Quaker continues witness to feminism
'So often female sexuality is presented by men, so it was great to hear a woman’s side of the story.'
Quaker author Lucy-Anne Holmes has interviewed fifty-one women from all over the world for a book about sex. In Women on Top of the World – published in the US this month, following its UK release in February – the Hertfordshire Friend spoke to the women about ‘what they think of during sex’ as part of her longstanding witness to break down taboos in discussing female sexuality. The Quaker successfully campaigned to end page three in The Sun in 2012-13 and has since been using her platform to discuss sex and feminism.
Lucy-Anne Holmes told the Friend that the book was ‘an opportunity to have very real conversations about how women actually feel about sex. So often female sexuality is presented by men, so it was great to hear a woman’s side of the story. Aged between nineteen and seventy-four, they share very intimately how they navigate areas such as sexual trauma, Female Genital Mutilation, and gender reassignment hormones, and describe how they have been affected by menopause, illness and having a young family. One thing that struck me is that wherever the women were, they had not had enough sex education.’
The Quaker has been hosting Zoom workshops and talks on topics such as: healing after sexual trauma; the ‘wheel of consent’; and talking to children on the subject. Each event has had around thirty to forty attenders. She is also planning a podcast.
