Please note we are still at St Johns Waterloo this month, not the Old Nun's Head.
Want to learn more about the issues that shaped dyke and queer politics in 1990s Britain? Love lesbian herstory but don’t have time for pre-reading or don’t fancy giving up your evenings to theory heavy workshops? Why not come to the pub [or in fact church this month] with us instead?
Join us as we read our way through the entire Lesbians Talk Issues pamphlet series in the order they were published. You are invited to read aloud in turn with the host and attendees, read along if you prefer or just come and listen. Every session will include some reading, some informal discussion and a bit of time to hang out.
In May we will continue reading Lesbians Talk Transgender by Zachary I. Nataf. You can download a PDF in advance here. In the April session we read to the middle of page 44. For this session Nazmia and Swithun will be joined by guest host Grey Collier.
The Lesbians Talk Issues series is made up of seven pamphlets published between 1992 and 1996. The series aimed to “provide a forum in which topics of current interest within the international lesbian community can be dissected and discussed with immediacy and flexibility”. In order the series comprises: Queer Notions by Cherry Smyth (1992), (Safer) Sex by Sue O’Sullivan and Pratibha Parmar (1992), Making Black Waves by Valerie Mason-John and Ann Khambatta (1993), Left Politics by Kristina Studzinski (1994), Violent Relationships by Joelle Taylor and Tracey Chandler (1995), Transgender by Zachary I. Nataf (1996) and Detonating the Nuclear Family by Julia Brosnan (1996). Long out of print, the series has been recently digitised and is free to read as part of the Bishopsgate Institute’s digital archive.
This is a queer reading group that prioritises a lesbian lens, and is open to everyone interested in learning more about these pamphlets and the topics they cover. In discussions we aim to foreground the contributions of lesbians and particularly welcome those who are represented by the specific pamphlets being covered e.g. black lesbians or trans people who are part of lesbian communities.
To be absolutely clear, this is a trans inclusive and affirming reading group. If this makes you uncomfortable then this is not the group for you.
Location: St John's Waterloo (the big church opposite the IMAX roundabout and at the south end of Waterloo Bridge). Enter via the main doors and head left to the welcome desk where you will be directed downstairs or to the lift. We will be in a meeting room in the basement (not the crypt this time).
Access info: St John's is fully wheelchair accessible and has a number of individual, all-gender, toilets. Access info is here. If you have access questions on the day please message the group WhatsApp - let us know if you are coming for the first time and need to be added to this.
Food and drink: Feel free to bring some snacks or drinks to share. We will aim to provide some snacks and maybe some wine too.
Tickets: Please book in advance as there will be a list on the door.
Ticket price is pay-what-you-can and our suggested ticket price is £3.
There is also a free ticket option - no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Please note that for this month only, to say thank you for letting us use the church, all ticket money will be donated to the community work of the The Bridge at Waterloo, which is a St John's based charity that supports community work in the Waterloo area.
More info: Email lesbianstalkissues@gmail.com or check/message @lesbians_talk_issues on Instagram.