Taken from the Summer issue. Order your copy now.

Lately, Florence Given has taken to cycling along the empty streets near the Thames. Her preferred form of government-approved exercise sounds idyllic — enviable even — but also highly unusual. After all, anyone who has ever cycled in this city will tell you that the terms ‘idyllic’ and ‘bike ride’ are seldom strung together in the same sentence here. Then again, I’m reminded that we’re also currently two months into a nationwide lockdown, and everything feels like it’s been flipped on its head.

Strange circumstances often bring about very real realisations, though, and from her home in London, Given tells me about one of her own. “It sounds dramatic…” she concedes, “but I truly feel like I’ve unlocked a new exciting part of life: I could have never gone for a bike ride pre-lockdown due to my anxiety about street harassment. Isn’t it awful that it’s taken a pandemic to sweep the streets of men for me to be able to go about my life unbothered? Lord!”

In conversation, the writer and illustrator’s plucky one-liners are reminiscent of the empowering feminist messages that make her work instantly recognisable. In fact, it’s very likely you’ve seen her slogans before, either printed on a tote bag in a bold font or stamped on one of her lively 70s-inspired illustrations, which often tackle topics like body image, sexuality and self-esteem. Given’s first book, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, published by Cassell and out 11 June, will explore some of the same themes. Described as an “accessible leap into feminism,” it promises a deep dive into subjects like self-love, empowerment and patriarchy, and aims to appeal to women (and men!) in all stages of their feminist journeys.

Given’s own feminist perspective was solidified in her last two years at an art college in Plymouth, where she tells me she found her political voice in making art. “I’d always drawn naked women and had engaged in feminist discourse since I was about 15 years old, but it wasn’t until my final major project on this course that I decided to pair these two passions together,” she explains.

Though Given liked living in the city, she also admits that it never really felt like home, telling me: “I’ve had some fun times there, but there’s no real room to grow and expand… There’s also no scene at all for queer women; I didn’t come out as bi until I moved to London and I don’t think I could have done it living down there. While London is still limited in its options for queer women — the only Lesbian bar [being] the size of a shoebox and built entirely underground — at least it’s something.”

For Given, coming out was also part of a greater process through which she started questioning her ideas on love and self-image, which were previously “doused in heteronormativity.” Looking back, she tells me she spent a long time asking herself how many parts of her identity were actually just products of shame and hiding her own desires.

It’s still something she considers a lot, and when I ask Given why women are so prone to neglecting their own needs, she doesn’t miss a beat. “Capitalist patriarchy requires us to be submissive and insecure in this way, so that we will continue to buy into the lie that we need men, their validation and the products they sell to us to make us look ‘better’ — to feel whole,” she enthuses. “The reason I wrote my book is to hopefully poke some holes in this façade. I want women to step out of fear, and into themselves.”

For Given, this purpose can take many forms. As our discussion shifts towards social media, she points out that platforms like Instagram have, in some ways, revolutionised the way those on the margins get to portray themselves. “I think the most powerful thing about social media is that women, queer people and people of colour now have the power to control how they are perceived, and tell their own narratives through their own gaze,” she muses. “Patriarchy hates to see women taking control of their own image; we’re called vain and narcissistic for taking selfies — but I love it. All the things we do that men collectively shame us for is precisely where our power lies. If a man hates something I’m doing, I assume I’m doing a fucking great job at being myself and I’ll probably do more of it.”

It’s clear Given understands that it’s important that people tell their stories on their own terms, and she both respects and looks up to those who do the same. “Angry women inspire me. Full stop. Women who won’t shut up about the things they care about, I love them and I surround myself with them,” she says.

Part of allowing people to tell stories on their own terms is making sure to take an intersectional approach to her work, emphasising the fact that “Intersectionality should be our only approach to feminism.” She also extolls the importance of being vocal in daily life. “It’s imperative that we use our positions of privilege to leverage conversations in our lives with our friends and family,” she explains, “and call people out when they say stuff that rings a little problematic or outdated — because they will listen to you. You’re going to fuck up so many times — I know I did, and still do. But it’s important to show up, make mistakes and come back with changed behaviour, rather than sit in your comfort zone, wrapped in your blanket of privilege avoiding discussing these things simply because it ‘doesn’t affect you’.

Imagine if everyone just left it to the ‘next person’ to do? Nothing would change. We need to be amplifying the voices of marginalised people and calling out bullshit when we see it right now.”

It strikes me that Given herself is a force to be reckoned with, and I figure maybe it’s because she practices what she preaches. Speaking on the joys of finding self- love and being single, she asserts: “Once you know your value, no one can treat you like shit. You simply will not tolerate it. You stop settling for the ‘crumbs’ that people often try to get away with offering you for a spot in your life — because you realise you deserve the whole damn cake.” Though she and I are both in our respective homes when she says this, I can almost see her smirking.

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