She Dares To Say - Season 2 Announcement
These essays are free, but they do take a while to write, edit and upload. If you enjoy them and would like to support this project, please consider becoming a paid subscriber of ‘She Dares to Say’. If you would prefer to make a one-off donation, feel free to send a contribution via PayPal. You can also show your enjoyment without spending £££, by liking, commenting or sharing 😃 [Image description: Text ‘She Dares To Say Season 2 Announcement’ on navy blue background with a lilac paintbrush stroke highlighted segment] I’m saying goodbye to these personal essays and am inviting you to stick with me as I launch Season 2 of ‘She Dares To Say’ next month. For me, the act of writing is a means to make sense of the things I feel as I make my way through the world. I try to be receptive to changes in my emotional state and be open to processing the things that come up for me as I try to express myself on the page. I grapple with both fear and shame as each sentence tumbles out. It is often emotionally exhausting work and can leave me feeling like a singular, raw and pulsing nerve-ending, overly sensitive to feedback/criticism (Aside: my agent schedules reassurance meetings with me ahead of sending extensive book feedback, which enables me to frame all of the comments in a positive light). I can find myself resenting the conceptual act of reading, since the consumption of words, in and of itself, doesn’t require any interpersonal reciprocation – there isn’t an immediate or automatic mechanism whereby the reader can acknowledge the sheer amount of emotional effort that goes into excavating the self. So, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a lovely message in response to the first essay, ‘#01: My New Approach To Dating’, back in January 2021, when a friend WhatsApped me: “Hey I’m just about to go to bed but I read your blog ❤️❤️ so brave and wonderful”. And then when ‘#02: Emotional wounds and literary clout’ dropped in February, a handful of you reached out:
It was so wonderful and encouraging to read all of your responses that I went on to create a folder on my desktop called ‘NICE COMMENTS ABOUT MY WORK’, where I started saving all your messages. Whenever I’m spiralling down into self-doubt I read a couple – such as “She Dares To Say is so good! Very insightful and interesting, I’m a major fan”, sent in response to ‘#06: The Coloniality Chronicles – Part Two’ or “I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed reading your newsletter and being part of the community that you’ve been building. Your writing is so clear, so honest, so personal and vulnerable and yet so wise – it’s just a pleasure to read […]” in response to ‘#12: Deconstructing my writing process’ – and immediately perk up. However, there is one aspect of sending my writing out via a platform such as one like this, that I find difficult to navigate. Substack crunches all of the data automatically and the stats reporting means I can see exactly which email addresses engage with each mailout, and how often. Some of the people who receive these mailouts are folks who haven’t necessarily earned the right to receive the gift of my authenticity; maybe this is due to having a complicated personal relationship or maybe they are someone who has wilfully misunderstood me/my work. My vulnerability hangover is always the worst when the stats reveal that it’s those particular email addresses that have accessed my authentic self many times over by re-reading and re-reading these essays. Without ever having to reciprocate. It can be an extremely disconcerting feeling, but one I'll need to get used to since my book is part memoir... So, to give myself a break from what can sometimes feel like unlimited public access to my psyche, I’m changing the format of these mailouts. As many of you know, I’ve been conducting independent research for my book via an anonymous online sexuality survey, and have been inviting survey participants to expand on their answers in video-call follow-up interviews. Over the past year, I’ve interviewed dozens of diverse subjects – many of them from marginalised groups – and I’m so excited to announce that, with all interviewees’ permission, I’ll be publishing audio extracts, along with accompanying verbatim transcripts from some of those chats. To have so many folks entrusting me with their stories, many of which had never, ever been spoken out loud before, has been the absolute best thing about my book-writing journey. Creating a safe and nurturing space for interviewees to share their stories in their own time, and in their own unique mode of expression, are two of the most important aspects of building trust with subjects. And, as the stories in the series show, so many of my interviewees felt comfortable enough to share their stories with fearlessness, generosity, power and truth. Thank you! So do remember to check your inboxes on Wednesday 2 February for the launch of She Dares To Say Season 2. Here’s a teaser:
The sexuality survey is still open, so in the meantime please do fill in/share it as all of the responses are helping me make connections between the ways in which we’ve been socialised and our relationship to sexuality. [Image description: White speech box with black border shadows. Black text ‘As part of my research for my book, I’m running an anonymous online sexuality survey’. Dark orange text ‘bit.ly/ao_sexsurvey’. Black text ‘Anyone over 18 can fill it in, wherever you are in the world.’ Picture of coloured rectangles placed at angles with black border shadows. White text ‘Do you have guilt or shame around desire, sex or pleasure? Why/why not? Do you support compulsory sex and relationships education?’ on top rectangle] NB. I’ve also taken the survey myself and made the answers available here, along with the anonymised answers of four other participants. [Image description: Text ‘PRODUCED BY’ on navy blue background with a lilac paintbrush stroke] ‘She Dares to Say’ is an email newsletter by Almaz Ohene, a Creative Copywriter, Freelance Journalist and Accidental Sexpert. If you would prefer to make a one-off donation, feel free to also send a contribution via PayPal. You’re a free subscriber to She Dares To Say. For the full experience, become a paid subscriber. |
Older messages
POSTSCRIPT: January 2022
Thursday, January 13, 2022
Free special edition
Guest Post: ‘Valerie’s Law’
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Written by Rianna Raymond-Williams (she/her)
Guest Post: ‘Book Club’
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Written by Lotte Hiller (she/her)
#12: Deconstructing my writing process
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
In which I go behind the scenes...
Guest Post: ‘More Explicit Material’
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Written by Jennifer Lyon Bell (she/her)
You Might Also Like
Google Wants You to Use AI for Your Next Vacation 🤔
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Don't Trust These 'Reset Password' Pop-ups on Your Apple Devices. Google has released several new ways you can use AI and other tools to help plan your next vacation, including the
GOP congresswoman blames Green New Deal for bridge collapse
Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Green New Deal, for the record, does not technically exist. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Your Zodiac Sign Should Prepare For Love Affairs In April
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Plus, Lili Reinhart's peach glam look, Bustle's beauty awards are here, & more.
PunchTok Rattles New York Women
Thursday, March 28, 2024
What's new today on the Cut — covering style, self, culture, and power, plus interviews, profiles, columns, and commentary from our editors. Brand Logo THURSDAY, MARCH 28 WAIT WHAT IS HAPPENING ON
The worst mug in your kitchen has an important purpose
Thursday, March 28, 2024
This is the hottest new restaurant trend in LA
Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Gran Canaria’s Tomás Prieto Gálvez
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Adventures in life, family, and sign painting with Tomás Prieto Gálvez in the Canary Islands. BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign
Coffee & tooth damage? We asked an expert
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Your health Qs, answered. Stay informed & stay well with theSkimm theSkimm Read in browser Skimm Well We've Skimm'd the news for you... Now it's time to simplify health and wellness.
That Damned Elusive Parking Spot
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Also a coffee shop bathroom, and not knowing what we really want ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
That Damned Elusive Parking Spot
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Also a coffee shop bathroom, and not knowing what we really want ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
NBC Proves the Media Can't Save Democracy
Thursday, March 28, 2024
The decision to hi former RNC chair is a symptom of a larger problem ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