Welcome to the school of frock
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Guest Blogger Lande Yo from Exeter is the singer in the Muncie Girls and has taken a bit of time to tell us about her project, School of Frock.
So I play in a few bands and have been playing music for about ten years. For me getting into playing in bands was easy, all my friends were boys when I was a kid. I was never shy and I loved being the only girl who played rock music. It wasn’t until I got a bit older that I realized how hard it was for most girls to pick up an instrument (other than the clarinet) when by example they thought it wasn’t something they should do.
Now, more often than not, I’m the only girl on the bill at shows where the audience is predominantly male. I read somewhere that fifty percent of all music purchases are made by women, so why are there so few of us on stage, organizing shows or writing reviews? It’s a scary thing to start a band for the first time for anyone but because of the way things are it’s so much harder for girls. Men aren’t the only ones to blame of course; if more girls took that step then even more could follow by example.
With this in mind, I did a workshop a while ago called ‘School of Frock’. A mini one-day girl rock
camp aimed at getting girls who’ve never played to learn a Ramones song and perform it that night at my local venue, Exeter Cavern. It went really well, not many girls showed up but they did get involved and played a killer set albeit three minutes long. I have plans to set this up again one day in August and do the same thing for a different lot of girls. Playing a simple song on the guitar or drums is so much easier than anyone could imagine, the hard bit is deciding to actually do it!
Have you set up a similar project near you? Or have you taken part? We would love to hear more!
Guest bloggers to do not necessarily represent the views of EQUALS. We bring you different perspectives on whether men and women are equals, and invite you to join the big inequality debate with us. Tell us what you think in the comments, then visit www.weareequals.org and get involved.
EQUALS is hiring!
An EQUALS volunteer spreads the message on London's South Bank on International Women's Day 2011
The EQUALS coalition is looking for an awesome volunteer to join our small but powerful Project Team for up to ten weeks. We are busy planning for great and exciting things for 2014 and we need your help to get us there.
We are recruiting a Volunteer Project Assistant to keep the coalition running smoothly.
You’ll get a unique insight into what happens when over 30 organisations come together to make gender inequality a hot topic with a younger generation. Brought together by Annie Lennox in 2011 we work in innovative ways to engage young people with gender equality issues, you’ll have opportunities to work with music, film and TV, inspiring young activists and a host of media outlets.
Want to join the big inequality debate from the inside? You have until the 8th April to apply, so get on it now.
Men and women must unite for change
On International Women’s Day 2013 artists, activist, musicians and politicians have joined together to call for an end to violence against women.
When 14-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai was attacked by a Taliban gunman on her way home from school last October, it proved to be a shot heard around the world. The teen suffered a bullet wound to the head, but has since recovered her strength and is now heralded as a leader in the movement to bring education to every girl. Her message: We won’t accept violence.
As the 102nd anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8th approaches, women – and men – across the continents are joining their voices in unison to echo the same sentiment: We must all commit to end violence, rape and abuse.
From female journalists being sexually assaulted in Egypt to politicians in the US and UK publicly stating they believed only some allegations of rape to be ‘legitimate,’ 2012 sometimes seemed like a setback for women’s rights. The tragic gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old female physiology student in Delhi and a 17 year old girl in South Africa have sparked a ripple of anger that has spread around the world.
These are not exceptional cases; they are the tip of the iceberg. In the UK 1 in 3 girls have experienced unwanted sexual touching at school. In South Africa one in three men have admitted to perpetrating rape. Globally one in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime. This isn’t a marginal issue. We can’t continue to ignore the fact that women aged 15 – 44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria combined.
Yet, there is hope. In the wake of such atrocity men and women have united to stand for equality and create change. We know the support of men and boys is also an important part of the solution, that we’re more powerful when we all stand together. Across the globe, bells have chimed, people have converged in peaceful protest, communities have congregated online and men and women have crowded in the street to dance; all in the name of change. In 2012 the power of the internet and social media gave us an opportunity to unite. 2013 could provide the moment to act.
