Beertje van Beers
Pirate: Sadie ‘the goat’ Farell
Embodied by: Beertje van Beers (writer & presenter)
As a writer for this glossy, researching all the badass female pirates was incredibly inspiring. Having felt like an outsider most of my life, deciding early on to write my own rules, I could relate to each single story of swashbuckling defiance. But Victorian streetfighter Sadie the Goat was my favorite, and how excited I was to step into her lace-up booties and kick some ass!
I was 5 years old, queuing in my school’s hallway, when I felt I would literally suffocate if I stayed in line and conformed one second longer. I broke free, got dragged inside by the ears, but refused to say sorry. Since then, I’ve stood up many times to save my soul. I’ve walked away from shoots and tv shows when I couldn’t express my femininity freely. I’ve prioritized motherhood over my career even though people said it wasn’t the feminist thing to do. Even now, I’m fighting ageism by stubbornly refusing to use Botox and fillers. During moments like this, I listen to my inner pirate. But to finally let her out – loud and proud! – during this shoot was a whole new experience for me!
It was early, it was cold and windy, and with my hair in dreads, I couldn’t hide behind my usual luscious Bardot-locks. There was no hiding behind my usual smile either, because I was channeling mean, gnarly Sadie. But with my dear friend Marlies behind the camera, I felt ready to share the raw, violent side of me that I usually only show my karate partners in the dojo. How liberating it was; an experience I will treasure forever! Just one note to Marlies: please don’t ever make me wear dreads again…
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