Woman’s place UK conference

[Silencedwitness]

Is anyone else thinking or going?

womansplaceuk.org/conference-womens-liberation-2020/

[ValancyRedfern]

Can't believe it's sold already!

[drspouse]

More tickets will be released though.

[KatvonHostileExtremist]

Just got my ticket in the next batch!

[midcenturylegs]

I was going to bump this - to say that a new round of tickets were being made available today (or yesterday?).

I'm going, it'll be the first conference of this sort for me, I am really excited.

[KatieAlcock]

Guess I'd better think of something to say, eh?

[ContessaferJones]

I've got my ticket :) just trying to work out whether to try and stay in London overnight or not!

[stumbledin]

Just to say I lost this thread as someone started another one, and hope when I am not in a rush to respond to comments made on my post.

As I said I hope their conference is sucessful and furthers the campaign they have started.

But irrespective of what later revisionists may have portrayed WLM Conferences as, there was a specific remit for how they were organised. And it is precisely because of the grassroots basis on which they were organised in which the organisers had no say on who had a workshop etc., is why nowadays no one would attempt this again.

FiLia is nothing to do with women's liberation it is effectively a poor woman's WOW and is about being the best political hostess by inviting popular speakers to help create a feminist consumer event.

And conference where a small planning groups chooses the speakers or workshop titles is not a WLM conference.

[stumbledin]

Women’s Liberation Conferences were held to allow local grass roots groups, campaigns and services to meet as equals to promote discussion and exchange of information.

There wasn’t a rule book but followed the politics of equal and shared working ie no one group or person, and particularly not the organising group, had any control of the agenda.

Some months in advance of the conference dates groups and individual women were asked to submit ideas for workshops which could be discussion or practical. The role of the organising group was to collate these suggestions and where appropriate find out of two or three suggestions that seemed similar would combine. This of course would work for say a workshop for feminists in teaching. But not say for WPUK and We Need to Talk wanting workshops on the GRA / self identity.

The collated list of workshops would then be circulated and those interested in attending would indicate workshops they would be interested in participating in.

Based on the level of interest a final list of workshops would be drawn up.

If the woman or group whose workshop suggestion was part of this final list wanted to present a paper, then it was accepted practice that this would be made available in advance to those wishing to attend, so that no time at the workshop would be spent on the paper being read out while the majority sit around trying to pay attention. The meant that workshop could be committed to shared discussion.

There would often as not be no plenary as they served no function. On some occasions they did happen and likely as not became divisive because of the concept of how was it who thought they were entitle to be on the stage. And did on occasions lead to the stage being if not occupied heckled. Eg it wouldn’t be possible for women academics to give a speech from the platform about best practice or ways forward when women in universities have failed to come together to work to end the discriminatory practices and silencing of gender critical feminism. Ie women’s liberation feminist was about what was practiced. (So hopefully women in universities would have held a workshop where they worked out a strategy to challenge the dominance of queer politics in education, rather than having lone individuals having to fight a rear guard action against being non platformed or whatever.

Of course I recognise that this would not happen today for a number of reasons.

First of all there are hardly any active women’s groups, so the notion of workshops where activists could meet up to exchange info and ideas isn’t something that works with keyboard feminism.

Secondly, too women have a vested interest in being the “owner” of ideas, so for instance would never share a paper. And equally would not share a workshop for someone or some group organising on the same issue as their own.

What is sad is that what was an enormous amount of work at a time no one had access to a computer, let alone the internet but still managed to organise and share information so that women came to conferences fully informed and ready to engage, would today be so incredibly easy to do.

So for the organising group it was irrelevant whether you were a socialist or a lesbian separatist. The function of the organising group was to facilitate the wider network of women’s groups to meet up and have the opportunity to make connections and progress the work they were part of.

Because part of the power of women’s liberation was knowing that even if you were only involved in a local group, there were other similar and different Women’s Liberation groups functioning all over the country.

I very much doubt that any women would do that today.

And I am afraid I don’t think many women would be that interested in attending what was effectively a working conference. Most women attend conferences and even marches as a feminist event to passively consume.

(I’ve cut this down from something I wrote that was much longer. So I hope it makes sense. I am all for WPUK having a conference to further their aims and campaign. But it isn’t women’s liberation. It is just one strand.)

