One of my dearest wishes this year as co-founder of Femsoc; one wish close to my heart, which I would truly love to achieve, is Femstock.
Femstock will ideally be a live music night, on campus, (hopefully in the newly transformed ‘Attic’) the performers in which will be all female. Singers, musicians, bands, comedians, poets, magic tricks—whatever. They don’t even have to define themselves as Feminists, if that’s asking too much—just female. Why? Well, tragically I myself was not blessed with any kind of musical or performance talent (though not through lack of trying, let me tell you), but my boyfriend was, and ever the supportive partner, I have been along to every one of his gigs or open mic nights that I have been able to. Enjoyable as they have been, there have been perhaps only one female act, or female led act at each one.
I love female musical talent. I love their voices, whether they sound like Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex or Celine Dion (…well maybe Celine Dion is going a bit far). I love the songs they write, I love what they have to say, and I love that even my dad thinks that a female bassist just looks cooler and edgier than a male one. And all of the handful of women I have had the privilege to see live at Kent have been fantastic, talented performers in a range of genres, skills and styles (as, of course, have their male counterparts, but do I really have to tell you that this isn’t about them?) The only problem with these girls is that there simply aren’t enough of them up there.
The solution seems obvious—GIVE these women somewhere to perform! A high profile live music event on campus intended as a platform for female and female led acts. If you wish to see a male dominated live music night then go along to any other night. But not this one! This one’s for the grrls!
…And of course, whenever I have brought up this idea in mixed company I have had the responses you’d expect, intended to immediately quash my bright eyed, flushed cheeked idealistic excitement.
“Girls just won’t sign up—if you haven’t seen them at open mic nights then it’s because they don’t want to be there.” –Honestly? You truly want me to believe that at a University of over 18,000 students, a large Drama and Performing Arts department, nine visible music and performance based societies, a university in which female students outnumber males, there are really not enough interested, creative, talented women to fill one night?
“What? Surely you’ll have to let some men perform—I thought feminism was about equality!”—Just because an event is pro-women, does not mean it is anti-men (one day I won’t have to explain that anymore…). Male students are welcome to watch and enjoy the evening, to assist with setting up, and even perform if they are part of a female led band! (Examples of female led bands: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Dresden Dolls, No Doubt, Paramore…) If I get really desperate, then yes, I may have to consider inviting male performers in, but this is certainly not the direction I am hoping for, and I really think it will take away from the impact.
“It won’t have as good an atmosphere—girls don’t do Rock n Roll.” Good lord, this was possibly the most exasperating reaction. Girls don’t rock? I think that Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Aretha Franklin, Beth Ditto, Suzie Quatro, Tina Turner and a number of artists I’ve already mentioned would beg to differ. Say nothing of the Riot Grrl genre.
I hope that I sound very sure of myself here. Of course I’m not; I have never organised a music event, or even played in a band before, and I am only just learning the amount of energy that needs to go into it, and what is required from me. Every time somebody shoots a negative question at me, like the ones above, my confidence takes a little knock and I wonder if they are right. FemSoc is not by any means the first to try and pull off something like this. In fact, what we are doing will only be one night, in a small campus bar. It should be very easy, compared to what has gone before us: The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival has been happening every August since 1976 and is consistently overbooked, Shejay; which organises all women performances of electronica and club music has been going for nine years, Ladyfest was also started in the early 2000s, and is an international phenomenon, with events popping up all over the world, and 2010 has seen the return of Lilth Fair, an all women festival which toured America in the mid to late nineties, being sold out everywhere it went.
So there is hope! As I’ve said, and will keep saying, this is something I really want to happen this year at Kent, and for every naysayer, we’ve also had a mountain of support. I really do believe it’s something that can be done, even if I have to go out and look for acts myself! Hopefully it won’t come to that, hopefully girls will see this as a great opportunity, and a lot of fun! So; Funny women, Riot Grrls, Hippie Chicks, Souls Sistas and Divas, FemSoc wants you!
By Louise
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