Feminist book groups - do they exist?

[lifeinthelastlane]

I've been thinking since attending the Filia conference this year that I'd love to be part of some kind of feminist book group - or some other social meeting of like-minded women really.
Does anyone has any ideas about how you can access such groups (if they exist)? Did look on Facebook but it wasn't very helpful.
Thank you

I was briefly around one on a social media site which shall remain nameless, but the problem I ran into was that other people insisted any book chosen should be available free - legally or not. I was very unhappy about promoting illegal download sites for the feminist books we were reading, while others insisted that it was unrealistic to think everyone would have the money to buy a book and, furthermore, that any feminist author who would object to women downloading her book for free wasn't a proper feminist... I felt and feel that feminist writers should be able to make money from their writing and didn't want to have anything to do with encouraging people to bypass legal means of obtaining the books! With hindsight, I should have predicted this problem... and I predict that one would run into a variant of it in many online forums.

Thank you for your reply. Interesting how feminist authors being held to such a high standard of altruism!
I don't know if it would be different in person. I'd rather have an event to go to than something online.

There seem to be quite a few going, but obviously no way of knowing whether they share your understanding of feminism!

Not sure where you are based but

London https://www.londonfeministbookclub.co.uk/home

Glasgow https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feminist-book-club-glasgow-tickets-162518313651

Bristol https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-feminist-book-club-march-read-tickets-856393494997?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Bath https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/bath/feminist-reading-group-2023/

Swansea https://www.instagram.com/swanseafeministbookclub/?hl=en

So maybe try searching eventbrite or facebook

There’s also the Women's Rights Network - we have meet-ups in our area group, you might find people who would make a book club? At least then you wouldn’t have to worry that they’d be the “Be Kind and TWAW” type of “feminist”!

Thank you both so much for your suggestions - I never thought of searching Eventbrite. I'll definitely have a look from the women's rights network. It does appear that they have a group in the place I live in. I'm not dead set on a book really just a chance to meet up with women I might have something in common with. The atmosphere at Filia was so good I suppose I want to recreate a bit of that.

I don't want to post where I live for obvious reasons, but am in Scotland.

I never thought of searching Eventbrite

I think there are some on facebook but i can never make their search function work properly.

Hope you find something that suits you. I mean in terms of feminism.

Meet up app.
TRAs crawl over the feminist community to sniff out any rad - fem groups but look for subtle clues eg ones that don’t have the alphabet soup / tons of virtue signalling repeating trans women are welcome over and over. I found my biological female - only book club on meet up x

Hi, just wondered if you found a group. I’m also in Scotland and would be keen to join some like minded women readers.

I'd love to be in a book group! Also in Scotland! Maybe we could do an online one?

Shall we have a wee Scottish gathering? 😀 with tunnocks?

I didn't find one - life got in the way - but am still interested. Online's ok but I was hoping for the social aspect of an in person group 🙂

you might find this site useful: https://findabookclub.co.uk/

In Glasgow, there's the 'feminist book group' based at the Mitchell Library, and a young women's book club, but also https://allevents.in/glasgow/on-the-same-page-women-only-book-club/10000894619379647 - free to attend - and another run by a business women's network which costs £45/event.
If you want to start a new group where you live, it might be worth talking to your local library staff as they could provide a venue and arrange for extra copies of whichever book you pick to be available to members of the group.
Glasgow Libraries do that for the various book groups based at Glasgow Women's Library - all of which are full and operate a waiting list.

You could start one of your own?

@Longtimelurkerfinallyposts thanks for the links!

New group with tunnocks sounds good to me 😁. Would also prefer in person. Who’s in? I’m in West Lothian. Here’s where we discover we’re all at far flung corners of the country ….

Would also love to hear about filia.

As I remember the posts from when this thread first started, someone posted you need to be wary of these general listings about book clubs, because by and large those saying they are feminist are not the feminism of FWR.

As is anything to do with Glasgow Women's Library.

The probably all accept "legal women".

I’d definitely look at WRN then. WRN Scotland are WRNScotland on Twitter or there’s
https://www.womensrights.network/join-wrn