MISS SEPTEMBER
PLAYMATE
“Women have gained more freedom in both business and everyday life than ever before,” says Miss September Kelly Gale. “Of course, I say that as someone influenced by Swedish culture.” Yes, Kelly is a Swede—born in Göteborg, the country’s second-largest city—but she’s also ethnically Australian, via her father, and Indian, via her mother. Altogether, she’s the epitome of a cosmopolitan woman. She holds two passports, is fluent in two languages and is an advocate for equal rights, a position informed by the progressive attitude embraced by her homeland, which offers 480 days of parental leave and has a female archbishop heading the Church of Sweden. “Women in Sweden are treated with a revolutionary level of respect that is unsurpassed in history,” she says. “Still, the biggest obstacle is appreciating—and incorporating—each gender’s uniqueness into society. We shouldn’t shy away from the fact that women develop differently from men. We shouldn’t listen to a female leader only when she has masculine characteristics. Instead of moving toward one ‘omni-sex,’ which sometimes seems like what we’re trying to do, we need to learn to benefit from men’s, women’s and transgender people’s individual voices.”
KELLY GALE
AGE: 21 BIRTHPLACE: Göteborg, Sweden CURRENT CITY: New York
MY DREAM JOB
I am a passionate cook and have always dreamed of working with food. (According to my friends and family, I’m great at it.) I make my own breakfast every morning, and I'm most likely cooking a threecourse dinner on a Friday night. Food—dark chocolate especially— is something that will always make me happy. In the future I’d love to go to culinary school, write cookbooks and perhaps even open my own health-food café.
WALK XT OFF, SHE SAYS
I’m dedicated to having a happy and healthy lifestyle, and part of that means I walk a lot. And I’m a superfast walker. Most people don’t love that about me because
I refuse to take a cab or public transportation unless I’m running late or it’s freezing outside.
QUIT DRONING ON
Small talk bores me. I won't start a conversation I have no interest in having—and I never pretend to be interested when I’m not. I’m honest and real. In otherwords, I won’t say “I love your shoes” unless I actually love the shoes. Also, don’t ask me how much I get paid or anything about makeup or clothing trends. I don’t care about trends.
THE DOWNSIDE TO HAVING A
“SOCIAL” LIFE
It’s easy to paint a nice picture of your life in the Instagram era, but we’re now witnessing how
that behavior negatively affects young women. What you see and read isn’t always the truth, and there's a huge problem today with young girls’ egos and how they relate to what they see on social media. Unfortunately, this probably won’t change until social media becomes outdated.
DON’T FORGET THE WHITE WINE
Growing up on Sweden’s west coast, I learned how to fish and prepare my catch, which I still do when I go back home. Right now I’m obsessed with grilling a whole fish, like a branzino, stuffed with lemon, capers, garlic, chili and parsley and serving it with grilled vegetables. Sushi is also a guilty pleasure of mine.
