to where a man is for not even trying, or for even people to view you as smart enough, or pretty enough, or whatever. It’s so hard for a woman to just be. You can’t just be a bunch of things at once and be a person,” says Alex.

“Theres this cookie cutter way that women are supposed to be. You’re supposed to be a wife, a mom, you’re supposed to be only sexual and private with like one dude forever. But some women don’t want kids, me being one of them, and every time I say that, everyone is like “well what do you mean?”, “you have to be a mom”,  “you’re supposed to be one if you’re a woman”.  You’re supposed to be a wife, you can’t be a person who goes out and sleeps with a bunch of dudes if you want to. People have this image of what a woman looks like, or what a woman should or shouldn’t do. I feel like people should just let everyone be whatever the fuck they want to be,” added Alex.

Despite all of the good things a woman can do, or be, she’ll never be enough for society. People will always find a negative thing to say about any little thing. These are truly the things that help destroy women’s perception of life, people, and it can harm their self esteem.

Why not just uplift women instead of just messing with them emotionally and physically?

“Guys are very individual people and women are super in tune with their emotions. I feel like it’s a super individual experience to be a woman in itself but we can all relate,” says Alex.

Although Alex used to struggle with speaking up, she has hope to get past her issues with being vulnerable and finding the push to work more on her music.

[alusviews]

WOMAN: Cece

(articles and pictures by alu)

Insecurities within women can start at a young age and never leave. It takes some women years to become comfortable with expressing themselves freely, all while being their most authentic self- sometimes these women don’t even learn how to deal with their never-ending list of insecurities.

Being viewed as a funny girl who made jokes and made people laugh during her high school days, Cece found it really tough being taken seriously by her peers. Many people thought that because she was funny, she was never serious about anything.

“I feel like that (making people laugh) kinda has taken away from how people view me a little bit because any time I say something that I think of as importance, I’m immediately not taken seriously. That’s why in high school when people would say some problematic stuff, I’d try to call them out and they would laugh, but I was being serious, like you can’t be saying shit like that,” says Cece.

That’s why after high school, Cece decided to take matters int her own hands and try to fix what she didn’t like.

Starting with her Twitter account, she would use her page to openly talk about issues that she sees, or experiences. With her page she would express herself on things that she likes, doesn’t like, and things she would change, etc. This kind of became her platform - kind of like an open diary.

“I feel like that’s where most people hear from me, and it kind of helped because if you saw my tweets you’d know what not to say around me anymore. No one for some reason was getting the hint in person (beforehand), so I was like, fuck it”, says Cece, and that’s where the podcast comes in.

“When my friends and I started the podcast it was mainly because we all have a lot to say, but we felt that tweeting doesn’t always get your whole point across,” says Cece.

This was a chance for Cece and her friends (Lindsay and Rasheem) to go into depth on things like social issues and whats working and not within the music industry. It’s a platform for them to speak more without the restrictions on Twitter, like character counts.  

Although she might’ve not been completely comfortable with her voice in the past, Cece has learned to have more confidence as a woman and what being one entails.

“There’s like a really weird sense of unity within all women, I feel like we all understand each other and we all have roughly the same experiences. For the most part, I just like having other women around me because you just understand each other,” says Cece.

“People are just starting to understand that women are three dimensional, like you can be super closed off and like not be nurturing, but like still be 100 percent a woman, she added.

The lack of successful black women in the industry made it hard for Cece to be able to relate to growing up.

“If I could tell little Cece anything, I would tell her that being black doesn’t change your beauty, because growing up, black women weren’t allowed to be beautiful. I was always like by default oh ‘I’m ugly, I’m black, and I’m ugly’ - it made sense and it didn’t resonate with me until maybe I was like 13/14 and I was like ‘oh damn, Gabrielle Union was bad and it’s been engraved in my head my whole life because I went to white schools. No one was ever like ‘omg yeah go look at Whitney Houston she a baddie’. They’d be like ‘omg Megan Fox, she’s so pretty’ and don’t get me wrong, she bad, but I feel like I’d have a lot less insecurities had I not grown up like that,” Cece added.

But nowadays, the younger generation have people to look up to like Amandla Stenberg, which is an incredible, young, smart, driven and hardworking young woman that the younger generation can try and relate to - while looking up to her.

