I’m bringing you my youngest “Woman Who Inspires Me” so far with this month’s entry. She’s a writer, a baker, and an all-around bad ass.
Ruby Tandoh
I first came across Ruby the way that most people did: on the Great British Bake Off back in 2013. I will hold my hands up and fully admit that she was not my favourite contestant that season, though she was extraordinarily talented.
Since then, I’ve quite avidly followed her columns in both food journals, and online sites like Vice. And then she released her non-fiction book “Eat Up: Food Appetite and Eating What You Want” in 2018. It was a novel that I literally devoured. Pun completely intended.
Never had I read such an eloquent dismissal of diet culture and the dangers of the wellness industry. She was speaking straight to my soul and it was one of the most powerful reads of the year for me.
Ruby is 27 but she’s accomplished so much in life already. Multiple cookbooks, runner-up in Bake Off, non-fiction, standing up for herself and speaking her mind always, and founding a zine with her wife about mental health (the proceeds of which go to charities and non-profits).
She’s one of my favourite people to follow on twitter. If I accomplished a fraction of what Ruby has accomplished in her life already, I’d be one happy camper. She’s an inspiration to speak your mind, take up space and don’t be afraid of challenging someone.
No doubt some people, probably guys, will be thrown off balance by your forthrightness. Who cares. Eat their leftovers. If they carry on judging you, eat them, too.
Ruby Tandoh, “Eat Up”
In the very same books that tell us to locate our self-worth not in how we look but in who we are and how we feel – there is a consistent, entrenched fear of fatness.
Ruby Tandoh
Is there any woman that you find particularly inspiring at the moment?
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
Women Who Inspire Me #1: Joan Didion
A Christmas Gift Guide for Your Favourite Feminist
Women Who Inspire Me #2: Sylvia Plath
Feminist Reads for Every Age
Women Who Inspire Me #3: Georgia O’Keeffe
Women Who Inspire Me #4: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
My Feminism Journey
Women Who Inspire me #5: Audre Lorde
Women Who Inspire Me #6 Roxane Gay
Women Who Inspire Me #7 My mom
Women Who Inspire Me #8: Frida Kahlo
Women Who Inspire Me #9: Lindy West
Women Who Inspire Me #10: Margaret Charles Smith
Women Who Inspire Me #11: My Grandmother
Women Who Inspire Me #12: Ibu Robin Lim
Women Who Inspire Me #13: Iris Apfel
Women Who Inspire Me #14: My Best Friend
Women Who Inspire Me #15: Audrey Hepburn
Women Who Inspire Me: #16: Elizabeth Warren
