We all came out of a pussy- Did we?

What is family? Is motherhood necessarily connected with being a woman?
Who has a right to motherhood?
Is adoption a right for all?
What makes a just society?

Discuss, inform, lift taboos: On November 4th 2023, FF*GZ Stuttgart e.V. returns to RAMPE, thus, to the birthplace of our festival “WE ALL CAME OUT OF A PUSSY”. In this fourth festival edition we are going to ask the question DID WE?! all come out of pussy and we are going to spend a day questioning existing social norms and structures around the topics of parenthood, distributive justice and diverse family forms. For we are all born, but not all come from a ‘pussy,’ and not all people have the same opportunities in life.

We ask ourselves where (queer) feminism plays a role and want to make topics visible that usually do not pop in one’s mind at first. Let’s talk about the myths and stigmas that affect female and childbearing bodies. Because (queer-)feminism and family planning are societal and global concerns that need to be defended and rethought continuously!
Starting from 11 a.m., visitors can look forward to a diverse programme of exhibitions, workshops, readings, panel discussions, vulva impressions and information tables. In the evening, the Silent ladies_ are going to take the stage with the theatre performance “I choose… No!”, asking questions about chosen non-maternity and its stigmatisation, showing that the biological clock is not ticking. The official after-party will take place at Rakete from 10 p.m. with powerful support from the YAYACrew from Cologne.

Practical advice:

The festival programme addresses people of all genders, unless otherwise stated. Children are welcome – a play area is provided.

Except for the theatre performance (including audio description) and a small donation towards the cost of materials for the vulva impressions, admission to the day’s programme and catering at the buffet are on a donation basis.

For a better overview, we ask for registration for the workshops by November 3rd at 12.00 p.m. via ed.tragttutszgff@lavitsef – spontaneous participants are welcome if there are still available seats.

Come as you are!

Information on accessibility, awareness concept and programme in simple language soon on the homepage: ffgzstuttgart.de/festival

PROGRAMME

11 a.m. | Foyer | RAMPE

Arrival & Welcome

11 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Foyer (tracks) | Exhibition of the Movement for Radical Empathy

GOOD TO KNOW X
Crises, wars, bad news. Do you feel that sometimes you just don’t want to hear any more of it? We felt the same way. Then decided to dig into the big turd of this world to find the X!
We didn’t do it alone: we brought in smart experts from the fields of equality, migration, political education and animal ethics – and with them we came across surprising, exciting and funny facts.
All these facts can be discovered in a public exhibition at changing and temporary locations in Stuttgart since spring 2023 – and now at our festival at RAMPE!
More info at goodtoknowx.de

11.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. | Small Foyer | open workshop offer

Vulva impressions
Have you always wanted to see your vulva face to face without having to bend over, fiddle with mirrors and bend down?

With alginate* you can create your very own vulva cast. The negative is then filled with plaster. Once everything has hardened, each person can decorate their vulva at home – there are no limits to their imagination. After a short introduction, you are able to do it alone or together with your friends. We will be happy to help you if necessary or if you wish. Impressions with long hair do not always turn out equally well. To be be save, you should trim your hair and remove piercings.

*Alginate is also used in dental practices and is a natural material that makes detailed impressions possible.

What to bring: a small box with padding or something similar to transport your impression home in one piece.
The offer will take place in the small foyer (adjoining room). There will be a cabin for your privacy and visual protection.

The offer is intended for people with vulvas. Material costs/donation recommendation: 5-10 €. Registration not necessary.

11.30 a.m.- 13 p.m.| Rehearsal stage | Workshop with Angela

Relationships. How do we want to shape them?
In this workshop we want to explore questions about relationships: What close relationships are there in our lives? Which of them would we call love relationships? Which ones are not? How many words do we have at our disposal to talk about our relationships? How do we feel about the idea of dependence? Do we not need the care of others from birth?

We are born into a state of complete dependence. We believe that as we age, we become increasingly dependent. Ideally, however, we should also become more capable of forming and maintaining relationships. Because, on closer examination, we are never completely independent, we just distribute our dependency among different people. There are dependencies that strengthen our ability to care for ourselves and others. But there are also dependencies that weaken us. These can be precarious life situations, demands at work, power imbalances or toxic relationships.
Together with the participants, Angela wants to explore all these questions and find out how relationships can be shaped.
Angela is a sex educator and sex counsellor. She has been exploring the body for several years, both theoretically and practically, through art, bodywork and feminist theories. She has been active in the women’s health scene for several years and is a health practitioner.
The workshop will be held in German.

