Tips for Female Section Hikers

Let’s talk section hiking... as women. I recently joined my partner and his friend on a section of the epic Pacific Crest Trail. My entire section hike took me from Cascade Locks in Oregon, right up through to Chinook Pass in Washington. Now, I’m not claiming female identifying hikers to be different to any other hikers. Each individual hiker covers different amount of miles & values various gear regardless of gender identity... but I wanted to write this piece merely to share my personal experience of section hiking as a woman. 

The lead up... I was setting out to join my partner and his hiking buddy about 3 months into their Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) journey. This meant they had gained their “trail legs” (hiker slang for getting used to walking long distances on the daily) and were hitting 20 mile + days more often than not. They had their food prep down to a T, and for the most part were used to their heavy packs. So needless to say - even though as a keen outdoors nut & Pilates instructor, I have, I would say, an above average levels of fitness - I was nervous. I didn’t want to push myself to point of injury to keep up, but equally I didn’t want to slow them down on their PCT progression towards the Canadian border. 

First things first... I created a vision board

I love a colour scheme as much as the next person. And I felt there was no reason why colour coordination & hiking gear couldn’t go hand in hand. Wearing my favourite bright colours on trail would satisfy my style OCD. Plus, I already had a fair few items of hiking apparel in my fave colours, so why not continue the theme when buying the rest? There’s no reason you can’t mix practicality with cute prints and colours. 

Next Priority: Break in the oul hiking shoes 

I did this by wearing my Brooks Cascadia 16 trail runners (more on these beauties later) on my usual runs. I didn’t wear them out too much, but equally they were comfortable and my feet got used to them before the trip. A friend of mine who is an outdoors lover recommended I go for a brand that I love. and know my feet love already, and search if they have trail shoes. Sure enough, my beloved brand Brooks have a range of trail shoes so it made my decision easy. My advice would be - your brand of hiking shoe is completely personal to you and your foot’s shape and sole type. I also opted for a hiking shoe rather than boot to suit the type of terrain I would be hiking. Hiking shoes dry quicker, perfect for river crossings. Plus, I like the idea of the shoes being flexible & feeling the ground more - less likely to go over on my ankle. 

Alright... Let’s talk gear... 

Health n Safety, Y'all

When it comes to health and safety, my motto is “prevention over reaction”. This meant taking precautionary methods in an attempt to prevent injury or illness on trail. 

For me, gut health is tightly interlinked with overall health. As somebody who has suffered quite frequently from kidney infections and UTIs, I was hyper aware that I wanted to avoid getting one of these uncomfortable infections on trail. With all the wild swimming and sweating, my gut health and general hygiene was a big concern of mine. I took probiotic tablets daily. These Boots own brand Live Friendly Bacteria Capsules did the trick. I also took multivitamins daily, as my usual diet consists of lots of fresh fruit and veg - something I knew I'd be lacking on trail,

As a Pilates instructor, I’m very in tune with my body so my next biggest worry would have been getting injured or damaging muscles on trail. I carried a small cork ball to roll out muscles in the evenings. I also doubled up my fold-up Therm-a-rest ground mat as a yoga mat and religiously stretched every evening. It’s not breaking news to hear that a stretch before bed after a long day hiking aids muscle recovery and makes you feel less stiff the next morning. I also wore kinesiology muscle tape as protection around my knees. I felt I was being a bit dramatic wearing this the first day I headed out on trail, but I wanted to use it as prevention. I genuinely think it worked and gave the muscles around my knees significant support.

Before going on trail, I did a fair bit of research into methods to prevent blisters. As I was only joining the lads for roughly 3 weeks of their hike, I didn’t want painful blisters slowing me down. If I was to do the full PCT, blisters would be a right of passage and part of the journey. However, as a section hiker I think I felt more pressure to be fighting fit as any time off trail due to injury would eat into my precious trip - something I definitely wanted to avoid. Toe wraps worked well (wrapping my toes individually). I also wore individual toe socks some of the days. I made sure to change socks regularly, and keep them as clean and dry as I could manage. Lastly, when I did spot the start of a blister or two, I slapped on a blister plaster when hiking and let the air at them at night / days off to prevent them getting any worse. They went away pretty niftily! 

ChafeGate!

