Wonder Woman Knickers - Write!

 

My mum sent me to embroidery classes, crochet classes, piano lessons and speech and elocution classes. I think she wanted me to be a lady. I became a clown instead... However, I don’t think she’s disappointed.

I would like to introduce another woman who inspired my journey into clowning, and the subsequent marvels that allowed the freedom, which clowning introduced to me.

Hélène Cixous was a French feminist writer, poet, playwright, philosopher, literary critic and rhetorician. Cixous is best known for her article "The Laugh of the Medusa", which established her as one of the early thinkers in post-structural feminism. This idea of Medusa laughing impacted on my own character, 'Sedusa Medusa'.

Cixous believed that writing with the body and laying oneself ‘bare’ can liberate women from self-censorship and guilt. The masks I created as a clown researcher and performer, have each allowed a little more of Maggie to speak.

Nearly twenty years have passed since I began clowning. I feel privileged to be able to practice and teach this art form, for I know that it offers not only freedom, but also a political voice, and a strategy to change the status quo. The feminist clown can be a male character, a sexy beast, a radical artist – but most of all, whatever the role, the feminist clown writes with her body. And both men and women can benefit.

What I am offering over the next month or so is a starting point for reframing histories, re-visioning clowning and rethinking our relationship with our bodies and gendered behaviour. Cixous wrote ‘Write!’ 'Come, explore becoming a feminist clown'

I have an upcoming course that will provide that space to WRITE!

Photo Credit: Matt Austin

For people who want to join me on my Feminist Clowning 8 wk course, we will explore, unpack and teach aspects of my PhD research.  This will be a mix of observational and experimental processes, which link theories with practice.

It's the first time I ever put my research into action – it’s scary, but blooming exhilarating and rebellious, just what we as women need right now:

For e.g. being told that ‘more street lights are going to protect us’ by a certain ferret-headed pie-face, in response to all the political and patriarchal challenges (said lightly!) we are hearing and seeing across the media.

I’ll be waiting for the council to accessorise these proposed lights with superhero capes, then ... with women being encouraged (?) to wear bubble wrap laced with barbed wire instead! Personally, I think we should put our Wonder Woman knickers on #insafetyandpride - someone stop me - actually, 'stop them'.

If you don't fancy clowning, but want to practice your comedy writing/performing, the next round of the 6 week online courses are live and begin on 20 April.