Bursting at our corseted seams with creativity and a need to express our millennial angst, My Goddess Complex was born on June 25th 2017- the love child of three first year Philosophy and Literature students (and best friends) at the University of Warwick.
Co-founders of MGC (from left Jill Lupupa, Maya Kokerov and Ada Osman)
It took us a while to make it happen, starting with a completely different theme that was largely led by visuals and aesthetics (very gen-z of us). We then made a Google doc of all the types of articles we wanted to write- a combination of serious,academic, pieces along with personal essays/creative writing, reviews and fun stories. Our audience consisted primarily of Warwick students so we were initially planning to write more uni-based articles.
But as we were hit by a wave of exams, deadlines and the hibernation that followed them, akin to Frankenstein and the creature he spurned, we abandoned our own creation (which we created in May) and put off the first article for June.
We were drinking ice cold pina coladas, listening to Frank Ocean’s Novocane and lounging around in different positions, a tangle of long limbs and lilac perfume. Ada was barely clad on the swivelly chair, talking about her cravings for coconut ice cream. Jill was wearing a pink velvet skirt and lying on on the floor staring up at the high ceiling. Maya was sat on the bed in a thin white sundress, eyeing the glazed window and the palm tree and flowers adorning it. We had finished exams and were filled with the energy of first year students searching for release. We had tried Smack (a local club) but it no longer satisfied. So we spent the day thinking up article ideas while the heat made us light-headed and the mindless chatter quenched our thirst.
Like the indie cult classics we watched together between glances at texts from love interests and pointless scrolls on our feed, we were a group of 3 best friends. But unlike Heathers or Mean Girls, all three of us were the protagonist.
Our university course was small but, as fate would have it, we clicked- we laughed to the point of tears and we were a similar combination of shy, weird, playful and sassy. Several heart to hearts led to a strong bond. As a joke, we created a group-chat called ‘Kardashians Of Warwick’ to poke self-ironising fun at our guilty pleasure (gossip and vanity) and began sharing intimate and absurd anecdotes along with memes and witty banter. A lack of judgement or envy is the glue that holds any friendship together. True friends genuinely want their counterparts to thrive.
Rather uniquely to our friendship, we bonded over our love of writing, journalism and art. Therefore this project, which started off as a hobby, is what we hope to guide us into the world of media as we learn to become better at expressing ourselves and pursue journalism.
We wanted to create somewhere that encapsulates all aspects of our interests and where we could freely express ourselves. MGC is a place that values freedom of expression, harbours self-love and the egalitarian views you’d expect from three Philosophy and Literature undergrads. But we’re always open to having our views challenged, so don’t let our opinions deter you from submission or comment. This online publication is a safe space for people of all race, gender, origin or sexual orientation.
My Goddess Complex aims to celebrate creativity, individuality, art, culture, music and fashion through a lens of absolute inclusion.
Some of the topics we have covered or plan to write about are delivered specifically to start a conversation or stir up mixed feelings. Sometimes it’s fun to revel in frustration at the world, it releases endorphins. At other times we aim to make light of things. A prime example is our Bourgeois on a Budget Series, which is a satire meant to mock caricatures of our most shallow moments and the personas we create. We seek to parody problematic stereotypes and pepper them with ridicule, while also admitting that we do succumb to them at times, often on purpose or even with pride.
MGC in 2018 
MGC in 2017
Ultimately, we hope to share the perspectives of lots of different people and cover a wide range of topics. As editors, we bring something unique to each story because of our third-culture pasts, our backgrounds and our different tastes. These tastes meet, but there is a bridge to cross between each of them. This online publication has changed both visually and content-wise and will continue to do so as we grow.
We also have a wide range of authors, artists and contributors and hope to one day are creat editorial and columnist roles (see the authors section for more info).
Our Original Mascot/Logo:Â
Our ultimate aim is to produce all of our own images and own the rights to them- we enjoy photography and playing with film. However, we had to begin with images we found online.
We chose to use a painting of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (in her halfshell) as our symbol- an obvious choice for a blog that has the word ‘goddess’ in it. Soft, pastel pink adorned the walls.
The modern artist Egel Islekel (@egelislekel) strongly influenced our choice for the first re branding of our logo into something original. He is a Turkish interior designer and graphic artist who takes a classic idea and juxtaposes it with a modern canvas or trope to create a medley of ancient and contemporary turmoil. He subjects infamous figures to modern circumstances in a series of cleverly manipulated images. It was his pictures of Venus herself in a modern setting (running on a treadmill, wearing makeup and getting plastic surgery) which resonated with us- it exaggerated femininity, commenting on the hollow superficiality of modern life. Even a symbol of purity and transcendence succumbs to the artificial criteria used to navigate contemporary popular culture.