Having diverse and strong womanly figures with voices, that the youth can look up to is something that van definitely benefit our younger generation to be good, do good and to just feel beautiful in their own skin - no matter where you’re from, what shape you are, or what you look like.

[alusviews]

WOMAN: Jess

(article and pictures by alu)

If she’s not drawing, sketching, painting or creating, Jess is thinking of new ideas for future projects.

It’s non stop for this visual artist who’s always looking for inspiration on what she can work on next.

“I started off with portraits, I really liked drawing faces, but as I grew older I developed this certain kinda style. It’s inspired a lot from urban landscapes, graffiti, realism, dreams,  and  weird superstitious things. I guess I mostly draw women - my characters are mostly women because I find the most inspiration and beauty naturally flowing from women themselves,” says Jess.

Being a creative person in general can be hard, from dealing with self doubt, creative blocks, judgments or horrible criticism. Jess has personally felt that way in her time.

To help with those feelings and emotions, Jess likes to spend time alone and work on things with a clear mind.

“I personally feel my best when I’m alone in my bedroom and I have my books and my pens set up.  I like new beginnings - those make me happy in general. If I have a new book to read or a sketchbook, or a new page where I can make something new. That’s what gets me excited because it’s opportunity, hope, and I like that personalization of being able to create. That’s what makes me happy,” says Jess.

Inspiration can spark from anywhere at any moment, from hearing a snarky or witty comment someone makes, seeing a puddle on the ground, or even a stain on the wall, Jess is surrounded by things that can drive her to draw things and crate something from absolutely nothing.

On her instagram (@scissorhvnds), she promotes her artistic abilities and even showcases that she’s asked to be a part of.

As a woman, Jess says what she enjoys is having the ability to express herself and get along with other women who express themselves the same way.

Although not every woman chooses to express themselves through drawing, painting, or creating visual pieces like Jess does, women are able to understand each other and find things to relate to.

That’s something special that women have - whereas men usually always feel like they’re in competition with each other.

[alusviews]

WOMAN: GABY 

(article and pictures by alu)

She’s an aspiring Journalist from Toronto who is full of drive to help local artists gain exposure. She’s doing her part, from going to events, shooting pictures, interviewing people, writing articles. Gaby is full of love for the city that she was born and raised in - and she’s trying to give back with her skills, drive and passion. 

“I’m just really trying to help other people that are flourishing in Toronto, whether it be music, production, film, photography. I think that Toronto’s really on top of the scene right now, and the thing that we can do (to help doing that) is to give a platform to each other when we can,” says Gaby. 

In a conversation with Gaby, she brought up the fact that she’s struggled to be understood by her peers with her vision and goals. A lot of the time she feels like she’s not being taken seriously enough - unlike her male peers. The reason behind that is because she’s not interested in writing about politics, or hard news, she’s more into the local arts and entertainment scene.

This is another hardship that women have to face on a daily basis. Just because you’re into different things, you’re viewed in a negative way. This doesn’t make a person less capable, or even knowledgable on certain topics - so why judge? Women should have a chance to express themselves in a positive way, just like a man does, politics or no politics.  

Gaby often comes across women who actually help and support each other, which inspires her and even helps her to embrace the type of woman that she is. “Not only being a woman, but being a Latin woman, it has it’s ups and downs, too. Our name doesn’t sound as Eurocentric as other names that are here. I’ve had a scenario or two where just the sound of my name or my look hasn’t gotten me certain opportunities that it could’ve. Not to say that everyone is racist, but I do think that Latin women, or any women of minority can get the work done,” says Gaby. 

Which many Latina women - or women of minority can relate too. Not only is it hard being a woman in our society, but it’s definitely harder being a woman of colour. If your name is different, if you look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way, speak a different language - it can be seen negatively a lot of the times. This is definitely something that I can personally relate to. 

“When I got older, that’s when I woke up and smelt the coffee, and realized that I am looked at differently because of the way I look and the name I carry. That’s just the reality, but when I brought that up to my mom, she said it’s not really a limitation, it’s just something that’ll make you push more and work even harder,” she added.