[stumbledin]

WPUK have now posted the outline of the conference structure.

It looks highly structured, ie lengthy plenaries and very short workshops.

And on one level it is bizarre that so many women have signed up to attend without any idea of who the speakers are or the workshop contents.

But I am sure everyone will have a nice day out.

[Fallingirl]

Stumbledin, that is really interesting.

I must admit to not really knowing anything about women’s liberation conferences previously.

I think in many respects, there just hasn’t been a women’s liberation movement for too many decades. But this moment in time does seem to me to be a reinvigoration of feminist consciousness, and more and more women are wanting to get active and involved.

We are taking baby steps at the moment, with local groups forming all over the country. Even as the proposed changes to the GRA has been the catalyst, those groups, as well as this board, demonstrate a crystallisation in many women’s conversations, of an understanding of women as a class, and just how all-encompassing women’s oppression is.

We are very much seeing a change in feminism, where more and more women talk about liberation of women,rather than faux empowerment ‘feminism’.

It would be fantastic to build on this appetite for actual liberation of women, to start talks about what we want, what needs to be done, how do we organise, etc.

I think you are right that a conference a la you describe could not be arranged today, but we can certainly get talking. -It’s not as if there is only one issue to discuss; ideally we would want recurring conferences attended by all manner of groups.

I think many women are currently using organised events to make connections, and get involved locally. That is a very promising start.

[KatieAlcock]

If the woman or group whose workshop suggestion was part of this final list wanted to present a paper, then it was accepted practice that this would be made available in advance to those wishing to attend, so that no time at the workshop would be spent on the paper being read out while the majority sit around trying to pay attention.
I don't know enough about academic conferences 50 years ago, but I think the idea of "reading a paper" and hence having to send it round in advance is long gone. Of course this can mean death by PowerPoint but Open Science and general collegiality means that speakers almost always make everything they've said available online afterwards (either notes or video).

[stumbledin]

KatieAlcock - Women's Liberation Conferences were not academic in any way.

The whole point was to give a voice to women who wouldn't normally be heard. And I dont mean a paper in an acadmic thread. It could just be a paragraph saying what someone wanted to discuss.

the point of sending papers or paragraph in advance is so that the workshop can start straight away with discussion. Like on FWR someone posts a link to something written and we disucss it - if interested.

Also I know someone who went to FiLia in London specifically for one workshop which turned out to be very popular. It was in a huge room and the panel were 5 women who took up the whole time reading out papers that not only could have been distributed in advance but in some cases had been published on line. And then there was no time for discussion.

Feminism only works to create political change when it is owned and shared by women equally. this doesn't mean everyone was necessarily thinking or acting on the same things. But as women felt empowered to challenge local authorities, schools and so on. The conferences were an opportunity to be in direct contact with the divesre movement.

The outline for the WPUK conference looks dire. It may be that many in that group are conditioned by Labour Party / TU structures but it is not women's liberation.

I do think a conference that looks at how to move the campaign against changes to the GRA (even scrapping the GRA) could be really useful at this time. We need to find ways to work as effectively as the trans lobby which is already embedded in so many places of importance.

I am not particularly expecting WPUK to hold a Women's Liberation Conference for the reasons mentioned above. I just dont see why they aren't being more explicit about why they are holding a conference. If it isn't to move the campaign against the GRA forward but is meant to be something more diverse I think that would be really negative in terms of keeping up the imputus.

Oh, and just to add, no one apart from the media attempting to trivialise it, would every use the phrase Women's Lib - yuk. Not quite as bad as Libbers, but dangerously close.

[ArranUpsideDown]

I've just had the email with a link to a survey about which panel and workshops you want to attend.

Look for it in your inbox if you want a choice (yes, it's 02:00, please don't judge me).

[NotAssigned]

I was reading my email at 2am also

Just caught up on this thread. I went to the Sharron Davies WPUK and met some people there who have since helped with activism in my area of the UK.

I booked for this conference partly because I happen to be in London at the time but more so to meet more feminists and to be energised and to learn and discuss and socialise.

I'm not too worried about the semantics.

[TinselAngel]

It may be that many in that group are conditioned by Labour Party / TU structures but it is not women's liberation.

