Swedish music festival is only for women
GOTHENBURG, Sweden — A music festival without cisgender men?
That is the aim of what is being called the world’s first music festival exclusively for women and transgender and nonbinary people in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Called the Statement Festival, the event began Friday and runs through Sunday, and it has the unequivocal goal of creating a safe space for women. That means, in the eyes of the organizers, no cisgender men are allowed. (Cisgender people identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Nonbinary people say their gender cannot be defined as “man” or “woman” and may fluctuate between the two.)
The festival is occurring after a wave of episodes of sexual harassment at other events in Sweden, including allegations of rape and 23 sexual assaults at the country’s biggest music festival, Bravalla, which was canceled this year because organizers could not guarantee a safe environment.
The concept sprang from a tweet by Swedish comedian and radio host Emma Knyckare that ricocheted around Sweden. “What do you think about us putting together a very cool festival where only non-men are welcome and that we host until ALL men have learned how to behave themselves?” Knyckare posted on Twitter in July 2017.
Her rallying cry struck a chord with artists and festivalgoers who said that they had experienced sexual harassment at festivals and concerts and that it was time to stand up against the vile behavior.
Tami T, a 32-year-old electropop musician from Gothenburg who is transgender, said she was one of the first acts booked. “I was really happy when they asked,” she said in a phone interview Saturday morning. “It was a good way to bring up the debate about what happens in other festivals.”
She said that she used to go to festivals when she was 16 and 17, and that a lot of unpleasant “sexual things” happened.
Stina Velocette, 35, another musician scheduled to perform, said, “All of the girls that I play with have experienced different kinds of negative stuff at clubs and festivals.”
“You cannot relax; you don’t feel safe,” she added. “You have to hold your keys in your hand like a weapon. You have to hold your cellphone in your hand ready to call the police.”
She said she expected the Statement festival to feel like a “safe zone” where she wouldn’t have to worry about facing sexism because all the technicians would be women.