It’s been a while since our last episode, but that’s because WE’VE BEEN READING! That’s right, if you’ve come across bookstagram, booktube and now booktok, you’d know that reading is IN now. On this episode, we chat with Amanda Chong, lawyer, poet, and co-founder of ReadAble, to discuss some essential feminist reads - except they aren’t the usual picks you’d expect. From deliberating our existence to the link between feminism and contemporary Singapore, the selection of books discussed will...

WE KNOW YOU... endlessly scrolling TikTok before bed every night! Social media is a form of entertainment, escapism, and relaxation for many of us, but we all know consuming too much of it is bad. Depression, anxiety, self-absorption, not to mention feeling overwhelmed from the sheer amount of content, are effects that many of us are learning to grapple with.  LADY BOSSES, and Mother of Twos Charmaine Seah-Ong and Aarika Lee, tell us how they manage burnout as content creators, what it’s...

It usually starts off with a simple "Hello, you're cute", but can quickly escalate to a sexually explicit message. In a generation of tech-savvy individuals, it's hard to imagine that any of us will fall victim to online grooming, and yet two out of three secondary school students in Singapore received unwanted sexual content online, according to Microsoft's Digital Civility Survey conducted in 2019. Between looking out for big age gaps, grand gestures of love, how do we know if it's a case...

CONTENT WARNING: Death threats "You're FAT!" and "You should kill yourself" are just some of the many nasty comments that Christabel Chua and Mathilda Huang receive on the daily. Cyberbullying and online harassment are real; chances are, you've probably been a target of a nasty comment, an unsolicited picture, or maybe had your information shared without your permission. So how can we fight back, and how can we keep ourselves safe? This episode was made in collaboration with IMDA, as part...

Body positivity started out as a global movement against the oppressive societal standard that small and skinny equals beautiful. These days, brands and influencers alike claim it as a means to market their clothes to women of all sizes, but Beckie Liu from Haikini wants to challenge that. To her, changing your mindset from thinking about what your body looks like, to what it can do for you, is key. The 26-year-old entrepreneur who’s living in Bali today shares with us her journey from...

A trip to the doctor's to get birth control can be an embarrassing and time-consuming activity for some of us, so the team at Ease Healthcare came up with a solution. Discreet, affordable, and convenient access to birth control, from the comfort of your home and delivered under 4 hours? GOOD THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE! We chat with Guada from Ease, about birth control options and side effects, why access to birth control is a basic right, and the importance of taking ownership over our...

It’s 2021… I don’t know about you, but we’re rejecting outdated notions of beauty society has imposed on us! We take what makes us feel good on the inside, and leave behind what doesn’t! Take it from Kate Low, who grew up in the era of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows (push up bras, flat tummies, long slender legs). She’s since built a lingerie brand, Perk by Kate, which puts the comfort and needs of women at the forefront. How do modern brands and consumers work together to take back power in...

We live in the age of social media, which means, it’s hard not to compare every aspect of our lives, our bodies, with others, including how our g******s look. Although many of us feel shame in talking about our g******s, when we’re asked to think about what a “normal” vulva looks like, we have an image in our minds: small, pink, hairless, tucked in... In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. So why is there so much shame we experience in talking about our g******s, and how do we...

IT’S THE FINAL EPISODE OF OUR SEASON! And we have a special one, featuring Singapore’s youngest female minority MP, Raeesah Khan. It’s been a year since one of Singapore’s most iconic general elections, and incidentally also a year since Raeesah was investigated for alleged online comments about race. We speak with her about her journey in politics one year on, her thoughts about racism in Singapore, tackling important social issues and being a voice for minorities.  New episodes biweekly on...

Narelle Kheng needs no introduction. She’s one of the most iconic millennials of Southeast Asia, having made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List in 2019. But beyond her luxurious music career and glamorous persona, Narelle is just like any one of us. The outspoken advocate for mental health struggles with everyday adulting problems, like managing relationships, feeling lonely, making mistakes, learning how to take care of ourselves, the list goes on. In this episode, we dig into a more...

It’s curious to note the amount of resources we spend on skin care, but only for the skin on our face. Much like our face, our vulvas go through A LOT of change in our lifetime, but are often neglected; some of us even go through our lives never knowing what things look like down there! But why is it important to care about these changes, if well, nobody’s going to see them? From puberty to menopause, we examine what happens to your vulva as you age.  Voyage to the Vulva-verse is a 5 part...

DATING IS HARD… For people like Michelle who was diagnosed with Aspergers at age two, dating is EVEN harder. At first glance, you'll never guess that someone like her has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), because of preconceived notions our society has towards people living on the spectrum. One of which is that they are incapable of having romantic relationships. But Michelle maintains that for individuals with autism, they crave love and intimacy, as much as anyone of us. 