I definitely didn't factor in chafing as being a potential problem... But lo and behold, I chafed! I was wearing quite short shorts to cope with the high temperatures. However, the lads I was with lent me a vaseline-type rub to put on my inner upper thighs and it did the trick (apologies, I don't remember the name of it...) That, as well as wearing my slightly longer skort, helped the chafegate and it didn't hassle me at all again. Another plus, the rub smelt lovely so that doubled up as trail perfume.

Minding my weight...

But not in that way! Backpack weight is everything when section hiking! I was definitely not used to a heavy pack. It wasn’t the walking that bothered me so much but the load of my pack. At the end of my first day, I’m embarrassed to say, I cried because my pack just felt so heavy. I felt like a turtle! Again, if I was doing the full trail I'm sure I would've gotten used to my pack weight. I saw so many women slighter than me absolutely smashing miles with hefty enough packs. But with only 3 weeks on trail, I didn't feel that would give me apt time to get used to a really heavy weight. I may just have gotten used to it at the end of the 3 weeks... and they'd I'd be flying home! So alas, I came up with some coping mechanisms I found... (as well as my partner carrying our tent and letting us use the food I was carrying first. Thank you!)

 Filtering and drinking as much water as I could at a water source and carrying maybe only one litre at a time in between sources 

 packing out half full toiletries such as toothpaste, and dispensing toiletries into portable, smaller bottles and only taking as much as I need per section. Also, if I purchased a fun-sized moisturiser on a town day, I would use up maybe half the bottle in town and bring the remainder with me on trail. Every ounce saved helps. Trust me  

 Hard to predict the weather... but if you have some idea, only bring clothing that’s necessary to suit the temperature. You can always pack out one warm layer as emergency - an ultra light down jacket was my favourite. See the link to my brand of down jacket in Top Picks.

 If possible, make use of a bounce box. This is something the lads did - we sent certain items ahead via post to towns further on the trail. This way, I didn't have to carry everything all at once.

Planning ahead = saving weight.

Luxuries

As above: Weight is important. And you certainly only pack the essentials. However... I have to admit I did have a few teeny little luxuries on trail. I'm definitely not a die-hard thru-hiker, but I see no reason why you can't have a lil luxury on trail...

Trail Couture

I wore jewellery, lots of silver / rose gold rings, lil necklace & small gold hoop earrings (cos I feel naked without hoops). These made me feel cuter on trail and no need to worry about them adding weight! TOP TIP: I also made a small little pine cone necklace when my own necklace broke. Would recommend.

Still Cute Tho...

My beauty tips on trail... I packed out any mini moisturisers from motel rooms, really light and easy to squeeze in. I also packed an eyebrow pencil - super light and small, for those days I wanted to feel a bit more myself on trail. As much as I could, my bedtime routine included washing in the last source of water (a swim was always a bonus if I could!), then I would use a baby wipe (or three) to get rid of surface dirt, then lastly... moisturise! I packed a small eye cream with retinol. This cream had much the same ingredients as a normal facial night cream with retinol, but much tinier. A little beauty hack! I invested a bit more money in a good sun protection so it could double up as my day facial moisturiser. See below in my Top Picks section... 

Blue Lake, Washington. The perfect pre-bed bathing spot.

All this being said, I actually found the time away from mirrors and makeup really liberating. It made me appreciate inner beauty more, and made me less self-conscious or worried about how I looked. Everybody was filthy on trail, but really beautiful at the same time!

I would  recommend embracing the dirt!

It’s kind of a lewk. 

My trail beauty tips lead me nicely along to...

Town Day Tips

Overdose on toiletries! (Sorry, I'm a lil obsessed with all things hair and skin... I am also an actress). For curly haired ladies (or gents) like me, you will appreciate this tip: After any shower in town, I would leave the conditioner in my hair for ages, using it almost as a hair mask. Just to give it an extra bit of TLC after all the fresh water & sun exposure on trail. Same goes for moisturiser, I would lather on as much as my skin could take to give it some much needed nourishment post trail. After using as much as my skin / hair could handle from the full sized bottles, I left them in a hiker box for other hikers at the end of my stay. This way it’s not wasteful, something I wanted to avoid. Waste not, want not. 

 When you have access to a mirror... Floss! Floss! And floss some more...  Even if you mind your diet on trail, your dental hygiene regime isn’t going to be as good as at home. Add that with some of the more high sugar snacks you may be having on trail, dried fruits etc, flossing becomes essential to maintain good dental hygiene. 

  Stock up on fresh fruit and veg! Even as simple as ordering a large side salad if you are eating out. The local fruit in season is tasty as well. Big up Packwood peaches, and Trout Lake nectarines!

