Items

• 
  2020-04-16

  Humans of Covid-19 AU: Clementine Ford

  “Like a lot of people, I began isolation in quite a heightened state of anxiety, wary of how long this might go on for. Initially it was difficult, but I’m adjusting to this slower pace of life. I have been indulging in things that have traditionally been seen as frivolous, especially when women do them, but are actually deeply enjoyable: cooking, baking, playing with my hair, creating new makeup looks. When my son was in childcare, I was regretting all the time that I wasn’t spending with him. I could foresee a moment in the future when I would look back and think I missed out. At least now I have all this time, with memories I otherwise wouldn't have had. Women are on the front line at the moment: nurses, health care workers, child care workers, teachers. Interestingly, this has really exposed exactly who the essential workers are in our society. They’re not the CEOS, but the women out there who are taking care of their communities. What has become transparently obvious from this pandemic is that the only thing holding us back from significant social change is political and social will power. We are highly malleable and adaptable as a species. We have the choice to build the kind of society that we want to live in. It's just about whether we want to do it.” Instagram post on Clementine Ford, writer & host of the Big Sister Hotline podcast, and her experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.