10 women you should be following online

There are several thousand astounding, astonishing and amazing women to be found on social media. Women that uplift inspire and amuse. Women that make you think, punch the air or weep with feeling. Clever women. Women that make you think they live inside your head and get you. Courageous women. Strong women. Funny women.

There are also several thousand irritating, vacuous and annoying women there too. But I avoid these women as rigorously as I avoid chuggers, regular exercise and calls from my accountant.

So in honour of International Women’s Day – I’ve identified the top ten women rocking my online world! Long may they make my world, and yours, a much better place!

Clementine Ford

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-Clementine-280x280According to the ABC website Clementine is a freelance writer, broadcaster and public speaker who writes on feminism, pop culture and social issues. On her Tumblr blog platform she describes herself as a notorious boner killer, bookworm and bon vivant.

She’s controversial, compassionate, empathetic and rigorously self aware. She challenges everybody’s thinking particularly around the role of women in society and ingrained sexism and misogyny.  Some love her, some loathe her and some love to loathe her. I love the way she challenges my thinking and gets me pondering on why I think what I think. She takes the world seriously and is serious about taking on the world. She’s kick arse and makes me want to be too.

www.twitter.com/clementine_ford

www.facebook.com/clementineford 

 

Mariam Veiszadeh

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-mariam-280x280Mariam is a lawyer, community rights advocate, opinion writer, ambassador for Welcome to Australia and President of the Islamophobia Register.  She’s funny, she’s fierce and she’s not very tall. She is also incredibly gracious and courageous in the face of continual abuse, death threats and other bollocks based on the fact that she is a woman, a Muslim and has opinions.

I met Mariam in the flesh at an event once and behaved like a fan at a Spice Girls concert so I stick to following her online and performing my cheer routines in my office whenever she uses her considerable wit and smarts to punch holes in the stupidity of racism, sexism and xenophobia in general. If you don’t actually see the simple awesomeness in most of what Mariam has to say, we can’t be friends. It’s that simple.

www.facebook.com/mariamveis

www.twitter.com/mariamveiszadeh

 

Anita Heiss

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-anita-280x280Anita is an author, social commentator, satirist, poet, member of the Wiradjuri nation and campaigner for Aboriginal literacy. I first discovered her via her book “Am I black enough for you?” where she explored the issue of Aboriginal identity and challenged stereotypes about what it means to ‘be properly Aboriginal’.

I love how following Anita has introduced me to a whole world of art, theatre, comedy and literature by indigenous Australians, given me a greater understanding of the issues affecting indigenous youth and shown me ample examples of the strong heart and feminist principles that appeals to me in all my favourite women.

www.twitter.com/anitaheiss

www.facebook.com/Anita-Heiss-Author 

 

Caitlin Moran

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-caitlin-280x280Caitlin Moran is an author (How to be a woman, Moranthology, How to build a girl), journalist and speaker. She is a feminist, lover of music and a brilliant social commentator. There is not a thing she writes that I don’t wish to read.

Her Twitter bon mots make me laugh out loud and her use of the English language weaves the profound and the profane together in phrases so delicious you can taste them.  She’s pragmatic, funny and flawed and if you don’t already read everything she writes, you’re about to fall in love.

www.twitter.com/caitlinmoran

 

 

 

Clare Bowditch

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-Clare-280x280Clare is a musician, actor and owner of the love project Big Hearted Business. Not being a fan of Offspring I didn’t discover Clare until I heard her speak at a conference a few years back and I have adored her since. Her music is brilliant and independent, and she’s on a one woman mission to be bloomin’ lovely all the time.

Of course, if she’s rockin’ my world she’s a woman of many strong opinions but she is out there actively trying to make the world a better place by doing good deeds, linking creativity and business, creating networks based on positivity and kindess,and being really nice about a lot of people. With the occasional health dose of ‘the swears’. Even your mother will love her.

www.facebook.com/clarebowditch

www.twitter.com/clarebowditch

 

Meshel Laurie

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-meshel-280x280Meshel is a recent ‘online’ discovery for me. She’s a comedian and TV personality, which I knew. And strangely, but usefully for trivia nights, I knew she was a Buddhist. What I only recently discovered is that this is a woman that gives a shit about a lot of awesome things and is almost able to silence Miranda Devine, which is a rare and valuable skill set.

Her blog is dedicated to showcasing causes that you can give time or money too, she is a proactive supporter of survivors of child abuse and puts that distinctive voice of hers to good use in a range of underappreciated ways. And she’s funny as fuck too.

www.twitter.com/Meshel_Laurie

www.facebook.com/meshellaurie

 

 

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-yassmin-280x280Yassmin is the only Sudanese-Egyptian-Australian-Muslim woman to work on an oil rig, a FIFO worker, the author of Yassmin’s Story – Who do you think I am?, a motorsports fanatic and a mechanical engineer. She can do amazingly artistic things with a head scarf, talks faster than I do, has an incredibly infectious laugh and is the founder of www.youthwithoutborders.com.au which empowers young people to change the world.

If I have to actually tell you anything else to get you interested in following her online then you are either dead or ….. nope. Death would be the only reason you’re not clicking through right now.

www.twitter.com/yassmin_a

www.facebook.com/YassminAbdelMagied

 

 

Bunmi Laditan

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-Bunmi-280x280Bunmi is laugh out loud funny. She describes herself as author and official ambassador for the book Nobody likes a c*ckblock. She wrote The Honest Toddler (among others) and has a no bullshit approach to her own insecurities, parenting and life that appeals even when you don’t relate. If you read no other post of hers, read the one about the ‘organic’ chicken and chips.

If you are reading your social media when you are supposed to be paying attention in a meeting, you are completely going to get busted because nobody is going to believe you chortled that hard and that loudly at a budgetary update. Even if you work for the Federal Treasury.

www.facebook.com/BunmiKLaditan

www.twitter.com/HonestToddler

 

 

Danielle Villasana

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-Danielle-280x280Danielle is a Peruvian photojournalist with a passion for gender, identity and health. She co-founded @everydaylatinamerica to combat media stereo types about Latin America and has won a Getty award for emerging talent.

To be honest I know very little else about her except for her photography which is breathtaking. Photography is my favourite visual art form and I could look at her pictures for hours. In fact, I have. And then I have found myself clicking through looking for more information on the stories that her pictures portray and eventually when I find myself clicking on links that lead me to the Kardashians I know it’s time to stop. If this is the start of Danielle’s career than WOW! And more WOW!

www.instagram.com/davillasana

www.twitter.com/davillasana

 

Miranda Hart

160229-ALISON-HALLWORTH-Miranda-280x280Miranda is a comedian, actress, writer and a mental health advocate. She’s also bonafide British aristocracy which she is less than thrilled about and the truth is, Hart is not her real surname. She did actually try out for the QPR Rangers too but I try not to hold that piece of football trivia against her.

Her Facebook feed is a bit ho hum (if you’re reading this Miranda and need a new community manager – call me) but her Twitter feed is akin to being on a very drunken night out with one of your favourite people. She’s a very dry wit so if you’re not sure what’s funny about her, the joke is on you.

www.twitter.com/mermhart

www.facebook.com/mirandahartofficial

 

Who have we missed? Who are your favourite women to follow online?

Written By

Alison Hallworth is the Director of Positively Social, blogger-in-chief at Talking Frankly and is actively opposed to apathy. She is passionate about the power of positive social interactions and their impact on individuals, businesses and human rights. She has over 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, branding, and social media, and ‘apparently’ talks too much. She is an admirer of wordsmiths, quirky thinking, equality, chutzpah and kindness.

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