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it galz

Meet IT GALZ, the 'fine ass feminists' changing Irish podcasting for the better

Jenny and Lindsay are bringing ‘real talk’ to Irish podcasting.

IF YOU’RE ONE to keep up with all the goings-on in podcasting, chances are you’re fairly familiar with what’s in the iTunes podcast chart.

Podcasting juggernauts like S-Town, Serial and This American Life tend to dominate along with podcasts tied with different publications and media organisations.

Over the past few weeks, however, a new Irish podcast fronted by two Dublin women has managed to creep into the top five and even top the charts on occasion.

Meet IT GALZ, two self-proclaimed fine-ass feminists bringing sass and real talk to Irish ears.

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Jenny Claffey and Lindsay Hamilton are the brains behind IT GALZ.

Claffey is a 27-year-old Dublin native who works in digital marketing and advertising. Hamilton is a mother-of-two who does nails and tattoos with Hard As Nails. You may also knows her from Snapchat.

Like many twentysomethings, the two live and breathe social media. But as Claffey explained to DailyEdge.ie, she was beginning to grow sick of the internet and social media. “It’s such a big part of my life – it’s my job – but I felt I was putting a lot of effort into something with no personal creative output.”

In my eyes there was nothing being created from a feminist approach with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. When I thought about it, I realised Lindsay and I always have the most intense and hilarious conversations about feminism, sex and relationships, so the idea of podcasting came very organically.

Hamilton added that the podcast was partially conceived in response to the growing “influencer culture”.

When the whole influencer thing really exploded we definitely noticed a gap in the market for ‘real talk’. That’s when I think we started to see our conversations as important and that they could help the women of Ireland today who are being fed so much false content.

They launched their first podcast in March and debuted atop the podcasting charts, something they attribute to Irish women being “thirsty for people talking frankly about sex, relationships and wanting to cut out the curated stuff they see from bloggers”.

Hamilton says she wasn’t sure that people would migrate from consuming content on apps like Snapchat and Instagram to listening to one-hour podcasts.

I feel that people have been subconsciously looking for something that they can sit back and listen to. Everyone is always tapping away on their phone; scrolling, snapping or trying to think of a song to listen to. It’s nice to be able to give something that is a bulk of time but that doesn’t direct your whole attention to your phone. We aim to save people from tech neck.

Five episodes in, Jenny and Lindsay have spoken humorously and candidly about everything from receiving unsolicited dick pics to catcalling to the realities of dating in Dublin.

And it’s clear that it’s already struck a chord with Irish women.

As regards influences, both Jenny and Lindsay say they weren’t inspired by other podcasts, but rather by their own friendship. (Claffey does profess herself to be a fan of shows like You Must Remember This and My Favourite Murder.)

Hamilton says she avoids podcasts lest she “unintentionally pick up habits” from them.

We want this podcast to be totally raw, real and unaffected.

As for what’s on the horizon for IT GALZ? Claffey says their main objective for now is to continue making “killer content” and “give a voice to Irish women that simply is not being represented”.

There are plans in the works to host a fundraiser party this summer where they hope to meet some of their listeners.

The main aim, though? “To empower women and give give them the tools to be strong and to know their rights and fight for them.”

Hear, hear.

You can listen to IT GALZ here on Soundcloud or subscribe to them on iTunes. Additionally, you can follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

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