“I’ve always enjoyed a good argument,” says Ann Mossop with a laugh. “It probably goes back to family dinner table conversations, via school debating. I’ve always been interested in how people articulate arguments. And I feel really lucky to get to exercise that interest at work.”
Mossop is the head of public programs at the
Sydney Opera House. It’s her job to curate events like the annual Festival of Dangerous Ideas, as well as Ideas at the House – a year-long series of talks that already this year has hosted Alain de Botton (on ‘Religion for Atheists’), and this month presents The F-Word: A Day of Feminist Debate.
The F-Word will feature separate presentations by two giants of feminism – Germaine Greer and Naomi Wolf – and also bring them together for an open forum chaired by Insight’s Jenny Brockie. Joining the celebrated authors of The Female Eunuch and The Beauty Myth will be American journalist and poet Eliza Griswold (whose book The 10th Parallel explores countries where Islam and Christianity clash) and Melbourne journalist and ‘Slut Walk’ organiser, Clem Bastow.
Mossop says that high on the agenda will be the demonisation of the word ‘feminism’. “Pioneering generations of feminists transformed women’s lives in the 1970s and 80s,” she says. “And yet most young women would be hesitant to describe themselves as feminist. It’s a paradox: the people who are beneficiaries of the revolution don’t own it.
“We’re really thrilled to be bringing together different generations of [feminists]. Germaine Greer and Naomi Woolf are no shrinking violets – and we’ll have Jenny to make sure nobody talks too little or too much.”
Recent initiatives at the Opera House have underlined what Mossop sees as a growing enthusiasm for live events where real-world issues are discussed and debated. October’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas, for instance, has enjoyed around a 50 percent increase in ticket sales for two years in succession. The rise of online debates via social media and widespread protests such as the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement suggest there’s a growing hunger for issues to be aired publicly.
“There’s something very significant about being in a room full of people, whether they agree or disagree. Organising these kinds of events, what you’re striving for is an electric atmosphere.”
The F-Word: Naomi Wolf, Sun Mar 4, 2pm
The F-Word: Germaine Greer, Sun Mar 4, 3.30pm
The F-Word: Feminist Forum, Sun Mar 4, 5.30pm
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