We are standing collectively and saying “we won’t accept violence”. Everyone has a role to play. We can say enough is enough to violence against women and girls. We can provide better support for the survivors of abuse. We can ensure young people are educated about healthy relationships and we can challenge sexism when we encounter it. We want to turn up the volume, so let’s make our voices heard.
Annie Lennox, activist and founder of the EQUALS coalition and Elton John, founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation,
Angela Mills Wade, founding chairman of the Oxford Circle,
Anoushka Shankar, musician and composer,
Joe Wright, director,
Barbara Broccoli, director,
Beverley Knight, musician,
Dion Dublin, former England footballer,
Caroline Lucas MP,
Charlie Webster, presenter,
Iwan Thomas, olympian,
Emeli Sandé, musician,
Eve Ensler, activist and author,
Fay Ripley, actor,
Frisky and Mannish, comedians,
Gemma Cairney, radio presenter,
Ghostpoet, musician,
Harriet Walter, actor,
Guy Paul, actor,
Helena Kennedy, barrister and broadcaster,
Hollie McNish, writer,
Inja, musician,
Jan Galloway, partner, Russells solicitors,
Jo Brand, comedian,
Eddie Izzard, comedian,
Joan Bakewell, author and broadcaster,
Juliet Stevenson, actor,
Katherine Innes Ker, senior Independent Director,
Katie Piper, activist,
Jahmene Douglas, musician,
Katy B, musician,
Genneus, music producer,
Keira Knightley, actor,
Kelly Chappel, international touring manager,
Mariella De Martin, scriptwriter,
Marina Lewycka, author
Maryam d’Abo, actor,
Hugh Hudson, director,
Laura Bates, campaigner,
Josh Shahryar, Human Rights reporter,
Lucy Chuo, solicitor (Partner) Stella Maris Solicitors LLP,
Naomie Harris, actor,
David Oyelowo, actor,
Natasha Walter, writer and campaigner,
Phillippe Sands, Professor of International law,
Nicola Mumford, director, Wragge & Co,
Ruth Negga, actor,
Dominic Cooper, actor,
Sabrina Mahfouz, poet and playwright,
Dean Atta, writer,
Sam Taylor-Johnson, director and artist,
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, actor,
Samira Makhmalbaf, director,
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, director,
Sam Baker, editor Red Magazine,
Sarah Brown, writer and campaigner,
Stella Creasy MP,
Tessa Munt MP,
VV Brown, musician,
Dave Okumu, musician,
Yrsa Bergman Sverrisdottir, senior scientist at Oxford University,
Yvette Cooper, MP,
Zainab Salbi, writer and activist.
Five things you can do on International Women’s Day
It’s International Women’s Day on Friday and we would love as many people as possible to get involved.
We have come up with 5 great things that you can do make a difference in 2013.
1. Make your voice heard and tweet us
Get onto Twitter and answer “We’ll know men and women are equal when” – using the hashtag #weareequalwhen. We will be retweeting our favorites!
Find us on Twitter here
2. Get involved with our ‘Make Your Own’ debate starter competition
Join the debate by making a two minute film about whatever it is you want to say about gender inequality.
Check back on the website on Friday for full details.
3. Watch and share our Debate Starter Films
Why do so many women hate their bodies? Are strip clubs really glamorous places to work? Why are women in Afghanistan imprisoned for falling in love? What can men do to make the world more equal for women?
These short films will get you talking about whether men and women are really equals in 2012.
Watch the films
4. Ask your MP to ‘think woman’
Men still make up nearly 80% of the House of Commons – maybe they all forgot that women make up more of the public sector workforce, maybe they’re not thinking about what the effect of cutting the health in pregnancy grant. Call on your MP to put gender equality at the heart of every policy.
Get inspired with more mighty little deeds like this
5. Try our EQUALISER Facebook app
Invite your friends to be your equals and generate unique pictures to share. But more importantly, show you think of your mates as equals, regardless of their gender.
