This year marks the tenth anniversary of
the fantastic Bristol Festival of Ideas, and they have surpassed themselves
with an even more impressive line-up than usual. I've picked out a few of my
favourite events below and strongly suggest you snap up your tickets soon
before it's too late.
Watershed, Bristol
Sun 11 May 2014, 15.30-16.30, £7 / £6
On a walk to Wuthering Heights, Samantha
Ellis found herself arguing with her friend about who was best: Jane Eyre
or Cathy Earnshaw. She decided to look again at her heroines, those who had
shaped her ideas of the world and how to live. Her exploration of the ones that
stood up to scrutiny will have many remembering those women who made them the
reader and person they are today. (Read my review of the book here.)
Watershed, Bristol
Sun 11 May 2014, 17.00-18.00, £7 /£6
Feminist blog The Vagenda is a call to
arms. Challenging us to look harder at the magazine articles about a celeb
mum’s miracle weight loss or advice columns about bikini waxes and blow jobs to
keep your man, co-founders Cosslett and Baxter argue it’s time for us all to
push for change in a sphere which holds huge power over women of all ages, yet
refuses to respect who they are today.
Watershed, Bristol
Sun 11 May 2014, 18.30-20.00, £7 / £6
Eleanor Marx led an eventful life packed
with achievements and adventure. Foremost in her public and private life was
her strong, pioneering feminism. Her life ended in mysterious suicide in her
early 40s. Rachel Holmes’ new biography, which reads in parts like a novel by
Wilkie Collins, reveals a woman unafraid to live her contradictions. In this
special event Holmes discusses Marx with Andrew Davies, who will be showing
clips from his 1977 TV serial Eleanor Marx.
Starts Watershed, Bristol
Sat 17 May 2014, 10.30-12.45, £8 / £7
In 1913 the suffragettes declared war on
the government that refused to enfranchise women. At the outbreak of the First
World War, militancy was at its height. How did the suffragettes respond to the
war? And how far did their suffragette experiences prepare them for their
war-time activities? A specially commissioned walk led by Lucienne Boyce,
author of The Bristol Suffragettes. (Read my review of the book here.)
Watershed, Bristol
Sat 17 May 2014, 11.30-12.30, £7 / £6
Led by body activists AnyBody, UK chapter
of international initiative Endangered Bodies, this event explores the complex
ways in which ownership is claimed over a woman’s body by people other than
herself. Join us for a discussion with the panel and audience, and walk
the talk by formulating campaign strategies with us.
Watershed, Bristol
Sat 17 May 2014, 14.00-15.00, £5 (all
ticket income goes to Integrate Bristol)
The young campaigners from Integrate
Bristol’s tireless campaigning to end female genital mutilation has got them
national recognition. They are supported by Malala Yousafzai and the
secretary general of the UN, and made Michael Gove pay attention.
Hear how they have managed to break down the wall of silence around FGM and why
they won’t be stopping to talk about it any time soon.
Watershed, Bristol
Sat 17 May 2014, 16.00-17.00, £7 / £6
Lucy-Anne Holmes started the campaign to
ask The Sun to stop Page 3 in the summer of 2012 when she realised that the
largest female image in the paper was of a young woman showing her breasts,
even though Jessica Ennis had just won her Olympic Gold medal. She talks about
building and growing the campaign, dealing with backlash and why she’ll be
continuing her work.
Watershed, Bristol
Sat 17 May 2014, 18.00-19.00, £7 / £6
Award-winning comedian Rosie Wilby uses
live interactive storytelling interspersed with video interviews, music and
photos to trace a hilarious journey through early 90s feminism, refracted
through a very personal lens. Against a backdrop of John Major and riotgrrrl
she blurs personal and political history, backed by a healthy dose of 21st
century cynicism.
In association with What The Frock! Comedy.
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