Before a wall of dildos and harnesses, women performed spoken word poetry as part of Voices of Venus.
Held at Venus Envy, an education-oriented sex shop located in downtown Ottawa, Voices of Venus is an all-female spoken word performance that features a headlining artist happening every second Wednesday of the month.
Co-ordinator Allison Armstrong said in many ways, the event is a celebration of the female voice.
“We wanted to create a place where women from lots of different backgrounds could share their stories with each other and anyone else who wanted to listen,” Armstrong said.
It may seem odd for a poetry show to be held at a sex shop, but Armstrong asserted that Venus Envy’s values and commitment to showcasing women’s art make it the perfect venue.
“The reason we went with Venus Envy is because they are queer-positive, trans-positive, and sex-positive, which our show has always been,” Armstrong said.
Voices of Venus started as a one-off event at Umi Café on Somerset St. West.
While the event’s content depends on the poets, there is usually a diversity of voices.
Some poets delve into traditionally feminist topics like rape, gender equality, and sexual discrimination. They also discuss love, every day life, and broader issues that effect society.
“I give a voice to the voiceless,” Karen James said.
James is a poet and addiction counsellor, who said that while many topics are difficult to hear, they must be discussed.
“I tell people’s stories. Not the stories we want to know about, but the stories we should know about.”
For her open mic set, James performed a piece about the tragic life of a transgendered man. The audience was hushed and visibly moved.
With a shy laugh James admitted, “Pretty heavy, but then again I write pretty heavy things.”
October’s featured performer, Lady Katalyst, a Montreal-based poet and and self-styled “flowicist,” recited pieces called “I Like Big Dicks” and “My Jaw Hurts.”
The pieces included funny and erotic depictions of modern sexuality. Some dealt with colonialism, racism, and police brutality in Montreal.
In the competitive and often intimidating spoken word scene, female performers do have a significant presence.
Despite this presence, spoken-word and slam poetry are still male-dominated fields.
“This particular culture has aspects of sexism in it and consequently women may have trouble, or discomfort, and a whole lot of nervousness or a lack of encouragement for that matter, when it comes to getting up on a stage and saying, ‘This is my experience,’” Armstrong said.
For Lady Katalyst, there isn’t a women’s genre of spoken word.
“I don’t know, is there such a thing as women’s rock and roll? Is there such a thing as women’s blues?”
That being said, Lady Katalyst sees performing her art as an act of feminism in and of itself.
“When you speak and people are listening, you are engaging in something that’s called ‘word, sound, power’ which means that words combined with sound equals power, which I have not had for very long,” Lady Katalyst said.
“We’re not in the position yet [where] we can say that we’re [at] a point where women are considered human beings. So we need to be able to speak.”
