Dear Lazies,
This month we invite you to reflect on the topic of talent. It’s a fascinating subject to explore: especially if we add a gender aspect to it. Talent, often perceived as a mysterious force shaping destinies, leads us into a labyrinth of questions: Is talent truly innate, or can it be nurtured and cultivated? Does it favour one gender over another? Are there domains where talent reigns supreme, defying the conventional bounds of skill acquisition?
The questions are yet to be answered, but we hope that we can agree that the essence of talent can (and should!) be celebrated in all forms.
Your Lazies
Hey, Lazy Julie here, and some piece of media that has really lived in my head rent free since 2020 is The Queen’s Gambit, a Netflix mini-series based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis.
It’s a story about a (fictional) chess prodigy Beth Harmon on her rise to fame and the world chess championship in the male-dominated sport. Beth struggles with loneliness, alcoholism and drug addiction. Although I couldn’t relate to every single trait of the protagonist, I finally felt seen, and it was strange. Let me explain.
Being diagnosed as autistic at the age of 6, I grew to understand what the diagnosis meant only later in life. I’m still learning new things about ASD every day, but back then I was just called a ‘gifted kid’, much like Beth. My hyper concentration, niche interests and obsessions combined with absolute lack of social skills didn’t seem to bother anyone, so I just accepted this label. Then chess appeared in my life…
I’ve never quite learned how to ‘like’ things on a regular level, so I let chess consume myself. It became one of my passions.
Beth’s portrayal really touched something deep inside me, as I also have actively played chess while growing up (not on the genius level, alas), developed general disappointment with life and people around me at high school and fell down the addictions rabbit hole in college. I also felt extremely lonely and excluded from every social group I tried to fit into. Now I had a character to relate to, even a fictional one. It was heartwarming.
I feel like this series explores the talent thing quite well, and the female protagonist in the 60s’ America gives us another angle to look at it. And chess, of course! The Queen’s Gambit increased the number of female chess players significantly, inspiring them to follow Beth Harmon’s steps. Here’s an interesting article that I recommend. I’d also love to hear from you: what ‘gifted’ or ‘talented’ characters resonated with you? Do you feel like Beth was portrayed through a ‘male gaze’?
Make sure to update your agenda with what’s going on in May and June.
If you visited our Women’s Day event in Paris, you surely saw Gabi Luna, a multidisciplinary artist and comic, the person who was opening the Clitoris Act comedy show. Gabi’s first own event will be on May 8th at 8 pm at Be Jazzy. And all of you who happen to be in Paris on this day are invited! Check out their Instagram for more info!
On the 6th of June, Lazy Women is organising a feminist panel discussion with some of the gender rights movements from the Visegrád region (Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland). Make sure to follow us on Instagram for a registration link :)
Lazy Women Podcast Updates: 'Making it' in Western Europe final episodes
7️⃣ 'Making it' in Western Europe: theatre, politics, and balance with Basia
In the seventh episode of ‘Making it’ in Western Europe, Zsofi talks to Basia. Originally from Poland, Basia is a theatre stage designer who studied and worked in the UK and is currently involved in theatre projects all over Europe.
They discuss Basia's upbringing in the Polish countryside, her art education, her relocation to the UK and subsequent return to Poland and the different roles that art and theatre play in various countries.
8️⃣ ‘Making it' in Western Europe: name, class, and dance with Lucie
In the eighth - and last - episode of 'Making it' in Western Europe, we come full circle. Mirroring the first conversation in the series, Zsofi and Lucie switch roles to discuss Lucie’s (at points bumpy) journey from the Czech Republic to Brussels, with stopovers in Norway, Hungary, Italy and partly the UK.
Lucie opens up about her background, difficulties with her name, the role that education played in her social mobility, and her never-ending love for dancing. She also speaks about her experience of living with an international partner and how Brussels finally allowed her to combine all of her disparate identities and live experiences.
On April 28 we hosted our final PodTalk - this time we went live on Instagram, too! The session was lovely, making it a beautiful final point of this big project. We hope that you found something meaningful in these stories and conversations 💖
Many thanks to the talented team behind the production! And cheers to the new beginnings!
Cover art: Juli / Music: Sophie M / Podcast idea and production: Lucie and Zsofi / Community: Dorina / Social media: Dinara
Illustration by Safae Boudrar
We are happy to share the latest articles, inspired by our PodTalks! 📝
- Leaving Moscow: from detention to beauty standards in France by Selin. In this powerful piece Selin has described a PodTalk hosted on our sixth ‘Making it’ episode with Julie.
- Fleeing Bosnia and integrating into Italian society by Eloïse. Make sure to check our fifth ‘Making it’ episode to learn more about Aida’s story!
Some tips from Lazy Chaharika this time focuse on hobbies! 👇
Do you feel pressured at dinner parties to say something interesting you did over the weekend? Do you shy away from conversations about your friend groups’ recent arts and crafts. Hobbies, in this economy, are far and few and difficult to keep up with, and added to that, there's also the need to be ‘talented’, that we must excel at everything we try and do, even in our free time. But we spend so much time trying to be perfect at our day jobs, in our relationships, do we really need to be perfect at pottery class, or at baking scones. Here’s a list of things to keep in mind when picking up a new hobby:
- A lot of times, talent is learned, whether that be baking or calligraphy, there's always a bit of a learning curve. So when you're not immediately great at something, just know that.
- Not everything needs to be work! If a few odd splatters of paint on a canvas are art to you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You're not at work, this is just for fun.
- The necessary feature for a great hobby is, of course, that it helps you forget the woes of the day and relax a bit. But if your hobby is starting to seem like a chore maybe it's time to reconsider.
There's always the pressure to be amazing at everything we do, even if it is what we do. It's our downtime, but this need to be skilled and talented is precisely what's killing the hobby industry. Keep in mind, it's all about de-stressing and not obsessing!
Also, there's a few lovely book recommendations on the subject of talent, by one of our lovely contributors, Lazy Lauren. There's Evaristo Bernadine's Manifesto: On Never Giving Up. Lauren adds, ‘In a sense, it's about really pursuing something and learning a craft, wholeheartedly.’ She also recommends Emma Gannon’s The Success Myth: Letting Go of having it all which discusses our obsession with achievement. You can also read Lauren’s piece on it on our website!
Huge thanks to Safae Boudrar for her magical contribution to April’s newsletter! Find her on Instagram for more magic 😉
p.s. Our newsletter team is fully volunteer-based. We’re working on every issue throughout the whole month — picking a topic, collecting submissions and illustrations, writing and editing. If you like what we do, consider supporting our work here 👇