For a better overview, we ask for registration for the workshops by November 3rd at 12.00 p.m. via ed.tragttutszgff@lavitsef – spontaneous participants are welcome if there are still available seats.

11.30 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Atelier | Talk with Stefanie and Lena

Birth – different than expected?
We were all born – but not all the same way. Considering the often questioned festival title, on this day, we want to create a space for questions related to the topic of birth and its consequences. We know a lot about it afterwards, but what do we wish we had known beforehand and what do we like to pass on to our friends?
Stefanie would like to invite everyone interested in the topic to talk together about birth and about their experiences, wishes or expectations.
Since the topic of birth can trigger contradictory or unexpected feelings, it is important to us that we treat each other with respect and that the information exchanged is shared voluntarily and treated confidentially. The session is not a substitute for therapeutic counselling, but we are happy to recommend you to further counselling services.
FF*GZ-member Stefanie teaches all kinds of (sexual) educational topics as a lecturer at a college for social pedagogy and is herself a mother of three.
The workshop is aimed at all people and will be held in German.
For a better overview, we ask for registration for the workshops by November 3rd at 12.00 p.m. via ed.tragttutszgff@lavitsef – spontaneous participants are welcome if there are still available seats.

1.30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Rehearsal Stage | Workshop with Lilou, Karla, Hanna & Sissy

How can sex become healthier and more feminist?
You wonder why you, as a female socialised person, often bear the greatest responsibility during sex? Do you feel uncomfortable and insecure afterwards? Do you find it difficult to bring up topics like STI testing, hygiene, preferences and boundaries before sex? Is the condom not sexy or the lick cloth still too expensive? Are your wishes and boundaries heard and respected?
Together we will explore all these questions and much more. We will define “healthy” and “feminist sex”, work out possible solutions to increase well-being and safety, to share responsibility between the sex partners, articulate individual boundaries and give each other -perhaps- the first real support for healthier and more feminist sex!
The workshop is open to all people and will be held in German.

For a better overview, we ask for registration for the workshops by November 3rd at 12.00 p.m. via ed.tragttutszgff@lavitsef – spontaneous participants are welcome if there are still available seats.

2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Atelier | Workshop with Rebecca

Queer feminist parenthood and diversity in family models
Family forms are changing: in addition to the “classic” family construct of father, mother and child(ren), more and more rainbow families evolved over the last years. In addition to families with two mothers or two fathers, the proportion of family forms such as ‘co-parenting’ or ‘multi-parenthood’ is growing.
This workshop will cover different aspects around diversity in family models and queer-feminist-parenting.
One focus will be the consideration of different family forms: What are the different ways of living and forming a family? What considerations should be taken into account? What is the legal framework at all?
Moreover, this workshop is going to deal with the opportunities of queer parenthood and what others can learn from it, as gender inequalities often remain – especially in heteronormative relationships. For example, it is still mainly women who stay at home with the children, who do most of the care work and who go part-time after their parental leave. What is experienced in their own everyday life? (How) Can a family function equally?
Rebecca is a social worker at BerTA, a counselling centre for rainbow families in Stuttgart, and would like to show all those interested in the topic ways to shape the desire to have children independently of heteronormativity and stereotypical role models.
The workshop is aimed at all people and will be held in German.

For a better overview, we ask for registration for the workshops by November 3rd at 12.00 p.m. via ed.tragttutszgff@lavitsef – spontaneous participants are welcome if there are still available seats.