It’s also a good idea to stock up on what you’re body is craving / food you can’t bring on trail. For me that was natural yoghurt  Also, think about getting some good probiotics into you, a refreshing way to do that is grabbing a bottle of kombucha. 

Spot the side salad amongst the GIGANTIC pizzas... Photographed at Cruiser's restaurant in Packwood.
They give you the diameter of the pizza... but they don't tell you the depth! Weren't even able to manage a small!

Trail Food Prep

One of my favourite things to do was to mix and match my own trail mix in towns. For example, I chose my favourite nuts (almonds & salted peanuts), seeds, & added my fave dried fruit (cranberries, for gut health), and broken up pieces of 88% dark choc  Pop all this in a ziplock bag and mix it up and you have your own personalised trail mix! The ultimate snack.

Trail Food

I think no hiking blog would be complete without touching on trail food... I won't harp too much on about it, but I will share my top picks and tips of things I enjoyed on trail (without labouring on about the obvious staples such as cous-cous, instant mash and chicken alfredo... all of which I thoroughly enjoyed for my short stint. A perk of being a section hiker I guess - trail food is a bit of a novelty!).

  We started to pick huckleberries / blueberries towards the end of the day’s hiking - and we'd have these as toppings on our breakfast bagels in the morning. On top of almond butter. LOTS of it.   Would 10/10 recommend and a great way to get vitamins into you on trail. 

Other Fave Foodie Bits include:

- Coffee sachets - great treat with elevenses!

- Green tea - perfect to warm up during the colder evenings, with great health benefits to keep your immune system ticking over.

- Outdoor Provisions nut butter sachets  Check em out here. My fave flavours were defo almond, date and sea salt; hazelnut and cacao; and coffee, almond, cashew. These were perfect as on-the-go snacks or as a cheeky little dessert.

- Läba bars - no added sugar and natural ingredients. I only discovered these on my last stint on trail, but I will be stocking up on these for my next section hike!

I must give a special mention to Trail Angels' food... We bumped into two gorgeous trail Angels called Mr & Mrs. Cowboy who fed us a lunch of fruit, hot dogs and coffee one afternoon. It was heavenly and such a highlight of the trip. Food on trail just hits different.

Us with Mr & Mrs. Cowboy. Legends.

Top Picks

1. Lululemon Metal Vent Tech Headband - perfect for any girlos (or guys!) with big manes of hair like mine. Hiking is super sweaty. Long hair makes it even sweatier. Give yourself a hand. I even sometimes wore my hair down with the sweatband and it still helped 

   

   Sporting my staple Lululemon headband & kinesiology tape.
   This season's must-have accessories.

2. Kinesiology muscle tape  Not as glam as some of my other top picks, but it will make your knees feel a LOT cuter when going downhill. I found this tape really protected my knees, teamed with hiking poles, and smaller steps when descending. I wore it as an injury preventative measure rather than reactive, as I know my knees are prone to aches & pains. You can get cute colours too, mine were bright blue & pink! 
3. Cork ball - super light, small to fit in the pack, and a lifesaver to roll out and relieve sore muscles 
4. Probiotics - purely for the fact I’m prone to UTIs / kidney infections & I didn’t have one the whole time I was section hiking  something I really wanted to avoid as they are uncomfortable enough in normal life, never mind while hiking 20 mile days.
5. Vichy factor 50 solar protective water with beta-carotene - a bit of luxury and protection on trail. Left skin feeling dewy, not greasy. + No7 factor 30 lip protection, kept my lips feeling soft on trail. (Also sometimes doubled this on my cheeks & lids as it had a nice shimmery finish. Beauty hack.) 
6. Therm-a-rest ground mat- kept me warm at night (placed underneath my blow up mat), doubled up as a seating pad for breaks, and could do yoga / Pilates on it! Super light to carry as well 
7. Brooks trail runners - purely because they gave me 0 hassle and lasted well in harsh terrain. I think I only had 1 or 2 blisters, more due to long days hiking than the shoes, and they weren’t bad at all. 
8. Colourful Hiking Skort - a cute, practical, girly touch on trail. I advise getting them in your favourite colours. Brighter the better! This one from Sweaty Betty was my fave. Excellent quality, a perfect length and really comfortable. Washes well too.
9. Mitchum 24hr natural bamboo powder deo - kept me feeling less smelly on trail, and had a lovely fresh scent. Lasted for a fair whack of the day too. 
10. Columbia Hiking shirt - I have to say, wearing a shirt made me feel like a true thru-hiker. Whatever Columbia put into their material too, it worked! No matter how much I sweated the shirt still had a pretty fresh scent! Magic (as there were times I was verrrrry sweaty ). I loved the colour too, and they have a really good summer sale.

