Florence Given

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Florence Given
Born1998 (age 25–26)
NationalityBritish
Alma materLondon College of Fashion
Occupation(s)Illustrator, writer, social activist

Florence Given (born 1998[1][2]) is a British illustrator, writer, feminist social activist, and influencer.

Life and career[edit]

Given attended Plymouth College of Art from age 16 to 18 before moving from Plymouth to London in 2017 to study at the London College of Fashion.[2] In 2018, she launched a petition to cancel the Netflix series Insatiable, which she accused of fat-shaming,[3] gaining over 300,000 signatures.[4][5] Given uses social media platforms, such as Instagram, to raise awareness of issues of sexuality, race and gender.[6][7]

Given's first book, Women Don't Owe You Pretty, was published on 11 June 2020. It explores ideas in contemporary feminism.[8][9] Given's second book, Girl Crush, was published in August 2022. A fiction book, it follows the bisexual woman Eartha after she goes viral on the internet.[10] It topped the Sunday Times Bestseller List.[11]

Her podcast Exactly launched in January 2022. With guests including Munroe Bergdorf, Sofie Hagen and Jameela Jamil, Given discusses sex, relationships and social media.[10][11][12] It won the gold award for Best Marketing Campaign at the 2022 British Podcast Awards.[13]

Influences[edit]

Given has cited model and activist Munroe Bergdorf and fashion writer Chidera Eggerue as influences.[14] Eggerue criticized Given's first book, Women Don't Owe You Pretty, as unusually similar to her own books in style and prose content. She argued that this was an instance of ideas from the black community being appropriated by white authors for profit.[15][16]

Recognition[edit]

Given won Cosmopolitan's UK Influencer of the Year 2019 for her work on women's mental health.[4][17][18] Irish magazine Her listed her among its Women of the Year 2019.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Florence Isobel GIVEN". Companies House. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b Petter, Olivia (12 July 2019). "Meet Florence Given, the 20-year-old illustrator who wants you to 'dump him'". The Independent.
  3. ^ "Petition to Cancel 'Insatiable' Gains Steam: 'This Series Will Cause Eating Disorders'". TheWrap. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Florence Given". Diving bell group. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  5. ^ "More than 100,000 signatures on petition to cancel Netflix show Insatiable". Ilkley Gazette. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  6. ^ Onwuemezi, Natasha (9 March 2018). "The Slumflower to write on 'aloneness' for Quadrille". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  7. ^ Brewster, Amy (28 May 2019). "8 Epic Women Using Instagram In Inspiring Ways". ELLE. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  8. ^ Galvao, Carol Abbott (24 June 2020). "Florence Given". Wonderland. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  9. ^ Chandler, Mark (25 September 2019). "Cassell bags influencer Given's 'accessible leap into feminism'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b Clark, Alex (7 August 2022). "Florence Given: 'People don't want you to break the mould... I needed to". The Observer. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b Bown, Chloe (14 October 2022). "Florence Given on why we need more 'messy' characters in books". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  12. ^ Geall, Lauren (January 2022). "Celebrity podcasts: 24 of the best series to listen to in 2022, from Meghan Markle to Dua Lipa". Stylist. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  13. ^ "British Podcast Awards 2022 – full winners list announced". Radio Today. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  14. ^ Reid, Madeline (30 November 2018). "Class of 2019: Get to Know the Year's Rising Stars". PHOENIX Magazine. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  15. ^ Young, Sarah (10 December 2020). "Chidera Eggerue accuses Florence Given of 'copying' her book: 'This is exactly how white supremacy works'". The Independent. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  16. ^ Wray, Rebecca (18 December 2020). "From The Slumflower to Florence Given: why influencer books about feminism seem so similar". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Get to Know Florence Given, an Artist Who Empowers Women". Glitter Magazine. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  18. ^ Hampson, Laura (3 August 2019). "Meet Florence Given: the influencer telling women to dump their boyfriends". Evening Standard.
  19. ^ "Her's Women of the Year 2019: From politics and culture to sport, we raise a glass to the female leaders who have inspired us this year". Her.ie. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]