Some people do things that are super worthy in their little old life – they become policemen and women, nurses, doctors, teachers, lawyers and all that jazz. And then you get some special people who do things that are super worthy and are made even more so because of what is going on in their life.
Someone I know fits into the latter description. Her name is Effi Mai and she is setting up a company called ForrReal. The tagline?
Spread your legs and spread the word.
Basically, Effi has recently come out of the cancer closet and wants to make ForrReal a viable business to campaign to get the age of cervical cancer screening in the UK down to 18 – it’s currently 25 in England when you first get asked for a smear, which, considering her diagnosis, would have been too late for Effi had she been living in England. I’m all for this – I’ve had abnormal cervical screen results and the panic that sets in when you get told this at a young age can be immense – I’m 27, by the way.
Part of her campaign is also aimed at educating the LGBT community – many lesbians believe that if they haven’t had sex with a man, they can’t get the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer, or get cervical cancer full stop. Unfortunately, this is just not true. Cancer affects who it wants, when it wants. I’ve had enough experience within my own family to understand it gives no shits or fucks about who it decided to latch on to.
So, there is a point to all this. Effi has an Indiegogo campaign up and running. She want’s to raise £30,000 and has 39 days left to do it. Help her to get to that target and help get #ForrReal18 trending on Twitter. This isn’t just another creative’s campaign to get a film or an album made (hey, I support them but everyone is doing it). This is a campaign that will save lives. Donate, share and do whatever else you need to to get this the recognition and help it deserves.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/forrreal
Ladylove,
Jaqueline xxx
Beatrix & Alabama 