Katherine Ryan has been internet hosting GLAMOUR’s Girls of the 12 months Awards – the place we honour the 12 months’s greatest record-breakers, trailblazers and activists – for the previous 4 years. These 4 occasions have seen Katherine name out every thing from politicians to the patriarchy (reader, she by no means misses); serve up numerous fist-pumping moments (“Girls’s reproductive rights SO clearly make sense, but we’ve to struggle for them again and again. It’s like discovering out some prick with a YouTube channel has began a marketing campaign in opposition to chemotherapy and seatbelts”); and even host one ceremony nearly, pulling off the near-impossible job of cheering us up throughout lockdown (sorry, we must always’ve prefaced this with a 2021 set off warning).
Yearly, it is a blast with Katherine on the WOTY helm. Not solely is she outspoken on every thing from misogyny to motherhood, she’s additionally firmly on most individuals’s listing of ‘celebs we’d love to ask to a cocktail party.’ Which is why we’re presenting Katherine, unbeknownst to her, along with her very personal GLAMOUR Girls of the 12 months 2024 Award – shock, Katherine! – for ‘Feminist Hero’, as a result of that is precisely what she is.
“I simply completely love coming right here, 12 months after 12 months, weaving violence in opposition to girls right into a comedy opening monologue,” Katherine joked, earlier than including: “I like being counted amongst these very unimaginable girls.”
Whereas she overcomes her shock backstage, this is Katherine reflecting on what it means be a part of GLAMOUR’s Girls of the 12 months Awards, the modifications of inclusivity in comedy, and the true that means of feminism…
Hollie Malloy
What does presenting GLAMOUR’s Girls of the 12 months imply to you?
I innately compartmentalise, which permits me to plunge head first into unimaginable life experiences confidently with out actually understanding their significance till after the very fact. It’s not till the tip of the awards night that may mirror and let the awe sink in over what the Glamour crew handle to drag collectively 12 months after 12 months. I’m at all times blown away and impressed by the various group of excessive attaining and philanthropical girls within the room. It’s been an honour to have offered The Glamour Awards for the previous 4 years and I can’t wait to listen to from the ladies being celebrated this 12 months.
Do you have got a standout favorite second from any of the WOTY occasions?
Assembly Lena Dunham on the 2023 Glamour Awards has been one in all my standout favorite moments. There are impactful girls who come alongside typically within the youth of your life and handle to put in writing on the canvas of who you might be. Lena’s uniquely touching and dramatic comedy collection, GIRLS touched me in a approach that no different artistic work had and she or he continues to amaze me. At all times meet your heroes!
How is internet hosting the GLAMOUR Girls of the 12 months empowering for you?
I’m a sucker for a matriarchy. As a younger girl, I labored at Hooters – a restaurant which is seen by many to objectify its waitresses – however I simply beloved collaborating and cooperating with a decent knit group of ladies on a regular basis. Was it sexist? Positive. However all I knew on the time is that there have been no boys round and I appreciated that. Internet hosting The Glamour Awards is so empowering as a result of again then, I by no means imagined a time after I could possibly be amongst numerous girls that I like and never should serve anybody rooster wings.
When do you are feeling essentially the most empowered?
Empowerment has by no means been a difficulty for me. I really feel virtually too empowered on a regular basis. Touring exhibits – empowered. Writing get up – empowered. Cooking – empowered. Doing the weekly store – empowered. If something, I might afford to be taken down a notch. It’s getting out of hand.
What does feminism imply to you?
Feminism may be very plainly the political, social and economical equality of genders. I’ve seen the time period weaponised, wilfully misunderstood, or shied away from. However that’s it. There was a lot progress in direction of equality however many ladies nonetheless give away their emotional and bodily sources without spending a dime simply to ‘be good’. We’re underpaid and undervalued in some ways. I feel we’re very highly effective in our capability for goodness and empathy, however we have to cease making so many compromises.
Who can be your chosen girl of the 12 months and why?
My chosen girl of the 12 months can be Taylor Swift. Then I might meet her and get my daughter off my again.
As you navigate success and the pressures which will come along with your day-to-day life, how do you take care of your self and your psychological wellbeing?
I don’t take care of myself or my psychological well-being. I’m very strong in that approach so I simply lavish my children with consideration and I’m going to work and I really feel very fortunate to have so many blessings to juggle. Badly. I haven’t slept in three years as a result of my youngsters don’t sleep by way of the evening and bodily, I’m metamorphosing into my very own father. I’m actually completely satisfied and doubtless not on the sting of a breakdown however each three months of so, I’ll simply cry at my husband.
Talking of success, what would you say success means to you, personally?
Success to me is synonymous with freedom. That’s all cash is. Freedom. Well being can also be freedom to maneuver round and have autonomy over your personal physique. Being professionally in demand means I could make decisions. When you think about your life, all that basically issues to anybody is freedom.
What has been the largest problem of your profession / journey thus far?
My greatest challenges in life have been navigating miscarriages. In these moments, I really feel linked to so many different girls who keep it up with jobs and households or who’re merely alone and grieving in silence. I’m primarily a fortress who feels no nervousness or stress other than after I’m coping with that type of loss. The ache surprises me each time. I really feel trapped in a hormonal snake pit that my typical gratitude and logic can’t assist me escape from. After which, finally I simply really feel higher.
Is there a stand-out time for you that you just have been met with sexist attitudes in your profession, and the way did you overcome it?
I’m retired from talking about being a feminine comic as a result of no matter I say, it turns into a twisted tabloid headline that makes me sound like I randomly shouted ‘I HATE MEN’ out a window. I do, however I’ve largely forgiven them for all-male lineups and the unstated rule that there might solely be one girl on panel exhibits. It’s not the manufacturing firm’s fault or the channel’s fault or the advertisers’ fault that AUDIENCES are sexist. Sadly girls could be essentially the most sexist audiences of all. One thing emboldens them to strategy a feminine comedian after her present and say, ‘You already know, I usually don’t discover girls humorous…’. Don’t you? What a tragic little life, Jane.
You’ve been identified to place your head above the parapet and converse to injustices, sexism or abuse that you just’ve witnessed in your business – which is fairly courageous – what drives you to do that?
I’ve impulse management points.
