INTERVIEW
MEET
LILY O ’ FARRELL
In an interview with Sleuth ’ s Holly Harris , feminist cartoonist and ‘ Hot Girl ’ Lily O ’ Farrell explains the relevance of her artistic productions . Her main goal is to create content that engages people in discussions about contemporary social issues surrounding women .
Lily O ’ Farrell is a comedic feminist cartoonist based in London . She openly shares her experiences and thoughts on an array of topics , primarily on Instagram . From discussing ‘ cultural myths invented by men ’ to presenting examples of the male gaze through TV and film , she educates and engages with her audiences through comic illustrations , ensuring a safe and open space for all women to freely express their struggles and discuss topics .
How did you first get into being a feminist cartoonist ? Did you have any inspirations ?
My initial inspiration was female comedians like Amy Schumer and Bridget Christie . When I was in my teens , all I could think of was how amazing female comedians were . I finally felt as though someone was doing this comedy for me . Growing up , I was only ever exposed to male comedians and I never related to this , but when I found these women talking about their lives , I got really into doing comedy myself .
But there ’ s only so much you can write about your own life , so I decided to engage more in how these topics , which were close to me , were affecting others around the world . I wanted to make sure my work was relatable to other people . I began focusing on bigger topics and bigger concepts , and then I got a lot more confident with the work I was producing .
The key thing that ’ s always stuck with me when creating content is having trust . It sounds strange , but the way I look at it is , if you ’ ve experienced it , then there ’ s a high likelihood that someone else has . So , I have to trust myself that the content I am making is worthwhile to help others . Every time I upload new content , it really takes off , making me realise I ’ m not the only one going through these things
Self-portrait portraying her ‘ hot girl ’ persona
I started doodling as well , and two became one in this lightbulb moment . I decided to turn one of my sketches into a drawing and upload it online , and it really took off among my followers . Once I saw this , I literally had to rush home because all these ideas were pouring out of me at once , and I realised it was the perfect medium for me to express all these kinds of feelings about being a woman .
So , although all your content is under the same category of feminism , each cartoon has a specific topic . Where do you find the inspiration for the variety ?
Image : Lily O ’ Farrell
That ’ s a good point . Sometimes I worry that all my work comes across as the same because they ’ re all based on feminism . In terms of variation , I started basing my work off my own life and my own experiences , whether that was dating , one-night stands , sexist coworkers , or bosses .
22 SLEUTH ISSUE 5