None of us truly know what it’s like to be the person sitting next to us. Whether you’re on the bus or at a local restaurant; in your workplace; even at the opposite end of the sofa at home.
The person might be tougher, seem bolder, sound louder. They might be quite the opposite; soft, reserved, sensitive or shy. They might be larger, a little overweight, or they might be rail-thin. Perhaps their skin is different to yours; maybe black or white, perhaps brown, it may be scarred, stretched or lined. Their minds might operate in unusual patterns; or make them see things that you don’t. They might fancy girls, or boys; they might fancy both. Or neither. Maybe they feel lost in their body; or imprisoned. Their body may betray them at times; it may feel drastically different to how it looks. They might struggle to see their own worthiness; perhaps they feel utterly unloved or unsure where they belong. Like you, they might not have a clear sense of who they really are.
The Relatable Project was born out of the desire to provide a safe community space for all of these women. Those who feel grossly under-represented in, and oftentimes targeted by, mainstream media. The unseen, the un-heard & more often than not, the ‘made-to-feel-less-than’ in their everyday lives.
The current media space is abundant with offerings of female empowerment collectives and content providers – those who spruik equality and solidarity, but essentially only cater for one type of woman; white, privileged, weight acceptable, confident and ‘cool’. As such, there is an obvious gap in the modern media landscape for those women who don’t fit society’s favourable mould.
The Relatable Project aims to fill that gap.
This life can be tough.
Governments legislating women’s bodies and what we do with them, diet professionals shaming us into restriction & self-loathing. Constantly being told that we’re not good enough, not thin enough, not white enough, not the right kind of queer; we need to parent differently, dress differently, lead differently. Be courageous! But only if we deem you worthy. You’re successful! But only by our standards of measurement. You deserve to be able to do whatever you want to do! But guess what? We’re going to pay you less for the privilege.
My co-founders and I have lived experience in some of these areas. The exclusion from the norm: some of us identify as LGBTQIA+, some of us are in larger bodies, some of us have mental health issues, some of us aren’t sure of our worth. All of us are women. We have not, however, experienced the full spectrum of marginalisation or felt the total devastation of invisibility. In many ways, we are afforded so much more, simply because of our white privilege. But we can be allies for all and use our Relatable platform for every voice and every story.
We aim to shine a spotlight on the amazing women already pioneering in this space; making themselves heard and sharing their stories. Many have already carved extraordinary paths and with heart, solidarity, bravery, curiosity and the expression of our authentic selves, we want to help bring acceptance, voice and celebration to women from all walks of life.
What we’re truly aiming to do is provide relatable content and a safe space for those who need it most; women of colour and size shamed, the lesbian, queer and transgender community, mental health battlers, the anxious, the introverted and vulnerable, women with disabilities and those who need help discovering their worth in the world.