Tummy Ache is a British Slow Fashion brand and online magazine that uses fashion and art to start an honest conversation about mental health and empower those who struggle to feel seen and powerful.

We believe in the power of vulnerability, in its ability to allow true and deep connections to form, bridge the divide between who we are and who we want to be, and tear down toxic structures. Our cultural propensity to numb vulnerability to supposedly protect us from the inevitable agony of life also numbs our ability to access joy, happiness, belonging, and love. The dangers of constructing a “perfect” version of yourself to present to the world and hide from the imperfection and uncertainties of life are, in turn, dissolving our ability to feel gratitude, creativity and empathy.

In this issue: Psychoanalyst and writer Maxine Mei-Fung Chung spoke to Tummy Ache about the warped way women have historically been separated from their desire. Climate activist and founding member of While comedian Grace Campbell calls for nuance. She opens up to Tummy Ache about how, as a sex-positive artist, when she was sexually assaulted in 2022, she became acutely aware of the binaries within which women are allowed to exist. Virgin/whore, fun/sensitive, vulnerable/strong. Grace explains how her use of vulnerability in her comedy is breaking this dangerous assumption that women can only be one thing.

21 × 14.7cm