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#WomenGetTold You won't be taken seriously if you act too silly – If silly means having a personality, I'm happy with that! My smile is what makes me most beautiful. – Shakia, 28
Women Get Told
Blondes have more fun… Smile more… From an early age women are exposed to statements and clichés, masked as advice, that dictate how we should look if we want to be accepted.
We’re showing the world that the only rules we live by are our own. Will you join us?
#WomenGetTold You won't be taken seriously if you act too silly – If silly means having a personality, I'm happy with that! My smile is what makes me most beautiful. – Shakia, 28
#WomenGetTold Red heads shouldn't wear red – I wear what I want. – Leslie
#WomenGetTold Red heads shouldn't wear red – I wear what I want. – Leslie
#WomenGetTold You should straighten your hair – I love my curls. It will be forever curly. – Marlyee, 28
#WomenGetTold You should straighten your hair – I love my curls. It will be forever curly. – Marlyee, 28
#WomenGetTold Well, you must feel like you're a woman because you're wearing a dress... – I have been open about being intersex, and some people have felt they could then comment on what I should or shouldn’t wear in order to be perceived as a woman. But I don't care. I love trousers and loafers and that has nothing to do with gender. – Susannah, 24
#WomenGetTold Well, you must feel like you're a woman because you're wearing a dress... – I have been open about being intersex, and some people have felt they could then comment on what I should or shouldn’t wear in order to be perceived as a woman. But I don't care. I love trousers and loafers and that has nothing to do with gender. – Susannah, 24
#WomenGetTold Women have to be voluptuous – I used to feel incomplete as a woman because I haven't developed fuller breasts. I totally love my body and don't care about gender expectations anymore. – Victoria
#WomenGetTold Women have to be voluptuous – I used to feel incomplete as a woman because I haven't developed fuller breasts. I totally love my body and don't care about gender expectations anymore. – Victoria
#WomenGetTold Act like a mum – Just because I don't look stereotypically mumsy doesn't mean I'm not a great mum to my kids. I love my style… and so do they. – Misha, 51
#WomenGetTold Act like a mum – Just because I don't look stereotypically mumsy doesn't mean I'm not a great mum to my kids. I love my style… and so do they. – Misha, 51
#WomenGetTold You can't have good looks and brains too. – That's funny... I do. – Rosie
#WomenGetTold You can't have good looks and brains too. – That's funny... I do. – Rosie
#WomenGetTold You should wear something that flatters your figure more – I refuse to wear anything overly girly – I would say my dress is tomboy-ish. I haven’t worn an actual dress in over 15 years. – Leslie
#WomenGetTold You should wear something that flatters your figure more – I refuse to wear anything overly girly – I would say my dress is tomboy-ish. I haven’t worn an actual dress in over 15 years. – Leslie
#WomenGetTold Cover your freckles – I embrace my freckles, they make me unique! – Marlyee, 28
#WomenGetTold Cover your freckles – I embrace my freckles, they make me unique! – Marlyee, 28
#WomenGetTold You'd look better with long hair – I shave my head because I love to challenge beauty stereotypes… and I look good. – Eka, 33
#WomenGetTold You'd look better with long hair – I shave my head because I love to challenge beauty stereotypes… and I look good. – Eka, 33
#WomenGetTold Where’s your girlfriend? – Well, my husband wouldn't approve of that! People sometimes express confusion at my sexuality, especially since I have short hair. They are not aware that I have been with my husband for 27 years and have two teenagers. – Misha, 51
#WomenGetTold Where’s your girlfriend? – Well, my husband wouldn't approve of that! People sometimes express confusion at my sexuality, especially since I have short hair. They are not aware that I have been with my husband for 27 years and have two teenagers. – Misha, 51
#WomenGetTold Your hair's so interesting. Can I touch it? – If I have my natural hair out people often squeeze it like its an alien substance. This makes me very uncomfortable! – Afua, 22