The top down method being used at the WPUK conference is nothing like the conference structure of my Trade Union. TU conference motions are submitted in advance, usually by local branches and self organised groups The NEC have a role in establishing whether they are competent motions and can be taken forward to conference. The conference agenda and motions are then circulated in advance to all delegates.

At conference a delegate from the group who proposed the motion will move it, and then anyone else can speak for or against it until the vote is taken. That vote result will then be the basis for union policy.

There are fringe meetings in between that are more like the WPUK workshops/ sessions.

Maybe there aren't the grassroots structures in place to arrange the WPUK conference in a similar way at present?

[TinselAngel]

Oh I missed out the bit where the NEC make a recommendation on whether delegates should support or oppose the motions when they circulate them before the conference.

(Trade Union structures and procedures are complicated ).

[Dolorabelle]

Ach! I missed out on a ticket - am in London that w/e and if there's a spare ticket, would love to attend.

Yours,
An old 2ndwaver

[PlonitbatPlonit]

TU and LP conferences aspire to agree policy, which is why they have pre-circulated motions, delegates, mandates, compositing and votes.

They're not analogous at all to the conference that WPUK is organising with UCL Women's Liberation SIG, and with the support of Southall Black Sisters, FiLiA, National Assembly of Women and Centre for Women's Justice.

[thebluearsefly]

i missed out on a ticket - anyone think it will be possible to attend the social event (assume it will be down the pub) later even if I can’t get a ticket (apparently there’s another batch to be released)

[PlonitbatPlonit]

The social event is at the venue - there's no way that number of people will fit in a pub.

[Socrates11]

Crikey one choice out of 5 for a panel... That's pretty straight forward. Then two choices out of 30 workshops! I've narrowed it down to seven so far, mainly media or women's history but this is not easy! Going to have another read through then decide.

[GeordieTerf]

I love the variety of the workshops! It was really hard to pick just 2!

[RicketyClickety]

I didn't realise the second tranche of tickets has already sold out too! This is gonna be big.

[Ibloodylovewomen]

Does anyone know how many tickets have been sold?

[stumbledin]

I'm not a member of the Labour Party and may have been thinking about the Blairite years when I thought there was a change in that the "agenda" for the National Conference no longer reflected the motions from grass roots groups.

And my experience of TUs was not good, partly because at the time so many unions were being closed or amalgamated and however many local branch meetings were held it was obvious the outcome was agreed in advance and one way or another the branch was shown to have gone along with it.

My early postings were about why WPUK would even want or think to call it a Women's Liberation Conference.

Why wouldn't they want to capitalise on the work they have done. If it just turns out to be another feminist consumer event rather than an organised step forward to their central purpose it will be a hugely missed opportunity.

This is a highly structure event where they dont even tell you who the speakers are, treating everyone as though they are primary school pupils who will dutifully accept what the headmistress tells us we need to think about.

I can see that some workshops look interesting but what happens when you get there and the woman/women leading it are those you know you have not empathy with. I am saying this in light of the fact that what were listed as workshops are in fact going to be yet more meetings with speakers. It just empathises the concept that feminism has become something that is passively consume.

Look at how lively and informed discussion is on mumsnet. If this board is an active expression of current concerns then there would be workshops on toilets, schools and protecting girls, the creeping Stonewalling of work places, and so on.

So if they had asked for workshop suggestions in advance and then asked which ones others were most interested in, you wouldn't have the situation that they now have that women who didn't happen to see the email that went round yesterday are somehow meant to attend workshops they aren't interested in because others are now booked up.

It seems so strange that with so many of FWR more than happy to state their opinions and are an active source of information as to what is happening in terms of attacks of women's sex based rights, wouldn't not just sit and listen to women someone else has decided you should listen to!

So my comments are a sort of backhanded compliment to the work WPUK has already done. Why aren't they focusing on moving this forward?

I did try to get a ticket when the second round were released, but even though I was fairly prompt, the subsidised tickets sold out. (Again another indication that it isn't a WLM conference.)

I just hope that after the event there wont be all the mumsnetters coming back on this or another thread saying I was there, were you, shouldn't we have met up?

Perhaps those from MN who are going could takeover one of the self organising meetings in the evening (you could privately agree by messaging on a password!) and have a good get together?