Pregnant Then Screwed Live celebrates motherhood and work and how they can overlap – sometimes successfully. Held on 1 February 2020 at London’s Conway Hall, this fourth annual conference couldn’t help but touch on sex & relationships. Here are a few of the highlights…
THE POETRY READING
• “We are so awkward in this country about bodies and sex and feelings” – blazingly honest poet Hollie McNish
THE MOTHERHOOD, IDENTITY & GUILT PANEL
• “Kids bang against you and your sensitivities – they show you to yourself 50 times a day. You have to redefine yourself to them constantly when you answer their questions” – Dope Black Mums founder Nina Malone
• “Kids tied me down and freed me up” – comedian Jen Brister, author of The Other Mother
• “You become all about the baby. What does that do to the identity you had before? How much remains? I want to put motherhood on the same footing as ‘follow your dreams’. Motherhood should be on the curriculum! This thing we’re doing – this moment where women feel entitled to have children and work – this is a fresh moment. So you have to have a thick skin. Anyone who questions things like why you are working or why your kids are with a childminder – remember: you are right, they are ignorant and that’s how revolutions go” – comedian Sindhu Vee
THE CAMPAIGNING PANEL
• “The key to changing society is educating your children. Boys and girls need to understand about equality. That’s what feminism is: it’s equality” – Zelda Perkins, ex-Harvey Weinstein assistant
• “Let’s teach boys and girls, together, about periods and take the mystique out of it! Language like ‘sanitary’ products and ‘menstrual hygiene management’ compounds a sense of shame. We have a duty to bring up our daughters and sons so their attitudes don’t resemble ours… for the better!” – Women’s Equality Party leader Mandu Reid
THE CHILDBIRTH, PERIODS & MENOPAUSE PANEL
• “How do you bring up feminist boys? I’m candid with my sons, age 4 and 6. They learned about periods from when they could walk; they’d see me in the bathroom. I’m comfortable talking with them about sex, race, LGBT issues, body parts. Lots of my friends aren’t. But it’s really, really important that we get more comfortable. Primary schools don’t do enough. Before kids are age 9, they’re likely to have seen porn. So we need to talk about healthy relationships and body parts. Try to have those conversations. Your kids will look at you as if you’re insane. But that’s alright” – Pregnant Than Screwed founder Joeli Brearley
Pregnant Than Screwed Live takes place in York on 15 March 2020. Tickets and details here