All About Women is the Sydney Opera House’s centerpiece talks festival about gender, justice, and equality, held annually in the week of International Women’s Day. For over a decade, the celebrated event has filled our venues with inspiring moments and buzzy, agenda-setting conversations.
Mary Beard
For the first time, Sydney audiences will hear directly from Cambridge Professor Emerita Dame Mary Beard in an event that delves into the broad range of her career - from the ruins of ancient Rome to the trenches of Twitter.
Is it Time to Rethink Porn?
Turbo-charged by the internet, porn today is ubiquitous, accepted and, for a lot of people, cool. It even has its own cute “corn” emoji on the socials. And in the name of sexual liberation, many embraced it in the name of celebrating their body and desires and taking charge of their participation in it.
Yellowface
The novel Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang is a worldwide “zeitgeist” publishing sensation. When June Hayward’s friend, the bestselling author Athena Liu, dies in a freak accident, June acts quickly - and steals Athena’s manuscript about Chinese labourers.
Wifedom with Anna Funder
When Anna Funder turned to her literary hero, George Orwell, for inspiration, she discovered not just that Eileen O’Shaughnessy, his first wife’s, contribution had been ignored by his biographers but that Orwell himself had blatantly downplayed both her work and her ideas.
Our Bodies
It’s judged and pre-judged. It’s targeted and pursued. It’s loved and abused. And from almost the beginning it has been at the centre of our thinking about our rights and our freedoms. Join this high profile agenda-setting conversation about our bodies.
Who Gets to Be Bad?
The conwoman, the sociopathic girl-boss, the apathetic sad woman, and the femme avenger: pop culture has seen a (BIG) rise in the female anti-hero. Yes - finally, we’re allowed to be bad! But most of these characters are white women, leaving Women of Colour as exceptions.
Feminist Roast
Roasts are normally a piss-take on an individual: a celebrity, comedian, politician, or public figure. But we’re going rogue and our roastee is an idea - no, a movement: feminism. If you thought the raison d’etre of this festival was above reproach, think again.
Influencers are the New Public Intellectuals
For a long time, the word ‘influencer’ conjured stereotypes of activewear and dubious hot takes. But it’s 2024 and social media has well-and-truly revolutionised the public square. Today, the word influencer can refer to an activist or academic who shares short videos on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram to explain complex concepts on niche subjects for a global audience.
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