The ‘ Third Sex ‘ Reading Group
Led by: Mollie Clarke , Dr. Claire O’Callaghan , Dr. Matt Crofts , and Helena Esser
Following on from the successful ‘Third Sex’ reading group at the VPFA’s 2020 conference, a more permanent reading group is now established! Meeting once a month, we will continue to focus on texts that examine ‘the third sex’ – that is; Victorian and neo-Victorian works that explore sex and gender, queerness, and LGBTQA+ identities. Meetings will take place via MS Teams, last for approximately 90 minutes, and will be supplemented by an exciting and supportive reading pack, comprising questions and textual prompts for members.
Christmas Meeting! – Wednesday 9th December 2020 at 5.30pm (GMT).
Following an excellent run of sessions throughout the autumn, we’ll be rounding up the year with a #3rdSex Christmas meeting, and what we do has been decided by you!
Thanks to the power of social media, Twitter users not only voted to include a text for our December meeting but voted overwhelmingly for that text to be Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop (1967). The book isn’t explicitly related to ‘Third Sex’ topics, but it is full of transgressive sexual desires of one kind or another and has been claimed as a neo-Victorian novel.
As we are aware that many of you won’t have time to read Carter’s short novel in full, we’re going to focus the discussion on a handful of selected scenes that we have included in our reading pack:
Reading Pack
World Time Zones Chart
How to join:
The Reading Group is open to members of the VPFA. If you are not yet a member, you can join the VPFA here.
If you are a member email vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com, we will send out the reading pack a week in advance of the group meeting, and a link to join us online the day before it is scheduled. You will also be provided with a password to access the reading pack above. The pack and password will change with each session – please do not share this information with others. We ask that all attendees contact us individually so we can monitor numbers.
We’ve tried to balance inclusivity and safety for the Third Sex Reading Group – that’s why VPFA members can invite guests! If you have students/colleagues/friends who want to take part, you can email us with their name and email address to register their attendance. If they wish to attend more sessions, they will need to return as a VPFA member.
Bring your tea, coffee, other and come join us! We look forward to seeing you there.