I have quietly celebrated International Women’s Day each year since 1998, when I was 27. The first time I became aware of it, I was already in the middle of it. It was happening all around me and I loved it straightaway. There wasn’t much recognition of it back then and, amongst a mixed crowd on a dancefloor, it felt like a beautiful little thread of connection between the women. I allowed myself to pick up that thread and feel part of the sisterhood.
So when the Fletcher Street Cottage Women’s Space decided to celebrate International Women’s Day, I was just a teensy bit heavily invested in the idea right from the start.
My name is Suzanne and I am a Community Support Worker at Fletcher Street Cottage, and part of the all-female staff and volunteer team that facilitates the Women’s Space each Tuesday between 1–3pm.
In honour of International Women’s Day, we boldly threw open our little front door to welcome women from across the Byron Shire, offering an inclusive, safe and well-held space for an afternoon of feminine connection.
But would women come? Do women even know about us?
I’m just one woman and I don’t know all women, but I know - and have known - many women. And I know that many women love clothes, food, music and the opportunity for a little pampering. That was the recipe for our celebration and, with the help of all the women who came, it turned out delicious.
For the past year, the Women’s Space at Fletcher Street Cottage has been Byron’s best-kept secret. Not anymore.
We welcomed a big, loud, diverse, beautiful, vibrant and colourful crowd of Byron Shire women to Fletcher Street Cottage and it was beyond what we had hoped for. It was a celebration of women in the truest sense of what that means to me. The energy was high, joyous and light, and the afternoon had a wonderful sense of ease and flow.
At one point I stopped to take a moment to observe. Over the noise of our collective chatter and laughter, I saw women connecting and feeling connected in so many different ways. It felt to me that women who had just stepped inside our door for the first time found a sense of belonging.
But the biggest takeaway for me was seeing a pop-up environment created where opportunities existed for stereotypes and stigma to soften, even just a little.
I saw women meeting each other in a lighthearted and nurturing space, with no real agenda other than to enjoy themselves. I saw a time and place where maybe, just maybe, we felt safe enough to cut through preconceived ideas, labels and judgements and connect woman to woman. And where we felt safe enough to start exchanging snippets of our stories. My hope is that experiences like this help create shifts towards the understanding - and the feeling in our bones - that we are more the same than we are different.
I would like to give a shout-out and huge thanks to Boho Hair, Jessie from Hairplay Healer and singer-songwriter Snow for giving us their time and energy. And the same to our own wonderful crew of Women’s Space volunteers.
The Women’s Space takes place every Tuesday from 1pm - 3pm at 18 Fletcher Street, Byron Bay. Women from across the Byron Shire are welcome to drop in, enjoy the space and use the shower and laundry facilities.
We always have a women’s health nurse and a specialist domestic violence worker on site (no appointment necessary), and we provide lunch and general support.
For more information, please contact Fletcher Street Cottage on 0493 788 649 or fsc@byroncentre.com.au.
