State Of The Uterus: A Letter From Our Editor | Harper’s Bazaar Arabia July-August 2022
Bazaar Arabia’s Editor in Chief Olivia Phillips delves into the beauty and struggles of motherhood in all its forms in our latest issue…
People tend to talk to me about egg freezing a lot. I don’t know if these unsolicited disclosures are a) because I’m child-free and, at 38, “knocking on a bit” as my dad would say, b) because I give off the unmistakable air of an over-sharer, or c) because egg freezing’s booming ubiquity is very real, whilst any previous taboos surrounding it are becoming increasingly old hat. Obviously, I love these sorts of chats. The more candid the better. They’re the kind of vulnerable, guard-down, woman-to-woman moments where you can suddenly and unexpectedly be knocked sideways by empathy – sometimes for someone you barely even know – moved by recognition of the sisterhood between you. And, as women, we can be really bloody good at making these connections.
I personally thrive on over-familiarity (I am also a hugger), so these types of women are my kinfolk. And these pages – our Motherhood Issue – were only made possible because these ladies were generous enough to share their joy and pain surrounding this most enormous, important, beautiful – but also emotionally fraught – of topics. At a time when women’s bodies are more politicised than ever, sharing our stories is one of the most powerful things we can do to remind us that we’re not alone – in either the good or the bad.
We’ve explored everything from infertility struggles to getting pregnant in your 40s, asked how we can raise our sons to be better men, debunked the myth that choosing not to become a mother is selfish, and questioned the unlikely power that social media might hold in healing from miscarriage. We’ve asked mothers and daughters to pen letters of gratitude to each other, written about the bumpy road to pregnancy dressing 2.0 (see: Rihanna’s body-positive reclaiming of maternity wear), and spoken to first-time mum-to-be, cover star Negin Mirsalehi about her nine-month journey in the spotlight. So be it a long-standing theme or a complex newcomer, we’ve broached it here this month. If you want to talk about it, you don’t have to ask. Come join me in the over-sharing club. The more candid the better.
From Olivia’s Desk…
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is a glorious, rock’n’roll tribute to The King filled with Miu Miu and Prada costumes, Austin Butler’s excellent cheekbones and an abundance of iconic hits that still sound as good today as ever.
Editor’s Picks
Photography: Dusan Reljin. Styling: Anna Castan. Art Director: Oscar Yáñez. Creative Director: Marne Schwartz. Set Designer: Karolina Volbin. Producer: Ines Guendouz. Hair: Anne Sofie Begtrup at Wise & Talented. Make-Up: Alisonn Fetouaki. Set Designer’s Assistant: Ekaterina Vorontsova. Photographer’s Assistant: Luc at Studio Daguerre
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s July-August 2022 issue.