Not so hot...

I guess it's only fair to share with you my small "not-so-hot" list... This includes:

1. My pee rag - I got mine as novelty during Traildays ... but I found myself opting to “shake dry” a lot more often (maybe cos it was handy, maybe I’m lazy...) Don’t think they are necessary for female hikers, but personal preference I guess! 

2. Sawyer insect repellant. I still got bitten like a mofo during my first few days. It seemed futile to me, but maybe I was just fresh blood...  

Super Savers

From my time researching thru-hiking and equipment, it quickly became apparent that gear is quite expensive. In Ireland especially, hiking and outdoor sports can seem like quite elitist, expensive past-times. One way I saved some dollars, whilst not forsaking quality, was shopping from better value retailers. I would compare top equipment and their features and try and find a similar model somewhere else. Of course, the best way to save dollars, especially if you are hiking in the US, is to pre-order gear from the extremely reasonably priced REI and pick it up when you are over in the States. But again, because I was only joining for a section of the trail and was strapped for time, I didn't know for sure if I could logistically make it to a store before I headed out on trail. So, here are just some of the retailers which I bought good quality gear for a fraction of the price...

Decathlon Steals 

I found the Decathlon gear I got passed the quality test on trail!

I opted to buy kids socks from Decathlon, same quality and a fraction of the price of womens'!

I also would recommend the sunglasses I got here, 100% UV protection, they were perfect on trail, and were under a tenner. I got my head torch (with USB charge) here as well, and it worked & lasted perfectly on trail. It too was a fraction of the price of what other outdoors stores in Ireland were selling theirs at. Decathlon, I love your work hun - making the outdoors more accessible to everybody. I salute you.

Also, if you can swallow it, most regular fast fashion retailers have a huge selection of skorts in their sports sections. And a huge range of colour options too!

Stay cosy!

I think my biggest steals were my sleeping bag (only €205 from Decathlon) and my Ultralight Down jacket from Uniqlo - only €69.90. I also have to give an honorary mention to a local Irish sustainable brand, Cois Farraige, who gifted me with a gorgeous fleece for the trail. Check it out and their other outdoor gear here.

Sporting the gorgeous Cois Farraige fleece on top of Big Huckleberry Mountain

All of these items kept me super cosy during the odd cold days in Washington.

In conclusion...

That doesn't leave me with much else to say... other than: if you're a lady thinking about doing a section hike - do it. The majority of hikers I saw on the PCT were female, which was amazing to see. I have to admit, I'm not sure would I fancy heading off on a section hike or thru hike solo; and in that sense I was so grateful to be able to hike with the lads. I have heard stories of women on trail who didn't feel comfortable, so the trail may have been a different experience for me if I was on my own. That being said, given my circumstances and company, I never felt safer than when I was tucked away from society on trail - amongst the trees, lakes and mountains. 

Oh and ladies, don't be afraid to hike in just a sports bra! If you have sun protection on, and your bag doesn't stick into your skin, then save yourself the sweat and ditch the top layer. I found this the most comfortable as the SWEAT. WAS. REAL. on trail. Give your armpits the air they deserve!

Sporting my signature 'Sports-Bra-Sans-Shirt' hike attire (once that sun was high,
it was so much more comfortable to hike like this I found)

Oh and lastly, a tip for when hiking up inclines, shout: "DO IT FOR THE BOOTY!" whilst simultaneously channeling your inner Gal Gadot or Lara Croft. (Honestly, this technique shot me up plenty of inclines). Learn to love inclines. Your booty loves them. Namaste.

My route! In the end I covered 177 miles (285km),
which was about a 3rd of Washington.

Instagram: @eleanor__byrne

Let’s Talk About Sex (Ed) Baby

I'm currently studying for a Master's in Education (Drama in Education) and for my dissertation, I am focusing in on sexuality education (sex ed) for upper secondary school students (15-19 year olds). My thinking is that drama could provide a really good alternative to deliver comprehensive, relevant sex ed programmes for teens. Sex ed through drama methods has been dabbled with internationally, both in extra-curricular settings such as community theatre groups and as outreach programmes tried out in mainstream schools (see external links). However, my argument is that it could be beneficial to implement drama programmes as a standardised approach to teaching sex ed to adolescents. From my study of drama methods in education, it would appear drama allows the students' voices to come through, and, to a certain extent, they can navigate the classes in the direction they want. In this sense, perhaps drama could assist in making sex ed more relevant to teens' lived realities. 

This is all well and good in theory. But sex is still seen as an extremely sensitive topic, especially in school settings. I am studying for my master's in Ireland. What with the current Covid climate, as well as maybe a smattering of hesitation or reluctance when school establishments are faced with the words "sex ed"; I didn't manage to obtain a practical sample for empirical work in a mainstream secondary school. I wasn't planning on rocking up to schools like Gillian Anderson from Netflix's Sex Education... but the schools weren't to know that.

Interestingly, I managed to obtain a sample of teenagers in an extra-curricular drama school, with the principal's consent. I was very excited to begin my practical work with the students, exploring topics such as consent through drama. However, my project didn't get approved by my university's ethics committee. This is unfortunate, but as time was not on my side I had to opt for a desk-based study. So this means trawling through curriculum, policy / government documents, and white papers such as that... Yawn.

Well... Maybe not so much! Some of the things that are cropping up during my study of the current Irish sex ed curriculum for students aged 16-18 are a little scary, in my humble opinion. This could be due to being swallowed up by a world of literature, articles, podcasts, policies etc. etc. which have affected and skewed my judgement of seemingly innocent curricula frameworks... However, I'm going to share my thoughts and see what you think...

An interesting note, which was brought to my attention by sex ed researchers Lamb & Randazzo, is the nature of 'self-oriented' language in sex ed curriculum. This is very much alive and kicking in the Irish senior cycle sex ed and resource materials. Both the 1999 sex ed book and the current social, personal & health education (SPHE) curriculum are generously littered with terms like "self awareness and personal skills", "self-esteem" & "personal safety". I am by no means arguing that students' personal safety isn't important. Of course it is. I am not recommending that the classroom be a place where positive self-esteem is not promoted. I am simply unsure as to whether there should be a balance in terms of other-oriented objectives within sex ed curriculum. For example, more of a focus on the other person who you are engaging in sexual activities with and their safety. Because, after all, it takes two to tango.

Most shocking, however, was my discovery of a more ominous undercurrent in some main learning objectives. Take for example the objective:

“develop skills for coping with peer pressure, conflict, and threats to personal safety”

(NCCA, 2011, p26)

Whilst this objective might appear beneficial to students’ sexual well-being, one might read between the lines and find potentially problematic language. The use of the word “coping” indicates a personal responsibility for one’s own sexual safety. Furthermore, the promotion that teens must aim to cope with any threats to their own personal safety would appear problematic. This statement appears to be putting the onus on individuals’ who are victims to negative sexual experiences. Now, stop me here if I'm jumping to conclusions. I acknowledge this is a bit of a hot-take... So just bear with me...

Most shocking of all is that the senior cycle curriculum framework states that students should be able to:

“demonstrate skills for dealing with sexual harassment including how to access risk [and] design an information campaign highlighting safety tips to protect against rape and sexual assault”

(NCCA, 2011, p28).

I mean wow. I genuinely had to read that objective a few times to reaffirm what I was seeing. Is the current sex ed actively encouraging an onus on teens to protect themselves from rape? I'm sorry, but how exactly does someone protect themselves from rape?

A recent Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) report states that teens between 13 and 18 years old are most likely to experience rape, by a friend, acquaintance or neighbour, with the violence lasting for hours and taking place in outdoor or location other than the home. Therefore, in order to protect themselves from rape, should teenagers not be hanging out with their peers? Not going to locations other than their own homes? Both of which are really common past-times for that age group.

How does a student who has been sexually assaulted feel when this particular "protect yourself from rape" lesson is covered? This language could be problematic as it indicates that it is young people’s personal responsibility to protect themselves from forms of sexual assault and harassment.