#WomenGetTold Your hair's so interesting. Can I touch it? – If I have my natural hair out people often squeeze it like its an alien substance. This makes me very uncomfortable! – Afua, 22
#WomenGetTold Pluck your eyebrows – My eyebrows are unique to me and I’m proud to wear them naturally everyday. – Maryam
#WomenGetTold Pluck your eyebrows – My eyebrows are unique to me and I’m proud to wear them naturally everyday. – Maryam
#WomenGetTold You would be so pretty if you lost a few pounds – Love who you are! I am very short and I'm curvy. If you pretend to be someone you're not, people can smell it a mile away. – Lily, 23
#WomenGetTold You would be so pretty if you lost a few pounds – Love who you are! I am very short and I'm curvy. If you pretend to be someone you're not, people can smell it a mile away. – Lily, 23
#WomenGetTold Gingers have no soul – Society told everyone that having red hair isn’t desirable. I damaged my hair for years with trying to go blonde, but once I decided to embrace my red roots for all their worth, I couldn't be happier. – Sarah, 24
#WomenGetTold Gingers have no soul – Society told everyone that having red hair isn’t desirable. I damaged my hair for years with trying to go blonde, but once I decided to embrace my red roots for all their worth, I couldn't be happier. – Sarah, 24
#WomenGetTold You look like a guy – "I don't mind, I take it as a compliment!" – Becks, 30
#WomenGetTold You look like a guy – "I don't mind, I take it as a compliment!" – Becks, 30
#WomenGetTold This is too heavy for you to carry – I may be small but that doesn’t mean I’m weak! – Rosie
#WomenGetTold This is too heavy for you to carry – I may be small but that doesn’t mean I’m weak! – Rosie
#WomenGetTold You're too sexy to be a lawyer – "Just because I'm intelligent and educated doesn't mean I should look or act boring." – Anna, 40
#WomenGetTold You're too sexy to be a lawyer – "Just because I'm intelligent and educated doesn't mean I should look or act boring." – Anna, 40
#WomenGetTold Motherhood or career, you can’t have both – "Actually you can. The older I get the more I realize that confidence in yourself can carry you anywhere. And where did I get that confidence? Becoming a mum of six and realizing I didn’t have to live up to anyone else's expectations but mine was refreshing. Beauty comes from within and it’s that feeling that’s carried me to where I am today." – Bella, 52
#WomenGetTold Motherhood or career, you can’t have both – "Actually you can. The older I get the more I realize that confidence in yourself can carry you anywhere. And where did I get that confidence? Becoming a mum of six and realizing I didn’t have to live up to anyone else's expectations but mine was refreshing. Beauty comes from within and it’s that feeling that’s carried me to where I am today." – Bella, 52
#WomenGetTold Your look is too young and bohemian for your age – I like the way I dress. To me, there is no such thing as “dressing your age and I embrace that. – Kim, 50
#WomenGetTold Your look is too young and bohemian for your age – I like the way I dress. To me, there is no such thing as “dressing your age and I embrace that. – Kim, 50
#WomenGetTold You should dye your hair – Why, because it's greying? I like my hair as it is. I am ageing, there is nothing wrong with that. – Wendy, 52
#WomenGetTold You should dye your hair – Why, because it's greying? I like my hair as it is. I am ageing, there is nothing wrong with that. – Wendy, 52
#WomenGetTold You won't get far in this industry – I may be small, but I'm not weak and useless. I've persisted, and now I'm an editor for a major youth media publication. – Emma, 26
#WomenGetTold You won't get far in this industry – I may be small, but I'm not weak and useless. I've persisted, and now I'm an editor for a major youth media publication. – Emma, 26
#WomenGetTold You would look much prettier if you lost some weight – I believe that real beauty comes from health, kindness and openness, is not about what size you are. – Phoebe, 38
#WomenGetTold You would look much prettier if you lost some weight – I believe that real beauty comes from health, kindness and openness, is not about what size you are. – Phoebe, 38
