Fresh from the good vibes of our very first Radical Aunties Teh Partee in September 2022, London’s premier group of busybody ESEA+ (East & Southeast Asian Plus) women (or not) of ahem peri/menopausal age (or not) are back with their puffa jackets, air fryers and wet-wipes! Yes, we are getting into Aunty Formation again, and will present one full afternoon of THE RADICAL AUNTIES EXPERIENCE DAY 2023 at Hackney Chinese Community Services.
We are women (and non-binary people and even men) of colour of a certain ahem - disposition - who feel voluntarily stranded in a city of many dreams, but a city with few backup systems for minorities with alternative ‘family’ arrangements. But now we have found one another - and you, too? - as a critical mini-mass! We commit to being one another’s safe havens, (mid)life coaches, unlicensed fitness gurus, untrained IT Helpdesks, spa mistresses, chefs, DIY-ers and gardeners! And we are, most of all, system hackers. And we are ready to show our SKILLZ.
Fifteen magical, sassy aunties (plus at least one unker) – flaunting their Michelle Yeoh kickassery and Sandra Oh nosey-parkery - will each wo/man a unique Aunty Experience stand, and give you a full-on individual Aunty Experience on the day. There will be unorthodox qigong/taichi sessions, aunty selfie moments, massage chairs, Korean-bbq-proof raincoats, Asian snacks lucky dip, lessons on Aunty swearing, academic frameworking of auntiedom via critical race theory and intersectionality, a full-on gentle interrogation of your social and gut life by kaypoh auntie – if you can stand it – and much, much more! We will be orthodox and unorthodox ajooma, obasan, ah yee, namboru, tia plus rainbow aunties of all stripes and hairstyles! Look out also for special guest appearances online from our Indonesian and Filipina domestic/transient worker Aunties based in Singapore!
Join us in our happy examinations and explorations of how we de/construct and take personal spins on stereotypes of ourselves in popular culture, lived community and ideal place/person-making. We’ll share how we negotiate tropes of the grocery store madam with the resting bitch face, the mahjong - oops, no - poker - oops, no - bridge-master tai tai, and the ‘finish eating first, then we talk’ nehsan. We will celebrate women (and men and queer folk) previously marginalised as a side character in someone else’s life now taking centrestage as defiant, radical performers and activists of alternative womanhood-oops, no-auntiehood!
With great inspiration from the Critical Aunty Studies initiative.
Everyone welcome, and we will have an Abandoned Unker and Devoted (or Annoyed) Nephew/Niece corner too.
With thanks to Hackney Chinese Community Services, Royal Holloway University of London and the Arts and Humanities Research Council