Furthermore, the 1999 curriculum (which is still the most up-to-date Irish sex ed book btw) puts an emphasis on teens being "assertive". It describes assertiveness as "knowing what you want to say and saying it in a way that does not infringe upon the rights and dignity of another. It is an essential skill in human relationships". This is sound enough. I mean nothing too dodgy there, right? However, the curriculum goes on to say:

"Assertiveness means:

respecting myself
respecting other people
taking responsibility for myself
recognising my own needs and wants, independently of others 
allowing myself to make mistakes
allowing myself to enjoy my successes
changing my mind
making clear ‘I’ statements
being able to say ‘no’ without unnecessary explanations
asking for what I want
setting clear boundaries
asking for ‘thinking it over’ time” (DES, 1999, p28).

Some objectives are helpful, such as respecting oneself and other people and being able to say 'no'. However, the curriculum gives little indication as to how exactly teenagers can respect other people in practice. I would question why there isn't an added objective to pair with this such as: "asking what the other person is comfortable with". Particularly problematic for me are the highlighted objectives. "Making clear "I" statements" and "asking for what I want" leave no room for what the other person wants / is comfortable with. Of course it is important to express what you want. I am not saying everybody needs to tend only to the other person's needs. However, I am suggesting that without the balance of an other-oriented objective, this could lead to some problematic consensual issues. Even in positive, consensual sexual partnerships it wouldn't be sound to be completely selfish and only ask for what you want. So why are we teaching teenagers this?

The acknowledgement that mistakes are ok also rang alarm bells for me. Of course, when you are young, you may be experimenting and learning through doing. However, this allowance of mistakes could be misperceived as a disregard for other people's sexual safety. It sends out the message "it's ok if you make a mistake". When actually, in regards to consent and sexual safety, there are (or should be) very serious consequences for sexual misconduct. Should we not be promoting safe, positive sexual experiences, rather than promoting 'mistakes'?

The self-oriented language in sex ed curriculum appears to reflect societal views linked to victim-blaming, whereby the victim of sexual assault is seen as partly responsible for their abuse (Boatclub, 2020; Jozkowski, 2015; Gallagher, 2018). For example, during the 2018 rape trial of a 17 year old girl in Cork, the defence lawyer told the jury:

"You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front" (BBC News, 2018).

According to Jozkowski, in general “current sexual-assault-prevention initiatives … put the onus on women to avoid rape by being more sexually assertive, ... monitoring their alcohol consumption … [or] having a buddy system to look out for friends who might get assaulted” (2015, p21). Connell quotes Maccoby and Jacklin’s views on the liberal-feminist sex-role theory: “A society could for example, devote its energies more toward moderating male aggression than toward preparing women to submit to male aggression” (Connell, 1987, p73). This accurately sums up an alternative to problematic victim-blaming in sexual assault matters, which popular Irish artist Blindboy encapsulates decades later when he says in his podcast: “rather than having a society where the onus is on women to protect themselves… instead we have a society where men feel greater responsibility to not attack” (Boatclub, 2020). These references lack acknowledgement of male identifying people who are also victims to sexual assault (Pinheiro, 2006; D’Eath et al., 2020). However, if one takes gender out of the equation, the message is clear:

perhaps the emphasis in current sex ed curriculum should be on preventing sexual assault, rather than protecting oneself from it.

The RCNI report also pinpoints the importance of decreasing victim-blaming: “If we do not acknowledge and address this complex issue it may be that teenagers are left to absorb the signal that certain forms of abuse are their own fault, normal and not subject to a justice response” (2014, p8). Furthermore, this report suggests it is also the school's responsibility to respond accordingly to sexual assault. They suggest:

"enabling an appropriate response to a survivor would include survivors experiencing ‘a combination of a culture and society that is more open to disclosure, where there is less victim-blaming, bullying and shame experienced by the victim.’” (RCNI, 2014, p9).

The report also acknowledges that schools are not wholly responsible for their students' sexual safety. However, they do point out that the education system has an opportunity "to address incidents and social harms arising out of harmful cultural norms and the various forms of sexual violence” (RCNI, 2014, p9). My suggestion is that we can begin with a less victim-blamey curriculum, please and thank you.

Interestingly, the most recent sex ed (NCCA, 2011) has omitted the objective to:

“develop strategies for decisions and actions consistent with personal moral integrity and respectful of the rights and dignity of others” which is present in the 1999 book.

