Follow these incredible women to add some positivity to your feed.
Social media can get a bad rap, but it can be a tool for connection and inspiration. In the build-up to International Women’s Day, we wanted to share a few of the well-known, inspiring women we admire – and who bring something positive, insightful and empowering to our feeds.
Scroll for the inspirational women spicing up the FQ team’s social feeds:
Jameela Jamil
Chosen by editor Zoe Walker Ahwa
“The Good Place actor and self-described “feminist-in-progress” uses her platform to spark conversations around self-esteem – launching the account @i_weigh last year as a way to encourage people to think about themselves beyond the physical. Eloquent and hugely passionate (her interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy is a must-watch), she isn’t afraid to call out celebrities, influencers and brands. She criticises the media a lot too, which, I admit, can sometimes sit a little uneasily with me given the industry I work in – but I love that she continually makes me question and consider things. Also, she’s not afraid of a bit of silly fun.
Locally, I also enjoy following illustrator Evie Kemp; she’s open about everything from the joys and struggles of the creative process to her skincare routine and mental health. And her colourful home is amazing.”
Cindy Sherman
Chosen by fashion editor Danielle Clausen
“Reactive, provocative and always full of surprises. I can never get enough of Cindy Sherman, an artist who explores and challenges female identity. Her works hold up a mirror to the politics of beauty today – from selfie culture to plastic surgery.”
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If you’re going to San Francisco, you’re gonna meet a French girl painting in pajamas
Inès Longevial
Chosen by digital content producer Terri Dunn
“Sometimes, all the inspiration I need to feel comfortable in my own skin is to see another female unapologetically comfortable in theirs. It would have been too easy to name the founder of my favourite sustainable fashion journal or the celebrity who’s made a point of not being an asshole *cough, Zoe Kravitz*, but the truth is, following people of such upstanding principle can sometimes leave me feeling unaffecting by comparison – like what I’m doing bears no weight. Inès Longevial is empowering to me because her posts cause me to slow my scroll and appreciate the beauty in being completely lost in a craft. She’s a painter and a mesmerising one at that. With more of my life existing online, in an app or on a map, it’s incredibly therapeutic to watch someone get completely swept up in their passion and encourages me to do the same (offline).”
Zoë Foster Blake
Chosen by features director Lucy Slight
“As a beauty editor and magazine journalist I’ve followed ZoëFoster Blake’s career since my own first began – and I’ve watched her transition from beauty journo to website founder, author, mother and beauty entrepreneur, always with a smile on her dial. She’s been inspiring every step of the way! Her sense of humour is infectious and she doesn’t take herself too seriously. No perfectly formatted Instagram content here! And whenever I have writer’s block all it takes is a read of something she’s penned and I’m back in action again. Now THAT’s what I call admiration.”
Rupi Kaur
Chosen by brand manager Courtney Ramsdale
“The Indian-born Canadian poet performs, illustrates and writes the most beautiful, inspiring, and empowering poems. Her work has a sense of realness that women can relate to on every level. Touching on topics of love, sex, beauty standards, race and abuse, Rupi is part of a new generation of ‘Insta-poets’, appealing to a younger and more mainstream audience than most traditional poets. Her words resonate so deeply with me – they have so much feeling in them, and remind me of moments within my life where I have felt the same. Not only is she real, creative and intelligent, but also stylish and unapologetically feminine at the same time. We can be both!”
Laura Brown
Chosen by features editor Jessica-Belle Greer
“Laura Brown really changes the game when it comes to reporting and supporting the fashion industry as the editor of InStyle, but I also just love her sense of humour – something that’s not always easy to nail in the online world. As a kangaroo-loving antipodean who has become a leader for the fashion pack internationally, she gives me hope that more doors can open for Kiwis to have a bigger global digital footprint too.”
Josie Édan
Chosen by digital editor Kelly McAuliffe
“I just love this girl and everything she stands for. My favourite “oversharer” to follow on Instagram, no topic is taboo, and by god that is refreshing in a world where everyone filters and fluffs. While a lot of other oversharers can feel a bit ranty or dare I say it, *too* raw, Josie keeps it real and revelatory with thoughtfully chosen words, incredible relatability and above all else, plenty of humour.”
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New byline head shot. Subtlety is key. ————— #sophieberesiner #whatsyournameson #3Dpen #headshot
Sophie Beresiner
Chosen by makeup and fragrance editor Megan Bedford
“Sophie is a British beauty journo so she satisfies my insatiable appetite for new beauty trends and products, but she is also incredibly honest about several challenges she’s faced, overcoming breast cancer that left her unable to have children and her current journey with her husband seeking a surrogate. Regardless of what life brings she remains inspiringly upbeat with a quirky, relatable sense of humour that means I never just ‘tap on through’.”
Dolly Alderton
Chosen by digital content producer Maxine Fourie
“Dolly’s feed is fun, vibrant and constantly puts a smile on my face with her quirky and unapologetic posts. Her approach to life is through a non-perfectly curated lens and her influence stretches far beyond today’s norm of an ‘influencer’ – perfect shots, good angles and amazing editing – and that is why she is so much fun to follow. Following an influential woman with a raw feed, full of life and littered with genuine opinions adds a touch of life to my at times repetitive Insta’ feed, bringing some reality back into my social media channels.”
