Novara Media Presents: Identity Politics—Limits & Possibilities
(Saturday, 17:00)
To engage in “identity politics” is rarely seen to be a good thing. The charge is generally thrown at politicians or activists to suggest they are disengaged from material struggles, or that they’re more interested in dividing people than uniting them. This panel will assess the validity of critiques of identity politics, and what forms of identity politics might have the most value.
Novara Media is an independent media organisation addressing the issues that are set to define the 21st century, from the crisis of capitalism to racism and climate change. Driven to build a new media for a different politics, our journalism is always politically committed; rather than seeking to moderate between two sides of a debate, our output actively intends to feed back into political action.
Panellists: Amrou Al-Kadhi is screenwriter, drag performer, and author of the book, Life as a Unicorn (2020), describing their experience of growing up as a queer muslim in Dubai and Britain. Shon Faye is author of the bestselling, The Transgender Issue (2021), also being presented at WHOLE in a separate talk on Friday. Moya Lothian-McLean is a political journalist who focuses on underrepresented voices and stories. She is a contributing editor at Novara Media, and her work has appeared in The New York Times and The Guardian. The panel will be chaired by Michael Walker.