“Eh don’t pussy la bro, don’t be a SIMP.”  When the director of AWARE, Corinna Lim, called for a “review of national service to weed out toxic masculinity”, the internet retaliated. From comments like “NOT ALL MEN”, to “Women should do NS too” and even “What about toxic femininity?”, the conversation around toxic masculinity was thrown back into the spotlight. On our latest episode of the Nic Kim column, we speak with a fellow feminist, Kristian Marc James Paul, on how anyone can perpetuate...

What does it take to start a family? For same-sex couples in Singapore, the reality is expensive and illegal. But for Brenda and Pearlyn, who have been together for 17 years, they knew from the moment they met each other, that having a child was a priority. Despite naysayers who accuse them of being “selfish” for subjecting a child to a same-sex parenthood, and four failed attempts in getting pregnant through a donor sperm, the two delivered baby Velda early last year, and share that they...

Two years ago, an Indonesian woman was handed a six-month jail term after reporting evidence against her harasser, highlighting how women in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation struggles with legal recourse when sexually harassed. Harassment is rife all around the world, Indonesia, a country ranked the most dangerous for women to live in across Southeast Asia, sees an average of three to 400,000 sexual violence cases reported each year. In this episode, Citra Benazir, co-director...

Have you ever been stared at by a stranger in public for too long? Or been told a sexual joke by a friend which made you uncomfortable? A study by the UN revealed that 97 percent of women in the U.K. aged 18 to 24 have experienced some form of harassment in public, but over 70 percent endure it. In this episode, Nicole and Kim discuss the difficulties of navigating boundaries in school and a new workplace, how to speak up when we are uncomfortable, and what allies can do to make the world a...

Did you know, broken heart syndrome is a thing? AND, women are more prone to it. No, this doesn’t make us weaker, just that men and women are biologically different. But the differences in heart health between the genders don’t just stop there. Enter Dr Low and Dr Laureen, two cardiologists running one of Singapore’s first gender-tailored healthcare program (yes, for women!) In this episode, we discuss the need for women to pay attention to cardiovascular diseases, the number 1 killer of...

Malaysian celebrity chef Ili Sulaiman is not shy to share about living with three types of hormonal disorders - polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and thyroid deficiency - conditions that affect at least 1 in 10 women globally.  Since opening up about her endometriosis surgery to 127K followers on Instagram last October, she’s become the confidant for many women struggling with reproductive and sexual health. In Malaysia, where pre-marital sex is considered immoral, Ili shares...

Egg freezing is the future of women’s reproductive freedom and rights. Around the world, companies like Facebook and Apple pay for their employees to freeze their eggs, but in Asia, some governments have made social egg freezing illegal in fear of promoting late motherhood, while others have chosen to leave it unregulated. Enter Juhee An, founder of Freedom Edge, a social business helping Asian women travel to South Korea to freeze their eggs (pre-COVID of course). In this episode, we...

❗️WARNING: This episode includes recounts of suicide attempts.❗️ It’s the last week of what has been a really difficult year, so we want to share a story of hope. In 1994, 24-year-old Tan Kok Liang had everything set out for him - a prestigious job, a loving girlfriend, and had a series of accomplishments to his name. But a tragic accident one day, caused Kok Liang to lose his memory, half his brain, and all his reason to live. Today, Kok Liang goes by the name Takalah. As a motivational...

2020 has been a difficult year, but through adversity comes some of the greatest stories. On this episode, Nicole and Wenqi from popular storytelling platform, Our Grandfather Story, take a hike and reflect on some of their best interviews. From speaking with COVID-19 patients and front line workers, volunteers with lower income groups across Singapore, to healthcare professionals and psychiatric patients. The two share their takeaway as content creators, in this year of reflection.  For...

Ladies (and gents!), we’re sure you’ve heard of the human papillomavirus (HPV); or at least, you might’ve heard that you should get protected against it, because it can help prevent cancer and other diseases in both men and women. Uh-oh, the mums are quaking in the corner now… because to her, why do you need to think about HPV prevention, if you’re not sexually active yet? Awkward! On this episode, Nicole takes one for the team by bringing her mum and long time friend of the podcast, Dr...

Boys... we love them... and that's why we're dedicating an episode to them, for them and about them! We can't really call ourselves feminists, if we don't address the inequalities our boys face, because feminism is about equality of the sexes. On our 50th episode (yay!) we speak with Sean and Darren from Noah, a discreet men’s telehealth clinic, about common health issues like erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and hair loss, and how highly stigmatised conversation around it is,...

We’ve spoken to experts and strong women across 40 episodes now, but what about ordinary everyday women like you and I? After three seasons, Nicole is finally inviting a co-host on board. Meet Kimberly, and welcome to the Nic Kim column! On this episode, we discuss what being a 20-something Southeast Asian woman navigating society is like. From modern dating, to the importance of self love, and the value of having role models in our lives, Nicole and Kimberly share the most intimate and funny...