*Trigger warning: this discussion includes content related to abortion*
Name: Kate Fenton
Age: 25 years old
Occupation: Barista & Founder of The Lunatique
Location: Perth, Australia
Instagram is a weird one... like it’s so weird that you’re in my bedroom right now having coffee with me whilst I get ready for work..
Anyways, I had a pretty rough start to the year. I don't really know if a lot of the people that follow my personal page know this, but I had to have an abortion to save my life. I’ve actually had to have two abortions this year, which was rough on my mentally and physically. Naturally, I suffer from severe morning sickness and it got to the point where I was down to 40.0kg. I was a twig. I couldn't eat and I was vomiting for 6 weeks straight. I could’ve stuck it out but i wasn’t coping on any level.
I had my first abortion on the 12th March this year and the night after I had a really vivid dream about my website. I was scrolling on a website and it said The Lunatique at the top. It was a forum where girls could chat about what was going on in their lives and support each other no matter where they were in the world. So the day after, I made the Instagram and started working on the website for 3 months. I made a call out on Instagram for some help and I had a girl in South Oz reach out. Now, I have a beautiful website because of an amazing web designer named Airlie. It’s funny because Instagram can be a really negative place if used incorrectly, but it can also bring people together which is really beautiful.
Right now, I’m not making money off The Lunatique. Hopefully maybe one day, but that’s not why I started it. I didn’t start this journey for monetary gain. So, I mean as much as it would be amazing to be able to work remotely I just don't care to make it into a money maker at the moment.
And, working in hospitality.. after a 10 hour shift on your feet you’re no good to anyone after that. When I come home the last thing I want to do is look at my website because it is really time consuming; especially as a one woman team. I don't have any help. I have people messaging me 24/7 from all over the world wanting to talk about their problems and I’m not a trained psychologist or a social worker. I have no training in this what so ever. I am just a girl that wants to help. And, with something like The Lunatique some people expect the world from you, but I have to be able to live my own life as well which can be really difficult. I love it, but it can be a lot to take on.
I’m also the type of person that does things when their ready. I’ll get to things when I feel good and sometimes that might mean that it’ll take me a month. When I first started I would write my articles in about 4 days and for the first two months I was posting every Friday until I realized I couldn't keep up and I’m not going through enough shit in my life to be writing an article every week. Sometimes, articles come very naturally. Like, I wrote a break up guide because that is basically my life story and it was one of my best articles. About 5,000 people read it. I had hundreds of messages from people telling me how much they needed it. And, I believe in energies and timing. I feel like I wrote that article at the right time and I got the best outcome. If I would have written it when I first started The Lunatique it wouldn’t have gotten as much exposure or had such a positive response. And, now it’s like fuck yeah...I did well!!
In the beginning, I was identifying with The Lunatique quite a bit because it is a part of my story. Yea, I created The Lunatique but it’s not about my life even though I have been through things. I also had an eating disorder in high school and was bullied. I would binge and than vomit. No one ever noticed because I was always “eating”... they never realized I was going to the bathroom 5 minutes later to chuck it up. I literally became the master of disguise.
I made The Lunatique about women for women. I don’t want it to be like “Oh Kate Fenton, The Lunatique”. The Lunatique is about women. It’s about empowering each other and coming together, caring and supporting when we need it most and having the opportunity to speak up about sensitive issues in our lives in a safe place.
Next year The Lunatique is getting a bit of a change up too.. I won’t share too much but it will be a lot more supportive for women who need professional care. And for health care professionals who want to get more clientele! Yay.
