ABSTRACT
This contributing chapter will look at the political roots of spoken word in order to consider how feminism has influenced the scene today. Since the current wave of feminism has strengthened within recent years, this influence can be seen in the increase of spoken word events focused on women and non-binary people. When I started ‘She Grrrowls’, the only other similar event within spoken word, to my knowledge, was ‘Loose Muse’. Since then, more events have emerged with a focus on giving a platform to groups of society that have historically been systematically oppressed, whether in terms of gender, sexuality, race, or class. As well as events, collectives such as ‘Men Are Trash’, ‘Octavia’ and ‘The Yoniverse’ have been established, giving strength to this movement.
