I went to Ladyfest last weekend and it was awesome! While there I met an absolutely wonderful woman who was one of the founders of Mad Chicks. From their site:
Mad Chicks is a new movement, which focuses on issues specific to women mental health service users, using creativity to achieve our aims and attract attention to our causes. We have developed from within Mad Pride, an international user-led movement which challenges discrimination and misinformation in relation to mental health and celebrates mad culture.
Mad Chicks was formed as a response to the number of women coming to Mad Pride meetings, who had hitherto been in a kind of vacuum, with little contact to others and no opportunity for debate, while struggling with mixed wards, childcare, assertiveness, rights, abuse and sexism in the NHS.
We believe the female service user voice has been overlooked as a positive force. Our aim is to create for ourselves a supportive environment, where women can find a voice and identify commonalties and priorities.
Of course as soon as she told me about it I told her all about this blog and we spent a long time nattering about feminism and mental health. I pondered over why it is that so many of us feminists seem to have mental health problems – she replied that nobody could realise they live in a patriarchal and womanhating society without going crazy! I think she has a point, and the crux of her group really resonated with me so I thought I’d mention it here.
And while I’m at it, I’d like to let everyone know about the new UK Feminist Bloggers group. An idea birthed by Kate Smurthwaite aka Cruella-Blog, and raised into a group by Anji aka me, this is a place for all feminist bloggers in the United Kingdom to come together and discuss national and regional events and issues, regardless of which flavour of feminism you come from. So tell all your feminist blogging friends, acquaintances and even those you don’t really know. I’d love for it to be a central place for feminist bloggers in the UK to network and liaise about all feminist matters. What are you waiting for?
Too bad I haven’t found anything like this here in the U.S. Go UK feminist bloggers!
Triffic news about Mad Chicks. I just had a look at their website and they look great. One more reason for me to move to London, heh. Shall we see if we can get a link on their page? Also, I’m totally jealous, I have yet to get to Ladyfest… Who’s up for coming to the next one with me?
Shatterboxx yes! I’ll go with you! Jess and I stayed in this awesome little unknown guest house – £20 pppn including cooked breakfast. The whole event is well worth going to, and we’ll definitely be going next year, so you ought to join us.
I went to a Mad Chicks conference a couple of yrs ago. They seemingly disappeared but now they are back….
Btw: i think many feminists do experience mental distress as precisely cos we do live in a patriarchal capitalist society that dehumanises, alienates and oppress us. And I also think if you have this level of consciousness and also politcally active, you are aware how crap this world is and that really has an impact on your mental health.