Beauty Full Stories with Erin's Faces

44. Should I Laugh at Sexist Jokes to Fit In? with Fifi Buchanan

Erin Williams of Erin's Faces Episode 44

It is rare to find someone as comfortable in the science world as they are in the creative one, but today’s guest, Fifi Buchanan, floats seamlessly between the two. Fifi, also known as Divine Hostess, is a qualified mechanical engineer and currently works as a technical writer, voice-over artist and also hosts her own podcast, Wonderfully Made. In this episode, we delve into what it was like working in the male-dominated field of engineering, and Fifi shares her experiences from college through to the workplace. As someone whose interests lie between the creative and scientific worlds, Fifi felt like she had to hide a part of herself because she did not want her colleagues to misunderstand her interests. She shares the value that she discovered in not sticking to one path and the solace she found in her creative work when she felt increasingly limited in the workplace. 

Our conversation also touches on representation, particularly in the clean beauty space, the implications of the lack of access to green products for Black women, and the beauty of being able to express yourself through makeup without using it to fix you. Fifi is an insightful and all-around brilliant woman whom we really admire, and we know after tuning in, you will too! 

Our email this week (40:20) is about how to make makeup last longer in hot weather. With summer coming up, it is a timely question and we give product recs and tips to help!

Call Outs from the Episode: 

Tweetables:

“Going through school in engineering, I didn’t realize that sexism would be a bigger issue than racism.” — @divinehostess [0:12:24]

“I often felt either unwelcome in certain spaces or uncomfortable, just because it was kind of this old boys’ club.” — @divinehostess [0:14:02]

“It bothers me that the implication is that if it has Black people on it or in it, then it is only for Black people.” — @divinehostess [0:22:58]

“It makes me tired just thinking about it because I won’t get what I need.” — @divinehostess [0:26:58]

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