Use the EQUALISER
Make Your Own Competition
Why do so many women hate their bodies so much? Do men still get a better pay deal than women? Is it more risky to be a woman in a warzone than a soldier? Do lad’s mags encourage sexual violence?
EQUALS wants YOU to create an imaginative and thought provoking conversation starter for the top prize of a a top SLR Camera, Canon 1100D!
Join the debate by making a two minute film about whatever it is you want to say about gender inequality. Your film should be designed to get people talking, so no lectures, lists of facts or a long history of feminism please. Just your opinions, or those of your friends or even people on the street.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Step 1: Get inspired! See our debate starter booklets and have a look at our other debate starters videos
Step 2: Get Creative – do you have a different skill? How can you best get your message across?
Step 3: Upload your film to YouTube and send us a link at hello@weareequals.org with the subject line ‘Make Your Own’.
REMEMBER…
> Keep it short – 2 minutes max
> Ask questions to encourage your viewers to join the debate
> Be yourself. This isn’t Newsnight so don’t get all Jeremy Paxman on us. Talk to the camera like you would talk to your mates.
> End your film with the line ‘So are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we should never stop asking.’
The competition is open to 16 – 25 year olds in the UK to find out more download the brief here.
CLOSING DATE IS THE 8TH MAY 2013
We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Need some inspiration? – See an example here Barbara Ntumy
Best Bits: International Women’s Day 2012
Here at EQUALS HQ we have just about recovered from the wonderful madness that was International Women’s Day 2012!
We wanted to get a whole load of people joining the big inequality debate and questioning whether men and women are really equals on 8th March.
So if you missed it, firstly where were you?! and secondly, don’t panic we have all the highlights right here. Get ready to scroll.
EQUALS IN THE MEDIA
HOLLYOAKS FILM
The cast of Hollyoaks teamed up with EQUALS to make a short film that asked ‘When will we know we are equals?’.
Hollyoaks shared it with their 1.4million Facebook fans, generating over 600 likes and 98 comments.
DEBATE STARTER FILMS
Our eight short films designed to get you talking covered everything from the objectification of women in music videos, to strip clubs, young mums, FGM, female beatboxers, body image, women’s rights in Afghanistan and erm, shampoo.
EQUALS LIVE
As part of Southbank Centre’s WOW (Women of the World) Festival, Annie Lennox hosted a night of live music to step up the call for equality.
She was joined by Katy B, Jess Mills and Emeli Sande who not only showed why they are three of the most exciting British female artists right now with amazing live performances, but why equality between men and women is important to them through their own stories and experiences.
Check out the photos, videos, and read audience member Leah’s blog about the event.
EQUALISER FACEBOOK APP
A really simple and fun way for everyone to show their support for gender equality and get their friends involved in EQUALS.
Choose a photo of yourself, invite your Facebook friends to be your equal, and generate unique images and messages to share.
Wretch 32, Delilah, Ghostpoet, Lianne La Havas, Romola Garai and Dominic West, plus the lovely cast of Hollyoaks all had a go to show their support.
It featured on global technology website Mashable as one of 5 Social Media Campaigns Rocking International Women’s Day along with ActionAid’s 1950s app, created as part of their International Women’s Day activities for EQUALS.
FREE EQUALS RESOURCES
Our Little Book of Big Debate Starters, posters, placards and sticker designs were free to download or order.
And new for 2012 we created a Debate Starter Pack especially for students to organise they own inequality debates. This was available to download from the NUS website along with a guest blog about EQUALS .
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITIES
So where was the big inequality debate happening? As well as in the media, on campus, at live music and community events, on the bus, in the pub and round the dinner table, the EQUALS social media channels were buzzing with conversation.
Our YouTube channel had over 65,000 views, our Facebook page reached over 250,000 people and gained 1000 new fans, and we attracted 500 new Twitter followers in the week of International Women’s Day. More in-depth analysis on our total social media reach and impact to come!
We had retweets and mentions from influential tweeters and facebookers like Katy B, Emeli Sande, Annie Lennox, Jess Mills, Laura Marling, Ghostpoet, Gemma Cairney, Hollyoaks and many more.
