About ≠igfem
The Association of Feminist Authors (IG Feministische Autorinnen, ≠igfem) is committed to a feminist agenda in the literary field and beyond. We see our task in pointing out the unequal conditions that are (re)produced in the literary field and in actively taking action against them.
We seek to support feminist writers, feminist approaches and actions and are committed to an interdisciplinary and diverse approach. Our association works together with Austrian and international authors, literary representatives, organizations and public institutions.
Our mission is to highlight the inequalities that women are facing in the literary scene and to advocate gender equality as well as to build an international network by organizing writing and reading groups and organizing various projects together.
Would you like to join and/or are you interested in cooperating with us?
How can I participate?
We offer regular online-writing groups for both beginners and more experienced writers in which we share theoretical input as well as stylistic feedback:
Every Monday, 6 to 8 pm for advanced writers
Every 2nd Thursday, 5 to 7 pm for beginners & intermediates
Every 2nd Thursday, 2 to 4 pm for beginners & intermediates
Every 1st Friday of the month, 12 pm to 2 pm international writing group in English
Participation fee: 10€
Registration: support@igfem.at
We also host online-reading groups for discussing literary and theoretical works of female authors from all over the world:
Feminist literature: every 1st Wednesday of the month, 4 to 6 pm
Feminist theory: every 3rd Wednesday of the month, 12 to 2 pm
Both reading groups are free of charge!
Registration: theorie@igfem.at
Finally our feminist networking group meets every 2nd Friday from 12 to 2 pm in order to discuss the position of women in the literary world, current social and political events, and the development and realization of our projects as well as to connect with female authors and other literary enthusiasts.
Participating in the feminist networking group is free of charge!
Registration: support@igfem.at
Exclusive offer
According to recent surveys, one out of two Austrians is being forced to save money in the face of skyrocketing prices. ≠igfem wants to provide access to culture for as many people as possible. That’s why participating in our book club and networking group is free of charge. Until the end of the year we are additionally offering our writing groups for newcomers without charging any fees.
Equal Pay, Equal Show, Equal Pension
The Association of Feminist Authors (IG Feministische Autorinnen, ≠igfem) is committed to a feminist agenda in the literary, political and public sphere. We are currently looking for partner organisations with whom we can launch a small-scale European Cooperation Project within the Creative Europe Programme (CREA) and take this goal to an international level.
≠igfem is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2019 and based in Vienna/Austria.
We consider it our mission to
1. represent the concerns and interests of feminist authors
2. highlight the inequalities that women are facing in the Austrian literary scene by writing (open) letters, articles and reviews or posting social media content
3. facilitate the (inter-)national dialogue of female authors by organising writing, reading and networking groups, workshops, readings and so forth.
While our projects so far have mainly been focusing on Austria and Germany, our goal is to support female authors all over Europe. We are therefore searching for like-minded organisations within the EU with whom we can launch a small-scale cooperation project within the Creative Europe Programme (CREA) in 2023.
The gender pay gap in the Austrian cultural sector amounts to approximately 25%. This is due, on the one hand, to unpaid care work and, on the other hand, to the fact that their writing is regarded as inferior and published, rewarded and promoted less frequently than that of male authors. One argument commonly made to justify this is that it is simply the „literary quality“ of a text that is being evaluated. This ignores, however, the sexist structures that have shaped and continue to shape our entire society and thus the cultural landscape as well, and from which some groups are benefitting while others are being discriminated against. Literary criticism is a discourse of power that is not only concerned with literary quality but that negotiates values and positions of power. This is evidenced both in quantitative and qualitative terms: Three quarters of the reviews by Austrian male critics deal with the texts of male authors, while for female critics the ratio is far more balanced, with male authors even given a minimal preference of 2%. Additionally, the works written by women are discussed differently by male critics than those written by men. Not only do these reviews focus more often on extra-literary factors, such as the author’s looks or relationship status, but they are also filled with explicitly misogynistic statements that deny female authors the ability to write, portray subjects the subjects of their works as irrelevant and worthless (for male readers) and categorize their texts inferior literary genres. These practices have profound consequences for female authors, whose works are less often published by prestigious publishing houses, awarded prizes or scholarships, and who are generally poorly studied, rarely make it into literary histories and are subsequently often forgotten by the generations to come.
This is why ≠igfem wants to launch a small-scale European Cooperation Project with 3-5 partner organisations and the goal to publish national reports on the reception and economic standing of female authors, to raise public awareness about sexist structures and practices in the literary field and to propose counter measures to improve the situation for female authors throughout the EU. In addition, a reading list, consisting exclusively of the works of women from the countries of all participating organisations, will be prepared and published in order to increase the visibility of feminist and socio-critical authors in particular. The project also aims to promote international collaboration among feminist/literary organisations and to establish a large support network enabling the exchange of experiences and know-how. Would you like to join us? Then do not hesitate to contact us at support@igfem.at – we would love to set up an online-meeting and talk about ideas and possible partnerships!
IG feministische Autorinnen
Gerlinde Hacker
Dorothea Pointner
Website: https://www.igfem.at/english-version/
E-Mail: theorie@igfem.at
How can I support ≠igfem?
In order to achieve our goals, we depend on your support as well!
Only with enough declarations of support will we be able to become visible as an influential voice in literary politics. Support us now in less than a minute by filling out our form!
