Unveiling Femme Factale's Manifesto

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The story begins with my love for women’s magazines. Ever since my tweens, I would stare wide-eyed at the glossy covers. Later on, my favourite was Elle, but I’d indulge in several other titles as a special ritual whenever I’d travel. But, something happened when I hit my mid-twenties. I was no longer excited by the magazines I had previously pored over. Frankly, I started becoming quite bored as I flipped through the pages. I realised that they didn’t connect with my values any more. Here’s what it is — I think that when you’re a teenager or in your twenties, you still haven’t found who you are or what you stand for. A women’s magazine can serve as a guide to how you should be and what you should be doing, and there’s some reassurance in that. It’s all part of the growing-up process. However, as you get older — and for me, it may have also been linked to the fact that I became a parent quite early — your values and priorities shift. I became fed up with all the product pushing that I was seeing. Nowadays, the first twenty pages are just ads, and when you finally get to an actual article, it simply pushes an ideology or product. I get it: journalism is under threat and magazines are finding it harder to make a profit, but surely, readers deserve better.

Simply put, the women’s magazines I previously loved no longer reflected what I wanted, which were real facts and inspiring articles based on true stories. Some magazines might be doing this better than others, pushing stories by real people, but they always comprise only a small proportion of the overall publication. For example, I’m tired of reading pages and pages of what you should be doing for your skin, featuring 25-step routines, each with 30 products, based on contributions by experts who are obviously profiting from pushing that certain treatment or product. It has actually reached an unhealthy extent, to the point where girls as young as ten are now even being targeted (e.g. the phenomenon of ‘Sephora Kids’). We desperately need trustworthy, expert advice because, in the end, it all comes down to simplicity.

Similarly, digital magazines seem to follow the same trend. I used to browse online magazines in my spare time, but I’ve slowly drifted away from even independent publications. The push toward affiliate marketing* and emphasis on celebrity gossip left me uninspired. All the articles seemed to have been written for clicks, rather than to provide facts and answer questions people might actually have in a meaningful way. I even started noticing online magazines desperately attempting to come across as ‘woke’ to remain relevant (though never truly impactful). However, the issue here isn’t only linked to ‘wokeness’, it’s linked to trust.

With FF, I want to offer a platform and community, not just a magazine. I want to prioritise real facts and stories, opening up about my own and those of real people. I want it to feature useful content and empower women to use their voices to connect with others. There’s always someone who can benefit from hearing about our experiences. For example, after publishing my article on fibroids, I received so many questions and stories of women connecting over shared experiences with them. There’s no denying that the world feels very confusing at the moment; there is so much information out there and we no longer know how to filter through it.

In essence, every article in FF is intended to make you think. It’s something that I strongly believe we need to perfect now and moving forward. Rather than immediately vocalising our opinions, we need to learn to question what we read and hear. We need tools to search for the facts in all the noise and find clarity through the sharing of stories. This is one of the main values behind FF: never stop questioning. Everyone has a voice and everyone can use it.

Moreover, every article is intended as a conversation. You may have already picked up on the fact that I write like I talk (which is also why I spend so much time editing!) In fact, most of my articles start as voice recordings. I always want to include you — my dear reader and FF member — in my thoughts. I don’t always have the answers, but we can find them together sometimes.

As to why I decided to launch this project on Substack, it was a practical decision. Substack offers an easy platform to get started with little to no budget. When starting a business, I think we tend to overcomplicate things. At least, that’s what I was guilty of because I tend to overthink things (shocking, I know!) Through Substack, the goal has been to simply start writing, see how my writing is received and begin building a network. And, that’s my cue to thank all of you for your kind feedback since February. Any creative knows that it’s very daunting to put your work out there and this is the first time I’m doing it on such a large scale. Your kind words have helped me to not only stay motivated but also excited for more.

Further down the line, my dream would be for FF to become a thriving community of women, with its own website. I want to get trustworthy experts involved, potentially having them contribute their own columns. Additionally, I would love to have a podcast because, based on my recent survey, I know that many of you would like more audio options (hence the current audio). My biggest desire, however, is to organise events for all members: coffees in multiple cities, workshops, retreats… the sky’s the limit. It’s all about coming together to learn new things, debate topics on our minds, find answers to questions together and share experiences.

That said, for FF to reach its full potential, I need your help. If you like the articles, please share them. Please spread the word as much as possible, wherever you are in the world (FF is not limited to the UK). Don’t be shy to comment on the articles — the point is to share stories, start discussions and show solidarity. Debate is a key aspect. We don’t always need to agree with each other. That’s also why most of my articles are quite open-ended. Finally, I know that the current economic climate is tough on all of us, but if you can spare £4/month (about the price of a coffee), to become a paid subscriber, it would be much appreciated. All of the money I make from FF goes back into the business. At the moment, the only thing on my mind is growth to spread the message and values of FF. Unfortunately, this requires a bigger budget, and currently, I’m trying to do this on my own, without any outside investment. The same goes for all the work behind the scenes, from researching each article to editing it to spreading the word on social; I’m a one-(wo)man band.

Thank you again for all your ongoing support, which I never take for granted. I promise to keep working harder to provide you with as much value as possible. 🩷

*For full transparency, I use affiliate marketing in some of my articles, especially when recommending books. However, I will only ever link to a product or service if I strongly believe it’s useful. I always try to push products I love or from local businesses. No product in FF is ever pushed for the sole purpose of profit.