4 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. | Rehearsal Stage | Reading & Talk moderated by Frederike Wichmann

Sarah Diehl “The freedom to be alone”
In today’s whirlpool of career and family planning, we are prevented from developing a good relationship with being alone. Yet we absolutely need it to escape external expectations and feel complete with ourselves. For Sarah Diehl, it is central that being alone is not only essential and absolutely positive as an elementary part of self-care, but that it is also important for social interaction as an essential driving force for change.
Diehl looks at the importance of being alone within one’s family or partnership, in creative and political work, in nature or on journeys, and encourages people to consciously seek solitude again and again and therefore not to self-censor their own needs for meritocracy, family or love ideals.
Sarah Diehl lives as an author and activist in Berlin and feels as much at home in politics as in literature. She has been active in the field of international reproductive rights for 15 years, is co-founder of the organisation Ciocia Basia and gives seminars on the topic “Do I want children?”. Recent publications: “The clock that doesn’t tick” and “The freedom to be alone”.
Frederike Wiechmann works as a freelance speaker and presenter in the Stuttgart area. As a speech trainer she helps people find their voice and as a workshop leader in the field of psychoeducation, she empowers children, adolescents and young adults to shape their lives in a coherent way.
The reading and the discussion will be held in German.

6 p.m.- 7.30 p.m. | Rehearsal stage | Panel discussion

“Distributive justice: Not all people have the same starting opportunities in life, do they?!”
We are all born, but not all people have the same starting opportunities in life. On this evening, we would like to shine light on different perspectives on the topic of distributive justice. Sarah Diehl, Yara Richter and Steven Solbrig will take a critical look at existing social norms and structures, because they run deep and accompany us from birth. Let’s share our experiences and enter a conversation. The discussion will be moderated by Yeama Bangali.

Yeama Bangali studied literature and vocational education in Stuttgart. Her work is at the intersection of art, science and activism: In addition to her work as a science communicator, she works as a freelance writer (for the online magazine RosaMag, among others) – especially on Afro-German culture and intersectional feminism and as a singer/songwriter with her solo project Yeama. She is also involved in the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland Stuttgart and her own non-profit association Vision:Life e. V.

Sarah Diehl lives as an author and activist in Berlin and feels as much at home in politics as in literature. She has been active in the field of international reproductive rights for 15 years, is co-founder of the organisation Ciocia Basia and gives seminars on the topic “Do I want children?”. Recent publications: “The clock that doesn’t tick” and “The freedom to be alone”.
Yara Richter used to be an artist, now it is the name of an art collective that uses Yara’s name, face, body, time and skills for networking and promotion. The collective uses sound, text and performance to research black noise as a framework to imagine and create decolonised art and cultural practices. The person Yara Richter is still active as a cultural worker, but increasingly withdraws her creative work from a structurally white, patriarchal, ableist German art scene that tokenises black, queer, fem(me), neurodiverse and/or disabled people, among others. In addition to being a speaker and moderator, Yara also offers anti-racism workshops and is currently organising “Black History Month 2024 Stuttgart” with local actors.
Steven Solbrig, white, non-binary, with a disability, grew up in the former GDR. In the early 2000s, Solbrig completed an inter-company training course in a facility for the disabled, including boarding school accommodation. For almost four years, Solbrig has been working artistically in a transdisciplinary and cultural-scientific way on art and culture with disabilities (Disability Arts/Culture) and is a guest at RAMPE until the beginning of November as part of a residency.

The panel discussion will be held in German language.

8 p.m. – 9.30 p.m. | Theater | theatre performance

I choose… No! A Story of Non-Motherhood

Is being a woman necessarily linked to motherhood? The silent ladies_ ask questions about chosen non-motherhood and its stigmatisation and show that the biological clock is actually not ticking.

In the performance, the two female figures enter into an exchange about their respective experiences. These are shaped by biographical events as well as historical circumstances. Aspects such as unpaid care work, conservative role models, religion, historical and medical circumstances are decisive.

Clichés such as the “maternal instinct” are humorously dispelled, the taboo subject of sterilisation is discussed and even the first woman in the world, Lilith, is given a guest appearance.

The silent ladies invite the audience to engage with the topic of motherhood, questioning existing images of society and their consequences.
The play will be performed in German. There will be an audio description offer – questions via: ed.tragttutszgff@lavitsef

10 p.m. – 5 a.m. | Rakete | Party

Musical closing: supra-regional networking at Rakete
After a day full of (non-)maternity topics, we invite you all to let the topic go for a few moments: somatic, shaking, creative, expressive – above all together – dancing! Musically, you will be served the full programme with special support from the YAYA Crew from Cologne – appear numerous, share it eagerly and look forward to more information!

Admission on a donation basis.