Meet the CB team: Auriol Reddaway

Meet the Clitbait Team: an interview with Auriol Reddaway, General Editor

Name and role:

Auriol Reddaway, General Editor

Fun fact:

When she was a chorus girl, my great-grandmother dated Charlie Chaplin. Her mother made her dump him, saying she could do better.

What does intersectional feminism mean to you?

To me, a feminist who is not intersectional is not really a feminist. Feminism must progress beyond white, middle-class narratives and amplify womxn’s voices across the movement, ensuring everyone has a space at the table. For me personally, being an intersectional feminist means checking and unpicking my privilege and using that privilege to promote a diverse range of voices. Above all, intersectional feminism means community.

What is your favourite thing about Clitbait?

It is a platform that challenges, questions and provokes. I love how seamlessly it shifts from the personal to the universal and how it always sheds light on a new perspective. Some pieces have made me consider things I had never considered; some have phrased things in a way I would not have been able to phrase them and every single piece is eloquently and passionately written. All of this is enhanced by striking images from incredibly talented artists and creators.

What inspires you?

Generally, the untold stories and lives of womxn. At the moment I’m inspired by Marina Tsvetaeva, a queer Soviet poet who questioned her role as a mother. But it changes daily.

What things do you do outside Clitbait that you are proud of?

I started a theatre company and wrote and directed our debut production – a multimedia, immersive, physical theatre adaptation of Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades (with an emphasis on the underrepresented female characters, of course). My monologue Topsy, reimagining the story of the elephant who was executed by electricity in 1903 as a feminist icon, is being produced by Candlewasters over the summer.

A guilty feminist confession? (I’m a feminist…but)

If I’m on a crowded train and a middle-aged man offers me his seat, I take it. The patriarchy wins once again, but at least I get the chance of a nap.

A personal feminist triumph?

As a queer woman, being myself on my year abroad in Russia felt like a daily feminist triumph.