Latest Stories from Flo
Australian senator Fatima Payman’s mission to normalise the hijab
Fatima Payman is the first hijab minister in Australia’s history. In cultivating a positive narrative around the headscarf, she’s determined she won’t be the last. The Australian Labour party announced Fatima Payman as their newest senator in June 2022, and this month she took her seat in the senate as the first woman to wear a hijab in Australia’s government. At just 27, Payman has described her journey as ‘completely...
Alena Wicker is the youngest student accepted to medical school
After completing two degrees – yes, two – 13-year-old Alena Wicker is off to medical school, making her the youngest person ever to do so. Most of us will remember being 13. For Gen-Z, it was a time filled with Tamagotchi and Justin Bieber. Our proudest accomplishments probably involved a particularly successful take on hair gems, or a well-crafted music video taken on our parents’ hand-held camcorder. In any case, these...
Afghanistan’s opioid crisis is only getting worse
Years of persistent poverty and war have turned thousands of Afghan men to drug use. Addiction has been fuelled by the country’s prolific poppy industry. Now, under Taliban rule, the crisis shows no signs of improving. Ebraham Noroozi’s recent look at Afghanistan’s drug crisis paints a morbid picture. Men dying on the hillsides of Kabul, others already gone. Noroozi’s Afghanistan is a country in the depths of addiction and crisis,...
Are white celebrities ‘retiring’ a Black aesthetic?
A recent article by ‘Dazed’ suggests famous white women, most notably the Kardashians, have abandoned the Black aesthetic they’ve appropriated for the past few decades. But can racial and cultural identity be reduced to a ‘look’? And does the white monopoly over global beauty standards show any signs of waning? Side-by-side comparisons of Khloe Kardashian have been making the rounds online, pointing out the sudden disappearance of her infamously large...
‘Friends’ Marta Kauffman apologises for trans misrepresentation
Kauffman has vocalised her regret over misgendering Chandler Bing’s trans parent – played by Kathleen Turner – for the first time. Well, it’s finally happened. After decades of wince-worthy jokes and a cast as white as Wonderbread, ‘Friends’ co-creator Marta Kauffman is addressing the show’s past mistakes. It may be long overdue, but the many controversies of ‘Friends’ – not least the blatant misogyny, lack of diversity, and questionable takes on...
Opinion – the remote working model is worth fighting for
As companies begin to welcome a more hybrid working model, and some scrap working from home altogether, it’s worth remembering what the remote professional lifestyle has changed for the better. Perhaps the biggest sign-post of a post-Covid era is the steady return to the office. Working from home defined the better part of 2020, and remains fundamental to much of the corporate world two years later. For millions of people, it...
‘In the Black Fantastic’ dubbed best exhibition of summer
London’s Hayward Gallery opens a new show featuring 11 artists from the African diaspora and, according to critics, it’s must-see. Kara Walker and Nick Cave are just two of the artists showing in the Hayward Gallery’s ‘In The Black Fantastic’, which opened this June. Curated by Ekow Eshun, chair of the Fourth Plinth (a London-based art commission bringing free contemporary art to Trafalgar Square), ‘In the Black Fantastic’ uses fantasy...
The Brittney Griner situation explained
US Basketball champion and Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner has been detained in a Russian prison since February under drug smuggling charges.
This week, WNBA All-star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges held against her by Russian authorities. Her plea follows months of detainment in a Russian prison, after vape cartridges containing traces of marijuana were found in her luggage at Sheremetyevo airport.
Griner has been on trial for
Nigeria’s young designers embrace genderfluid fashion
In a country where homosexuality is illegal, the fashion industry is upending gender norms to explore identity and queer resilience. Before Covid-19 disrupted the fashion industry as we then knew it, a movement was building amongst Nigeria’s young designers. Masculine shapes were swapped for feminine cuts and fabrics. Silk, frills, and fuchsia began to appear in menswear collections, disregarding rigid ideas of gender. This fluid approach to design is hardly unfamiliar,...
Opinion – Clarence Thomas proves Roe v Wade impacts everyone
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas’ comments on LGBTQ+ rights suggest a war on civil liberty is just beginning in America. In the next 30 days, 13 states will ban abortion in the US. Since the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v Wade – the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide – Missouri has already made...
