Latest Stories from Flo
Amidst a cost of living crisis, children are the ultimate status symbol
Large families are increasingly hard to achieve – and afford. As the cost of living continues to rise, have children become the ultimate status symbol? And what does this say about our values? In Britain today, raising a single child is enough to stretch most households to the edge of their means. Housing costs, childcare, food, and education make family planning a calculation in survival as much as sentiment. Against this...
Police are posing as runners to tackle street harassment
How far must women go to enjoy exercise in peace? I’ve been a runner for years now. To me, it’s one of the joys in life. Getting the miles in is less about fitness and more about mental clarity – it’s one of the few times in my week where I’m alone, in silence, focusing on the road ahead of me rather than staring at a screen. But this meditative experience is...
Is Gen Z the rejection generation?
From job applications to dating apps, rejection has become a defining experience of modern young adulthood – but is it shaping resilience, or just burning us out? Whether it’s delivered by a cold recruiter email, a reluctant date in a dimly lit bar, or the ‘seen’ label beneath an unanswered text message, rejection has always been one of the tougher inevitabilities of the human experience. But for many members of Gen Z,...
Are young people really reading more?
Popular bookshop chain Waterstones claims young people are turning to books more than ever. Is this a sign of gen Z’s growing disillusionment with the digital world? According to CEO James Daunt, Waterstone’s – the popular British bookstore chain – has seen sales up 5% in the past year. As a result, the retailer is set to open 10 new stores across the country, even as the high street continues to struggle...
Experts call for boys and girls to learn about periods together
Education reform in schools could drastically decrease stigma around menstruation, according to research. Now excuse me for being brash, but when I read that experts were calling for boys and girls to receive period education together I thought ‘umm, duh?’ This ostensibly revolutionary insight feels, to me, like common sense. And I’ll admit I was surprised it’s not already happening. Granted, when I was at school the education around anything to...
‘Buy Now Pay Later’ services want women in ‘cute debt’
The distinctly gendered marketing of these financial services is pushing women into a phenomenon known as ‘cute debt’. I hate to be the popcorn feminist who assumes anything pink must be targeting women – but let’s face it, marketing is often a simple as it seems. In fact, that’s kind of the whole point. Visual advertising needs to be easily digestible, grabbing our attention in milliseconds and making us spend our...
UK students being forced to work 20 hour weeks to make ends meet
A new report shows first-years need £260 a week (excluding rent) for a ‘socially acceptable’ standard of living – forcing many to take on jobs that leave little room for the studies they came for. The news that UK students are being forced to work 20 hours a week just to meet a basic standard of living will come as no surprise to anyone who has been a student, particularly...
Rare Beauty and the importance of accessible packaging
The makeup brand has launched a new fragrance with disabled consumers in mind. It raises important questions around a lack of inclusivity in one of the world’s most popular industries. Selena Gomez has done a lot of things. She’s been a successful actor, then pop star, and now beauty mogul – launching the brand Rare Beauty to critical and commercial success in 2019. Unlike most celebrity makeup brands, Rare Beauty isn’t...
Cancelling ‘The Late Show’ is a sign of troubling times
Stephen Colbert’s exit marks more than TV’s end. It signals the unsettling ‘Trumpification’ of mainstream media under political pressure. CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – a late-night institution that, in Colbert’s own words, ‘isn’t being replaced’ – marks the end of a 33-year legacy and a moment of uneasy reflection for American media in the time of Trump. The network attributes the cancellation to longstanding financial...
the power of journaling
Small acts of self-compassion and reflection make a big difference when it comes to caring what others think. Are you hounded by a nagging concern for what others think of you? Same. As much as I like to spout self-love and growth and all the rest of it, I’m still plagued by self-doubt and a near-constant worry about how I come across to the world around me. Granted, the crippling social...
