After sharing the clearly controversial image of Reading and Leeds festival without the males last week, we were inundated with the expected sexist and defensive rebukes from angry young men and straw man arguments against statements we never made. And we did get some great debate in there. So much, so internet.
The worst were those accusing us of sour grapes against the festival for not playing it this year, people saying we were jumping on the bandwagon of feminism and even saying we were being hypocritical for having played the festival in the past (I know, that makes NO sense at all!).
However, it seems a little piece of history has been brought up that I can’t help but share. Check out the remarks that Laila made ONSTAGE AT READING FESTIVAL - a festival we love and have played many times - two years ago…
"But something was missing from Reading this year. It took Laila Khan from Manchester’s excellent ska-punk band Sonic Boom Six to point out that not a single band performing on the main stage over the weekend had a single female member in it."
And there it is in black and white. This isn’t about shaming a festival, this is about empowering and inspiring people who don’t have the same access to a playing field of popular culture that others do. Disagree if you want… but we ain’t new to this. Let’s get that playing field levelled. Let’s keep pushing in spite of the obstacles. Let’s continue to knock down the barriers. Let’s continue to create, share and encourage everyone to do what they want to do. Cheers.