Meghan Markle is about to launch a new lifestyle show and the internet has gone wild with its opinions on her and the as yet unaired show.
Regardless of your opinion of her, the amount of online hate she’s getting for pursuing a show around something as innocent as baking a cake is downright ridiculous. Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson (love you, Nigella!) have been whipping up treats for decades without a hitch. If you don’t want to watch, change the channel. It’s not rocket science, folks!
The online hate directed at women, especially those that don’t fit a particular ‘mould’ is absolutely absurd. And in 2025, it’s showing no signs of letting up.
Seven days into the New Year and I’m already exhausted.
It’s a mix of tiredness, frustration, and disillusionment with the current state of the world. There’s a persistent seed of fear in the pit of my stomach about what lies ahead.
Social media, particularly Instagram, bombards me with messages on how to lose weight and achieve the “perfect” body, interspersed with peri-menopause memes that normalise hot flushes, constant PMS, and belly fat as rites of passage for women. Honestly, I’d rather take a detour. Clearly, my algorithms have picked up on my current vibe!
I’m weary of reading about billionaires meddling in democratic countries and their politics. Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris‘ historic run for the presidency gave us hope, but it also highlighted the challenges women of colour face in politics. We really believed that as women we could finally shatter the ever-elusive glass ceiling, yet the women in Afghanistan continue to face dire situations, with reports of kitchen windows being blocked to conceal female occupants, highlighting the ongoing struggle for women’s rights globally even in 2025.
This hate is not just limited to celebrities but everyday women who are just trying to do life.
I sat at a table with a remarkable woman the other day and listened to her share her experience of receiving complete venom online for dressing in a way deemed unacceptable for a new public position in her community. I went online to see what was being said and l really wish I didn’t. Apparently, she is a ‘slut and should be on Only Fans’ because in some pictures on her private page she was showing cleavage. I have never seen a man described this way. Why can’t she be judged on her performance rather than a dress she wore three years ago? I did the unimaginable and told her that, unfortunately, this is how it was and she needed to ignore it. Why should she have to put up with it? She has don’t nothing wrong other than wanting to serve her community. Frankly, it’s exhausting to see us moving backward.
I feel a pervasive sense of “blah,” a term that simultaneously encapsulates a feeling of ‘everything and nothing’ being wrong. A friend once described it perfectly, and it resonates deeply with me now. My Chinese herbalist kindly told me she can’t fix ‘blah’.
It seems like we’re regressing in areas where we’ve fought hard to make progress. The ongoing issues of family violence and the alarming number of women dying are exhausting to discuss. Stories of girls and women unable to afford sanitary products or access reproductive healthcare are heartbreaking. Seeing women my age begging outside supermarkets week after week fills me with a sense of hopelessness, knowing how easily that could be me or someone I know if life took an unexpected turn.
I’m tired of fighting for basic fairness and equity, especially when arguing with men in positions of influence who got there by being in the right place at the right time, not through hard work.
However, as l take a deep breath, despite feeling disillusioned, I know we can’t give up.
If you’re reading this and feeling the same way, we need to keep pushing forward. We must continue fighting for what’s right and just. One day, the homeless woman might have a home or social housing because of our advocacy. Girls will be able to afford tampons because we fought to make them free and accessible. We should be able to express ourselves, wear what we choose, and bake anything we want without facing unwarranted backlash because we’re simply trying to navigate life and improve it for everyone around us.