Not coming to a venue near you – Deirdre O’Neill & Mike WaynFacing erasure in language, is it any wonder that “women” (as they were once known) are finding it difficult to freely meet, watch and discuss our film
Adult Human Female, a documentary in defence of women’s rights? So it was that the Belfast chapter of the Women’s Rights Network undertook the task of showing the film with military level secrecy, inviting only those in their networks and trusting tight-lipped others who wanted to know more about the issue.
This is not the first time a screening of the film has had to be carried out with military precision befitting a guerrilla organisation plotting the overthrow of a tinpot dictator. A screening arranged by Salon Sisters in Brighton took the precaution of vetting ticket holders to weed out any potential spies for trans rights activists. As with the Belfast screening, the venue was a closely guarded secret, announced only an hour or so before the screening was due, to minimise the amount of time protesters would have to pressure the venue into cancelling or generally harassing women with intimidatory protests. In the case of the Brighton screening, Salon Sisters engaged in that well known military tactic called disinformation. As a result the protesters all gathered in the wrong place at the wrong time — and, we were reliably informed, made their way home when it began to rain.
