by Bonnie Calderwood Aspinwall
Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic
Last week Fearless Femme celebrated its launch with a fun-filled party (#IAmFearless) co-hosted by the University of Edinburgh, featuring speeches from the UK’s first ever Minister for Mental Health, the new Principal of the University and Fearless Femme founder, Dr Eve Hepburn.
The event took place on the 27th of February at the University’s Levels Café, a quirky and relaxing venue whose gracious staff served a selection of delicious mocktails, smoothies and hors d’œuvres to guests, who braved a snow storm to celebrate with us!
The 90 attendees — including the leaders of mental health charities, women’s and LGBTQIA+ organisations, senior university leaders, and government policymakers — had the chance to try out a range of wellbeing activities put on by local entrepreneurs: yoga with Lucy Ridley of Eat Breathe Thrive, storytelling with Lily Asch of Real Talk, shiatsu with Jenny White of Shiatsu Connects, mindfulness with Christina Cran of Wee Seeds, felt embroidery with Morena of Remode Collective and doodling for mindfulness with Anne Rushing of Pop Up! Scotland. Guests were also delighted to receive a limited edition print of the launch issue, which featured the fearless mental health advocate, Carrie Fisher, on the cover, drawn by Fearless Femme’s own Art Director, Ashling Larkin.
The event was also attended by a number of local Fearless Femme contributors, including Heather Pearson (Dear Piers Morgan, Vitruvian Woman), Kate Tweddle (Love Is All) and Jannica Honey (When the Blackbird Sings) who all braved the weather to come out in support of the event and the magazine which aims to give back that same support to its community.
All in attendance heard heartfelt and passionate speeches from Assistant Director for the Institute for Academic Development, Dr Sara Shinton, Minister for Mental Health, Maureen Watt MSP, Principal of Edinburgh University, Professor Peter Mathieson, and Founder and Chief Executive of Fearless Femme, Dr Eve Hepburn.
Professor Mathieson proudly pronounced himself a feminist, and went on to commend Fearless Femme’s strong stance on inclusivity with regard to non-binary individuals, a community — he commented — that is too often left out of feminist movements. He expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative’s focus on working with universities to improve mental health services, stating: “This is something I’m really concerned about — how can universities support students with mental health issues, but also how can they prevent themselves from doing something which makes these mental health issues worse?”
Maureen Watt MSP praised Fearless Femme for its focus on young people and for encouraging an end to the stigma of mental illness and amplifying serious conversations about mental health: “Fearless Femme is an exciting resource which will empower women and femmes and enable us to support one another. […] It is an outlet for creative expression and is a safe space to share experiences of mental health.” She added that she was excited to hear about the project’s “commitment to collate research on the mental health of the readers which can be used to form specific policy recommendations.”
Dr Hepburn spoke emotionally about her experiences with loss and grief, bullying at work and breakdown, and expressed her gratitude to everyone who has helped to get Fearless Femme off the ground.
The Fearless Femme team couldn’t be more thankful for such a wonderful and supportive launch party. Onwards and upwards!
Bonnie Calderwood Aspinwall
Bonnie is a genderfluid writer-adventurer from Scotland (and England and America). She studied at the University of Edinburgh and l’Université Paul-Valéry-Montpellier. She is passionate about mental health, intersectional feminism, gender and sexuality, and much more. When not at her desk in Fearless Femme HQ, she is probably swing dancing, binge-watching Media Content (no spoilers), or trying to read 50 books in a year.
