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352 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2021
"If we give women pockets they can use they abuse them, stuff them full of all sorts of things" - London dressmaker, 1923
While the first 'influences' may have been strong-willed local people interested in feeling powerful or being sure of themselves - fathers, husbands, and clergy, anyone with access to a platform and a printing press, they're now often models, 'footballer's wives' and celebrities leveraging their fame to spread their beliefs, often for more influence and cash.
When I visited an elderly lady called Joan on a research visit to an assisted living village a few years ago, we talked about how she was one of the many widows there. She leaned towards me, and confided in a whisper, "It's bliss not having to make anyone's dinner. A lot of ladies here are very relieved. Sometimes," she paused, "we'll just have a biscuit."