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June 2, 2017
"Women's Autonomous Cultural Scenes: Media, Space, and Activism": The 8th lecture
memorandum (some part of lecture contents)

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The main theme of this lecture was "Room 4 Resistance: Attempts to Construct Safer Spaces in Dance Music Scene".

*Room 4 Resistance(https://www.facebook.com/room4resistance/)
Room 4 Resistance is a berlin-based queer / femme forward collective focused on community-building and creating space & visibility for female artists, gender queers, non-binaries, trans people, black people & people of color in Dance Music.
Room for Resistance is a "family night" of queer friends and friendly strangers.
R4R celebrates musical diversity, sexualities, races, bodies, queer solidarity and community ―which involves the audience as much as the DJs & promoters.
R4R also aims to create a warm & safe space for everyone involved, to support & encourage people within its own community, as well as to create bridges between different communities.
[https://www.facebook.com/pg/room4resistance/about/]

First we confirmed their self-definition and course of action. Secondly we confirmed their "Safer Spaces Policy".
It can be said that their presence and activities certainly make a contribution to extend diversity and raise awareness of sexual/racial discrimination in dance music scene.
Additionally, they actively collaborate overseas organizations. Therefore, their influence is not exclusive to Berlin. It is no exaggeration to say that they are a worldwide role model of queer/women-centered collectives making much account of safer spaces in music scene.

◆だいやまーくOther things I mentioned

◇1 "gal-dem bedroom: What's in a safe space?" [by gal-dem / 2 Jun 2017 at Früit Space (Hull)]

"Safe spaces get a bad rep. Often misunderstood by the type of people who benefit from them, they have become associated with curbing free speech and "PC" culture.
gal-dem, a magazine and creative collective ran exclusively by women of colour, is coming to Hull's City of Culture to show our interpretation of a safe space as part of the Where Are We Now festival.
Join us in the gal-dem black girls bedroom at Früit Space for an afternoon of discussion, takeaway poetry, spoken word, art, photography and music. It's going to be lit."[https://www.hull2017.co.uk/whatson/events/now-gal-dem-bedroom-whats-safe-space/]

London-based feminist collective gal-dem went off to Hull as a local city to organize an event exploring the importance of safe spaces. It has a great significance for the appropriate development of autonomous culture scene in a local city. It is hoped that other feminist collectives being active in big cities also have a similar approach in future.

◇2 [Article] "Girls to the front: why we need more women-friendly gigs" [Beulah Devaney / 6 June 2014 / New Statesman]
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/06/girls-front-why-we-need-more-women-friendly-gigs

―I pointed out...―
The issues raised by Riot Grrrl movement still remain effective for women in music scene. Countless grass-roots efforts from various quarters are necessary both now and in the future.

◇3 Mainline Zine Fest [May 27, 2017/at Mainline Skate Shop (Los Angeles)]
https://www.facebook.com/events/1875967836011410/

"L.A. Zine Fest 2017 tabler Lisa Pizza is organizing a pre-fest party/mini-zine fest at Mainline Skate Shop in Highland Park. Roll thru! (Get it? ROLL.)"[https://www.facebook.com/lazinefest/posts/1354179951327080/]

―I pointed out...―
It is interesting that a young woman serve as a mediator between skateboard culture as a symbol of street culture and zine culture. This might represent a departure/transformation from androcentrism of street culture.


■しかくList: [Serial Publication] Notes on Women's Autonomous Cultural Scenes

■しかくClass Information
The Course in the First Half of the 2017 Academic Year at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies: Introduction to Gender Studies "Women's Autonomous Cultural Scenes: Media, Space, and Activism" (Lecturer: MURAKAMI Kiyoshi)


Author: MURAKAMI Kiyoshi