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International Women’s Day: Scarlett Curtis says ‘it’s time to step back and listen to those who are most marginalised’

The author of Feminists Don't Wear Pink speaks to Sabrina Barr about intersectional feminism, the power of social media and being inspired by her parents

Friday 08 March 2019 13:41 GMT
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Scarlett Curtis at the launch event for her new podcast 'To The Woman'
Scarlett Curtis at the launch event for her new podcast 'To The Woman'

Scarlett Curtis tells me, “There’s no perfect way to be a feminist,” her voice full of conviction as she gears up for International Women's Day. As the editor of the popular book Feminists Don’t Wear Pink, one might assume that Curtis would know exactly what it means to live your life as a "true", unwavering feminist. However, as the 23-year-old explains, feminism is about continual learning and - most importantly - listening.

As the daughter of script editor and broadcaster Emma Freud and screenwriter and film director Richard Curtis, who’s best known for romantic comedies including Love Actually, Notting Hill and About Time, it’s safe to say that Curtis grew up in an enormously privileged environment. It is this privilege, Curtis says, that she hopes to use to help others' voices be heard, in particular those of women of different ethnicities, with disabilities and trans women. “For so long the feminist movement has centred white women, and I think it’s really our time to step back and listen,” she says.

Being a feminist hasn’t always been a straightforward path for Curtis. As a teenager, she refrained from being associated with the term, viewing gender equality as something society need no longer concern itself with.

“I think it’s weird that we put so much weight on this one term,” Curtis states. “Feminism means someone believes that men and women should be equal. That looks like something different for every single person, but that’s what the word means.”

The writer compares the word "feminist" to that of "bread", explaining that while bread may come in a variety of shapes and sizes, it still remains bread at the end of the day. The same goes for supporting gender equality and feminism. If you believe that men and women should be treated equally, than you are, by definition, a feminist. It’s as simple as that.

Social media has completely changed how people engage with feminism, the co-founder of activism platform The Pink Protest explains. Thanks to the boom of social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, Curtis was introduced to online feminist communities, through which she learnt about “how much more of a fight there is to be done until women actually have gender equality". “The feminist movement has been around for 200 years and there’ve been incredible incarnations of it in the past, but I think that location isn’t a boundary on those movements anymore," she says.

Curtis cites the I Weigh campaign, a body neutral initiative founded by her close friend and star of The Good Place Jameela Jamil, as an example of a feminist cause that's proven accessible for thousands of people through social media. Launched in early 2018, the I Weigh campaign now has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram. “Social media has really just helped everything to scale up,” Curtis says.

Curtis' book Feminists Don't Wear Pink recently made headlines when a pop-up organised to promote the book at Topshop's flagship Oxford Street store was allegedly torn down by Sir Philip Green, hours before the shop was due to open. The book was published in partnership with UN charity Girl Up, which provides girls and young women around the world with leadership development training.

So what impression did the incident leave on Curtis? While she admits that she no longer shops at Topshop due to the hurt she felt when her pop-up was dismantled, she doesn’t believe that boycotting the brand would have been a positive course of action for her supporters. “We can’t ignore the fact that there are so many amazing people that work at Topshop,” she says, describing the high street brand as an “amazing partner” prior to the incident.

While Curtis’ parents may be best known for their work in film, the 23-year-old reveals activism plays a far more significant role in their family, saying that, “Whenever people would say to me, ‘Oh your dad writes films’, I was always like, ‘No, he works for charity’."

She even goes as far as to describe activism as a sort of “religion” within their household. “It was just a given that was what we did,” she adds.

Sangeeta Pillai, June Sarpong, Lisa Luxx and Scarlett Curtis at the launch event for podcast 'To The Woman'

In 1985, Richard Curtis famously founded Comic Relief with comedian Lenny Henry, a charity that’s raised more than £1bn throughout its 30-year existence. Curtis says, “That was always the part of his life that I was more involved in and more excited by. I think I’ve always known that’s where I wanted to go.”

As for Curtis’ mother, broadcaster Emma Freud, the 23-year-old attributes many of her early feminist beliefs to her, describing her as the “epitome of what it means to be an empowered woman”. “My mum definitely inspired me to be a feminist, even though she never identified fully with that word until recently,” she adds with pride.

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Curtis' new podcast To The Woman, which has been created exclusively for Audible, is being launched on Friday 8 March in celebration of International Women's Day.

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