Feminism Friday: Wowzers!

Saturday 8th March is International Women’s Day, so what better time to celebrate the achievements, creativity and talents of women and girls around the globe? Well, that’s exactly what Wowzers Festival will be doing in London next weekend. This exciting community-led event is open to all and includes activists, performers, writers, campaigners and… you. With interactive sessions where you can get creative, discussions on a variety of topics, dance classes, a club night and a great line up of bands, Wowzers is positively brimmng with exciting content. It also has an aim I can really get behind:

Our mission is to create a space for all corners of feminism in order to advance emerging issues and to nurture up-and-coming talent, while recognising the intersections with race, class, disability, age and LGBTQ issues.

You can discuss street harrassment with Hollaback London, learn about Pussy Riot‘s story, make a zine with For Books’ Sake, talk consent with The Yes Resource, learn about feminist fairy tales and start to write your own, or even find out first hand just how fantastic Irreverent Dance’s queer-friendly ballet classes are. There will even be a session where you can write a love letter to your body. The fantastic location also means that it’s really easy to pop to see the Big Swinging Ovaries exhibition or head to one of the sessions at the Southbank Centre’s Women of the World Festival (both a 20min walk away), in order to cram as much awesome feminist stuff as you can into the weekend.

One of the Sunday afternoon sessions will be a discussion panel on issues relating to clothes sizing, shape and fit, hosted by: seamstress Elly Frances, fatshion blogger Bethany Rutter (Arched Eyebrow), vintage style blogger Gemma Seager (Retro Chick) and… me! We’ll be discussing things like vanity sizing, the link between size and shape, the relationship between body image and clothes size, plus why it’s not our bodies that are the ‘wrong’ shape – everyone who comes along is welcome to bring something else to the discussion too. Hope to see you there at 1pm!

The Saturday night will see a battle between the DJs of Bad Reputation (the DIY dance party for queers, grrrrls, punx and geeks) and Fanny Pack (the 90s disco for rebel grrrls and nancy boys). And this is just the beginning, as there are many more sessions and performances still to be listed. If you want to get involved, get in touch with the organisers. If you want to come along, grab your free ticket now. If you know even one person who might be interested in this… spead the word!

Wowzers Festival is taking place on 8th and 9th March at LSE Student Union, 1 Sheffield Street, London WC2A 2AP. The event is free to attend, but don’t forget to register in advance.

Images via xlordashx and classic_film‘s Flickr photostreams.