My Body, My Book Club

BODILY AUTONOMY: UNITING THROUGH BOOKS

In collaboration with The Vavengers

About the Book Club

My Body, My Book Club aims to connect people and create communities. We read fiction books (with the odd memoir here and there too) that deal with different aspects of how we understand bodily autonomy and exemplify how we can get involved and support each other.

Issues such as gender-based violence, racism, homelessness, displacement, abortion, obstetric violence, and the rights of marginalised communities, like the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ groups, are just some of the topics we cover.

All opinions expressed during book club meetings are those of individuals and do not necessarily reflect those of My Body, My Book Club or the charities it supports.

Book Club Guidelines

How it Works

We know this is heavy stuff, but the book club hopes to foster empathy as well as raise awareness and question established narratives. Our main goal is to connect communities. So, for each session, we partner with a charity working with the subject we will be reading about in the novel, and we invite an expert on the topic to join our chat. (Also, all proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to the month’s charity.)

Too Busy to Read the Book?

We understand that people are busy and life happens – so please do join us even if you don’t manage to finish the book in time. We will also always provide other ways in which you can get involved and learn more about the subject in the "Next Book" section, whether it’s through a video or a blog post.

About the Host

Dr Julia Martins is a historian of the body, an activist, and an unapologetic bookworm. She is an Activism Outreach Supporter with The Vavengers, a member of the Charity Committee of the FGM Education Project, and an editor at the Feminist Perspectives Collective.

She writes about gender history and history of medicine, and how history can inform contemporary feminism.

You can check out her YouTube channel Living History and her website, and follow her on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram.

My Body, My Book Club was launched as part of her involvement in the Abortion Rights UK Activist Bootcamp.

Next book

Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

Girl meets boy. It's a story as old as time. But what happens when an old story meets a brand new set of circumstances? Ali Smith's re-mix of Ovid's most joyful metamorphosis is a story about the kind of fluidity that can't be bottled and sold. It is about girls and boys, girls and girls, love and transformation, a story of puns and doubles, reversals and revelations. Funny and fresh, poetic and political, Girl meets boy is a myth of metamorphosis for the modern world.

Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962 and lives in Cambridge. She is the author of several short story collections, plays and award-winning novels. Hotel World was shortlisted for both the Orange Prize and the Booker Prize and won the Encore Award; The Accidental was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize and won the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award. Most recently, How to be Both, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Costa Novel Award and the National Book Award 2014 and won the Goldsmiths Prize and Saltire Society Literary Book of the Year Award.

We encourage everyone to borrow books from their local library, but if you plan on buying a copy, please do so through here.

In March, we're featuring Pop'n'Olly, a charity providing LGBTQ+ educational resources for primary aged children, parents, carers and teachers.

About our Guest

Olly Pike (he/him) is the creator of the multi-award-winning education company Pop'n'Olly, producing inclusive videos and children's books designed to combat homophobia and transphobia before they can develop. His work has reached millions globally, with over 30,000 books distributed, including 12,000 donated to UK primary schools. A regular panellist and media guest on LGBT+ education, Olly has earned accolades such as an Attitude Pride Award and commendations at the Bank of London's Rainbow Honours. He has spoken at Parliament, created content for CBeebies and Tate Kids, and collaborated with companies such as Apple and Microsoft.

Pop‘n’Olly is the UK’s leading LGBT+ educational resource provider for primary aged children, parents, carers and teachers. The company focuses on primary age educational content and have distributed over 30,000 of it’s LGBTQ+ children’s books worldwide, of which over 12,000 have been donated to UK primary schools through their ‘Pride in Primary’ campaign. Millions of people have engaged with Pop’n’Olly’s inclusive YouTube videos, LGBT+ storybooks, classroom resources and teacher training that combat homophobia and transphobia.