Scarlett Curtis loves pink. Pink hair, pink dresses and plenty of pink stationery. For anyone who thinks this shows a lack of feminist credentials, the activist and writer would point them in the direction of Feminists don’t wear pink (and other lies), a passionate collection of essays penned by a diverse group of women detailing what feminism means to them, curated by Scarlett. As she sent all the book's writers a message of thanks on Papier notecards (a pink design, of course) we simply had to highlight her as one of our stationery addicts.
The writers in Feminists don’t wear pink range from Hollywood actresses to teenage activists so why did Scarlett, who has written for the likes of the Sunday Times and The Guardian, decide to use multiple voices for this book? “My perspective of feminism comes from a place of being a middle-class white woman and is by no means representative of the movement as a whole,” Scarlett explains. “We either wanted people who hadn’t written about the topic before or amazing activists who the general public might not have heard of. We also have 10 teenage girls in the book which was something that was really important to me as this book is for them so should be written by them too!”
According to Scarlett, what ties the thinking of the different women voicing their opinions and experiences here is that they feel no shame around what many would have seen as contradictions at the heart of their politics. “They wear make-up (if they want) and tiny skirts (if they want) and spend their weekends shivering in the rain at protests or changing the worlds from their computers.”
Shivering in the rain at protests has become a major part of Scarlett’s life since she co-founded The Pink Protest in 2017 – a community of activists committed to engaging in action and supporting each other, with a shared vision to redefine what activism means to young people. “We are the home of the #FreePeriods movement and exist in various mediums; from regular IRL events, to online video content, to actual real-life protests,” Scarlett says. “Today I run TPP with Alice Skinner and Grace Campbell. We want to create a way for activism to be not just accessible, but also fun.”
The Pink Protest has reached its young audience through online channels, particularly Instagram. So what role does Scarlett think books can play in modern feminism? “I think books give a nice quiet space for feminist reflection away from all the noise. I love online feminism but get very overwhelmed with conflicting opinions online sometimes! It’s nice to just cosy up in a corner with a highlighter and read a book away from the comments.” The highlighter, we presume, is pink.
What stationery do you own?
SO much stationery. I used to be a craft addict so I have more supplies than any one woman should have!
What do you love about stationery?
It makes me so happy and feel so organised.
What’s your stationery vibe?
I think I’d have to say pink.
Who’s your stationery idol?
Dita Von Teese travels everywhere with personalised stationery in a leather folder and personalised diamond-encrusted pens!
Complete this sentence: ‘New stationery makes me feel…’
Clever!
Are you a doodler or a neat notetaker?
Neat notetaker!
What’s that To Do list item that never gets ticked off?
Book yoga retreat.
How does it feel to complete a To Do list?
I’ll tell you when it happens.
How tall is your pile of used notebooks that you can’t bear to get rid of?
I never get rid of a notebook!
Do you own a pen pot?
I own many. All overcrammed. And including tampons.
Discover all the Papier Stationery Addicts here.
