An introduction: It’s me, hi, and here’s my newsletter, I made this for you!
What is I made this for you!?
I made this for you! is a brand new Substack from me, Faima Bakar, an award-winning journalist, who has written more than 4,000 articles. I’ve worked at Metro.co.uk, BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Stylist, Time Out, LadBible, Mashable, The Big Issue, Inside Housing, and been commissioned by Vice, Cosmo, gal-dem, The Independent, Women’s Health, Al Jazeera, NME and more. So I do know a thing or two about writing.
Like lots of writers, I process my thoughts, feelings and sense of self through writing. Even at my lowest point, a night my heart separated in a way it wouldn’t look the same when it re-formed, I caught myself writing it all in my head.
So, the newsletter will be a continuation of my thoughts, the conversations I have with powerhouse women, my Bengali-Muslim communities, digital creators, and offer essays on love, life, culture, work, and social justice.
Who is I made this for you! for?
It’s for everyone who values personal writing, social commentary, and journalism from voices we don’t always hear in mainstream media (especially now that independent, BIPOC publications are closing & few in numbers).
I was a gal-dem contributor so if you like their content, I hope you’ll like mine, it will have similar values and vibes (maximum amount of happiness and equality for maximum amount of people!).
Journalism is such an exclusive profession (a mere 0.4% are from a Muslim background) and there are no stats for how many are Bangladeshi (I personally know two others). I was born in Bangladesh and grew up in Tower Hamlets with a disabled parent and a carer. So I’m definitely outside of the fold of a typical journalist (sorry to get all sentimental!)
So please consider supporting a voice like mine.
I also love film and television so if you like Love Island, Girls, Mindy Kaling offerings, Insecure, The Wilds (rip), Black Mirror, Community (six seasons and a movie!), I May Destroy You, Yeh Jawani Hai Dewani, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, this is a place for you!
What will I made this for you! feature?
This newsletter will be an intimate insight into my life (it’s interesting sometimes, I promise!).
This Substack will also offer critical analyses of cultural conversations and behaviours. It won’t just be me soliloquising though, I’ll include convos & critiques from your faves too!
It’ll be jokes, trust me.
Is I made this for you! free and how can I support it?
It’s free for everyone but in a few months I’ll introduce paid bits in addition to the free things, so sign up while it’s still free!.
In one of the paid tiers, I’ll introduce a space called ‘the right home’ where other journalists and creatives will share the pitch that almost was – an idea that had been brewing in their minds for some time but never found a home (in other words, pitches that were not commissioned).
I’d really love to pay these writers to share there ideas, so please consider paying me and us to do the things we love and keep the work going in an ever dwindling media world.
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