Love from, Florence Grace

Over the last 18 months or so, we have see more media publicity than ever before about abuse and ill treatment towards women, including things such as the #MeToo movement. The awareness of how men behave towards women in public and, more importantly, in private has increased massively and is now something people are talking about more and more. As someone who has been treated horrifically by men in the past, the #MeToo movement is something that really resonates with me, and when I started dating again, it was very important to me to find a man who treated me with respect, had the same values and ideas as me and identified as a feminist - which, let me tell you, is not easy to find. Obviously I started my dating journey online, and that is where I think the problem really begins - whilst hiding behind a computer of phone screen, people can pretend to be whoever they want to be. They have the courage to say whatever they want to say, even if it's in no way appropriate becaus...

Yesterday, a trending Twitter moment really caught my eye - "Amber Davies new rules on sex", in collaboration with BBC Radio 5 Live. And from Rule 1, I knew we were on a downwards slope. If you missed the moment, don't worry - here is a list of Amber's 'new rules' for sex: No sex on the first date . "If you don't know the person, don't have sex with the person. It's all about self respect". If there is alcohol involved, ask yourself if you're going to regret this in the morning . Because when you're under the influence of alcohol, you're a lot more vulnerable. Don't think sex is to impress. Amber thinks females and males would be a lot more impressed if you don't put out on the first date. We are absolutely binning the saying "no strings attached" or "friends with benefits". Amber says us females, we all know we get emotionally attached after sex so if you don't want to get hurt don...

I’ve been talking about dating a lot recently. But that’s just because there is so much to say! Whether it’s about finding the best dating sites , how to get back into dating, staying safe while dating or even just some good old date ideas, there’s always something to talk about – better still, there’s always stories to share too! I think the worst date I went on was with a guy that I had politely said yes to on a night out because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings (rooky error). He made me pay for the entire date and that was just a total ball ache because I wasn’t even into the guy! That was a harsh lesson that taught me to be more honest with myself (and dates) and learn to say no and mean it! Whether you’re part of the Oxford dating scene, the Sussex dating scene, the London dating scene, the Manchester dating scene or the Norfolk dating scene, I think we all have stories we can tell about bad dates. If you’re a Leeds single, a Liverpool single, a Wiltshire s...

Whilst love, sex and relationships are spoken about across mainstream media platforms a lot , one topic that isn’t often brought up is safety in these situations. While safety is always paramount in any kind of relationship, it is particularly important at the beginning of a relationship, when you first start dating someone. You are essentially doing what your parents always warned you against doing – meeting up with a stranger (who you may or may not have met online) that you probably don’t know too much about, and this can sometimes be incredibly dangerous. Of course you should use your common sense and do all the sensible things – tell several friends and family members all about your date. Tell them their name, age, where they work, where they’re from and most importantly of all, where you’re meeting and what time. Make sure you meet your date in a public place with lots of people, and if you can, try and meet your date somewhere that you’re familiar with. But what...

I feel like before I really delve into this blog post, I have to make one thing clear: Feminism is about the equality of the sexes. It's as simple as that. It's not about hating men, it's not about trying to be better than men, it's not about becoming superior. It's about women being treated in the same, decent way men are treated.  So with that thought in mind, why wouldn't  I want the men in my life to be feminists? Why wouldn't I want to have mutual respect for the men in my life? I want them to value me the way I value them - not see me as less than them, beneath them even. I want them to view me as the same  as them, on their level. Anything less is just simply not for me.  Not too long ago I was reading out a Twitter thread to my boyfriend. It was all about things women found to be a turn off in men, and one that I read out loud was "If he's not a feminist". I laughed, because obviously I agreed - I'm not attracted ...

I love myself. There, I said it. And to be honest, it's no secret - I speak about it all the time across my social media platforms. I am a huge  advocate of body positivity and self love and I spend as much time as I can encouraging other people to love and appreciate themselves and their bodies too. I grew up struggling to like myself, let alone love myself, and now that I've finally learnt to appreciate my body, my mind, every inch of myself, I work so hard to make sure that other people are able to do the same. This was one of the best tweets I ever received... to know that sharing my self love journey so openly online helped to inspire and empower another is the best feeling! It doesn't help that for years and years and years  we have it drummed into our heads that to appreciate our looks is vanity . That to talk about all the things we are achieving and have going on for us is bragging . So often people who love themselves are branded as big head...

*Trigger Warning: Sexual abuse, sexual violence, rape, domestic abuse* Monday 5 th February to Sunday 11 th February is Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week. I find sexual abuse and violence a particularly hard topic to speak about, because I am incredibly passionate about it. Unfortunately, my passion for the topic is not simply down to my compassion for those who go through it; it’s because I have been a victim of sexual abuse and violence myself. It isn’t something I speak about often, if at all. Only a handful of people in my life know anything about it, and whilst I have written an incredibly long and detailed post about my experiences, as a way of ‘healing’, I have never had the courage to press publish. There are a number of reasons for this; I don’t want to be branded a liar . I don’t want the men who made me a victim to come after me - because they quite easily could. I don’t want people to slut shame me, as so often happens to young women ...