Where did you grow up?
In America, New York. It was such an amazing place. I imagine that its different being a child there to being an adult there who can properly experience the city. The place is one of a kind!
Were you brought up religiously?
Jewish and somewhat religious. But in a cultural Jewish sense, keeping traditions rather than strict coherence to religious practises.
What was your adolescence like?
I went to a boarding school from the ages of 11 to 16 and I experienced a bit of bullying there. Luckily the turbulent period was brief.
How did you overcome these challenges?
I left the school. I removed myself from the situation. I think I realised, especially as I was looking towards A Levels and a career that the things that I wanted to do would not happen at the school I was at. This was one of the first independent decisions I made, I moved somewhere that suited my needs.
Where you ever embarrassed about your development/puberty?
I was the ‘early developer’ amongst my peer group throughout all of those ‘tick-box’ stages. In some ways it was isolating and nerve racking but a lot of girls in my peer group looked to me as an authority because I’d been through these things slightly earlier. It did have surprising advantages, it probably contributed to the reasons why I’m involved in activism, I like knowing about everything and helping!
Which key moments in your formative years shaped you?
Moving to my sixth form was a big one. I went from being in an all-girls boarding school in the country, to a co-ed sixth form in the heart of London. So 16 to 17 was a big year for me.
Also this year, doing my masters, deciding that I want to be an academic and pursue a PHD. I’m finally starting to see what adult Maddie may look like in 10 years.
I am somebody who has had a termination it was absolutely the right choice for me at the right time
Which key moments shaped your sexuality?
Boarding school. For me, being more guarded and careful about who I was out to was the source of a lot of bullying. In later years it’s made me more careful, not so much at university, but I worry about it a lot when I think about careers. And with new people I’m very guarded about it, and that did stem from the bullying at school.
When did you become aware of your gender?
I’d like to think that being a woman is something I’ve always been aware of. But understanding the social construct of gender and its implication on wider society and how it factors into discourse and the way it which we perceive things, I would say that I didn’t know until I came to university.
I started reading key texts, and getting involved in the LGBTQ network and figuring out that gender is a spectrum and gender varies. I’ve been aware of myself for a long time, I enjoy being a woman.
What image do you think that you project?
The image I hope to project is someone confident. Someone with all the facts around her. The kind of person that people can come to for help, to get them from A to B. The reason I belong to so many societies and committees is because I’d much rather be the person hosting the party with things to do than the person that just turns up.
I do think that the image I hope to project and the reality may have a slight disconnect.
How would you describe your personal existence?
I perceive my public and my private life very differently. When I’m on campus it’s all over the place and doing loads of things, loads of interaction. In my private life, amongst friends that are less related to university I think very differently. I’m much smaller in the universe, I don’t like going to parties and socialising too much. This is something that I’ve come to love about myself. I love my alone time. When I’m not at university being the public me, I’m quite insignificant.
Are you pro life or pro choice?
Pro choice, I am somebody who has had a termination it was absolutely the right choice for me at the right time, I am really privileged that I had the access to the information, resources and medical care.
What are your opinions on contraceptives? The availability, cost and stigma attached
As somebody who still has friends in America, it just breaks my heart to hear that at times they have to juggle paying their contraceptive prescription that month, or even foregoing it to pay for various things. I think we are really lucky in the UK that we have such readily available access to contraception. I think more could be done to talk about different kinds. Like variations on the pill, I have no idea when the nurse is explaining it to me. We could do with learning more about that.
Are you in a relationship(s)?
No, single
What are your opinions on polyamory?
I have lots of friends that engage in polyamory and I wouldn’t close the option off in my life. I’ve only ever been in monogamous relationships and I’ve enjoyed them, but I can see the pros in polyamory.
I’ve always felt that York is a very safe
What are your hobbies on marriage?
Well, both of my parents’ favourite hobby is getting married. Both of them have been married a handful of times. It’s shown me how arbitrary it is and I don’t mean to dismiss people that are married. However the way I perceive it is that I don’t want marriage to define a deep and meaningful relationship.
What are your most positive relationships with other women?
So many, working on Sexpose with a planning committee of mostly woman has been fantastic to sit down with other women and hear this creativity bubble forth. Everyone comes up with amazing, witty, thoughtful, hilarious and political ideas. The planning of events and campaigns has created some really positive relationships.
Also through my academic work, a lot of the really interesting and exciting people in my field are women and they just say amazingly clever things all the time.
What does the word woman mean to you?
I think I have a personal womanhood, and there’s a political womanhood, a social womanhood. It’s a very fluid term that can embody many things.
How do you feel about products marketed to women?
Marketing as a concept is slightly poisonous. However I think it is a little silly on the other side to say that there should be no such thing as gendered products. I think in terms of usefulness and saleability there needs to be gendered products. Advertising is unfortunately so omnipotent and omnipresent that all good is sucked out.
Where you always aware of what your body could do sexually?
No, and I still don’t know now. I think that’s a good thing. The older women I’m friends with are still discovering their sexuality and womanhood. This is something I’m really looking forward to.
Do you think your sex education was sufficient?
No, if we’re talking about schools based education teaching. However I was a very prodigious ‘googler’ in my formative youth so I wouldn’t say I was lacking in that information. It just took a very determined and slightly perverted young girl to search for those answers myself.
Where do you feel unsafe as a woman?
As a queer woman, definitely mainstream nightclubs. I feel somewhat unsafe and harassed, I also feel as though society is rejecting me because I don’t want to engage in heteronormative practises, and therefore I feel barred from that fun.
I’ve always felt that York is a very safe and luckily my nights in London have been safe too.
Would you consider yourself a feminist?
Definitely, it makes me so sad when people that I know are feminists take objection with the term for weird arbitrary reasons, like ‘that means you hate men’ . It means equality amongst the sexes, and a lot of people won’t claim that, which I think is a real shame.
Do you think the world’s perception of women limits or benefits them?
Both, depending on which facet of culture you’re focusing on. In politics in particular, we are about to see a real resurgence of women in higher offices. I always think of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation I think she’s a really excellent example of how to bring gender and womanhood into mainstream politics, and hopefully this is the kind of thing we will see soon.
What is your relationship with sex?
At the moment we are distant, unfortunately. In general, really great. I’d like to think I’m open minded, I like to try new experiences. I’m aware that my relationship to sex will change in the future but this is something that I’m looking forward to.
What does a sexual relationship mean to you personally?
I don’t think it has to be much of a relationship. I think there can be an exchange of physical pleasure. But it can be the glue to a meaningful, deep and romantic relationship too.
Have you ever been physically or verbally threatened because of your appearance?
Verbally harassed, not so much threatened. Assumptions surrounding my sexuality like ‘you dyke’ or ‘you lesbian’, but luckily not physical.
When you think of sex what do you visualise?
I always think of morning sex, there is something really ethereal. Everything is all muffled and fuzzy so all we have to go on is physical touch. Not much thinking goes into it, it’s all physical.
What do you seek through sex?
It’s different with every partner. Fun, excitement, rebellion, love, friendship.
What do you deeply love about yourself?
I draw attention when I walk into a room, which is a great skill to have.
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