Four incredible speakers, a table full of amazing raffle prizes, umpteen donated sanitary towels, a venue full of kick-ass feminists, 20 baskets of nachos and 150 unicorns. What else could this be, but The Nopebook’s launch party?


Gathering to celebrate the brain child of Georgia Sanders, the Nopebook team welcomed friends and special guests to Boondocks, Shoreditch, for an evening of networking, drinks, entertainment and fun.

From top left: The Nopebook’s editorial team Georgia, Becki, Rachel, Liv and Caroline; Gabby of Bloody Good Period with activist Nimco Ali and The Cup Effect founder Mandu Reid; comedian, writer and actor Felicity Ward; writer and activist Mehreen Baig.

The atmosphere was incredible as the venue filled, with guests checking out the swag in their goody bags or having their photo taken on the red carpet.

Before the talks kicked off, guests had the chance to enter our raffle, with great prizes kindly donated by our partners Sennheiser, Mooncup, Ben Cameron art, Brave Kids Club and more. Proceeds went to the charity Bloody Good Period, who do essential work in providing period products for asylum seekers, refugees and disadvantaged people who cannot afford such products.


In total we raised over £200 for this brilliant cause, not to mention a box full of sanitary products!

“It was an amazingly unique party with enlightening and engaging speakers, and a lovely friendly atmosphere. I felt like I was surrounded by passionate and kind people who were all coming together to share ideas and celebrate. It was a really empowering space to be in and I’m very grateful I was able to attend!”

Mia Violet

The talks kicked off with The Nopebook’s Badass-in-Chief, Georgia, who shared the story of how she realised she wanted to become a journalist; aged eight, sat in front of the tumble dryer and dreaming of writing things that other people would actually read. She recalled the overwhelming moment she tweeted a rallying call and a SpongeBob gif, and her team of feminist editors and writers assembled over the next three days. Georgia rounded off her talk by asking that in celebrating The Nopebook’s launch, we also recognise our place in a much wider movement fighting against inequality. She asked us to ‘say Nope’ to sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and any other form of inequality whenever we see it, and the room cheered.

Next was writer and internet personality H Beverley, whose talk ‘Hated in the Daily Mail’ covered the times the right-wing press has sent its readers after them on social media–once for being an ‘ugly girl’, and once for daring to remind high street stores that printing ‘femme’ on their shirts ignores and commodifies its significance in queer culture. Their talk brought home the backlash that writers and activists face when pushing for change, and the thing we should always, always remember… never read the comments!

#NopebookLaunch Guests enjoy talks by Georgia Sanders, H Beverley, Meg Veit and Nimco Ali

After H came the magnificent Meg Veit, a sexual health educator. She explained how she regularly gets asked about the funniest sex questions she gets asked by young people, and that although there are no silly questions, she was once asked if you could get pregnant from a horse. Complete with audience participation, Meg’s talk gave us all hope for the future generations, as she revealed that the most frequent questions she gets asked by Year 7s are about non-binary genders, and left us contemplating some of the more complex questions around sex, sexuality, and sexual health.

#NopebookLaunch Nimco Ali talks FGM

The talks concluded with Nimco Ali, an anti-FGM campaigner, founder of charity Daughters of Eve, and, most recently, political candidate for the Women’s Equality Party. In her talk, Nimco shared her experiences of FGM and explained that FGM is not an ‘African’ problem or a cultural problem-it’s a form a gender-based violence that’s happening right here in the U.K. She spoke about her dealings with politicians like Jeremy C**t (her words, not ours!), and her very real hope that FGM could be ended in this generation in Somaliland, where she is from. The audience was captivated by Nimco’s every word, and we all left the event with a new resolve to do more to combat FGM.

“I found the speakers to be really interesting and insightful. And, of course, hearing Georgia get a bit emotional over this project she works so hard on was very sweet. It was also fabulous to meet up with a few friends from Twitter, and make some new pals as well! I had a lovely time, and I hope The Nopebook make a habit of hosting events!”

Aisling Brock, Anthologie

The overwhelming vibe of the night was undoubtedly one of inspiration and power. There’s something truly magical about being in a room full of people who are all committed to women, equality, and activism. The #NopebookLaunch was the first step in what we hope will be a long journey, and we’re proud to have taken it with so many incredible feminists by our side.

If you couldn’t attend, the good news is we streamed all the talks! Catch up now:


-

Partners for this event included: Sennheiser, Feminist Apparel, Punky Pins, Ben Cameron art, Brave Kids Club, Mooncup, The Digital Fix, We Make Movies On Weekends, Femme Craft.

Photos by Dave Denby Photography.

All profits donated to Bloody Good Period.

Liked it? Take a second to support The Nopebook on Patreon!