Sometimes that reality check can help keep a person motivated. To work hard and want to do better, be better. Knowing that you have to prove yourself, whether it be because of your religion, race, skin colour, gender, sexuality. etc.

In Gaby’s case, she’s at a downfall because of her gender and race, which most women are. This doesn’t stop Gaby though, it just pushes her, and that should be what it does for every woman with a dream and a passion. No woman should have to limit herself because of what society wants you to be.If women lived their life the way that society wants them to, no one would be happy and everyone would be the same. There would be no good art, no good music, no good pictures, and the list can go on, and on. Nothing would be good - everything would be boring.

[alusviews]

 WOMAN : PATRICIA & RHEA

 (article and pictures by alu)

Two best friends who share a common love of fashion, makeup and the glam of it all!

Although these two have come from different backgrounds, their views are quite similar - those views are equality! both girls believe that being a male or female shouldn’t determine the way you get treated in the real world.

"Some of the challenges I face being a woman is being compared to my male peers and having the statistics against me,” says Patricia.

Sadly, being compared to males is something that almost every woman (to this day) is something they struggle to face in their everyday lives. From being at work, school, social events, etc.

“It’s not fair for a woman to be working twice or ten times as much as men. It’s just not fair,” says Patricia.

You would think that in 2018 women would have the same opportunities as men without being criticized for it or even held back. In many cases, women have to work 10 times harder just to prove to their peers that they’re just as capable to get the job done in comparison to a man. In many cases, women can do the job so much better than a man could.

If women don’t get the job done correctly - it’s automatically seen as they’re “dumb”. If a woman focuses on other things than her appearance, she’s automatically seen as “ugly” or “lazy”, and so on. Men get away with so much more in their everyday lives - and it’s no secret, either.  So why is it that people are still struggling to see women as equals to this day? It literally makes no sense.

When talking to Rhea about her experiences she raised an interesting point that not many other women talk about.

“I feel like I have this thing called pretty privilege. If I was less attractive as what society deems attractive, I would go through life differently. If I do wear my natural hair it brings challenges to my life. Like getting jobs, being taken seriously in academia, or in daily life,” says Rhea.

Being a woman of colour, she feels like she would have a harder time in society if she didn’t like to do her hair and makeup everyday.

Having a platform and spreading the word out to a big audience isn’t always the easiest thing, especially for women.

Women with voices and opinions are often seen as “problematic” or “attention seekers”, but if no one speaks up about these issues, how is society really going to evolve, and how will women really make a statement - that we are just as great, if not, we’re better.

If it was Rhea’s way, she’d combine her love for makeup and fashion, along with adding social issues in the mix.

“I’d talk about intersectional feminism - which would be the way that different identities of someones life intersect with each other and drives them to be the person that they are. For example, I would say that I am a black woman who is also bisexual, who is also a woman. All those things intersect and navigate my life,” says Rhea.

Luckily for both these women, they have a good head on their shoulders and strong opinions on what is happening in the world. They don’t give into what society wants or expects from women - they just live and have fun.

Although they love doing their makeup, getting their nice outfits on and doing their hair, they do it for themselves to feel good about themselves personally. They don’t give into society. They cut their hair short, dye their hair crazy colours, wear what society would call “revealing clothes”, they have fun, laugh, dance, and enjoy being a young woman in a city full of different women from different backgrounds. 

They aren’t scared to be their authentic self and no living woman should be.

Often times, women have to hold themselves back from being their true and authentic self because of the way the world sees them. From getting a job, to walking down the street, or even sitting in a classroom full of other students. Men don’t though. They do what they want, dress how they want, speak how they want, and more than often - it’s accepted - no questions asked.

Realistically, the chances of men wanting to read about young women with strong views, opinions, ideas, who also love getting glam and doing their makeup is slim to none. The fact of the matter is - men don’t take time to listen or try to put themselves in a woman’s shoes.

If men really knew what their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, wives, and such go through, I think their ideas on women and feminism would be a lot different.

[alusviews]

WOMAN

is a project to showcase women across the city with different views, backgrounds and passions. 

this is a space where women all walks from life can freely express themselves and share their experiences, passions or dreams. 

being a woman is an important part of human life,

now it’s time for our voices to be heard!