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WOAh x International Women's Day
For International Women's Day we are sharing our list of inspiring books, movies, apps and other media made by Womxn for Womxn.
About...
WOAh (Womxn of Amplify) is a community where Womxn empower Womxn. WOAh was founded by our head of strategy and UK management, Sophy Vanner Critoph, to empower, inspire and explore what it means to be a womxn working, influencing and being influenced today.
Events...
We’re kicking off with their choices of #IWD2021 virtual events happening throughout the month:
WOM Collective’s Brixton Village Courtyard takeover
WOM Collective is a platform that champions female street artists. For IWD they are putting on an event called WOM-INSPIRED. From March 6 until April 12 the platform will bring together 30 artworks by female artists on ‘what empowers them as women’ , which will be on display in Brixton Village Courtyard. For more info: https://www.womcollective.org/exhibitions
Women of the World
Running from March 1 to 21 with virtual events including panels, talks, workshops and performances, Women of the World will explore everything from mental health and sex in lockdown to radical childcare and #SayHerName.For more info: https://thewowfoundation.com/whats-on
‘Votes for Women’ Museum of London’s virtual exhibition
For IWD, Museum of London is putting its 2018-19 exhibition 'Votes for Women' online, telling the story of the struggle to achieve female representation in parliament. For more info: https://virtualexhibitions.museumoflondon.org.uk/votes-for-women/
Abbey Road Studios ‘Equalise’ Virtual Festival
Abbey Road Studios has announced its 2021 event for International Women’s Day. The event features a series of masterclasses and mentorship sessions, to address the gender imbalance in the music industry.For more info: https://www.abbeyroad.com/news/abbey-road-equalise-international-womens-day-festival-2918
Find out more on our Instagram.
#IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #VirtualEvents #WOM #WOW2021
Literature
Inspiring books made by Womxn for Womxn.
Expectation by Anna Hope
Recommended by Charlotte Burbridge
“I’ve set myself a goal to read more inspirational books by inspirational women this year and a friend directed me to Expectation by Anna Hope. I went on to read this after reading and adoring Ghosts by Dolly Alderton earlier in January. This is a really beautiful book that deeply explores female friendship, careers and relationships and the highs and lows of them. Although it's fiction which isn’t always my preference, it easily conveys many aspects of real life and how things don’t always turn out how you might expect them too. It explores many different elements of maturing as a woman and resonates deeply with me as it is set in London fields and has me dreaming of summer.”
Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Recommended by Alexandra Groza
“One of the books that had the biggest influence on my life is Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. It found me at a tumultuous personal and professional time and brought such richness and history of the female archetype and the idea of women connection. I love that it weaves together history and personal experience with children's stories, but seen through a psychological analysis lens - I never noticed how much trauma hides in the stories I used to read as a kid! Very eye-opening on the way women evolve and withstand adversity through different generations and cultures.”
F*ck being Humble by Stephanie Sword-Williams
Recommended by Mariam Saleh
“F*ck Being Humble is a mindset to adopt to make sure you never miss out on another opportunity because you were busy being too modest. A book that changes the narrative around self promotion which helped me with my confidence and motivated me to step out of my comfort zone.”
#IWD2020 #ChooseToChallenge #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #Recommendations
Creativity
We’re continuing our #IWD2021 recommendations by WOAh (Womxn of Amplify) with everything from radio stations to creative collectives and apps!
Foundation Fm
Recommended by Beth Anderton-Allen (Senior Creative)
“Foundation Fm is a London based female-led independent radio station that rewrote the rules of radio by creating a non-competitive platform that gives Womxn a chance and a safe space to explore creatively, whatever they want to do.
For me, this is all about us as Womxn creating our own opportunities if there aren’t any and supporting each other in our pursuit of a gender-equal world.”
Women Connect UK
Recommended by Mariam Saleh (Project Coordinator)
“Women Connect UK are a femxle-forward collective creating safer, all-inclusive spaces, good fortune and equal opportunities for women, non-binary people and gender-fluid folk working in the creative industries. This is an amazing platform that encourages women power in an industry that needs it. Creating opportunities to network and mentorship schemes, it’s a platform full of support and encouragement.”
