Talking Diversity, Solidarity and Happy Sluts at Our Women's Day Air Bed Cinema
Actor Teuila Blakely

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VICELAND

Talking Diversity, Solidarity and Happy Sluts at Our Women's Day Air Bed Cinema

Photos and highlights from our special VICELAND event in Auckland.

Empowerment was between the sheets at our second annual Air Bed Cinema last night as women spoke out on social, sexual and personal experiences for International Women’s Day.

Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman spoke of her motivations to run for parliament in last year's election, launching her bid at the time of Brexit and escalating hate crimes in Britain, and the rise of Trump. As much as she wanted to run as a human rights lawyer and Green, Ghahraman acknowledged she speaks as "a refugee, as a woman of colour, as a migrant woman, as a woman of the so-called Muslim world."

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Ghahraman said it wasn't good enough to rely on consultation; true representation means being in positions of power. “It wasn’t just migrants, it was us women—our healthcare needs—were under attack. The disabilities community was under attack. The Rainbow community was under attack and I realised the only way we are going to win this democracy was if we were at the decision-making table,” said Ghahraman. "We need to amplify the voices in every culture that speak to equality above those who could silent them.”

Golriz Ghahraman

Actor Teuila Blakely had the room cheering as she talked openly about being sucked into “New Zealand’s first celebrity sex-tape scandal”. “It blew my mind that people could vilify women for having sex and not being ashamed about it. If you’re going to call me a slut then, fuck yes, I’m a slut. I’m happy in my sex life and so be it.” Queue the roar of applause.

"We’re all sexual. It's all completely ok," Blakely declared.

Between the speakers, we watched VICELAND’s WOMAN, STATES OF UNDRESS and SLUTEVER and performances from Georgia Nott (Broods) and rapper Jess B.

Nott spoke of frequently being the only woman in the room throughout her career, and played us a sample from her most recent release, the all-female collaboration The Venus Project. “I don’t want to be shocked when I see a woman behind the sound desk,” she said.

Jess B closed the event and our time under the covers with a unapologetic spoken word adaptation of her new single. It may have been International Women’s day but, “Women’s day is every day”, said Jess.

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We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Here is the night in photos.

And thanks to our sponsors who made the night possible, SKY, Women's Collective, The Pullman Auckland, Rose Tinted Flowers, Lunar Balloons, The Oh Nine, The Caker, Essie, L'Oreal Paris, Kettle Corn ,Little Lato.

To celebrate International Women's Day, VICELAND NZ is extending the moment to last the entire week. From March 5-12 we're celebrating all our best female hosted content—including STATES OF UNDRESS, WOMEN, RISE, SLUTEVER and more—available on Sky Channel 13 and SKY On Demand.

For more photos by Beka Hope, follow her on Instagram.