Interview: Getting to know Avalon Ible

April 5, 2017

We asked Sydney-based model, feminist and student Avalon Ible to tell us about herself:

I am…
This is a question that has been on my mind recently and for some reason makes me nervous. This is because we have a tendency to say things that we do or what our age is, however saying that I’m currently in my second year of a bachelor of business does not actually say who I am. Therefore, I believe I am a strong and confident young woman that is a proud feminist and intrigued by important issues within our society. I am an only child and it’s probably made me more awkward in social situations. But ultimately I think I’ve realised I can’t be summarised into labels or select categories because I feel like I’m always changing, learning.

Modelling is…
A fickle industry, one day you’re like “Hell yeah, this is awesome” and then the next it’s a bit of a drag not being ‘desirable’ to brands and clients. For me, however, modelling hasn’t just been a chance to get Instagram content or to do a few poses. I’ve met so many amazing and passionate people who are ridiculously creative in ways I didn’t think possible. I’ve used it as a learning experience, and although it has its bad parts, I’ve come out a better person. However, it must be noted that I’m not familiar with the mainstream modelling industry.

Aside from modelling…
There is so much aside from modelling (I’ve never liked calling myself a model). I’ve lived out of home for over a year and with that many of my hobbies surround being a ‘mum’ and checking Coles and Woolworth’s catalogues, but I swear I’m an interesting person! As mentioned earlier I am a full-time student studying business and have just commenced my marketing major which really excites me to be doing something I’ve literally wanted to do since I was in Year 9. I also work roughly 20 hours a week at a bookstore which has made me accustomed to poor management and weird customers. In my spare time I save up for festivals, I attended three last year, and research healthy eating.

Home is…
Anywhere I feel comfortable enough to make a mess.

I spend too much time…
Caring what other people think. I believe this stems from my childhood where I’d constantly get embarrassed by my mum in public and she’d utter the words “Who cares what other people think”. It’s ironic that since I’ve grown up I have understood this sentiment; however, I’m still plagued by self-consciousness. It’s hard to practice for me as I possibly don’t have the self-confidence of a strong-minded single mum and also I feel over observant of my own judgements of people and believe that they must have the same thoughts surrounding my appearance or actions. Also social media has largely impacted how we interact so that there is both digital and physical interactions. This new element of my relationships and perceptions of people have continued my everyday lack of self-confidence.

It might surprise people to learn that…
I’m a little bit unique in that my biological father is a sperm donor, meaning my mum has always been a single parent and like a bad-ass decided she wanted to have a kid just by herself. I’ve never met him and I don’t intend to, as I’m of the belief that I’ve never needed a father so why go out and find one. Plus I’ve watched way too many documentaries involving negative ‘reunion’ experiences.

I’ve never…
Understood why men catcall or harass women on the street. As a feminist and logical human being I really can’t see why a segment of the male population take pride in degrading and annoying females on the street, in their neighbourhood even in their workplaces. People have told me that it’s because these ‘boys’ believe they are complementing her or trying to make her feel good about herself. Yet even these answers are lacklustre. I’ve never felt flattered by a whistle, a casual remark or uninvited attention.

In the future…
I hope to be in a good place. I’ve never had concrete goals or targets, more wistful imaginings and ideas of what the perfect future will look like. I imagine a full-time job and finally weekends of free time to spend how I please and not have university obligations or worries about Sunday rates. More broadly I idolise a point where our politicians acknowledge the unsustainability of current economic and agricultural activities and decide to believe in climate change. A future where women of all races feel empowered to pursue whatever they wish, without the constrains of the current patriarchy. Although idealistic, in the future there will be positive change both for me and our planet.