If you have yet to experience The Guilty Feminist, hosted by Australian-born London living comedian, scriptwriter and podcaster Deborah Frances-White, she would like you to know a few things in advance…
Firstly, you will only be called up if you want to be!
Secondly, an extravaganza of local talent will join her, including poet Hangama Obaidullah, comedian Kirsty Webeck, the Deputy Director at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership ANU, Dr Elise Stephenson, Future Women Canberra Head Lauren Beckman, and regular accompanist Grace Petrie, who can ‘sing your anger with jokes’.
Finally, you are encouraged to bring your hang-ups, highest heels and best mates for an evening of building resistance, resilience and joy.
In prep for the interview, I watched Deborah’s 2015 Charisma vs. Stage Fright TEDx talk. A few months later, she commenced The Guilty Feminist podcast, now sitting at over 100 million downloads.
She is so quick on her feet and, well, charismatic that I was terrified to express my mixed and guilty feelings about being a woman lest I be challenged. But that’s the whole point.
“I’m just as susceptible to those things,” Deborah reveals. “I wanted to confess via the podcast that I’m not thinking or doing all the right things all the time.
“I thought by saying, ‘I’m a feminist, but….’ they’d probably kick me out of the feminist club. But they didn’t; instead, hundreds of thousands of women said they felt the same.
“It doesn’t matter if we left the march at halftime because it was crowded, my feet were hurting, and I popped off to get a quick gin and tonic with a couple of friends. We went. Next time, we’ll go a bit further. Or we won’t. But, we’re not carrying guilt. Because guilt, when held, turns into shame.
“That’s why it’s called The Guilty Feminist: it’s an open admission that nobody’s perfect. And we don’t have to be perfect to be a force for meaningful change.”
Deborah’s upbringing includes being adopted at 10 days old and her family converting to Jehovah’s Witnesses when she was a teenager. Later, she would create radio series and shows around these themes of family and religion, as well as write books and deliver TED talks about confidence-building and improv.
I ask whether she prefers to scripting or improvisation. I can’t tell you how many times I have savoured Deb’s answer:
“Every bit of writing you do is created in a moment. Maybe you’re in a library, under a tree, or falling asleep and suddenly think… ‘Yes! That’s it!’
“Every piece of writing that you love was improvised by somebody somewhere. And the writer never felt more alive than when they came up with it.”
With the anger that many associate with activism, Frances-White’s joy-filled work is essential. Idil Eser, Director of Amnesty International Turkey, who was arrested and jailed for standing up for human rights, told Deb that activists need joy because it’s magnetic.
To that effect, she views her live shows as sparks of lightning that build resilience, muscle, and bridges.
“It doesn’t matter who builds a bridge; once it’s built, anyone can walk over. Someone may not be ready to cross but might take one step. Later, an opportunity might present itself to take another.
At the end of shows, we generally sing I Will Survive. People get up and dance with no obligation. Sometimes, I hear them singing in the street afterwards. That joyful feeling at the end may propel them the next day to ask for more, do more, be brave, or take a step.
“Gloria Steinem said, if you want to have fun and laughter and sex and poetry and music at the end of the revolution, you have to have fun and laughter and sex and poetry and music on the way.”
It was funny that Deb mentioned Steinem. While prepping for this interview, Google decided it knew what I was seeking and offered me her name as ‘the answer to who is the greatest feminist?’ (the fact that Google has ranked feminists is contrary to everything Deb stands for!).
It is here that Frances-White ends with a Steinem story.
“She tried to meet me backstage after a show but was barred because security didn’t know who she was!” she recalls. “A friend of mine did, though, and told the bouncer, ‘Let her through. This is one of the most famous feminists in the world!'”
Between these wonderful woman, I am sure laughter, poetry and music ensued.
As it will at the Canberra Theatre Centre on Tuesday, May 28. Get your $71.65–$81.90+bf tickets from Canberra Ticketing, and leave your guilt at the door. (Final tickets are selling fast so get in quick!)