#WomenGetTold I didn't think Asian girls had big bums... – I take it as a compliment and work out to perfect it. – Sehee, 21
#WomenGetTold I didn't think Asian girls had big bums... – I take it as a compliment and work out to perfect it. – Sehee, 21
#WomenGetTold You look so…different – "As a child, all I wanted was to be like everyone else, but as an adult I've become so much more interested in being unique. I stopped wearing a wig and started to feel confident about who I was. I'm very recognisable, but these days I feel positive about that." – Christa, 42
#WomenGetTold You look so…different – "As a child, all I wanted was to be like everyone else, but as an adult I've become so much more interested in being unique. I stopped wearing a wig and started to feel confident about who I was. I'm very recognisable, but these days I feel positive about that." – Christa, 42
#WomenGetTold Why don't you act more like a woman? – I may be a female bouncer, but that doesn't make me any less of a woman. I use my femininity and confidence to my advantage. – Kaz, 48
#WomenGetTold Why don't you act more like a woman? – I may be a female bouncer, but that doesn't make me any less of a woman. I use my femininity and confidence to my advantage. – Kaz, 48
#WomenGetTold You’re too pretty to be a lesbian – What does a lesbian even look like anyway?!? – Lily, 23
#WomenGetTold You’re too pretty to be a lesbian – What does a lesbian even look like anyway?!? – Lily, 23
#WomenGetTold Piercings are unprofessional – I've got loads of piercings.. and I'm also a successful woman, they're not related! I love how I look, and that I have my own thing. – Eka, 33
#WomenGetTold Piercings are unprofessional – I've got loads of piercings.. and I'm also a successful woman, they're not related! I love how I look, and that I have my own thing. – Eka, 33
#WomenGetTold Act your age – Women are scared to age. I am 51 but I feel 20 and I celebrate every birthday I reach. – Kim, 50
#WomenGetTold Act your age – Women are scared to age. I am 51 but I feel 20 and I celebrate every birthday I reach. – Kim, 50
#WomenGetTold Calm down…is it that time of the month? – Whether I'm quiet and reflective, or assertive and have something to say, has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a woman. – Shakia, 28
#WomenGetTold Calm down…is it that time of the month? – Whether I'm quiet and reflective, or assertive and have something to say, has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a woman. – Shakia, 28
#WomenGetTold Where are you really from? – I am half Chinese and often get exoticised. As a child I wanted to be blonde like my Mom, but eventually I realised there was more than the blue-eyed, blonde-haired western model for beauty. – Victoria
#WomenGetTold Where are you really from? – I am half Chinese and often get exoticised. As a child I wanted to be blonde like my Mom, but eventually I realised there was more than the blue-eyed, blonde-haired western model for beauty. – Victoria
#WomenGetTold Taking pictures of yourself is shallow – Selfies can be an act of confidence, not narcissism. – Sarah, 24
#WomenGetTold Taking pictures of yourself is shallow – Selfies can be an act of confidence, not narcissism. – Sarah, 24
#WomenGetTold With your baby-face, you won't be taken seriously – If being petite means you don't command a presence, you have to set things straight yourself. – Monica
#WomenGetTold With your baby-face, you won't be taken seriously – If being petite means you don't command a presence, you have to set things straight yourself. – Monica
#WomenGetTold It's a shame you have all those tattoos when you have such a pretty face... – All of me is beautiful, and my tattoos are part of that! – Kaz, 48
#WomenGetTold It's a shame you have all those tattoos when you have such a pretty face... – All of me is beautiful, and my tattoos are part of that! – Kaz, 48
#WomenGetTold You should smile more – I'm in charge of my body. And trust me, I smile when I'm happy… – Emma, 26
#WomenGetTold You should smile more – I'm in charge of my body. And trust me, I smile when I'm happy… – Emma, 26