An interview with Gabrielle Jackson

What did you get up to in 2011?

I finally took off on my Kebab Quest in September – only seven years in the planning. My adventures in the Middle East have been unbelievably eye-opening and fun. I think I landed on Cloud Nine around October and haven’t come down since. This is really a dream come true.

The first half of the year I was a bit sadder. I felt sad about leaving London and worried I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I do believe, however, that I made the most of my final months there. Shoreditch, Dalston, London Fields, Bethnal Green: I didn’t venture beyond your borders for much of the year and I will never regret it. I felt like there was something going on in east London this year and I felt buzzed to be part of it, even if being part of it just meant I got a super cool pair of new glasses.

What was your Most Useful Thought of the year?

Everybody likes kebabs, even warring countries. If we could just concentrate on what unites us rather than divides us, we’d all be happier.

What’s on your ‘to do’ list for 2012?

Make the most of my Middle Eastern adventures and write a damn good book about kebabs. Africa, India and south-east Asia might also get ticked off the travel bug list.

Which villain really yanked your chain in 2011?

The Egyptian army, who stole the people’s revolution by stealth. It yanked my chain primarily for the virginity tests it systematically carried out on female protestors during the February/March protests. In particular, the villainous general who defended the tests saying they needed to be carried out so that the women couldn’t claim to have been raped in custody.

...and who was your hero?

Samira Ibrahim, the brave woman who sued the Egyptian military after she was subjected to a virginity test in March. Her case forced the court to ban the army from performing virginity tests.

What book/s did you read this year that we might like?

Without a doubt, How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran is the book that captured my imagination in 2011. It has shaped my thoughts and writing since. In fact, I would go so far as to say that a book has not had such an impact on my life since I read Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery when I was 10.

What did you discover in 2011 the rest of us should know about?

That women all over the world are denied access to tampons because some people believe that they can take your virginity. Only having sexual intercourse can take a man’s or a woman’s virginity.

Will you be secreting a slow or dirty vendetta across the threshold of 2012?

Anti-women women. You know, the ones who say things like, ‘I hate female bosses’, ‘A lot of women do make up being raped’ and ‘Women are such bitches.’

What could you do without in 2012?

Judgy wudgies, as my friend Belinda calls them, aka judgemental people. Spend more time perfecting yourself before you start making judgements about the lives of others.

Gabrielle Jackson is a feminist writer and publisher of this blog. She is travelling around eating kebabs. You can follow her on Twitter @gabriellecj