The F Word

The F Word – Stories, Stigmas and Stereotypes on Fertility in Black Women by Femelanin

Femelanin is a UK based community organisation(for now)set up for Black women with the aim to reduce marginalisation and discrimination they are subject to in various social contexts. We do this by creating and providing a space and forum which allows black women to express theirselves freely to talk about also taboo subjects whilst learning from their peers on how they can navigate through and learn from the challenges they face in today’s society and in their own communities.

What ?

With sponsorship from the National Lottery Community Fund, we have launched a pilot series of four events in London called ‘The F word’. Of course this may raise a few eyebrows- but in the words of Nene Leakes , ‘(we) I said what I said, and that’s the whole point of these events. We are providing a non-judgemental space where black women can discuss topics which are typically taboo and seldom discussed in our community, but also can be misrepresented by less inclusive outlets outside of our community. After conducting some research for this project, we feel that the following topics are not widely and openly discussed , but counterintuitively are the most poignant and challenging areas in black women’s lives:

FERTILITY

FINANCES

FAMILY [Relationships]

FITNESS [Health]

The Event

So, ‘The F word’ events will enable black women to feel heard, valued, and elevated. They are carefully curated and planned to allow our women from all walks of life and experiences to meet other, listen to each others stories, and speak freely about every day issues. We delve deeper into each topic area by facilitating a broad range of panelists who share their real stories, expertise and knowledge within each area. More importantly, our emphasis is on empowerment of people (our beneficiaries) as well as panelists. Our events are very interactive in order for our women to leave each event feeling supported, included and empowered.

At some point in your lives I assume some of you reading this have been subject to unsolicited comments and questions about settling down and starting a family, without the person necessarily considering this may not be plain sailing or even an interest for some.

Our first event will bring into focus the topic of Fertility and reproductive/sexual health in black women. We will delve deep into the discussion of why there is such a stigma in the community with some help from our panelists who will discuss sub themes such as , IVF and surrogacy, pregnancy, expert advice and real stories about infertility related health conditions such a PCOS/Endemetriosis and Fibroids, and the notion of childlessness will also be explored as a counter topic.

Further details of our event panelists and programme will be revealed shortly, so please keep an eye out for updates via this page, our website, and instagram.