Commodifying feminism, festival etiquette and struggles with sexuality: This week on The Spill

Have you ever had one of those days that screamed for a wine and chats sesh with your girlfriends? Enter Image.ie’s podcast, The Spill. 

The Spill is hosted by our very own self-proclaimed agony aunts Sophie White and Rhona McAuliffe. With a mix of discussion on current affairs, arts and culture and some healthy advice to our listeners, it’s the best place to unwind and deliberate the issues affecting Irish women today.

Are we paying for female empowerment? With countless companies making a profit from women’s rights and recognition these days, it may seem like feminism is making strides in pop culture, but is money-making the best outcome? Sophie and Rhona discuss the way that men profit from feminism in the mainstream at the start of the show this week. Sophie mentions that she has seen feminism being discussed as a “trending topic”, which Rhona attributes to female empowerment being seen as a ‘gap in the market’ for advertising companies, which results in pretty insincere messages. Our hosts cover everything from panty liners to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the exploration of this issue: are these new, “empowered” adverts just a front for sexist profits?

Read more: How one speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie brought feminism to the masses

Festival season is drawing to a close, but that means the mothership is still to come: Electric Picnic is this weekend, and our two hosts are discussing the do’s and don’ts of festivals. Rhona’s strategy is “get in and get out” – plan your acts, have loads of fun and get out to a warm bed. Sophie, however, finds that all a bit sad – she likes to ‘marinate’ in a festival and embrace the filthiness. But she does argue against the ridiculousness of festival dressing – practicality is the name of the game. Everyone’s festival goals are different, but there are definitely some universal truths. What are your essentials?

This week on Hit Me Up, Just Curious from Dublin wrote to Rhona about a delicate problem. She and her husband have always had a healthy sex life, with role play and fantasies playing a part. But in the past year, a big fantasy for her husband has been having a threesome with another man, and he tends to get carried away with his ‘love’ for this man. The writer has started to become concerned that her husband might be gay, and wants advice about what to do next.

Enjoy the new episode, or catch up on the ones you’ve missed here: