FemiFest

[FloraFox]

www.femifest2014.com

Anyone going? I'm thinking about it.

[ArcheryAnnie]

almondcakes I can see that - and I can think of a couple of trans women i know that would really like to attend (not to make a point, just because they'd enjoy it and find fellow-travellers). But the answer to that is, surely, for those women and women who ally with them to invite the speakers to their own events, and break the no-platform stuff.

[ArcheryAnnie]

Indeed, kim. I wouldn't attend a conference/gathering for Muslim women, for example, unless I was specifically invited, because I'm not Muslim, and I wouldn't want to intrude into a space where they were seeking to exchange experiences and ideas specific to Muslim women.

[almondcakes]

Femin, I entirely support women only events.

I just think it is a shame that the no platforming situation has arisen. I don't think the organisers of your event are responsible for that.

Obviously Germaine Greer can be heard elsewhere, but to hear all those women speak at one event is a pretty amazing opportunity.

The no platforming feels like other feminist groups cutting their nose off to spite their face.

[Curwen]

Except I'd put money on you having attended plenty, and just not noticed.

Well, really - how does one respond to a statement like that? I would not intentionally attend such an event that was explicitly against certain parties attending. Sorry, I can make it no clearer.

[femin]

I have already said that I am one of the organisers. I am not Femi Otitoju though who is a speaker at Femi Fest and is Chairing it. She is not an organiser.

£60 is the most expensive option for tickets and isn't actually a lot for a 2 day event with an amazing list of speakers.

But the cheapest option for tickets is to give what you can afford. Women have given £10 or £15 for their ticket, but you can give less through eventbrite. We also have a limited number of free tickets. Email [email protected] for more information about these. The free tickets have been funded through some dinations from radical feminists.

[ArcheryAnnie]

I imagine it's £60 because it's a two day conference, the women organising it are not trust-fund types, and because they have been harrassed off booking anywhere cheaper.

But there are concessions. As a comparison, two other London conferences this autumn largely organised by volunteers, but both with a hell of a lot more sponsorship and income streams other than attendance fees:
London Geekfest: £95 (three days)
Loncon: £135 (5 days, except who the hell has the time for 5 days at a conference?)

[femin]

And we have no sponsorship from anyone, including in kind. This conference is paid for totally through ticket sales and donations. All the work is being done by volunteers, and none of the speakers or performers are being paid a fee.

[ArcheryAnnie]

My thinking you've attended plenty of women-excluding places and events without noticing isn't a criticism, Curwen. It's very, very difficult to spot these things if you are part of the dominant group. I do accept fully that you wouldn't intentionally* do it, just believe that you have^ done it.

[ArcheryAnnie]

Bah, italics fail!

[CKDexterHaven]

People have freedom of association and the right to set boundaries. It may not always seem fair but it's better than the alternative. Sometimes like-minded people need to meet and make progress with their ideas and activism without having to get bogged down in derailing debate and postmodern whataboutery.

Incidentally, I've always thought it would be great fun if some mega-rich woman bought St Andrews Golf Club and made it women-only. Can you imagine the apoplectic fits? The thing is, men wouldn't stand for it. Nothing makes them angrier than women setting boundaries and saying 'no', and nothing makes them twitchier than the idea of women acting in solidarity with each other. (Which kind of tells you why it's important to defy them and do so).

[Curwen]

Anything is possible, Annie. I go to the theatre, cinema, sports, concerts - the usual stuff. Any of them could have been hostile to women or oppressed groups. But personally, there is a world of difference between doing something deliberately and inadvertently. And the event in the OP is explicitly exclusionary.

[CKDexterHaven]

Can circumgender people attend trans-only events, or are they circumgender-exclusionary?

[CKDexterHaven]

Women-born-women were excluded from the Cotton Ceiling Workshop. I'm sure we'd have a lot to contribute to the issue of transwomen getting their penises inside lesbians' knickers (because all lesbians love penises).

[femin]

Kim, femifest at the beginning simply said it was women only. We then got lots of questions asking if "trans women" are welcome. Any feminist event that simply says it is women only, gets asked this. So we wrote and put up a statement on our website to explain our position.

[ArcheryAnnie]

It almost seems that such events thrive on the publicity and the opposition they attract by their policies to reinforce their position.

Victim-blaming much, Kim? Because of course what a tiny, under-resourced conference really, really wants is to be harrassed, have their venues frightened off, and have women afraid to go or be associated with them in case they get harrassed too. They were asking for it, eh?

Oh - and Bingo on the Cotton ceiling thing. Can't have a thread about trans people without that.

If the Cotton Ceiling thing did not exist nobody would be in a position to mention it. Perhaps if you do not wish it brought up, you too could campaign against lesbians vilified for not liking penis, so that it is no longer an issue.

[CaptChaos]

what do you think would have happened if you had said transwomen were welcome?

I would imagine that, seeing as Julie Bindel is a speaker, a group of trans*activists would have turned up and tried to shout her down, as they do to her wherever she tries to speak. In an effort to silence her.

[Viviennemary]

They say they are against opression of any group facing discrimination and then go on to bar certain people from the conference. Isn't that a bit of a contradiction.