THANK YOU to everyone who helped make International Women’s Day such an exciting, varied and inspiring day across the UK!
The organisations who make up EQUALS are working all year round to make the world more equal for women and girls, so check out who they are and support them!
EQUALS Live: A night to remember
Guest blogger Leah Rochelle is a single mother to daughters Chereese (5) and Jaiyana (3 months). She is about to study journalism and English Language at Roehampton University. She is an aspiring music journalist of all genres, and hopes to create and publish her own magazine.
What an amazing night to be a part of the EQUALS Live celebration for Women of the World Festival. It was a magical night of music, special VTs and inspirational words of knowledge from the one and only legend Annie Lennox. In just three hours, I learned so much and had a clear understanding of what EQUALS was all about, and why it’s so important for women to stand up for their rights and to make a change.
Music
The live music was a true experience for me. Never having witnessed a live performance with a live band with such a huge audience, it felt great to be able to share this life time experience with others. I really felt involved with the music. Jess Mills is an artist I had never heard of before the night. Such a beautiful voice and I will be looking out for her in the music scene.
Katy B left me speechless after her performance, what a beautiful, amazing and talented young woman; she had me out of my seat raving away. It was phenomenal to see the whole audience on the same vibe, enjoying the musical high.
Emeli Sandé a stunning woman of great talent was just unbelievably wonderful. Sharing a little story made her feel close to my heart. Her performance once again had me out my seat singing my heart out. At the end of the night I managed to get a picture with Emeli which really made my night, a moment I will never forget.
Annie Lennox
What a woman! She may not be an artist of my generation but I don’t believe a soul alive hasn’t heard of this incredible woman. Speaking to some of the audience members during the interval I asked them what brought them to WOW that evening and many said it was to see Annie. One man said “she is just truly great, growing up listening to Annie was just the best thing in my era,I can’t wait to hear her sing tonight”. To hear Annie perform one of her famous hits was just breath-taking, her piano skills and voice had everyone in awe. When joined on stage by Jess Mills, Katy B and Emeli Sandé it was the perfect way to end the show.
A night to remember
Equals Live 2012 is definitely a night to remember. The view from Southbank is admirable, from the Millennium Wheel and Waterloo Bridge across the Thames. So much was going on to celebrate International Women’s Day that evening. It’s nice to see people come together for a brilliant cause. I hope next year is just as fascinating and enjoyable.
When will men and women be seen as EQUALS?
When the train of thought acknowledges “WE R FAMILY”
Guest bloggers to do not necessarily represent the views of EQUALS. We bring you different perspectives on whether men and women are equals, and invite you to join the big inequality debate with us. Tell us what you think in the comments, then visit www.weareequals.org and get involved.
Photos: Emeli Sande, Katy B, Jess Mills and Annie Lennox rock EQUALS Live
On Friday night, nearly 2000 people came down to London’s Southbank Centre to celebrate International Women’s Day at EQUALS Live. Part of the WOW-Women of the World Festival, Annie Lennox was hosting a night of live music to step up the call for equality.
Here’s what happened!
Jess Mills was first on stage and captivated everyone straight away.She also spoke about her time working for a women's domestic violence organisation in Camden and why EQUALS gets her full support.
Katy B and her band got everyone out of their seats and dancing. Even the backstage crew were feeling the groove.
Emeli, Katy and Jess joined Annie for a storming version of 'Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves' to end the show. A unique musical moment everyone there will remember for a long time.
Frisky & Mannish opened the EQUALS Live afterparty with their hilarious musical mash ups.
Performance poet Sabrina Mahfouz made people see strip clubs in a new light.
Our EQUALS volunteers from ActionAid's youth arm made sure everyone went home with EQUALS stickers, and ideas about how to support gender equality throughout the year.
Dizraeli and female World Beatboxing Champion Bellatrix stunned the crowd with bass, beats and beautiful words.
Were you at EQUALS Live? Tell us what your night was like!
