Who‘s coming to FiLIA?

[lanadelgrey]

I‘m starting to get excited.
Are there plans for a MN meetup?

It’s difficult not to be “wound up by the head girls narrative” when they try and manage you out of a movement that you spearheaded.

Oh, fantastic!

Definitely @ParmaVioletTea
There are many good voices and part of the joy is meeting similarly minded women while queuing for a coffee or at the bar.
Brighton no worse or better than Glasgow.
The venue and police are well practised in allowing demos at a distance. It hosts party conferences and TUC regularly

How would one know about this change in attitude?

The last few FiLIA conferences I've been to have been very terfy. Ditto WPUK, and Fair Play for Women. WDI and WRN of course!

But there are other activist campaigns and issues ... part of the problem of fighting the TRAs (and believe me, I've been in the trenches for that, in a way that has affected my career and MH, but it could never be a public case) part of the problem of the TRA nonsense I've observed since at least 2012 is that it's been a necessary but annoying diversion from other really important causes: surrogacy, prostituted and enslaved women internationally, or even locally, the basic sex pay gap ...

The first one I went to was in London around 2016, something like that, & very gendery. A lot of women objected to that & it gradually improved.

Do you know where the actual venue is? I'm a bit irritated that they won't tell us.

Are there many venues in Brighton that can accommodate 1000 people?

It’s very obviously going to kick off at some point. Especially with where it is. Not a reason not to hold it there, just the reality of the situation.

Learning from experience. Far too many events have been sabotaged by the TRAs complaining to the venues & getting them to cancel.

They may as well tell us then.

Actually I think it's great it'll be in Brighton. Why should a whole city be off-limits just because of some people with a mental imbalance and/or a hatred of women? (One might argue misogyny is a mental illness ...)

I remember going to an event in Bristol (either WPUK, or FPFW) about 8 years ago when we weren't told until that day, and there was a visible police presence outside the building and indeed, in the street approaching the building. It was an evening event, so it was good to feel safe. Some TRA group (Resister Sisters??) had been sounding off on Twitter about how they were going to stop us meeting, but I saw no-one there in the end (but it was a cold night - maybe the TRAs were a bit too fragile for the weather).

The experience of the UCL Women's Lib conference a couple of years ago, where there was a vocal (including that awful man who publicly incites TRAs to punch women in the throat) protest & a whole counter-conference - shows we are stronger than these MRAs.

I've pm'd you where I think it is.

Brighton‘s not a huge place so only really three options at best

Isn’t it shocking. Unable to state a location for fear of violence / animosity / cancellations? In the UK in 2025 - and ONLY BECAUSE WOMEN. Makes me explode. Fcking patriarchy.

Totally maddening.

In Brighton. That loving giving accepting place full of rainbows and candy floss.

That be who you want to be place.

No judgements there place.

Unless you’re a woman or man who understands biology, place.

Mind numbing.

I agree,

which is why I think it’s a stroke of genius to hold FiLIA in Brighton. Reclaiming the city. It’s got a venerable history of feminist activism, waaaay before the gender extremists think they invented feminism.

I’ve got a one day ticket. My plan was to get the train there. I’m not going with anyone and the nearer it gets to the date the more concerned I get.

would anyone mind PM me where it’s likely to be? I think I can guess but it would be nice to feel a bit more certain .

I know everyone asking for the PMs is likely to be doing it in good faith but at the same time, you never know if a TRA is going to join in the requests & then some kind person might message them.

I have only been to the Cardiff one for a day previously. I know there are all sorts of issues and politics but I found it such a positive experience I really wanted to go away

Yes, @fabricstash I agree. There's an amazing energy in the conference - thousands of women there to discuss, celebrate, and yes - disagree.

It lifts my heart when I'm in the trenches of the gender wars (I offer you my recent experience of 2 hours of listening to colleagues talk about terfs as objects of academic research - 2 hours of hate speech basically) to remember the solidarity and sisterhood of FiLIA. Those terms don't come easily to me - they're a bit cheerleaderish, but at FiLIA (and at a WDI conference I spoke at) I really understand the meaning of solidarity & sisterhood.

I really recommend any woman interested in women's lib, feminism, women's history, activism, WASPI matters and so on, to just go! There is a "Solidarity" scheme that offers subsidised tickets for those otherwise unable to afford to attend. And there's a creche.

I think saying you won't go because you don't agree 100% with the organisers is a shame. There are loads of speakers with lots of viewpoints and as a pp said there is something about being in a space with 1000s of other women which is incredible.

It's a great event for seeing interesting people and hearing interesting ideas and feeling inspired.

I'm going on my own but travelling in by train each day rather than staying.

I don't know anyone who's going so I'd love to meet up during the day, and happy to travel from the train station to the venue with anyone who'd find that helpful (though equally happy to go alone).

I'm mainly a lurker but have been lurking on the feminism board for many years.

I’ve been to the last 7 Filias and I dont recognise this at all.

Of course there are always womens toilets and depending on the venue they might claim some of the gents too.

filia has never been a woman only event. A few men come. Not many. Some of the sessions might be women only and the Saturday night party is women only.

no men are involved in organising filia & all the volunteers are women.

I think it’s an exciting time for women to be standing together in Brighton. It a huge middle finger up to the gender Borg & the timing is fantastic.

see you all there.