Today sees the long-awaited publication of the second book emerging from the Dangerous Women Project (2016-17). Dangerous Women: fifty reflections on women, power and identity is published by Unbound, and available to purchase from their website or all good bookshops. This fascinating and provocative essay collection is edited by Jo Shaw, Ben Fletcher-Watson and Abrisham Ahmadzadeh.
Please join us on International Women's Day, Tuesday 8 March 2022, at 17:30 GMT to celebrate the release of Dangerous Women in an online extravaganza featuring readings and short films from a range of contributors. Free tickets can be ordered here.
The Herald has a feature on the book in today's paper, including extracts from the essay by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP. Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 ran an interview with editor Jo Shaw and contributor Bidisha on Monday 28 February; you can listen to the interview here (starts 48:35).
What does it mean to be a dangerous woman?
‘The most dangerous woman in Britain’ – the Sun
‘Meet the most dangerous wee woman in the world’ – Daily Mail
We may laugh at the media’s label for women such as Shami Chakrabarti or Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, but behind it lie serious questions about the dynamics, conflicts and power relations with which women live today. The idea that women are dangerous individually or collectively permeates many historical periods, cultures and areas of contemporary life.
But what does it mean for a woman to be dangerous? Who, or what, does she present a danger to? Who gets to say she’s dangerous? Why do they want to say it? Does she consider herself dangerous? Is feminism dangerous? And what do the answers to those questions tell us about societies past and present? About our social and political structures, about our everyday lives, our attitudes and our very identities? Dangerous Women gives fifty wide-ranging perspectives on these questions.
We have welcomed poets, playwrights, artists, academics, journalists, historians, performers and opinion-formers, and indeed anyone with an angle on the theme, to reflect on the danger of females. Speaking from a variety of ages, ethnicities and cultures, we have come together from all over the world to give agency to any woman dismissed for her power, talent or success, trivialised as a threat or condemned for challenging the status quo. We are here to celebrate these women and applaud them for their strength.
In doing so, we have reclaimed the right to be dangerous, and highlighted the power of otherwise dismissed female figures. If you lack female idols, this book is for you. If you want to challenge the narrative that a powerful woman is a threat, this inclusive and diverse book is for you. Dangerous Women is for anyone and everyone who questions how to be dangerous, and indeed what that means.
Contributors include Nicola Sturgeon MSP, broadcaster and journalist Bidisha, playwright Jo Clifford, prize-winning novelist Irenosen Okojie, acclaimed journalist Jean Rafferty, essayist and writer Laura Elizabeth Woollett, novelist and architect Yewande Omotoso, poet and performer Rachel McCrum, prize-winning novelist and poet Claire Askew, celebrated author Nada Awar Jarrar, critic and publisher Laura E. Waddell, BBC comedy writer Jasmine Tonie, writer and editor Annee Lawrence, award-winning poet and translator A.C. Clarke, poet, writer and presenter Mab Jones and feminist historian Chiara Bonfiglioli.
This book is drawn from contributions by people who identify as women and their allies to the Dangerous Women Project, which ran from International Women’s Day 2016 to International Women’s Day 2017, led by Peta Freestone and Jo Shaw. The fifty selections have been revised and updated, and details of almost 350 more pieces from the project are included in the book.
Thanks
We would like to recognise the work of numerous staff at the University of Edinburgh, first and foremost Peta Freestone, without whom there would simply be no Dangerous Women Project. Peta’s incredible work made this book possible and we will always be grateful to her. Thanks also to the many interns who have worked tirelessly on the various stages of the Dangerous Women Project, including Isabelle Gius, Katie Graham, Amy McMonagle, Christina Neuwirth, Jana Phillips, Josephine Teng, Sarah Thew and Shy Zvouloun. Our Advisory Group, consisting of Mary Bownes, Suzanne Ewing, Penny Fielding, Lesley McAra, Fiona Mackay and Mona Siddiqui, has supported us every step of the way with wisdom and insight. The staff at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Donald Ferguson and Pauline Clark, have been invaluable. Dorothy Miell and Steve Yearley steered us superbly and generously helped the book become a reality. We want to acknowledge our original supporters and funders from the beginnings of the project in 2016, including Scottish PEN, especially Jenni Daiches, the Binks Trust and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Katy Guest, DeAndra Lupu and the team at Unbound have been brilliant partners throughout the campaign and production of this book. Lastly, our heartfelt thanks must go to all our authors from around the world, and all the dangerous women who have supported us on the way.
Our first book, a beautiful smorgasbord of visual art and creative writing called The Art of Being Dangerous: Exploring Women and Danger through Creative Expression (Leuven University Press) was released in 2021 and can be purchased here.