And if Annie, Jess, Katy and Emeli inspired to you to want to make the world more equal, come over to the EQUALS website and find out what you can do today.
The Rise of Everyday Feminism
Guest blogger Aisha Mirza is a journalist and musician from London. She is an active supporter of EQUALS coalition member UK Feminista, and also UK Uncut. She features in our film My Feminist Body.
Feminism is rising everyday. As our political conscience has grown and empowered us to sit-in and shout back in dissent when we are told “we are all in this together”, the glaring inequalities that persist among men and women have also been brought to the fore.
The last year and a half has seen women and men taking collective action for feminism, regardless of whether the word was used. Parents turned their local banks into crèches in protest against the vast closures of sure start centres that have seen their only chance of affordable childcare disappear, and women return to the home to fill the gap. An all-woman group blocked George Osborne’s car as he tried to deliver the budget that has since seen domestic abuse refuges struggle to the point of suggesting ‘safe’ places for women escaping abuse to sleep on the street.
But there is another type of lesser-reported direct action, increasingly being perpetuated by individual women in small ways every day, and this is the key to finally making feminism accessible to everyone, and in the process, changing society. The personal is becoming political.
I spoke a little bit about this last year at the UK Feminista Summer School during a panel asking where “the front line of feminism” is. I began to realise then, that we all have our own front lines. In the 50s, the battle lines we much more clearly drawn. It was clearer where women were and were not allowed to go ,could and could not wear and say. Activism then saw inspirational women join hands and charge across those lines.
Half a century on, patriarchy has developed its control of women from inside our heads to a fine art. It has packaged up ‘liberation’ and sold it back to us more neatly than ever before. “You’ve got what you wanted!” it cries. “Power suits, some women in board rooms somewhere, short skirts and scented shaving foam, men in fancy-dress scaling buildings for the right to childcare, natural-look foundation and burlesque. Now please. Shh.”
Women have realised no-one is going to fight this for us and are rapidly recognising and reclaiming. We are taking direct action when we count the number of naked female bodies we see during the trailers at the cinema and point it out to the person we are with. When we check, while the film is on whether there are two named female characters, who talk to each other for longer than 60 seconds, about something other than a male. When we make note of who clears up after dinner and facilitate variation. When we demand to be allowed to do everything our brothers are allowed to do. When we stop starting our sentences with “I don’t know much about this but…” When we let our body hair grow and see how it makes us feel. When we actively support the women around us.
I understand this might seem like a stressful way to live, and too much to take on mentally, but it’s nothing compared to what women take on every day. The difference is, we’re in control of these thoughts. When we begin to fret about whether we look fat from a certain angle, or give blowjobs because we feel obliged, our new awareness springs into action, helping us to understand our individual worlds. And we are not alone. The internet is playing a vital role in joining up these spectacular moments of individual direct action and forming this new movement.
Examples are everywhere. Last year, when Topman thought t-shirts calling women dogs and encouraging domestic abuse were OK, the news spread across Facebook, the Topshop customer services phoneline was clogged, and within hours the t-shirts were discontinued.
The genius 101 wankers blog was started by a woman who was tired of the consistent harassment she would receive while riding her bike around London. She began writing funny anecdotes in which she would detail what was said/done, how it made her feel, and would pin-point where it happened on an interactive map of wankers that has since gone global.
Musician Kate Nash has been busy touring secondary schools, holding girl-only song-writing workshops in which she also talks about the unfair pressures of women in the music industry.
The Equals coalition are encouraging women to tell the women around them what they love about them. On Twitter, the wordy but nonetheless biblical FeminismTips and _Patriarchy provide us with “practical tips to help dismantle patriarchy in our everyday lives”. Everyday Feminism.
Practical is an important word. Too much of the feminism I have seen has been in the form of well-meaning but inaccessible conferences that preach to the converted and are irrelevant to the lives of the vast majority of women. With patriarchy so well camouflaged in the every day experiences of women and men, the first step is recognising that it exists at all. My friend describes this as The Gasp. The jarring moment when you realise that it’s not natural to wake up an hour earlier than your boyfriend to pluck, pout and perfume. When you accept that mainstream pornography makes you uncomfortable because it is largely created by and for men, not because you’re a prude. That is why the language of feminism has to be the language of the every day. Once you have gasped you do not go back, but as well as seeing inequality everywhere, you see direct action against it everyday.