Our first graphics designer was Annabelle Liu (@annabelleliuart), with her enchanting watercolour painting of Venus, out of her half shell and up close and personal.
The Name:
In truth, the name came to us due to its acoustically aesthetic quality- it sounds good and memorable.
But, when we analysed the inner workings of our subconscious mind, we realised that it has many hidden meanings (we are literature students after all, it’s what we’ve been indoctrinated to do).
- It’s a play on the theoretical idea of ‘the god complex’, curated into a feminine pun. A God complex is not a classified psychological disorder (and does not appear in the DSM), but it is used to refer to a narcissistic person with a need to succeed. Someone with a God complex will disregard social conventions and demand special privileges (white male privilege may be ringing bells), in an almost Nietzschean way. MGC seeks to subvert, question and challenge the authority of social conventions, thus the play on words- we are not narcissistic or stuck up. But we’re not girls next door either. If you want girls next door, go next door. We believe that people of every gender, race and sexuality (especially those who identify as women) should embrace the spark that will fire their demand for equality.
- While we didn’t intend this, it’s reminiscent of ‘Complex Magazine’, which we adore. I guess we’re just ‘complex’ people…in deep contemplation about nothing deep at all.
Get to us (MGC co-founders)
Maya
♥My background is confusing- I was born in the US but my parents are Bulgarian, and I moved to London at 11 (I’m a third culture kid) after I spent one ‘transition’ year in a Bulgarian school.
♥I plan to complete an MSc in Media and Communications at LSE and pursue a career in journalism.
♥I’ve know how to ski since I was about 4 and trained to become a professional tennis player until I was 15.
♥I discovered lip liner before Kylie Jenner did- Rimmel London and Maybelline were my go-to in year 9.
♥I’m vegan now but funnily enough used to be practically carnivorous. I’m also into fitness stuff.
♥I’ve read almost all the Russian classics and there isn’t a cheesy 90s movie I wouldn’t consider watching at least once.
-IG: @mayatml
-Twitter: @mayatml & @mayakokerov
-LinkedIn: Maya Kokerov
Jill
♥Third culture girl- my family are from Zambia, moved to South Africa where I was born, then grew up in England from 4.
♥Sartre is my favourite philosopher (I mean, deny me like one of your French philosophers) and I’m partial to an existential joke or two.
♥Spotify is my favourite app.
♥I have a playlist for every mood and also still adore old Coldplay.
♥Shelley’s Frankenstein is my favourite book and Wilde’s Silentium Amoris one of my favourite poems.
-IG: @jillclb
-Twitter: @jillclb
Our First Two Contributors:
Kieran:
He is a law student at the University of Warwick from London.
- When I was working as a street fundraiser for a charity my team leader to me to a secret weed cafe after work.
- I worked as a court usher and once sat in a court where and I.T. worker was on trial for threatening his tenant with a knife; months after I saw him at my local library and exchanged an awkward look.
- I was once so wasted that I thought I had a conversation with my friend’s flatmate but the next day found out I was just blurting out gibberish.
- One of the first times I saw my babes I had a green stain on my white hoodie so ran away.
- My teachers said I wouldn’t finish school and I went to uni.
-IG:Â @knkumar_
Cecily:
She is a modern languages student at the University of Warwick from Wales.
-IG:Â @Cecilygracemorgan
-Twitter:Â @CecilyGraceM
-LinkedIn:Â Cecily Grace Morgan
MGC NIGHT OUT:
Anyone and everyone is invited to come celebrate special occasions and the end of a term of editorial meetings with us! Just message me on social media to get involved, and look forward to a personalised invite.
Future Plans:
- Ultimately, any articles (without offensive or problematic views of course) can be submitted for review. And we will publish them almost instantly.
- We will have bi-weekly editorial meetings.
- Wee hope to begin frequently creating zines, with all the articles written so far and our own images. We’re ‘saving the trees’ for now though…
- We will have a My Goddess Complex Night Out (like Vogue’s Night Out) for our contributors- it will be an occasion of glamour, witty people, sex appeal and some form of liqueur.
- We will ‘re-vamp’ our website: the layout, design, functions.
- We will collaborate more with other creatives and free-lancers.
- We will take suggestions for articles from social media.
Social Media:
-IG:Â @mygoddesscomplex
-Twitter:Â @mygodesscomplex
SUBMIT ARTICLES TO: Mygoddesscomplex@outlook.com
Thank you for supporting us!
My Goddess Complex 