#15: Is Pop Music the New Feminism?

About

The House of St Barnabas and BUG are excited to announce the next discussion in the 37 Things You need to Know about Modern Britain series.

The high profile success of Beyonce’s Lemonade illustrates how completely a new generation of female artists is dominating the pop charts. Since the 2000s, artists like Adele, Taylor Swift and Rihanna have challenged the way women are traditionally regarded in the entertainment industry. And their imagery and public statements have played an important part in the debates thrown up by the new wave of feminism. 

But their prominence also raises wider questions about how women are seen today: when is presentation of your sexuality empowering and when is it exploitative? Are stars like Miley Cyrus and Nikki Minaj playing into a culture of pornification or defining their image on their own terms? And when a woman complains about mistreatment and abuse like Kesha, will she be listened to or dismissed?

Is Pop Music the New Feminism? Join Radio 1’s Clara Amfo, DJ Lulu LeVay and others in a debate chaired by writer and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer.

This will be the 15th event in the ongoing series, 37 Things You Need To Know About Modern Britain, which is a partnership between BUG and The House of St Barnabas. It was forged from a mutual desire to affect positive social change by asking provocative, open-ended questions about life as we live it today. 37 Things is part of The Culture Series at The House of St Barnabas: a series of events championing emerging talent and conceived to inspire and provoke thoughtful yet lively debate. Previous events have included curated acoustic gigs by Gilles Peterson, Jarvis Cocker and Andrew Weatherall. Former 37 Things talks have featured panelists including David Lammy MP, Owen Jones, India Knight and Laurie Penny amongst others.

‘Is Pop Music the New Feminism?’ will take place on Tuesday 5th July in the beautiful Chapel of St Barnabas.