10 Reasons For My All Female Panel

On Monday I hosted an event at an independent cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), and part of it was a Q&A discussion about '50 Shades of Grey'. Someone asked - and not in a polite or curious way - why there were only women on our panel. Well, here's my answer.

1. Because the best people to speak were women.

Via Newcastle University

Here's the bio of one woman who was on my panel. She was nominated for a BAFTA, so her opinions are fairly legit.

2. Here's another panelist.

Via Sunderland University

She occasionally acts as an expert witness to court because of her knowledge of the subject we were talking about. Qualified enough?

3. Because no one notices when there's no woman on the panel

Via Tyneside Cinema

Here are the four patrons of the cinema we held our event in.

4. Really. No one notices.

Via BBC Radio 3

Because when I was chosen to have a piece of Masters work played on BBC Radio 3 along with seven others, I was the only woman.

5. Because people still mock women's pleasure

Twitter

When the latest action movie comes out, all eyes are on who's been chosen to play the hero's 'reward', the 'Bond Girl'. Many groups of lads take themselves to the cinema specifically to see her.

When women do it, people tweet their local cinema and ask how wet the seats got.

6. Because 'free drinks'

Via Facebook

What's the point of putting a man on the panel if he no longer has to buy me and the other 3 panellists drinks?

7. Because I'm a misandrist

Via Sundermad Forum

Here's what happened when I asked on a Sunderland AFC football forum if I could interview any lifelong female football fans.

8. Because Richard Branson was busy

Via Eventbrite

Here's a conference on starting up a business in the North East, with three men as the panel.

9. Because Government

Several hundred other women were invited to be Lords but they were all washing their hair that day.

10. Because pubic hair

The most controversial thing to have come out of Sam Taylor Johnson's adaption of '50 Shades of Grey' is a 2 square inch space of pubic bone.

Because those were the three people who said yes

D'you know what I thought about most? Asking people that might say yes. And whether one bottle of water per person was enough, and whether I would get through the evening in the shoes I had chosen to wear.

Your implication that putting a man on my panel would bring in a new or different opinion is, frankly, silly. Personally I think we coped quite well all by ourselves.

Is that enough reasons for now?

Bridget Hamilton is founder of the social community project Verbal Remedy.