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: Sophie Hardy is a 21 year-old aspiring film-maker. Throughout her teenage years, Sophie starred in the soap opera 'Neighbours' as Lacy Lane and has partaken in several other acting and modelling roles. Sophie cares very strongly for women's rights and hopes to make films depicting the messages she is most passionate about one day.
Team 30s: Ana Uribe (she/her) was born in the lands of the Muiscas, Colombia, travelled parts of the world since the age of 11 and now lives on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country. She works as a trauma-informed somatic therapist, educator and embodiment facilitator and specializes in mental health, trauma healing and plant medicine integration. Ana is on a mission to create safer spaces in our bodies and out in the world.
Team 40s: Anna Manuel is a children’s storyteller, voiceover narrator and educator. She jazzes up children’s programs with stories to keep children and adults alike curious, engaged and creative. She continues to navigate the intricate influence of her own skin - colour, smell and shape - on the fascinating twists of her life's path.
Team 50s: Tania Dalton is a 55-year-old post-menopausal woman, on a mission to empower others. With nearly 30 years as a Personal Trainer and recent accreditation as a Health Coach, she is driven by her father's early passing. Tania is dedicated to unraveling the secrets of aging well and wants to spread awareness about the transformative changes post-menopause.
Team 60s: Jacinta Halloran is a novelist, family therapist and medical doctor who believes wholeheartedly in the power of words – both written and spoken – to transform, heal and deepen our understanding of each other. A former Board member of the Stella Prize, her latest novel is RESISTANCE (Text Publishing, 2023).
Team 70s: Suzanne McCourt’s debut novel, The Lost Child, (Text Publishing) was a finalist in the 2015 Miles Franklin Award. Her latest novel, The Tulip Tree, begins in Ukraine as Russia invades 100 years ago. She is currently completing a short story collection that includes her prize-winning novella, The Last Taboo. Suzanne introduced the Story Dogs Literacy Program into Victorian primary schools and has also published a series of gift books on old dogs. She has recently taken up swimming. In the bay. In winter. Without a wetsuit.
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 Rebecca Lister. Produced by Donna Logue, Hopepunk Productions. Created by Georgia Clark.