Kama App
Recommended by Mariam Saleh (Project Coordinator)
“Kama is a social movement aimed at turning the biggest cultural taboo into a positive conversation. CEO Chloe Macintosh mentions “With stress being the number one proxy killer in the world today, our mental health is more important than ever. As a society, however, we too often focus on pain and look to the brain to restore balance. We are shifting the focus to our body and placing pleasure at the forefront of the experience, regardless of your background, sexual preferences, body type, age, or gender” Which shows why Kama has a different approach to wellbeing and is important in this day in age to educate us what we should’ve been taught.”
#IWD2020 #ChooseToChallenge #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #Recommendations
Selects
More inspiring stories and choices from WOAh (Womxn of Amplify) for International Women's Day #IWD2021
Changes with Annie Mac: Caitlin Moran discussing her book More Than a Woman
Recommended by Elizabeth Cowie (Head of Studio)
“When I was furloughed I started sleeping through the night for the first time in years, I had fewer tasks and more time to get them done, I was so used to waking through the night with all-consuming thoughts of things I had to do that when it stopped it felt quite momentous. I thought that it was a personality thing to have an ever evolving, never ending mental (and physical) to-do list that formed a constant monologue in my head. When I listened to this podcast though I had a realisation that it was more likely a gender thing. Moran explains that as women, from an early age we were subconsciously learning to cope with everything at once and that we have to plan ahead. One example she gives is the sorts of magazines we read from adolescence - those aimed at boys being more singular and interest-led; cars, football, fishing - learning about one thing at a time, those aimed at girls cover many and varied topics under one title, often with a 'how to' narrative. They go on to discuss how this translates to motherhood, working life, cohabiting with men - super interesting, and a bit of a lightbulb moment!”
Guerrilla Girls
Recommended by Louise Miller (Strategist)
At art college, while reading about ethics and the power of protest, I discovered the Guerilla Girls. It was a period when my extremely sheltered world was opening up and I found it astonishing. It was probably the first time that I had encountered a tangible understanding of the challenges I could face in my career just because of my gender. It made me so angry but I loved that a group of womxn had come together to confront the status quo and demand change. I guess it made me feel prepared to face being underestimated, determined to give that the middle finger, and that supporting one another could be an incredible weapon.”
Moody Month App - Amy Thomson
Recommended by Erin Sullivan (Producer)
“Moody is a tech company built by womxn for womxn. Powered by empathy and creating tools to better female health. It is a daily wellness app tailored to your cycle to optimise and personalise your daily routine.”
#IWD2020 #ChooseToChallenge #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #Recommendations
#ChangesWithAnnieMac #CaitlinMoran #MoreThanAWomen #GuerillaGirls #KamaApp
Recommendations
We’re ending the week with recommendations from our community at WOAh ( our Womxn of Amplify) on books that helped them realise what it meant to be a womxn!
Brave by Rose McGowan
Recommended by Jessica Curtis (Producer)
“I read the Rose McGowan book Brave, it inspired me massively - I was in awe of her, what she's been through and the voice and movement she has created. Reading this book made me realise how resilient as women we are and how powerful our voices can be!”
Men Explain Things to Me, And Other Essays by Rebecca Solnit
Recommended by Micaela Ortego Maciel (Senior Creative Strategist)
“The book Men Explain Things to Me, And Other Essays by Rebecca Solnit captured a lot of feelings and thoughts I hadn't been able to put into words. I remember picking this book up and turning the pages thinking, I've felt this, I know someone who has felt this and in equal measures, how much do I not know about womxn, how many womxn haven't told their stories, how many have had their stories erased. It was bittersweet but a great affirmation that womxn have many experiences that ought to be shared, supported and simply listened to.”
#IWD2020 #ChooseToChallenge #IWD #InternationalWomensDay