As women, we experience a complicated, life-long relationship with our bodies. Our society has strict if often unspoken guidelines as to how a woman must present herself and monitor her body. Weight is a constant source of anxiety for many of us as walk the tightrope of pleasure and discipline in a world where thin privilege and fat prejudice is undeniable. The colour of our skin affects so much of our experience and identity, often coming with an entire universe of preconceived notions. Some of us will have children, where the biological functions of the body reign supreme. All of us are aging, transforming our skin with brushstrokes of wrinkles, another strange experience we must face in the mirror every single day.
Our performer line-up:
Team 20s: Stephanie Ho is an avid adventurer and university student. In 2022, bored by the international travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19, she decided to run from Canberra to Sydney to raise funds for a school in rural Nepal which she once taught at. In May 2023 she completed a goal that was years in the making. She skied across Greenland, covering 580km over 29 days
Team 30s: Eva Georgina Marie is a clinical psychologist, comedian, and dancer. It’s a strange combination of skills but it’s also very handy. If she can’t help you find solutions to your problems, she will help you feel better about all the wrong decisions that you’ve made because she has most probably made worse decisions than you have. And if that fails, she can always cheer you up by helping you shake your booty. She’s also a PhD candidate and an author.
Team 40s: Suzanne Waldron is a behaviorist, humanitarian, and curator. She's an ambassador for R U OK?, Nakuru Hope, the founder of 5 Women, and Board director of Soundfair. Suzanne has been nominated for many incredible awards, and mostly comes second! Fairness drives her, creativity and love sustain her.
Team 50s: Dr. Kate Forsyth is an award-winning novelist, poet, and storyteller. Her books include "The Crimson Thread," a reimagining of ‘The Minotaur in the Labyrinth’ myth set in Crete during World War II, and "Bitter Greens," a retelling of ‘Rapunzel’ which won the 2015 American Library Association award for Best Historical Fiction.
Team 60s: Kiran Shah was born and raised in Singapore. She's had a varied career as a social worker and early childhood educator, having lived and worked in the U.S., Japan, and Sri Lanka. Kiran became a professional storyteller 20 years ago, performing for all age groups and conducting workshops to teach storytelling. She's attended storytelling festivals in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Iran. When she's not storytelling, she enjoys growing vegetables and herbs in her garden in the Blue Mountains, a place she now calls home.
Team 70s: Noelene Turton. At 70, this dynamic doctor took a bold leap into animation, pausing her practice for a semester. An aspiring children's Sci-Fi author, she's wrapped up a first draft. Her filmmaking flair shone with a lauded feature at Houston International Film Festival, though she'll admit, many shorts had their own tales to tell.
Generation Women is an award-winning cross-generational storytelling night founded in New York in 2017, Sydney in 2018, and Melbourne in 2020. Each month, six women of note read an original piece on a theme. Of those women, one is in her 20s, her 30s, her 40s, her 50s, her 60s, and her 70s+.
Hosted by Louise James, Produced by Donna Logue, Hopepunk Productions. Created by Georgia Clark.