Bittersweet podcast’s hosts on empowering the next gen of women of colour
Frustrated with the lack of women of colour represented in the Australian media landscape, Melbourne-based podcasters, Rahel Ephrem and Wintana Kidane, decided to band together and take matters into their own hands.
Driven by a joint motivation to carve out a media space where they could explore their Black identities while cultivating a safe and inclusive community for their listeners, the pair of co-hosts created Bittersweet – a podcast series that discusses all things, culture, relationships and self-discovery.
Image: Supplied by Rahel Ephrem and Wintana Kidane
I sat down with Rahel and Wintana to chat about how Bittersweet came to be and how they intend to make an impactful splash in a pool of limiting depictions of women of colour.
With a goal to inspire and empower the next generation of women of colour, Bittersweet is certainly making (air)waves.
How it all started.
Brought together by the sheer luck of timing, Wintana and Rahel met through a happy coincidence while they were both spending time abroad in London.
“We had a mutual friend connect us while we were out there and we started hanging out. During that time… I started really getting into podcasts,” Wintana told me.
“The craziest thing about how we met is that we just happened to be in the same country in similar areas at the exact same time, from the same city and we had the same sort of background. It was such a cool coincidence,” Rahel said.
After connecting in the UK, the two bonded over their shared disappointment in the lack of diverse representation of Black women in Australian media.
“One big thing that stood out to us was the level of cultural expression [in London] and how open people were with their black identity,” Wintana said.
Image: Michaela Barca, Bittersweet’s Instagram
“In Australia, we just didn't feel like we had that level of representation at all. It felt like we were talking about it all the time behind closed doors, but in the mainstream, there wasn't anything.”
Inspired by the magic that follows when women of colour are given a platform to thrive in the media, Rahel and Wintana decided to shake things up and be a part of a much-needed change in the Australian media landscape.
The conversational mode of podcasting felt like the best fit for the kind of content the co-hosts wanted to produce – a space where they could candidly explore topics they wish they had access to growing up.
Representation matters.
Rahel and Wintana can point to a handful of Australian Black women who have consistently shone on our phone screens or have been beamed into our living rooms like Flex Mami, Faustini “Fuzzy” Agolli and Tkay Maidza.
However, the pair explained that mainstream media’s repetitive use of such a small selection of Australian women of colour can lead to limiting representations that lack nuance and individuality.
“Australian media always goes to the same women of colour or black women instead of welcoming new people,” Rahel said.
“There are so many amazing people out there, so I think that that's still such a massive issue.”
This lack of diverse representation can lead to a damaging paradigm wherein the chosen women of colour in the mainstream limelight become pseudo-responsible for representing all Australian women of colour.
The Bittersweet hosts told me this has problematic consequences both for these media personalities and their audiences, that they’ve experienced first-hand.
“It puts a lot of strain on [these women] because the understanding is ‘she is a black woman so she represents all black women,’” Wintana explained.
“Sometimes we kind of become seen as one, and we're boxed into the way we need to look or come across.”
Image: Michaela Barca, Bittersweet’s Instagram
Now, Bittersweet is allowing them to take control of their own narrative and celebrate their unique Black identities, free from the bounds of stereotyping– and thankfully, they’re not alone.
Wintana and Rahel have been embraced by other creative talents in the Black Australian community, proving that there are plenty more seats at the table for women of colour than mainstream media leads us to believe.
“The black community, especially the women, are very empowering, and there's like a sisterhood there,” Wintana shared.
“People are open to collaborating, it's just a matter of reaching out. Sometimes there's that illusion of there not [being] enough space. But I think everybody understands that and they want to uplift each other.”
Making an impact.
Rahel and Wintana’s biggest driving force to continue producing Bittersweet is to create content and representation that their younger selves would have wanted to see.
“I don't think people understand how hard it is being a young person of colour, and feeling like you aren't even worthy to be represented on TV,” Rahel shared.
“If Bittersweet can be that for any young people – and we can do that through our conversations and our exposure… that's definitely the biggest impact [I want to make] because for me growing up, I can't even explain how hard it [was] trying to navigate life.”
As well as pushing towards more WOC representation in the mainstream, providing an inclusive space for women of colour to listen and relate to the co-hosts’ experiences is a key foundation of Bittersweet.
“It's a place where we educate and have those hard conversations… having young girls listen to it and be like, ‘okay cool, I can relate to her experience’… feels empowering because you [realise you’re] not alone in these things,” Wintana said.
“One big thing I want Bittersweet to be is a space for community… because, we need a space where we're all connected.”
Their advice to young women wanting to start their own podcast? Find your ‘why’ and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
“If you have meaning behind what you're doing and if you are truly passionate about what you're doing, it's something you're going to achieve,” Rahel advised.
“If you remember what your purpose is and how intentional you are, it will all kind of align,” echoed Wintana.
You can check out Bittersweet wherever you get your podcasts