Yesterday on the East London Feminists forum, an anecdote was posted by a woman who had changed the title on her water bill from Mrs to Ms. This was followed by a woman describing how she ripped out page three from a copy of The Sun that was on the tube on her way to work, and then another from a woman who had inspired her dad to submit a column about international woman’s day to his local newspaper. These women’s daughters, sons, partners, colleagues, parents and fellow commuters are all pushed one step further towards The Gasp by these small, powerful actions.
And before the inevitable chorus of “what about the men?!” that always follows articles about gender inequality, yes, Everyday Feminism is about men too, because this way, it comes to them. All they have to do is lay down their defences and engage, like this man did when he was asked “when was the last time you feared being sexually assaulted?”
I was lucky enough for my gasp moments to have been sparked when I was a child by my mother, the longest-running champion of Everyday Feminism I know. I gasped when I saw that everyone else had scales in their bathroom and when I got told off for saying the word diet. When she told me that the people who campaigned against the headscarf were the real oppressors. When she stopped women in the street and told them they were beautiful. When she unapologetically managed a household where she was the main breadwinner and supported her daughters in doing whatever they want to, as long as they can look after themselves. This International Women’s Day, gasp and feel the ripples spread.
Guest bloggers to do not necessarily represent the views of EQUALS. We bring you different perspectives on whether men and women are equals, and invite you to join the big inequality debate with us. Tell us what you think in the comments, then visit www.weareequals.org and get involved.
Five things you can do on International Women’s Day
What do you mean you didn’t know it was International Women’s Day tomorrow? Ok, you’re reading this now so we will let you off.
Just in case you haven’t already got big plans to show some love to the ladies in your life, here’s some last minute ideas for what to do.
1. Try our EQUALISER Facebook app
Invite your friends to be your equals and generate unique pictures to share. But more importantly, show you think of your mates as equals, regardless of their gender.
Use the EQUALISER
2. Watch our Debate Starter Films
Why do so many women hate their bodies? Are strip clubs really glamorous places to work? Why are women in Afghanistan imprisoned for falling in love? What can men do to make the world more equal for women?
These short films will get you talking about whether men and women are really equals in 2012.
Watch the films
3. Come to EQUALS Live
Don’t waste another Friday night infront of the telly, get down to the Southbank Centre in London to see Annie Lennox hosting Katy B, Jess Mills and Emeli Sande for a night of amazing live music to step up the call for equality. Tickets from £17.50 for students – still a few left!
Get tickets
4. Get informed
Think the world is not really equal but not sure of the facts? Want to be able to hold your own in conversations about these things?
Our Little Book of Big Debate Starters makes it all a lot clearer.
Download the booklet
5. Love her brain
So simple – tell a woman you know that you think she’s ace, not because of how she looks, but because of how she thinks and the wonderful stuff she says. Yeah we like to be told our hair is AMAZING but this is better, honest.
Get inspired with more mighty little deeds like this
Recent Posts
- Welcome to the school of frock
- EQUALS is hiring!
- Who Cares What She Thinks?
- Inequality in images
- Men and women must unite for change
- Five things you can do on International Women’s Day
- Make Your Own Competition
- Beauty, Humour and Stereotypes
- Best Bits: International Women’s Day 2012
- Fear of the F-Word
- EQUALS Live: A night to remember
- Photos: Emeli Sande, Katy B, Jess Mills and Annie Lennox rock EQUALS Live
- The Rise of Everyday Feminism
- Five things you can do on International Women’s Day
- Make you own debate starter film
- Protected: International Women’s Day press release
- 5 Bottles of Shampoo: What is this film all about?
- Female Beatboxers: What is this film all about?
- Young Mums: What is this film all about?
- First Night: What is this film all about?
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