The language used in this objective would indicate a more other-oriented approach to sex ed. Perhaps this objective should be implemented back into and highlighted in the current sex ed curriculum. Alternatively, the potentially problematic objectives (as highlighted earlier) could be balanced by adding an objective which outlines the responsibility society has to care about other people's sexual rights as well as their own. For example:

“develop skills to minimize the pressuring of peers, taking personal responsibility for the safety of others, refraining from becoming a sexual threat to others as well as intervening when you witness possibly dangerous sexual behaviour from others”

These additions would not be presuming all teens are potential perpetrators of sexual assault. Rather, it would highlight the personal responsibility individuals’ have for other people’s safety when engaging in sexual activity. Which is something we should be advocating, right? As the presenters of the I'm Grand Mam podcast say:

"Let's make consent sexy"

Near Misses Vs What You See

We've all heard it before - "We've decided to go another way" "no longer in the running for this role" "We have decided to go in a different direction" "Unfortunately this didn't go your way" "Onwards" "Onto the next one"

No matter how they phrase it; the subtext is: "You didn't get the job".

I have become a bit immune to this. Not because I expect not to get the job - but because it is something I feel I need to put a shield up against. Because, statistically speaking, the reality is: I will and have receive(d) these types of emails more than emails saying I've got the job. That's by no means me viewing the acting industry in a negative light - I'm just stating the reality of the situation.

If I were to screenshot stills from each and every self-tape I have ever done - and then highlight the jobs I have gotten from those self-tapes - the collage would mostly be made up of non-highlighted self-tapes. Lots of tries resulting in not getting the job. But doesn't it make it worth it when you do get a job? If we stew on each job we don't get - then we can become demotivated. Do the tape / audition and move on. Carry on with your life. Keep training / writing / working or whatever keeps you going mentally / physically / creatively / financially.

A friend recently shared with me a golden quote from one casting director "You don't book the job; you book the room" (You're welcome)

There couldn't be a more heartening, enlightening and encouraging statement. It made me have a bit of a lightbulb moment and contemplate "Yes of course!" Say for example you walk into the room with a casting director whose work you really admire - if you go in with the mentality that you are just giving them a good idea of who you are as an actor (how you come across in the room and how you read); then the pressure is off to book that particular job. Instead what you are doing is setting up a lifelong relationship with a new "buyer" per-say. It's a business meeting. The first of many. If you go in with that mentality; the audition may feel less daunting and more empowering. You can't help how you look (well... not really a relevant statement in this day and age); so if you don't book the job purely because you don't fit the bill... then at least you know you have made a smashing impression. Which is a good day's work all in all... in my book anyways.

Look back on your success in auditions. This keeps you going.

My actor friends so often complain to me "But I haven't gotten the ONE!" - And I'm like - fair enough! It's frustrating. It's frustrating when you're a kickass actor who is likeable, talented, striking etc etc… And sometimes it can be even more frustrating for people when they get SO CLOSE they can almost taste the part. You know when you start planning your schedule around a "potential" job? Like start looking up the area it's filming in... thinking about what you'd pack... cancelling shifts in the meantime just in case you need to be free...

No? … Just me then.

It might sound counterproductive but by looking back on "near-misses" - jobs I've gotten down to the last round or recalled for, especially those special, big jobs that would be a dream to get - I find a weird sense of achievement. I feel as if they are indicators that we're doing something right. If we constantly look at the negatives and think "UGH but WHY didn't I get it?!" that can wreak havoc with your head. What's done is done. (And "what's done cannot be undone"... sorry) Therefore, there's no point going round in circles in your brain. Instead, file those successful auditions / recalls into a part of your brain labelled "Reasons why clearly you're in this for the right reasons". Think of those occasions as times when you've "Booked the room". That casting director WILL see you again! (Unless you've made a complete tit of yourself... Well, maybe even then - depends if they're looking for a tit). It's heartening. And it will help. When inevitably a casting comes through from a casting director who has already seen you (numerous times even) you have to take that on board as something good to have come from all your “near-misses”. As well as that, you've got to take the positive feedback from good auditions. You don't have to labour over all the positives - but just make sure you acknowledge them. I know there is reassurance in knowing you’ve done well and will continue to do well until you book the next one. 

Top tip: Also remember the bad ones so you can compile them into a comedy sketch at some point in the future. There’s always a silver lining ;)

On a separate note - I am super excited for the release of the feature film “Falkland Square” which I filmed in September 2019. It’s to be released in summer 2020 and it promises to be a good watch. Add it to your Watchlist on IMDb here - https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7893084/

Another top tip (this time a more relevant one); if you’re an equity member you get a discount on your monthly IMDb subscription. Use the code: 2020AFFEQU