You know those type of people who just kind of drop on into your life, and after meeting them once you kind of realise how much more of them you will be seeing for the rest of your life? Well that’s Gem. I can count my best girls on two hands, and I can tell you now, she is definitely on my first hand. Gemma is a total bad-arse writer, CEO of her own company (Global Hobo), creative genius (IMO), and just all-round kind hearted soul to have in my life. She has some pretty insightful thoughts about women and their bodies, and after reading these answers I definitely felt like I got that one step closer to the enigmatic life-force that is Gemma Clarke.
1. What do you think is the answer to all girls being able to accept their bodies for what they are (an ever changing organism capable of anything) at a young age?
Increased representation in the media, better sex education in schools, no body shaming and the desexualisation of nudity. Living in Japan, I was amazed at how at-ease young women in their teens are with their bodies in public bathhouses because nudity is so normalised there. At 12, I would hide in the change room and desperately clutch at my breasts and vagina if anyone looked at me, but I have seen women and girls with one breast, no breasts, large breasts, pubic hair and no pubic hair strip down in Japan without a second thought, no matter who is around.
2. Do you like your body? Would you say your relationship with your body is considered “healthy”?
I love my body – always have, but I didn’t treat it very well until a few years ago. Like most girls I know, I was casually bulimic for close on five years, but the older I get, the more accepting I get of all of me.
3. What has brought you to the conclusion that you like/dislike your body?
Moving away from the Gold Coast and its hectic beauty expectations, and starting to appreciate all of the unconventional beauty in the women around me made me see what is attractive in myself.
4. What do you do to make yourself feel good?
Taking myself and a book to a cute Italian restaurant with street dining and washing down a scrumptious pasta with a glass of red makes me feel fabulous. Reading the newspaper with a coffee in the morning makes me feel clever and worldly. Writing a poem and drawing pictures by candlelight at night makes me feel creative and whole.
5. Do you like to define yourself by anything in particular? Like being a good dancer, artist, writer etc.
Writer, traveller and avid consumer of information.
6. What’s the “big thing” you want the world to know about you, if anything?
The reason I sleep so much is because I love to dream.
7. What would you deem to be your biggest challenge in life so far?
Being present and content with what is around me without looking ahead for the next stimulant.
8. Where do you feel most at home, outside of the place that you are currently living?
Sleeping in my van in the Australian bush.
9. Do you think women have a particularly special bond with nature? If so, how would you describe this bond, and what relationship do you personally have with nature?
I couldn’t say if women in particular have a special bond with nature – though, perhaps we do, seeing as the Earth is a mother after all, and female solidarity is one of the strongest bonds that exists. For me personally, I grew up in the Gold Coast Hinterland, and was dragged on family bushwalks before I could even stand on my own two legs. I always loved playing outside as a child – climbing trees and collecting rocks and catching bugs; and as an adult, I spend almost all my free time hiking, camping, swimming and exploring in national parks. Being in nature grounds and relaxes me, keeps me curious and reminds me that any consumerist bullshit or quests for status I get caught up with in the city – especially seeing as I work in media – are really not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.
10. What song or album can you always put on to bring you back to yourself?
‘Bohemian Like You’ – The Dandy Warhols
"...starting to appreciate all of the unconventional beauty in the women around me made me see what is attractive in myself."