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‘Growing up With Gal-Dem’ – The New Podcast by Gal-Dem Bringing You Life Inspiration

by in Culture & Lifestyle on 5th June, 2020

‘growing Up with gal-dem’ is the first podcast series from award-winning media company gal-dem – a publication committed to voicing the perspectives of young women and non-binary people of colour. Join gal-dem as they ask special guests to reflect back on their youth and to share the advice they wish they could give to their younger selves.

Founder and CEO of gal-dem, Liv Little, and Head of Editorial, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, host the podcast, which explores the crucial journey from adolescence to adulthood and the pivotal lessons that are learned along the way. During each episode of ‘growing Up with gal-dem’, a special guest shares a piece of text from their past, whether it be a diary entry, a poem or a text message, and are asked to reflect on their mindset at the time and how it influenced who they are today.

Kicking off the series is Candice Carty-Williams, author of the seismic hit novel ‘Queenie’, as she reflects on the pressures of facing depression as a young Caribbean woman. Mental health is also unpacked later in the series with singer-songwriter Sasha Keable, who explores songwriting as therapy in episode 5.

“The premise for this podcast and our book is incredibly intimate, which I personally love and is the beauty that comes with audio. The fact that our guests have shared personal musings, text messages and insights from when they were younger is such a privilege. Some of the entries are funny, some are heartbreaking and others cringe-worthy. Still, the beautiful thing about revisiting old texts and reflecting upon them is that our guests have been able to take stock and offer honest advice to our readers. Our first gal-dem podcast couldn’t be any more special and our first line up of guests is iconic.”

Liv Little, gal-dem founder & CEO

Race is scrutinised by Singaporean artist Elizabeth Gabrielle Lee, whose work seeks to challenge Western beauty standards. The discrimination she faced after moving to London to study caused Elizabeth to launch her empowering project ‘Xing’ as part of her BA degree, in which she examined and showcased the beauty of East Asain people.

Concepts of gender and sexuality are explored during the middle of the series by model and activist Munroe Bergdorf and BBZ founder Naeem Davis. A prominent speaker in the British socio-political sphere, Munroe discusses trans rights and how her own opinion of gender roles in relationships has transformed. Naeem also explains how their desires for a normative relationship were completely altered after an eye-opening trip to San Francisco and how this was the inspiration to create more inclusive spaces.

“That we’ve been able to move the concept of our book forward into a podcast form is really exciting for me. This story began when I was 12, writing emotionally into my first online diary, reading other people’s diaries, and dreaming of one day being published. It’s honestly beyond my wildest dreams that so many amazing women and non-binary people of colour have trusted us with their adolescent stories, have been willing to discuss those heady, passionate moments that shaped them, and allow us, and our listeners, to learn from them. This podcast is truly something special. As I often say about gal-dem, it’s something I wish I had had when I was growing up.”

Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, gal-dem Head of Editorial, journalist and author

Laugh, listen and reminisce with gal-dem and friends as we unpick youth and what it means to have grown up.

You can find ‘growing Up with gal-dem’ on Apple Podcasts, the Acast App, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Amaliah Team

Amaliah Team

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