Nova Twins: "So much of this world is optimised for men, to the detriment of 50% of the population"

When we fight for equality, we are not slandering men. All we want is an even playing field with our male counterparts. When we say equality, we mean equality for all! Everyone has their differences, this is something to be celebrated and encouraged, not to be feared.

While we all try to work out what labels we belong to, you can’t help but wonder if society has pushed and encouraged us to marginalise ourselves. If we were able to fully accept each other, then perhaps we wouldn’t feel the need to create these labels. Perhaps we would immediately feel more confident in our own skin, viewing ourselves on a similar playing field to others, possibly making us more accepting and unified as a nation and ultimately stronger as a result. One dares to dream… People can spend too much time worrying about how to conform or how to meet today’s unrealistically high standards. This means that we can miss those characteristics that make us unique, those characteristics that are often the best parts of ourselves. We should all be celebrating our individuality in equal measure.

We can only comment honestly on our experiences as women. We feel like we have to be superhuman. We have to be seen as mother figures, someone for people to look up to and to always be strong. We have to be prepared to handle constant criticism and scrutiny – scrutiny that is endured both at work and at home. You only have to walk past a shop window or open a magazine to be reminded of the unrealistic beauty ideals and physical pressures, which we have to constantly measure ourselves against.

It amazes us that this is still a 21st century problem, that there is still a gender pay gap to close, that phones are designed to fit a man’s hand, that seat belts are designed to fit a man’s body, that so much of this “21st century” world is optimised for men to the detriment of 50% of the world’s population. We can’t believe that this is the case, with seemingly endless instances of non-male success stories, successes that have shaped our world and provided humanity with so much. Sadly these stories often go with little to no credit or recognition.

We wrote a song called Bullet, which is about fighting back, taking a stand against everyday instances of harassment and sexism – the kinds of experiences we are often subjected to as women. Either subliminally or not, we have to evaluate our situation at all times; whether it’s walking home alone, going to a meeting with a ‘producer’ alone, covering your drink when you’re on a night out, declining politely when some sleaze comes on to you too heavy…

Being a women of colour, people think they have the right to touch your hair or to make comments on your complexion, features and body type. We are often overly sexualised. “Sex sells!" they say, but for who? Of course, there are a million examples of different pressures for different people, and all we can do is comment on the pressures that are still all too relevant to us. Thankfully, there are incredible people who are striving to alleviate these pressures, desperately trying to make changes to the status quo. Slowly but surely, it’s working. No victory should go unnoticed, they might be big or small, but they all push us in a positive direction.

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